Sringeri: The Vidyashankara temple ,

Famous Temples of India

Sringeri: The Vidyashankara temple is a magnificient temple built under the patronage of the Vijayanagar empire

Sringeri is one of the most celebrated pilgrimage centers in Karnataka, and is home to the Sarada Peetham established by the revered spiritual leader Aadi Sankaracharya.    Sringeri is located amidst the Sahyadri hills in Chikmaglur district of Karnataka on the left bank of the river Tungabhadra. The nearest railhead is Birur on the Bangalore - Pune railroad. The nearest airport is at Mangalore (150 km). Bangalore is at a distance of 336 km from Sringeri. Near Sringeri, are the Sringagiri hills, said to be the birth place of Sage Rishyasringa.

Sringeri is one of the most celebrated pilgrimage centers in Karnataka, and is home to the Sarada Peetham established by the revered spiritual leader Aadi Sankaracharya.    Sringeri is located amidst the Sahyadri hills in Chikmaglur district of Karnataka on the left bank of the river Tungabhadra. The nearest railhead is Birur on the Bangalore - Pune railroad. The nearest airport is at Mangalore (150 km). Bangalore is at a distance of 336 km from Sringeri. Near Sringeri, are the Sringagiri hills, said to be the birth place of Sage Rishyasringa.

Aadi Sankaracharya established the Sarada Peetham here in the 1st millennium CE, and installed an image of Sarada with a Sri Chakra in front of her, and started the Bharati Sampradaya to propagate the philosophy of non dualism. Sankara's disciple Sureshwaracharya was the first head of the Sringeri Peetham.
Vidyashankara of Vidyathirtha, who was the head of this Peetham for a period of 105 years from 1228 CE to 1333 CE is considered to be one of the greatest Gurus of this Peetham.
Vidyaranya who headed the peetham from 1331 CE to 1386 CE was another extraordinary leader, who was instrumental in the establishment of the Vijayanagara Empire, which not only offered stiff resistance to the onslaught of destruction from the invading foreign armies, but also caused the flowering of literary works and great  monuments throughout South India andthe preservation of the ancient temple traditions.

The Vidyashankara temple at Sringeri was built in memory of Guru Vidyashankara or Vidyathirtha by Vidyaranya, with the aid of the Vijayanagar rulers in the 14th century.   The golden image of Sarada was also installed then at the Sarada temple.   The temple also houses ruby images of Venugopala and Srinivasa and a Nandi made out of a large pearl. Several inscriptions are seen in the temple, describing contributions made by the Vijayanagar emperors.

This temple combines the Hoysala and Dravida architectural features. It stands on a richly sculptured basement. There are six doorways leading into the temple. The twelve pillars in the mandapam are named the Raasi pillars, and are so arranged that the sun's rays fall on each of them, in the order of the solar months.

Each column also has a large rearing lion, with non removable rolling stone balls in its mouth. A circular shikhara crowns the sanctum. This temple also features 61 images carved in bas relief, of various scenes from the puranas. Buddha is depicted as one of the incarnations of Vishnu here. From across the river, this temple looks seated like a majestic swan.

(Templenet acknowledges Srinivas Merle for providing the images above).
The Saradamba Temple: Sarada Devi is enshrined seated on the Sri Chakra Peetham, holding a Japa Mala, with a parrot perched on the top of her hand. The original image of sandalwood was installed by Adi Sankaracharya, and it was replaced with a golden image, in the 14th century. The processional image of Saradamba is enshrined in the sourhern prakaram. There are also shrines to Shakti Ganapati and Bhuvaneswari here. There is also a shrine to Aadi Sankara here.Each Friday witnesses the procession of Saradamba in a silver chariot around the temple. The Navaratri festival season also witnesses processions of the processional image of Saradamba. Also in this temple are shrines to Shakti Ganapati, Mahishasuramardini and Rajarajeswari.

Also in Sringeri is the Janardhana temple, where carved in one of the niches of the sanctum is an image of Aadi Sankaracharya. Near this temple is the brindavanam of Sureshwaracharya. At Rishyasringapuram on the banks of the Nandini river, enshrines Sringeswara. Legend has it that the sage Rishyasringa attained salvation here

Gokarna, India

Etymology
Gokarna means Cow's Ear. It is believed that Lord Shiva emerged from the ear of a cow (Prithvi, the Mother Earth) here. It is also located at the ear-shaped confluence of two rivers Gangavali and Aghanashini.

