Skip to main content

Featured Post

Review of Executive Lounges at New Delhi Railway Station (NDLS)

During my recent trip to Uttarakhand , I was faced with a problem I had never encountered before. We were passing through Delhi, but we had hardly any time in the city. On earlier visits when I have had to change trains/flights at Delhi, I have always arrived in the morning and left again at night, visiting relatives in between. This time, I was arriving in the city at night, and leaving again early in the morning. There was hardly any time to visit people. I would only have a couple of hours with them before I’d have to leave again. For the first time, we considered booking a hotel, but there again, we were hesitant about the actual hotels, the costs involved, and the logistics of getting from the airport to the railway station and then back again from the station to the airport.  That’s when we remembered reading something about a corporate-managed lounge at Delhi station. We soon figured out that we could book online and pay by the hour. Besides, we also learnt that there wasn’t ju

Gokarna Mahaganapathi Temple

It looks like a small temple in the middle of the road… a common sight across India. However, this is no ordinary temple, but has a history going back centuries. This is the Mahaganapathy Temple at Gokarna.



In an era long before the events of the Ramayana took place, Ravana, it is said, brought a lingam from Kailasa, the abode of Lord Shiva. There are many stories regarding this Lingam. Some legends attribute it to Ravana’s ardent penance, and insistence on cutting off his heads if Shiva did not appear before him; while others say that Ravana wanted a special lingam for his mother to pray to. No matter what the reason, Lord Shiva did indeed hand over a special lingam to Ravana – the atmalingam – to take home to Lanka.



Lord Shiva may have been pleased with his devotee and the lingam was a token of his appreciation, but, to the Gods, this was a sign of danger. They feared that Ravana would soon grow invincible, and asked Ganesha for help in stopping Ravana from taking the lingam to Lanka. Ganesha approached Ravana in the guise of a young boy, while the Gods darkened the skies and created the illusion of sunset. Ravana, being the devout believer in rituals, realised he had to perform his evening rituals before sunset. He had been told by Shiva not to place the lingam on the ground before reaching Lanka, so he asked the young boy who appeared so obligingly, to hold the lingam while he performed the rituals.

Even the dwarapalakas or door guardians
are shown like standing Ganeshas. 


The young boy agreed, but placed one condition – he would only hold it for as long as he could. And then he would call out thrice. If Ravana had not returned by then, he would place the lingam on the ground. Ravana was in a quandary, but having little recourse, agreed, and started his prayers. As if on cue, the young boy called out “The lingam is too heavy. I cannot hold it any longer. Come and take it back!” Ravana panicked, but he had already started his prayers. He signalled the boy to wait, and hurried on. To his utter consternation, the boy called out once more, and then, immediately after that, once more. Leaving his prayers unfinished, he ran, only to find the boy keeping the lingam on the ground.

Leaving the boy for the moment, Ravana turned his attention to the lingam, trying to pull it off the ground, but all his efforts were in vain. The lingam seemed to have struck roots in the ground, and, though he twisted and turned and pulled, it remained there forever. It was only when he realised the futility of his actions that Ravana turned his attention to the cause of the problem  - the young boy. The boy, sensing danger had begun to run, but Ravana caught up, and hit him on the head. That’s when the boy revealed his true identity. Ravana was shocked that the gods would play such a trick on him. However, it was too late to do anything, and he gave up.

It is said that Ravana was the first to build a temple here over the lingam which had fixed itself to the ground. It came to be known as ‘Mahabaleshwara’ – the powerful one. Later, someone built another temple, to the one who responsible for the lingam stuck here – Ganesha. He is called ‘Mahaganapathi’, and he is shown here in standing posture, a form he is seldom seen in. Moreover, on his head is a small depression, which is said to be a reminder of Ravana’s blow. Photography is not allowed inside the temple, so here is a pic from the internet of Ganesha as he is seen here.

Image from the internet :
 http://www.hoparoundindia.com/


Interestingly, there are 6 temples, all along this coastline, which show Ganesha in the same form. We had visited these temples on our tour of Coastal Karnataka in 2008, and have written about them here.  

These 5 other temples are located at Idagunji, Anegudde, Hattiangady, Mangalore and Kasargod, and if you are ever in the area, do go and visit. Here are some details to help plan your trip:

  • The temples are open roughly from 6 AM to 12 Noon and again from 5 PM to 9 PM. The exact time varies from temple to temple, but this should help you plan ahead.

  • Idagunji is about 15 Km from Honnavar, 66 Km from Gokarna and 20 Km from Murdeshwar. This area is known for its Lavancha, or vettiver, and around the temple are plenty of shops selling the fragrant grass as well as items made with it. For more information about the temple, visit the temple website at http://www.idagunjidevaru.com

  • The temple at Anegudde or Kumbhasi is located at a distance of 96 Km from Mangalore, 9 Km from Kundapura and 30 Km from Udupi.

  • Hattiangadi, located just 15 Km from Anegudde, is known not just for the Ganesha temple, but also for its many other temples as well as Jain basadis. If you are in the area, do visit these too.

  • Sharavu Mahaganapathi is located within Mangalore city, and is quite well known. This is the only one among the 6 temples to house not just Ganesha, but also his parents, Shiva and Parvati.

  • The last among the 6 temples is the southernmost one, located at Madhur, 5 Km from Kasargod, which is now in Kerala. 

Related Posts:

Comments

  1. Nice one. when did you visit? i have visited this temple 4 years back..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Chitra. I have visited this temple twice.... the first time in 2008, and the second just a few weeks back :D

      Delete
  2. I have done this route innumerable during my summer vacations during school days . I think there is one more ganesha temple in shirali which is near gokarna making the count to 7.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. you are lucky indeed to have been there so many times!!!! every time i go there, I wish i didnt have to come back! and i didnt know about the Shirali temple. will check it out the next time i go there... have u written about it?

      Delete

Post a Comment

Thanks so much for stopping by. Please leave a comment for me so that I will know you have been here....

Popular posts from this blog

Gokarna Part II – The Five Lingams

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

The Havelis of Bikaner - A Photo Post

The lanes are narrow , twisting and turning amidst buildings old and new. Crumbling old structures with intricate workmanship stand side by side with art deco buildings, and more modern constructions, which follow no particular style. Autos, bicycles, motorcycles and vans rush past, blowing their horns as loudly as possible, while cows saunter past peacefully, completely unaffected by the noise. In the midst of all this chaos, children play by the side, and women go about their chores, as we explore these by-lanes of Bikaner, and its beautiful Havelis. Facade of one of the Rampuria Havelis

The Elephanta Caves

The Elephanta Caves , located on Elephanta Island, or Gharapuri, about 11 Km off the coast of the Gateway of India, Mumbai, are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A visit to these caves, excavated probably in the 6 th century CE, is awe-inspiring, and also thought-provoking. Over the years, I have visited the caves a number of times, and also attended a number of talks by experts in the fields of art, history and archaeology on the caves. Together, they help me understand these caves, their art, and the people they were created for, just a little bit better. Every new visit, every new talk, every new article I read about the caves, fleshes out the image of what the island and the caves would have been like, at their peak. I last wrote about the caves on this blog, in 2011, almost exactly 11 years ago. Since then, my understanding of the caves has, I would like to think, marginally improved. Hence this attempt to write a new and updated post, trying to bring to life, the caves of Elephan