Myself and my wife embarked on a Holy Yatra of Parasurama Kshetra (Coastal Karnataka Temples).
This is a small Vlog of our journey.
I sincerely hope it will be useful to atleast some.
We were planning this journey for quite some time.
While browsing for a suitable travel partner, we came across the details of Abhiram Travels, Mangalore.
This is a small firm run by Sri Guruprasad with just three vehicles.
He has a Toyota-Etios, Toyota-Innova-Crysta and one 12-Seater Tempo Traveller.
Sri Guruprasad patiently listened to our travel plans and prepared a suitable itinerary for us.
We decided to travel by the Toyota -Etios.
The package was from Mangalore-to-Mangalore covering important temples in that area.
The package included vehicle, fuel, Driver-bata, All tolls, parking fees and hotel stay.
Sri Guruprasad himself drove us on this tour.
A word about this man –
Now a few words of caution :
Now my brief synopsis of the entire tour.
Day-1.
We started by West-Coast Express from Chennai at 13.25 Hrs.
Day-2
We reached Mangalore by 8 am (Train was late by two hours).
Guruprasad was there to pick us up from the station and dropped us at Hotel Mangalore Stay Inn, Bejai Mangalore.
This hotel is a new property and maintained very well and the service is also good.
After bath and breakfast, we started our tour of Temples in and around Mangalore.
Sharavu Maha Ganapathi Temple. This is a beautiful temple dedicated to Lord Vinayaka in the heart of the city.
Mangaladevi Temple is the Guardian Deity of this town from who it has got its name ‘Mangaluru’. This is a Swayambu Murthy and we witnessed the Abishekam ritual.
Kadri Manjunatha temple was the next temple we visited. This temple complex is situated on a sprawling area. The main deity is Lord Manjunatha Shiva. There is a huge pond and a place near by where Shraddha-Ceremonies are performed. If you climb another 70-80 steps we reach the Bhagirathi Theertha, which keeps flowing from the Feet of Vinayaka Idol. We collect this water in a brass vessel placed in the vicinity and do the Abishekam of Shiva Lingam installed in a small Mantapam, with our own hands. Additional, there is a huge Idol of Hanuman and beyond that there is a temple for Kala-Bhairava. To reach the last place you have to ascend around 250 steps, in all.
Kudupu Anantha Padmanabha Temple (Naga Pratishta) was our next stop. This temple looks similar to the Kukke Subrahmanya Temple. It is a Parihara-Sthala and there was quite a crowd as it was a Sunday.
Polali Rajarajeshwari Temple, who is considered to be the Grama-Devatha of Mangaluru, was our next stop. The temple is clean and the idol was beautifully decorated.
Kateel Durga Parameswari Temple, one of the most popular shrines was our net destination. It is one of the most beautiful temples in that area.
After Lunch at Janatha hotel and we returned to the lodge, for a much-needed rest. (The sun was blazing hot).
Kudroli Gokarneswara Temple maintained by devotees of Sree Narayana Guru, was the first temple we visited in the Evening. It is one of the most beautiful temples in and around Mangalore.
Next we went once again to Mangaladevi temple for the ‘Alankara’ Darshan.
With this we returned to our room for a much-needed rest after a day of hectic temple-run.
Day-3
Kukke Subramanya Temple was the first one in our itinerary, when we started from Mangalore by 6.30 am.
Our breakfast for the day was at a small family-run hotel called Hollas kitchen at Bantwal, around 10 Kms from Mangalore.
The food was wholesome and the price was quite moderate.
We reached Kukke around 10 and had excellent Darshan of Kukke Subrahmanya and Adi Subrahmanya, both in the form of ‘Sarpa-Murthy’.
Southadka Maha Ganapathi Temple on the way to Dharmasthala was our next destination.
This popular Deity sits in the open, without any roof or walls around Him, and people offer Cucumber to Him. (Southekayi in Kannada means Cucumber).
After a peaceful Darshan we proceeded on our journey.
Dharmasthala Manjunatha Temple, one of our main destination was reached by 12.30 noon.
It is the most popular and the richest temple in Karnataka, that day being Karthika-Somavara, there was a huge rush.
We stood in the queue by 12.45 and was able to reach the Sanctum by 1.30 pm.
