Kollur, Udupi district
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Kollur
Kolluru | |
|---|---|
Temple Town | |
 Sri Kollur Mookambika Temple | |
  Kollur Location in Karnataka, India  Kollur Kollur (India) | |
| Coordinates: 13°41′56″N 74°48′42″E / 13.69889°N 74.81167°E | |
| Country |  India |
| State | Karnataka |
| District | Udupi |
| Taluk | Byndoor |
| Elevation | 82 m (269 ft) |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Kannada |
| Time zone | UTC+5:30 (IST) |
| PIN | 576220 |
| Telephone code | 08254 |
| Vehicle registration | KA-20 |
| Website | www |
Kolluru or Kollur is a small temple village in Byndoor Taluk in Udupi district of Karnataka state, India. It is situated about 27 km from Byndoor town. This village lies at the foot of the Western Ghats and is famous for the Mookambika temple, a Hindu pilgrim center. The village is located on the banks of Agnitheertha and Souparnika river.
Kollur also called Kolapura (in the name of sage called Kola Maharshi) one of the important places of pilgrimage in Karnataka State, which has a temple dedicated to supreme goddess Mookambika or Durga devi .
Legends
Legend goes that a Maharishi (sage) Kola was enchanted with nature’s beauty and decided to perform a penance on a rock near the Agnitheertha. Lord Shiva, delighted with Kola rishi, appeared before him and blessed him. The Maharishi wished for the welfare of mankind and nothing else. The Lord, happy with Kola, granted him his wish. He assured that a swayambhu (autogenic) Linga would appear for his daily worship. However, Kola wanted to worship Devi also. So, a swarna rekha (gold line) appeared on the Lingam, signifying Shakti. Thus, Shiva and Shakti are worshipped together in the Lingam. Besides this, a unique feature is that the other Gods and Goddess of the Hindu pantheon also believed to reside in aroopa (non-form) in the Linga. It is thus believed to be an abode of the entire celestial congregation.
Vadiraja Tirtha, a Madhwa disciple, Pontiff of Sodhe vadiraja matha of Udupi has written a book called Thirtha prabandha, where he also created shloka on Mookambika Temple, Kollur, Here he explained about the deity and place and the history. Once, Sage Kola Maharishi was performing Tapas here when he was persistently troubled by a demon. This Demon had also been praying to Lord Shiva to get powers that would make him invincible and let him do whatever he wanted. Knowing the evil mind of this demon, Devi Shakthi made him Mooka (Dumb). So, when Lord Shiva appeared before him, he was unable to ask for any boon. Enraged by this, the Demon began to harass Kola Maharishi, who was also praying to the Lord. Kola Maharishi appealed to the Divine Mother for help. So, Devi Shakthi came down and vanquished the Demon, Mookasura.
Henceforth, in this region, she came to be known as Mookambika. Lord Shiva also appeared before the sage. Maharishi Kola asked that the Lord with His Consort should remain here forever. To grant his wish, a Jyotirlinga appeared, with a Swarnarekha (golden line) in the middle. Thus, one half of this Linga stands for the conscious principle as embodied by Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma, while the other stood for the Creative Principle in the form of Parvati, Lakshmi and Saraswathi.
Goddess Uma appeared here with Lord Shankara and slayed Mukasura. The Goddess Mookambika is in the form of Jyotir-Linga incorporating both Shiva and Shakth
Main Temple of Mookambika
- Shri Mookambika Devi Temple
- Kollur is believed to be one of the seven pilgrim centres(Sapta kshetra) in Parashurama kshetra. The temple is devoted to the Hindu goddess Parvathi Devi consort of Lord Shiva. While the other pilgrimages created by Parashurama are devoted to Lord Shiva, Lord Subramanya and Lord Ganesha, this one is devoted to goddess Parvathi. The temple is constructed on the banks of a tributary of Souparnika River and in the middle of a forest. Just in front of the temple, Kodachadri peak and mountain is visible, which is a delightful sight. It is believed that original temple is on top of Kodachadri peak, and to make it convenient for devotees to offer pooja, the temple is constructed at Kollur. Devotees from all over South India visit this temple. Many pilgrims from Kerala visit the temple and perform vidyaarambham during Vijayadasami here.
Around Kollur
- Kashi Theertha is a beautiful river spot with a bridge and forest trekking opportunities about 1 km from the Mookambika temple.
- Souparnika is a river spot where devotees take a holy dip. This tourist spot has parking facilities, toilet and a small tea shop. This spot is about 1 km from Mookambika temple.
- Anegudde Vinayaka Temple
- One of famous temple of Udupi District. Located southern side of Kundapura on NH66 (From Kundapura Bus-stand 7 km and kundapura Station ~10 km). God Siddhi Vinayaka or Sarva Siddhi Pradaayaka will grant and fulfill his devotees’ wishes. People believe in him that he will solve their problems. The garba griha or the main sanctum has the Lord Vinayaka in Chaturbuja (with four arms) in huge rock-like structure covered in silver armour. Two arms are posing as "Varada Hasta" granting boons, and two hands indicate to attain salvation. There are many sculptures related to Bhargava Purana.
- Arishina Gundi Waterfalls
- A scenic waterfall inside the deep jungle only approachable by trekking. Due to the special effect of the sun's rays falling on the water droplets around the waterfall, it looks orange-yellow in colour at 12am and so the name is "Arishina" (Turmeric/Yellow in Kannada)
- Kodachadri Mountain in the Western Ghats
- Mookambika Wildlife Sanctuary is aided by the World Wildlife Fund. This sanctuary is home to an endangered species called the Lion-tailed monkey.
- Spread along the Byndoor-Kollur-Shimoga road, this sanctuary is generally off the tourist map.
- Maravanthe beach, where sea and river come very close, but to leave a National Highway (17) in between is a rare sight; this beach is between Kundapura and Byndoor, on the way to Kollur.
- Maranakatte kshetra is nearby Kollur i.e. about 12 km from the temple.
- Sigandur is a forest village known for the temple of Goddess Chaudeshwari. It is situated at a distance of 45 km from Kollur, on the way to Shimoga, a diversion from Kollur-Shimoga Road at Nagodi. It is in Sagara Taluk.
- Jog Falls India's second-highest plunge waterfall in India is about a two-hour drive from Kollur. It is in Sagara Taluk.
See also
References
External links
