The old Agrahara settlement, 92 kms south – west of Chikmagalur and situated on the banks of the river Bhadra, is surrounded by lofty hills of the Western Ghats and is looked upon as one of the pancha-kshetras on the banks of the Bhadra.

Close by are the pancha theerthas, the five sacred ponds. On a small hillock here is the Kalaseshwara temple dedicated to Ishwara, with a Kshetrapala shrine of soap stone nearby. The Madhawacharya Bande, a large boulder at one of the theerthas here, is supposed to have been placed by Shri Madhawacharya the founder of the Dwaitha school of philosophy. A statue of this Acharya is carved on the upper portion of the rock.