Karkala

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Gomateshwara on the rock hill, karkala.
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Gomateshwara on the rock hill, karkala.

Karkala is a place in Udupi district, Karnataka, India, and is located about 40 km from Udupi and about 450 km from Bangalore. The name Karkala has been derived from the Kannada word karikallu, meaning black stones.

Karkala is a town of historical importance and a famous pilgrim centre for Jains. The famous single stone 42-foot (13 m) statue Gomateshwara (Lord Bahubali) is located about 1 km from the center of the town. There are about 18 Jain basadis here. The Bahubali statue is the second tallest in the State. This monolithic statue of Lord Bahubali was installed at Karkala on February 13, 1432 on the instructions of the pontiff of Karkala, Lalitakeerti.

The other statues of Bahubali in the state are at Shravanabelagola installed by Chamundaraya, which is 57 feet tall, at Venur installed by Timmaraja, which is 35 feet (11 m) tall, and at Dharmasthala installed by D. Veerendra Heggade, which is 39 feet (12 m) tall.

Every 12 years, thousands of devotees congregate here to perform the Mahamastakabhisheka, a ceremony where the statue is bathed and anointed with milk, water, and saffron paste and sprinkled with sandalwood powder, turmeric, and vermilion. The last Mahamastakabhisheka was held in February 2002, and the next will be in 2014 A.D. Karkala has many places of worship like the Attur church and the Lord Padu Tirupati Venkateshvara temple situated in Karkala town itself. It is 45km from the iron mining centre Kudremukh and 40 km from Sringeri & Horanadu.

Karkala is also famous for the Srinivasa Venkatramana temple which houses a very ancient idol.


Jain temple in the middle of the lake.

Kshetrapala God, infront of Gomateshwara.

Chaturmukha basadi.

Anathapadmanabha temple.

[edit] Education

Bhuvanendra College

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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Coordinates: 13°12′N 74°59′E

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