Modern · Hindu · India

Murudeshwara Temple

Murudeshwara, Karnataka · 14.0940°, 74.4890°

ShivaModernModern Dravida
Sacred since
400 CE
Ancient shrine tied to the Gokarna Atmalinga legend
Standing structure
modern complex (statue 2006)
patron: R. N. Shetty

History & significance

A modern pilgrimage icon on an Arabian Sea headland: a 37 m seated Shiva — among the tallest in the world — and a 20-storey gopura with an elevator, built by industrialist-philanthropist R. N. Shetty around a shrine of ancient lineage.

Sthala katha — the legend

In the Gokarna Atmalinga tale, the cloth covering the linga flew here as Ravana wrenched at it — Murudeshwara enshrines that fragment, tying the coast into a single legend-line of five linked shrines.

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Sources

coordinates: wikipedia-2026-08-26 · sources retrieved 2026-08-26 · dynasty page: Modern