Have you seen anybody in this world without problems? One might be having lot of money but suffering from some kind of “health issue”, other might be feeling sad because of “no children”.  So, what the people do for these things? They visit doctor for health checkups, go to advocates for court cases (disputes). Yes, sometimes we get relief from these solutions. Let us assume that after trying all available solutions we are still facing the same problem, then what next? We will definitely go to some temple and pray god or simply continue suffering. According to Hindu scriptures in “Kali Yuga” Lord Ganesha and Devi (female aspect of God) are the deities who quickly respond to the prayers of the mankind.

In Karnataka, India there is a temple of Lord Ganesha called as Shri Siddivinayaka Temple.  This temple is situated at a place called as Chandaguli around 18 km from a city Yellapur, surrounded by paddy fields, Areca nut and coconut plantations  amidst of lush green jungle. This temple is also identified with another name “Ghante Ganesha Temple”.  Ghante means “bell” in the local language Kannada. By offering Ghante (bell) to the lord Ganesha lot of people got rid of health problems, court cases, got children, many things happened miraculously.  That is the reason why we can see lot of bells hanging around the temple.In many temples there is a practice called “prashna” which is used to ask the god directly regarding the problems the devotee is suffering from. This way the thing which needs to be offered to the god is found out and devotees just need to pray the god. After which they can return home. Once the problems are over the devotee needs to visit the temple again and offer the “article or Seva” as prayed to the god earlier.Some of the sevas which are offered to the lord are as follows:

1. Ganapathi Homam / Silver cradle (Tottilu) and gold child (Shishu) for not having children
2. Offer “Bell” for not able to pronounce the words (Vaagdosha) properly (Ghante Harake)
3. Ganapathi Havan / Modaka Havan / Modaka Archane / Laaja Homam for not getting job
4. Vivahaprada Bala Ganapathi Homam / Vinayaka Shanthi / Offering “Bell (Ghante)” / Performing Laaja Homam for not getting married
5. For any kind of illness – Tulabhara (coconut, rice, jaggery, etc) and offering “Bell (Ghante)”

Address:

Shri Siddivinayaka Temple

At: Chandaguli   Po: Chandaguli  Ta: Yellapur

Di: Uttara Kannada  State: Karnataka (India)

Phone: 08419 – 238395 / 290220  Mobile: 9482115491 / 9482185625

How to reach:

Yellapur is situated on Hubli – Karwar highway. This can be reached either from Hubli going towards Karwar (about 70 km from Hubli) or Kumta – Sirsi – Yellapur

After reaching the Yellapur, need to take the road to Magod. From there another 2 km.  There are lot of KSRTC busses from Yellapur to Magod and then need to walk around 2 KM from Magod to Chandaguli.

Worshipping all-pervading divinity as “Mother” is a very ancient tradition in India.  That is the reason why we can find lots of temples of divine mother around India.  Mother is worshipped in different feminine forms such as Kali, Marikamba, Durga, Amba Bhavani, Rajarajeshwari, Mookambika, Annapoorneshwari, Sharadamba, Chowdeshwari, Mahalaxmi, etc and many more.  In many of the temples she does miracles by bestowing her devotees with unbelievable boons.  Sri Sigandur Chowdeshwari is one such temple where mother Chowdeshwari listens to the humble prayers of the devotees and showers them with blessings.

Sri Sigandhur Chowdeshwari Temple is situated in a small village called Sigandur 35 km away from “Sagar” town, Shimoga district in Karnataka State of India.  Mother goddess here is also called as “Sigandureshwari” because of the name of the place “Sigandur”.  This sacred place has around 300 years of history.  It is said that once upon a time a person called Sheshappa went for hunting in Jungles near Sigandur and lost inside the jungles.  When he was resting below a tree, mother came into his dream and asked him to build a temple for her.  He went and told his experience to a Brahmin “Duggajja” in his village.  Both of them finally built a temple and Duggajja became the priest of the temple and Sheshappa became the Managing Trustee.

Lot of people with land dispute as well as people who lost their valuables reach Sigandur for solution.  According to some sources it is said that more than 20,000 such cases have been solved here.  People who want to safeguard their land from the thieves should get a board from the temple which says “Shri deviya rakshane ide (this means the land is safeguarded by the mother)” and keep this board near the land.

Sigandur is surrounded by the backwaters of Linganamakki reservoir turning this into an Island.  There are two barges which carry vehicles as well as people from one shore to other.  Every hour private busses are there from Sagar to Sigandur.   It takes around one and a half hour to reach Sigandur from Sagar.

Above is the picture of the Bhoota Sthana in Sigandur.  It is said that Sri Veerabhadra in this Bhootada katte is taking care of security of Sigandhur.

