Mahabaleshwar Temple - Gokarna

Shri Samsthana Mahabaleshwara Deva temple is located on the shores of the Arabian Sea in the holy town of Gokarna. Situated on the west coast of India in North Karnataka or Uttara Kannada district, it is one of the major Hindu pilgrim centres of South India.

The meaning of Gokarna is "Cow's Ear". This sacred place is located between the Gangavali and Agnashini river mouth and it is named for the ear-shaped meeting of two rivers. It is also believed that Gokarna gets its name from the legend in which Lord Shiva emerged from the ear of a cow.

This temple is one of the seven Mukti Sthalas of Karnataka with the other seven beings Udupi, Kollur, Subrahmanya, Kumbasi, Kodeshvara and Sankaranarayana. The Mahabaleshwar Shiva temple is regarded second only to the Kashi Vishwanath Shiva Temple in Varanasi and is often called the Dakshina Kashi. 

Vijayanagara Emperor visited the temple and weighed himself in gold here. In 1665, Shivaji, after disbanding his army here, worshipped at the temple. In 1676, Fryer, the English traveller visited the place during Shivaratri festival and has written in detail about the festival at the temple.

LEGENDS :

According to legend, Ravana's mother, a staunch devotee of Lord Shiva, was worshipping a Shiva Linga to bring prosperity to her son. Indra, God of Heaven, jealous of the worship, stole the Shiva Linga and threw it into the sea. Enraged and distraught by this event, Ravana's mother went on a fast-unto-death to exhibit her displeasure. Seeing this, Ravana promised her that he would go to Mount Kailas-the abode of Lord Shiva-and bring her the main Atma Linga for worship. Ravana then set out for an intense meditation in worship of Lord Shiva. The result of this devotional worship of Ravana was that Shiva took out the Atma Linga from his own heart and gave it to him but with strict instructions that it should not be placed on ground. However, Ganesha, fearing that Ravana might use the power of the Linga to fulfill evil intentions, ensnared him in the form of a beautiful woman. Ravana, in a fit of infatuation, placed the Atma Linga at Gokarna where it got stuck. In his efforts of extracting the Linga, he threw the coverings to Dhareshwar, Gunavanteshwara, Murdeshwar and Shejjeshwar where temples dedicated to Lord Shiva still stand. Ravana, unable to extract the Atma Linga from the ground, called Shiva Mahabala (too strong) and hence the name Mahabaleshwar for the city. The deity here is about 1500 years old.

The religious practices observed by most devotees, who are accompanied by their priests, consists of first shaving their head, fasting and taking a bath in the Arabian Sea, opposite to the temple. Then, they pay obeisance to lord Ganesha (the elephant headed god) defied in the Shri Maha Ganapathi Temple, which is a few yards away from the Mahabaleshwar Temple. After observing all these religious procedures, devotees visit the main shrine of Mahabaleshwar for a darshan, with the fervent prayer that such a formal viewing of god would wash all their sins and usher prosperity in their lives.

Festival

Shivaratri festival, observance of the birthday of Lord Shiva, is celebrated in the temple town in February/March, when a very large number of pilgrims visit the shrine. During this festival, Rathyatra  is also held when images of Shiva and other deities are installed in the chariot and it is then ceremonially pulled through the town by devotees, accompanied by the drum bands. The Rathayatra starts from the Shri Maha Ganapati Temple at the terminus of the main market street, also known as the 'Car Street'.

OTHER ATTRACTIONS :

Sri Maha Ganapathi temple

According to the legend Sri Maha Ganapathi Temple was built in honour of the boy Ganapathi, who deceived the demon Ravana and saved the Atmalinga that is now installed in the Mahabaleshwar Temple. The temple has a granite image of Ganesha deified in it which is 5 feet (1.5 m) tall and two-handed; at the top of its head there is hole that is stated to be a mark of a violent blow conjectured to have been inflicted by Ravana. The temple has its own identity and is also known as Sidda Ganapati.

Gogarbha

According to legends, the Atmalinga that vanished in the form of gov or cow made a lasting cave in the nearby hill called as "Gogarbha" meaning 'the woumb of cow'. The cave is still visited by sadhus and used as a resting place. The folklore said sadhus went into 'Gogarbha' and reached 'Kashi', the holy city of hinduism and final pilgrim place to visit.

The Temple of Bharat

Although one of a kind temple still exists on the hillock near the mahabaleshwar temple, its deity has been stolen by miscreants. Its uniqueness is that it is situated well above the temple of Rama with a ramateertha

Kotitheertha

Kotitheertha is a man-made pond, which is used for immersion of idols and ritual bathing. It is surrounded by temples and has a small platform in the centre. Devotees usually take bath in the pond before they visit the Mahabaleshwar Temple for worship. The pond was cleaned recently.

The best time to visit the temple is during the festival of Shivaratri which marks the day Lord Shiva was born.

Temple timings :: Morning 6.00 A,M. to 12.00 P.M. and evening 4.00 P.M. to 8.00 P.M.

Daily pujas :: Ekarudrabhisheka, Ekadasarudrabhisheka, Harathi, Bel leaves pujas are performing in the inside of the temple. Nominal charges are collecting by the temple for Pujas/abhishekas. Sahasranama, ashtotra pujas are performing in Parvathi temple. Pujas are also performing in the Ganesh temple.

How to get here :

By Air:
There is no airport in Gokarna. The nearest airport is at Pune which is about 120kms away. From the airport you can hire a cab or board private buses to reach the district.

By Train:
The nearest railhead is Wathar in Satara, about 47 km from Gokarna however, the most convenient and well-connected railhead is Pune.

By Road:
Mahabaleshwar is connected to major towns and cities in the region. From Mumbai, Mahabaleshwar via Pune is 290kms; Panchgani to Mahabaleshwar is 19 kms and Pune to Mahabaleshwar is 120kms. Regular buses ply from Kumata, Karwar, Goa and Mangalore also.