Murdeshwar Murdeshwar, 16 km from Bhatkal has recently shot into prominence as one of the loveliest spots in Karnataka. One can enter Murdeshwar from the Bhatkal-Honnavar National Highway through a specially erected big entrance decorated with intricate carvings. Murdeshwar symbolises the past glory of Hinduism. It is centered around the splendid Murdeshwar temple atop a hillock overlooking the Arabian Sea. Epic has it that this magnificent Murdeshwar linga emerged when Ravana threw the cloth covering the Atmalinga at Gokarn (another pilgrim centre in Uttara Kannada). And this cloth is presumed to have landed on this hillock called `Kanduka Parvata' and called Marideshwar'. The two inscriptions found in the older temple shed light on the construction of Nandi Mantapa in 1542 A.D. and the times of Devaraya II of Vijayanagar. There is however another version about the atmalinga being broken into four pieces & thrown by Ravana. The old temple has been recently renovated. Built in a Dravidian style, this temple excludes medieval grace and charm. The magnificent temple overlooks the Arabian sea. To the side of the compound wall is the Nataraja statue made of bell metal. A shrine of `Jattiga', the guarding deity, is seen installed outside the temple.One is greeted with the bewitching beauty of the surroundings as one reaches the top of the hillock. The vast stretches of silvery sands with the Sahyadri mountains framed into the background, the coconut trees dancing to the tunes of the billows, rose of boats dancing and drifting towards the shore, the sun looking like a ball of fire just before the sunset and then sinking into the sea - all weave a magic spell and make the viewers forget themselves.

The beauty of the floating mountain

The Bhatkal Alvekodi beach on the Western coast may show water on all sides but sailing 30 kms off the shore would reveal a floating mountain,

Unlike islands with vast, sandy beaches, this one creeps up straight from the sea with rock edges, a sight that would excite adventure buffs. The 30 acre forest area located above the hill called Netrani contains the spectacular sights of nature. Circum-navigating the island takes 15 to 20 minutes on a speed boat. We learnt from local people that the island was at least thrice its current size in the past. While Netrani appears amazing from a distance, climbing atop its slippery rock edges is certainly dangerous. While sailing through the vast engulfing ocean, Netrani comes to view an hour before we could actually reach the island. The towering mountain silhouetted in the morning sun is a sight of inexplicable beauty. Sailing nearly an hour and a quarter on the speed boat was an interesting experience. Visitors have to simply jump off the boats to the rocks and start climbing the hill. It is hard to imagine what would happen if one falls from such a height. The slippery rock beneath our feet brought out the shudders. Around 100 meters of climb brought us to a flat muddy surface covered with thick forest.

Secular place - Our trip to Netrani had two reasons: this place is a site of worship for fishermen belonging to Hinduism, Christianity and Islam, which made the island a rare thing. It's also used by Indian Navy for testing their bombing skills, evident from several unexploded bombs we found on the way.Fishermen of Uttara Kannada from Honnavar to Udupi frequent the island to offer their prayers to the sites of their respective gods. Hindus worship at Jatakeshwara and his family of gods, established here in February this year, while Muslims visit the Darga where a muslim saint is burried, and Christians the holy cross rebuilt in 1994, after it was destroyed due to wear and tear of time and weather. Fishermen believe visiting the place on special occasions, say while buying new boats, bring god's blessings and make sea ventures more profitable. On these occasions, they offer hens and goats to the gods in a vow called "Harake." Birds and animals thus offered to god will be left to live freely in the island. Fishermen also believe eating them or taking them back to the mainland would invite god's wrath.
Visiting the island isn't always safe, as the Navy's Cochin and Mumbai divisions conduct their bomb practice here. Fishermen are given sufficient warning and the island is sealed off during the bombing raids, which starts in April. Fishermen here say February is the best time to visit the island. With no major shift in its temperature, this turns out to be a true tropical paradise.
A small fresh water stream flows through the hill and on the trees, we could see eagles, which, fishermen mentioned, hover around the island looking for Boa-constrictors. Netrani is also called the pigeon island, as it houses thousands of pigeons. It is said that many traders come here from Kerala to collect the bird's droppings. Though we couldn't see pigeons, we could hear them from a distance.
Apart from visitors, Netrani has also been an attraction for scientific expeditions. Local people revealed that teams of scientists have been conducting experiments.
The unique characteristics of Netrani are that it has something for everyone: adventure freaks, those wanting to see religious sites, nature lovers and scientists. There are different ways of reaching the island; the most common one of course is taking a boat on hire at Bhatkal port. We learnt during our trip that training in swimming is important, considering the dangers one may have to confront here.

THE DESTINATION Around 10 miles west of the Karnataka coast on the Arabian Sea is the Netrani Island. The only inhabitants of the island are wild goats. Besides, the Indian navy often uses this island for target practice.

