Murudeshwar temple Attractions in Karnataka travels

The state of Karnataka has a lot of religious fervour to it, what with the innumerable pilgrim locales that are so much a part of this erstwhile royal state.  This is the place where many kings of the past have had lovely experiences and where the royal touch still seems to glimmer in more ways than one.

With the excellent temple architectural forms, the Murudeshwar temple becomes a must see in this part of the world. With the presiding deity as Lord Shiva, this holy beach town situated in the Bhatkal Taluk or the district of Uttara Kannada is a very famous pilgrim spot in the Karnataka state. Located between Bhatkal and Honnavar, this temple is famous for having the tallest statue in the world. The statue is of the Lord Shiva and the temple lies on the Arabian Sea Coast. This Shiva statue is seen with Ravana holding the Atma Linga to the Brahmin Boy who is actually Lord Ganesha in disguise.

Murudeshwara refers to Lord Shiva or Ishwara. There is a lot of significance to this holy place.

Legend

It is said that the Atma Linga or the divine Shiva Lingam, came in Ravana’s hands after he happened to please Lord Shiva with his penance. Ravana the king of Lanka worshipped this Atma Linga so much so that Lord Shiva appeared before him and asked what he wanted. Ravana wanted to get immortality and invincibility. This was known to Lord Vishnu. So just at the moment when he had to ask for a wish from Lord Shiva, Ravana’s mind was changed by Lord Vishnu and Ravana landed up asking for goddess Parvati instead. Lord Shiva agreed to the request.

While Ravana was going back to Lanka, Sage Narada tricks him and tells him that the real Goddess Parvati was in Pathala. So Ravana lets go of the Parvathi with him (who was the real one actually) and marries a king’s daughter in Pathala thinking it is the real Goddess. Later Ravana comes to known that he was tricked and so he gets angry with Lord Vishnu and against meditates to please Lord Shiva. When Lord Shiva appears he asks for the Atma Linga itself which Shiva grants him but says that the moment the linga is kept on the ground, all powers would come to Shiva again. Ravana goes to Lanka with the Atma Linga, and again Sage Narada realizing that the presence of the Atma linga meant that Ravana would get immortality, decides to foil his plan. So Sage Narada asks Ganesha to do something. Ravana nears Gokarna and at this time, Lord Vishnu blocks the sun giving the impression to Ravana that it was dusk. Ravana wanting to perform his evening rituals wonders where to put the Atma Linga, and at that time sees a Brahman boy coming towards him. This Brahmin boy was none other than Ganesha.

Ravana asks Ganesha to hold the Atma Linga and performs his puja. Ganesha says that he would call thrice and if by then Ravana’s work is not over he would go away. Ravana aggress and goes to perform his rituals. Ganesha takes the Atma Linga and places it on the ground. Vishnu takes away the darkness. Ravana realized he was duped and tries to take off the Atma Linga, but could not. In anger, Ravana threw the cover of the linga far away and it landed in a place called Sajjeswara. The lid of the case he threw very far and it fell in a place which is Guneshwara or Gunavanthe and also Dhareshwara. The cloth that covered the Atma Linga was thrown in fury by Ravana to a place called Murudeshwara on the Kanduka Hill. Today this is what Murudeshwara is.

Today this temple here stands and it is also said that this is the place where Saint Bhaghiratha waited as Goddess Ganga landed on Lord Shiva’s mat of hair or jata from Heaven.

The temple

The temple of Murudeshwar is on the Kanduka Hill and has water surrounding it on three sides. This temple has a 20 storied Gopuram which is the latest addition. There are two huge elephants at the entry point and the whole temple is said to be having the tallest gopuram in the entire world. There is a fort which is found behind the temple and this was said to be reconstructed by Tipu Sultan.

There is a lovely beach here and there is something really serene about his place. So enjoy the Bhatkal beach and also the Murudeshwar beach which gives you great scenic sights along with some opportunities for shopping for handicraft articles which are typical of this place. An ideal place for swimming November to February are the best months you could visit this region.

How to Reach

One can reach Murudeshwar by taking the national highway 206 from Bangalore to Honnavar. Then take the NH 17 and you reach Murudeshwar. The nearest railhead is the Murudeshwar station which lies on the Konkan Railway. Then the nearest airport is the Mangalore International Airport.

With beautiful legends and ideal travel pleasures, Murudeshwar become a great spot to visit in this part of India. Some of the best tour delights are obtained from such beautiful experiences existing in this part of the world. It is an interesting option to visit these places and get enchanted by the tradition and culture of the country.