Tonnuru Lake

This place is 10 kms northwest of the taluk centre Pandavapura and 15 kms South of Melukote. Ancient inscriptions refer to this place as Tonnanuru, Tondanuru, Tonnuru, Yadavapura, and Padmagiri and were famous as an ‘Anadi Hiriya Agrahara’ and an ancient educational centre known as ‘Yadavanarayana Chaturvedi Mangala’. It is believed that Sri Vaishnava Saint Ramanujacharya when attracted by Melukote, travelled from Tamilnadu across Ramanathapura, Mirle and Saligrama, stayed here for several years. Then the place became a sacred centre. ‘Tonda” means a devotee. A record dated 1125 A.D. from Chikkamagalur Taluk and another record dated 1128 A.D. from Chamundi Hills refer to this place as a sub-capital during the reign of Hoysala Vishnuvardhana. It is also the place where by the influence of Ramanujacharya, the Hoysala king Vishnuvardhana embraced Sri Vaishnava religion.