Located about 3 km from the village of Kokkada in Belthangady Taluk is a special temple of Lord Ganesha, the Southadka Shri Mahaganapathi Temple. Yet another temple dedicated to the Lord of Beginnings in Dakshina Kannada district, this one is located just under 300 km from Bangalore.
The unique feature of the temple is that there is no enclosure nor ‘garbha griha’ and the idol is out in the open amidst greenery.
The temple is open round the clock and is considered as one of the most auspicious places of piligrimage or ‘siddhi kshetras‘ of the district. This Maha Ganapati Kshetra is located just about 20 km from Dharmastala.
Another distinguishing feature of the temple is the number of bells tied everywhere. There is a belief that when devotees pray and their wishes come true, a bell is tied as a token of thanks giving. It is amazing to see the number of bells cover almost every surface.
Extremely popular with devotees from all over, there are a number of sevas that are offered to the Lord here and this includes the ‘avalakki panchakajjaya seva’ and the famous ‘moodappa seve’.
Do not miss the vibrant temple market just outside the main entrance that sells a number of items pertaining to pooja, other knick knacks and of course the omnipresent brass bells that comes in all sizes.