Murudeshwar Temple
Location :
Murudeshwar is around 180 km from Mangalore on the National Highway. On
the route along the highway is the alluring Maravanthe Beach with the
Arabian Sea roaring on the west and a serene river on the east along
this route for almost 2 km.
About the Temple :
Bounded by the shimmering sea and rolling hills, the place is a
favourite picnic spot. WIth the roaring sea to the west, the towering
hills to the east and the coconut and areca groves nearby, the temple
attracts a lot of devotees and tourists as well. The sea is an intrinsic
part of the temple scape at Murudeshwar. The sea surrounds the temple
towering on the small hill called Kanduka Giri on three sides.
Two life-size elephants in concrete stand guard at the
steps leading to the temple. The Murudeshwar temple has a history that
dates back to a few centuries. The temple, which embodies a linga, is
believed to have erupted when Ravana flung the cloth covering the
atmatlinga at Gokarana while lifting it. As one ascends the hillock,
there is a shrine of Jattiga seated on a horse.
The locals here have an interesting legend to relate as to how the
linga came to be established at Murudeshwar. It is said that Ravana’s
mother expressed a keen desire to worship the atmalinga of Lord Shiva.
Ravana, the ever-devoted son, set out to Kailash to fulfill his mother’s
wishes and went into penance. Lord Shiva was pleased with him and asked
him what he wanted. When Ravana told him that he wanted the atmalinga,
Shiva willingly parted with it. But the atmalinga came with a warning.
Shiva told him that the atmalinga would fix itself at the first site on
which Ravana would place it. Had Ravana established the atmalinga, he
would have become the all powerful, invincible and immortal.
