On 17 June 2015, we checked out our hotel room in Bhatkal (the name of the hotel is Kola Paradise) and boarded the bus to Kundapura at 7:30 AM. The distance between Bhatkal and Kundapura is 54 kms. After half an hour, we crossed a lodge by name R K Residency which is located on NH17 in a small village called Baindur. When we saw that lodge from the bus, it reminded us of our previous visit to that part of the country. (In 2008, we stayed in R K Residency at Baindur, when we were going from Gokarna to Kollur.) We reached Kundapura at around 9:00 AM.
There are 7 places in Karnataka which are considered as Mukthi Sthalams. They are:
1. Gokarna
2. Udupi
3. Koteswara
4. Shankaranarayana
5. Kumbhasi
6. Kukke &
7. Kollur
I don't know why Dharmasthala was not included in this list. As we had already been to Gokarna, Udupi, Kukke and Kollur earlier, we wanted to cover the remaining three places in this trip.
Koteswara
Koteswara is just 5 kms away from Kundapura. We boarded a mini bus and reached Koteswara in 10 minutes. We went to the temple on foot as it is just half a kilometre away from the bus-stop.
The main temple in this village is called Koti Lingeswara temple with Shiva being the deity. This temple looked like a normal house from a distance. Only after reaching the main entrance, we realized that it's a temple. After our darshan, I asked the priest regarding Shankaranarayana and Kumbhasi and he gave us the guidance.
We came out and had our breakfast in a restaurant. We saw a temple while going back to the bus-stop. When we went in, we realized that it's Kodanda Rama temple. The priest in this temple, told us about Anantha Padmanabha Swamy temple at Perdur, near Udupi. After having our darshan, we boarded the bus to Shankaranarayana which is 35 kms away.
Shankaranarayana
Shankaranarayana is a small village and the temple is one kilometer away from the bus-stop. As we couldn`t see any mode of transport around, we started walking. It took 15 minutes for us to reach the temple. The temple is very clean with green surroundings. The main deity is Vishnu which is a 10 feet idol and is very beautiful. As there was a special puja going on, we waited in front of the idol for more than half an hour. There were hardly 10 people in the temple and one of them dropped us at Ampar (which is a junction) in his car when I told him that we were going back to Kundapura.
From there we reached Kundapura in 45 minutes by bus. It started raining after we boarded the bus and became heavier when we got down in Kundapura. We waited for more than half an hour in the bus-stop to go to the other side of the road as I noticed a decent restaurant, but the rain didn`t stop. Finally, we crossed the road and went into the restaurant (Hotel Sharon). We were completely drenched by then. The lunch was really good with so many dishes being available. We came out of the restaurant at 2:30 PM.
Kumbhasi - Anegudde
From there, we boarded another bus to go to Kumbhasi. It is a small village and is 12 kms away from Kundapura. We walked down to the temple as it is just half a kilometre away from NH17. We first went to Anigudde which is on a small rock exactly on the top of Kumbhasi.
Anegudde
Anegudde is one of the famous Ganesh temples in Karnataka. The deity here is worshipped as Sri Vinayaka, who is in standing pose and is very beautiful. There were hardly 50 people in the temple at that time. We stayed in the temple for around half an hour. When we came out, we saw a Dharma Shasta (Ayyappa) temple which is very close to this temple. Though the Sannithi was closed, as the doors were made of grills, we could have the darshan of Ayyappa also.
Kumbhasi
We came down and went to the temple in Kumbhasi. Shiva is worshiped as Kumbheswara here (Another place where Shiva is worshipped as Kumbheswara is Kumbakonam in Tamil Nadu). The temple is very old and has been renovated recently. Behind this temple, there is another temple for Lord Surya. Just beside that temple, there is a big enclosure for peacocks. We could see around 15 peacocks there.
Perdur
After having our evening tea at 5:00 PM, we boarded our bus to Udupi, which is around 30 kms away from there. It again started raining and we reached Udupi at 5:45 PM. We boarded another bus to go to Perdur which is around 20 kms from Udupi. The bus went via Manipal and we reached Perdur at around 6:30 PM. The temple is just a few yards away from the place where the bus stops. The main deity here is Anantha Padmanabha Swamy.
The temple was constructed in Kerala style. (In fact, most of the temples in the South-West Karnataka region, were built in Kerala style only). We expected the main idol in sleeping pose (like the one in Thiruvananthapuram), but Anantha Padmanabha Swamy in this temple is in standing pose. However, there is another idol in the temple which is in sleeping pose. The priest permitted me to take a photograph of this idol.
The priest here told us about Karkala, where there is a temple for Lord Venkateshwara. Though it is just 35 kms away from Perdur, it is in the interiors and there are no proper transport facilities available. By the time we go there, the temple would be closed. So, we came out and boarded our bus to go back. We reached Udupi at 7:30 PM. It was still raining and we hired an auto to go to Sri Krishna temple. We had taken a cottage in the Mutt and took rest for one hour before having the darshan of Sri Krishna.
Udupi
Udupi is one of the famous places in India for all Sri Krishna devotees. We went to the main temple, which is in Sri Krishna Mutt, at 8:45 PM. We had our darshan immediately as there were hardly 10 people at that time. As there was not much crowd, we could have multiple darshans. The main door of the Sannithi is always closed. We have to have our darshan from a window in the backside of the Sannithi. There is a story behind this.
