About the Temple
Shri Mukhyaprana Lakshmivenkatesh temple is located in Molkod, an island village situated on the bank of the river SHARAVATI, around 7 km towards east of Honnavar in the Indian state of Karnataka. Molkod is referred as SHASHASHRANGAPURA in some old texts related to temple. In Sanskrit Shasha means Rabbit and Shranga is the horn. Molkod is imagined to be in the shape horn of Rabbit if it wore one. The temple is dedicated to the Hindu gods Laxmivenkatesha and Mukhyaprana( Hanumaan). The temple comes under the administration of a committee of 10 members ( known as ‘Dha Jan’ ) and supervised by Shri Samsthan Gokarna Parthagali Jeevottam Mutt. The temple has devotees from all over Molkod irrespective of caste. The old temple was which existed before 1970s was solidly built with large stones and ancient architecture. The renovated temple is built with simple yet beautiful granite stones and marbles. It is of length 40 meters (120 feet approx.). Temple’s Gopuram is around at 40 feet height from the ground. The Gopuram is unique in its style and is rarely found across any temple gopuram designs. The temple occupies the space around 18 cents.
Legend
The history of the temple and the Lord worshipped here goes back to hundreds of years. The deities in the temple were previously worshipped by the Acharya kutumbikas in Molkod. More than 4 generations of Acharya family have worshipped the Lord. Later, in the year 1989 the deities were handed over to the GSB Samaj Bandahavas of Molkod. His Holiness Shri Shri Vidyadhiraja Teerth Shreepada Vader Swamiji of Shri Samsthan Gokarna Parthagali Jeevothama Mutt laid the foundation stone for the new temple building on 25-02-1989 (Magha Vadya Panchami of Vibahava Naama Samavatsara). New temple was constructed and the Punar Pratisthapana Mahotsava was held on 14 February 1990 by the divine hands of H.H Shri Vidyadhiraj Teertha Swamiji.
Deities were kept in the Balalaya (which was near the temple well) for some time after the old temple building had reached its jeerna stage. One year target was set for the completion of new temple building construction. Molkod being an island village, there were lack of any kind of infrastructural facilities, means of transport was only by the boats. During those hard days, people of Molkod had pulled off an immense responsibility of getting the construction done within an year. The GSBs situated all around the world known for their strong faith and devotion towards God and Gurus lineage, the GSBs of Molkod are no exception. They have been exceptional in getting building ready bycarrying the huge foundation stones, sand, iron materials, cement, marbles and any other material required for the construction work on their shoulders. They identified themselves as the servants of Hanumaan looking after each and every activity of building construction with utmost devotion towards God. They derived the strength from Hanumaan to make the impossible possible. It is with the immense blessings of Hari –Vaayu- Guru and dedication of people of Molkod, today the beautiful temple stands tall amidst a beautiful island. There are around 20 GSB homes in Molkod accounting for around 100 people. All have contributed equally in terms of Tanu – Mana – Dhana.
People of Molkod are always popular for their endless enthusiasm, voluntary spirit when it comes to serving of Lord with utmost devotion.
We might not have exact history of the temple and details since when the deities were being worshipped, but digging some information with the help of Shri Samsthan Gokarna Partagali Jeevottam Mutt, we see that there is record of Shri Shreemad Padmanabha Teertha Shreepad Vader Swamiji of Gokarna Mutt(19th Peetadhipati) had visited this temple during their trip on 1866 in the month of January. Also, Shri Shreemad Indirakanth Teertha Swamiji, Shri Shreemad Kamalanath Teertha Swamiji and Shri Shreemad Vidyadhiraja Teertha Swamiji have graced people of Molkod with their divine presence.