Temples of Varadamoola, Varadamoola, Sagara Taluka, Shimoga District, Karnataka

As the name suggests, this is the birth place of the Varada River, a tributary of the Tungabhadra River. Varada Nadi literally translates to the river that offers boons and this is indeed true as this river is the lifeline for countless villages in the Uttara Kannada district and surrounding areas.

As per the Hindu scriptures, when Lord Shiva took the Raudrarupa, the entire universe became engulfed with unimaginable fiery radiance. Lord Vishnu pacified Him by doing abhisheka with the holy water of the Bhagirathi using His divine shankha. The Varada River manifested from this water. 

Varadamoola is an important tirthasthala in the midst of stunning natural beauty. The Chakra tirtha and Lakshmi tirtha are the important tanks in this kshetra that are near the sacrosanct Varada Devi Temple.

Varada Devi is worshipped as the embodiment of Gayatri, Savitri and Saraswati and the Varada River is said to originate below Her padukas. The Varada then flows into the Lakshmi tirtha and then eventually merges with the waters in the big kalyani called Sarva tirtha that is said to be the origin of 24 tirthas. The Varada River then flows through a small channel and joins the main river.

The idol of Varada Devi is said to have been consecrated by the Nayakas of Keladi. There are temples dedicated to Lord Ganesha, Lord Suryanarayana, Lord Gopalakrishna, Sapta Matrikas and Lord Sadashiva built by the Nayakas of Keladi close by.

The Sadashiva Temple has been built in the late Western Chalukyan style with a maha mandapa supported by four pillars, a sukanasi with an elaborately carved doorway and a garbha griha in which Lord Shiva has been installed.

There are fine sculptures of Lord Ganesha, Devi and others belonging to the Western Chalukyan period.

Written by Lakshmi Subramanian