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Bappanadu Durgaparameshwari - A temple built by a Muslim merchant!

Bappanadu Durgaparameshwari temple is said to have been built by a muslim merchant called Bappa!

By Brunda Nagaraj

At a distance of 22.5km away from the beach town of Karnataka, Mangalore is a beautiful temple of Sri Durga Parameshwari. This temple is situated in the Bappanadu village of Mulki town. Mangalore is not only a beach town but also the city which is an abode of ancient temples too. The temple of Durga Parameshwari is situated on the banks of Shambhavi river. The Goddess here is in the form of Linga (symbolic statue) and it is believed that the goddess emerged in conjunction of the rivers Nandini and Shambhavi at the border of Mulki.

Temple

PC : Official website

Every temple in Mangalore has a great history and the temple of Durga Parameshwari at Bappanadu also has an amazing legend behind its inception. The temple has been believed to be built by a Muslim merchant called Bappa. The merchant once while crossing the river Shambhavi gets to see a blood stained river and his boat stops in between. The frightened merchant looks around and to his surprise he hears a divine voice and asks him to seek the help of Mulki Swantha (Jain ruler) and build a temple for her. Hence, the name of the village is called Bappanadu and the temple is famous as Bappanadu Durga Parameshwari.

Car festival

PC : Official Website

Another legend also says that a demon king named Darigasura ruled a place called Shonitapura and with the animosity he had towards Lord Vishnu he went and sought Lord Brahma's help. He performed a penance and got a boon as he expected. With the boon, he waged a furious war against Lord Vishnu and after defeating him; he took away the ammunition, gave it to his wife and asked her to keep it safe at the place of worship.

Looking at the plight of Lord Vishnu, Goddess Durga appeared in the form Sapta-Durga and swore that she would end the life of Darigasura of Shonitapura. On saying so, the goddess along with a deity called Guliga left to Shonitapura end the misdeeds of the demon. Bhagavathi (another form of Goddess Durga) disguised herself as an old woman and went to Darigasura to seek alms when he was at the river for bathing. The Demon king asked her to go to the palace and ask his wife for food and also asked her to get back to him if she refuses to give her. Taking the advantage, Goddess Bhagavathi went to the palace and asked Darigasura's wife to handover the ammunition of Lord Vishnu and she refuses.

Drum

PC : Official Website

The old woman (Goddess Bhagavathi), comes back to the demon and complains that the queen refused to give her alms, the demon orders his wife to give anything the old woman asks for. Upon her husband's orders, the queen handovers the ammunition and the demon gets to know about the trick played by the Goddess. Darigasura, wages a war against the Sapta-Durgas and gets defeated and to runs away to save himself. However, the demon gets slayed by Goddess in the form of Bhadrakali (another form of Goddess Durga) in the evening when he comes to offer prayers to Lord Shiva.

Later, the Goddess Bhadrakali along with her other sisters and the deity Guliga asks Lord Vishnu for a sandalwood boat for her journey from heaven to earth. Her desire of settling on earth to bless her devotees pleased Lord Vishnu and he granted her wish.

Temple

PC : Official Website

Along with the Hindu devotees, the temple also has Muslim devotees who come here to seek blessings from the Goddess and this is one of the uniqueness. Another specialty of the temple is the, beating of drums which is a very old tradition and this is followed during the annual festival celebrations. There is a huge drum placed on the side of the temple. The date of inception of the temple is unknown. However, the temple architecture style resembles the 14th century.

Temple is open between 5:30AM to 2PM and 4PM to 9PM and the main bus-stand of Mulki is at a walkable distance.

Take a visit of this ancient temple and check for yourself the history of the Bappanadu DurgaParameshwari Goddess and tell us what you felt!

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