Manjunatha Temple
Location
:
Dharamsthala, Karnataka
Dates Back To
:
1068 AD
Style of Architecture
:
Vijaynagar Style
Dedicated To
:
Lord Shiva
The temple of Manjunatheshwara on the hills of Kadri is a very beautiful and popular temple in Mangalore, visited by every believer who comes to Mangalore. About 4 Kilometers away from the Nehru Maidaan Service bus stand, and well connected by an array of busses and other modes of transport, for getting there you will have to egress from the bus at Mallikatte and then walk in through the "mahadwara.
Every person who comes here irrespective of caste or creed is welcomed and given a free meal. The temple has traces of Buddhist influence. This is evident from the presence of images of the Buddha with reliefs of Garuda.
The presiding deity is Shree Manjunath, Udbhava Linga, which is a natural stone slab found almost parallel to the level of the floor of the 'garbha griha'. An amazing fact is that any amount of water poured on it disappears immediately. There are two figures, one of which is that of Matsyendranatha in the southern niche seated having his palms held one over the other on his folded right leg.
The other figure is that of Sringinatha, which has a three-hooded serpent over its well-carved krita, which is ornamented with three tiers behind it. The central niche, on the western side, has a male figure said to be that of Gorakhanath, which is nearly six feet tall. The sub-deities in the temple are Durgaparmeshwari, Ganapathi, Shastavee and Gomukha Ganpathi, Trilokeshwara, Vyasa Muni and Vishnu. Each of these sub-deities has a smaller shrine dedicated to them.
This life size, three-faced, six-armed figure of the seated Bodhisathva with enameled eyes and an intricately carved crown is surrounded by a well curved prabhavali and two attendants--giving the idol an aura of religion.
