About 125 km from Goa, with the look and feel of this place it's hard to believe that there is a temple at its heart. Surrounded by many little shopping outlets, tourists are swarming from within and outside India. As soon as I got out of my car, I saw a few workers fixing the pinnacle of the temple car towering at around 30 feet. Since our car couldn't get past that crooked street, I decided it was better to explore by walking.
One of the ancient temples and the only atma linga on earth, Lord Gokarneshwar sits in the middle of the well-worn temple building. Men have to remove their shirts, and I only knew that even socks are not allowed inside the sanctum sanctorum. The main deity Shiv lingam is present lodged a feet below the ground level. I could feel a sense of magnetism as I entered the sanctum sanctorum. Although the temple has existed for centuries it's great to see the priests still follow the same norms in keeping up the temple.
As I roamed along the temple streets, my nose inevitably sensed the smell of fresh spices coming from the local spice shops. Not too overwhelming, but at just the right amount of vigour, the smell exists only on those streets. Cows and calves dotted the narrow streets, and none of the passersby seemed to care. I could only see people walking or riding a bike or cycle, but no cars for as long as I was there. Those streets still had some of the vintage houses, which are still maintained in good condition for dwellings. Hats, purses, dresses, spices, snacks, cafe - these streets offer everything you could ask for, most of them in little outlets that sometimes even look like an old house.
I was not sure if there had been any celebration in the temple, or it happened a few days back before I visited, but all these streets are covered in a high canopy sheltering us from the sweltering heat of midday. I should thank them because I didn't get so tired even after roaming for a long time. I stocked my bag with as many spices and nuts as I could get my hands on and continued to ogle at those colourful wraparounds and printed tee shirts.
The canopy ended with a street that opened up to the beach. It was around 1 PM, and no amount of freshly squeezed pineapple juice and lemon soda seemed to quench my thirst. Fortunately, I had my slippers on to walk through the hot beach sand. I wish I had gone there in the evening to drench myself on the beach and immerse myself in the beauty of the surrounding hills on one side, as it would be better in a cooler climate.
I remained in the sand, untouched by the waters, while my children played in the waves. The sand level is almost flat and very gradually sloping beneath the waves, making it safe for children to play.
Like us, I saw another family of six doing a ritual in the wet sand. I was curious what the elderly couple were doing by scooping up the sand in the form of a Shiva lingam. They placed a Vilvam leaf on it and began doing some mudras in hands. I have seen those mudras done by priests back home as they imbibe power into the form they made. They even bathed it with water like they do abishekam and prayed before scooping it along with some sand beneath with all respect and dissolving it in water. Curious, I asked the elderly man what they just did. I couldn't understand their language, but their granddaughter explained, that they brought the sand from the sea and imbibed god into the Shiva lingam they made with sand and prayed their heart out. By doing so, our unfulfilled wishes come true as we pray to Lord Gorkarneshwar, I was informed.
This is the first time I'm seeing such a thing. Admired by it, I did the same, praying God to shower his blessings.
Gokarna is not just a melting pot of people from different places, but I realised that tourists swarm this spot as it merges spirituality and natural beauty. It was relaxing and exciting to roam around in those streets, and the temple visit was the cherry on the cake.
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