THE JOURNEY To get there, one has to hire a fishing trawler from Bhatkal or Honawar. One approach to Bhatkal is from the south by road from Mangalore or from Bombay. Nestled between the Arabian Sea and Saraswathy forest, Bhatkal is a small sleepy and picturesque town untrammeled by tourists. The constant travel of the locals to the Middle Eastern countries seems to have had such an impact as to create a pseudo Arabic culture and the place abounds in fancy bungalows and grand mosques.

THE ISLAND  On approaching the lee of the island, from the east face, it looks like a cake with near vertical sides topped by a gentle sloping plateau. It is really a seamount, supporting a soil layer overgrown with trees and plants. The monsoon rain percolating into the soil is held and preserved by rocks to sustain plant life round the year. Denudation through weathering and gunnery is extensive on the west face and to a lesser extent on the south, but flora reaches down to the sea level on the north and east, preserving the soil. There exists a subterranean cave opening in the south as well as north clear of the high water mark.

Scouting along the sea face, a grotto can be located further south. It contains a fresh water spring having a flow about a liter a minute. The water is cool and tastes like mineral water. Apparently these grottos under the shadow of the tree line usually possess fissures' flows.

If one chooses the dry watercourse, one would find an incline of about 60 degree that is packed with loose broken rocks overgrown with grass. After a crawling climb of nearly 170 meters, a gentle plateau appears. The place looks like a botanists paradise.

At night, it is a silent world from a city dweller's point of view. Yet it has its own decibels. Sounds of sea gently break on the rocks; wind blowing through the leaves; nesting birds calling out to each other; wild goats foraging nearby; or an occasional rat scampering about, punctuate the night.

On the plateau is a temple and mazaar, where in April pilgrims come and release a goat or chicken as an offering. The temple and the mazaar co-exist peacefully with a lone coconut palm maintaining vigil between them. The mazaar appears ancient and has numerous flags tied around it. The temple consists of a platform on which stand several deities. The lingams and the statues seem fairly old bordering on the antique. One of the lingams has some inscriptions on it.

he temple has three bells. Puja offerings of cash and other paraphernalia lay scattered. A notice nailed to a large tree nearby reads, "People are prohibited to kill and take away the birds and animals left here in the name of God. Lifters will be responsible for the consequences."

HOW TO REACH : To reach Netrani, one has to hire a trawler from Bhatkal or Honowar. It is a 22 hour-long journey by bus from Bombay to Bhatkal. It takes almost two and a half hours to three hours to reach Netrani by the trawler.

WHERE TO STAY : One certainly can get a lodging at Bhatkal, but if one decides to stay overnight at Netrani, they should make their own arrangements like tents, sufficient food and water.Locally known as Netragudo, the Netrani island is an excellent picnic spot off the Bhatkal coast. Also called as Pigeon island, this Netrani island which is about 25 km from the Bhatkal coast, is a hill in the Arabian Sea.The island is enveloped by wild growth of trees and climbing the step hill is not that easy. If we are able to reach the top of the hill braving all hazards involved which is a rewarding experience we can see the idol of Jattiga and sculptures of cocks and elephants on one side and grave of a Muslim on the other. It is believed that it was once common to take vows to offer worship here. The ruins of a temple, a Roman catholic church and a mosque can still be seen. The island has sheltered innumerable wild goats. 

Manki Located about 28 km from Bhatkal,Manki is a place of considerable antiquity and was a famous Jain centre during the 14th and 15th centuries. The place has temples dedicated to Ganapathi, Venkataramana, Durga etc. The place has 3 mosques. 

ADDITIONAL PLACES OF INTEREST

 Shirali , Hadwalli,  Kaikin ,  Marvanthe ,  Chitrapur ,  Shirali  4 km from Bhatkal on the National Highway is Shirali, a place of  considerable antiquity. Lying on the north of the Venktapura river,  Shirali has inscriptions of the Alupas, Hoysalas, Hadwalli rulers  and Vijayanagar. This place houses a centre which measures  rainfall. The Mahaganapathy temple is situated here. The idol of  Ganapati is carved out of stone whereas the icon of Mahamaya is  made of an alloy of five metals. 

