November 24, 2021November 24, 2021Gokarna Mahabaleshwar Temple, Karnataka :OVERVIEW OF THE TEMPLE :The Mahabaleshwar Temple, Gokarna plays an important part in giving beach town Gokarna the reputation of a pilgrimage centre. The temple is devoted to Lord Mahabaleshwar, a form of Lord Shiva. The temple is named after the stunning 6 ft. tall Atma Linga situated inside the temple on a square molded dark stone dais (Shaligrama Peetha) with an opening at the centre. The devotees can just get a glimpse of the highest point of the linga until the day of Ashta Bandana Kumbhahishekam in every 40 years when it is seen completely.The principal god at this shrine is a 1500 year old antique stone sculpture of Lord Shiva. The area of the temple is considered more auspicious being facing the west, flanked by the Karwar sea shore on the Arabian Sea. By custom, the bhakts must take a bath at the beach, then pay obeisance at the neighboring Maha Ganapati Temple prior to entering into the Mahabaleshwar Temple. The temple is altogether considered as one of the seven sacred Mukti Sthala sanctuaries (spot of salvation) in Karnataka. The other six Mukti Sthalas are at Udupi, Subrahmanya, Kollur, Kumbasi Sankaranarayana and Koteshvara. It’s a generally expected practice among the Hindu bhakts to perform the last customs of their expired family members at the Mahabaleshwar Temple.The temple particularly buzzes with lakhs of devotees during the Maha Shivratri.https://twitter.com/nirvandiaries/status/1280029831854350336ARCHITECTURE :With granite architecture displaying the traditional Dravidian style of construction and patterns, the Gokarna Mahabaleshwar Temple can lead prehistoric and archaeology enthusiasts into a time traveling experience back to the fourth century CE during the rule of King Mayurasharma of the Kadamba Dynasty when the temple was built.Aside from the stone figure of Lord Shiva and the astounding Atma Lingam encased inside the Shaligrama Peetha, the Mahabaleshwar Temple, Gokarna is encircled by places of worship of Maha Ganapati, Thamira Gowri (Goddess Parvati), Chandikeswara, Aadi Gokarneswara, Gokarnanayagi and Dattatreya.https://twitter.com/hashtag/gokarna%21%21HISTORY :According to legends, the Mahabaleshwar Temple in Gokarna is the lost home to the first Atma Linga of Lord Shiva from its first abode at Mount Kailash in the Himalayas.The story goes that the evil king of Lanka, Ravana, performed a long penance to Lord Shiva after the king’s mother had expressed a wish to worship the first Atma Linga of Lord Shiva. Satisfied with Ravana’s earnest endeavors at penance, Lord Shiva allowed his bhakt the two wishes he had made.Two Boons :To begin with, according to the wish, the Lord gave Ravana his Atma Linga, however on condition that he ought not put it down on the ground. Else it would get permanently embedded on that very ground where it is dropped. And as per the second wish, giving the king a companion as beautiful as the Lord’s wife Uma, Lord Shiva chose to let his wife go with Ravana, for there was none equivalent to Uma than she herself.At the sincere call from Uma, Lord Vishnu chose to salvage the circumstance. He was likewise doubtful that having the Atma Linga would make the evil king Ravana a strong force who might actually destroy the world. Subsequently, he disguised as a fatigued Brahmin while Ravana had arrived at Gokarna on his way back to Lanka.Lord Vishnu fooled the evil king into exchanging Uma for Mandodari, the daughter of Mayasura. He likewise called upon Lord Ganapati (Ganesha) to trick Ravana into putting down the Linga.At that exact same spot, Ganapati showed up before Ravana masked as a cowherd. Realizing that it was time for his evening prayers (Sandhyavandana), Ravana requested Ganapati to hold the Linga until he returned from his prayers. Resisting the request of the king, Lord Ganapati put down the Linga on the ground.No sooner, the Atma Linga got solidly embedded into the earth. Notwithstanding the strong endeavors by Ravana, the Linga stayed entrenched in into the ground. Incapable to remove the Linga from the ground, Ravana called it Mahabala (the strongest). And since then the Linga came to be known as Mahabaleshwar.https://twitter.com/hashtag/gokarna%21%21Select your reaction+1 1+1 0+1 0+1 0+1 0 Facebook Twitter Email Telegram Related Temples Temple Purana GokarnaKarnatakalingamahabaleshwarraavanaShiva
Ram Temples Real Ramayana Places – Rama Vanvaas Sthalam (Part 1) July 1, 2022July 3, 2022यत्क्रौञ्चमिथुनादेकमवधीः काममोहितम् – the shloka used by Mahrishi Valmiki to initiate writing the legend of Ramayana, making this itihas an eternal part of our values and traditions. This shloka means that a pair of krounchas (heron) were separated with the male bird being killed by the hunter because of his desire, desire to hunt innocent animals and birds for pleasure and business purposes. ‘Desire’ was the core and prime reason for the whole Ramayana. Maa Kaikeyi expressed her desire to make his son ‘Bharata’ the Maharaja of Ayodhya Saamrajya and asked Shri Rama to go into exile for 14 years away from their kingdom. For the sake of his father’s (Maharaja Dashratha’s) promise that he made to Kaikeyi, Shri Rama left for vanvaas and that’s how we got our ‘Maryada Purushottam’. Read More
Temple Circuits Sringeri Sharadhambal Temple, Karnataka : November 28, 2021November 28, 2021Sri Adi Shankaracharya established the Sringeri Sharada Temple in the eighth century. It housed a standing sandalwood sculpture of Shardamba introduced by Adi Shankarachaya until the fourteenth century, when the Vijayanagara rulers and Sri Vidyaranya (twelfth Jagadguru) installed a situated gold sculpture of Sri Shardamba. The old temple of Sri Sharada, the presiding divinity of Sringeri, has a great history that starts with Sri Sankara Bhagavatpada’s foundation of the Dakshinamnaya Peetham. Initially, it was a basic holy place with the Murti of Sharada made of sandalwood introduced over the Sri Chakra cut on a stone by Sri Adi Shankara. Sri Bharati Krishna Tirtha and Sri Vidyaranya consequently had a temple constructed in the Kerala style, with a timber and tiled rooftop. Read More
Ram Temples Real Ramayana Places – Rama Vanvaas Sthalam (Part 2) July 4, 2022July 5, 2022It was at this place where Lakshmana made a kutiya (hermitage) for them to stay. The still water of river Mandakini and floral beauty made this place the most ideal for Shri Rama to do Tapasya. Bharata, who was unaware of all this scenario created by Maa Kaikeyi whose ears were poisoned by her maid ‘Manthara’, came to meet his brother Shri Rama at Chitrakuta. He urged him to return to the kingdom and accept the crown of Ayodhya Maharaja. However, Maryada Purushottam could not go back on his word and disrespect his father, cementing the tag that he got. On seeing the firm determination of Shri Rama, Bharata decided to return back to Ayodhya with Shri Ram’s charan paduka (footwear), which he would worship every day and be placed on the throne on his behalf. Bharata was the caretaker of the Ayodhya Saamrajya for the next 14 years. Read More