Gokarna

is about 200km north of Mangalore (7 hr by bus) and 56km southwest of Karwar on the seashore. Gokarna is a pilgrim town, one of the most important in South India, and though foreigners are no longer allowed into any of the main temples, you'll see signs of religion everywhere, from bathing Brahmins  in the sea or the large temple tank to the many groups of shaved-head men with caste marks and chotis (pony tail shaped tufts of hair) who walk barefoot around town clad in white robes that make them look like slim, fit sumo wrestlers. The atmosphere is hard to define, foreign tourism jarring with the more traditional, devout feel of the place. There are plenty of smiles from shop owners, but I sense an undercurrent of hostility from the pilgrims and upper-caste villagers, which makes me feel like an interloper.

Dawn in Gokarna. Behind high walls, male voices intone religious verse, a lone old woman sweeps dust around the main road while a cow plods lazily alongside, and a small fire burns inside an open fronted cafe. According to the Gokarna Purana, “By mere entrance into this Ksetra (holy place), one becomes liberated from hundreds of sins, including even brahma-hatya (the killing of a Brahmin).” Moreover, it is said that one becomes free from rebirth by just looking at the Atma-linga, by hearing the roar of the sea, or by taking birth in Koti-tirtha

A good time to visit is during one of the big religious festivals, such as Maha Shivaratri in February or March, when 20,000 pilgrims converge and huge temple chariots are wheeled around the village streets.

All roads lead to Car Street in the centre of the village. Linking Venkataraman and Ganapti temples, it’s lined with quaint wooden houses and stalls selling devotional items to the pilgrims, cheap clothes, CDs, and beach toys to the foreigners. Main Street forms a T at the top end, a left turn takes you up to the bus station, and a right leads down to the tank. The streets are narrower at the opposite side, a labyrinth of alleys passing Mahabaleshwara Temple and its phallic image of Shiva in the direction of the sea.

At the end of it all is the village beach, long, featureless, and virtually deserted a couple of hundred metres past the huddle of chai and snack stands at the entrance and the fishing boats further north. It’s not a patch on the sand at Kudle or Om and the water is too dirty and the waves too strong for swimming, even the pilgrims-only paddle, but it’s a nice enough place to watch the sun as it dips down into the Arabian Sea.

Gokarna’s glorious beaches are one of the reason to visit, with prices and visitor numbers both lower than up the coast in Palolem. There are four beaches south of the scruffy area of sand in the village, Kudle, Om, Half Moon, and Paradise, each more isolated than the last, at least until the first guests begin to arrive at the luxury Om Beach Resort. High season on the beaches is during December and January, though the few accommodation options are busy from October til March.

Beaches
Four of the most beautiful beaches in India are located south of Gokarna, surrounded by jungleThe first beach is called Kudle Beach and it is about a twenty-minute walk from Gokarna. The path goes uphill and then drops down to Kudle Beach, a beautiful, kilometre-long white sand beach surrounded by palm trees. At this beach there are simple huts and beachside eating places. You need to bring your own bedding. There is fresh water here.

The next beach is Om Beach thirty-minutes further south. The beach got its name because it is shaped like the auspicious Om sign. There are some really basic huts and some chai shops to eat at. Many Indian pilgrims visit OM Beach on Sundays by bus and holidays to see the sites. Best to come here on the weekdays

There are two more beaches—Half-moon and Paradise—each a twenty-minute walk from one another. You can get bottled water and food on all the beaches near Gokarna including the Main beach, Kudle, Om, Half Moon and Paradise beaches.

Note: Om and Kudle beaches are easily reached on foot via a coastal path that you can join either behind Ganapti Temple or, closer to the beach, next to the small cliff top temple at the end of the road running parallel to the coast between Mahalaxmi and Prema restaurants. Auto rickshaw drivers charge 150 rupees to Om Beach and to Kudle 60 rupees. (Since November 2009 there is a new road only for rickshaws and bikes going to Kudle beach for 50 rupees)

Mahaballeswara Temple
This Shiva temple is said to be next in sanctity only to the Vishwanath Shiva Temple in Varanasi. It is often called the Kashi of the South. Hindus come here to perform the death rites for departed ancestors.

Tradition states that Lord Rudra (another name for Shiva) was sent to Patalaloka by Brahma to undergo penance. He eventually returned through the ear of Mother Earth and blessed her with the name of Gokarna (Go = “cow”; karna =  “ear”). Thus this place served Rudra as a womb. It is also known as Rudra Yoni and Adi Gokarna. As time passed, Rudra collected the essence (sakti) of all Brahma’s creations as well as his own essence and created a golden deer with four legs, three eyes, and three horns. Eventually, the three horns (representing the three guna-avataras) were placed at Pushkar (Brahma), Shaligram (Vishnu), and Gokarna (Shiva). These places are known as Siddhi Ksetras. Ravana desired to possess Shiva’s powerful horn-linga, also known as Prana-linga or Atma-linga, so he performed penance and received the linga in a box at Mount Kailash. Ravana then returned south with the linga on the condition that wherever he placed it, it would become permanently rooted. At the demigods’ request, Lord Vishnu contrived a means to trick Ravana through Ganesh, disguised as a brahmacari. Eventually the Atma-linga was placed at Gokarna, rooted all the way through to Sapta Patala, and became known as Mahaballeswara (maha—great and bal—strength).

The Shri Maha Ganapati Temple is dedicated to elephant-headed Ganesh. Koti-tirtha Kund is said to have been created by Garuda. There is a Krishna Temple here which is said to be where the Lord went to perform penance after killing Banasura. There is also a temple dedicated to Sri Venkateswara (Balaji).

Ram-tirtha, is said to be where Rama, Sita, and Laksman visited after leaving Lanka. Lord Rama and his brother Bharata are said to have performed penance here. There is a beautiful temple on the hill overlooking the sea at this place.

A major festival is held here during the birthday of Shiva (Shiva-ratri) in February. During this festival, a deity of Lord Siva is placed on the huge temple Ratha (chariot) at the end of the bazaar near the Maha Ganapati Temple.