 SHIRALI : Shirali is located in the southern part of North Kanara (Uttar Kannada) district of Karnataka state and is easily accessible to the Chitrapur Saraswat devotees settled in both South and North Kanara districts. Shirali is on the National Highway No. 17 (the highway that runs from Mumbai to Thiruananthapuram). A large number of Karnataka and Maharashtra State Transport buses pass through Shirali. Private transport buses using NH17 also provide facility to reach Shirali. From the main road (highway) of Shirali, Shri Chitrapur Math is about 2 km in the interior, for which auto-rickshaws are available. Distances to Shirali from some of the major cities are: Bangalore 506 km Goa (Panaji) 225 km Mangalore 156 km Mumbai 952 km Pune 780 km. On the Konkan Railway line, the nearest railway stations are Murdeshwar and Bhatkal (both about 6 km from Shirali to the north and south respectively). Autorickshaws, buses and other modes of road transport are available to reach Shirali from either of the railway stations. The Manglore-Verna stops at Chitrapur station at 9.39 a.m.and Verna-M'lore trains stops at 17:03 p.m. The nearest airport is Mangalore (156 km) and the next closest is Dabolim, Goa (200 km). About Math. The village Chitrapur in Shirali has been the seat of the Spiritual Head of "Chitrapur Saraswats" community since 1757. The Math at Shirali has also Samadhis of six of their Gurus, the other four being located at Gokarn, Mallapur and Mangalore (in Karnataka) and at Karla (in Maharashtra). Lord Bhavanishankar is the deity installed at each of the principal Samadhis. In Shirali, the principal Samadhi, or the Hodi Samadhi, at it is known is of Shri Shankarashram Swamiji-I . Shri Shankarashram Swami belonged to the family of Haritekars. He was adopted and ordained by Shri Parijnanashram Swami in 1720 (Sharvari Chaitra Sh-15). He was a learned saint and a great Sanskrit scholar, having had the good fortune of long training under His Guru. A solemn promise was made to Him by Chitrapur Saraswat people in writing that they would be faithful to Him and would follow all His religious observances. In His advanced age, H.H. Shankarashram Swamiji was on His way from Udupi to Gokarn and while in Shirali, at the residence of Nagarkattikars, He fell seriously ill and attained Samadhi in 1757 (Ananda, Phalgun Sh-5). Eventually, when the question of location of His Samadhi came up, the Nagarkattikars readily offered their house for the Samadhi and the temple. Shri Shankarashram-I having attained Samadhi suddenly, without adopting any shishya, caused anxiety among the followers. The local authorities threatened to attach all the assets belonging to the Math. At this juncture some elders recalled that a saintly person from Pandit family, who had earlier been ordained by the Swamiji was in Kollur, practising Yoga and would be a worthy successor. When approached and earnestly prayed, He graciously agreed to succeed to the Peetha. He was Shri Parijnanashram-II. He however did not like to wield the power. He therefore adopted a shishya (disciple) from Shukla family with the yogapatta of Shri Shankarashram-II, and spend greater part of His life in Kollur, though He often visited Shri Chitrapur Math. Samadhi of Shri Parijnanashram-II is located at the right side of the Hodi Samadhi. The Samadhi of Swami Shankarashram-II is located in Mallapur.He was a great scholar, a yogi and was regarded and revered as an avataar of Shri Dattatreya. The shishya adopted by Him was from Talgeri family and was given the yogapatta of Shri Keshavashram. Being an able administrator, Shri Keshavashram began acquiring landed properties for the Math and later He attained Samadhi in 1823 and it is located on the right hand corner of the line of Samadhis (No. 3 in the diagram). Before attaining Samadhi Swami Keshavashram ordained a young shishya from Shukla family under the name Shri Vamanashram. He was very simple and quiet, and because of His intense leaning towards spirituality He entrusted all the affairs of the Math to the Shukla Bhats who were the managers. He attained Samadhi in Mangalore. He had adopted shishya from Nagarkar family. As a boy named Parameshwar, He was found to possess some rajachinhas on his face. Shri Vamanashram ordained him as a shishya under the title of Shri Krishnashram. It was during the regime of Shri Krishnashram that the affairs of the Math were set right with the help of the then paripatyagar. Most of the disciples were brought round from Vaishnava practices, fresh landed properties and assets were added and many reforms were brought into force. The car festival was started during His long and glorious regime, at the instance of His shishya. He was a great Sanskrit scholar and was regarded as patron saint of people in Shirali and adjoining villages and towns. His shishya was Shri Pandurangashram. Samadhi of Shri Krishnashram is between the Samadhi of Shri Parijnanashram-II and Shri Keshavashram Swamis. The eighth Swami, Shri Pandurangashram also came from the Nagarkar family. Even in His tender age, He was intelligent, quick-witted and strong willed. He was ordained at the age of 12 and had the benefit of training and guidance under the tutelage of His able Guruswami for 5 years, and His reign as Mathadhipati was among the longest. During His period, the greater part of the Math was rebuilt and all the Samadhis of His predecessors were reconstructed with tamrashashan. A big tank, Shiv-Ganga Sarovar near the Math was dug and 'Panchavati', a tall building on the Govardhan Hill was constructed. Chitrapur village was almost planned and built with schools for the children, Post Office with the quarters for the Postmaster, market etc. Credit for starting the Rathotsava primarily goes to Him. He was a great Sanskrit scholar and a jyotishi too. He attained Samadhi in 1915 (Rakshasa Jyeshtha Sh-2) and the Samadhi is located on the left of the Hodi Samadhi, near the Ganapati shrine. His successor, Shri Anandashram Swamiji was ordained hardly 8 days prior to the Mahasamadhi of Shri Pandurangashram Swamiji. Having been ordained at very young age, he did not have the benefit of the guidance of His Guruswami. Yet being exceptionally brilliant, He Himself sought knowledge from every source possible. With His pleasing personality and brilliant and learned discourses, He won the hearts of the community. During the earlier period of His reign, the financial position of the Math dwindled, and then the elders of the community under the leadership of late Shri H. Shankar Rau formed a new Constitution for the Math administration and strengthened the financial position of the Math. During the long period of His reign, Shri Anandashram Swamiji travelled widely and thus the members of the community were attracted towards the Math. He attained Samadhi in Bangalore in 1966 (Prabhava Bha. Sh-3) and His Samadhi stands in Shirali next to that of His Guru. In 1959, Shri Anandashram adopted a shishya from Shukla family and named Him Shri Parijnanashram-III. He was very intelligent, had progressive outlook and keen thirst for knowledge - Vedic as well as technical. He restarted Rathotsava, which was earlier discontinued for economic reasons. Swami Parijnanashram installed a wireless station and Observatory near Panchavati and also collected antiques and artifacts to set up a Museum. As the Spiritual Head of Shree Trust, He started a school for the handicapped in Bolinj at Virar near Mumbai, which is regarded as a unique institution of its kind. Swami Parijnanashram-III attained Samadhi in Bangalore in 1991 (Prajapati Shravana Kr-4 ) and His Samadhi is located at Karla near Lonavla in Maharashtra. The Mahaganapati Shrine is to the left of the Hodi Samadhi, in line with the Samadhis of Shri Anandashram and Shri Pandurangashram Swamijis.

