Meet the Surreal – Dharmasthala
Posted On September 30, 2011
Go to the hills of Karnataka and visit the Malnad forest and along the banks of the River Nethravati you will find the Shiva temple of Sri Manjunathaswamy – Dharmasthala. This temple with its lingam made of gold attracts the tourists from afar and devotees feel blessed and divine here.
The main point in Dharmasthala, is charity. This charity is the mainstay of this place situated in the Beltangady Taluk in the district of Kanara which lies around 75 km from the city of Mangalore.
Initially called Kuduma, today Dharmasthala dates back to around 800 years. Mythological legends say that angels disguised as men came to Barman Heggade. This family was very generous and the angels came in his dreams promising to live in this place called Kuduma.
Barmana is believed to have built temples to fulfil this wish of the angels. He built it at Kalarkai, Kanyakumari, Kalarahu and Kumaraswamy. Then later Heggade built the Manjunatha Swamy temple which is the one found in Dharmasthala. He kept the Shivalingam which was brought her by a representative of the angels named Annappa Swamy. Then Kuduma transformed to Dharmasthala and today it is a beautiful tourist hub with many temples, bungalows and buildings.
More than 10,000 devotees have the “Anna Daana” which is given to them and the Dharmasthala society also takes part in the social service of imparting education to many. The Shri Kshetra Dharmasthala is functional in many institutes which number more than 25 institutions and in subjects like Dental Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
There are many mass weddings which are held in Dharmasthala and the expenditure is borne by the Kshetra itself in some cases. There is a mobile hospital offering the best of facilities across Malnad.
The temple is built of clay, laterite and wood. The main pavilion is in front of the temple and there are many wooden pillars supporting the structure. There are three storey in the temple and the roofs which are sloping add to the beauty. There are around 1000,000 oil lamps which are placed around the temple during the festival of Laksha Deepotsava.
There is a museum here in Dharmasthala which has the most antique things like manuscripts, painting and many vintage cars.
Dharmasthala is famous for the harmony that it exudes and has great religious tolerance. There was a Sarva Dharma Sammelan, which takes place every year her in this pristine place and it has many leaders coming here to participate. This town of Dharmasthala, is also known to be the place where the eight Jain Basadis, and there is a high Bahubali statue.
Shri Majunatheswara, Shri Chandranatha Swamy, Shri Ammanavaru, and the four Dharma Daivas are important temples here.
Besides this, you have the Manjusha Vastu, Vasantha Mahal, Sangrahalya, Pushpa Vatika, and the vintage car museum. KUkke Subrahmanya is around 60 kms from the city of Dharmasthala . You also have the Kateel Durga Parmeshwari temple near Mangalore and also the Udupi Sri Krishna temple which is very famous.
Visit Dharmasthala to feel the divinity here and also see the surroundings to enjoy the ambience. Come here to the land of God, to Dharmasthala the divine place.
