Trifter

Gokarna in Sanskrit means ‘Cow’s Ear’ and Lord Shiva is said to have emerged from it at Gokarna, a small town on the west coast of Karnataka, lying at the confluence of two rivers, Aghanashini and Gangavali. This place is well-known as one of the important ‘mukti kshetras’ of Karnataka and Lord Mahabaleshwara is the presiding deity of the place. There are also other temples like Maha Ganapathi temple, Uma Maheshwari temple, Bhadrakali temple, Varadaraj temple, Tamra-Gowri temple, and Venkataramana temple at Gokarna. The temple town attracts thousands of devotees during ‘Shivaratri’ festival. However, even on other days, tourists throng the place from all parts of the world as it is famous for its beautiful beaches that are located in its vicinity: Om beach, Kudle beach, Half-moon beach and Paradise beach.

For some time in the past, we had been dreaming of visiting Gokarna, and one fine morning, I left Udupi, along with my family, by Jan Shatabdi Express train for Ankola (as this train doesn’t have a stop-over at Gokarna Roadstation) from where we got a bus going to Gokarna. The train journey through the coastal belt (from Udupi to Ankola)  was exhilarating and really enjoyable, what with bridges, tunnels, rivers, farms and coconut trees, all along the route, and sprawling hills to our right. Whether you travel by road or by train, one comes across beautiful landscapes at places where a few rivers join the Arabian Sea.

As soon as we reached Gokarna, we engaged a priest to perform puja to Lord Mahabaleshwar. The priest requested us to have darshanof Lord Maha Ganapathi first, at the shrine located adjacent to the Mahabaleshwar temple, as is the usual custom. The idol of Lord Mahaganapathi has a dent on its top (head).

Legend has it that Ravana got Atmalingafor worship from Lord Shiva as a boon for his penance at Kailas, on a condition that he should not keep it on the ground under any circumstances, failing which it would be permanently rooted in the place where it is kept. When he came to Gakarna on his way to Lanka, he thought of taking bath in the sea as a prelude to his evening prayers; so he requested a Brahmin boy (who, in fact, was Lord Maha Ganapathi himself disguised a boy) to hold the Atmalingatill he returned from his bath. However, the Brahmin boy placed the Atmalingaon the ground before Ravana returned from his ablution. Enraged by the act of the Brahmin boy, Ravana is said to have hit the boy on his head and a dent was formed, as he could not extricate the Atmalinga rooted in the soil. Though Ravana tried to lift the Atmalinga from the ground using all his might, he did not succeed and the Atmalinga lies buried six feet below the earth even to this day. That is why Shiva in the form of Atmalingais called Mahabaleshwar (God having an incredibly great strength), here, by the devotees since time immemorial.

After having darshanof Lord Maha Ganapathi, we went to the Mahabaleshwar temple and performed puja to Lord Mahabaleshwar under the guidance of the priest. We learnt from the priest that once in sixty years the Saligrama Peetha covering the Atmalinga is removed so that devotees can have a glimpse of the full view of the six-foot tall Atmalinga.

Lord Mahabaleshwar temple faces the Arabian Sea nearby. The beach, here, is clean, long, and wide and is lined by coconut and Casuarina trees. It is a pleasure to watch the tall coconut palms swaying to the breeze in gay abandon.

As we had decided to return to Udupi the same day evening, in the afternoon, we decided to visit the most famous Om beach which is about 6 kms from the town.

A wide-bodied rickshaw took us to the Om beach. The beach is named ‘Om’ because it looks like the sacred Hindu symbol ‘Om’ (or Aum). Though it was the odd time for us to visit the beach in the hot sun, our urge to see it was irresistible having read and heard a lot about it from newspapers/people about its bewitching beauty.

The road to Om beach is narrow, zigzag and steep. On the way, we could catch a glimpse of one more beautiful beach called ‘Kudle beach’ from the hill, which is a kilometre-long stretch of white sand dotted with coconut palms. After a few minutes, the rickshaw stopped at the end of a steep precipice of a hill and we could witness the breath-taking view of the Om beach lying in a secluded spot. From a makeshift hut, we could look at the vast expanse of the blue sea for about an hour clicking pictures, and enjoying the refreshingly cool breeze.

It was fun watching the waves dashing against the rocks below and the stretch of glistening sand along the beach. A few tourists were seen frolicking in waters near the shore, even during the hot sun.

At Om beach, there are many cottages on the hill top for tourists who wish to stay and enjoy the beauty and bliss of Nature. Except for Nature as companion, there is not much crowd thronging the beach as it is away from the town. You can also walk on foot or travel by boat from the Gokarna beachnear the Mahabaleshwar temple to the above-mentioned four beaches if you have enough time.

Needless to say, the beaches in Gokarna are clean, neat and without any litter of plastics in the lap of Mother Nature, and also mesmerising, and so are the others. From the hillocks bordering these beaches, you can have a panoramic view of the sea and landscape.

Fact file:

Gokarna is accessible by bus from Bangalore/Mangalore/Udupi. There are trains from Mangalore touching Kumta, Gokarna Road and Ankolastations from where you can get buses and taxis to Gokarna.

Distance from Bangalore to Gokarna: 453 kms

Distance from Mangalore to Gokarna via Udupi: 240 kms

Distance by train from Udupi to Ankola station: 219 kms

Distance by train from Udupi to Gokarna Roadstation: 212 kms

Distance from Ankola to Gokarna by road: 28 kms

Distance from Gokarna Roadstation to Gokarna by road: 12 kms

Distance from Gokarna to Om Beach: 6 kms

Nearest Airport: Goa

Pictures:

A picturesque view of a river flowing towards the Arabian Sea, taken from the moving train.

Nature at its scenic best: another picture taken from the moving train.

Gokarna beach near Mahabaleshwar temple.

A panoramic view of the sprawling Western ghats on way to Om beach

Mesmerising view of Kudle beach on way to Om beach

Om beach: Far from the madding crowd