Murudeshwara is a popular town located at Bhatkal Taluk in Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka, India. The name Murudeshwara refers to Hindu god Shiva. The place is well known for its world’s 2nd tallest Lord Shiva statue, this town is situated near to the coast of Arabian Sea. There is a railway station at Murudeshwara on the route of Konkan railway. The name ‘Murudeshwara’ originated since Ramayana age. Ancient Hindu Lords attained a state of invincibility and immortality by worshipping Atma-Linga, a holy Lingam.

History

Ravana worshipped Lord Shiva and asked for Goddess Parvati and Shiva agrees for that. When he was returning to Lanka, Narada told Ravana that the original Parvati was living in Pathala. So, he went to Pathala and married King’s daughter as Parvathi. When he returned to Lanka, he came to know that he was played by tricks. He again prayed to Shiva for Atma Linga and he got it from Lord Shiva with a condition not to place it on the ground. Narada approach Lord Ganesh and asked him to rescue Atma Linga from Ravana. He was fooled by Lord Ganesh. Getting to know this, he got angry and destroyed Atma Linga into several pieces. The scattered pieces fall on different places. The cloth that covered Atma Linga got landed in a place known as Mrideshwara, situated at Kanduka Hill (Kanduka-Giri). The name got modified as Murudeshwar. The cave situated under the idol of Lord Shiva carries a clear depiction of entire story.

Architecture

Murudeshwara temple was constructed on Kanduka Hill, which is bounded on 3 sides by water coming from Arabian Sea. This temple was purely dedicated Lord Shiva and it was constructed as 20 storey Gopura. The authorities of this temple has installed service of life that take the pilgrims to the top storey of Raja Gopura from where one can enjoy the amazing and outstanding view of 123 feet idol of Lord Shiva. There is also a Shaneswara temple adjacent to Lord Shiva. There are 2 big sized elephants providing the appearance of a well built stand guard near the steps.  The entire temple complex including 237.5 feet height of Raja Gopura was built by a philanthropist and renowned businessmen R.N Shetty. The entire arena of this temple is completely modernized apart from the sanctum sanctorum which still remains in dark retaining its nature.

Murudeshwara is also known as Sri Mridesa Linga, which is well trusted to be a piece of original Atma Linga that is 2 feet below ground level. Rathotsava, Rudrabhisheka and Abhisheka are performed by devotees by standing in front of the threshold of sanctum and the Lord Lingam gets illuminated by various oil lamps that were held near to the idol by priests. This Lingam is basically a rough rock located inside a hollow spot on the ground. Devotees are not permitted to enter into this sanctum. The temple complex contains a huge towering Lord Shiva Statue which is about 37 m height. They took about two complete years to construct this statue. The construction work was carried out by various sculptors and Shivamogga’s Kashinath at the cost of about fifty million rupees. The idol sparkles by reflecting the sunlight. Originally the statue was constructed with 4 arms decorated in golden paint. But large and heavy winds took off one of its arm and rain spoiled the paint.

Best Time to Visit

The best and ideal time to visit Murudeshwar temple is during the months of February to May and also between October and December.

How to Reach

Train

The railway station at Murudeshwar is connected to Mumbai and Mangalore. Mangalore is the nearest major railway station. The place is about 2 km from the Murudeshwar railway station and can be easily reached by auto rickshaws and buses.

By Bus

There are both state run and private buses connecting Murudeshwar to Bengaluru, Kochi and Mumbai. Being located on NH 17 that connects Kochi and Mumbai, there are regular buses in this route.

By Air

The nearest international airport is Mangalore international airport which is approximately 153 km towards the south of Murudeshwar. This airport is well connected with all major cities in India and also few destinations outside India. Taxis are readily available from Mangalore International Airport to Murudeshwar.