Ganapathi Temple was the first one we visited. We were ready by 10:30 a.m. and the driver came on time. The following were on our list. Gokarneswara, Kadiri, Mangala Devi and Durga Parameswari in Katil. We visited a Jain Temple also (driver's choice).
Gokarna is a pilgrimage center of Karnataka, Worshipped here is the Aatma Lingam Mahabaleshwar. It is regarded as one of the 7 Mukti Stalas of Karnataka. Gokarna is located at a distance of 170 km from Mangalore. The other six being Kollur, Kodeshwara, Kumbasi, Subramanya, Sankaranarayana and Udipi.
Legend goes that Vinayaka (Ganapathi) tricked the demon Ravana into leaving behind a Shivalingam here, a legend similar to that of Tiruchirappalli. In spite of the strength exerted by Ravana, the Maha Bala, the Shivalingam stayed fixed, hence the name Mahabaleshwar. Because of the pull exerted by Ravana, the Shivalingam resembled the shape of a cow's ear and hence the name Gokarnam. A very similar legend holds at the Vaidyanath - Jyotirlingam temple at Deogarh in Bihar, which we plan to visit in 2008. The female deity Gokarna Nayaki also known as Taamragowri - her shrine is behind the sanctum.
The Temple of Mahabaleshwar faces west in a square Saligrama Peetham. A golden rekha (line) on the peetham, and a small hole in its middle permits devotees to have a glimpse of the top of the Aatma Lingam. Once in 40 years, during the Ashta bandhana Kumbhabhishekam, the six foot tall Shivalingam that is encolsed inside the Peetham is seen. We were there at a different time!!! There are also shrines of Vinayaka, Chandikeswara, Aadi Gokarneswara and Dattatreya.
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