Distances to different places from Sigandur (in km):

• Sagar – 35
• Kollur – 58
• Hosanagar – 70
• Varadapura – 41
• Horanadu – 180
• Murdeshwara – 120
• Shringeri – 200
• Jog falls – 61
• Bhatkal – 90
• Shimoga – 105
• Sirsi – 155
• Bangalore – 421
• Udupi – 120
• Mysore – 434
• Kundapura – 82
• Dharmasthala – 220

Address:

Sri Chowdeshwari Temple – Sigandur

Kalasavalli, Post Tumari

Sagar Taluk, Shimoga District – Karnataka, India

Phone: 08186-245088 (Managing Trustee) , 08186-245114 (Pradhana Archakaru)

Timings:

Morning: 4:30 to 7:00 and 9:00 to 2:00

Evening: 4:00 to 7:00 (only darshan – no pooja)

How to reach:

By bus: Reach Sagar (Shimoga district, Karnataka).  From Sagar take a bus to Sigandur.

Jog Falls is considered as one of the highest waterfalls in India where the River Sharavathi falls from a height of 292 meter. During rainy season the place gets covered by the fog every now and then. I have visited the Jog Falls in June and obviously it was heavily raining.  Since we have already made up our mind to reach the bottom nearby the falls and enjoy, we started to walk through the steps. There are around 1400 steps to walk through, while going down we don’t feel tired but climbing up is very difficult. But the spectacular view of the falls after going down is worth climbing those many steps. I took many snaps. I don’t forget those moments when reached the bottom nearby the falls.

Jog Falls is situated in Shimoga district of Karnataka, India.  Jog falls is around 30 KM from Sagar.  Jog is surrounded by lush green forests and mountains.

Everyday lot of people around the world visit this falls and enjoy the beauty of the nature.  Actually, this water fall has four different streams of water falling from the top.  They are named as Raja, Roarer, Rocket, and Rani.  In one of the famous Kannada film “Mungaru Male” (meaning the “rain” when just rainy season started), the whole waterfall was shown from the top.  Really, the falls looks different and beautiful from the top of the falls.  It is possible to go nearby the top of the falls and enjoy the beauty.

Places nearby (around 50-100 KM) include Sigandur (A Devi temple), Varadahalli, Gudavi bird sanctuary, Sirsi Marikamba Temple,  Yana, Banavasi, etc.  There are even more places but these are all very much famous tourist places.  

How to reach:

By Air:  Nearest airport is Bangalore and need to catch a bus.

By rail: Nearest railway station is Sagar but there are quite a bit number of trains to Shimoga and then catch a bus to Jog falls.

By bus: There are very much frequent busses from Bangalore, Mysore, Shimoga, Sirsi, Siddapur, Hubli, Mangalore, etc.

Distance:

Bangalore – Jog falls:  378 km

Bhatkal – Jog falls: 90 km

Mangalore – Jog fals: 180 km.

This temple is dedicated to Lord Shani Deva.  Temple is located at a place called “Chikka Madhure”14 km away from “Nelamangala” on Nelamangala to Doddaballapur Road.  Shani is one of the nine (Navagraha) planets according to the Hindu Astrological system.  On Saturday, Shani is offered special poojas to get rid of the bad effects of “Sade sathi / Ashtama Shani / Panchama Shani”. 

In the temple premises we can see lot of people offering “Ellu Batti” to the fireplace right in front of the temple.  Ellu Batti is a kannada (local language of Karnataka) word that means black sesame seeds are put into small pieces of cloth and are tied with black thread and this is dipped in Gingelly oil (Sesame oil).

Above is the picture of Chariot used during Annual Celebrations.

How to reach:

By own vehicle:  Reach Nelamangala which is on the Bangalore – Pune highway around 30 Km from Bangalore.  Get into Nelamangala town and then take the Doddaballapur road.  On Bangalore – Pune highway take right, then take right in both the circles on the way (In Nelamangala town – one near the police station and then other circle near a tree).  Then cross a railway gate and travel 14 km to reach Chikka Madhure Shanimahatma temple.

By Bus:  From Bangalore take bus to Nelamangala.  There are lot of busses from Nelamangala (both K.S.R.T.C and Private busses) to Doddaballapur via Madhure.

As I have seen on their website, this is one of the Jain Tirth Dhams and is a very much religious place for Jains.   For the people from other religion this could be a weekend destination.  If we go with the family to this temple, we can easily spend some time and also can gain some knowledge on Jain system.

How to reach:

By bus:  Catch busses going towards Nelamangala and get down at this temple.

By own vehicle:  From Bangalore drive towards Nelamangala on Tumkur Road.  Distance is around 25 km from Bangalore.

