Kadri Manjunath Temple - Famous Shiva Temple

The Manjunatheshwara temple is located in a beautiful hill of Kadri, at the outskirts of Mangalore. The temple was believed to be built around the 11th century by Vijayanagar emperors. Though the construction of a temple was done at that time, there are inscriptions about this place and the Lord in one ‘Bharadwaja Samhita’, a Sanskrit mythological Vedic compilation. The place was for the sages of Vaishnavism, who utilized this hill for their penances and rituals. It was Lord Parashuram, who requested Lord Shiva to have an abode in this mountain. It was also mentioned that Buddhism was practised for some time here.

There is an elevated point at the back of the temple, where one can find a natural spring called ‘Gomukha’. Pilgrims consider this water as equivalent to Ganga and so, they practise to have some sprinkle of this water before entering the temple. This water is collected in 7 tanks around the temple. The ‘Heggade’ family members, who are patrons of art, literature, philosophy etc, carry out all the traditional ceremonies here in the temple over a history of hundreds of years. The temple is built in Dravidian architecture with granite as a major composition. It is surrounded by caves which were used by the sages for meditation.