Karnataka Yatra - Day 3 (part 1)

Raja Gopuram

Day 3 started in a grand way. Our room, with a fantastic view of the bay, gave us enough reasons to wake up early and enjoy the breathtaking yet calming view of the sea and the beach. There were several tourists taking a dip and riding boats. We quickly finished our morning rituals and went to have a darshan of the temple which was located very close to our hotel.

When Ravana was trying to uproot the Lingam at Gokarna after Ganeshji placed it on the ground, much as he tried, he could not move it. But due to the excessive force applied by him, some parts of the Atma Linga got scattered across the region. It is believed that the cloth covering the Lingam fell here at Murudeshwar.

The temple here is built to commemorate that event. A huge Raja Gopuram which is about 20 stories in height was built in 2008 and is one of the impressive structures here. There is also a huge Shiva statue which is about 125 feet tall and very majestic. It can be seen from several miles around. One can go up the Raja Gopuram using an elevator and take a 360 degree view from the top. The view is grand and it feels like we are on an aircraft. At the bottom of the Shiva idol, there is a museum, but no access was available to us due to renovations.

The main temple housing the Sri Mridesa Lingam is a compact structure built in traditional style. There are many small temples for various deities around the main temple. There is also a Shaneeshwar temple outside the main temple. When we went, there were very few devotees inside and we could have a comfortable darshan. We also had time to take some pictures.

We then came back to our hotel for breakfast. As it was Sankashti, we just had some fruits and coffee. After this, we checked out and proceeded towards Kolur to have a darshan of Moogambika Devi. The drive was initially along the coast and then we went into the interior of Karnataka through thick forests. It was quite an experience driving through those areas.

Shiva Statue & Nandi

Mookambika is a highly revered temple. The temple is very special because it is part of the 108 Durgalayas and 108 Shivalayas. It is situated in the foothills of Kodachadri hills, on the southern bank of Souparnika River. The main deity of the temple is a Swayambu Lingam (self formed) which has a golden line cutting it into half, in which the left half represents the three goddess and the right half represents their consorts. An idol with four hands made of panchaloha (5 metals) of the goddess Mookambika was installed in the temple by Adi Sankara. Mookambika is seen seated in the Padmasana position with four arms, with two arms holding a Shanka or Conch, the Chakra or divine discuss and the other two hands are giving a Abhaya (to rid the devotee of all fears) and the Abheesta or Varada mudra (bestower of boons). There are sub-shrines for Ganesh ji, Shiva, Vishnu, Karthik Swami, Hanuman and the Naga Devatas in the temple.

The legend of the temple is as follows. Once a demon was doing severe tapas to placate Lord Shiva and ask for boons to make him very powerful and use the powers to harass the pious people. Knowing this, Devi made him dumb (Mooka) which prevented the demon from asking boons from Shiva. Enraged by this, the demon started harassing a Sage called Kola who was also offering penance here. The sage sought help from Devi who came and killed the demon. Hence, She got the name of ‘Mooka-Ambika’. Shiva then appeared before the sage who asked for a boon that Shiva and Devi remain forever here. Shiva then manifested in the form of a Linga which has two parts described above.

Mookambika Temple

We reached around 11 am covering the distance of approx. 60 kms in 90 minutes. The temple was closed for afternoon prayers and we had to wait in queue for about an hour till the temple reopened. During this time, we enjoyed the instrumental music played by a band. They were using the instruments typically used in wedding processions and it felt out of place as we are used to the Nadaswaram in temples. However, they played very well, and it was enjoyable.

After the temple opened around noon, we had our darshan in less than 15 minutes. Although it was crowded, no one pushed us and we could see the Devi in all Her glory comfortably. After darshan, we went around the temple via its corridors and saw the many smaller temples mentioned above. Kerala devotees are found in a large number here as they believe that the same Devi who is there in Chotha Nikara temple in the mornings is present here in the evenings and the two temples are connected thus.

If we hadn’t been fasting, we would have had Annadanam at the temple which we did during our honeymoon many years earlier. As we came out, we were feeling parched due to the warm weather and had a lemon soda in a shop outside before boarding our car to proceed to our next destination – Sringeri.

To be continued...

View from the Raja Gopuram top