Place · caste-reform temple · India
Bhagavati / Gokarnatha, Mangaluru
Also known as Bhagavati, Bhagavati / Gokarnatha, Gokarnatha, Kudroli Gokarnanatha, Mangaluru
The Bhagavati / Gokarnatha temple at Kudroli in Mangaluru, Karnataka — a landmark of the Kerala-Karnataka social reform movement, built in 1912 by Narayana Guru (1856-1928, the Kerala social reformer and philosopher) as a temple open to all castes including Dalits, challenging the Brahminical caste exclusivity of mainstream Hindu temples. The temple was built at the request of the Billava community of Mangaluru (then under extensive caste discrimination). The main deity is Gokarnatha (Shiva form) with the Bhagavati goddess shrine. The Kudroli temple opened a decades-long campaign for Dalit temple-entry in both Kerala and the Dakshina Kannada region. The temple's Mangaluru Dasara festival each October (begun 1991) is one of coastal Karnataka's largest. The temple's foundation is a core document of Narayana Guru's 'one caste, one religion, one God' movement.
- Function
- Sacred site & pilgrimage
- Confidence
- Established / referenced
- Location
- 12.881, 74.845
Connections (1)
- Site withinMangaluru / Mangalore
The Kudroli Bhagavati-Gokarnatha temple sits within Mangaluru, Karnataka, built in 1912 by Narayana Guru as a temple open to all castes including Dalits. The temple opened a decades-long campaign for Dalit temple-entry in both Kerala and Dakshina Kannada. Managed by the Billava community, Kudroli's Mangaluru Dasara festival each October (begun 1991) is one of coastal Karnataka's largest festivals and anchors the modern city's distinctive reform-era religious geography.
Sources
Wikipedia, “Bhagavati”. Archaeological Survey of India and State Archaeology monument records, and the standard regional literature.
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