Murdeshwar - 2

 

This post is dedicated to the genius of Mr. R.N.Shetty. In my earlier post about Murdeshwar, I had written about the Temple, The beautiful Beach and the gigantic statue of Lord Shiva built by the able financial support of Mr. R.N.Shetty.

Under the gigantic statue of Lord Shiva is a circular shaped museum where the story of Murdeshwar has been narrated in detail with the help of some exquisite statues of Lankan King Ravana, Lord Ganesh and Lord Shiva. All these statues were developed under the financial aid given by Mr. R.N. Shetty. Below are the pictures of the statues. The statues are made of Plaster of Paris.

   

In the above picture, Lankan King, Ravana the great is in deep meditation and praying to please Lord Shiva so that the Lord grants him a boon. The statue is such a marvel that one feels that he is staring at King Ravana himsef. there is so much life in the statue.

 

While King Ravana is in deep meditation, Sage Narada is seen in the above picture narrating to Lord Vishnu, who is resting under the hood of Snake, Adhishesha. Sage Narada is telling Lord Vishnu the purpose of King Ravana’s Penance and the consequences if King Ravana succeeds in Pleasing Lord Shiva with his penance and is granted a boon. Goddess Lakshmi is seen in the picture.

Even after praying to Lord Shiva for many years, the lord was not pleased with King Ravana. Out of anger, the mighty king is seen in the above picture lifting Mount Kailash (abode of Lord Shiva) alongwith Lord Ganesh, Goddess Parvati and Nandi ( the divine Bull). All the ten heads of the mighty King and the twenty hands are clear visible and this statue, according to me is a master piece.

Sri Jaganmohana Ranganatha Swamy Temple.

                        As we are all aware, Lord Vishnu has taken various forms for the welfare and protection of various creations of Lord Brahma. One such Temple is Sri Jaganmohana Ranganatha Swamy Temple at Shivanasamudra in Mandya District of Karnataka State. The presiding Deity of the Temple is Sri Ranganatha, A form of Lord Vishnu sleeping on the bed of Adishesha, the sacred snake of Lord Vishnu himself with his Hood providing shelter to the Lord. The Temple is located on the banks of the river Cauvery.

                    

The Main Entrance to the Temple.

                               Altogether, there are 3 most sacred, powerful and important temples of Lord Ranganatha and each of them is known by a different name. The three temples are located at Srirangapatna, Shivanasamudra and Srirangam.It is beleived that on any given day starting from Sunrise to Sunset, if one visits all the three Temples and worships the deities and seeks the blessings, his Sins are washed off and he is blessed with Peace,Happiness and abundant wealth.

The Sanctum Sanctorum main Tower.

                         Inspite of his hectic Schedule,the Priest of the Temple, Sri K.Madhav Bhat was generous and humble in sharing some important facts about the Temple. This Temple was constructed by the Famous Chola Kings and is more than 1600 years old. The Sri Jaganmohana Ranganatha Swamy is fondly addressed as "Madhya Ranga" in Kannada which in English means "Middle Ranga". Why is the deity known by this name? I have already mentioned the importance and significance of the Three Sacred Ranganatha Temples. The first being the "Adi Ranga" which in English means "Foremost Ranga" is located in Srirangapatna.(Please refer to my earlier post) and the last of the three is called  the "Anthya Ranga" which in English means "Final Ranga", located at Srirangam in Tamil Nadu.

                      The sacred Deity of Lord Ranganatha known as Madhya Ranga worshipped and decorated with Flowers, Thulasi, etc. One can notice the Lord sleeping on the bed formed by the Sacred snake Adishesha. The speciality of this temple is that the snake is seven headed whereas in the remaining two Temples, the snake is five headed. The idol is believed to be a Shaligrama Shila or in other words a Black Fossil Stone.

                   The Lamp post and the Flag post at the entrance to the Sanctum Sanctorum of the Temple.Both the Posts have the carvings of the Main symbols of Lord Vishnu, The Sacred Shankha(Conch) and the Disc(Chakra). Please refer the Pictures below for the carvings of The Conch and the Disc on the Posts.

  

                        

These are the pictures of the carvings of the Sacred Conch and Disc on the 

Lamp Post and the pictures below are the ones carved on the Flag Post.

 

The Sacred Lotus Feet of the Lord carved on a Stone

Lord Hanuman carved and decorated with paint on the Lamp Post.

                     The Chola kings were the first to introduce their own style of Architecture and this Temple stands a testimony even after 1600 years displaying the grandeur of the Chola Dynasty.

The World famous Gagana Chukki and Bara Chukki Falls.

 

          Shivanasamudram is home to the Asia's first Hydro Electric Power station. The project was started in 1902 by His Excellency Sri Sheshadri Aiyer, the then Diwan of Mysore and Kolar, a small city near Bangalore was the first beneficiary of the Power supplied from Shivanasamudram Power Plant. Shivanasamudram is also famous for the Vibrant and most energetic waterfalls, considered the eighth biggest waterfalls in the world. There are two falls spanning a distance of 10 Kms between and they are known by the names of Gagana Chukki, also known as Eastern falls and Bara Chukki known as Western Falls. It is beleived that the sacred Seven Hermits or Sapt Rishis did penance at Barachukki.