About:
Dr. Bharatkumar Bhate is M.S. General Surgeon (Gold Medalist) by qualification with an experience of 30,000+ operations and is based at Rajkot, Gujarat. He is an avid reader and a passionate writer. In this blog, he shares his travel experiences and creative writings.
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Blog:
A more “chilled-out”
version of Goa, Gokarna has the beauty of Goa without the hustle and bustle of
it.
After a delicious early morning breakfast, we started from Margao to Gokarna in car. It was a pleasant journey of about 3 hours. The road is excellent and full of greenery. At places, it looked as if we were passing through a thick forest.
After a delicious early morning breakfast, we started from Margao to Gokarna in car. It was a pleasant journey of about 3 hours. The road is excellent and full of greenery. At places, it looked as if we were passing through a thick forest.
Gokarna is visited by both fun loving leisure tourists and by pilgrims.
RELIGIOUS FACETS OF GOKARNA :
Gokarna is a tiny temple town by the Arabian Sea, in the south-western Indian state of Karnataka. It is a popular pilgrimage destination. Popular Mahabaleshwar Temple has a shrine dedicated to the deity Shiva. Also nearby is a Koti Teertha which is a temple tank where devotees bath in the holy waters.
The temple of Mahabaleshwar has a 6 feet tall
Shivling made from white granite. Shivling is called 'Atmalinga'. It is a
classic example of Dravidian architecture.
The temple is open from 6-00 am to 12-00 noon and from 5-00 pm to 8-00 pm. It takes at least one hour for darshan in a long queue on non festival days. Maha Shivratri is the main festival and during it one has to spend many hours in queue for darshan.
Jeans, trousers, shorts, frock and western dresses are not allowed. Dhoti, lungi and saree are available on rent in temple premises and in the shops outside. I rented a lungi from a nearby shop and went for Darshan, as can be seen in the photograph.
Foreigners, including practicing Hindus of
non-Indian (Western) origin, are not allowed to enter the sanctum and see the
Shivalinga.
This temple is quite old, completed in 345 - 365 CE, as mentioned in Hindu mythology writings. This is one of the holiest site for Shiva and finds its mention in several Puranas, Ramayana and even in Mahabharata. Therefore it is regarded equivalent to Kashi and hence called 'Dakshin Kashi'.
The temple is one of the seven sacred Muktisthala ("places of salvation") in Karnataka. It is a place where many Hindus of Karnataka perform obsequies (death rites) for their departed.
A legend says that Demon King Ravana
performed severe penance at Mount Kailash to please Lord Shiva. He also
sang praises of Shiva (Shiva Tandava Stotram) in his melodious voice.
Lord Shiva was pleased. Ravana requested for the Atma-Linga as his boon for his
mother. Lord Shiva agreed to give him the boon with a condition that it should
never be placed on the ground. If the Atma-Linga was ever placed on the ground,
it would remain rooted at that spot. Having obtained his boon, Ravana started
back on his journey to Lanka. When he reached Gokarna, God Ganesha on
instruction of Lord Vishnu in the disguise of a Brahmin boy appeared before
him. Ravana requested him to hold the Atma-Linga until he performed his evening
rituals, and asked him not to place it on the ground. Ganesh struck a deal with
him saying that he would call Ravana thrice, and if Ravana did not return
within that time, he would place the Atma-Linga on the ground. Ravana couldn't
come within the specified time. Even before Ravana could return, Lord Ganesha
placed the Atmalinga on the ground, tricked Ravana and vanished from the scene.
After realising that he had been tricked, Ravana furiously rushed after
Ganesh and his accompanied cow. Both Ganesh and cow went underground but still
Ravana could catch ears of the cow. This is how the place is named Gokarna (Go
= cow & karna = ears).
Atmalinga is still there since then and is worshipped by Hindus.
FUN & LEISURE ASPECTS OF GOKARNA :
Gokarna is favorite among travelers who seek a peaceful vacation. It is the more laid-back and less commercialized version of Goa and is located in the state of Karnataka.
Gokarna has many star hotels to stay comfortably.
Goa and Gokarna are both amazing beach destinations in India. Gokarna is comparatively less crowded than Goa, as a lot of people still do not know of this amazing place. If one is looking for lesser crowd, then Gokarna is a great place to visit. The beaches are relatively less crowded and much cleaner.
Apart from the main beach at Gokarna, the following beaches are popular chill-out zones:
(3) Paradise beach (connected to Gokarna by road)
After a comfortable Darshan of Lord Shiva and spending some time on two beaches, we started our onward journey to Murudeshwar. We had nice and tasty lunch at Kamath restaurant on highway.
Friends, I take a break here. Kindly wait for my next blog of Murudeshwar visit. Till then, have a nice time.