On 18 June 2015, we (my mother, my aunt and myself) vacated our cottage in Udupi at 7:00 AM. On the previous day, the priest in Sri Krishna temple told us about six temples which were located between Udupi and Mangalore. As I had seen the district map of Udupi, I understood that we could cover only four of those temples before reaching Mangalore. Those temples are in Ambalpadi, Katapadi, Kateel and Suratkal.
Ambalpadi
We hired an auto to go to Ambalpadi, which is just 4 kms away from Sri Krishna temple in Udupi. In fact, Ambalpadi is now a part of Udupi. We reached Ambalpadi at 7:15 AM. The temple is dedicated to Goddes Mahakali, however, there is another temple in the same complex for Lord Janardhana. The temple was constructed in Kerala style and it was not much crowded. We had a nice darshan of both Mahakali and Janardhana. We spent around 20 minutes in the temple and boarded the same auto and got down at the bus complex in Udupi.
Katapadi
Katapadi is located on the highway to Mangalore and is 10 kms away from Udupi. We boarded a mini bus at 7:45 AM and reached Katapadi at 8:00 AM. Katapadi is a Tulu word which means Tie It Down (There is a town by name Katpadi in Tamil Nadu, but this is Katapadi). The temple is just 300 meters away from NH17 and is on the other side of the highway. We had crossed the road very carefully as it is one of the busiest highways in our country which connects Mangalore with Mumbai.
The temple in Katapadi is dedicated to Lord Vishnu who is worshipped as Venkata Ramana. The temple was painted in red colour and looked as if it was painted recently. The temple is very clean with green surroundings. We went in and had the darshan of Venkataramana. The main idol here is not exactly in the same manner like the one in normal Balaji temples. We were in the temple for about 20 minutes and came back to NH17. We boarded another bus to go to Mulki, which is a junction and is around 30 kms away from there. From there we should catch our bus to Kateel.
We reached Mulki at 9:30 AM and Kateel is just 12 kms away from there. As there was still time to catch our bus to Kateel, we had our breakfast in Mulki. In fact, we looked out for a restaurant to have our breakfast in Katapadi also, but we didn`t find a decent one. We boarded the bus to go to Kateel at 10:00 AM and reached Kateel at 10:20 AM.
Kateel
The temple in Kateel is just a few steps away from the bus-stand. This temple is located in the middle of the river Nandini and was constructed on pillars. The river flows from the rocks and, hence, it looks like a waterfall. I had not seen such a temple before, though I had seen so many temples in both Southern and Northern parts of India.
The main deity in this temple is Sri Durga Parameshwari. The Goddess is very powerful and it is a belief that your wishes will be fulfilled soon if you pray in this temple. The temple is visited by thousands of devotees during Fridays. However, as it was Thursday, the temple was not overcrowded. We had our darshan immediately and we stayed in front of the Goddes for 10 minutes. When we came out, we saw a bus exactly in front of the temple. When I asked the driver if it would go to Suratkal, he asked us to board the bus and get down at Talipadi, which is a junction and is just 5 kms away from there.
Suratkal is 35 kms away from Talipadi. We changed our bus in Talapadi and reached Suratkal which is on the highway to Mangalore. The temple is on the bank of the Arabian Sea and is around one kilometer away from NH17 (again, we had to cross the highway carefully).
The temple is far away from the village and there were no modes of transport available at that time. The local people told us we might get a vehicle if we would wait for some time. However, as we were not sure of how long that wait could be, we started walking towards the temple. We reached the temple in 15 minutes.
Suratkal
The temple in Suratkal is called Sri Sadashiva Mahaganapati temple. Though, Shiva is the main deity, Ganapati is also equally important, who is in a small temple in the same complex. The temple is on a small rock and there were around 30 steps to reach the temple. The temple was open and the afternoon pooja was going on at that time. We had the darshan of both Shiva and Ganapati and we were in the temple for 20 minutes.
We came down at 12:30 PM and had a cup of tea in a small hotel beside the temple. From there, the beach is just a few yards away. In fact, the lighthouse is just a few steps away from that hotel. As my aunt did not show any interest to see the beach, she stayed back in the hotel (She is from Nellore and goes to the Mypadu beach so frequently. But, my mother and myself are from Hyderabad, and we rarely get a chance to see a beach). We reached the beach in three minutes.
The beach was so calm, but the sea was very rough. There was a warning board - ROUGH SEA, DO NOT SWIM. There were two girls in the beach at that time and it looked like they came there for a photo shoot. One girl gave so many poses and the other girl took her photographs in different angles. They smiled when they saw us and continued to get engaged in their own task. We sat at a place which is away from their coverage area. We were there for more than half an hour enjoying both the tides and the poses (Let me clarify - both the girls were in casual wear and not in swim wear. After all, it was Karnataka and not Goa).
Mangalore
We came back to NH17 and boarded the bus to go to Mangalore which is 15 kms away from there. We reached the main bus complex in Mangalore (which is called State Bank) at 1:45 PM. We had our lunch in Jain Restaurant and the food was very tasty. Moreover, they gave us a fruit and ice cream also, which was a surprise to us. Our next plan for the day was to cover four temples in Mangalore. We hired an auto and went to Gokarnanath temple.
Gokarnanath temple is located in a place called Kardoli in Mangalore. It is a big temple and is very beautiful as well. The Shiva Lingam in this temple was said to be consecrated by Narayana Guru. The temple was originally constructed in Kerala style, but was changed to Chola style when it was renovated in 1991. The temple is in a large area and is very beautiful (I used the word very beautiful twice in the same paragraph only to help you understand how beautiful the temple is).
