Chapter 5. Gokarna
Most often, tourists travel to Gokarna from the state of Goa.
You can get there by intercity bus from the city of Morgao. Alternatively, you can take the train from Magdaona Station near Morgao. The bus takes about four hours, the train takes 2 hours.
Taxis are available.
The coordinates of Gokarna are 14.5478586, 74.318840999999999.
There are many cities in India that are considered sacred, but Gokarna is the most sacred. According to legend, it was here that the great Hindu destroyer god Shiva was born from the ear of a cow. The city is located on a peninsula shaped that resembles the ear of a cow, hence the name Gokarna. Go means cow, karna means cow. The main population of the town are priests (Brahmins). Therefore, the local population is dressed in white or orange clothes. It is believed that the religious ceremonies held in Gokarna have a special powerful power. Gokarna is a place of pilgrimage for Hindus. It is here, in the waters of the Arabian Sea, that they perform ablutions.
The main temple of the city is Mahabaleshwar, where Hindus gather to worship the Shivalingam, which is more than a million years old. ⠀
Foreigners are not allowed in this temple, but you can enter the territory. At the entrance lives a sacred humpbacked bull of white color, the size of an elephant.
A few more temples deserve the attention of a tourist: the Ganesha temple, the temple of the nagas (snakes) in which they pray for the birth of children.
Among the narrow streets of Gokarna is hidden the Sacred Lake of Koti Tirtha, which is believed to be filled with water from the Ganges. Brahmins perform ablutions here, it is believed that all men's sins are washed away here.
The lake is deep and a sign warns about this, which says that people drown here every year. There is also a sign warning about the presence of crocodiles. I didn't see any, and during the time we walked around the perimeter of the lake, the crocodiles did not eat a single Brahmin bathing. Also, the remains of deceased relatives after cremation are immersed in the tirtha.
Sacred sites are not just temples. In Gokarna, it is worth visiting the cave "Shiva's Ear".
The path to the cave from Main Beach goes uphill, so it is better to stock up on water. On the way, you need to be careful, as the passage to the cave lies through the bushes and you can easily miss the sign.
The Shiva's Ear Cave is as sacred as Gokarna itself, so it is never deserted. It is said that even at night some people come here to spend the night. The cave is the very place where Shiva came into the world from that very ear of a cow.
The entrance to the cave is low and narrow, so in order to enter inside, we had to let the Hindus come out of there. From above, the cave is illuminated by natural light by a small round hole.
Inside the cave there are not very pleasant representatives of the fauna, namely huge cockroaches.
Coordinates: 44°54'21.4"N 35°08'42.9"E
Gokarna. Avtomobilnaya ulitsa
Chapter 6. Murdeshwar. What is hidden inside the tallest statue of Shiva in the world
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The city with the strange name of Murdeshwar attracts with its unique attraction temple complex with its second largest statue of Shiva in the world.
A trip to Murdeshwar can be combined with a trip to Gokarna.
You can get to Murdeshwar from Goa by train, it will take 3 hours 20 minutes or by taxi.
Coordinates: 14.094804, 74.488564
You will definitely not get lost in Murdeshwar. The statue of the four-armed Shiva will look at you from all sides. To say that the statue is large is to say nothing. Its size is amazing long before you approach it. Standing below under this power, you feel like a small bug. The height of this giant statue is 37 meters.
Passage inside exclusively barefoot on hot stone steps. Inside the statue there is a museum-cave dedicated to the Indian epic.
The figures in the museum are made of wax in human size and tell about the ancient legend of the magic stone atma lingam, which the ten-headed king Ravana, who ingratiated himself with Shiva, wanted to take possession of. As usual, the legend is supposed to have a good ending, so the stone was saved, but the evil king threw it to the ground in the town of Gokarna. The stone split into three parts and cities were formed in the places where the fragments fell. One of them is Murdeshwar.
By the way, the statue of Shiva changes the expression of the face in different lighting. Take a closer look.
Around the statue of Shiva, you can see a beautiful park and huge sculptures of the Sacred Bull Nandi, a chariot with the gods Arjuna and Krishna, and a huge golden sun symbolizing the god Surya. Going down the steps, you will find yourself at the no less significant and majestic place of the gate tower Gopuram. Gopuram, like the statue, is the tallest. Its height is 75 meters. Inside, the tower is equipped with elevators that can be used to climb to the very top to the observation deck. The views from the height are worthy of fifteen rupees for the entrance. Going down, you can take your time to see the elephants standing at the entrance in their full size. ⠀
In a city that is located on the coast, it is impossible to pass by the beach. Hundreds of boats are parked on one side of the coast. Residents of the city are mainly engaged in fishing. The other part of the coast is beach, where Indians conduct a brisk trade no worse than on the once famous Cherkizon. This is the dirtiest part of the coast.
In the past, Indians used a banana leaf instead of plates for eating, which was thrown away after eating. Centuries-old traditions have been introduced into modern life and now Hindus habitually throw everything that cannot be used on the ground.
You can dine at the Naveen Beach Restaurant, which is located on the opposite side of Gopuram on the coast.
Murdeshwar. View of the Shiva Temple from the promenade