Madeshwara of Kodi Mutt

What  happens if you dump organic waste in a 10x10 pit which is approximately 10 feet deep for 364 days?  The organic waste would rot after sometime. Well, this is what is expected, however this particular place has an exception. The food do not rot, the leaves which are used as a substitute for plates do. Yes, today I'm going to talk about this sacred place which is revered as on of the holiest places, in-fact it is believed that Lord shiva was very found of this place and he even established a Mutt here. Madeshwara Linga at Kodi mutt in Arasikare taluk of Hassana Dist in karnataka state is the one of the holiest places in Karnataka. Lord Shiva frequently visited this place to meditate. In fact the pit is considered as the epicenter of ''Shivashakthi'' energy.  This pit is located at the banks of a serene lake. People believe that many 1000s years ago, Lord Shiva and his wife Parvathi were here and used this place to carry their good work. Lord shiva here is known as Madeshwara, and the Mutt that he established is called Kodi Mutt. A maţha (also written math,  matha or mutt) is a term for monastic and similar religious establishments of the Hindu tradition.A maţha is usually more formal, hierarchical, and rule-based than an ashram. Lord shiva in order to help the devotees initiated the Temple festival called ''Madeshwarana jatre''.

Temple festivals are the most important part of any Hindu community. Typically a temple festival consist of Chariot pulling where in the main idol is decorated, and carefully placed at the centre of the chariot. The chariot is then pulled with ropes, and made to come across the streets, and depending up the place there may be different ways of celebrating it. In some places it is celebrated  by throwing bananas at the chariot, and sometimes rock-salt and pepper corns are offered to the chariot. These Chariots are of different sizes and made up of different metals ranging from  wood/silver to gold! Most common ones are made of wood.

The madeswarana Jathre is quite different in almost every aspect. The pontiff of Kodi Mutt gets a divine message from lord shiva  to make arrangements for the Jatre. He sees Shiva Saligrama in his dreams. The message is then communicated to the devotees. This has been the tradition for ages to commemorate the initiation of Jatre.  The pit is cleaned on the previous day of the Jatre. On the same night, lamps are lit in rows. Randomly they dig the ground away from the lake,  and water gushes out devotees call this as Ganga named after ganges. After performing prayers, the ganga water is then collected inside the madeshwara linga (from kodi mutt). Once the water is collected, the linga is tightened to the base, securing the water inside.  The Madeshwara linga is taken from the Kodi Mutt, and is established closer to the the pit, under a temporary shed. Madeshwara is decorated will all sort of fowers, fruits and mantras are recited. All the devotees carry  pot of fire on their head and come around in circle around a iron pole. This tradition exists from centuries.  Devotees carry the pot of fire as gesture to thank Madeshwara for all the blessings received and to ensure that they are protected from evil and bad lucks. There are certain rules called ''Vrath''to be followed before one goes for the ''hot-pot''. Women are given priorities, and they are the first to worship. Married women perform Gowri Pooja (or prayer) for the long life and well being of their husbands. The food offered to god also known as prasadam is first shared with the women devotees. Yummy , scrumptious feast (everything vegetarian) is prepared for the devotees and served in  leaf plates.

The waste is then dumped in to this pit, if there is no waste people cook all over again and dump it in to this pit. In fact people wash their hands inside this pit. Once everything is done, the pit is then closed with huge rocks and the gaps are sealed with wet clay. It is opened only in next jathre i.e, almost 364 days later. They open the pit only once in a year. And every time they open it, in the mist of decayed leaf plates one can find, fresh, hot steamy food. Yes, food do not go rotten or stale. Everything is fresh, and hot as if it was just out of oven. Science has not able to explain as how this is possible, people here believe it is the holiest place. And all our prayers are answered in no time. There are many devotees whose story would make ones hair on the back stand straight, everything here seems to be carried out by divine interventions!

This should be one of your must see places in Karnataka. This place isn't far from Sringeri sharadhamba Temple.