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Murudeshwar is a town in Bhatkal Taluk of Uttara Kannada district in the state of Karnataka, India. ''Murudeshwar'' is another name of the Hindu god Shiva. Famous for the world's second-tallest Shiva statue, the town lies on the coast of the Arabian Sea and is also famous for the Murudeshwar Temple. Murudeshwar has a railway station on the Mangalore-Mumbai Konkan railway route.〔http://www.konkanrailway.com/node/467〕 ==Etymology and legend== The origin of the name "Murudeshwar" dates to the time of Ramayana. The Hindu gods attained immortality and invincibility by worshiping a divine Lingam called the ''Atma-Linga''. The Lanka King Ravana wanted to attain immortality by obtaining the Atma-Linga (Soul of Shiva). Since the ''Atma-Linga'' belonged to Lord Shiva, Ravana worshipped Shiva with devotion. Pleased by his prayers, Lord Shiva appeared before him and asked him what he wanted. Ravana asked for the ''Atma-Linga''. Lord Shiva agreed to give him the boon on the condition that it should never be placed on the ground before he reaches Lanka. If the ''Atma-Linga'' was ever placed on the ground, it would be impossible to move it. Having obtained his boon, Ravana started back on his journey to Lanka. Narada, who came to know of this incident, realised that with the ''Atma-Linga'', Ravana may obtain immortality and wreak havoc on earth. He approached Lord Ganesh and requested him to prevent the ''Atma-Linga'' from reaching Lanka. Lord Ganesh knew that Ravana was a very devoted person who performed prayer rituals every evening without fail. He decided to make use of this fact and came up with a plan to confiscate the ''Atma-Linga'' from Ravana. As Ravana was nearing Gokarna, Lord Vishnu blotted out the sun to give the appearance of dusk. Ravana now had to perform his evening rituals but was worried because with the ''Atma-Linga'' in his hands, he would not be able to do his rituals. At this time, Lord Ganesh in the disguise of a Brahmin boy accosted him. Ravana requested him to hold the ''Atma-Linga'' until he performed his rituals, and asked him not to place it on the ground. Ganesh struck a deal with him saying that he would call Ravana thrice, and if Ravana did not return within that time, he would place the ''Atma-Linga'' on the ground. Ravana returned to find that Ganesh had already placed the ''Atma-Linga'' on the ground. Vishnu then removed his illusion and it was daylight again. Ravana, realising that he had been tricked, tried to uproot and destroy the linga. Due to the force exerted by Ravana, some pieces were scattered. One such piece from the head of the linga is said to have fallen in present-day Surathkal. The famous Sadashiva temple is said to be built around that piece of linga. Then he decided to destroy the covering of the ''Atma-Linga'', and threw the case covering it to a place called ''Sajjeshwar'', 23 miles away. Then he threw the lid of the case to a place called ''Guneshwar'' (now Gunavanthe) and Dhareshwar, 10–12 miles away. Finally, he threw the cloth covering the ''Atma-Linga'' to a place called Mrideshwar in Kanduka-Giri (''Kanduka Hill''). Mrideshwar has been renamed to Murudeshwar. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Murudeshwara」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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