Karnataka Yatra - Day 5 (penultimate day)

As we came near the end of our short yatra, we consciously chose to go slow. Also, the weather started warming up forcing us to try to stay indoors during the daytime. On day 5 morning, we woke up early as usual (some habits are difficult to give up) and then, after a sumptuous breakfast at Sagar Ratna along with our driver, we checked out of Ocean Pearl. We then moved to our next stop which was Kukke Subramanya temple. 

This temple is one of the seven temples originally constructed by Parashurama, the sixth avatar of Vishnu. The other six temples are the Krishna temple in Udupi, the Shiva temple in Gokarna, the Kollur Mookambika temple, the Anegudde Vinayaka temple in Kumbhashi, the temple of Shiva and Vishnu in Shankarnarayana, and the Shiva temple of Koteshwara.

Kukke Subramanya Temple

The distance between Ujire & Kukke Subramanya temple is about 62 kms and the drive through the thick forest area took us about 90 minutes. Kukke Subramanya was very warm when we reached although it was only about 10.30 am. The car dropped us 100 meters away from the temple. We kept our footwear at a free unattended stand near the temple entrance. Seeing that there were many devotees in the temple who had formed a long queue, we decided to go for special quick darshan. Tickets were priced at Rs. 100 only although there was a queue to buy it. 

The darshan entry was almost immediate, as there were hardly any people in the special queue. Within less than 10 minutes, we had our brief darshan of Sri Subramanya along with Vasuki & Adisesha in the main sanctum. We realised that there is another Abhishek Seva where one is allowed to sit in front of the sanctum for a longer time. Within the temple, there are also shrines of Ganesh ji, Umamaheshwara (slightly crowded) and Kaal Bhairav. When we stepped out, we also went inside a shrine for Narasimha Swamy which we almost missed.

As we came out, we saw the crowds were increasing steadily as it was a weekend. We then proceeded on foot to the nearby Adi Subramanya Mandir. As were without slippers and the Sun was shining in full glory, the 10 minute walk through ill maintained road was tough. We reached the temple to find a short queue waiting for darshan. There was a small stream flowing near this temple where we could see many devotees taking a dip before visiting the temple.

The Aadi Subramanya Temple is believed to be the moola sthana (original abode) where Lord Subramanya resided before moving to the main temple. It is a highly revered ancient shrine where the deity is worshipped in the form of natural ant hills (valmiki), representing Lord Subramanya and serpents Adisesha and Vasuki. As per legend, the serpent king Vasuki meditated here to seek protection from Garuda (Vishnu's mount). Shiva & Subramanya assured him protection, making this a crucial site for resolving Sarpa Dosha. This place is revered as over 5000 years old. As per tradition, this is where Adi Shankaracharya stayed for some time. Shankara also refers this place in “Subrahmanya Bhujanga Prayata Stotram” as 'Bhaje Kukke Lingam exits here. The Skanda Purana has also mentioned this place as having the spiritual significance of this place. 

Adi Subramanya Temple

Devotees are offered mrittika (earth from the anthill) as prasadam, which is believed to cure skin diseases. We also collected this and carefully got it back to Mumbai to distribute among family. After this, we walked back to the main temple. On the way, we had a drink of fresh lemon soda served in a earthen container - it was very refreshing. We also did some small shopping of spices from a market nearby. 

When we came back to the main temple, it was overflowing with devotees. People were sitting all over the corridors leaving hardly any space for circumambulation. Somehow we managed to squeeze ourselves through and collect our Prasadam and exit the temple. The Sun was scorching hot at this time making it difficult to stand in the open for more than a few minutes. Luckily our driver brought the car quickly and we departed for Mangaluru. 

We covered the distance of roughly 100 kms in about two hours. On the way, we stopped to buy some fresh fruits to serve as our lunch. We reached Mangaluru around 3 pm and checked into Ocean Pearl (yes, the same chain). This was one of the best properties in the yatra. After resting a while we had some tea and left to visit couple of more temples within Mangaluru.

First was the Raja Rajeshwari temple in Polali - a drive of about an hour from our hotel. This temple is located on the banks of the river Phalguni and was constructed about 1200 years ago by a king called Suratha. The main deity is Devi in the form of Raja Rajeshwari which is another divine form of Her. It is believed that the idol is made from special clay having medicinal properties. The temple also has smaller idols of other deities like Ganesh ji, Subramanya, Saraswati & Badrakali. The temple has its annual festival in March in which a unique activity takes place. A football match, wherein over 500 people participate, is played representing the fight between good & evil. After our darshan here, we left for the famous Kateel Sri Durgaparameshwari temple.

This temple of Sri Durgaparameshwari is highly revered and visited devotees from across the country. It was about 20 kms away from Polali and we reached in about 45 minutes. Located on the banks of the river Nandini, this is a small yet powerful temple. 

The temple is associated with a mythological story in which Goddess Durga appeared in the form of a bee to defeat the demon Arunasura, and the temple was established after his death. Built in the traditional South Indian style, the special feature of the temple is its ever-moist sanctum sanctorum, which is believed to be a blessing of the Nandini River. Several major festivals are celebrated at the temple, including the eight-day Mesha Rashi Parivartan in April, the festival of lights adorned with diyas on Kartik Panchami, and the nine-day festival celebrating the feminine power of Goddess Durga, which includes traditional dance-dramas and special puja rituals. The temple continues the tradition of serving free meals twice a day to all devotees, regardless of the devotee's background.

We had excellent darshan of the deity and the temple. I also took the opportunity to do my evening prayers at the temple itself before we proceeded back to our hotel. After we reached, we signed off the car as we were flying back home the next day. Then we had a light dinner at the pure vegetarian restaurant Sagar Ratna before retiring for the night.