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Shiva Of Murudeshwara
Apart from being a small village in the taluk of Bhatkal in north Kannada in Karnataka, Murudeshwar is also a name of the might Lord Mahadev - one of the Hindu Trinity. The city is well known for its pristine beach and is on the shores of the Arabian Sea. This place houses the second tallest statue of Lord Shiva in the entire world. The old Murudeshwar temple also is seen here. While the best airport to fly into is at Mangalore which is 160 kms away, the town has a rail head on the Konkan rail map.
Origin
The demon king Ravana who ruled Lanka, in spite of being an Asura was an ardent Shaivite and had attained the status of being the best bhakt of Shiva. He wanted to become immortal and therefore, started doing penance to receive the Atmalinga or the soul of Siva. Narad saw this in his mind and realising that Ravana getting the Atmalinga would not be good for the universe, played a trick and requested Lord Vishnu to change the mind of Ravana. When lord Siva appeared in front of Ravana, being happy with his penance, instead of asking for his soul, he asked for his wife, God Parvathi. Shiva sent off Lord Parvathi with Ravana but Narad again changes his mind saying that Lord Shiva did not give him the actual Goddess, as she was under the ground in Pathala region and this lady was somebody else. So Ravana leaves Parvathi and goes to the Pathala region and marries a princess, assuming her to be Lord Parvathi. However, he soon realises his mistake and goes back to his penance again and this time when Lord Shiva appears before him asks for the Atmalinga. The lord grants him his boon with the advice that if Ravana kept the Linga on the ground, then he will not be able to take it back.
Narada was again upset because he could foresee that Ravana will create a lot of misery if he became immortal and would trouble the inmates on the earth. Therefore, he rushed to Ganesha, who is Lord Shiva’s son and requested him to help in seizing the Linga from Ravana. Since Ganesha already was aware that Ravana was a pious Asura, who did pooja in the mornings and evenings on all days, he decided to use this against him and make him part with the Atmalinga so he could not take the soul of Lord Shiva back to his place in Lanka.
Ravana was on his way back to Lanka and had reached Gokarna when the sun went down indicating it had become evening. Ganesha had actually requested the Sun God to go down so Ravana would be compelled to do the pooja of the evening. Since Ravana was holding the Atmalinga, he looked around for somebody who could hold the Linga for him and Ganesha appeared before him in the form of a small Brahmin boy and agreed to hold it until he came back. But he also told him that if Ravana did not come after he called three times, he would be forced to keep the Linga down and leave.
Ganesha placed the Linga on the ground and left before Ravana could come back. The Sun god appeared immediately and Ravana realised that he had been tricked again. He was very angry and tried to pull the Linga off the surface. Because he used a lot of effort to pull off the Linga, there were pieces of the Atmalinga that were shattered and flew to different places. Surathkal is the place where the shreds of the Atmalinga’s head fell. This houses the Sadashiva temple today. A fierce Ravana tore the shield of Atmalinga sending the pieces flying to Sajjeshwara, close to 23 miles from the spot. He scattered the cover of the Linga in places Guneshwara or Gunavanthe and Dhareshwara at a distance of 12 miles from the spot. The sheath that covered the Atmalinga was strewn in Mrideshwara that was in the Kanduka Hills. This was later rechristened as Murudeshwar.
Major Attractions
Murudeshwar Temple and Raja Gopura
Set in a scenic surrounding with Arabian seas on the three sides, the temple dedicated to Lord Shiva at Murudeshwar is set on the hills of the Kanduka region. In the recent days, there has been a gopuram which has twenty layers that has come up. The tourists can also make use of the life at the temple to get to the peak of the tower and can have a heavenly view of the statue of Shiva at the top. For tourists who cannot get to the top, they can offer their prayers by performing abhishekams to the linga at the Ramaeshwarlinga which is below the hill. The temple also houses a separate shrine for Shaneswara adjacent to the main shrine. The tourists are given a warm welcome to the shrine by a couple of big sized elephants made in cement as they stand on either side of the steps. The whole structure encompassing the place of worship, the second largest tower in the world that is two hundred and thirty seven point five feet in length, all owe a lot to its sponsor R.N. Shetty who engaged himself in the temple activities.
There are a lot of changes that have been made at the temple keeping in line with the present day trends. The only place that still remains unchanged is the main shrine of the Mridesa Linga, known commonly as Lord Murudeshwar. Tourists are not allowed inside, but those who are planning to do Abishekams, Rudrabishegam or other rituals, then they can stand near the entrance of the Garba Griha and the priests will give them a close darshan of the linga with the help of lamps that are lighted inside. Murudeshwar Lingam is made of rock material and is housed in a deep place on level surface.
Statue of Lord Shiva
The statue of Lord Shiva that can be seen right from the time you alight at the town of Murudeshwar has the credit of being on the second spot amidst all the Shiva statues in the world. The one that is taller than this is the Kaiashnath Mahadev Statue in Nepal. This statue measuring 37 mts and was in the making for a couple of years. The main brain behind the statue is the broad minded R.N. Shetty who had engaged the best sculptor in Shivamogga named Kashinath. The entire project is supposed to have cost fifty million Indian rupees. The statue is strategically positioned to shimmer in the sunlight giving it a glowing look. When the statue came up, it was golden in colour and had four hands. However, the high breeze had taken a toll on one hand as well as the paint going off because of the rain and the current statue looks silver in colour.
Murudeshwar Beach
The beach is famous for the temples as well as the marvellous structures in these temples, making it an ideal religious tourist spot. However, the sea shore has a lot of crabs that have made it their homes and therefore, devotees are restricted from having a bath in the Murudeshwar beach for their own safety from the crabs.
Where to Eat
As there is more of a religious crowd that comes to this place, there are a lot of vegetarian eateries in this place. For the best eateries, tourists can go to NH 17 or the ones closer to the sea shores. For fast food lovers and non-vegetarians, there are a few smaller eat outs just outside the railway station and these offer Chinese fast foods and the spicy Punjabi khana. There are some eateries closer to the bypass in Murudeshwar where one can find non-veg food.
Where to Stay
Tourists have no dearth of accommodation facilities in Murudeshwar. Depending on the range of tourists, they can find average options for accommodation near the rail head or quite a few better options at the central bus stop. There is a top class hotel offering great accommodation and view as it is just on the sea shore.
Murudeshwar Temple Timings
The temple is generally open early at 5 am and remains open until 9 in the evening. The schedule could change during special occasions.
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How to Reach Murudeshwa
Road
This is just a km away from the NH. Tourists can either take the Udupi-Kundapur-Byndoor-Bhatkal-Murudeshwar road from Mangalore or take the Kumata-Honavar-Murudeshwar route from Karwar.
Rail
There are many trains on the Konkan railway that connect Mangalore to Goa and have a break at Murudeshwar. Hubli is the closest railway station.
Nearest Airport
Tourists can fly into either Mangalore or Goa to reach Murudeshwar.
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