According to another account, Dewan Purniah (from 1799-1813), the first Dewan of Mysore, built this temple as per the wishes of King Krishnaraja Wodeyar, using materials from a ruined Hoysala temple in Shimoga.
The Wodeyars ruled that kingdom almost uninterruptedly between 1399 and 1947; they ruled initially as vassals of the Vijayanagara Empire (1399-1565), then as independent rulers (1565-1761), then as puppet rulers under Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan (1761-1796) and finally as allies of the British crown (1799-1947).