Do You Know How The City Of Mangaluru Got Its Name? Know Its History

Mangalore, officially known as Mangaluru, is a major industrial port city in the Indian state of Karnataka and on the west coast of India. Mangaluru is one of the fastest-developing cities in India. It is also included as one of the cities in the Smart Cities Mission list and is among the 100 smart cities to be developed in India. Do you know how this city got its name? According to history, the name Mangaluru is derived from the Mangaladevi Temple. As per the legend of this temple in Bolar, in the ninth century, Kundavarman – the most famous king of the Alupa dynasty – ruled Tulu Nadu with Mangalapur as his capital.

At the same time, Matsyendranatha Gorakanath, a yogi from northern Nepal, crossed the Netravati River with his disciples and came to Mangalapur. He was met and welcomed by Kundavarman. The yogis said that the worship of Mangalambe is auspicious in this land; so Kundavarman called the sculptors and built a temple for Sri Mangaladevi and re-installed the lingarupa image. Matsyendranatha’s disciple, Gorakanath, was not only present in this program but also worshipped Sri Mangaladevi Temple by offering a striped garment. As a sign of this, even today, the Yogirajas of Kadri Math come to Sri Mangaladevi Temple on the first day of the Kadri festival.

It is believed that if any unmarried woman performs the Swayamvara Parvati Vrata in Sri Mangaladevi Temple, she will get a suitable groom and the family will be happy. This Swayamvara Pooja takes place during night Mahapooja. It is also believed that if they get married in the field, their life will be happy. Another specialty of the temple is the iconic linga. The figure in this resembles a female form and is worshipped as the linga of Shiva Shakti form. Rakteshwari, Nandikona, and Guliga are the three deities of this area. Nemotsava is held for these gods every year.

Mangaladevi Temple is located in the heart of Mangaluru, and there is a good private city transport bus facility to reach the temple from various places. The temple is about 1 km from the city.