Gokarna.

Gokarna is a Hindu pilgrim center. The Mahabaleshwar Temple at Gokarna is considered to be almost of equal importance as Vishanath Temple of Varanasi.Gokarna is a celebrated pilgrimage center on the cost of Karnataka, enshrining the Aatma Lingam Mahabaleshwar. It is regarded as one of the 7 Mutki Stalas of karanataka. It is also regarded as Dakshina Kashi.


Located about 150 km from Mangalore.The word Gokarnam literally means 'cow's ear'.Legend - Version1 Ravana, king of Sri Lanka promised his mother Kaikasi that he will get her Lord Shiva's atma linga for her prayers, when the linga she worshipped was destroyed by Sagara the king of ocean. Ravana did penance for the grace of Lord Shiva at Mount Kailash.

Lord Shiva agrees to give Atmalingam with condition that the atmalingam should be physically carried and not placed anywhere on the ground, and it establishes wherever it is placed on earth. On his way, Ravana stops for bath and gives the atmalingam to Lord Ganesha who dressed up like a cowhered brahmin who promptly puts it down.

Sri Mahabaleswar

He tried to extricate it and resulting resulted in throwing the coverings of the Linga to Dhareshwar, Gunavanteshwara, Murdeshwar and Shejjeshwar temples. This town is formed by the ear-shaped confluence of two rivers. It also derives its name from the legend of Lord Shiva emerging from the ears of the cow.

Sri Parvathi Amman

Kerala (of ancient times) was supposed to have extended from Gokarna to Kanyakumari. The place, according to the legend, is part of the land reclaimed by Parasurama.It has a temple much revered in Karnataka. All the temples in Gokarna have signs banning foreigners. This is common in Kerala, but Gokarna is the only place I have seen it in the state of Karnataka.

Everywhere else I went in the state, including other pilgrimage sites not far from Gokarna, I was welcomed into temples and nobody assumed that as a foreign visitor I couldn’t be counted on to dress and behave respectfully.

Sri Mahadev Temple

It hasn’t always been this way in Gokarna either - a Canadian friend of mine told me she was there twenty years ago for Maha Shivaratri with her husband and newborn baby, and was allowed into the inner shrine where the holy Shiva Lingam is along with all the other pilgrims.

The sad thing is, given the dress and behaviour of a lot of the westerners in Gokarna today, I can see why people would think it was necessary to ban them. It is still a beautiful place, though.

It’s great to get up before the other tourists and go and wander around the old part of town at dawn, watching the pilgrims bathing in the temple tank and the cows wandering in and out of the houses.