The temple was open, but the Sannithi (Garbhalaya) would be open for visitors only from 4:00 PM. As it was just 3:00 PM, we sat there in the visitors' chairs for one hour. We had the darshan of Shiva when the temple was opened. We also had the darshan of other deities in the same complex. I liked the idol of Sai Baba which is very graceful with two lions on either sides.
We then hired an auto and went to Sharavu Maha Ganapati temple which is located in a place called Hampankatta. The temple authorities told that Sharavu in Kannada means beautiful and the Ganapati idol here looks really beautiful. However, I also heard another story. Long ago, a king killed a cow with his arrow by mistake. To get rid of the sin, he constructed the temple. As arrow means shara, the deity is called Sharavu Maha Ganapati. We were there in this temple for 15 minutes and moved ahead.
We again hired an auto and went to Manjunatha temple. This temple is very big in size and it took 15 minutes for us to complete one Pradakshina (Parikrama). It is located on a small hill called Kadri. It is beleived that Parashurama stayed on this hill for sometime praising Lord Shiva. Shiva appeared in the form of Manjunatha and blessed him. There are also temples for Ganesha and Durga in the same premises. After spending more than one hour in the temple, we came out and had our evening tea in a hotel opposite to the temple. We then hired another auto to go to Mangala Devi temple, which was our last visit in Mangalore.
We reached Mangala Devi temple at 6:30 PM. It is located in a place called Bolara. Mangala Devi temple is the most famous temple in Mangalore. In fact, the city was named as Mangaluru because of Mangala Devi only (Just like Mumbai was named after Mumba Devi).
Suratkal
The temple in Suratkal is called Sri Sadashiva Mahaganapati temple. Though, Shiva is the main deity, Ganapati is also equally important, who is in a small temple in the same complex. The temple is on a small rock and there were around 30 steps to reach the temple. The temple was open and the afternoon pooja was going on at that time. We had the darshan of both Shiva and Ganapati and we were in the temple for 20 minutes.
We came down at 12:30 PM and had a cup of tea in a small hotel beside the temple. From there, the beach is just a few yards away. In fact, the lighthouse is just a few steps away from that hotel. As my aunt did not show any interest to see the beach, she stayed back in the hotel (She is from Nellore and goes to the Mypadu beach so frequently. But, my mother and myself are from Hyderabad, and we rarely get a chance to see a beach). We reached the beach in three minutes.
The beach was so calm, but the sea was very rough. There was a warning board - ROUGH SEA, DO NOT SWIM. There were two girls in the beach at that time and it looked like they came there for a photo shoot. One girl gave so many poses and the other girl took her photographs in different angles. They smiled when they saw us and continued to get engaged in their own task. We sat at a place which is away from their coverage area. We were there for more than half an hour enjoying both the tides and the poses (Let me clarify - both the girls were in casual wear and not in swim wear. After all, it was Karnataka and not Goa).
Mangalore
We came back to NH17 and boarded the bus to go to Mangalore which is 15 kms away from there. We reached the main bus complex in Mangalore (which is called State Bank) at 1:45 PM. We had our lunch in Jain Restaurant and the food was very tasty. Moreover, they gave us a fruit and ice cream also, which was a surprise to us. Our next plan for the day was to cover four temples in Mangalore. We hired an auto and went to Gokarnanath temple.
Gokarnanath temple is located in a place called Kardoli in Mangalore. It is a big temple and is very beautiful as well. The Shiva Lingam in this temple was said to be consecrated by Narayana Guru. The temple was originally constructed in Kerala style, but was changed to Chola style when it was renovated in 1991. The temple is in a large area and is very beautiful (I used the word very beautiful twice in the same paragraph only to help you understand how beautiful the temple is).
The temple was open, but the Sannithi (Garbhalaya) would be open for visitors only from 4:00 PM. As it was just 3:00 PM, we sat there in the visitors' chairs for one hour. We had the darshan of Shiva when the temple was opened. We also had the darshan of other deities in the same complex. I liked the idol of Sai Baba which is very graceful with two lions on either sides.
We again hired an auto and went to Manjunatha temple. This temple is very big in size and it took 15 minutes for us to complete one Pradakshina (Parikrama). It is located on a small hill called Kadri. It is beleived that Parashurama stayed on this hill for sometime praising Lord Shiva. Shiva appeared in the form of Manjunatha and blessed him. There are also temples for Ganesha and Durga in the same premises. After spending more than one hour in the temple, we came out and had our evening tea in a hotel opposite to the temple. We then hired another auto to go to Mangala Devi temple, which was our last visit in Mangalore.
We reached Mangala Devi temple at 6:30 PM. It is located in a place called Bolara. Mangala Devi temple is the most famous temple in Mangalore. In fact, the city was named as Mangaluru because of Mangala Devi only (Just like Mumbai was named after Mumba Devi).
Some people here told that this temple was built by Kundavarma, who was the king of this area in the 9th century. However, a few others told that this temple was originally built by Parashurama and later Kundavarma renovated it.
Though, this temple is not small in area, it is not very big either. But, the Goddess is very powerful. We were in the temple for more than 45 minutes and out of that time, we spent more than 30 minutes in front of the Goddess only. We came out of the temple at around 7:30 PM after buying Prasadams. We talked only about Mangala Devi for a few hours, even after leaving the temple. Such was the impact the Goddess had on us.
Though, this temple is not small in area, it is not very big either. But, the Goddess is very powerful. We were in the temple for more than 45 minutes and out of that time, we spent more than 30 minutes in front of the Goddess only. We came out of the temple at around 7:30 PM after buying Prasadams. We talked only about Mangala Devi for a few hours, even after leaving the temple. Such was the impact the Goddess had on us.
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