Mangalore, India

Karkala

Just when we began to think we had our fill of Buddhist and Hindu temples, today we ventured to two Jain temples! This was quite a popular tour, with 7 buses total. I expected some complaints given the climb to the first temple, but everyone we saw gamely made the trek up as we had been forewarned in the tour description of the climb. Our guide had the sweetest demeanor and smile and sang a few songs for us; first to welcome us and the to wish us well on our travels.

Our intesting excursion today left Mangalore and climbed for about an hour on winding narrow roads to Karakla, a pilgrimage center for Jain temples. Jainism is an Indian religion that prescribes a path of non-violence towards all living beings. The Jains believe that non-violence and self-control is the means by which they can obtain liberation from the cycle of reincarnations.

Here we climbed 212 steps to a Jain temple see the 42-foot statue of the Gomateshwara (Lord Bahubali), installed in 1432. Upon arrival we were all anointed with red marks on our foreheads and asked for a donation of $2.

Soans Farm

Next we visited the Soans Farm in Moodabidri, established by missionaries in 1926 and now run as a center for agricultural innovation for cultivation of the hill areas that are dependent on rain from the monsoon season. Currently the farm is managed by the two sons of Alfred Soans. We were given a short guided tour in the fields by the charming Dr. L.C. Soans, a Botanist who studied in the US.

Our last stop was the Thousand Pillared Temple in Moodabidri, another famous Jain temple. 

Thousand Pillared Temple