Shankarnarayana Temple-a temple with great history
Shankarnarayana is a village in Kundapura taluk of Udupi district in the state of Karnataka in India. It is situated in the midst of coconut and arecnaut plantations along with forests adjoining Western Ghats Sahyadri 25 km away from the Arabian Sea. Earlier this village was called as Golikatte. Later on this village came to be known after the Shankarnarayana temple.
???History of the village
Before India became independent, this Shankarnarayana village was an important place as it consisted of Police Station, Sub Registrar office, Primary school catering to the needs of more than fifteen surrounding villages. But more than this it became famous for its temple Shankarnarayana temple which is considered as one of the seven holy places created by Maharshi Parshurama. The other seven holy places include Subrahmanya, Udupi, Kumbhkashi, Koteshwara, Shankarnarayana, Kolluru, and Gokarna together constitute Parshurama Kshetra. These holy places are compared with seven holy places in Rama Kshetra, namely, Ayodhya, Mathura, Maya, Kashi, Kanchi, Avanthika and Puri.
Shankarnarayana temple
?? This is one of the rare temples where we can see the confluence of Shankara that is Lord Shiva and Narayana that is Lord Vishnu. . The original temple was on a hillock beside present day temple and a foot print on rock is said to be of God's own foot print which appeared when he jumped from the hill to the present day temple. The main deity of Shankaranarayana temple is in the form of Udbhava Linga which is naturally formed Lingam of Lord Shankara and Lord Narayana one foot below the ground, inside the Garbhgudi. The devotees can only see the mirror image of the Lingam. The Shankara Linga is on the right (left as seen by the devotees) and Narayana Linga on the left (right as seen by the devotees). While Shankara Lingam is in round shape, Narayana Linga is a flat one with foot prints of holy cow in it. It seems that these were footprints of holy cow Kamadhenu in it dripping milk on the Shankara Linga. As a result we can find there is water around Udbhava Linga at any tome of the year. The holy water is called Suddhamrita Theertha. After getting down at the Shankarnarayana bus-stand the big Mukha Mantapa welcomes you.
?Mukha Mantapa:-
The huge arch near the bus stand at the entrance of the Shankaranarayana village welcomes the devotees to the Shankaranarayana Temple which is situated just half-a-kilometer from it.
?
Koti Theertha: -
Koti theertha is located in front of the temple. Devotees coming to this temple first make prokshana of this theertha and then take darshan of Lord Shankaranarayana. The stone enclosure and the surrounding coconut and arecanut groves enhance the beauty of the pond. This pond has rich spiritual bearing and rituals such as Pitratarpana and Theerthasnana are held at this pond. Koti theertha is one of the vast ponds as compared to all the twenty one ponds found around this place.
?Krodagiri Devaru : -
This temple is also known as Krodagiri Devaru after Kroda Maharshi. In the 24th Chapter of Pushkara Kaanda in Padma Purana, one can find a beautiful description of Krodha Shankaranarayana. According to this, the demons Kharasura and Rattasura were ill-treating common people. Kroda Maharshi meditated Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu together and prayed them come in the form of Lord Shankaranarayana. Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu, pleased with the meditation of Krodha Maharshi, came to this place as Shankaranarayana and killed Kharasura and Rattasura. The hill beside the Shankaranarayana Temple, atop which Krodha Maharshi meditated Lord Shankaranarayana, is named as Kroda Giri and the cave in which Kroda used to meditate atop the Kroda Giri Parvati hill is known as Kroda Guhe and this cave is 6 foot wide with a 2 feet wide entrance and is located 3 km from Shankarnarayana village on the banks of the beautiful Varahi river.
The idol of Lord Shankaranarayana along with Godess Gowri and Godess Lakshmi are at the top of Kroda Giri.
Bhoga Mantapa:-
This Bhoga Mantapa was donated to the temple by the King of Keladi Somashekhara Raya. It is a golden plated mantapa which has the idols of dwarapalaks of heaven, Jaya and Vijaya on its either sides. During the yearly festival of Shankarnarayana Jaatre the Utsava Murthy of Lord Shankarnarayana is placed in this aasana that is throne and astavadhana is performed. It is a ritual in which all the Vedas are chanted for Lord Shankarnarayana.
The Big Bell:-
This huge bell which is hung inside the temple near the main entrance was donated by Tippu Sultan on his visit to this temple. The bell is rung at sunrise, at sunset everyday and also on some special occasions like during the Shankarnarayana Jaatre.
