Omkareshwara Temple, Madikeri (Coorg)

By -

Welcome back to my posts on Coorg travel. As I promised in my last post, I will provide details about the destinations in Madikeri.

Let me start with Omkareshwara Temple. This temple is located in the heart of Madikeri city. This is a small beautiful temple built by Kodagu King Lingaraja in 1820 CE. A well-maintained tank in front of the temple enhances the beauty and serenity of the temple.

In India, all the temples have a legend apart from the historical information. This temple too has its own legend. It is said that king Lingaraja killed a "Brahmin" (a person belonging to the Hindu priest community) for his political ambitions. That Brahmin became a "Brahma rakshasa" (a powerful evil force) and started troubling the king. To get rid of the "rakshasa", the king brought a Shivalinga idol from Varanasi (Kasi) and installed it in this place. He named this Shivalinga as "Omkareshwara".

The temple's architecture is both Islamic and Gothic styles. The temple's presiding deity is Shivalinga (Omkareshwara). There are small shrines of Lord Ganesh and Lord Subramanya too found. In front of the tank, there is a small shrine where the idols of Lord Shiva and Parvathi are kept.

The temple's "prakara" (corridor surrounding the main shrine) is full of paintings and photographs of various Hindu Gods, Goddesses, and temples.

Coorg Travel Guide


Do travel to this holy place, which is the most important pilgrimage at Madikeri. We will explore together more places in Madikeri (Coorg) in my next post. Till then....

Happy travelling. :-)

Visit my site, krishnakumartk.com to know about the travel guides and other books that I have written.


View Larger Map
Location: Madikeri, Karnataka 571201, India

Comments

  1. BaluSaturday, March 06, 2010

    i agree with u that the omkareswara temple is an ancient beautiful shiva temple

    ReplyDelete
  2. RajagopalanSunday, March 07, 2010

    Maintenance of temple tank is a rarity in India and this temple stands an exception to this culture1 great!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Tallest Murugan of Chennai

By -
Image
Consecrated in March 2021, the 40 feet high Bala Murugan icon at Saveetha Medical College campus is the tallest image of Murugan in Chennai. Malaysia has 140 feet tall Murugan. In April 2022, the 146 feet tall image of Murugan was consecrated near Salem in Tamil Nadu. However, they are all stucco images. But, the one that we find on the college campus is a monolithic granite icon. Thus, it is the tallest stone icon of Murugan in the entire world. A stone weighing 320 tonnes was brought from Siruvambur near Wallajah, and it was carved to 140 tonnes to get this beautiful and gigantic sculpture. The entire temple complex is designed in the shape of the Devanagiri letter "Om", which can be appreciated in the aerial view.  The west-facing gigantic sculpture is located atop the star-shaped pedestal. It dominates the entire landscape. A large meditation hall is situated below the pedestal. On the open corridor in front of the presiding deity, smaller shrines are found. They enshrine...
Read more

Little known Nimishamba Temple of Chennai

By -
Image
Site Name:  Nimishamba Temple Site Type:  Hindu Temple Location:   Kasi Chetty Street, Sowcarpet, Chennai city, Tamil Nadu state, India Highlights:   A rare temple of Nimishamba in Chennai city Nearest Railway Station:   Chennai - well connected from the cities/towns all over India Nearest Airport:   Chennai has both national and international airports How to reach:   Easily reachable by road as this is centrally located in the city Hotel:  Many star hotels, luxury hotels/resorts, and budget hotels are available in Chennai Restaurants:  All options - vegetarian, non-vegetarian, Chinese, South Indian, Gujarati, North Indian, Punjabi,....- you can find everything in Chennai city Chennai is considered as the gateway to South India. The capital city of Tamil Nadu state of India has hundreds of tourist sites which include museum, British period monuments, temples, beach, etc. Let us explore a little known temple called Nimisham...
Read more

Hastinapuram Navapashanam Murugan Temple

By -
Image
Navapashanam is an amalgam of nine poisonous herbs. It is said to act as a remedy for all types of diseases. It is believed that the Siddhas knew the secret formula to prepare this medicinal potion.  The sculpture of Murugan from the famous Palani is claimed to be made of Navapashanam. Similarly, there is a lesser-known temple near Chennai, which has a Navapashanam Murugan. In Hastinapuram near Chrompet in the southern outskirts of Chennai, in a congested lane called Masjid Street, this tiny temple of Bala Murugan is situated. Murugan, made of Navapashanam, is the presiding deity.  Jalakandeeswara Linga, Meenakshi, and the Siddha who found this temple are the other Murtis found in the temple. Happy travelling.
Read more