The Murudeshwar temple is built on the Kanduka hill in the town of Murudeshwar which lies in the Bhatkal Taluk of the north Kannada district. it is surrounded by beautiful views of the Arabian Sea which falls on three sides of the temple. What the Murudeshwar temple is most famous for is the massive Shiva statue which is 123 feet tall and also world's second tallest Shiva statue.
Murudeshwar Temple History
The Hindu gods attained immortality and invincibility by worshiping the Atma-Linga, a holy Linga. Ravana, the King of Lanka, desired immortality by possessing the Atma-Linga (Soul of Shiva). Ravana was devoted to Shiva since the Atma-Linga belonged to Sri Maheshwara. Sri Mahadeva appeared in front of him, satisfied with his prayers, and asked about his wishes.
Ravana asked of the Atma-Linga. Sri Rudra decided to bless it with the condition that it not be put on the ground until he arrived in Lanka. If the Atma-Linga was ever put on the earth, it would be difficult to move it. Ravana started his journey back to Lanka after receiving his blessing. Sri Mahadeva appeared in front of him, satisfied with his prayers, and inquired about his desires.
Ravana will achieve immortality with the Atma-Linga and wreak havoc on Earth, as per Lord Vishnu, who was aware of the event. He informed Sri Ganesha not to reach Lanka with the Atma-Linga. Ravana was a devoted man, according to Sri Skandapurvaja, who never failed to perform evening prayer rituals. He wanted to make the best of this situation and devised a scheme to steal Ravana's Atma-Linga.
Sri Mahavishnu blotted out the light as Ravana approached Gokarna to give the appearance of dusk. Ravana needed to complete his evening rituals, but he was concerned that he wouldn't be able to do so while holding the Atma-Linga. Sri Shashivarnam, dressed as a Brahmin boy, approached him at this time. Ravana advised him to hold the Atma-Linga before conducting his rituals and to avoid placing it on the floor. Sri Vinayaka decided to call Ravana three times, and if Ravana did not return in that time, he would put the Atma-Linga to the ground.
Ravana returned to find Sri Chaturbhuja had already put the Atma-Linga on the ground. As a result of Sri Keshava's delusion being gone, it was once again daylight. Ravana realized he had been tricked and attempted to destroy the linga. As a consequence of Ravana's power, many bits are scattered. Today in Surathkal, one of these pieces is said to have fallen from the linga's head. The famous Sadashiva temple is said to be built around that piece of linga. He then decided to destroy the Atma-Linga cover and threw the case containing it to a place named Sajjeshwar, 37 kilometers away.
Then he threw the lid of the case to Guneshwar and Dhareshwar, which are 16-19 kilometers away. Finally, he threw the cloth covering the Atma-Linga at a location called Mrideshwar on Kanduka Hill. Mrideshwar was changed to Murdeshwar.
Murudeshwar Temple Darshan Timings for devotees at Murudeshwar Temple are between 5:00 am to 21:00 pm. The Murudeshwar Temple Darshan timings, Aarti/Pooja Timings might change during Maha Shivratri Festival.
The temple was built with Chalukya and Kadamba sculptures in the dravidian style of architecture. It is dedicated to Sri Lokankara, and a 20-storied gopura is constructed at the temple. The temple authorities have installed a lift that provides a breath-taking view of the 123-feet Sri Shiva idol from the top of the Raja gopura.The entire temple and temple complex, including the 249-foot-tall Raja Gopura, which is one of the tallest, was built to its current form by R. N. Shetty, a businessman and philanthropist from Murdeshwar whose ancestors worked in the temple.
How to Reach Murudeshwar
Murudeshwar is located in the state of Karnataka and is just 54 km from Gokarna. Regular rail and bus services ply to and from Murudeshwar. There is, however, no direct flight connectivity to Murudeshwar. The nearest airport is in Mangalore, approximately 137 km away from Murudeshwar.
Source: viharadarshani