Rishyashringa Temple, Kigga
The rain-bringer's shrine, ten kilometres above Sringeri in the rainforest.
Kigga is a village about 10 km from Sringeri, on the road towards Sirimane Falls, with rainforest on all sides. Its granite temple is dedicated to the sage Rishyashringa, who in the Ramayana is the ascetic whose presence brings rain to a drought-struck kingdom — which is why farmers from across the Malnad still come here when the monsoon is late.
What to do here
- Visit the granite shrine
- Continue 10 km on to Sirimane Falls
- Walk the village road through the areca gardens
The district's rain shrine — the one temple whose function is explicitly agricultural, and still treated that way.
History
The shrine is ancient in local reckoning and built in granite; the association with Rishyashringa ties the village into the Ramayana geography that runs through this part of the Ghats.
Travel tips
About 10 km from Sringeri, on the Sirimane road. Combine the two in one trip. The road is narrow and wet for much of the year.
Please note
Do: remove footwear and leather. Do: dress conservatively. Don't: photograph the sanctum. Don't: enter during the mid-day closure — check hours before you drive up.
Combine your trip
Places near Rishyashringa Temple, Kigga
WaterfallSirimane Falls
A stepped, family-friendly fall near Kigga
TempleVidyashankara Temple, Sringeri
Fourteenth-century Vijayanagara stone, with twelve zodiac pillars that catch the sun month by month.
Hariharapura Sharada Peetham
A Shankaracharya foundation on the Tunga that almost no visitor to Sringeri ever hears about.
Kadambi Falls
A thirty-foot fall through rock inside Kudremukh National Park, right beside the road.