Famous Temples in India

Religious Significance

If legends could be true, the Mahabaleshwar Temple in Gokarna is the misplaced home to the original Atma Linga of Lord Shiva from its first abode at Mount Kailash in the Himalayas. The story goes that the demon king of Lanka, Ravana, performed a long penance to please Lord Shiva after the king’s mother had expressed a profound yearning to worship the original Atma Linga of Lord Shiva. Pleased with Ravana’s sincere efforts at penance, Lord Shiva granted his devotee the two wishes he’d made. First as per the wish, the Lord handed Ravana his Atma Linga, but on condition that he should not put it down on the ground. Else it would get permanently embedded on that very ground where it is dropped. And granting the king’s second wish of a spouse as pretty as the Lord’s wife Uma, Lord Shiva decided to let his wife go with Ravana, for there was none equivalent to Uma than she herself.

Lord Vishnu and Ganapati Salvaging Uma -  At the earnest call from Uma, Lord Vishnu decided to salvage the situation. He was also skeptical that possessing the Atma Linga would make the demon king Ravana an invincible power who could potentially destroy the world. Hence, he showed up as a haggard Brahmin while Ravana had reached Gokarna on his way back to Lanka. Lord Vishnu tricked the demon king into exchanging Uma for Mandodari, the daughter of Mayasura. He also called upon Lord Ganapati (Ganesha) to trick Ravana into putting down the Linga. At that very same spot, Ganapati appeared before Ravana disguised as a cowherd. Realizing that it was time for his evening prayers (Sandhyavandana), Ravana asked Ganapati to hold the Linga for sometimes until he came back from his prayers. Defying the order of the king, Lord Ganapati put down the Linga on the ground.No sooner, the Atma Linga got firmly implanted into the earth. Despite the forceful attempts by Ravana, the Linga remained entrenched into the ground. Unable to uproot the Linga from the ground, Ravana called it Mahabala (the strongest). Since then the Linga came to be known as Mahabaleshwar.