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.