Address:

Shri Parshwa – Labdhi Tirth Dham

Shri Parshwa Labdhi Shasan Prabhavak Trust,
Pune – Bangalore Highway No. – 4,

Post : Adakamanhalii Makli, Tumkur Rd, .
District – Bangalore, Karnataka, INDIA.

Sri Kabbalamma Temple is situated in a village called Kabbalu in Kanakapura Taluk, Ramanagara district, Karnataka.  TV9 has broadcasted the story of this temple in its “Heegu Unte” program.  Since then a lot of people outside the nearby villages came to know about this temple.   It is said that several people got blessed by the goddess and became devotees of the mother.  In the above picture along with the mother goddess we can also see the picture of a bull (Basaveshwara) decorated with flowers and clothing.  This bull is said to be staying in the temple premises for many years and has played a role of blessing the devotees.   Devotees who pledged to offer something in the form of Harake to this bull need to sleep on the floor and the bull will slowly walk over them.  This is a type of custom followed in this temple and it does not harm anybody.  Even the small kids are laid down in front of this bull for his blessings (it is believed to be those children are born by the blessings of the goddess).

This temple can be reached from Bangalore via Kanakapura or Ramanagara / Channapattana.  It is around 70 – 75 km away from Bangalore.  Road to this temple passes through many villages and on the way we can see many rocky hills.  Kabbalu Durga may be one of these rocky hills which is a trekking destination.  I guess the big hill with sturdy rocks which can be seen behind the temple in the above picture is the Kabbalu Durga but not sure.

Near the Kabbalamma temple there is a small shrine dedicated to Basaveshwara (Bull – the vehicle of Lord Shiva).  The miraculous Bull is carrying a bundle of currency notes on its horns.  This money is offered to Basava as the devotees’ wishes got fulfilled.  This temple is planning to build a new temple and also, the plan for the same is displayed in the temple premises.  If anybody wish to donate the money for the brand new building can contact the temple authorities.

Sri Kabbalamma Temple Renovation Committee
Phone: 080-2319000
             080-23617700

Tahsidar, Kanakapura Taluk
Phone – 080-27522442
Mobile – 98802 98990

How to reach:

By bus:  Reach Kanakapura / Ramnagara / Channapattana – get a bus to Sathnur.  Kabbalu village is near Sathnur.  There are plenty of busses to Sathnur from Kanakapura.  Sathnur is on the way to Malavalli / Kollegal from Bangalore.  But it is better to reach Kanakapura as soon as possible in the morning (at least before 10:00 a.m.).  Then catch a bus to Sathnur or Kabbalu.  There is some direct busses from Kanakapura to Kabbalu (As told by villagers – Morning 9, and then 3 & 7 in the afternoon)

By own vehicle:  Via Kanakapura:  Distance 72 km.  From Banashankari – Bangalore directly go to Kanakapura (52 km).  From Kanakapura take the road which goes to Kollegal / Malavalli and near the board in the above picture (that is around 7 km from Kanakapura) take right, then reach Channapattana – Sathnur road and take left.

Recently, I visited Sringeri, Horanadu, Ambalpady, Anegudde, and Kollur.  Off course, Kollur was my favorite place and I visited this temple more than 5-6 times.  But, I did not get a chance to visit other places.  South Canara district has many famous temples and in most of the temples we get very nice food free of cost.  From Sringeri, Horanadu is 72 Km and there are plenty of private busses.

Idol of the goddess Annapoorneshwari is magnificent and is more than 5 feet in height.  People are allowed to sit nearby the idol during the pooja.   This gives us a chance to fill ourselves with the image of goddess and feel a sense of fulfillment.

Annapoorneshwari is the form of Goddess Bhagavati who is wife of Lord Shiva.  Sanskrit meaning of Annapoorna is “full of food” and the person who seeks the blessings of the goddess will never have the problem of food.  In my childhood we had a practice of reciting “Annapoorna stotram” everyday before having food (anna poorne sada poorne shankara pranavallabe…and so on).  We used to remember her with this prayer and then have food.

Horanadu is situated around 350 Km from Bangalore and is 72 km from Sringeri.  There are direct busses from Bangalore, Mangalore, Shimoga, and Hassan.  On the way to Horanadu, you can fill your eyes with beautiful sceneries.  I visited this place in the morning hours and almost the hilltop nearby the temple was covered with fog, it was beautiful.   Both of the below pictures I have taken nearby Horanadu.

How to reach:

By Bus:  There are numerous KSRTC and other private busses from Bangalore, Mangalore, Sringeri, Shimoga.

By Rail: Nearest railway station is Shimoga.

