Sri Siddhalinga Swami was one of the most famous sculptors of the twentieth century. A great śrīvidyā upāsaka, he was the Guru of Sri Jayachamaraja Wodeyar, the ruler of Mysore. He initiated the pious king into śrīvidyā with the dīkṣā name Chitprabhānandanātha. A Vīraśaiva by birth, Sri Siddhalinga Swami was a yogi and a Siddha par excellence. The Kāmakāmēśvarī temple (modeled after a similar shrine in Kathmandu) in Mysore bears testimony to the incomparable skill of this master sculptor. Bhuvanēśvarī and Gāyatrī temples within the Mysore palace were also sculpted by Sri Swamy. Several of his divinely inspired paintings such as Rājarājēśvarī, Gāyatrī, Bhuvanēśvarī, Sarasvatī, etc., which put even Ravivarma’s art to shame, can be seen displayed today in the gallery at Mysore palace.
The foremost sthapati of his time, Sri Swami authored many books on Agama, Alaya, Tantra, and Yoga. A follower of Rahasyāgama, he was also the head of Nagalingaswamy Mutt. Apart from śrīvidyā, he was an upāsaka of Aghora and Pañcākṣarī mahāmantras.
Wodeyar mentions his dīkṣā nāma in several kr̥tis such as the one in Aṭhāṇa, śrīmahāgaṇapatiṁ bhajē’ham:
कामेशनयनाह्लादकं नागलिङ्गवरपुत्रम् |
श्रीविद्या चित्प्रभानन्द राजयोगीन्द्रवन्दितम् ||
kāmeśanayanāhlādakaṃ nāgaliṅgavaraputram |
śrīvidyā citprabhānanda rājayogīndravanditam ||