The queue moves in an orderly way and there is no push-pull anywhere.
We had an excellent Darshan of Lord Manjunatha and Devi Parvathy.
The beauty of this temple is that it is a Shiva Temple, managed by the Jains and Pooja done by the Madhwa priests.
Then we proceeded to the huge dining hall to partake Prasad, which is served to all devotees from 11 am to 7 pm, on all days without any break.
After that we visited the huge statue of Bahubali, the Jain Royal Saint.
Our net stop was the Sri Rama Kshetra, a new temple built like the Akshardham Temple.
You can see beautiful images of various deities. Lord Rama and Maa Sita are the main Deities in this temple.
After completing our Temple-Run, we reached our hotel ‘Adithya View’ which is around 4 kms away from town and situated on the banks of Nethravathi River
We had our dinner and hit the bed early, after a day of Blissful Darshans.
Day-4
Today our tour was through the tough Western Ghats where the roads are not that great and frequent land-slides also occur.
We started from Dharmasthala by 5.30 am.
The road was in a very bad condition and hence our drive was also very slow.
After a two hour drive, we reached a small restaurant called Nisarga Grand, at Kottigehara, for our breakfast.
Their menu is limited but it was homely and tasty.
We reached Horanadu Annapoorna temple, after another 90-miuntes of drive on the ghat road. .
This temple is dedicated exclusively to Goddess Annapoorna in standing posture.
This is one of the most beautiful temples in that area.
The main offering by the devotees to the Goddess is Rice.
After our Darshan of Devi, we must purchase the ticket (Rs 50/- per plate) and collect the rice and devotedly offer that rice in a wooden box adjacent to the Sanctorum.
The village of Kalasa, just 5 Kms from Horanadu, was the beautiful temple of Sarvanga Sundari sametha Kalaseshwara Shiva temple.
The temple is more than 1500 years old and is considered on par with Kashi.
It is one of the rare stone-built-temples in these areas.
After a Very Good darshan, we trudged on the Ghat Road for another 90 minutes.
Finally we reached the Holy Town of Sringeri, on the banks of Tungabhadra River, by 1 pm.
We had very good Darshan at Sri Sharada Devi Temple and Vidya Shankara temples.
We had our Prasada-lunch at the Mutt, which is served on all days to the devotees.
After our lunch, we started back by 2.30, to Kollur gliding down through the Agumbe Ghats.
After a brief halt for Tea at Beluve village we reached the Shankara Narayana Temple at Shankara Narayana village.
Thousands of years before, this Suyambu image was found under the lake.
The saints at that time drained the lake and built the temple on that very lake.
As a result, we were told that even today there is a lot of clay in the Garba-Graham around the idol.
Once a year, after Makara-Sankranthi, the clay in the Garba Griha is cleaned and the clay collected is distributed to the devotees as ‘Mrittika’ Prasad.
Finally, we reached Kollur by 6 pm, and checked into our hotel ‘Mookambika Palace’, which is about 500 metres from the temple.
After freshening up, we visited the famous Mookambika Temple.
There was good rush for the evening Arati, but Darshan queue was moving quite smoothly.
We had our Darshan of the Devi within 30 minutes.
After having Darshan of Devi, and witnessing the Sriveli, we returned to our hotel for rest.
Though the temple is located in Karnataka, most of the devotees who come to this temple are from Kerala.
Day-5
Morning, we woke up early and after our bath, proceeded to the temple by 5.30 am.
There was minimal rush and we had excellent Darshan of Devi Mookambika several times.
After offering our prayers to the Devi, we started for Gokarna around 6.30 am.
We had our breakfast at a hotel called ‘Paakashaala’ near Bhatkal on the Highway.
It is run by the famous ‘Vasudeva Adiga’ group and one of the best chain of eateries in Coastal Karnataka.
We reached Gokarna around 10 am.
Gokarna is a very small under-developed town on the sea shore and housing the holiest of all Shiva-Lingas, the Athma-Linga.
It is said that Ravana prayed to Shiva and got this Linga from Kailasa, but Lord Ganesha tricked him to keep the Lingam on the ground.
When Ravana tried to remove it, he could not and hence the upper position got twisted and the Lingam went a few inches below the ground.
Ravana went back to his kingdom and the Athma-Lingam got consecrated in Gokarna.