Meals Timings:

Afternoon: 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Night: 8:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

Address:

Adishaktyatmaka Sri Annapoorneshwari Temple
Horanadu
Chikmagalur District
Karnataka
Pincode: 577181

I visited Ambalpady Mahakali temple around three months ago but couldn’t post because of some personal reasons.  I heard this temple name around 10 years back in Hubli.  There in a hotel they had kept picture of the goddess to get rid of a spirit.  This temple is situated around 2-3 km from Udupi, Karnataka on NH-17.  Idol of goddess is big around 6 feet height.  In most of the temples where Shakti (mother goddess) is worshipped there Shiva is also worshipped but here in this temple premises another temple of Lakshmi Janardhan is also situated.  

The name Ambalpady is derived from Amba meaning mother and Padi meaning “Top of a hill” in local language Tulu.  One more specialty of this temple is “Oracle” where mother goddess talks to its devotees through a person called PATHRI.  This happens on every Friday evening from 5:00 p.m. to 9 p.m.  During this occasion personal problems of people are heard and provided solutions.

Lakshmi Janardhan is the form of God Mahavishnu.  Most of the devotees visiting Mahakali temple also visit this temple.  I visited this temple in the morning hours and there were very less devotees in the premises.   In my opinion it is better to visit temples in the non-festive season as it will be less crowded.  We can have a better “Darshan” of the deity. 

Some of the Pooja done at Ambalpady temple are Theertha Snana, Kunkumarchane, Panchamrutha Abhisheka, Saptashati Parayana, Chandika Homa, Raksha Yantra, Mahapooja, etc.

How to reach:

Nearest Railway Station: Udupi.

Nearest Airport: Mangalore.

By Bus: Reach Udupi and ask anybody about Ambalpady you will get the directions to reach the temple.

Udupi is on NH-17 around 1 hour journey from Mangalore.

Above is the picture of Kuttichathan.  Kuttichathan Thira is more interesting because while dressing him up only people around him will start singing legend of Kuttichathan.  At this point in time, god himself will get into his body and he starts blessing each one of the devotees.  I could not understand completely the legend behind Kuttichathan as they were singing in Malayalam but this was awesome.Gulikan Thira was dressed very simple with coconut tree leaves when it was started but in the middle of the “Thira” there is a custom of putting a face mask which was designed as the face of a devil.  This was actually depicting the furious face of Gulikan as shown in the above picture.  He has to carry a long head dress made of bamboo splicing decorated with clothes and flowers.  This is very much difficult to balance as it is very long as much as more than 50 feet.  This Thira also ends with blessing the devotees, answering queries, and providing solutions.

Naga Kali Thira was very much attractive with aggressive form of dance and also the way it was dressed.  Facial expression was also scary, at times used to roll the eyes and protruding tongue.  During the festival Swamiji was also used to get into trance and dance with the artists performing Theyyam.  During this period he will hold “Ayudham” and starts dancing.  At times, he was also hitting his head with the “Ayudham” and blood used come out like a fountain.

After the Thira/Theyyam performance, a pooja called “Guruthi Pooja” was performed.  At the end of the this pooja sacrifice of sheep or goat and cock are done.  After all the pooja/Theyyam was done devotees were fed with prasadam and the whole festival was joyously ended.

For more pictures please visit : Thira – Sacred Dance of God pictures

Contact – www.pratyangirabhagavati.org

In Pratyangira Bhagavati Temple during festival Kola is held whole night.  Kola is a type of sacred dance.  For each of the deities in the temple, there are different Kola’s.  Here in this temple, they conduct totally four “Kola” and four “Thira” for each of the four different deities.  Kola is performed before midnight and is a milder form of the God.  For example, Bhagavati has milder form such as “Lalithambika”as well as ferocious form like “Pratyangira”.  Above is the picture of Bhagavati Kola. 

A person will be dressed with costumes and make-up pertaining to one particular deity.  When the Kola comes out to dance it is believed that the God will get into his body and starts dancing.  Each of the Kola is dressed differently and also they dance in a different manner.  According to me, most attractive ones are “Kuttichathan and Naga Kali”.  Above is the picture of Kuttichathan Kola.

Kuttichathan as the name itself says, he dances like a child and his face looks very innocent.  Whereas, Naga Kali’s dance is rigorous and runs all around the temple.  People really enjoy Naga Kali’s dance but feel little scared as it jumps and runs.  Above one is Naga Kali Kola.

Each Kola starts with dance and then he will speak to “Tantri” about the worship done whole year at the temple.  If there is anything wrong in the “Pooja” done that also will be told.  God inside the Kola also speaks about how he blessed his devotees who come to the temple.  At the end of each Kola, he will speak to the devotees and will suggest solutions to their problems.  Above is the picture of Gulikan Kola.