Parthasarathi and Sri Venugopalaswamy Temple is located in Thonnoor (Thondanur), a small village in Pandavapura Taluk, Mandya District, Karnataka State. This place is now known as Tonnoor. This temple is an old temple built in the 12th century by the Hoysala ruler Vishnuvardhana. Thondanoor is believed to be one of the Pancha Narayana Kshetras in mythology.
Ancient Hoysala Shri Parthasarathi (Gopalakrishna) Swamy Temple is about 148 km from Bangalore. It is about 36 km from Mandya city and 35 km from Mysore city. Pandavapur is the nearest railway station which is just 13 km away.
The temple is open from 7:30 am to 12:00 pm and from 4:00 pm to 7:30 pm.
Parthasarathi and Sri Venugopalaswamy Temple is an ancient Hoysala temple with a history of 1000 years. The temple has an idol of Lord Krishna carved in a standing posture along with Bhudevi and Sridevi idols. It is believed to have been installed by Dharmaraj and Rishi Brigu. The temple also has an idol of Yadavanayaki. A special feature of the temple is the statue of Gopala Krishna in dancing form which is very special because the left leg is nowhere in front, usually everywhere the right leg is in front.
The temple has a stone swing which is used in temple festival events. The temple faces east and has an entrance from the eastern side. After the entrance there is a hall on the right. There is an altar in front of the temple. On either side of the entrance gate of the sanctum sanctorum there are paintings from the Vijayanagar period. The temple consists of a sanctum sanctorum, antarala / sukhanasi, navaranga mantapa and maha mantapa. The sanctum sanctorum has a 3-fold Kumudam and Pattika on the Padabandha Adhisthana. Above the sanctum sanctorum is a single tala Dravidian tower.
The inscriptions detail the endowments and gifts given to Lord Narayana by the Hoysala Narasimha when he was ruling the Kodalla kingdom. Legend has it that Sri Ramanuja stayed at this temple in Thondanoor and Sri Nambi Narayanaswamy was involved in the reconstruction of the temple.
