For a divine experience

The main attraction is that this village in Uttar Kannada district is the only Shaivaite pilgrimage centre in India with Atmalinga as the worshipping deity. Gokarna which literally means cow’s ear got its name as Lord Rudra who was sent to Patalaloka by Brahma to perform penance, eventually returned through the ear of the mother earth and blessed her with the name “Gokarna”.  As this place also served as a womb for Rudra, it is called as Rudra Yoni and Adi Gokarna.

The 1500 year old Mahabaleshwara Temple which enshrines this Atmalinga is one of the holiest in South India and is referred as Dakshina Kashi as it is regarded to be next in sanctity place to the Vishwanath Siva Temple in Varanasi. It also enshrines a finely carved stone image of Lord Shiva in standing position.

Legend

According to mythology, Ravana performed a severe penance to Lord Shiva to possess his powerful horn-linga which is also known as Pranalinga or Atmalinga. Pleased with his devotion Shiva gives him the Atmalinga under the condition he should never keep it on the ground.

In order to avoid Ravana misusing the Atma Linga, the gods request Lord Vishnu for help.

Lord Vishnu finds a way to trick Ravana. Knowing that Ravana never misses his evening prayers ‘Sandhya Vandana,’ Vishnu sends Lord Ganesh, disguised as a Brahmin boy near Ravana during his prayer time.

Ravana asks the boy to hold Atma Linga for him with strict instructions asking him not to keep it down. However, Lord Ganesha keeps the Atma Linga on the ground uprooting it forever at Gokarna. In spite of the might exerted by Ravana, the Shivalingam stayed here fixed in the place. The great force exerted by mighty Ravana is said to resulted the Shivalingam to resemble the shape of a cow’s ear and so the name Gokarnam.

The temple

The Mahabaleshwara Temple that faces west is built in Dravadian style of architecture. The Atmalinga is enshrined in a ‘square Saligrama Peetha’ (pedestal). It has a small hole at its centre from where devotees can see the top of the Atmalinga. Only during the Ashtabandha Mahotsava one can see the Atmalinga. The shastras ordain that these celebrations must as a rule be held once in 12 years. It is customary here to have a dip in the sea and then worship a Shivalingam made out of sand, before worshipping at the temple.

Main festival

The Maha Shivaratri is celebrated in the temple town in February, and many pilgrims visit the shrine. During this festival, Rathyatra is also held when images of Shiva and other deities are installed in the chariot and it is then ceremonially pulled through the town by devotees, The Rathayatra starts from the Shri Maha Ganapati Temple at the terminus of the main market street, also known as the ‘Car Street’.

Importance

It is said that the Vijayanagara Emperor visited the temple and weighed himself in gold here. In 1665, , after disbanding his army visited and worshipped the Atma Linga. Even the Arab travelers who have visited Gokarna have described their observation in their journals.

In 1676, Fryer, the English traveler visited the place during Shivaratri festival and has written in detail about the festival at the temple.

Gokarna is known to be one of the seven ‘Mukti Sthalas’ of Karnataka. Also located around Gokarna are Sejjeshwara, Gunavanteshwara, Murudeshwara and Dhareshwara. These four temples along with Mahabaleshwara are known as the Pancha Maha Kshetras.

How to reach?

Gokarna can be reached by buses and maxicabs from Kumta (36 km), Ankola (26 km) and Karwar (59 km). Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) also runs long-journey buses from many cities like Panaji, Bangalore and Mangalore. Private buses operate night journeys from various cities. It can be reached by train on Konkan Railway on the Mumbai to Mangalore route. The railway station (called Gokarna Road) is 6 km away from the town. The nearest airports are Dabolim at Goa and Mangalore International Airport at Bajpe.