MURUDESHWAR - A SERENE DESTINATION IN KARNATAKA

 

The western coast of our country hosts beautiful beaches all along its border from Gujarat to Kerala. Generally, the footfalls of the tourists are limited to a few beaches of Maharashtra, Karnataka and Kerala have become popular because of the promotion of publicity. But there are hundreds of beaches which remain unexplored and unnoticed but are equally good in comparison to the popular beaches.

How we came to know

While travelling through the western coast from Gokarna to Udipi by road, I got a telephone call from my friend from Karnataka asking about my location. When he learnt that our group was heading towards Malpe Beach of Udipi, he requested me to give a stopover at Murudeshwar. I categorically told him that I wasn’t interested in visiting any temple as I was in a beach hunting mood. But he insisted me to visit the place at least for an hour not for the temple but for the beach.

Since the vehicle was at my disposal for a couple of days, I thought of touching the place just to honour the words of my friend. But my driver was not keen to wait and he rather tried to ignore the advice of my friend telling me that there was nothing but a Shiva temple and there was no point in diverting the route and wasting time. But we remained stubborn and overruled his comments.

First Impression

From a long distance, we could see the huge structure of the temple and the deity of Shiva from the road itself. Reaching the main arena and the parking lot, we realized that we would have missed an important destination if we had ignored the advice of my friend. The temple with massive Gopuram (entrance) with a height of 240 ft stood along with its robust structure just on the beach overseeing the Arabian Sea.

On the right side of the main temple, a huge deity of Lord Shiva with a height of 123 ft was placed in sitting posture facing the east. The chanting of mantra praising Lord Shiva could be heard creating a religious environment in the entire area. It seemed that the waves of the sea were paying homage to God touching the base of both the structures.

Main temple

We were welcomed by two elephant structures at the main entrance that led to the main temple. The wonderful carving on the walls of Gopuram attracted the attention and we had to spend at least a quarter of an hour to stare at the small idols carved on the walls depicting the mythology. Having visited the main Shiva Linga, we proceeded towards the elevator for reaching the upper stairs of the temple.

The pilgrims were allowed to reach the 18^th floor of the Gopuram by elevator against the purchase of tickets. The breathtaking view from the top of the structure was really amazing. On one side the blue water with white foamy waves touching the shore and on another side the small township of Murudeshwar. It seemed that we were having a view from flight or helicopter. We could not help but took photographs from all possible angles to cherish our memories in the future.

History of the temple

Ravana, the monarch of Lanka wanted to attain immortality through the worship of Lord Shiva. He, by his devotion, was able to receive blessings from Lord Shiva. As per condition, Ravana was to carry the Atma-Linga to his place without dropping the Linga on his way back. It was advised that the Linga would get stuck wherever it touched the ground.  But other gods came to know about the hidden agenda of Ravana, that he wanted to destroy the other Gods through the boon he received.  Lord Krishna played trick through Ganesha and Ravana was misled. Ultimately, Ravana could not carry the Linga and it remained stuck as Mridesh Linga at Mrideshwar, later known as Murudeshwar.

Other tourist attractions

There was a huge sculpture of the battle of Mahabharata where Krishna was chanting Gita to influence Arjuna, instigating him to fight the war against his own family.

However, the major tourist attraction the sea beach beside the temple on both sides. It was a calm beach with gradual slopes ideal for bathing in fair weather. The beauty of the beach not only attracted the pilgrims, but also domestic and international tourists, who were found to be enjoying the dancing waves and cool breeze despite scorching sun rays in the afternoon.

Foreigners were found to be tanning their skins at a distance slightly away from the close vicinity of the temple either in the open air or under umbrellas or shacks.

Sea sports like kayaking, banana boat, water scooter is also available on the beaches for the enjoyment of gen-next population.

Pigeon Island located at around 10 nautical miles from Murudeshwar is an ideal location for snorkeling and scuba diving. The point has to be reached by hiring a private boat.  

Boarding and lodging

There are many hotels, homestays, lodges, and inns around the temple and also scattered in the temple town. The price range varies based on the distance from the temple and beaches. The budget hotels are also available within the price range of Rs.500/- per day for a double-bedded room.

Apart from the food available in the restaurant attached to the hotels, there was a huge number of restaurants around the temple where cuisines of various types were available at a reasonable price. The majority of the restaurants around the temple provided vegetarian food but non-vegetarian food was also available in restaurants slightly away from the temple.

How to reach Murudeshwar

The place is connected through railway and there is a railway station on the Mumbai-Mangalore route. The distance from Mangalore is 216 km and Udipi is 135 km and is well connected from both the places.

The temple and beach are located with a slight diversion on the main highway connecting Mumbai and Mangalore. It is located at 155 km north of Mangalore and 101 km north of Udipi.

The nearest airport is Mangalore which is directly and indirectly connected with all major cities of India.

My experience

The panoramic view from the top of the entrance of the temple had been really fascinating. The series of waves touching the golden sand could be seen in such a fashion as if designs were created on the blue waters of the sea. The gigantic structure of the temple and the deity of Lord Shiva and an episode of Mahabharata also attracted our attention. Though my intention was to make a stopover for an hour or so, I could not resist myself spending the entire day on the beach and then proceed to Udipi in the evening after an enchanting view of sunset in the Arabian Sea. I repented for not having spent a couple of days in Murudeshwar, rescheduling our programme.

I would suggest my traveller friends to include Murudeshwar in their itinerary during their travel to the west coast of India and I hope you will not find yourself to be a loser, once you reach the beach.