The Marikamba Temple is located in
Sagara in the
Shimoga district
Shimoga district, officially known as Shivamogga district, is a Districts of India, district in the Karnataka state of India. A major part of Shimoga district lies in the Malnad region or the Western Ghats, Sahyadri. Shimoga city is its adminis ...
in the
Indian state
India is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories, for a total of 36 subnational entities. The states and union territories are further subdivided into 800 districts and smaller administrative divisions by the respe ...
of
Karnataka
Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...
. It features the image of the goddess Marikamba Devi. The temple was built in the center of the city during the reign of
Venkatappa Nayaka who ruled over
Keladi
Keladi () is a temple town in Sagara Taluk of the state of Karnataka in India. Keladi is located about 8 km from the town of Sagara.
History
It is the place whence the ''Ikkeri'' chiefs derived their origin, which is thus related:
Two ...
and
Ikkeri
Ikkeri () is a hamlet situated in Sagara taluk (township) about 6 km to the south of the town centre in Sagara. It is known for the Aghoreshvara Temple, dedicated to an avatar of Shiva. The word ''Ikkeri'' in Kannada means "two streets".
...
kingdom during the 16th century. Marikamba was the family deity of the
Nayakas of Keladi
Nayakas of Keladi () (1499–1763), also known as Nayakas of Bednore () and Ikkeri Nayakas (), were an Indian dynasty based in Keladi in present-day Shimoga district of Karnataka, India. They were an important ruling dynasty in post-medie ...
.
History
Adi Shankaracharya
Adi Shankara (8th c. CE), also called Adi Shankaracharya (, ), was an Indian Vedic scholar, philosopher and teacher (''acharya'') of Advaita Vedanta. Reliable information on Shankara's actual life is scant, and his true impact lies in hi ...
, the philosopher saint of
Hindu religion
Hinduism () is an umbrella term for a range of Indian religious and spiritual traditions ( ''sampradaya''s) that are unified by adherence to the concept of ''dharma'', a cosmic order maintained by its followers through rituals and right ...
, during one of his tours around
South India
South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...
visited Sagar. During his stay in the town goddess Marikamba appeared in his dream and told him to establish a temple for her at this place. He then consecrated the foot prints of the goddess at the outer limits of the city. During this period (1596),
Kadamba,
Chalukya
The Chalukya dynasty () was a Classical Indian dynasty that ruled large parts of southern and central India between the 6th and the 12th centuries. During this period, they ruled as three related yet individual dynasties. The earliest dynas ...
and
Hoysala
The Hoysala Kingdom was a kingdom originating from the Indian subcontinent that ruled most of what is now Karnataka, India, Karnataka, parts of Tamilnadu and South-Western Telangana between the 11th and the 14th centuries Common Era, CE. The c ...
dynasties were at war with each other. At this time, Venkatappa Nayaka, ruler of the Keladi and Ikkeri kingdom, adopted this deity as his family goddess seeking blessings to attain victory in the battle. After he won the battle, he shifted the footprints of the goddess from the outskirts to a central location in the city and built a temple to house the footprints.
[
During the early 1950s, there was a move to shift the temple from the center of the city to the outer limits. At the time, the city was affected by the plague epidemic, the cause for which was attributed to the proposal of moving the temple.][
]
Fair
Every three years, in the month of February or March, a 9-day fair is held at the venue of the temple. Known as the ''Marikamba Jathra'' (‘''Jathra''’ means "fair"), it is one of the major festivals of Karnataka. It has socio–religious importance and is attended by a large number of devotees from all regions of Karnataka.
Gallery
Image:Sagara Marikamba Devi.jpg, Sagara Marikamba Devi
Image:Sagara Jatre Time.jpg, Sagara Jatre Time
Image:Sagara Marikamba Jatre.jpeg, Sagara Marikamba Jatre
Image:Devi Meravanige.jpg, Devi Meravanige (Procession)
Image:Marikamba Devi Sagara.jpg, Marikamba Devi Sagara
Image:Jatre Wheel.jpg, Giant Wheel
Image:Jatre Mantapa.jpg, Jatre Mantapa
Image:Sagara Jatre.jpg, Sagara Jatre
Image:Marikamba Sagara.jpg, Marikamba Sagara
See also
* Marikamba Temple, Sirsi
* Chamundeshwari Temple, Mysore
* Mookambika Temple, Kollur
Kollur Mookambika Temple is located at Kollur, Udupi district, Kollur in Byndoor Taluk of Udupi District in the state of Karnataka, Tulunadu region, India. It is a Hindu temple dedicated to the mother goddess Mookambika.
Mookambika is the u ...
* Annapurneshwari Temple, Cherukunnu
Annapoorneshwari Temple is a Hindu temple situated in Kannur, Kerala. The deity is worshipped as Annapurneshwari ( Annapurna), the goddess of food.
About the Temple
At this temple, Lord Krishna is co-located along with Goddess Sree Annapoor ...
* Yellamma Temple, Saundatti
Yellamma Temple, also known as Renuka Temple (Kannada: ರೇಣುಕಾ ಯಲ್ಲಮ್ಮ ದೇವಿ ದೇವಸ್ಥಾನ), is a temple of Goddess (Devi) Renuka and a pilgrimage destination located about away from the town of Saunda ...
References
Further reading
Triennial tradition: Goddess who gets sworn at
Daily News & Analysis, 27 February 2017.
{{Hindu temples in Karnataka
Sagara, Karnataka
Hindu temples in Shimoga district
Devi temples in Karnataka
Durga temples
1596 establishments in Asia
Architecture of the Keladi Nayaka Dynasty