As usual, click on any of the below pictures to see the larger view or to save them to your computer..
Nothing happens without God's blessings and grace.Each time , I start to compose one of these mails and wander which holy temple do I visit next-It is amazing and a miracle to my eyes to come across these devotional sites.Each time, I think, that I will not be able to find any more pictures which would enable me to see this temple better and have the blissful darshan of these holy places-my eyes witness one more leela of Baba.It is hard to explain in words but I surely hope and pray that you too feel blessed while follwing me on this teerth yatra.
Today, lets all have the sacred darshan of Murudeshwara , the tallest statue of " Lord Shiva " in the world.
Murudeshwara is a town in the Bhatkal Taluka of Uttara Kannada district in the state of Karnataka , India. "Murudeshwara" is another name of the Hindu god Shiva. This temple is built on the Kanduka Hill which is surrounded on three sides by the waters of the Arabian Sea.
It is a temple dedicated to the Lord Shiva, and a 20-storied Gopura is being constructed on the temple.
The entire temple and temple complex, including the 249 feet tall Raja Gopura, which is considered the tallest gopura in the world, was constructed to its present form by businessman and philanthropist Mr. R N Shetty.
Two life-size elephants in concrete stand guard at the steps leading to the temple.
The history of Murudeshwar characterized at the Museum [Must see and do not forget to read the wonderful stories linked with these statues]
The origin of the name "Murudeshwara" dates to the time of Ramayana. The Hindu god's attained immortality and invincibility by worshipping a divine lingam called the AtmaLinga. The Lanka king Ravana wanted to attain immortality by obtaining the AtmaLinga. Since the AtmaLinga belonged to Lord Shiva, Ravana worshipped Shiva with devotion. Pleased by his prayers, Lord Shiva appeared before him and asked him what he wanted. By this time Narada had asked Lord Vishnu to change Ravana's mind. As a result of this plot, Ravana asks for Goddess Parvathi, and Lord Shiva offers him.
On his way back to Lanka Narada tells Ravana that Lord has not given real Parvathi and that the real Parvathi was in Pathala.
So Ravana lets off Parvathi and goes to Pathala and marries a king's daughter thinking that she was Parvathi. When he returns back to Lanka and tells that he had brought Parvathi, his mother then asks for linga. Ravana then comes to know that Vishnu had done all these tricks.
Now Ravana goes back and meditates a lot to please Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva appears and Ravana asks for His forgiveness. This time, Ravana requests the AtmaLinga as his boon. Lord Shiva agreed to give him the boon with a condition that it should never be placed on the ground. If the AtmaLinga was ever placed on the ground, all the powers would return to Lord Shiva again. Having obtained his boon, Ravana started back on his journey to Lanka.
Sage Narada, who came to know of this incident, realized that with the AtmaLinga
Ravana may obtain immortality and create havoc on earth. He approached the Lord Ganesh and requested him to prevent the AtmaLinga from reaching Lanka. Lord Ganesh knew that Ravana was a very devoted person who used to perform prayer ritual in the evening every day without fail. He decided to make use of this fact and came up with a plan to confiscate the AtmaLinga from Ravana.
As Ravana was nearing Gokarna, Lord Vishnu blotted the sun to make it look like evening had appeared. Ravana now had to perform his evening rituals but was worried because with the AtmaLinga in his hands, he would not be able to do his rituals. At this time, Lord Ganesh in the disguise of a Brahmin boy came near him. Seeing him, Ravana requested him to hold the AtmaLinga until he performed his rituals, and asked him not to place it on the ground.
Ganesh struck a deal with him saying that he would call Ravana thrice, and if Ravana did not return within that time, he would place the AtmaLinga on the ground.
As predicted, before Ravana could return after completing his rituals, Ganesh had already placed the AtmaLinga on the ground. Vishnu then removed his illusion and it was daylight again.
Ravana, realizing that he had been tricked, got really angry and tried to uproot and destroy it but could not. Then he decided to destroy the covering of the AtmaLinga, and threw the case covering it to a place called Sajjeshwara, 23 miles away. Then he threw the lid of the case to a placed called Guneshwara (now Gunavanthe) and Dhareshwara, 10-12 miles away. Finally, he threw the cloth covering the AtmaLinga to a placed called Mrideshwara in Kanduka-Giri (Kanduka Hill). Mrideshwara has been renamed to Murudeshwara.
A huge towering statue of Lord Shiva, visible from great distances, is present in the temple complex. It is the tallest statue of Shiva in the world.
The statue is 123 feet (37 m) in height, and took about 2 years to build. The statue was built by Shivamogga's Kashinath and several other sculptors, financed by businessman and philanthropist Mr. R.N. Shetty, at a cost of approximately 50 million Rs. The idol is designed such that it gets the sun light directly and thus appears sparkling.
This sculpture shows the narration and writing of the famous Hindu epic the Mahabharata. Also clicked inside the premises of the Murudeshwara Temple. The Mahabaratha is traditionally ascribed to Vyasa, who is also one of the major dynastic characters within the epic. The first section of the Mahabharata states that it was the elephant headed God Ganesha who, at the request of Vyasa, wrote down the text to Vyasa's dictation.
Ravana Giving the Athma Linga to Ganesha
Clicked inside the premises of the Murudeshwara Temple. The Bhagavad Gita (in Sanskrit Bhagavad Gita means the "Song of God") is an important Sanskrit Hindu scripture. The sculpture shows Krishna as the charioteer and Arjuna the warrior.
The content of the Gita is the conversation between Lord Krishna and Arjuna taking place on the battlefield before the start of the Kurukshetra war. Responding to Arjuna's confusion and moral dilemma, Krishna explains to Arjuna his duties as a warrior and prince and elaborates on different Yogic and Vedantic philosophies, with examples and analogies. This has led to the Gita often being described as a concise guide to Hindu philosophy and also as a practical, self-contained guide to life. During the discourse, Krishna reveals his identity as the Supreme Being Himself, blessing Arjuna with an awe-inspiring vision of his divine universal form.
Nandi with the 20 storey tower in the backdrop
The Statue of Lord Shiva is mesmerizing
Om Shree Namaha Shivaya! My heart felt pranams to Lord Shiva.May He bless our souls with eternal peace and Joy.
Maha Mrityunjaya Mantra :
Om-Tryambakam yajamahe Sugandhim pushti-vardhanam
Urvarukamiva bandhanan Mrityor mukshiya mamritat
Baba, in Everything and Everywhere in Nature
When we look at nature, varieties of trees, mountains, multi-hued, fragrant flowers wafting perfume, tasty fruits, a host of song birds, animals, brooks, rainbows, and a plethora of pleasant sights greet us. What is the basis and who created them all? Who has taught the parrot to mutter sweet words, songs to a cuckoo and dance to a peacock? This wondrous creation bears an eloquent testimony to the creative genius of God. He pervades every atom of the Universe. Our minds enveloped in the darkness are unable to sense the Power of the Celestial Artist who drew the picture of the visible, marvellous creation on the canvas of the nature. God incarnates in the human form in order to dispel the darkness of ignorance in mankind and to light wisdom. Baba is the Heavenly Father in human form.Is it not foolishness not to have developed a rock-like faith in Baba after reading Sai Satcharitra, a story of His mind-boggling miracles blessed to thousands of devotees. On a number of occasions Baba proved that He would be hurt or harmed if any living being is tortured or Mother Nature is polluted. With deep love for Baba welling up in our hearts, let us behold the Presence of Baba in every inch of Nature and let us serve Baba visible in every living being. This is the highest practice of sensing the Omnipresence of Baba, the fulfillment of human birth.