Our visit to Sonda Vadiraj Mutt during December 2019 was one of the most the fruitful pilgrimage journey in my lifetime. We explored Uttara Kannada extensively. Most of our stay was at Sonda itself immersing our-self in devotion. Located amidst the dense Western Ghats, the place is fabulous for nature lovers too! The dense forest area is home to wide variety of bird species which I could not capture due to lack of telephoto lens.
The Hayagriva meaning Horse-Neck is believed to be incarnation of Lord
Vishnu. The Sonda Vadiraja Mutt is well-known for this
incarnation of Vishnu who blessed Seer Vadiraj around 500 years ago. Since then
this holy place has become utmost importance for Hindu deities.
One afternoon of our three days stay, I cut my nap and strolled towards the lake nearby the Mutt. This lake is called "Hayagriva Samudra". There is mythological story connected to the lake. The local king Arasappa Nayaka had lost battle and was wandering in forest undecided on next move. The king bumped into the sage Vadiraja at Tapovana and sought his asylum. The Sage blessed him and instructed him to wage war again. While he was proceeding for battle, it is believed that thousands of Horses followed the king to take part in battle. The horses took part in battle and enemy was defeated. After the battle, the horses drank water in lake and from then the lake is known as "Hayagriva Samudra". The king submitted all his regal ornaments to sage Vadiraja as offering. These ornaments are opened and shown twice to public at Sonda Vadiraja Mutt every year. Once during Vijayadashami of Navaratri and other during seer Vadiraja's Aradhana time.
Here are the pictures for you! The azure sky colourfully reflected on the lake which increased the saturation of image. The green vegetation provided fine tonal contrast to overall frame.
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