Guli Guli Shankara Temple or Guli Guli Shankareshvara Temple is situated in Gubbiga town of Hosanagar taluk, Shimoga district. Guli Guli Shankareshwara temple has a famous pond called Jatha Theertha. Even in 365 days of the year, water does not dry up in this pond. Read a lot of special information about this place in this article.
How to reach Guli Guli Shankara Temple?
Location: Shree Guli Guli Shankareshwara Temple, Gubbiga, Hosanagara Taluk, Shimoga District.
Open all 365 days.
By Air: Nearest Airport is Mangalore (IXE) which is around 166km away. One can hire a taxi or travel by bus to the destination.
By Train: Nearest Railway Station is Shimoga Railway Station (SME) which is around 38 km from the temple.
By Road: Buses are very rare from Shimoga to the temple. Private vehicles or Taxi recommended.
How did we Travel? We stayed at a friend’s house in Ripponpet and travelled by private vehicle for about half an hour.
History of Guli Guli Shankara Temple:
Before the Treta Yuga, once Shiva and Parvathi came to this place for a retreat. Parvathi was thirsty and asked Lord Shiva for water. Lord Shiva then invited the Ganga, and she gushed like a spring above Shiva’s head. Pleased with this, Lord Shiva said Ganga to stay here saying let this water of yours be good for people with its medicinal properties. When Ganga disagrees, angry Shiva binds Ganga in his plait of hairs. Then Ganga tells Lord Shiva that, I will settle here if you unite here with me. There is a history that Shiva agreed to this and settled here along with Ganga.
Why is Guli Guli Shankara Temple so special?
We reached this temple in the morning and had darshan of God there. Then took the Bilva Patra for 20rs in the office and came near the Jata Tirtha which is in the middle of the fields in the temple premises. Another wonder here is that even though there is no source of water anywhere around, this pond keeps gushing water 365 days a year. After reaching Jata Tirtha we first filled a bucket with water and anointed the Linga nearby.
Then we came near the pond and dipped the Bilva Patra 3 times in the pond and floated it. Bilva Patra slowly crept through the algae standing upright in the pond and reached the bottom of the pond. Another belief here is that if the Bilva Patra comes up, it means that the work we prayed for will be done. Here some people get Bilva Patra very quickly. Also, some people do not get Bilva Patra even after waiting for half a day. That means the intended work will not be fulfilled. But for us, about 5-6 minutes, the Bilva Patra which we put slowly came up. We were so happy, and tears came from our eyes out of joy.
The algae floating on top of this pond is assumed to be Shiva’s Jate. The algae stand vertically upright due to force of water gushing out of the pond. It is also believed that if you drink this tirtha and take a bath with it, all skin related disease is cured. Here, the pond glows golden in color when the early morning sun rays touch it. We brought thirtha in a bottle.
If you are traveling towards Shimoga then definitely visit this place once.
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1 comment
Thanks.