Marikamba Temple, Sagara

The Marikamba Temple stands in the centre of Sagara in Shimoga district and is devoted to the goddess Marikamba Devi, family deity of the Nayakas of Keladi. Tradition says the goddess came to Adi Shankaracharya in a dream when he visited the town, and he consecrated her footprints on its outskirts. In 1596 Venkatappa Nayaka, ruler of Keladi and Ikkeri, adopted her as his family goddess before a battle; after his victory he moved the footprints to the middle of town and built a temple to house them.

In the early 1950s a proposal to move the temple out of the centre was blamed for an outbreak of plague. Once every three years, in February or March, the temple hosts the nine-day Marikamba Jathra, one of the major festivals of Karnataka, when the goddess is drawn through the streets on a decorated chariot 16 feet tall.