Gokarna 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.

ARCHITECTURE :

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.

HISTORY :

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.