South Karnataka tour

Here are some photos of Gopooja performed by swami Muktanandaji and some ashram flowers. It rains very heavily in this region commencing from the 2nd week of June. We were there during the first week and mild showers were just beginning

Dear Usha,

Interesting to read about the serene atmosphere of the ashram and the details.

Nice to read that your son also liked his stay here. So, did you have to inform the ashram people about your visit and book the quarters?

By the way, the cut out of Papa (looks like Gandhiji). Is that Gandhiji?

Lovely photos of the flowers and the trees. Very soothing for the eyes !

Also saw the pictures of the Subramanya Temple....excellent ! But it looks like a painting..right? Pictures are not allowed inside the temple?

Please continue with your narration....

Cheers
Krithika

Originally Posted by Jithiks

Dear Usha,

Interesting to read about the serene atmosphere of the ashram and the details.

Nice to read that your son also liked his stay here. So, did you have to inform the ashram people about your visit and book the quarters?

By the way, the cut out of Papa (looks like Gandhiji). Is that Gandhiji?

Lovely photos of the flowers and the trees. Very soothing for the eyes !

Also saw the pictures of the Subramanya Temple....excellent ! But it looks like a painting..right? Pictures are not allowed inside the temple?

Please continue with your narration....

Cheers
Krithika

Dear Krithika

We have to let them know about our date of arrival so that they can allot the appropriate cottage. During one visit, when we arrived at Mangalore airport, they sent us a car to take us to the ashram.

The cut-out is that of Papaji.

The photo of Kukke Subrahmanya is that of a framed picture. All the photos were taken by my son who loves photography. In Kukke, I think he must have been hungry and so forgot to take photos.

Usha, a couple of questions...in the Malaysia pictures..I see the name "DAULAT TUANKU" near the bottom of the steps, below the Murugan statue alsoin the picture of the Petronas towers.

What does it mean? Also there is a Muslim logo next to it? Does it mean anything?

Also, are the steps steep as they appear to be? How many steps are there and is the main temple at the top?

Cheers
Krithika

After partcipating in some of the ashram activities, the driver drove us to the beach in the evening. It is by the Bekal Fort and about 15 km. from the ashram. It was a delight to see the pristine waters and the exteremely clean shore.

The backdrop of the Bekal fort was fantastic. The fort was built to fulfill defense requirements. It is supposed to be an evidence of defense strategy in the medieval ages.

Also, Bekal fort was also the location spot for the song "Uyire" in the movie " Bombay".

Some photos of the Beach and the Bekal fort.

Dear Krithika

Daulat Tuanku means " Long live the King" . Thanks for pointing out the little flag with the symbol of Islam behind the Murugan statue.
I do not know the significance of that. Just behind the statue, there was a Shiva temple.

As for the steps, there are 272 steps. They are not too steep, but once you are about the 3/4 of the way on the stairs, you feel like taking a few breaks. Once you have reached up, there are several caves. In one such cave, there are statues of Murugan and his consorts. The priest does archana. There are also many beautiful statues inside these caves. One such cave is called "Ramayana cave".

We had originally planned to stay for two days at Anandashram, but extended the stay to one more day to soak in the serene atmosphere a little longer.

We could not leave early in the morning due to heavy rains. We left after lunch to Udupi. Enroute we stopped at the Kadri Manjunatha temple. It is about 4 km away from Mangalore.This temple is believed to have been built around the 10th or 11th century. The deity is Lord Shiva, known as Manjunathaswamy in the shape of linga. Before proceeding to Udupi, we spent a little time at Malpe beach.

We reached Udupi by 7PM. We stayed at a place called Indraprastha guest house which was recommended by our local temple priest who is from Udupi Puthige mutt. It was not a very comfortable accomodation, but since it was already late in the day and the rains had started, we chose to stay put there. We had an evening darshan. There was a chariot festival going on, so got to see that too.

We woke up early and had the morning darshan. There was a long line. In all the temples in South Karnataka and Kerala, senior citizens are let in quickly without having to stand in long lines. That way, we were able to get in quickly without much wait.
After darshan, we went to the Gita Mandir. It is a magnificient construction and a must see. We go in through revolving doors.
The walls are black granite with carvings of the entire Bhagavad Geetha.

We proceeded to Dharmasthala. It is located on the banks of Netrvathi river. This is the holy place of Manjunatheshwara temple, where devotees of all castes and creed visit. The lingam is pure gold. The temple provides free food to all visitors in the hall called Annapoorna. We had lunch at the Annapoorna Hall.

It is said that nothing gets stolen at this place.
My cousin shared this with me. Her grandmother, while leaving took a rounded rock thinking that it will come handy to powder spices etc. She was sitting in the tourist bus ready to leave home. The bus would not move, and the conductor announced that someone had taken something from there that did not belong to them. Then the lady realized her mistake and threw the stone. The bus left without any problem!

We left for Horanad Annapoorneshwari temple. The scenery was absolutely stunning with coffee plantations, pepper plants and cashew plants. In the midst of nowhere, there was this stall that they were selling Tea leaves and spices like cloves, star anise, cardamom. We had tea there. The scenery amid the coffee plantations along with the delicious tea seemed like we were in dreamland!

We reached Horanad and stayed in a lodge very close to the temple. We had a darshan in the evening and had temple prasadam at the temple hall.

Photos
1.Kadri temple 2. Malpe beach 3.Udupi temple 4 & 5. Carvings of Bhagavad Geetha

Some more photos.

1. Dharmasthala ( This temple is managed by the family of Hegdes for many generations)
2. Coffee plantations in Kudremukh national forest
3. Pepper plants enroute

Usha,
Just went through your trip till the Batu caves and the Petronas Towers...
will come back to you...as and when the time is available...

Nice explanation about the caves...I too read about it in Hinduism Today magazine...
Amazing, indeed!
It was a nice plan of you to visit Batu caves in between the waiting hours...

sriniketan

Originally Posted by Sriniketan

Usha,
Just went through your trip till the Batu caves and the Petronas Towers...
will come back to you...as and when the time is available...

Nice explanation about the caves...I too read about it in Hinduism Today magazine...
Amazing, indeed!
It was a nice plan of you to visit Batu caves in between the waiting hours...

sriniketan

Dear Bhargavi,

thanks for the FB. Please come and visit whenever you find some time..