Gokarna - Part 2 - Street Walking : Photographer's Delight
This tinsel town offers you umpteen opportunities to shoot life on the streets. So today after breakfast we just set off to explore this town on our own by walk.
Before we begin this journey, I want to give you all a background about this place so that you will be able to relate this with the rest of the content in my blog.
Here goes the Legend: Ramayana’s very famous character Ravana (Demon king of Lanka) performed severe penance in Mount Kailash to bring Load Shiva’s Atmalinga for his mom to worship. Lord Shiva gets impressed with his penance and gives him his Atmalinga with one condition that it should never be placed on the ground till he reaches the designated location. In case if he places it on ground, it will remain rooted on the spot and will not be able to take it out. With that Ravana started his journey to Sri Lanka from Mt Kailash. All the gods will be worried now since with this boon, Ravana will be even more powerful and unstoppable. They pray to Lord Vishnu and Lord Ganesha to help prevent Ravana from taking this Atmalinga home. As Ravana was nearing Gokarna, Lord Vishnu with the help of his Sudarshana chakra covered up the sun to give a dusky appearance. Ravana who was very particular when it comes to rituals realized that it was time for Sandhya Vandana (Salutations to Sun god at sunset by taking holy dip in sea). But since he is not supposed to keep the Atmalinga down, he looks for options. At that time, Lord Ganesha walks towards Ravana disguised as a Brahmin boy grazing cows. Ravana requests him to keep the Atmalinga in his hand till he comes back. Ganesha agrees on one condition that he will hold it until he is able to bear the weight of Atmalinga. In case he is not able to, he would call Ravana 3 times. If Ravana doesn’t return after 3rd call, he would place the Atmalinga on ground. With that condition Ravana agrees, starts walking towards the sea to perform rituals. As he starts the ritual, Ganesha starts calling his name. He calls thrice and by the time Ravana reaches the shore, Ganesha places the Atmalinga on the ground. Ganesha tries to flee but Ravana catches him and hits him on the head. Furious Ravana then tries to lift the Atmalinga but in vain. Due to the force exerted by Ravana, the coverings of the Linga gets thrown to Surathkal, Dhareshwara, Gunavanteshwara, Murudeshwara and Shejjeshwar temples. In his further attempt to uproot the Linga from the ground, the Linga takes the shape of cow’s ear. Hence this place is called “GoKarna” (Go = Cow, Karna =Ear). He names this as “Mahabal” (powerful) and the temple which houses this Linga is called “Mahalableshwar”.
With that background let us walk along the streets of Gokarna to feel the experience of this epic journey
Koti Teertha
Our starting point was Koti Teertha. This is one of the unique places in Gokarna which is surrounded by narrow lanes, artistic murals on walls and colorful temples. Last remains/ashes are immersed here. Also, Pind Dana is performed here as a mark of offerings to departed soul.
Patta Vinayaka Temple
This temple is located on the south eastern side of Koti Teertha.
Patta Vinayak temple denotes the coronation of Ganesha after he helped the devatas reclaim Atmalinga from Ravana. Since it is located at the far end of the Koti Teertha, not many people notice this temple and hence its less crowded also. We got a very good darshan of Lord Ganesha here.
Shri Gopalakrishna temple
As you walk futher alongside Koti Teertha, you will find Shri Gopalkrishna temple.
The statue is artfully carved in a granite-like stone and shows Krishna holding a flute. We didn’t find a priest inside the temple neither we could find anything written about this temple on the walls.
Shri Kalabhairava temple
This temple is located on the southern banks of Koti Teertha temple.
You will find staircases on the east and the west leading to a common entrance. We prayed to Lord but couldn’t find a priest who would explain us the story of the deity.
Just like other temples around Koti Teertha, this too wasn’t crowded. From here, we continued walking on the road leading to Mahaganapathi and the main Mahableshwar temple.
Naga Tirtha
This is located on the main road connecting the Mahabaleshwar Temple with Koti Tirtha. It is a narrow lane full of Brahmin houses.
This temple does not require any signpost since you wil find Naga idols placed on the outer walls of the temple. People offer Naga idols to this temple to wade off any Naga dosha which might impact them. Hence you will find Naga idols everywhere around this temple. The linga inside is also adorned with Naga sculptures.
Mahaganapathi temple
This is an ancient temple built in honor of Bala Ganesh who saved the ‘Atma Linga’ from Ravana. This is located right very close to Gokarna Mahableshwara temple. Photography is not allowed inside the temple. The Ganesha Idol is carved out of granite. You can watch him standing tall and facing the sea. If you watch closely, you can even see a small depression on his head which is said to be a reminder of Ravana’s blow.
Gokarna Mahabaleshwar temple
This is the main temple of Gokarna. Request everyone to follow the strict dress code rules of the temple here. Else you will not be allowed to enter.
Since it was a weekend, there was a long queue for Darshan. We joined the darshan queue with others and offerred our prayers to the god. You will get a glimpse of top of the Linga here.
Once you finish darshan on the left side of the temple, you will see Adigokarna. Here you will find Shiva’s Linga. And its believed that there is a tunnel which can go until Kashi and the water you see here is from river Ganga.
After you come out this temple, on the backside of Mahableshwar temple you will find Tamra Gauri temple.
This temple is dedicated to Goddess Parvati (Lord Shiva’s wife). Story behind why she is called Tamra Gowri can be read in the picture taken below.
There is Tamra Teertha also here right opposite to the temple. It is believed that if ashes or ‘asthi’ of a dead man is poured in this pond, he stays in Heaven till the ashes remain in the pond.
After you come out of the Tamra Gauri temple, lastly you will find Indra teertha. Really not sure what is the story behind this sacred pond.
We came out of the temple and walked along the temple street.
Ahilya Bai Holkar Temple
After around 50 meters distance along the temple street, you will find Ahilya Bai Holkar temple.
It is believed that you will find statue of Ahilya Bai Holkar of Malwa holding a Linga in her hand. But unfortunately, it was pitch dark there due to power cut and we couldn’t see the idol clearly neither take pictures.
From here we further started walking towards the bus stand and through the main market.
Upon further walking up on the Gokarna road you will see the most famous Bhadrakali temple.
Shree Bhadrakali Temple
This temple is located on the right side at the entrance of Gokarna. Hence one cannot miss this for sure.
Dedicated to Goddess Uma whose ‘Kali’ avatar or incarnation is worshipped in the temple. Idol of the goddess is seen in her ferocious form with big eyes and four hands holding weapons. When Ravana was returning with Atmalinga, Goddess Uma will be very furious and in that avatar she will returning along with Ravana. But once Ravana places the Atmalinga in Gokarna, since she also needs to reside where Lord Shiva is, she takes the Bhadrakali Avatar to show her anger and decides to stay back in Gokarna in this temple.
As you walk across each street here, every spot oozes out stories from ancient EPICs and you can feel the mythological characters like Ravana, Ganesha, Shiva, Parvathi just pass by your eyes.
Streets of Gokarna have so much to offer - One can wander aimlessly into the narrow lanes of this tinsel town, get soaked in divinity and admire the vibrant colors on the walls which can cheer you up instantly. Thus, Gokarna is a perfect getaway for all kind of travelers – Spiritual, trekkers, beach lovers, Wellness enthusiasts and artists.
Comments
Post a Comment