Mahaganpati Koti Teerth Gokarna Karnataka

Being a popular tourist destination in Karnataka, there are a lot of attractions around Gokarna. One of them is the sacred Maha Ganapati Temple, which is one of the most popular pilgrimage sites in South India. Dedicated to Lord Ganesha (a popular deity worshiped in Hinduism), this temple is visited by thousands of Hindu devotees from all over the country every day.

In Hindu religion, it is believed that Lord Ganesha should be worshiped before starting any good work or before worshiping any other deity.

While this temple is so beautiful that it is popular, the nearby Mahabaleshwar Temple makes it even more famous among pilgrims and tourists.

Therefore, people generally visit Maha Ganapati Temple to have darshan of Lord Ganesha before going to Mahabaleshwar Temple. If you ever visit Mahaganpati Temple, you may be curious to know about the hole made on the head of the idol of Lord Ganesha there. There is also a popular historical incident behind this.

Trivia: Mahabaleshwar Temple, dedicated to Lord Shiva, is one of the most attractive sites in the Gokarna region.

History of Maha Ganpati Temple, Gokarna

According to Hindu mythology, Ravana was once returning to Lanka from Mount Kailash after performing penance for Lord Shiva. As an appreciation of his efforts, Lord Shiva gifted him a Shiva Lingam, but the thing was that it could be placed on earth only once, and the place where it would be placed would be its last stop.

But, all the other gods did not want him to reach Lanka with the Shiva Linga as they did not trust Ravana and thought that it was not safe to let him take the Linga to his place.

They all sought help from Lord Ganesha and planned to stop Ravana. It was then that Lord Ganesha took the form of a young boy and came to earth. All the other gods created the illusion of sunset from the sky because they knew that Ravana was very strict and disciplined towards his rituals. As soon as he saw the sunset, he wanted to complete his evening rituals.

At that very moment, Lord Ganesha (in disguise) appeared before him, and Ravana asked the young boy if he could hold the Lingam for a while. The young boy agreed but clarified that he would only hold it for as long as he could, then call Ravana three times and then place the Lingam on the earth.

Ravana was confused, but he had no option but to obey the young boy. He handed over the Lingam to Lord Ganesha and started his prayers. After some time, Lord Ganesha called him, but to fulfill his prayer, he asked the young boy to stay for some more time. The young boy called her a second time and soon a third time. Before Ravana could come and capture Shiva Linga, he placed it on the earth.

Meanwhile, when Ravana was trying to take back the Shiva Linga, the young boy started moving away. But, the Shiva Lingam was now established and could not be placed anywhere else. Ravana got angry and threw a stone at that child.

The stone struck his head, and then Lord Ganesha appeared in his identity, and Ravana realized how all the gods had deceived him. Therefore, the place where the Shiva Lingam was placed was built and developed as the Mahabaleshwar Temple.

Since Lord Ganesha played an important role, the Mahaganapathi temple was built close to the Mahabaleshwar temple. The idol of Lord Ganapati in the temple, which is about 1,500 years old, has a hole at the top of its head, which reminds us of the stone that Ravana threw at him.

Architecture of Maha Ganpati Temple, Gokarna

Maha Ganpati Temple is beautifully designed and has some amazing structures inside it that will leave you mesmerized. The temple is located on the road, and you can find many people selling flowers and incense sticks to offer to the Lord. Once you enter the temple, you will see different queues of people standing to pay their respects to the Lord.

The echo of hundreds of bells in the temple hall makes you relax and enjoy the peace all around. The idol of Lord Ganesha is small in size with a hole on its head. Once you reach the idol, you will be guided to take a few rounds around it, and then the priest will give you the offerings.