Karkala Trip

My last blog-post was of Ratha-Utsav in Katapady, Udupi District.

During that time, we also managed to visit Karkala, a small town ( one hours’ drive from Katapady) famous for Jain Cultural Heritage. Tourists flock to this place to see the Gomateshwara Statue (also called Bahubali) which is about 42ft in height and is carved out of a single stone by the famous sculptor Sri Shilpi Gopal Shenoy who also hailed from Karkala.

Gomateshwara Statue

The statue is located on a rock hill. There are steps leading to reach the top. There is also a motor able road (which we took) for which prior permission need to be taken from the small office located nearby.

On reaching the top, we were awed not only by the gigantic size of the statue but also the fine work of art especially the facial expression.

The view from the top is quite breath-taking especially that of the Ram-samudra Lake. I did manage to photograph this picturesque scene.

View of Ram-Samudra Lake from Top of Rock Hill

Karkala is also known for the famous Sri Venkatramana Temple.

The main door of the temple is made of silver. While the door of the Sanctum Sanctorum (Garbha Gudi)is made out of gold. I managed to take the photograph of this door since we reached early and the doors had not yet opened

Golden "Garbha Gudi" Dwara of Sri Venkatramana Temple

Near the Sanctum Sanctorum are the four pillars. The carvings on these pillars are amazing work of art and worth a visit. I took a picture but sadly my photography was not upto the mark!

Carved Pillars of Sri Venkatramana Temple

At 6.00p.m. the doors of the Garbha Gudi opened. We witnessed the puja and took the blessings of the Lord and returned to Katapady.