December 29, 2021
Being year end holiday rush, my cousin revealed that the Kukke Subramanya temple would not be ideal to visit now. The plan had to be shifted but where? We pondered and finally Shri Karinjeshwara Temple near Bantwal beckoned us due to its divinity and natural beauty.
Our plan was to start early and visit before noon. Plenty of reasons to support it
- The temple sanctum at Shri Karinjeshwara opens only after 6PM post lunch which is difficult time to visit. The winter Sun sets early and further management becomes difficult since our village is located farther from place. Also climbing down the trail may foresee unwelcome challenges.
- The Sun would be beating down on the open area which would make it is terrible to hike post 11AM with kids.
We consumed light breakfast at Mudabidri before resuming our journey. The route had multiple deviations due to which navigation was must. The winding roads were majorly cutting through dense forest which was soothing amidst curvy drive. Following the maps, we comfortably reached the Karinjeshwara temple where the holy pond welcomed us with its natural beauty! Devotees take holy dip in this large temple pond auspicious occasions. It is called Gadha Teertha I heard.
Since my parents were on-board, I drove till the base of Parvathi temple. That too was fascinating with dense forests, mega hills. huge boulders flanking the drive! After short uphill drive, we reached the Parvathi temple and ready to pay obeisance to Goddess.
The crowd was less being a weekday. This helped us to explore the place without hustle and hassle. The Goddess Parvathi is installed facing East followed by her son Lord Ganapthy facing South. I have seen Ganapathy facing south at Sharavu Temple, Mangalore. Not sure if installation of Ganesh facing South has unique significance. We consumed the Teertha (sacred water) and were eager to climb the hills to have darshan of Lord Karinjeshwara.
My parents skipped the climb due to age constraints. Myself, wife and kids started our hike towards Karinjeshwara temple. The initial stretch even though has stairs is downright steep. It takes additional time to climb this stretch. The priest has to daily climb the hills via stairs to perform pooja of Lord Shiva at the summit! Alongside, intrepid monkeys are second trouble. They easily grab the offerings you carry to Lord if not cautious! Their valiancy is unmatched which force the visitors to surrender belongings
Devotees offer service to deity by taking stairs from base of temple to Karinjeshwara temple for well being. First have darshan of Goddess Parvathi and later Lord Karinjeshwara. We met many such devotees throughout our hike!
The bird's eye view of Parvathi temple looks beautiful like Goddess
The second stretch even though open, is not strenuous. It involves climbing rocky area which is mix of stairs and rugged surfaces. At this time, the Sun was radiating hard but winter ambiance was enough to mitigate the intense sun. Perhaps, summer would be arduous at this stretch.
Myself, wife and twin boys were able to clear the path in 20mins. I guess overall we consumed around 30mins in gross to climb towards Shiva's abode. It was not as strenuous as threatened by known people. Sometimes it is better to explore on own to gauge the severity of situation.
The views all along the trail was mesmerizing, with quarry mining as black spot. There has been huge uproar to kill this mining which was threatening the structure of Karinjeshwara Hill. Not sure what happened later.
After a short hike, we reached the deity's shrine around 11AM and was blessed to behold the divinity. The shrine was dimly lit which made difficult to photograph. The linga was ornate with silver armor which means abhisheka (divine shower) had concluded already. The flowering of deity was yet to begin. Since Mahapooje was at 12PM, there was plenty of time to adorn the deity with flowers. Here is picture of sanctum from mobile.
I picked up my 600mm lens and captured pictures of close-up. Being dimly lit and my camera's acceptable ISO was 800, I could not snap better than the below one.
The Karinjeshwara temple timings. Watch out for that long break from 12PM to 6PM.
Perhaps the Paravathi temple below is open for longer hours due to road connectivity. I did not note the timings of Parvathi temple.
The views of hills from Karinjeshwara temple are majestic to watch. The haze photobombed the beautiful look of nature. They will look splendid during monsoon season when hills are verdant and clouds dancing over the stage of sky!
Once darshan concluded, we stepped down towards Parvathi temple. We reduced the pace of down walk to enjoy the proliferating nature. It was beautiful winter day with mild weather of coast helping us to cherish the moments. The area is surrounded by1000 acres of forest. One can enjoy the majestic views of sprawling forests and chirping of vernal hanging forests. I am sure this dense abode would certainly abound with more avian beauty!
That routine lousy moment of louse extract :-)
Mythological Importance
I could not gather much information on importance of place mythologically. The honorable temple priest presented a short note on the divine place.
The Karinjeshwara has significance from multiple eras. The shiva here is udbhava linga which means self-manifested.
The place has significance from Kritayuga when sages worshipped Lord Shiva.
In Tretayuga, Lord Rama visited this place. The Seeta Pramana Stone is identifier for that. The presence of monkeys is also another importance. The temple deity is offered naivedya during Mahapooja and served to monkeys near the shrine. We did not witness this important part of ritual due to time constraints
In Dwapara yuga, Shri Krishna along with Pancha-Pandavas had visited this place. The Gadha Teertha, Janu Teertha and Ungushta Teertha created by Bheema signifies their visit.
At present times which is Kaliyuga, festivals occur during two auspicious days. One is Bheemana Amavasya (also called as Aati Amavasya) which generally falls during July-August timeframe another is undoubtedly MahaShivaratri which falls during February. The utsava murthy from the Karinjeshwara temple is carried to Parvathi temple and festival rituals are carried out. The Parvathi temple along with Lord Ganesha was installed by Shri Madhwacharya which is around 800yrs ago. Before that, there was no shrine dedicated to Goddess Parvathi here.
During Bheemana Amavasya, devotees take holy dip in Gadha Teertha and subsequently have darshan of both temples. This ritual is believed to get rid of sins and skin diseases.
The Holy Teerthas
If you are fit, I suggest you take stairs from base of temple. You will miss Ungushta and Janu teertha if you climb from Parvathi temple. Here are remaining pictures of Gada Teertha.
The fish inside holy Gada Teertha are fed with puffed rice by visitors. The fish throng once the puffed rice is thrown into pond.
- Gada Teertha, Ungushta Teertha, Janu Teertha (while climbing to Parvathi temple)
- Parvathi and Ganesha Temple
- Karinjeshwara Temple
- Sita Pramana Stone near Karinjeshwara Temple
- Naivedya feeding to Monkeys
- The nature surrounding the Karanja hill
- If time permits, sunset from summit
Miscellaneous details:
Even though slippery, monsoon season would also be best time to visit the divine location.
Photography was allowed during our visit including sanctums. This situation is bound to change. No guarantee that same rules would be applicable eternally.
It is easy to reach Karinjeshwara if you opt Bantwal-Dharmasthala highway. Since we started from Kapu, google maps was the only option. Unless you are a frequent visitor to this place, it is difficult to drive on your own. There are numerous deviations which are confusing and bound to miss.
Last but not least, this is holy place and not picnic spot. Be sensitive to religious matters and maintain sanctity of the place. Do not litter the place and carry the trash.
A short video of our visit including the narration by priest of Karinjeshwara
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