Historic Shiva temple IN the sea with devotees, near Bhavnagar
At Koliyak, a village at the Bhavnagar district in the Gujarat state of India, people reach out to the Shiva temple that lies about 1.5 kilometers into the sea. In this historic place, Pandavas, the heroic brothers worshipped the lingas that are symbolic of Lord Shiva after the fierce battle in which they killed their evil cousins as narrated in the epic Mahabharat.
Think of a temple in the weirdest of places. Literally in the sea! But then, the Hindus have built their temples over the hills and mountains, inside caves, at the sea shore, near waterfalls - whereever nature reveals itself in all its grandeur and pristine beauty. The temple I am talking about is Nishkalank Mahadev's temple (Nishkalank -- blemish-less or sinless; Mahadev -- Lord Shiva), and it is under water during high tides in the sea and emerges during low tides to reveal itself majestically, promising its devotees to wash away all sins. As it did for the Pandavas in the epic Mahabharata, when they wanted to atone for the sin of killing their brethren, even though they were all evil incarnated.
The temple is located in the Bhavnagar district of Gujarat state in India. From the beach along the Arabian Sea, you'd have to traverse 1.5 km into the interior. There are the five Shiva lingas that the five Pandava brothers worshipped, along with Shiva's vehicle Nandi, or the Bull. Many people come here to dissolve ashes of their departed kith and kin. The day after the New Moon day, the sea recedes to the maximum, and hundreds of people including children walk the distance and worship the idols. The New Moon day that comes in August and corresponds to the Hindu calendar month of Bhadra is of special importance, and people throng here in large numbers.
Courtesy: http://trifter.com/asia-pacific/india/a-temple-to-shiva-in-the-middle-of-the-sea/
This footage is part of the professionally-shot broadcast stock footage archive of Wilderness Films India Ltd., the largest collection of imagery from South Asia. The Wilderness Films India collection comprises of thousands of hours of high quality broadcast imagery, mostly shot on HDCAM 1080i High Definition, HDV and XDCAM. Write to us for licensing this footage on a broadcast format, for use in your production! We are happy to be commissioned to film for you or else provide you with broadcast crewing and production solutions across South Asia. We pride ourselves in bringing the best of India and South Asia to the world... Reach us at wfi @ vsnl.com and admin@wildfilmsindia.com
Think of a temple in the weirdest of places. Literally in the sea! But then, the Hindus have built their temples over the hills and mountains, inside caves, at the sea shore, near waterfalls - whereever nature reveals itself in all its grandeur and pristine beauty. The temple I am talking about is Nishkalank Mahadev's temple (Nishkalank -- blemish-less or sinless; Mahadev -- Lord Shiva), and it is under water during high tides in the sea and emerges during low tides to reveal itself majestically, promising its devotees to wash away all sins. As it did for the Pandavas in the epic Mahabharata, when they wanted to atone for the sin of killing their brethren, even though they were all evil incarnated.
The temple is located in the Bhavnagar district of Gujarat state in India. From the beach along the Arabian Sea, you'd have to traverse 1.5 km into the interior. There are the five Shiva lingas that the five Pandava brothers worshipped, along with Shiva's vehicle Nandi, or the Bull. Many people come here to dissolve ashes of their departed kith and kin. The day after the New Moon day, the sea recedes to the maximum, and hundreds of people including children walk the distance and worship the idols. The New Moon day that comes in August and corresponds to the Hindu calendar month of Bhadra is of special importance, and people throng here in large numbers.
Courtesy: http://trifter.com/asia-pacific/india/a-temple-to-shiva-in-the-middle-of-the-sea/
This footage is part of the professionally-shot broadcast stock footage archive of Wilderness Films India Ltd., the largest collection of imagery from South Asia. The Wilderness Films India collection comprises of thousands of hours of high quality broadcast imagery, mostly shot on HDCAM 1080i High Definition, HDV and XDCAM. Write to us for licensing this footage on a broadcast format, for use in your production! We are happy to be commissioned to film for you or else provide you with broadcast crewing and production solutions across South Asia. We pride ourselves in bringing the best of India and South Asia to the world... Reach us at wfi @ vsnl.com and admin@wildfilmsindia.com