Darbar Chavadi
This huge hall is besides the entrance of the temple, just outside the premises. During the yearly festival Shankarnarayana Jatre the Darbar of Lord Shankaranarayana is held here.
Nandi Gudi:-
This idol of Lord Nandi is installed, a little distance away, in front of the temple facing Lord Shankaranarayana.
Silver statue of Harihara:-
The temple has a beautiful bronze image of Harihara.
Shankarnarayana Jaatre
The annual fare being held every year on January 16th attracts large number of people from surrounding villages. The big chariot drawn with the help of ropes is a beautiful sight. Shankaranarayana Jaatre is the most celebrated festival in Shankaranarayana. This festival starts 4 days before Sankranti, and runs for a week. During the first 6 days, various rituals are devoted to Lord Shankaranarayana. The final day is the main festival, when Rathotsava is celebrated. This day generally falls on Jan 16th (including the one next year). On the day of Rathotsava, Ustava Murthy (which is placed in the Garbhagudi) is decorated with Attekuppasa and garlands of flowers. The Utsava Murthy, also called as Bali Murthy on the day of Rathotsava is being taken out of the Sanctum Sanctorum for the procession. The designated priest, called as Balidharaka carries the Utsava Murthy over his head. Bali Dharaka makes a pradakshina of the Sanctum Sanctorum. A lot of other rituals are also followed as the pradakshina goes on. The whole process is named as Bali Seve. After Bali Seve, Bali Murthy is taken into the decorated chariot (Syandhana Ratha), in front of the temple. The enthusiastic crowd pulls the Syandhana Ratha from the entrance of the temple till Ratha Kottige. From here, Bali Murthy is taken to the Kroda Giri and pooja is conducted over the hill. Around 10 thousand people visit this Shankaranarayana Jaatre on the day of Rathotsava. A lot of people from various parts of India (including Bangalore, Mumbai etc.), also visit this place during festival. It also has a silver rath which on special occassions is driven .
How to travel?
Traveling from Bangalore via Mangalore-Udupi route by private vehicle is a good option since the condition of the roads are good. National Highway NH48 connects Bangalore and Mangalore and National Highway NH17 joins Mangalore and Udupi. Road connecting Udupi and Shankaranarayana is a State Highway. From Mumbai, it is a drive on NH17 to Udupi and then the deviation to the state highway towards Shankaranarayana. Mangalore Airport is the nearest airport from Kundapura. Kundapura Railway Station is the nearest railway station. Shankaranarayana village is connected by road to Udupi.
???History of the village
Before India became independent, this Shankarnarayana village was an important place as it consisted of Police Station, Sub Registrar office, Primary school catering to the needs of more than fifteen surrounding villages. But more than this it became famous for its temple Shankarnarayana temple which is considered as one of the seven holy places created by Maharshi Parshurama. The other seven holy places include Subrahmanya, Udupi, Kumbhkashi, Koteshwara, Shankarnarayana, Kolluru, and Gokarna together constitute Parshurama Kshetra. These holy places are compared with seven holy places in Rama Kshetra, namely, Ayodhya, Mathura, Maya, Kashi, Kanchi, Avanthika and Puri.
Shankarnarayana temple
?? This is one of the rare temples where we can see the confluence of Shankara that is Lord Shiva and Narayana that is Lord Vishnu. . The original temple was on a hillock beside present day temple and a foot print on rock is said to be of God's own foot print which appeared when he jumped from the hill to the present day temple. The main deity of Shankaranarayana temple is in the form of Udbhava Linga which is naturally formed Lingam of Lord Shankara and Lord Narayana one foot below the ground, inside the Garbhgudi. The devotees can only see the mirror image of the Lingam. The Shankara Linga is on the right (left as seen by the devotees) and Narayana Linga on the left (right as seen by the devotees). While Shankara Lingam is in round shape, Narayana Linga is a flat one with foot prints of holy cow in it. It seems that these were footprints of holy cow Kamadhenu in it dripping milk on the Shankara Linga. As a result we can find there is water around Udbhava Linga at any tome of the year. The holy water is called Suddhamrita Theertha. After getting down at the Shankarnarayana bus-stand the big Mukha Mantapa welcomes you.
?Mukha Mantapa:-
The huge arch near the bus stand at the entrance of the Shankaranarayana village welcomes the devotees to the Shankaranarayana Temple which is situated just half-a-kilometer from it.
?
