Shirali


Shirali is a village in Bhatkal taluk of Uttara Kannada district in Karnataka. Shirali is home to two prominent temples: the Chitrapur Math and the Maha Ganapathi Mahammaya Temple. The Chitrapur Math is the holiest temple of the Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmin community, and the Maha Ganapathi Mahammaya temple is the Kuladev to the Kamaths, Bhats, Puraniks, Prabhus, Joishys, Mallyas, Kudvas and Nayak families from the Goud Saraswat Brahmin community.

Etymology

The name Shirali is derived from Sanskrit Shrivalli, which means wealthy. The shrine of Goddess Shrivalli Bhuvaneshwari inside the premises of Chitrapur Math signifies the origin of the name Shirali.

Geography

Shirali is located at. It has an average elevation of 12 meters.
Nearest towns-
On the South is Bhatkal and Baindur.
On the North is another temple town, Murudeshwar.

Transportation

Road

Shirali is on the National Highway No. 66. A large number of Karnataka State Transport buses pass through Shirali. Private transport buses using NH17 also provide facility to reach Shirali.
From the main road of Shirali, Shri Chitrapur Math and the Maha Ganapathi Temple are about 2 km in the interior, for which auto-rickshaws are available. Distances to Shirali from some of the major cities are:
On the Konkan Railway line, the nearest railway stations are Chitrapur, Murudeshwar and Bhatkal. Autorickshaws, buses and other modes of road transport are available to reach Shirali from either of the railway stations.
The Mangalore-Verna stops at Chitrapur station at 9.39 a.m.and Verna-Mangalore trains stops at 17:03 p.m.

Air

The nearest airport is Mangalore and the next closest is Dabolim Airport in Goa.

Climate