Anegudde is the place situated at Udupi district of Karnataka. The place is famous for Sri Vinayaka Mandir. Anegudde is the combination of two words, Ane which means elephant and gudde which means hillock. This place is one of the seven mukthi sthals of Karnataka. It is also called as Sri Parasu Rama Kshetra and Sri Siddhi Kshetra.
The Kshetra was called as Harihara Kshetra in Krutha Yuga, Madhuvana in Thretha Yuga, Gauthama Kshetra in Dwapara Yuga and Kumbhasi in Kali Yuga.
As per the legend, long back, the area was afflicted with drought with no rains; Sage Gowthama had prayed to Bhagwan Varun seeking rains.
There was a demon King named Kumbhasura who did penance on Bhagwan Shiv and got boons. With the boons, he was causing havoc. He came to the place where the Sages were doing penance and started troubling them.
At the same time, Pancha Pandavas were in the vicinity near Thunga Bhadra river as part of their vanvas. The Sage had requested Yudhishtra to help diminishing the demon. Yudhistra had sent Bheem to tackle the issue.
Bheem got into war with Kumbhasur; But the war was getting out of the hands of Bheem; He prayed to God for victory; Then he heard an Asareeri (divine voice) which said that he should seek the blessings of Bhagwan Ganesh to win;
On hearing that, he ardently prayed to Bhagwan Vinayak. Pleased with his prayer, Bhagwan Ganesh appeared in the form of an elephant and offered Bheem Asi, the sword.
By using the sword, Bheem had diminished Kumbhasur; As Kumbha was destroyed using Asi, the divine sword, the place has got the name Kumbhasi.
As per another legend, once there lived a scholar named Vishveshwara Upadhyaya. He was an ardent devotee of Sri Ganapathi. One night, he had a dream. In the dream, a young brahmin kid had told him that he was hungry and asked for food. Then the boy took Vishveshwara with him near Nagachala. There, at the stone, the boy had disappeared.
Vishveshvara woke up and was wondering about the dream. He went to the same place which occurred in the dream. He saw the same wild stone and it was covered with wild flowers. He took bath in the pond and showered flowers on the stone reverently. He kept doing this daily. One day, he saw a cow milking itself on the stone.
He then took the stone and found it to be Vinayaka. He initially built a hut structure as the temple. Then, with donations from others, he had built the temple.
Sri Ganesh is the main Deity of the Mandir. He is called as Sri Siddhi Vinayak and Sri Sarva Siddhi Pradhayaka, the bestower of boons. Sri Ganesh is in standing position with four hands. At times, Sri Vinayak is also in sitting position. His vahan mooshika is at His feet. The upper hands bless abundance and the lower hands bestow salvation to the devotees.
The Vinayaka idol is mostly covered with the huge silver armor which is called as Kavach. At times He is adorned with gold armor as well. The walls of the sanctum are adorned with the depictions from Bhargava Puran.
There are small shrines for Sri Surya Narayana, Sri Chenna Keshava and Sri Lakshmi Narayana.
All masik Chathurthi festivals and Sankata Hara Chathurthi festivals are celebrated in a grand manner in this temple. Annual Rathothsavam is held at Shuddha Chathurthi of Margashirisa month every year which invariably occurs in December.
The temple is opened at 05.30 A.M in the morning. Pancha Murtha Abhisheka, Nirmalya Puja, Prasada Neivedya and Maha Mangala Arathi are done at that time. At 12.30 P.M, Mrusthanna Neivedya, Hoovina Alankara and Maha Puja are done. At 08.00 P.M, Saya Kala Thri Kala Puja and Maha Mangala Arathi are done. The temple is open till 09.00 P.M.
Special yagnas such as Rang Puja and Gana homas are done as per the wishes of the devotees. Devotees offer sugar, jaggery, coconuts, banana and rice equal to their weights in the offering called Thula bharam.
Of the Pujas, Moodu Ganapathi Seva is prominent. The devotees offer 125 or 1000 coconuts to Sri Vinayak; All the coconuts are broken into two haves at the sanctum itself and the darshan of Bhagwan could be taken only through the heaps of coconuts. Devotees offer this Puja after fulfillment of the wishes.
There is another Puja named Mudi Akku Kadubu whereby those seeking marriage boon offer steamed rice dumplings to Sri Ganesh.
It is said that atleast ten thousand Narkela Gana Yaga is done at this temple in a year.
Theertham, Chandan, flowers, dhurva grass and a piece of supari tree bark are offered to the devotees as prasadam.
Anegudde is at a distance of 9 kilometers from Kundapura. Buses are available from Mangalore. Taxis can also be booked.
