Kadri Manjunath Temple
An ancient hilltop shrine to Manjunatha (Shiva) in Mangaluru, home to a celebrated 10th-11th century bronze Lokeshwara image that reflects the site's shared Hindu-Buddhist past.
Photos of Kadri Manjunath Temple
History & Significance
History & Origin
Kadri Manjunath Temple stands on Kadri Hill and is believed to date to the 10th-11th century, with the temple rebuilt in stone during the 14th century. An inscription on the pedestal of its celebrated bronze Lokeshwara image is dated to 968 CE, recording that it was installed by Alupa king Kundavarma.
Religious & Cultural Significance
The nearly five-foot Panchaloha Lokeshwara idol, with three faces and six arms, is regarded as one of the finest bronze sculptures surviving from early medieval South India, making Kadri a rare point of confluence between Buddhist and Hindu heritage on the Karnataka coast.
Architecture
The temple's sanctum houses a Shiva linga alongside rare bronze images of Lokeshwara (identified with Avalokiteshvara) and the Buddha, a legacy of the Kadri hill's earlier life as a Natha-sect and Buddhist site before it was absorbed into Shaiva worship.
Traditions
The temple is served by Shivalli Madhva Brahmin priests, and the hill also contains a row of Nathpanthi yogi caves and a spring-fed tank associated with the site's ascetic history.
Festivals & Events
- Kadri Jathra Mahotsava (nine-day festival from Makara Sankranti, January)
Location
- Address
- Kadri Temple, Kadri, Mangaluru, Karnataka 575002
- Area
- Kadri
- City
- Mangaluru
- Taluk
- Mangaluru
- District
- Dakshina Kannada
- State
- Karnataka
- PIN Code
- 575002