About Kudajadri Hills
Kudachadri or Kudajadri is a mountain peak at an altitude of 1843 m, and belongs to the Sahyadri range in Karnataka. This place is very near to temple town Kollur (12 Kms) and around 85 Kms from Udupi. It is situated in the middle of the Mookambika National Park, it consists of endemic and endangered species of flora and fauna. t is around 390 kms from Bangalore, 100km from Shimoga and 36km from Hosanagara.
The spot is famous for the Sarvajna Peetha, and it is believed that ‘Shankaracharya’ did meditation at the peak. En route to the peak you will also find a moderate sized water fall deep inside the evergreen forest of Kodachadri, which is called ‘Agastya Teertha’. and there is a Cave with a Ganesh idol popularly known as Guha Ganapathi.
Legend
It is believed that Adi Shankara Acharya had a vision of Sri Mookambika Devi and installed the deity here.The legend goes, that Adi Shankara meditated at Kudajadri hills and Devi incarnated before him asking for his wish. He revealed his wish to incorporate Devi to a place in Kerala to worship where he wanted.Devi agreed and put forward a challenge that she will follow Shankara and he should not look back until he reaches his destination. But to test Shankara, Devi deliberately stopped the sound of her anklets when they reached Kollur, and Shankara turned back because of doubt. Devi then asked Shankara to install her vigraha as he sees her.
About Guha Ganapathi
Photo credits – by Vinod kumar M
The 1400-meter high Kudajadri Hills with its diverse fauna and flora are a treat to trekkers and nature lovers. As one treks through the jungles with its rugged wild terrain, he encounters two small shrines. In the first shrine the goddess is worshiped in her terrific form and in the second, in her beautiful and merciful form – Uma. Vedic rituals as performed here. Enroute from Agastya teertha there is a deviation on the left where there is a board giving direction that leads to ‘Ganesh Guha’. Climbing further, one reaches the Ganapati Guha with an ancient idol of Lord Ganesha. Ganesh Guha is indeed a very mysterious cave. Inside it there is an ancient and graceful stone idol of Lord Ganesha The cave top slopes down to a small crevice at the far end which has a mysterious tunnel. One would not believe that the simple crevice is, in fact, hiding some mystery.
Further up, on the hilltop is the Shankara Peedam where Sri Adi Shankaracharya is said to have immersed himself into deep meditation. The entire structure is made of granite and resembles a “Meru” – a three dimensional form of the mystic design called the “Srichakram”. One has to descent steeply on the western side of the hill to reach a holy cave called Chitramoola, another place where Adi Shankara meditated for several days.
Click here for the Virtual Tour of Ganapati Guha
You can also tour Mookambika Temple, Shankara Peedam
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