Dakshina Kannada District is one of the most beautiful places in Karnataka. We find many ancient and famous temples, beautiful beaches, nature spots and many more places worth the watch. It has rich culture, art and tradition. All the temples of this District has unique story behind them. Among all those temples Kateel Durgaparameshwari Temple is one of the most revered because of its own reasons.
The word Kateel or Kateelu is made up of two words, ‘Kati’ meaning Centre and ‘Ila’ means Earth. Geographically, Kateel is located midway between Kanakagiri, the river source, and Pavanje, a joining point of a river to the sea. The Temple is situated on an islet formed naturally in the middle of the ri6ver Nandini. The town of Kateel lies 20 kms from Mangaluru City and is considered as one of the holiest temples in the State.
According to mythology Arunasura was a demon growing strong gaining powers and disrupting peace on Earth. Gods were helpless as Arunasura had secured special powers from Brahma that he cannot be killed by any two or four legged creatures. When Arunasura’s bad deeds grew beyond control, Adhishakti came down on Earth as a beautiful woman, lured him and teased Arunasura to agitate him. An angry Arunasura tried to kill Adhishakti, who turned herself into a rock. Arunasura tried to break open the rock, during which a series of big furious bees emerged and stung him repeatedly till his death, thus eliminating one more bad soul on Earth. On this success, saints and sages performed abhishekam to Goddess Adhishakti who later took the form of a linga in the middle of River Nandini.
The temple also hosts shrines dedicated to other Gods and Goddesses. To the south of the main sanctum sanctorum is Mahaganapathi, and to its right, there is a shrine for Shashtha. To the Southwest, a shrine for Kshetrapalaka can be found. In the inner yard of the temple and in the outer yard, two Naga Sannidhis are worshipped along with Brahma in the inner sanctum sanctorum.
Many devotees visit Kateel on a daily basis to seek the blessings of Amma Durga Parmeshwari. Mangaluru, Udupi, Dharmasthala, Kukke Subramanya, and Surathkal are the nearby places one can visit during the one’s trip to Kateel. The best time to visit Kateel is between September and February.
