Day-5: Horanadu + Sringeri

 December 28, 2023:

- Started from Karkala and headed to Horanadu

(1) Kalasheshwara temple (at Kalasa)

- This temple is on the way to Horanadu (after "Sumsay" village)

- You ascend to the temple through a flight of steps

- There are 2 elephant idols, side-by-side, at the base of the steps

- The priest explained:

  (a) One elephant is a female elephant, the other is a male elephant

  (b) There was on rakshasa who had acquired a boon that he could not be killed by other devata/manushya forms. He committed atrocities. Someone had to intervene. Ganesha was assigned the task.

  (c)  The rakshasa hid in a tree. The tree was first knocked down by a female elephant, causing the rakshasa to rush out. This is the first shrine with the female elephant, the tree and the rakshasa rushing out of the tree.

 (d) Thereafter, Ganesha does easy work of the rakshasa. That is the second shrine (male elephant), with the rakshasa under his feet.

- The main deity is Shiva as Kalasheshwara. The town is also called "Kalasa".

- Devi is called "sarvaanga-sundari"- whose "every feature/limb (sarva anga) is beautiful.

Kalasheshwara temple

Kalasheshwara Temple with the mountains in the distance

(2) Annapurneshwari temple (at Horanadu)

- Not crowded on Thursday, pre-noon session. Reached at around 10:45 am. The lines were empty, and we could walk into the main sanctum!

- Had the oppounity to have darshana as many as 4 times (through regular queue, anna-daanam queue, tulaa-bhaaram queue etc.)

- As you enter the main sanctum, at the top, we have the line "shree maataa, shree maharajni, shrimat simhaasaneshwari" from Lalita Sahasranama.

- There is Ganesha to the left in silver with the face, slightly to one side. He is called "Udbhuta Ganapati"

- Devi is all gold and decked with jewels. Deity has 4 arms. Two hands are in "abhaya" and "varada" mudra. The palm with "abhaya" mudra has the shri-chakra embossed. 

-  Gaze of Annapurneshwari is compassion personified with the hint of smile on the face.

- As we go around the prakara, the line "annam brahmeti vyajaanaat" is written ("Food is Brahman, the totality" or we can likewise say, "everything is annam, food, in essence")

- At the back of the shrine is a snake with hood. On the snake's hood, are the marked the points corresponding to "muladhara", "ida" "pingala" etc. to show that Annapurneshwari is prana/energy/shakti in all its varied forms.

- Had lunch in the temple premises (no crowd- we might have been among the first)

Horanadu- temple facade

(3) Udbhava-Ganapati temple (at Horanadu) on the opposite hill 

- Horanadu Annapurneshwari is nestled among the mountains

- All around are lush green mountains

- On the opposite mountain, is the Udbhava-Ganapati temple

- The whole temple is a cave- but the front part of the cave was renovated into a formal temple structure in 1993.

- Priest was performing the afternoon puja all by himself (conversation between him and Ganesha and no one else) when we entered

- Lucky to witness such an elaborate puja, done with such shraddhaa.

- At the back of the Ganesha, the cave is clearly visible.

- From the front of this temple, you can see Horanadu Annapurneshwari township on the opposite hill, in the distance. It makes a pretty sight.

Udbhava Ganapati temple in a cave

(3) Shringeri main temple

Quick visit to Shradaamba shrine and VidyaShankar shrine (we will cover these once again the following morning)

- Sharadamba shrine: 

 The reader would know the story- this is the idol that Adi Shankara himself consecrated. The reader would be familiar with the context- Mandana Mishra's debate with Shankara, Saraswati functioning as a judge etc,  eventually how Mandana Mishra loses the debate and becomes Sureshwaracharya etc. Saraswati comes with Shankara and Sureshwaracharya and stays as the deity at Shringeri.

Sharadamba's mahima is too much to mention here. We leave it at this.

The Ganesha in this shrine is called "shakti ganapati".

On top of the main shrine is the maha-vakya- "aham brahmaasi" to indicate that "essentially" or "in essence", each being is one with the total (Looking superficially, we may see differences in the world, but in essence, there is just One reality, in and through all differences. Hence, aham brahmaasmi)

- Vidyashankar shrine

(a) That this temple is very old is seen from the look-and-feel of this temple

(b) Sculptures and pillars are ornate

(c) Dashavatara is seen in the sculptures of the outer wall (including Buddha as the 9th avatara curiously)

Shiva linga is at the main shrine. To the left is "vidya ganapati" and to the right is "durgaamba"

- Everything associated with Sringeri is connected to "vidya".

- 2 acharyas in Sringeri parampara are particularly important in terms of their contribution. They are Vidyaranya and his guru Vidyashankar/Vidyateertha. Hence, the temple for Vidyashankar here.

- Had dinner at exactly 7 pm in the temple premises. The crowd was just building up, especially school students from Mandya who had come on a school excursion.

- Had the opportunity to stand in line and take the blessings of His Holiness, Sri Vidhushekhara Bharati mahaswamiji.

- From 9 pm to 10 pm, had the opportunity to witness puja by His Holiness, Sri Bharati Tirtha mahaswamiji.

- Crossing the Tunga River to witness the puja and coming back, over the bridge is a nice experience. The river is not in full flow at this time of the year. Still, you can see the fishes (some huge and shark like!) The temple complex seen from the other side of the bridge is lovely. And at night, the reflected lights in the water- due to the moon and other city-lights, makes for some stunning images.

View from bridge- Vidyashankar shrine, main gopuram and Tunga river

Vidyashankar temple close-up, Sringeri

(4) Rishyashringeshwara temple (at Kigga, close to Sringeri)

- It is a few kilometers from the main Sringeri town

- We did this quick trip in the evening, around sunset.

- The shiva linga is unique. The priest explained as follows:

   (a) One side is Rishyashringa (Shringeri gets its name from Rishi Rishyashringa who lived in these mountains, shringa-giri, and hence the name shringeri)

   (b) Other side of the same linga is Shiva

   (c) Pillars show Rishyashringa (who lived here) carried in a palanquin to Ayodhya (Dasharatha's time)

   (d) At the temple, there is a shrine for Shanta devi (the priest mentioned- she is Dasharatha's daughter)

-Rishyashringa's story is found in Valmiki Ramayana. The reader can look up those portions.

Note: The ride from Karkala to Horanadu is picturesque, with lush vegetation, mountains and valleys. The village "Sumsay" is on the way. The tea estates on the mountain slopes and the mountain stream in the valley below, make "Sumsay" really scenic. We stopped for a tea-break at Sumsay.

Agumbe viewpoint- Breathtaking scenery from Kaarkala to Horanadu

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