This Athma Linga is not visible to us and we can touch only the tip of the Linga, which is covered with milk and water.
After a blissful Darshan, we left for Murudeshwar.
We reached Murudeshwar around 12 noon.
Despite the crowd at the beach, we had a good Darshan of the Lord Murudeshwara.
We also visited the huge statue of Lord Shiva in meditation pose, overlooking the beach.
We reached the same ‘Paakashala’ by 2 pm for our lunch.
After a sumptuous lunch we proceeded to our next destination called ‘Ane-gudda’ (Elephant-Hill).
Anegudda-Ganapathi Temple is a beautiful temple dedicated to Lord Vinayaka, and is open from morning to evening.
After our Darshan and Prayers, we continued our journey to Udupi.
We were able to reach our destination, Udupi Meenakshi Inn near Adarsh Hospitals by 4.30 pm.
The stay was comfortable, and there is a neat little restaurant called ‘Pai Tiffins’ next to the hotel.
Evening by 6.30 pm, we started for the Udupi Sri Krishna temple.
That day a ‘Float Festival’ was in progress in the Temple Tank.
Hence there was a huge crowd of Devotees on the outskirts, but the temple had very thin crowd.
However, the entrance to see the Deity is through a long Zig zag line and we had to walk a long distance, despite the lack of any crowd.
Ultimately, we had an excellent Darshan of the Lord through the ‘Kanakana-Kindi’ (Window of Kanakadasa).
After Darshan, we went around the shops for our purchases and returned to our room by 9 pm
Day-6
In the morning our temple visit started with the Kunjaragiri Durga Devi temple situated on a small hillock.
Our next stop was Pajaka Kshetra, which is the Birth place of Madhwacharya, the Supreme Acharya of the ‘Dwaitha’ system of philosophy.
We visited the Anantha-Padmanabha temple, nearby, the family deity of Madhwa’s parents who prayed there for twelve before begetting their Holy-Son.
On another small hillock stood the rare Temple dedicated to Lord Parashurama the sixth incarnation of Lord Vishnu.
Though all these temples were not that big, the neatness and devotional fervour in the vicinity could be felt by all.
We then went to the Ambalapadi Temple, housing the images of Lord Janardhana and Maa Kaali.
Another new addition to Udupi is the 23 feet Shaneeswara Temple at Bannange.
Devotees can collect Til-Oil from the counter, climb the ladder and offer the Til-Oil on the idol, with their own hands.
We returned to the Krishna-Temple Complex and visited the ancient Anantheswara Temple.
After our lunch and some rest, we started for Mangalore.
On the way we visited the Mahalaxmi temple at Uchhila.
This is a huge modern complex housing the idol of Goddess Mahalaxmi,
With this we completed our Yatra and reached Mangalore Station by 4pm.
We boarded our train to Chennai at 4.55 pm, and after a comfortable journey reached Chennai the next day at 8 am, filled with pleasant memories of the Yatra.
Mahaperiyava Sharanam.
This is a small Vlog of our journey.
I sincerely hope it will be useful to atleast some.
We were planning this journey for quite some time.
While browsing for a suitable travel partner, we came across the details of Abhiram Travels, Mangalore.
This is a small firm run by Sri Guruprasad with just three vehicles.
He has a Toyota-Etios, Toyota-Innova-Crysta and one 12-Seater Tempo Traveller.
Sri Guruprasad patiently listened to our travel plans and prepared a suitable itinerary for us.
We decided to travel by the Toyota -Etios.
The package was from Mangalore-to-Mangalore covering important temples in that area.
The package included vehicle, fuel, Driver-bata, All tolls, parking fees and hotel stay.
Sri Guruprasad himself drove us on this tour.
A word about this man –
- He is a young self-made entrepreneur.
- He speaks Kannada, Hindi and a little of Thamizh and English.
- He has very good knowledge of the entire area,
- He is able to explain the significance of each temple,
- What we liked most was his safe driving. He never once over-sped even on the high-way.
- He finalised the plans through WhatsApp and accepts all payments through GPay.
Now a few words of caution :
- The tour on the Western Ghats is very tough, especially for Senior Citizen.
- The Weather in most of the area on this leg of Yatra is hot and humid, from February to November (Just like Chennai).
