Anjanadri Hills of Karnataka might be around 2000km away from Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh. However, the two places have a close and strong connection that completes Ramayana, the epic that tells the life journey of Lord Ram, the seventh avatar (incarnation) of Lord Vishnu.
Right from Treta Yuga till now, Karnataka has been strongly associated with Lord Ram and the Ramayana. Be it the Vanaras who helped Ram find Sita, or the black rock and idol of Ram Lalla the entire world is looking at, all have a Karnataka connect.
As the Ram Mandir consecration takes off, The New Indian Express gives a glimpse of Ram, Ayodhya’s Shriram Mandir and related stories that have a connection here.
ANJANADRI
It is believed that Ram, while searching for Sita, met Vanaras king Sugriva here. Most importantly, it is here that Ram found his greatest devotee Hanuman -- at Anjanadri betta, the birthplace of Anjaneya (son of Anjanadevi). Koppal district has a deep connection with Ayodhya and Ramayana. During the reign of the Vijayanagar kingdom, a Ram mandir was built in Koppal district and the village was named Ayodhya. Now, the village is divided into New Ayodhya and Old Ayodhya. Kishkinda Hanumad Janma Bhumi Teerthkshetra Trust chief seer Govindananda Saraswathi had earlier stated that a Hanuman mandir stone foundation will be laid on the day of Ram Mandir pran pratishtha below Anjanadri hill.
MADIKERI
Rameshwara Temple located in Kurchi village, near Iruppu Falls, is believed to be the place where Ram and Sita stayed during vanavasa, and during their stay, Sita wished to
worship Lord Shiva, for which Rama summoned Hanuman to get the ‘Shiva linga’ from Kashi, narrated Narayan Swamy, the chief priest of Rameshwara Temple. As Hanuman did not turn up till noon, Sita is said to have made a Shiva linga out of sand and installed it at what is now Rameshwara Temple. When she required water for her puja, Lakshman shot an arrow into a mountain and a water stream took birth, which is now called Lakshmana Theertha.
Later, Hanuman came from Kashi and was disappointed. Lord Ram is said to have walked three footsteps east of the spot where Sita installed the Shiva linga, and installed the Shiva linga brought from Kashi.
“Even today, it is believed that the Shiva linga worshipped at Rameshwara Temple in Iruppu and Shiva linga worshipped at Permad (three miles from Iruppu) are idols installed by Sita and Lord Ram respectively,” shared Kallichanda Vishnu, president of the Federation of Kodava Samaja.
UDUPI
Late Sri Vishwesha Theertha Swami of Sri Pejavar Mutt, Udupi, who passed away in December 2019, was at the forefront of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement. In a book titled ‘Pejavara Prashasthi’, the life and achievements of Sri Vishwesha Theertha Swami of Sri Pejavar Mutt, Udupi, the pontiff has given a first-person account of the Ayodhya movement and Udupi’s connection with the movement. He stated in a section titled ‘Ram Janmabhoomi’ in the book, that at the Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s Dharma Sansad held in Udupi in 1985 (his third Paryaya term), a resolution was passed for ‘Tala Khol’ -- a clarion call to open the Ram Janmabhoomi temple site, which stressed the significance of building a Ram Mandir in Ayodhya.
The seer, who was the trustee of the Sri Ram Janmabhoomi Trust, also mentioned that then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi and then Uttar Pradesh chief minister ND Tiwari came under pressure through this event in Udupi, to permit the laying of the foundation for Ram Mandir. After the seer’s demise, his disciple Sri Vishwaprasanna Theertha, the current pontiff of Sri Pejavar Mutt, Udupi, is a trustee of Sri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, and has taken up several responsibilities for the construction of Ram Mandir, by visiting the temple site many a time and overseeing developments there.
KALABURAGI
According to an inscription found at Narona village of Aland taluk in Kalaburagi, the original name of Narona was ‘Na-Ravana’ which later became Narona. It is said that Ravan’s spirit haunted Ram when he was returning to Ayodhya after killing Ravan, who was considered a ‘Maha Brahmana’ and a great devotee of Lord Shiva. To get rid of it, he started visiting Teerthakshetras (holy places). Ram came to a place (called Kshetrapala before his visit) and rested for some time. He then told his brother Lakshman that the place was not haunted by Ravan. That is how the place got its name Na-Ravana, and later became Narona.