Koti Theertha: -
Koti theertha is located in front of the temple. Devotees coming to this temple first make prokshana of this theertha and then take darshan of Lord Shankaranarayana. The stone enclosure and the surrounding coconut and arecanut groves enhance the beauty of the pond. This pond has rich spiritual bearing and rituals such as Pitratarpana and Theerthasnana are held at this pond. Koti theertha is one of the vast ponds as compared to all the twenty one ponds found around this place.
?Krodagiri Devaru : -
This temple is also known as Krodagiri Devaru after Kroda Maharshi. In the 24th Chapter of Pushkara Kaanda in Padma Purana, one can find a beautiful description of Krodha Shankaranarayana. According to this, the demons Kharasura and Rattasura were ill-treating common people. Kroda Maharshi meditated Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu together and prayed them come in the form of Lord Shankaranarayana. Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu, pleased with the meditation of Krodha Maharshi, came to this place as Shankaranarayana and killed Kharasura and Rattasura. The hill beside the Shankaranarayana Temple, atop which Krodha Maharshi meditated Lord Shankaranarayana, is named as Kroda Giri and the cave in which Kroda used to meditate atop the Kroda Giri Parvati hill is known as Kroda Guhe and this cave is 6 foot wide with a 2 feet wide entrance and is located 3 km from Shankarnarayana village on the banks of the beautiful Varahi river.
The idol of Lord Shankaranarayana along with Godess Gowri and Godess Lakshmi are at the top of Kroda Giri.
Bhoga Mantapa:-
This Bhoga Mantapa was donated to the temple by the King of Keladi Somashekhara Raya. It is a golden plated mantapa which has the idols of dwarapalaks of heaven, Jaya and Vijaya on its either sides. During the yearly festival of Shankarnarayana Jaatre the Utsava Murthy of Lord Shankarnarayana is placed in this aasana that is throne and astavadhana is performed. It is a ritual in which all the Vedas are chanted for Lord Shankarnarayana.
The Big Bell:-
This huge bell which is hung inside the temple near the main entrance was donated by Tippu Sultan on his visit to this temple. The bell is rung at sunrise, at sunset everyday and also on some special occasions like during the Shankarnarayana Jaatre.
Darbar Chavadi
This huge hall is besides the entrance of the temple, just outside the premises. During the yearly festival Shankarnarayana Jatre the Darbar of Lord Shankaranarayana is held here.
Nandi Gudi:-
This idol of Lord Nandi is installed, a little distance away, in front of the temple facing Lord Shankaranarayana.
Silver statue of Harihara:-
The temple has a beautiful bronze image of Harihara.
Shankarnarayana Jaatre
The annual fare being held every year on January 16th attracts large number of people from surrounding villages. The big chariot drawn with the help of ropes is a beautiful sight. Shankaranarayana Jaatre is the most celebrated festival in Shankaranarayana. This festival starts 4 days before Sankranti, and runs for a week. During the first 6 days, various rituals are devoted to Lord Shankaranarayana. The final day is the main festival, when Rathotsava is celebrated. This day generally falls on Jan 16th (including the one next year). On the day of Rathotsava, Ustava Murthy (which is placed in the Garbhagudi) is decorated with Attekuppasa and garlands of flowers. The Utsava Murthy, also called as Bali Murthy on the day of Rathotsava is being taken out of the Sanctum Sanctorum for the procession. The designated priest, called as Balidharaka carries the Utsava Murthy over his head. Bali Dharaka makes a pradakshina of the Sanctum Sanctorum. A lot of other rituals are also followed as the pradakshina goes on. The whole process is named as Bali Seve. After Bali Seve, Bali Murthy is taken into the decorated chariot (Syandhana Ratha), in front of the temple. The enthusiastic crowd pulls the Syandhana Ratha from the entrance of the temple till Ratha Kottige. From here, Bali Murthy is taken to the Kroda Giri and pooja is conducted over the hill. Around 10 thousand people visit this Shankaranarayana Jaatre on the day of Rathotsava. A lot of people from various parts of India (including Bangalore, Mumbai etc.), also visit this place during festival. It also has a silver rath which on special occassions is driven .
How to travel?
Traveling from Bangalore via Mangalore-Udupi route by private vehicle is a good option since the condition of the roads are good. National Highway NH48 connects Bangalore and Mangalore and National Highway NH17 joins Mangalore and Udupi. Road connecting Udupi and Shankaranarayana is a State Highway. From Mumbai, it is a drive on NH17 to Udupi and then the deviation to the state highway towards Shankaranarayana. Mangalore Airport is the nearest airport from Kundapura. Kundapura Railway Station is the nearest railway station. Shankaranarayana village is connected by road to Udupi.
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