Murudeshwar Temple

The story

The story says Ravana, king of Lanka, pleased Shiv ji with hard tapasya and asked for his Atmalinga, believed to give great power. Shiv ji gave it with one condition: do not set it on the ground before reaching Lanka, for wherever it is placed, there it will stay. The devas grew worried and asked Ganesh ji for help. At Gokarna, Ganesh ji came as a young Brahmin boy. When it was time for his evening prayers, Ravana handed the Atmalinga to the boy. The boy had said he would call out three times and then put it down. He called three times very quickly and set it on the ground, where it became fixed. Ravana tried with all his strength to pull it up, but it would not move. In anger he flung away the cloth and coverings wrapped around it. It is believed that the cloth covering the Atmalinga fell at the spot that is now Murudeshwar, which is why this place is linked with Gokarna as holy ground. The grand complex of today was built in recent decades with a local devotee's support; the giant statue took about two years to make, and the Rajagopuram was completed in 2008. Behind the temple are the remains of an old fort, said to date from Vijayanagara times.