Kalasa

KALASA

Just half an hour away from Horanadu is the temple of Kalasa.  According to mythology, although unsubstantiated, local myths attribute the origin of Kalasa to an event mentioned found in to skanda purana

Accordingly, the wedding of Lord Shiva and Parvathi in Himalayas caused a shift in the Earth's rotation because of the attendance of all Gods and Godesses. To restore the Earth's balance, Lord Shiva requested Sage Agasthya to travel South. Agasthya however, expressed his wish to witness the wedding. Lord Shiva assured to grant divine vision to the sage, which would enable him to witness the wedding from any part of the world.

Agasthya travelled southward and resided in Kalasa from where he watched the wedding. Local legends state that a pilgrimage to Kalasa brings greater religious merit (punya) than a visit to Varanasi.



 

The Girija Kalyana (marriage of Lord Shiva and Parvathi) is celebrated in Kalasa every year to commemorate this tradition. This auspicious occasion falls on Karthika Shuddha Ekadashi of Lunar calendar.

Kalaseshwara temple, Kalasa

This is a temple on a hill, on the foothills of which flows the Bhadra River.  One has to climb a few steps to get to the temple.

Steps to go to the temple

At the entrance of the temple are the statues of two elephants, regarded to be Ganesha and a she-elephant, his wife. It is believed that there was an Asura here, to kill whom, Ganesha descended on earth. The magical Asura took the form of a tree, and Ganesha assumed the form of an elephant to uproot him. Seeing the struggle, a she elephant in the forest came to help, and along with Ganesha succeeded in uprooting the tree and putting an end to the Asura. Since he had touched the she-elephant during the fight, Ganesha married her, and decreed that she should take her place by his side at this place. Both the elephant statues look identical, except that the male one is depicted as trampling the Asura beneath his foot.

The idol of kalaseshwara, a lingam, is believed to be Shiva who manifested himself in a kalasam, a vessel in which water is kept by to the great rishi, Agastya.

The main temple