Kalaseshwara temple , Kalasa, Chikmagloor district , karnataka.

Kalasa is a tiny serene and picturesque village situated on the banks of river Bhadra. This place is famous for its hill top temple of Kalaseshwara. A few steps up the hill leads one to this temple. The top of the hill offers a stunning view of the village below.

 The presiding deity is Shiva known as Kalaseshwara, a swayambhu emerged from the kalasa of sage Agastya. Sarvanga Sundari is Lord's consort here. The God sits in a silver mandapa in the sanctum. There is also a shrine for Kasi Viswanathar here.

It is believed that when Shiva married Parvati all the Gods and celestial beings attended the wedding. The earth started titling due to the big assembly of Gods  in one place. Lord Shiva asked  sage Agastya to proceed to  South to balance the weight of the earth. He did so but was sad as he would miss the wedding. Lord Shiva blessed him to view the celestial wedding from wherever he was. And sage did so from Kalsa.

There is also a separate shrine for Kasi Viswananthar here. One would also find a imposing  idol of Shiva at the entrance of the temple. There are also twin Ganeshas in a small shrine on the way up the hilltop.

I visited this temple on my way to Horanadu from Sringeri.

Srisailam Mallikarjuna Swamy temple Kurnool district -Andhra Pradesh, Jyothirlingam

A pilgrimage to this temple of Lord Mallikarjuna  at Srisailam hill is considered to be  equal to a trip to holy Kailash.This temple is set in Nallamalai forests in picturesque surroundings with river Krishna flowing near by.

The temple complex is  unique as it houses  Jyothirlinga  as well as  a Shakthipeeta. Here in this temple ,devotees can offer pujas directly to Lord Mallikarjuna but advance booking is required and one has to follow specific dress code (wearing Veshti and Angavastra) to enter the sanctum sanctorum. The Vimana of the temple is covered with gold plates and is in the shape of a pyramid. The Lord's consort Braharambha is one of the 18 Mahasakthis and it is believed that neck portion of Sathi Devi fell here after things that followed  Daksha yagna . There are many shrines around the temple complex  for Ganesha, Ardhanareeshwara, Kalabhairava, Veerabhadra . There's also a beautiful Nandimandapa here.

Barely 3 Kms away from the temple is the shrine of Sakshi Ganapati. Pilgrims do not miss paying obeisance to this Ganesha and it is believed Lord here keeps an account of pilgrims visiting Srisailam temple . The idol here holds a book in left hand and a pen in the right.

The roads here are excellent and it passes through Tiger Reserve. the roads remains closed from 9 Pm to 6 Am. Those travelling to temple must make a note of the same.

A detailed description can  be found in the link provided.

Mobile/ cameras are not allowed in this temple and there  are locker facilities to store the same.

check my earlier Jyothirlinga posts on 1. Ramanathaswamy temple Rameshwaram, 2.Somnath temple, Gujarat, 3.Bhimashankar near Pune,4.Mahakaleshwar, Ujjain, 5.Nageshwara Jyothirlingam Dwarka

a few pictures from  Sakshi Ganapati are shared below.

check this link too for temple gallery pictures

  

                                                                     Srisailam town

                                                                           Sakshi Ganapati

Mayuranathaswamy Koil, Mayiladuthurai, Tamilnadu

A tall Gopuram welcomes one to this beautiful temple situated in the midst of the Mayiladuthurai town.

The temple has a beautiful pond as one approaches the temple.

This  temple is very ancient and is a thevara sthalam.

This is the place where Lord Shiva appeared  in front of Parvati when she was doing penance taking the form of pea cock  to get rid of the curse she had incurred from Shiva. She did severe penance and  pleased with her devotion Shiva too appeared in front of her as pea cock  and performed a dance known as Mayura thandavam. Lord is known here as Mayuranathar.

Goddess is Abayambhigai Ambal and she blesses devotees  from a separate shrine.This temple is closely associated with Mylapore temple, ( check the beautiful  temple details in the link) Chennai where Parvati offered  worship to Shiva first before proceeding to  Mayiladuthurai where she was relieved from the curse.
More details here.

Temple timing- 6 am- 12 .00 noon
4 pm-8 pm

Grishaneshwar-Ellora caves road, Aurangabad

Grishneshwar means Lord of compassion and  there is reference of this temple  in  Shiva Purana.

This  is one of the 12 Jyothirlingams and is highly revered by Hindus all over the world.

This  temple was destroyed in 14th century and was rebuilt in the present form by Ahilyabai Holkar in 18th century. The temple is built with reddish stone and the 5 tier spire is very beautiful .

The temple allows devotees to offer worship directly to the Lord Shiva here.

Check this link for details

This temple is situated 30 Kilometers  from the town of Aurangabad and just a Killometer from the famous Ellora caves.

Mobile /camera and all electronic gadgets banned inside the temple.

Somnath Temple - Veraval, Gujarat.

On the Occasion  of Maha Shivarathri, here's a post on Lord Shiva.

Just back from a Pilgrimage and it was a time well spent soul searching, refreshing the mind and body, understanding the significance of various  pilgrimage places and how it relates to us. It  is decided by the Almighty that we must be present in such and such places at such and such times and here I was at Somnath . He commanded, I just obeyed. Usually temple Somnath remains crowded but the  Lord made sure it wouldn't be so and we could be in the temple as long as we could wish for. 

I would say these experiences in life help one to  grow and evolve into better human beings.

Somnath is a small town, its  name derived from the presiding deity of the temple. This is also  known as Adi Linga , the first among the 12 Jyothirlingas. 

The temple stands tall , grandeur incomparable  on the shore of the Arabian sea at  Prabhas Patan near Veraval , Gujarat. This temple has excellent marble work and ornamentation on walls, ceilings and spires.

The Lingam of Somanth is quite huge, radiant and is  decorated well with brightly coloured flowers  resplendent with shimmering  silk . Head bows , hands fold in prayer and mind focuses on Lord in sanctum without our knowledge. Such is power of the deity. The sanctum of Shiva is brightly lit, it adds to the ambience . Behind the Lingam is Goddess Parvati and on either  sides Lord Kartikeya and Ganesha. 

There are also niches with Gods and Goddesses just outside the sanctum.

Evening Aarti is an important and colourful ritual and should not be missed at any cost. It will also let one surf on a great spiritual journey as the atmosphere inside is charged with divine music and cling and clang of bells. External world totally forgotten and one feels the bliss. Great experience.

Outside the temple, the  parambulatory path extends up to the sea and is built like a terrace.  There's an arrow on a pillar known as Baan Stambh  which points to South pole indicating there is no land area between these two .  Interesting right? Note these when you visit.More here and here

There is  also a smaller temple just outside the Main temple known as Old Somanth . Here one can worship the Lingam directly by bathing the deity with milk, water, or just flowers all of which is available just outside the temple.

It is also believed that Krishna worshipped Lord Shiva here before embarking on His Last journey of Neej Dham Yatra.
The last picture is from Balka Teerth , the place where Krishna was hit by a arrow when he was resting under a tree.

 Important things to remember during the visit

No electronic gadgets and devices are allowed inside the temple, Leather belts are also a taboo here. 

 Free and safe locker facilities are available here.  Security screening is done at a couple of points as it is mandatory before one enters the temple.