Mangalore, Jul 26: Situated in the heart of Mangalore at Hampankatta is Sharavu Mahaganapathy Temple, one of the most famous in DK dist. The origin of the temple is narrated in the Skanda Purana. Sharabeshwara and Mahaganapathy are the principal deities.
More than 800 years ago, King Veerabahu ruled the Tulu Kingdom. One day, Veerabahu went on a hunting expedition, killing wild animals that devastated the farmers? crops. He came to a vast forest area with a famous Shiva temple – Swarna Kadali Kshetra. He worshiped Lord Manjunath there with intense devotion. He saw a thick forest to the west.
In the middleof the forest, the king saw a tiger and a cow standing close to each other and thought that the tiger was about to attack the cow. The king shot an arrow at the tiger but unfortunately killed the cow instead. Upset at this incident of gohatya, the king ran to sage Bharadwaja for a remedy. The sage advised the king to construct a temple dedicated to Lord Shiva at the spot where the gohatya was committed. The sage said that such an act would not only expiate the king?s sin, but also ensure the prosperity of coming generations. The four square mile area where the cow had died acquired the name ?Sharapattana? or ?Sharavu.?
Sage Bharadwaja then gave the king instructions about constructing the temple. First, before constructing the temple, the king had to build a tank to the north. To the temple?s south, a stone idol of the cow had to be built. The sage assured the king that by the power of his meditation, he would see to it that the water of River Nethravathi, flowing near the Gorakshram, emerged from the gomukha as theertha.
The Shivalinga that would be installed at the spot would be known as Sharabeshwara and the tank would be called Sharabeshwara Thatak. Then the king had to construct the sanctum-sanctorum, mukhamantap, paulis and the gopura. Sage Bharadwaja himself would install the Shivalinga. The king, in order to please Lord Shiva, had to feed one lakh Brahmins.
The sage told the king that the deity Sharabeshwara would now be known as Kashi Vishwanath Himself.
Sharatheertha would be called Ganga theertha (holy water of Ganga), and Sharapura would become famous as Kashi Kshetra (abode of Kashi Vishwanath). Later, one day, Lord Ganapathi would visit the place and would manifest Himself on the southern wall of the temple. In view of his proximity to Lord Sharabeshwara, the temple would be known as Shri Sharavu Maha Ganapathy Temple. Veerabahu then started constructing the temple as per the sage?s instructions.
Veerabahu decided to stay at Sharapura for sometime with his wife. During this period, the chieftain of Gangawadi (now known as Bangadi) Chandrashekhar Jain was harbouring hatred towards VishnuVardhan, the Hoysala king, as he had deserted the Jain faith and converted himself into a devotee of Lord Vishnu.
Chandrashekhar Jain was killed in his battle with VishnuVardhan. His son, Veera Narasimha Bangaraja approached King Veerabahu for refuge. At the instance of the sage, Veerabahu adopted him, making him his legal heir. Veera Narasimha Bangaraja built a palace to the east of the Shiva temple and lived there.
One day, Goddess Mangala Devi appeared in a dream to Bangaraja and told him to look for a stone idol to the west of Goraknath Ashram. She instructed him to construct a temple at that spot and name it Mangala Devi. She also ordered him to name the area between Sharavu and Mangala Devi as Mangalapur.
Mangaladevi
Mangaladevi assured the king that she would grant prosperity to anyone praying with faith and devotion. In spite of being of Jain faith, he rejoiced at the opportunity to construct a temple for Goddess Mangaladevi. He constructed the temple and installed the idol of the Goddess at the said spot.
Soon, people engaged in different vocations from different places came to reside in the town and trade and commercial activities started. The town extended to the seashore. King Bangaraja?s palace lay in the centre of Mangalapur town.
Every word of sage Bharadwaja?s prediction had come true. One fine morning, on an auspicious day, Lord Ganapathy with ten hands and Siddhi Lakshmi at His side appeared on the southern wall of the Shiva temple. From then on, the temple came to be known as Shri Sharavu Maha Ganapathy Temple.
Tipu Sultan
In 1784 AD, Tipu Sultan, better known as the ?Tiger of Mysore,? invaded Mangalore. He knew that king Bangaraja was a weak ruler and could easily overthrow him. As darkness had enveloped the town, he thought it fit to camp in front of the Maha Ganapathy temple for the night. On hearing of Tipu?s invasion, the citizens of Mangalore rushed to the priest of the temple seeking his help. The priest asked them to offer a mass prayer to Sharavu Maha Ganapathy.
Tipu in the meantime was haunted by a nightmare in which an elephant trampled on him, lifted him with his trunk and threw him on the ground. He sought the advice of his minister Purnayya. The minister consulted the temple priest, who told him that Tipu?s nightmare was caused by the anger of Lord Maha Ganapathy, who did not approve of his intentions.
Tipu told the priest that since he feared Lord Maha Ganapathy?s powers, he would become His devotee and would construct His temple at Srirangapattana. Next morning, Tipu abandoned his plan of looting Mangalore and returned to Mysore.
Thus, Shri Sharavu Sharabeshwara Maha Ganapathy temple is laden with fabulous historical legends. Vinayaka Chaturthy (August to September) is the most important festival of the temple. But the utsavas starting from Chandramana Ugadi continue for nine days in the annual fest of Lord Sharabeshwara. Scores of devotees visit the temple everyday, seeking the deities? blessings and praying for the fulfilment of their desires.
DHNS
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