MURUDESHWARA TEMPLE
AT
UTTARA KANNADA
Murudeshwara
Temple in Bhatkal Taluk, Uttara Kannada District in Karnataka state is famous
for the world’s second tallest Shiva statue. Built on Kanduka hill.
This temple
is truly remarkable for certain extraordinary features not seen in any temple
in the world
.
Located
between Honnavar and Bhatkal, the temple is surrounded on three sides by the
waters of the Arabian Sea, and from the hilltop the scenic landscape that
unfolds in front of our eyes is breathtaking.
Murudeshwara Temple is world renowned for the 123-feet Lord Shiva statue
and a modern Rajagopuram or tower at the entrance of this ancient temple.
This
Rajagopuram is the world's tallest, standing at 249 feet. Inaugurated in May
2008, this mammoth structure is the latest addition to Murudeshwara Temple.
The gopuram has 22 floors and is the only
gopuram to be fitted with elevators. Visitors can go to the topmost floor and
have an aerial view of the Arabian Sea and the statue of Lord Shiva.
Another
exclusive feature of this temple is the life- sized statues of two elephants at
the base of the gopuram.Murudeshwar is famous abode
of Lord Shiva and a popular pilgrimage center in South India.
According to the
legend, Ravana brought the Atma Lingam from Mount Kailash. Lord Ganesha using
his trick fooled Ravana on his way to Lanka and put down the Linga on the
ground at Gokarna.
Angered by this, Ravana
tried to uproot and destroy the Linga. The broken pieces of the lingam were
cast away. The covering cloth of the lingam fell at Kanduka Giri and the
Murudeshwar temple was built at the site.
The Murudeshwar Temple lies on a hill known as Kanduka Giri and the western most
point of the town is a landmass that juts out of the mainland to form a small
peninsula about two km west of the temple.
By Air
Mangalore international airport is the nearest about 153
km away to the south. It is connected to all major cities in the country and
few destinations abroad. Taxis are available from the airport to reach
Murudeshwar.
By Train
Murudeshwar railway station is connected to Mangalore
and Mumbai. Mangalore is the major railhead and it is connected to all major
cities in India. Murudeshwar railway station is just over 2 km east of the town
and can be reached by buses and auto-rickshaws.
By Bus
Private and state run buses connect Murudeshwar to
Mumbai, Kochi and Bengaluru. Situated on the NH17 which connects Mumbai to
Kochi, regular buses ply regularly between the two cities and pass through Mangalore.
Bengaluru is connected to many other important cities in the region.
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