Murudeshwara

Murudeshwara Temple

Murudeshwar is a town in Bhatkal Taluk of Uttara Kannada district in the state of Karnataka, India. "Murudeshwar" is another name of the Hindu god Shiva. Famous for the world's second-tallest Shiva statue, Murudeshwar beach town lies on the coast of the Arabian Sea and is also famous for the Murudeshwar Temple.

The origin of the name "Murudeshwar" dates to the time of Ramayana.

The Lanka King Ravana wanted to attain immortality by obtaining the Atma-Linga (Soul of Shiva). Since the Atma-Linga belonged to Lord Shiva, Ravana worshipped Shiva with devotion. Pleased by his prayers, Lord Shiva appeared before him and asked him what he wanted. By this time Narada had asked Lord Vishnu to change Ravana's mind. As a result of this plot, Ravana asks for Goddess Parvati, and Lord Shiva offers her to him. On his way back to Lanka Narada tells Ravana that Lord had not given him the real Parvathi and that the real Parvathi was in Pathala. So Ravana frees his companion,goes to Pathala and marries a king's daughter, assuming her to be the real Parvathi. He then returns to Lanka, where his mother asks him for the Linga. Ravana then comes to know of the tricks played on him by Lord Vishnu. He therefore prays to Lord Shiva again, begging for his forgiveness. Lord Shiva appears and this time, Ravana requests the AtmaLinga as his boon. Lord Shiva agrees to give him the boon with the condition that it should never be placed on the ground. If the AtmaLinga was ever placed on the ground, all the powers would return to Lord Shiva again. Having obtained his boon, Ravana started back on his journey to Lanka.

Sage Narada, who came to know of this incident, realised that with the AtmaLinga, Ravana may obtain immortality and create havoc on earth. He approached the Lord Ganesh and requested him to prevent the AtmaLinga from reaching Lanka. Lord Ganesh knew that Ravana was a very devoted person who used to perform prayer ritual in the evening every day without fail. He decided to make use of this fact and came up with a plan to confiscate the AtmaLinga from Ravana.

As Ravana was nearing Gokarna, Lord Vishnu blotted out the sun to give the appearance of dusk. Ravana now had to perform his evening rituals but was worried because with the AtmaLinga in his hands, he would not be able to do his rituals. At this time, Lord Ganesh in the disguise of a Brahmin boy accosted him. Ravana requested him to hold the AtmaLinga until he performed his rituals, and asked him not to place it on the ground. Ganesh struck a deal with him saying that he would call Ravana thrice, and if Ravana did not return within that time, he would place the AtmaLinga on the ground.

As predicted, before Ravana could return after completing his rituals, Ganesh had already placed the AtmaLinga on the ground. Vishnu then removed his illusion and it was daylight again. Ravana, realising that he tried to uproot and destroy it. Due to the force exerted by Ravana, some pieces were scattered. One such piece from the head of the linga is said to have fallen in present day Surathkal. The famous Sadashiva temple is said to be built around that piece of linga. Then he decided to destroy the covering of the AtmaLinga, and threw the case covering it to a place called Sajjeshwara, 23 miles away. Then he threw the lid of the case to a place called Guneshwara (now Gunavanthe) and Dhareshwara, 10–12 miles away. Finally, he threw the cloth covering the AtmaLinga to a place called Mrideshwara in Kanduka-Giri (Kanduka Hill). Mrideshwara has been renamed to Murudeshwar. There is a depiction of this story below the Shiva idol in the form of a cave

Attractions

Murudeshwar Temple and Raja Gopura: This temple is built on the Kanduka Hill which is surrounded on three sides by the waters of the Arabian Sea. It is dedicated to the Lord Shiva, and a 20-storied Gopura is constructed at the temple. The temple authorities have installed a lift that provides a breath-taking view of the 123-feet Lord Shiva idol from the top of the Raja gopura. There is also a Rameshwar linga at the bottom of the hill, where devotees can do seva themselves. A Shaneswara temple has been built next to the idol of Lord Shiva. Two life-size elephants in concrete stand guard at the steps leading to it. The entire temple and temple complex, including the 237.5-feet-tall Raja Gopura, is one among the tallest, was constructed to its present form by businessman and philanthropist R. N. Shetty.

The temple is entirely modernized with exception of the sanctum sanctorum which is still dark and retains its composure. The main deity is Sri Mridesa Linga, also called Murudeswara. The linga is believed to be a piece of the original Atma Linga and is about two feet below ground level. The devotees performing special sevas like Abhisheka, Rudrabhisheka, Rathotsava etc. can view the deity by standing before the threshold of the sanctum and the Lingam is illuminated by oil lamps held close by the priests. The Lingam is essentially a rough rock inside a hollowed spot in the ground. Entry into the sanctum is banned for all devotees.

Statue of Lord Shiva: A huge towering statue of Lord Shiva, visible from great distances, is present in the temple complex. It is the second highest statue of Lord Shiva in the world. The Tallest Lord shiva statue is in Nepal known as the(Kailashnath Mahadev Statue). The statue is 123 feet (37 m) in height and took about two years to build. The statue was built by Shivamogga's Kashinath and several other sculptors, financed by businessman and philanthropist R.N. Shetty, at a cost of approximately 50 million Rs. The idol is designed such that it gets the sunlight directly and thus appears sparkling.Originally, the statue had four arms and was

adorned in gold paint. However, large wind gusts blew one arm off (the one that held a small drum), and rain dissolved the paint

Murudeshwar Beach

Murudeshwar beach has two beautiful temples and the statues are majestic. But the beach is used for fishing and the sea shore is inhabited by crabs. One can see crabs digging holes in the beach sand. Bathing is not allowed in the beach since the sea is inhabited by crabs and people are prone to getting bit.

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Nearest Cities: Kumta,Honnavara,Bhatkal,Sirsi,Karwar

Distances from Idagunji:

Sirsi – 110 km

Kumta – 47  km

Honnavar – 27 km

Bhatkal – 15 km

Karwar – 110 km

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