BAGALKOTE
As per the locals, a small hamlet known as Sitamani in Bagalkote has some ancient relics and structures, reportedly of the Ramayana era. People here believed that Sita and her children, Luv and Kush, lived here for some time. According to legend, it is the place where Maharishi Valmiki had given shelter to Sita in his ashram, and she delivered her twin sons. To corroborate this claim, the hillock where these structures are located, have small rooms and an open well. The room is claimed to have been used by Sita to deliver her children, and the open well is named after Luv and Kush. Interestingly, the well never goes dry even in harsh summers.
MYSURU
The five year-old Ram Lalla idol which is set to be installed at the Ayodhya Ram temple on Monday, has become the cynosure of all eyes. Arun Yogiraj is the renowned sculptor from Mysuru who sculpted the idol, which is set to create history. Yogiraj was among the three shortlisted sculptors who were asked to carve the idol of Ram Lalla. They had camped in Ayodhya for this purpose, and stayed away from their families for six months. The idol was meticulously sculpted by Yogiraj, using Krishna Shila stone sourced from Mysuru. The rock was taken from an active quarry in Gujjegowdanapura near Mysuru. It has been found that the rock used is the oldest rock from South India.
BELAGAVI
The Shabari Kolla located in Sureban village of Ramdurg taluk in Belagavi district has a connection with Shri Ram’s greatest devotee, Shabari. Basappa Madakatti, archak of Shabari Kolla, said that every day, Shabari would roam in the woods and collect berries as offering to Lord Ram, as she expected him to approach her ashram at any moment. She would taste each berry, and put the sweet berries in a basket. After Ram and Lakshman reached her ashram, Shabari offered the berries. Noting that the berries had been tasted, Lakshman stopped Ram from eating them. But Ram said it was the devotion of Shabari which made the berries more delicious than anything in the world.
SHIVAMOGGA
A statue sculpted by Vipin Bhadauria was one among the three statues that made it to the shortlist, before the authorities finalised Mysuru-based sculptor Arun Yogiraj’s idol for the sanctum sanctorum. Vipin said the statue measures 90 inches, and weighs around 1.5 tonnes. The size and measurements were fixed earlier, and the statue was carved accordingly. He used Krishna shila from HD Kote, provided by the temple trust. The stone underwent thorough inspection and testing by scientists.
MANGALURU
Sita Bavi (Sita’s well), a 45-ft square shaped deep well near Kadri Yogishwar Mutt or Jogi Mutt in Mangaluru, beckons devotees visiting the historical mutt. A few yards away is a stone platform on which a simple sanctorum is situated, with Sita’s idol in it. Legend has it that Seetha used to draw water from this well and offer abhisheka to Lord Shiva, and meditate near the sanctorum. According to another legend, the well took birth after Sita’s tears fell on the place when Ravan was taking her in the Pushpaka Vimana after abduction.
BJP’s #NannaRama campaign does the rounds of social media
Bengaluru: With all eyes on the consecration of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya on Monday, the BJP has launched an online campaign — #NannaRama (My Rama) — to galvanise party workers and others. A day before the Prana Prathistapana, State BJP President BY Vijayendra on Sunday kickstarted the campaign by posting a video clip of him singing a ‘bhajan’. Vijayendra also tagged a few BJP leaders, who also followed his que. BJP National Youth President and BJP MP (Bengaluru South) Tejaswi Surya and Rajya Sabha MP Jageesh posted videos of them singing ‘bhajans’. Union Minister Bhagwanth Khuba spoke about Lord Ram and Kannada actor Ganesh chanted a shloka. Singer Vijaprakash of ‘Jai Ho’ fame chanted a mantra from the Rama Raksha Stotra. Several netizens also joined in singing or chanting shlokas and sharing it on social media. Meanwhile, Karnataka BJP leaders will take part in special Ram pujas at various Ram and Hanuman temples across the state. While Vijayendra will participate in a Ramataraka Mahayajna at Mahalakshmi Layout, former CM B S Yediyurappa will offer puja at Anjaneya temple in Banasawadi, Leader of
Opposition R Ashoka at Maruthi temple in
Vijayanagar, Bengaluru, Union Minister Pralhad Joshi in Hubbali and other leaders in various temples. ENS
(With inputs from Raghottam Koppar/Koppal, Prajna GR/Madikeri, Prakash Samaga/Udupi, Ramakrishna Badsheshi/Kalaburagi, Firoz Rozindar/Bagalkote, Vincent D’Souza/Mangaluru, Karthik KK/Mysuru, Tushar A Majukar/Belagavi, Arpitha I/Shivamogga and Ashwini M Sripad/Bengaluru)