There is no dearth of such places in India, which can be called strange places. There is one such place in Karnataka where there are not 10 or 20 but thousands of Shivlingas carved on huge rocks on the banks of the river. Here not only Shivlinga but also figures of Lord Ganesha, Nandi, snake, etc., which are associated with Mahadev, are made. This river performs Jalabhishek of these thousands of Shivlingas at once.

Sahasralinga is a pilgrimage place, which is located about 14 km from Sirsi taluk in Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka state in India. It is in the Shalmala River and is famous for the place where about a thousand lingams are carved on the rocks on the river and its banks.

Sahasralingeshwara Temple in Uppinangadi is located on the banks of the Netravati and Kumaradhara rivers, where a thousand lingas are found. One of them is a linga found in the sand of the river which is visible in February. The lingas in Uppinangadi are under the river and are formed naturally, they are not carved.

This place is a mystery for Shiva devotees

This holy place located on the banks of the Shalmala River is known as Sahasralinga. Lord Mahadev's linga is carved on almost every rock on the banks of this river. Here not only Lord Shiva but also the figures of Nandi (Lord Shiva's vehicle), the first worshipped Lord Ganesha and a snake are carved. But the biggest mystery is that where did not one or two or 10-20 but more than 1000 Shivlingas come from on the rocks on the banks of the river? After all, what kind of heritage does the Shalmala River carry in its lap and flows flawlessly, this is a deep mystery.

Every pebble is Shankar
The Shalmala river flows peacefully through dense forests near a small village Sonda, about 13 km from Sirsi. There are so many huge stones in this river that it is not possible to move them, let alone remove them from the river. It is believed that these dark grey rocks on which Shivlingas are carved, are made of saftic. You will find the shape of Shivlinga on every small and big rock of this river, even on the rocks that are always submerged in the river bed. Some of these stones have the shape of Nag Devta and some have the shape of Nandi Maharaj carved on them. Some rocks have one Shivlinga and some have two Shivlingas carved on them. There is a hanging bridge on the river nearby, through which one can go to the village situated on the other side. It feels very good to see the panoramic view of all the Shivlingas made in the middle of the river from this bridge.

Nandi Maharaj carved on the biggest rock
The figure of Nandi Maharaj, the vehicle of Lord Mahadev, is carved on the biggest rock of the Shalmala River. This rock is about 6 feet high, 12 feet long and 5 feet wide. The weight of this huge stone can be several quintals. Looking at this stone, it is understood that these figures have not been made somewhere else and installed in the river, but these figures have been carved on the rocks while sitting in the river itself. There is no correct information available about how many Shivlingas, Nandi, or snake figures have been carved on the rocks here.

Folktales related to Shivlingas Two folktales related to these Shivlingas have been heard. According to the first story, the king of Sonda, or Swadi Akasappa Nayak had no children. Therefore, a sage advised him to get a thousand Shivlingas constructed. The king got a Shivlinga made on every rock available in the Shalmala River. It is said that only after this the king was blessed with a child and then this place became popular for fulfilling wishes.

According to another folklore, the 16th-century king Sadashivraya Varma was a great devotee of Lord Mahadev. He thought of doing something for Lord Shiva so that even after his death, Lord Shiva's Jalabhishek would continue. Therefore, he built Sahasrashivlingas and their related figures in the Shalmala river between 1678 and 1718. A huge fair is held here every year in Shivratri.

When and how to go to Sahasralinga

Sahasralinga is a Shivlinga situated in the river, so it is very important to have the right season to visit these sacred lingas of Lord Shiva. During monsoon, all the lingas go underwater due to the rising water level of the river. Therefore, the right time to visit Sahasralinga would be from October to March. Sahasralinga is located in Sonda village, about 14 km from Sirsi, a hill station located in the Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka.

The nearest airport to reach here is Hubli, which is 87 km from Sirsi. From Hubli or Sirsi, you will have to take a private vehicle or rent a private vehicle to reach Sahasralinga. The nearest railway station to Sirsi is Gokarna, which is 56 km from here. You will also have to rent vehicles to reach Sirsi or Sahasralinga from Gokarna.