- Ofcourse the Ghat-Section is much cooler.
- As regards food, plenty of vegetarian options are available, but be careful about what you eat, as some of the local dishes may not suit our palate.
- We stuck to Idli, Upma and Curd Rice in most places.
- In almost every temple in that area, free lunch is served in temples during specific timings. We partook the simple Prasad-Lunch at Dharmasthala and Sringeri.
- If possible, try to avoid the complimentary breakfast at all places. The combo which they give is not at all great, and is served separately.
- Further this will help you to start early as in most hotels the BF starts only after 7.30 am.
- You have excellent Veg restaurants on the way and the prices are quite affordable.
- De-hydration is the biggest health-risk on this trip.
- So, consuming a lot of liquids, especially for the senior citizen is a must.
- By the by, the Ilaneer (Tender Coconut) in these areas is the best way to keep you hydrated.
- All the temples are kept very clean, Poojas are done as per the specific timings, and you will not find the priests and temple staff hankering for money.
- Dress-Code is compulsory in most of the temples. For men it is Dothie and in temples like Dharmasthala, Kollur, Udupi etc., we must remove our upper garments. For women it is mostly Saree or Half-Saree. Churidar with Dupatta is also allowed.
- In almost all places Archana is not done for each devotee in front of the deity.
- All Sevas are done in a separate place.
- You must get the ticket for the desired Seva, and go to the priest sitting in a separate place, for doing the Sankalpam.
- After Darshan, we must collect the Prasad from another counter.
- That way, there is no hindrance or undue wait for Darshan, for anyone, and the queue moves on smoothly.
- This entire belt is known for the production of Coffee, Tea, Spices and Cashew.
- The quality is excellent, and the price is quite cheap compared to our place.
- We purchased these items at Horanadu, in a shop recommended by Guruprasad.
- You will find such exclusive shops even in Kukke, Dharmasthala, Kollur and Gokarna.
- And finally, during our travel by train from Chennai-Mangalore-Chennai, we did not see any vendors from IRCTC in the train (2nd AC Coach) on both ways. So, better carry plenty of water and food/snacks with you.
Now my brief synopsis of the entire tour.
Day-1.
We started by West-Coast Express from Chennai at 13.25 Hrs.
Day-2
We reached Mangalore by 8 am (Train was late by two hours).
Guruprasad was there to pick us up from the station and dropped us at Hotel Mangalore Stay Inn, Bejai Mangalore.
This hotel is a new property and maintained very well and the service is also good.
After bath and breakfast, we started our tour of Temples in and around Mangalore.
Sharavu Maha Ganapathi Temple. This is a beautiful temple dedicated to Lord Vinayaka in the heart of the city.
Mangaladevi Temple is the Guardian Deity of this town from who it has got its name ‘Mangaluru’. This is a Swayambu Murthy and we witnessed the Abishekam ritual.
Kadri Manjunatha temple was the next temple we visited. This temple complex is situated on a sprawling area. The main deity is Lord Manjunatha Shiva. There is a huge pond and a place near by where Shraddha-Ceremonies are performed. If you climb another 70-80 steps we reach the Bhagirathi Theertha, which keeps flowing from the Feet of Vinayaka Idol. We collect this water in a brass vessel placed in the vicinity and do the Abishekam of Shiva Lingam installed in a small Mantapam, with our own hands. Additional, there is a huge Idol of Hanuman and beyond that there is a temple for Kala-Bhairava. To reach the last place you have to ascend around 250 steps, in all.
Kudupu Anantha Padmanabha Temple (Naga Pratishta) was our next stop. This temple looks similar to the Kukke Subrahmanya Temple. It is a Parihara-Sthala and there was quite a crowd as it was a Sunday.
Polali Rajarajeshwari Temple, who is considered to be the Grama-Devatha of Mangaluru, was our next stop. The temple is clean and the idol was beautifully decorated.
Kateel Durga Parameswari Temple, one of the most popular shrines was our net destination. It is one of the most beautiful temples in that area.
After Lunch at Janatha hotel and we returned to the lodge, for a much-needed rest. (The sun was blazing hot).
Kudroli Gokarneswara Temple maintained by devotees of Sree Narayana Guru, was the first temple we visited in the Evening. It is one of the most beautiful temples in and around Mangalore.
