Idagunji Ganesha Temple, Uttara Kannada district,Karnataka state, India.

Ganesha Temple, Idagunji,Day2(07.05.2018)

My trip first among six Ganesha temples along the famous "Ganesha Coast"

AHindu temple dedicated to the god Ganesha (Vinayaka), located on the West Coast of India in the Idagunji town in Uttara Kannada district in Karnataka state, India.

Murdeshwar Shiva Temple,Karnataka

  Trip to Murdeshwar.Day 1 (06.05.2018)
An Evening in temple precinct

Famous for the world's second tallest Shiva statue, the town lies on the coast of the Arabian Sea and is also famous for the Murdeshwar Temple. Murdeshwar is a town in Bhatkal Taluk of Uttara Kannada district in the state of Karnataka, India.

Legend:
Gods (devatas) seek help from Lord Ganesh. He disguised in the form of a boy tricks Ravana to give him the Atma-Linga. While Ravana is doing his prayers, Ganesha places the Linga in Gokarna. Thus, the Linga gets fixed on the ground.

In his anger Ravana tries to take the Linga instead he breaks the Linga. In the process the pieces of Linga gets scattered around Gokarna. The main Atma-Linga is the Mahabaleshwara temple (Gokarna), Sajjeshwar, Dhareshwar, Gunavanteshwar and the cloth covering the Atma-Linga falls in Murudeshwar.

Malamakkavu Ayyappa Temple

Malamakkavu Ayyappa Temple is a famous Hindu temple dedicated to lord Ayyappan, located in Anakkara Panchayath in Palakkad district of Kerala. A special

flower called "Chengazhinir Poovu" which is traditionally used as offering to deity is found and grown only in the temple pond

The legend, which the temple shares with many other temples across Kerala is that, many hundreds of years ago a Cherumi couple chanced upon a divine rock while grazing the forest with their live-stock. The rock bled blood upon being struck with a sickle and thus its divinity was made apparent to all. Soon word went around of the discovery of a divine entity in the forest and the deity was formally instated in a specially made sanctum. A small temple (Kavu) was established around the idol
Legends say that, if one prays with full heart and places offerings at the feet of the lord Ayyappa, the "Chengazhi Neer" flower, also known as "Neelathamara", will bloom the very next day in the temple pond as a sign of God's blessing. This legend associated with Malamakkavu Ayyappa temple plays a pivotal role in the film Neelathamara. Thiyattu Nambiars, who has the right to conduct the Thiyattu ceremony in Ayappan temples has a branch in Malamakkavu, where they live in the vicinity of Malamakkavu Temple.

Master Always a Master - Perunthachan's Chisle

Following the demise of his beloved son, for which he held himself responsible, a mentally disturbed ,Perunthachan

 the great carpenter, through the course of his wanderings had reached Panniyur. Weighed down by fatigue, hunger and thirst he had sought relief from the carpenters who had been then carrying out rejuvenation work at the Mahakshetram. Having had failed to identify the ‘Master’ of their profession the workers had quite conspicuously neglected him and afterwards had broken for having lunch without having had uttered even a single word to him. Quite shocked and angry by such behaviour from their side, the ‘Master’ had decided to teach them a lesson. He had moved inside the sanctum sanctorum where the carpenters had kept blocks of wood ready to be converted into columns. The ‘Master’ had made some marks on those wood blocks before resuming with his journey. When the workers had returned, they had quite unwarily sawn along the marks made by the ‘Master’; just imagine their embarrassment and frustration when they had discovered that all the columns just fell short of their appropriate lengths. Their careers and professions at stake, they had suddenly realised that the ill-dressed man they had so criminally neglected at lunchtime had been the master carpenter Perunthachchan himself, and that it had been him who had caused all this turmoil. Having had repented for their behaviour, they had decided to seek him the following day and beg for his forgiveness; and so decided they had settled down for the night. They had been woken up in the middle of the night by the sound of hammering and chiselling from inside the Sree Kovil. They had rushed inside to find that the old man had come back and that he had just finished adding the final touches to their pending work. Amazed and thrilled, they had sought his forgiveness. They had said, "Oh Master! So many of us have been deriving our livelihoods out of the work we used to do here. Now that you have completed the work we’ll be rendered jobless.

Perunthachchan had replied, "Do not worry, friends! Panniyur temple will never ever be short of work to offer members of our profession. Anyway I will never touch my chisel and measuring rod ever again."

So saying he had dropped down his chisel and rod, which have been ever carefully preserved by his followers at Panniyur Mahakshetram and are still available for everyone for see.

PANNIYUR SRI VARAHAMURTHY TEMPLE | Kerala, Palghat

PANNIYUR SRI VARAHAMURTHY TEMPLE | Kerala, Palghat

Situated at Kumbidi, Palakkad, the Panniyur Sri Varahamurthy Temple is an ancient temple dedicated to Lord Varahamurthy, the third avatar of Lord Vishnu. It is believed to be the first temple consecrated by Parasurama
nearly 4000 years ago in Kerala.

Legend

According to the legends, it is believed that the temple of Sri Varaha Moorthy was built by Sage Parashurama nearly 4000 years ago and it is considered as the prime temple of Kerala. According to the legends,Parashurama donated all that he had won to Kashyap after his victory over the Kshatriyas. He then created a piece of land to carry out his meditation, which was Kerala. Seeing Paeasurama's devotion, Lord Maha Vishnu appeared and asked him to Worship Lord Vishnu in Varaha incarnation. It is believed that Parasurama installed Sri Varaha Moorthy Temple following this.

Backpacks

There is always something in  me  that wants to grab a back pack,uplug and go into the outside world travel,discover new places. Explore myth  and stories behind places whether it is a Temple, religious spots,monuments etc.

Exploring temple legends has always been a big weakness in me. My work forced me to leave my motherlands for several years. My dreams always put on hold till I decided wherever time and opportunity comes take up my BACKPACK and gear up explore these legends . 

It took a long to me come with the idea of putting my travel experiences on blog format. Where to start,what to write etc. The questions were endless.Perhaps the visit to Kukke Subramanya Temple gave me that start.