Sahasralinga is a beautiful holy pilgrim place in Karnataka. It is located just 14 km from Sirsi in Uttara Kannada. The place is famous for 1000s of shiva lingas in different shapes both big and small on the river bed of the Shalmala river. The lingas that are said to be Hindu Lord Shiva in the form of stone, are all carved on the rocks in the river and on the banks.
The Shalmala River Bed Has Thousands Of Lingas Carved On Rocks
Exploring these thousands of lingas carved on the rocks in the river and its banks will surely be something super fascinating. A thousand lingas can be discovered at the Sahasralingeshwara Temple in Uppinangady, which is located on the banks of the rivers Netravati and Kumaradhara. People make the trip to this location every Maha Shivratri from all over the world. These engravings were put in place during the reign of king Sadashivarayavarma, the monarch of Sirsi Kingdom, maybe as a result of the king’s religious views or for other reasons. Another interesting fact about the place is that every single carving of Shivalinga has a carving of Nandi, the bull in front of it.
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The Mythological Reason Behind The Lingas At Sahasralinga
Krishna advises the Pandavas to get “Pushpa Mruga ” to hold Rajasooryadwara Yaga after the battle of Kurukshetra. In a hurry, Bheema ran to “Mahendragiri” to get it and see Hanuman there. Bheema tries and fails to lift the tail when Hanuman commands him to. Hanuman discovers the reason for Bheem’s travel and offers him some of the hair from his tail as protection. Bheem meets ‘Pushpa Mruga’ and promises to accompany him as long as he moves only at “manovega” speed. Everytime while leading the animal when Bheema would lose pace, he would drop a tail hair which magically would turn into a Shivalinga. The Mruga would move ahead only after worshipping it and this gave Bheema the time to adjust his pace. The lingas are only visible in the month of February when the level of the river water is low.
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