Sahasralinga, (Unsloved Mystery of 1,000 Ancient Carved Shiva Lingas), Uttara Kannada, Karnataka, India

Sahasralinga is a pilgrimage place in the Sirsi Taluk in the district of Uttara Kannada of Karnataka state in India. The river Shalmala is today famous for more than thousand lingas which are carved on the rocks in the river bank.The Shiva Lingas were built under the patronage of Sadashivarayavarma, king of the Sirsi kingdom (1678-1718). It is also possible to see many Basava (bulls) which are carved in front of the Shivalingas.

Most of the lingas are clearly visible when the water level in the river is not very high. So it shouldn’t be surprising to learn that the name Sahasralinga means thousand-lingas in Sanskrit. It is a sacred site, and Linga is a symbol of worship of the Hindu God, Shiva. On the auspicious day of Mahashivaratri thousands of pilgrims visit Sahasralinga to offer their prayers to Shiv.

 

This magnificent site was discovered in 1969, by an ethnologist named Jean Boulbet. Unfortunately, his work was interrupted by the Cambodian Civil War and it took 20 years before the place was safe to visit.

Sahasralinga is situated around 14 km from Sirsi. One can travel by personal vehicles as there is ample parking space at Sahasralinga and is very well maintained. You can also take public bus travelling from Sirsi to Yellapura and get down at barani. You can take an auto rickshaw or walk down to Sahasralinga which is 1.5 km from the bus stop.