Take a tour to Mangalore and Barkur

In today’s day and time finding time to for holidays is hard. Here are a few places that one can go to visit its history, culture and traditions when the time is short. Barkur is a fort town o
(Express News Photo)
(Express News Photo)

In today’s day and time finding time to for holidays is hard. Here are a few places that one can go to visit its history, culture and traditions when the time is short. Barkur is a fort town of the erstwhile Tulu Kingdom. It was established as the capital by the Alupas, who reigned in the provinces of coastal Karnataka. The Vijayanagara kings ruled it until the 17th century and then it was conquered by Haider Ali ruled by him and his successor, Tipu Sultan until he was defeated by the British. As the reigns of  the kingdom changed hands, many of the monuments in Barkur were ruined.

Temples and keres (stepped water tanks) are a common sight in Barkur. There were as many as 365 temples and many of them were ruined are being revamped one by one as the time passed.  Choulikere is one of the major temples with a huge tank.

The Barkur fort is spread across 20 acres of land. Inside the fort there are ruins of the  kingdom. There are pillars used to tie horses and elephants which formed the part of the  army. This fort was excavated several years ago by the archeologists in a few acres of land,  which is now an excursion site.

The temples here have unique artifacts and each one has an interesting story woven around  it.  The Kallu chappara situated in the heart of Barkur is another tourist attraction. In the  past the Utsava murthys of all the temples used to be worshiped here.

How to reach?

The Barkur town has a railway station and is on the Mangalore-Mumbai route. It is about 16  km from Udupi and can be reached by bus. Those driving down to Barkur, take a right  deviation at Brahmavara (Akashavani Circle). From there Barkur town is about  three km. Fort is  just half a kms from Barkur town on the Rukmini Shetty National First Grade College road.  Kattale Basadi is half kilometers from Barkur on the Mandarthi road.

Mangalore: Posaral Shri Mahalingeshwara Mahaganapati temple, lying on the border of  dakshina kannada and udupi district is a favourite destination for many devotees.

The simple, beautiful stone carvings, temple architecture and the serenity surrounding the  temple attracts devotees by hordes. The antique carvings on the pillars of the  Theertha Mantapa in the temple is an added attraction, reveals the priests in the temple.

The temple is located on the banks of river Shambhavi. It’s history dates  back to almost 1,200 years. The temple though was renovated in 2006 it has retained the  basic infrastructure. The devotees have a unflinching belief in their desires and wishes  being fulfilled by the main presiding deities Mahalingeshwara, Mahaganapati, Nagas and  Brahma.

The temple also has dedicated a shrine to Panjurli, a spirit.  The locals believe that the  presiding deity is often pleased with tender coconut ‘abhishekam’. Thus if wishes are  realised, devotees make it a point to offer a few tender coconuts to the deity.

Incidentally the temple is located in close proximity to three more temple dedicated to  Lord shiva. The temples Inna-Muddanu Sri Mahalingeshwara temple, Ulepadi and Bola are also  worthy of a visit.

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