Mysuru: A 52 ft. statue of Lord Shiva was installed on the grounds of Sri Rajarajeswari temple in Karnangeri near Madikeri in Kodagu, here on Friday. As many as 108 Shivalingas brought from Kaashi were also installed around the statue which Madikeri artist, Ravi, took a decade to sculpt.
The temple, 3 km from Madikeri, attracts thousands of devotees from around the state and country every day ,who arrive here to worship goddess Mangaladevi of Mangaluru. The crowds swell on Tuesdays, Fridays, Mondays and Saturdays, when the goddess is said to fill the temple priest with her aura and resolve the problems of devotees during a holy darshan. A Jaathra Mahothsava of the goddess is held at the temple every first Tuesday of May.
The 52 ft Shiva statue at Sri Rajarajeswari temple at Karnangeri village near Madikeri (Photo: DC)
It was in the early 1960s that late Sannaiah Swamy of Thombaththu Mane near Haakathur established the temple at Karnangeri after the goddess reportedly appeared in a dream of his mother-in-law Manjamma. It is said the goddess helped Sannaiah’s ailing father-in-law, Kariappa as well. The statue was installed by Dharmasthala Dharmadhikaari, Sri Veerendra Hegde.