Sirsi Marikamba Temple
Sirsi Marikamba Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Marikamba Devi (Durga Devi), located in Sirsi, Karnataka, also known as Marigudi, it was built in 1688, Sirsi Shri Marikamba Devi is the elder sister of all Marikamba Devis in Karnataka. The façade of the temple, a 19th-century addition, is painted blue. After entering from the façade, there is a courtyard in the middle, with monasteries surrounding it. The monasteries are filled with images of deities from the Hindu epics. The changes made inside the temple have concealed any evidence of the older structures. The sanctum sanctorum houses the central image of Goddess Durga in her fierce form, multi-armed (eight shoulders), riding a tiger and killing a demon. The 7-foot-tall (2.1 m) image is believed to have been retrieved from a pond on the way to Hangal. The temple has very special paintings of murals in Kaavi art, an art form that was popular in the coastal Konkan region of Karnataka. In this art form, now extinct, the upper layer of the mural was first painted with red pigment, which when removed revealed a lower white layer of plaster on which the murals were painted.

The chief priest of the temple belongs to the carpenter or Vishwakarma caste. Kanakadasa, a famous saint-poet of the Bhakti movement, had visited the temple and advised people to stop the animal sacrifice of buffalo. When Mahatma Gandhi visited Sirsi in 1934 during his campaign to end the untouchability of Dalits, he refused to visit the temple, as animal sacrifice was a prevalent ancient practice in the temple; the sacrifice was in the form of offering a buffalo as a sacrifice to please the goddess. A buffalo was specially bred to be sacrificed to the deity during the biannual Rath Yatra. Following Gandhi's protest, a social movement took place in the town to not only end animal sacrifice but also to allow Dalits to enter the temple. The movement was led by Keshavan, the chief trustee of the temple, along with Vitthal Rao Hodike, a teacher from the town and a devoted Gandhian. Both the objectives of the movement were accomplished.

Jaatre (Chariot Procession)


The Sirsi Marikamba Jaatre (chariot procession) of the deity is held every alternate year in March and is taken through the town. It is attended by a considerable number of devotees. It is also the most famous and the biggest fair (Jaatre) in South India. Devotees from all over the state participate in this huge event and join the procession. Circuses, a variety of shops, dramas, and plays for the entertainment of children, and many such things are put up for the people. It depicts the story of the slaying of Mahishasura by the Goddess.

Malnad (Malenadu)
is a region in the state of Karnataka, India. Malenadu covers the western and eastern slopes of the Western Ghats or Sahyadri mountain range and is about 100 kilometers wide. The region receives heavy annual rainfall of 1000 to 3800 mm; it includes Agumbe, which receives the highest annual rainfall in Karnataka (over 10,000 mm). The region has been successful in attracting tourists due to its natural conditions. The maximum number of tourists come here between October to March to see these mountain ranges, forests, and water flowing throughout the year due to rain which takes the form of rivers.

The Malnad region has villages scattered in remote areas. This region in the state is mainly a rural area. The area poses special problems of development due to poor habitation, sparse population, topography, dense forest, numerous rivulets, etc. The districts initially covered in this area were Shivamogga, Chikmagalur, Uttara Kannada, Kodagu, and Hassan. At present, the Board's jurisdiction covers 13 districts of the state namely Chamarajanagar, Belgaum, Dharwad, Davanagere, Haveri, Chikmagalur, Hassan, Shivamogga, Kodagu, Mysore, Uttara Kannada, Udupi and Mangalore.

Yana

Yana is a tourist destination located in the forests of the Malenadu region of Uttara Kannada district of the state of Karnataka in India. Yana is one of the wettest villages in the world. It is the cleanest village in Karnataka and the second cleanest village in India. Two unique rocks near the village are tourist attractions and can be easily reached by a short trek through dense forests 0.5 kilometers (0.31 mi) from the nearest road.

Yana is famous for these two huge rock outcrops known as Bhairaveshwara Shikhara and Mohini Shikhara (Shikhara means hill). The huge rocks are made of solid black, crystalline karst limestone. The Bhairaveshwara Shikhara is 120 meters (390 ft) in height, while Mohini Shikhara, which is smaller, is 90 meters (300 ft) in height. Yana is also known as a pilgrimage centre because of the cave temple below the Bhairaveshwara Shikhara, where a swayambhu (self-manifested, or one that is created by its own self) linga has been constructed. Water drips from the roof over the linga, adding to the sanctity of the place

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