Mythology

Legends in the Sahyadri Khand of the Puranas indicate that the State of Kerala was reclaimed from the sea by the Warrior-Sage Parashurama who came from the North (of the Vindhya ranges) after his wanderings, in which he killed the Kshatriyas 21 times and threw his axe, the weapon by which he annihilated the Kshatriyas, into the sea, to prevent the erosion of the land stretching from Gokarna to the Southernmost tip of India.
Gokarna is also mentioned in the Shrimad Bhagavata Purana as being the home of the two brothers Gokarna and Dhundhakari and the Bhagawat also gives details of the differences in their temperament, nature and exploits.
Another mythological reference to Gokarna describes how Ravana, the demon-king of Lanka, received the atmalinga from Shiva after he had performed a penance at Mount Kailash reciting self-written Shivatandavastotram. Shiva instructed Ravana that the sacred atmalinga should not be placed on the ground as it would establish itself where placed on earth. On his way back to Lanka, Ravana stops for his evening prayers at Gokarna. To prevent Ravana from getting a weapon as powerful as the atmalinga, Ganesha, in the disguise of a Brahmin boy, tells Ravana that he will hold the atmalinga until Ravana finishes his prayers. As soon as he receives the atmalinga, Ganesh promptly puts it down. Ravana tries to extricate it, resulting in throwing the coverings of the Linga to Surathkal, Dhareshwar, Gunavanteshwar, Murudeshwar and Shejjeshwar temples.

   Religious attractions

Gokarna Beach.

Gokarna is also an important centre of Sanskrit learning and houses Bhandikeri Math and Toggu Math. It is a place where Sanksrit knowledge is passed down from generations in Brahmin families. Many Hindus also perform the last rites of a person here.

• Mahabaleshwar Temple (Maha: great, bal: strength) is a famous Shiva Temple and it houses the 'Atmalinga'. Named so after Ravana referred to the linga's great strength. Till the government handed over the temple to a public trust, all the public of Gokarna - supposed to be the office bearers of the temple - were managing the temple.^[2]

It is situated at the western end of the main street. The main deity here is two-armed, standing and at least 1500 years old. The idol of Lord Ganesha also is ancient. In the sanctuary is a stone linga, encased in brass, placed on a coiled stone serpent. The floor of the hall in front has an intricate engraving of a giant tortoise.

• Maha Ganapathi Temple built in honour of the boy Ganapathi, who deceived the demon Ravana.
• Uma Maheshwari Temple
• Bhadrakali Temple
• Varadaraj Temple
• Tamra-Gauri Temple
• Shanmuka Temple
• Venkataramana Temple
• Kotitheertha is a man-made tank that is used for immersion of idols and ritual bathing. It is surrounded by temples.
• Shivaratri festival is celebrated here with great enthusiasm. Each year a team builds up two great temple chariots which are used during the Shivaratri festival. The two great temple chariots lead a procession through the town's narrow streets, while priests and pilgrims chant hymns in praise of Shiva. More than a hundred people are needed to pull the chariots with thick ropes while priests conduct religious ceremonies inside. During the four day Shivaratri festival, the small town of Gokarna is visited by up to 20,000 pilgrims.

              Location

Boating services seen in Om beach, 5km from Gokarna.

A foreigner sun bathing in Om beach.

Gokarna beach near Mahabaleshwara temple.

Gokarna is about 453 km from Bangalore, 238 km north of Mangalore and about 59 km from Karwar. It is between the Gangavali and Agnashini rivers and situated along the Karwar coast by the Arabian Sea. It is 200 km north from the college towns of Suratkal and Manipal.
Gokarna can be reached by buses and maxicabs from Kumta (36 km), Ankola (26 km) and Karwar (59 km) on National Highway 17( NH-17 ). Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) also runs long-journey buses from many cities like Panaji, Bangalore and Mangalore. Private buses (Vijayanand Roadlines - VRL, Sugama, Sea Bird, etc.) operate night journeys from the capital city of Bangalore to Gokarna daily. It can be reached by train Konkan Railway on the Mumbai to Mangalore route. The railway station ( called Gokarna Road ) is 6 km away from the town. The nearest airports are Dabolim at Goa and Mangalore International Airport at Bajpe