Murdeshwar happened as a part of a family trip. Since I had a break from my job and my parents were in a mood for a vacation “But not very far ok” kind of vacation in the words of my mother. I settled for a place not very far from my homeland.
So, it was Murdeshwar in the Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka-India . At a distance of 202 Kms from Goa and 155 Kms from Mangalore. At such a short distance from Goa this is a good place for people who likes visiting temple towns or enroute to some other place or just for a small weekend getaway.
SOME INTERESTING FACTS AND A LITTLE HISTORY:
The most catchy thing about Murdeshwar is the epic Shiva statue which is the second tallest Shiva statue in the world after Kailashnath Mahadev in Nepal, with a height of 123ft, And so naturally this is a famous pilgrimage centre for the Hindus.
-Murdeshwar has its links to the Ramayana.It is the place where the Lankan king Ravana after obtaining the Atma linga from Shiva tried to destroy it. When he tried to destroy it, pieces of it fell around, he threw the cloth covering it and it fell in a place called Mrideshwara-current Murdeshwar.
Getting back to my journey
Murdeshwar has a railway station and also a bus stop. For us the Railway was the most convenient. The station is around 2 Kms away, from then on an auto is what will take you in, there are local buses too which get inside the town. We reached here by evening, As we entered into the town, there was this feeling of entering an ancient Ramayan or Mahabaratha set up, all thanks to the gorgeous archway which gives it the feel and makes it look royal, from then on the road is quiet ordinary with some houses and land around.
As we got closer to the main temple area the whole locality is packed up with lodges and hotels. The area has just average hotels and I would suggest a thorough research and booking in advance not to be disappointed. We refreshed ourselves and then it was to seeing the place around.
Moving on- The way towards the temple is usually crowded with vehicles and devotees. Some coming out from the temple while some others from the beach enjoying a good dose of beach therapy.
The temple is a stunning architecture. Built on a hill, it has the Arabian sea surrounding it on three sides.
The entrance of the temple looked stunning. It has a Gopuram named Raja Gopuram with 20 storeys which is 237.5 ft tall and is intricately designed every bit to replicate the ancient architecture. You can take a trip up to it if you want to. Once you enter through the gopuram you get to see the temple with the huge statue.(the statue is visible from far as well and also while passing through a train-its that huge) It’s an architectural marvel-that mightyness of it.. There are a few statues of the deities around depicting some scenes from the Ramayana, scene of the atma linga, etc.
Just besides the temple lies a beach which again looks stunning due to the Arabian sea on all three sides, can you imagine a view from the temple? The beach area has some food carts. Souvenir stalls and other prayer material available as well as other fancy beach stuff. It’s good to spend some time here watching the sunset and the fisherman at work, as we did.
Our dinner was a simple rice plate which was again decent. The food here usually comprises of dosas and vadas and other kananda cuisine. Following this we were off to bed as we had quiet a tiring journey.
The temple is one aspect of Murdeshwar town and its famous and named after it. Walking around the next day, it was nice to see people around having a normal life contrary to what we thought. The church was something we saw in close proximity, the lifestyle of people quiet simple.Though Murdeshwar is a good place the impact of tourism can be clearly seen, and a little more care from the municipality can restore it natural charm.
We packed up for that evening and made up a stop to our next destination for some good shopping in Hubli, which is a different story and I can keep it for some other time.
Saying that about Murdeshwar, it’s all about the architecture, and it was a good experience.
You can team up a visit to Murdeshwar with some nearby places like Bhatkal, Kumta. Gokarna too is not very far. A days trip to Murdeshwar was good enough to see the much spoken about statue.
Hope this helps you to plan up if you too wanna get this destination ticked off.
Ciao till the next time..😘
Igniting Horizons 