Hadwalli  Hadwalli which falls under Bhatkal taluk lies on the Sagar road  about 20 km from Bhatkal. It had been once the capital of the  Saluvas. Shorn of all its glory, it has since been reduced to an  anonymous hamlet. The village amidst lush foliage has interesting  Jain monuments. The Padmavati temple is one of its prized  possessions. In this temple one can see an array of statues of 24  Theerthankaras engraved in fine black polished stone, each over a  half meter tall. The beautiful bell metal statues of Yakshi,  Padmavathi, Jain, Saraswati and Brahma on horseback bear  testimony to the excellent of the artists of yore. Especially so the  bell metal icon of Ananthana Theerthankara encircled with a halo  on which are engraved the figures of 72 Threethankaras. Nearby  there are two hillocks called Chandragiri and Indragiri. Below  Chandragiri is the fine Chandranatha Basti of Vijayanagar times  with fine lathe-turned pillars. In the smaller Basadi located outside  this Basadi, we can see the transparent marble statue of  Chandranatha in standing posture. The outer column contains  engravings depicting pots, bracelets and anklets. The door with  intricate carvings depicting creepers reveal a high standard of  artistic excellence. 

 Kaikini  Prominent centre of ancient times, this village of about 6,000  people, is 13 km from Bhatkal and lies along the  Bhatkal-Honnavar Road. The only basadi, is the old  Parshwanatha Basadi, which houses 24 engravings. One of the  inscriptions found in the Basadi testifies to the facts that Kaikini  was a busy town in far-off days, that 24 `Jananis' look after the  town administration and that during Vijayanagar period, it was a  bee-hive of `Vaisya' (traders) activities.  

  Marvanthe  A fairyland of scenic beauty, about 45 Kms from Bhatkal is  Marvanthe, a scenic spot. The highway bordered on either side  by the Arabian Sea and the Sauparnika River, with the  Kutachadri Hills forming the background, makes the drive an  exciting experience. And at sunset a crimson sky and golden rays  reflected both in the sea and the river convert Marvanthe into a  fairy land of scenic beauty. 

Chitrapur  Shri Chitrapur Math, the renowned Parijnanashrama Swamiji's  monastery, is the abode of six samadhis at Chitrapur (Shirli). So  far a lineage of ten swamijis has been at the helm of affairs here  starting with Swami Parijnanashram ascending the Peetha in  1675. The tenth swamiji in the lineage known as Parijnanashrama  swamy the third who died recently was an acclaimed scientist.  Around this monastery are situated the temples of Gopalkrishna,  Dattatreya, Shantadurga and Keshvanarayana. A beautiful park  has been raised in the vicinity of the Math and animals like the  deer, hare, etc., have been reared. The Shri Chitrapur museum  set up in 1973 houses a mass of archival wealth and several types  of conches, halos made of bellmetals, plates, idols made up of  ivory & sandalwood, swords, shields, spears, copperplates and a  lamp dating back to the 13th century and many other artistic  articles                                             

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