Attractions

The Nellitheertha Somanatheshwara Cave temple is one of the holiest temples in South Kanara. It is a truly splendid temple appealing to both the spiritually oriented and the nature lovers. Whether to pray and ask for God’s blessings or just to enjoy the beauty of the cave, it’s worth a visit.

Somanatheshwara (Shiva). The temple also has MahaGanapati and Jabali Maharshi as deities here. In fact, the Jabali Maharshi Brindavana was recently constructed. In typical Tulu-naadu tradition, the temple also has its set of “Bhootas“. Bhootas are considered as the “Ganas” or warrior-assistants of the Gods. The main bhootas of the Nellitheertha temple are Pili-Chamundi (Pili means Tiger in Tulu), Kshetrapala, Raktheshwari and Doomavathy.

The Lingam of Shri Somanatheshwara has been made out of pure Saligrama shila and is considered very sacred. There are other artifacts in and around the temple which are pointers to the past glory of this place. Among them are the “Arasule Mancha” (King’s seat), “Arasule Mantapa” (King’s abode) and the “Jina Vigraha” (Jain Statue). The temple of Shri Mahaganapati has been rebuilt recently and is splendid in itself.

The most beautiful aspect of the temple is the Cave, which is described in the subsequent section. The “Nagappa Kere”  is a small pond situated to the north of the temple. This natural pond, along with its religious significance, is also a scenic spot. The lake is at its best immediately after the monsoons (Oct—Dec) when its crystal clear water is a swimmer’s delight.

The “Arasule Mancha” or King’s seat is situated near the main entrance of the temple towards the north. Historical evidence suggests that this seat was where the king of the land used to be seated when he visited the temple. It is believed that even today, the spirits of the former rulers visits the place at night and so it is prohibited to sit on the seat after dusk.

The Nellitheertha temple is a symbol of secularism. The temple and the cave is open to members of all beliefs and castes. Any person, above the age of 5, is allowed to enter the cave irrespective of gender. Truly, Nellitheertha is a special and model place.

The Cave

the role of protecting Dharma in the region. The rituals are followed by a grand lunch for one and all.

The rest of the ceremonies start late in the evening and goes on till dawn next day. The deity is taken on a procession and villagers offer “Katte Pooje” to the deity as it passes their residence. The deity is taken to the temple pond and “Avabhrutha Snana” happens. Finally, the flag is brought down to indicate the closure of the festival.

Getting there:

There are four routes available to reach Nellitheertha.

The nearest city to Nellitheertha is Mangalore (about 360 kms from Bangalore). You can find a direct bus to Nellitheertha from the Mangalore Central Bus Stand. A taxi should cost you around 250-300 rupees. Get on to the Moodabidri road and pass through Gurupura, Kaikamba and approach Yedapadavu. Just before you reach Yedapadavu, you need to deviate to the left and travel about 8kms to reach the temple.

Another route is to take the Mangalore – Udupi highway and take a deviation to the right at Mulki. On that road, reach Kinnigoli and continue until you hit a V-intersection. Take the road to the left and travel 13kms to reach Nellitheertha(through Mucchur town).

You can also reach Nellitheertha from Bajpe via Kathelsaar. This would mean you need to take the Mangalore—Bajpe—Kathelsaar– Nellitheertha Road. This is actually the shortest route to Nellitheertha from Mangalore and is about 14 kms shorter than the Moodabidri route.

Nellitheertha is extremely close to Kateel which is one of the most famous temples in South India. It is about 8 kms from Kateel and can be reached via Ekkaru—Neerude.

Contact address:

Sri Somanatheshwara Cave Temple

Sri Kshetra Nellitheertha

Neerude Post, Kompadavu Village

Mangalore Taluk, South Kanara District

Karnataka, India – 570063

Phone : 91-824-2299142

Website: https://namma.neerude.com

Email: namma.neerude@gmail.com

History of St Roque Church Neerude :

Bishop Victor Fernandes established this as an independent chaplaincy and named it Neerude and Fr James Sequeira, acting parish priest of Ferar, put up a building to serve as a chapel, which was inaugurated on January 20, 1945. The place to build the chapel was donated by the grandfather of Fr Ignatius D’Costa. It also served as a presbytery and school. Fr Joseph M. Lobo was the first parish priest. The new church building, the foundation for which was laid in 1953 by Bishop Basil Peres, was constructed by Fr Lawrence V.M. Fernandes (1955-1968).

The church dedicated to St Roque was blessed on April 19, 1960 by Bishop Raymond D’Mello. Fr Lawrence Fernandes bought two new bells from Germany and built the belfry, which was inaugurated on September 19, 1962. Fr Lawrence Martis constructed the presbytery and also built the Golden Jubilee memorial open air stage in 1995.