There used to be a great devotee of Sri Krishna in Karnataka and his name was Kanakadasa. Once he went to Udupi to have the darshan of Sri Krishna, but he was not allowed to have the darshan from the main door as he was from a lower caste. He went to the backside of the temple to have the darshan at least from the window. But, from there, he could see only Sri Krishna's back. It was believed that, as Sri Krishna was pleased by Kanakadasa's devotion, he turned back and remained like that forever.
We had then visited the temples for Shiva and Subrahmanya in the same complex. Lord Subrahmanya here, though small in size, is believed to be very powerful.
When we were talking to one of the priests there, he gave us the information about a few important temples between Udupi and Mangalore. Our actual plan was to go to Mangalore on the next day as soon as possible. After the talk we had with him, we changed our plan and wanted to go to some of those temples before going to Mangalore. On his advice only, we went upstairs to have our dinner (Maha Prasadam) in the Mutt itself. (In our previous visit to Udupi in 2005, we had our breakfast in a restaurant beside Sri Krishna Mutt and it was so delicious).
We came out and had our breakfast in a restaurant. We saw a temple while going back to the bus-stop. When we went in, we realized that it's Kodanda Rama temple. The priest in this temple, told us about Anantha Padmanabha Swamy temple at Perdur, near Udupi. After having our darshan, we boarded the bus to Shankaranarayana which is 35 kms away.
Shankaranarayana
Shankaranarayana is a small village and the temple is one kilometer away from the bus-stop. As we couldn`t see any mode of transport around, we started walking. It took 15 minutes for us to reach the temple. The temple is very clean with green surroundings. The main deity is Vishnu which is a 10 feet idol and is very beautiful. As there was a special puja going on, we waited in front of the idol for more than half an hour. There were hardly 10 people in the temple and one of them dropped us at Ampar (which is a junction) in his car when I told him that we were going back to Kundapura.
From there we reached Kundapura in 45 minutes by bus. It started raining after we boarded the bus and became heavier when we got down in Kundapura. We waited for more than half an hour in the bus-stop to go to the other side of the road as I noticed a decent restaurant, but the rain didn`t stop. Finally, we crossed the road and went into the restaurant (Hotel Sharon). We were completely drenched by then. The lunch was really good with so many dishes being available. We came out of the restaurant at 2:30 PM.
Kumbhasi - Anegudde
From there, we boarded another bus to go to Kumbhasi. It is a small village and is 12 kms away from Kundapura. We walked down to the temple as it is just half a kilometre away from NH17. We first went to Anigudde which is on a small rock exactly on the top of Kumbhasi.
Anegudde
Anegudde is one of the famous Ganesh temples in Karnataka. The deity here is worshipped as Sri Vinayaka, who is in standing pose and is very beautiful. There were hardly 50 people in the temple at that time. We stayed in the temple for around half an hour. When we came out, we saw a Dharma Shasta (Ayyappa) temple which is very close to this temple. Though the Sannithi was closed, as the doors were made of grills, we could have the darshan of Ayyappa also.
Kumbhasi
We came down and went to the temple in Kumbhasi. Shiva is worshiped as Kumbheswara here (Another place where Shiva is worshipped as Kumbheswara is Kumbakonam in Tamil Nadu). The temple is very old and has been renovated recently. Behind this temple, there is another temple for Lord Surya. Just beside that temple, there is a big enclosure for peacocks. We could see around 15 peacocks there.
Perdur
After having our evening tea at 5:00 PM, we boarded our bus to Udupi, which is around 30 kms away from there. It again started raining and we reached Udupi at 5:45 PM. We boarded another bus to go to Perdur which is around 20 kms from Udupi. The bus went via Manipal and we reached Perdur at around 6:30 PM. The temple is just a few yards away from the place where the bus stops. The main deity here is Anantha Padmanabha Swamy.
The temple was constructed in Kerala style. (In fact, most of the temples in the South-West Karnataka region, were built in Kerala style only). We expected the main idol in sleeping pose (like the one in Thiruvananthapuram), but Anantha Padmanabha Swamy in this temple is in standing pose. However, there is another idol in the temple which is in sleeping pose. The priest permitted me to take a photograph of this idol.
The priest here told us about Karkala, where there is a temple for Lord Venkateshwara. Though it is just 35 kms away from Perdur, it is in the interiors and there are no proper transport facilities available. By the time we go there, the temple would be closed. So, we came out and boarded our bus to go back. We reached Udupi at 7:30 PM. It was still raining and we hired an auto to go to Sri Krishna temple. We had taken a cottage in the Mutt and took rest for one hour before having the darshan of Sri Krishna.
Udupi
There used to be a great devotee of Sri Krishna in Karnataka and his name was Kanakadasa. Once he went to Udupi to have the darshan of Sri Krishna, but he was not allowed to have the darshan from the main door as he was from a lower caste. He went to the backside of the temple to have the darshan at least from the window. But, from there, he could see only Sri Krishna's back. It was believed that, as Sri Krishna was pleased by Kanakadasa's devotion, he turned back and remained like that forever.
We had then visited the temples for Shiva and Subrahmanya in the same complex. Lord Subrahmanya here, though small in size, is believed to be very powerful.
When we were talking to one of the priests there, he gave us the information about a few important temples between Udupi and Mangalore. Our actual plan was to go to Mangalore on the next day as soon as possible. After the talk we had with him, we changed our plan and wanted to go to some of those temples before going to Mangalore. On his advice only, we went upstairs to have our dinner (Maha Prasadam) in the Mutt itself. (In our previous visit to Udupi in 2005, we had our breakfast in a restaurant beside Sri Krishna Mutt and it was so delicious).
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