Next we went once again to Mangaladevi temple for the ‘Alankara’ Darshan.
With this we returned to our room for a much-needed rest after a day of hectic temple-run.
Day-3
Kukke Subramanya Temple was the first one in our itinerary, when we started from Mangalore by 6.30 am.
Our breakfast for the day was at a small family-run hotel called Hollas kitchen at Bantwal, around 10 Kms from Mangalore.
The food was wholesome and the price was quite moderate.
We reached Kukke around 10 and had excellent Darshan of Kukke Subrahmanya and Adi Subrahmanya, both in the form of ‘Sarpa-Murthy’.
Southadka Maha Ganapathi Temple on the way to Dharmasthala was our next destination.
This popular Deity sits in the open, without any roof or walls around Him, and people offer Cucumber to Him. (Southekayi in Kannada means Cucumber).
After a peaceful Darshan we proceeded on our journey.
Dharmasthala Manjunatha Temple, one of our main destination was reached by 12.30 noon.
It is the most popular and the richest temple in Karnataka, that day being Karthika-Somavara, there was a huge rush.
We stood in the queue by 12.45 and was able to reach the Sanctum by 1.30 pm.
The queue moves in an orderly way and there is no push-pull anywhere.
We had an excellent Darshan of Lord Manjunatha and Devi Parvathy.
The beauty of this temple is that it is a Shiva Temple, managed by the Jains and Pooja done by the Madhwa priests.
Then we proceeded to the huge dining hall to partake Prasad, which is served to all devotees from 11 am to 7 pm, on all days without any break.
After that we visited the huge statue of Bahubali, the Jain Royal Saint.
Our net stop was the Sri Rama Kshetra, a new temple built like the Akshardham Temple.
You can see beautiful images of various deities. Lord Rama and Maa Sita are the main Deities in this temple.
After completing our Temple-Run, we reached our hotel ‘Adithya View’ which is around 4 kms away from town and situated on the banks of Nethravathi River
We had our dinner and hit the bed early, after a day of Blissful Darshans.
Day-4
Today our tour was through the tough Western Ghats where the roads are not that great and frequent land-slides also occur.
We started from Dharmasthala by 5.30 am.
The road was in a very bad condition and hence our drive was also very slow.
After a two hour drive, we reached a small restaurant called Nisarga Grand, at Kottigehara, for our breakfast.
Their menu is limited but it was homely and tasty.
We reached Horanadu Annapoorna temple, after another 90-miuntes of drive on the ghat road. .
This temple is dedicated exclusively to Goddess Annapoorna in standing posture.
This is one of the most beautiful temples in that area.
The main offering by the devotees to the Goddess is Rice.
After our Darshan of Devi, we must purchase the ticket (Rs 50/- per plate) and collect the rice and devotedly offer that rice in a wooden box adjacent to the Sanctorum.
The village of Kalasa, just 5 Kms from Horanadu, was the beautiful temple of Sarvanga Sundari sametha Kalaseshwara Shiva temple.
The temple is more than 1500 years old and is considered on par with Kashi.
It is one of the rare stone-built-temples in these areas.
After a Very Good darshan, we trudged on the Ghat Road for another 90 minutes.
Finally we reached the Holy Town of Sringeri, on the banks of Tungabhadra River, by 1 pm.
We had very good Darshan at Sri Sharada Devi Temple and Vidya Shankara temples.
We had our Prasada-lunch at the Mutt, which is served on all days to the devotees.
After our lunch, we started back by 2.30, to Kollur gliding down through the Agumbe Ghats.
After a brief halt for Tea at Beluve village we reached the Shankara Narayana Temple at Shankara Narayana village.
Thousands of years before, this Suyambu image was found under the lake.
The saints at that time drained the lake and built the temple on that very lake.
As a result, we were told that even today there is a lot of clay in the Garba-Graham around the idol.
Once a year, after Makara-Sankranthi, the clay in the Garba Griha is cleaned and the clay collected is distributed to the devotees as ‘Mrittika’ Prasad.
Finally, we reached Kollur by 6 pm, and checked into our hotel ‘Mookambika Palace’, which is about 500 metres from the temple.
After freshening up, we visited the famous Mookambika Temple.
