Modern · Hindu · India

Murudeshwara Temple

ಮುರುಡೇಶ್ವರ

Murudeshwara, Karnataka · 14.0940°, 74.4890°

ShivaModernModern Dravida

Sacred since

400 CE

Ancient shrine tied to the Gokarna Atmalinga legend

Standing structure

modern complex (statue 2006)

patron: R. N. Shetty

History & significance

A modern pilgrimage icon on an Arabian Sea headland: a 37 m seated Shiva — among the tallest in the world — and a 20-storey gopura with an elevator, built by industrialist-philanthropist R. N. Shetty around a shrine of ancient lineage.

Sthala katha — the legend

In the Gokarna Atmalinga tale, the cloth covering the linga flew here as Ravana wrenched at it — Murudeshwara enshrines that fragment, tying the coast into a single legend-line of five linked shrines.

Reaching there

Murudeshwara has its own station on the Konkan Railway line, with direct services from Bengaluru; the nearest airport is Mangaluru International, about 165 km away, with Hubballi a further alternative at roughly 200 km. By road the town sits on the coastal NH66, about 500 km and 10–12 hours from Bengaluru.

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