Murudeshwar, bless us Lord Shiva

The next day from Jog Falls we headed towards Murudeshwara, the coastal town that is towered by Lord Shiva. The distance from Jog Falls to Murudeswara is approximately 87 Kms and since the road is also very good it didn't take long for us to reach Murudeshwar.

Lord Shiva (Murudeshwar)

  The good thing about the temple of Lord Shiva is that once you are near the temple you do not need to ask anybody about the direction. And that is because, from quite a distance, one can see the huge towering figure of Lord Shiva to guide them towards the temple.

Lord Shiva (Murudeshwar)

  Once we were at the feet of Lord Shiva we were awestruck. We have never seen such a huge statue of Shiva anywhere before. This is the 2nd highest statue of Lord Shiva in the world and the sitting pose of Shiva is 123 feet tall.
There was also a huge 20 storied Gopura near the temple. You can take the lift here which will take you to the top of the Gopura, from where you can enjoy a 360 degree panoramic view of the place.

Gopura

Gopura

  We climbed up a series of steps to reach the temple situated at the foot of the Shiva statue. The temple is in the design of a cave.

  After seeking blessing from Lord Shiva we looked around the place from the temple complex. Since the temple is at a good elevation we could see the surroundings clearly. The temple is surrounded by the sea on all sides except the one that connects to the mainland.

  The scene is mesmerising.

Sea line from top of the temple

Chariot of the Sun God

The Murudeshwar beach is just opposite to the temple. Tourists are advised not to go to the sea as the sea is dangerous. So once we got down from the temple we did not go to any beach, instead headed straight to one of the numerous restaurants all of which serve vegetarian dishes.

Hand of Murudeshwar statue

Murudeshwar Statue