By Shobha Rao Smilemaker
Feb 7: On the auspicious occasion of Mouni Amavasya, we decided to take a dip in the holy waters of a Sangam....not at the Prayagraj Kumbh Mela, but in our very own Karnataka at a place called Koodli near Shimoga. We had learnt about the mighty Tungabhadra river in school, but I just learnt that it was created by the convergence of two rivers!
I was surprised to see the large number of devotees as I descended down the steps. I could clearly see both the Tunga and the Bhadra rivers flowing from two different directions and converging at the Koodli bank! Tunga river is supposed to be the manifestation of Lord Vishnu and Bhadra the manifestation of Lord Shiva, and this spot is considered to be a very sacred place for meditation.
A small temple on the bank with Nandi is supposed to denote the exact point where the two rivers meet.
We made our way towards the deeper side of the water and a local boatman directed us to face the east and even repeat a few mantras after him. I quickly tooky first dip but my head wasn't fully immersed. Determined to do it the correct way, I finally managed to take 3 full dips, immersing my whole upper body into the waters for few seconds. The refreshingly light feeling after that, both physically and mentally is to be felt to be believed!
In our semi wet clothes, we came up the step to visit two 12th Century temples built during the Hoysala dynasty.
We first entered the Chintamani Narasimha temple which had a nice three tiered Rajagopuram or entrance arch complete with sculptures, niches and a Hoysala Royal Crest. We crossed the old Deepa Stamba ( pillar of lamps) and entered the closed Sabha Mantap.
The main idol in the garba griha was in the rare position of Lord Narasimha in a sitting posture. The legend is that the idol was prevelant from the times of the devotee Bhakta Prahlad himself, though the temple around it came up centuries later. I kept admiring the decorated walls, ceilings and pillars of this small yet ancient temple.
We next went to the Rameshwara temple with a linga inside the main shrinr. Here too I just couldn't stop admiring the intricate stone work in the interiors, especially the pillars that have survived intact through centuries.
The exterior had three mukhamantapas as well as stone slabs in the compound with inscriptions in of Kannada or Sanskrit.
It was lunch time, so we walked past the closed doors of the Shringeri Shankar Mutt, the Sharadamba Temple and the Sri Vidyashankara Temple.
There is a certain spiritual charm about these ancient places like Koodli Sangama that leaves me with a smile of contentment.
Shobha Rao Smilemaker has a vision of living in a world where people use their ability to find and make smiles in any situation. She is a lawyer by qualification, a soft skills trainer by passion, a motivational speaker, a freelance journalist, a bestselling author, an avid traveler and founder of 'Smilemakers Trainings'. She can be contacted at www.shobhasmilemaker.com.