Description
Kaleshwara Swamy Shiva Temple is situated in a small town of Kalasa. The Kalasa town is on the banks of Bhadra River. The origin and inception of the town is mentioned in the traditional manuscripts known as the Vedas and Puranas. The town is at a distance of around 300 km from the Bangalore city in Karnataka state. You can also take the route through the hill station Ooty. The nearest airport here is at Mangalore and the nearest railway station too is Mangalore. Regular bus services plight from Bangalore to Kalasa Chikamagalur. There are various resorts and hotels nearby the temple. The main occupation of people living here is agriculture and agriculture here is dependent mainly and wholly on the river Bhadra. A variety of spices, coffees & herbal and ayurvedic medicines are produced here at Kalasa Chikamagalur. The weather here throughout the year is quite pleasant except for summers which can get quite hot at times. The region experiences moderate rainfall most of the times.
History
The Kalasa Kaleshwara Swamy is one of the oldest Shiva temple still in existence. The Shiva linga present here has been installed by Sage Agasthya himself along with the silver dome. Every year lakhs of devotees visit the temple as it is a famous picnic spot and now a tourist attraction too. The various colorful festivals and other celebrations conducted in the temple premises are also of historic importance.
Facts/Mythology
As per the saga mentioned in the manuscripts wedding of goddess Parvati and god Parameshwara was organized in the northern part of India known as Kashi. The wedding was solemnized by all the god and goddess of Hindu tradition and due to immense weight of all the gods and goddess the northern part went down. To balance out the weight problem Lord Shiva asked Sage Agasthya to move down to South. Sage Agastya had divine power due to which he alone was enough to balance the weight difference. Sage Agasthya happily agreed but he said he wanted to witness the wedding taking place at Kashi. Lord Shiva fulfilled Sage Agasthya's wishes by granting him the boon that he would be able to witness the wedding from whichever place he wanted. Sage Agasthya happily went down to South. As per the Vedas, Sage Agasthya stayed back at Kalasa and witnessed the wedding from there. At the same time a Shiva Linga appeared and Sage Agasthya built a temple there and installed the Shivas deity and Linga there. The goddess Sarvanga's deity was also installed there with a silver dome.
Festivals/Events/Gatherings
The Girija Kalyana is an annual festival that marks the celebration of the day when Sage Agasthya witnessed Lord Shivas wedding from this village. It starts on the amavasya i.e. no moon day as per Hindu tradition. The chariot festival (car festival) is also a grand affair here in which the god's idol is taken through the procession every year. These festivals are attended by devotees all over from Karnataka.
5001 
© 2025 ePuja
1151 
