Gokarna is a village in Karnataka, in the district of Uttara Kannada of Karnataka state. Gokarna literally means “Cow’s ear”. It is believed that Lord Shiva emerged from the ear of a cow here. Hence it is also known as the temple town and is an important pilgrimage center for the Hindus. Another probable reason for the name Gokarna could be due to its Geographical location. The area where it is located is the convergence of rivers Gangavali and Agnashini and resembles the shape of a cow’s ear.
Mahabaleshwara temple is one of the chief temples here. It is a famous Shiva temple. There is a custom that one has to bathe in the sea and pay respect to a Shivalingam, made out of sand. The famous Atmalinga is housed here. It is preserved in a square called Saligrama Peetha. It is opened for viewing once in forty years.
The other temples are Maha Ganapathi Temple, Uma Maheshwari Temple, Varadraj Temple and many more. Gokarna also has many mythological stories associated with it.
The best time to visit Gokarna is from October to March.
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