There was good rush for the evening Arati, but Darshan queue was moving quite smoothly.
We had our Darshan of the Devi within 30 minutes.
After having Darshan of Devi, and witnessing the Sriveli, we returned to our hotel for rest.
Though the temple is located in Karnataka, most of the devotees who come to this temple are from Kerala.
Day-5
Morning, we woke up early and after our bath, proceeded to the temple by 5.30 am.
There was minimal rush and we had excellent Darshan of Devi Mookambika several times.
After offering our prayers to the Devi, we started for Gokarna around 6.30 am.
We had our breakfast at a hotel called ‘Paakashaala’ near Bhatkal on the Highway.
It is run by the famous ‘Vasudeva Adiga’ group and one of the best chain of eateries in Coastal Karnataka.
We reached Gokarna around 10 am.
Gokarna is a very small under-developed town on the sea shore and housing the holiest of all Shiva-Lingas, the Athma-Linga.
It is said that Ravana prayed to Shiva and got this Linga from Kailasa, but Lord Ganesha tricked him to keep the Lingam on the ground.
When Ravana tried to remove it, he could not and hence the upper position got twisted and the Lingam went a few inches below the ground.
Ravana went back to his kingdom and the Athma-Lingam got consecrated in Gokarna.
This Athma Linga is not visible to us and we can touch only the tip of the Linga, which is covered with milk and water.
After a blissful Darshan, we left for Murudeshwar.
We reached Murudeshwar around 12 noon.
Despite the crowd at the beach, we had a good Darshan of the Lord Murudeshwara.
We also visited the huge statue of Lord Shiva in meditation pose, overlooking the beach.
We reached the same ‘Paakashala’ by 2 pm for our lunch.
After a sumptuous lunch we proceeded to our next destination called ‘Ane-gudda’ (Elephant-Hill).
Anegudda-Ganapathi Temple is a beautiful temple dedicated to Lord Vinayaka, and is open from morning to evening.
After our Darshan and Prayers, we continued our journey to Udupi.
We were able to reach our destination, Udupi Meenakshi Inn near Adarsh Hospitals by 4.30 pm.
The stay was comfortable, and there is a neat little restaurant called ‘Pai Tiffins’ next to the hotel.
Evening by 6.30 pm, we started for the Udupi Sri Krishna temple.
That day a ‘Float Festival’ was in progress in the Temple Tank.
Hence there was a huge crowd of Devotees on the outskirts, but the temple had very thin crowd.
However, the entrance to see the Deity is through a long Zig zag line and we had to walk a long distance, despite the lack of any crowd.
Ultimately, we had an excellent Darshan of the Lord through the ‘Kanakana-Kindi’ (Window of Kanakadasa).
After Darshan, we went around the shops for our purchases and returned to our room by 9 pm
Day-6
In the morning our temple visit started with the Kunjaragiri Durga Devi temple situated on a small hillock.
Our next stop was Pajaka Kshetra, which is the Birth place of Madhwacharya, the Supreme Acharya of the ‘Dwaitha’ system of philosophy.
We visited the Anantha-Padmanabha temple, nearby, the family deity of Madhwa’s parents who prayed there for twelve before begetting their Holy-Son.
On another small hillock stood the rare Temple dedicated to Lord Parashurama the sixth incarnation of Lord Vishnu.
Though all these temples were not that big, the neatness and devotional fervour in the vicinity could be felt by all.
We then went to the Ambalapadi Temple, housing the images of Lord Janardhana and Maa Kaali.
Another new addition to Udupi is the 23 feet Shaneeswara Temple at Bannange.
Devotees can collect Til-Oil from the counter, climb the ladder and offer the Til-Oil on the idol, with their own hands.
We returned to the Krishna-Temple Complex and visited the ancient Anantheswara Temple.
After our lunch and some rest, we started for Mangalore.
On the way we visited the Mahalaxmi temple at Uchhila.
This is a huge modern complex housing the idol of Goddess Mahalaxmi,
With this we completed our Yatra and reached Mangalore Station by 4pm.
We boarded our train to Chennai at 4.55 pm, and after a comfortable journey reached Chennai the next day at 8 am, filled with pleasant memories of the Yatra.
Mahaperiyava Sharanam.
