MURUDESWARA

The world's tallest Lord Shiva Statue is Kailashnath Mahadev Statue it is situated in Sanga, the border of Bhaktapur and Kavrepalanchok districts in Nepal. It is 143 feet high and is situated 20 km from Kathmandu, Nepal.

The second tallest statue of Lord Shiva in the world, the town of Murudeshwar. This got its name from the Hindu god, Shiva. Located in Bhatkal taluk in the state of Karnataka, it is a beach town on the western coast of India. The town is a holy place with amazing natural beauty. The small town is largely known for the 123 ft tall statue of Lord Shiva that was built close to the coast. The temple tower at 249 ft is among the tallest structures, It is called Rajagopuram.

The Murudeshwar temple is mainly known for is located on a peninsula and it is surrounded by the Arabian Sea on three sides. The temple is on a hill known as Kanduka Giri.

Ravana (King of Lanka) prayed and worshiped Lord Shiva to attain immortality by getting the ‘Atma Linga’ 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 Parvati instead of atma linga and lord Shiva offers Parvati to Ravana. On the way back to Lanka Narada showing the Kali avatar of Parvati tells Ravana that Shiva has not given him the real Parvathi and that the real Parvathi was in Pathala. Ravana frees Kali and went to Pathala and married Mandodari assuming her to be real Parvati. He then returns to Lanka, where his mother asks him for the Linga. Ravana then realizes that he was tricked started worshiping lord Shiva with much more strong devotion. Lord Shiva appears again and this time, Ravana requests theAtmaLinga as his boon. Lord Shiva agrees to give him the boon with the 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, realised 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 take possession of the AtmaLinga from Ravana.

As Ravana was nearing Gokarna, Lord Vishnu blotted out the sun to give the appearance of dusk. 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 accosted him. Ravana requested him to hold theAtmaLinga 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, realising that he had been tricked,tried to uproot and destroy it; Due to the force exerted by Ravana, some pieces were scattered. One such piece from the head of the linga is said to have fallen in present day Surathkal .The famous Sadashiva temple is said to be built around that piece of linga. 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

Apart from the immense religious value of the place, it is also a popular picnic spot. The Murudeshwar beach stretches north of the temple for a few kilometres. It has silvery sand and the Western Ghats form a scenic backdrop to the beach.

WHERE TO STAY

There are a many budget hotels near the Murudeshwar railway station. There are a few mid-range hotels near the bus stand. There is a luxury hotel near the Murudeshwar Temple which faces the Arabian Sea and is close to the beach.

WHERE TO EAT

There are many restaurants that serve vegetarian South Indian food. The best restaurants are on National Highway 17 and near Murudeshwar beach. Here you can get few fast food joints near the railway station(Chinese and Punjabi cuisine). Non-vegetarian food is also available in many hotels near the railway station and near Murudeshwar bypass road.

BEST TIME TO VISIT

The best time to visit Murudeshwar is between October to March.