The city of Kashi is filled with temples, big and small, old and new. There are temples at every corner, and you never know where you will stumble upon a small shrine. There are idols beneath what remains of trees (there are hardly any trees any more within the core area of the city), there are saffron covered forms resembling deities which seem attached to walls, an especially incongruous sight when the idol itself appears to be old, while the wall is evidently new…. And there are surprisingly large temples rising from what appear to be a bunch of houses. The city is sometimes colloquially said to be as old as time, and some of the shrines and temples are said to date back to times unknown, at least the deity itself, if not the structure. Not much remains of the ancient structures anyway. The city has seen more than its fair share of good and bad times. It has seen the heights of grandeur, and the lows brought about by destruction. The city that exists today has grown so haphaza...
We continued our Gokarna trip by visiting four other Shiva temples in the vicinity, all connected to the same story of Gokarna. The story of Gokarna mentions the Mahabaleshwara Lingam as the one brought from Kailas by Ravana, and kept at this place on the ground by Ganesha. (See my earlier post- Gokarna – Pilgrimage and Pleasure). However, the story does not end here. It is believed that, in his anger, Ravana flung aside the materials which covered the lingam- the casket, its lid, the string around the lingam, and the cloth covering it. All these items became lingams as soon as they touched the ground. These four lingams, along with the main Mahabaleshwara lingam are collectively called the ‘ Panchalingams’ . These are: Mahabaleshwara – the main lingam Sajjeshwar – the casket carrying the lingam. This temple is about 35 Kms from Karwar, and is a 2 hour drive from Gokarna. Dhareshwar – the string covering the lingam. This temple is on NH17, about 45 Kms south of Gokarna. Gunavanteshw...

Awww, really you were intruding in privacy... I can see that ! :P
ReplyDeletea lucky capture indeed ! Beautiful pic :) You do seem to have a very steady hand :)
ReplyDeleteBeautiful click, I like those who ignore my presence!
ReplyDeleteExcellent shot.. Loved the pink flower .
ReplyDeleteNice Shot :)... He didn't really like it is it?
ReplyDelete@Nisha: what to do???? we are getting to be more intrusive with our cameras!
ReplyDelete@Lavanya: thanks.... i took two shots and the first didnt come out so well... so its still trial and error!
@Mridula: thanks..... totally agree!!!
@Chitra: thanks!
@Shilpa: thanks..... no he really didnt! u should have seen the way he buzzed at us!
lol, how do you know it is a 'he' :P nice pic!
ReplyDelete