Popular Kukke Subramanya temple, Dakshina Karnataka

Kukke  Subramanya temple, chariots . Karnataka.  gotirupati.com


 Prakara, Kukke  Subramanya temple. Karnataka, wikimapia.org

 The state of Karnataka has lots of Hindu temples dedicated to many main Hindu deities. Many of them are very old and are known for their architectural excellence. The Kukke  Subramanya temple, being a famous one attracts lots of devotees who come over to this place in search of peace and tranquility in their lives. 

Kukke  Subramanya temple  located in the village of Subramanya in Sullia Taluq, Dakshina Kannada district, Karnataka  is a well known one dedicated to Karthikeya  or  Subramanya, who is supposedly the  lord of all serpents and the son of Lord Shiva. He is the  Deva Senapathi - commander of the army of the Devas. This place is about 16 kms from Dharmasthala and 105 kms from Mangaluru.  Shri Sringeri Saradha Mutt, Uttaradi Mutt and Sri Subramanya Mutt are located in the surrounding areas.


Kukke  Subramanya ,Subramanya  Dakshina  Karnataka .templedetails.com

God  Subramanya gave refuge to the serpents  Vasuki and others  when Garuda (eagle) made threats to them.   Located on the picturesque slope of dense wooded area of the Western Ghats range, overlooking the  mountain of Kumara Parvatha,  the place  is endowed with nature's bounty  and is a perfect spot for people who seek spiritual as well as devotional experience. The Kumaradhara river runs in front of the temple and devotees  have to cross it to reach the temple. The place is used to be called Kukkupatna.

Though the entrance  to the temple is through  the east, the main entrance is at the back of the sanctum  and devotees  normally enter through the west  entrance and get into the inner quadrangle  The silver plated Garuda Kamba (Garuda: eagle; Kamba: pillar) is located between  the sanctum and the entrance  and the belief here is  that this pillar protects the devotees from the poisonous breath of Vasuki, the serpent who resides inside the sanctum or Srikovil.
There are two halls and the inner one leads to the  sanctum  where  on the pedestal you can see the images of  Shri Subramanya  and   Vasuki and below them Aadi Shesha, the latter two being serpents. 

Kukke  Subramanya temple ,Images of  serpents below .abhimanresidency.com

Lord Subramanya came to this place  and washed his primary war weapon Sakthi  in the nearby river, upon defeating the forces of Asura (demons) and their chiefs Tharakasura and Soorapadman on orders from Lord Shiva. The Asuras gave serious, unbearable troubles to the celestial beings - Devas.  Indra, king of the Devas,  approached the lord and prayed to  him  to  take his daughter Devasena as his wife and Subramanya consented.  It is believed the celestial  wedding took place here. The waters from all the holy rivers were brought here for the  wedding ceremony and  that these waters fell down, coalesced and became a river,  now known as Kumaradhara. Lord Subramanya stayed here upon the request of
Vasuki, the King of serpents to  give continuous protection to them from Garuda. This is the reason why this Kshetra  has become popular  Parikara sthala for getting rid of Sarpa Dosha,
Kukke Subrahmanya temple, Karnataka, en.wikipedia.org

Kukke Subrahmanya is also known as an  abode of Nagas or serpents. Therefore,  it is believed that people with Naga Dosha (curse or blemish caused by serpents as per individual horoscope) can get it redressed by visiting  this temple and offer prayers. Thousands of devotees come here from  other parts of Karnataka and neighboring states  and do Parikaram (remedy) on the advice of Astrologers to negate the bad effects of  Naga Dosha  by way of participating in   Sarpa Samskara, Nagaprathishta, Ashlesha Bali & other rituals. These are conducted by the temple priests. The ritual involved is similar to performing  Shrartham (annual death ceremony ). Sarpa Samskara seva devotees are required to stay for two days on the temple premises.

The temple is decorated with lot of Bells  mainly offered by worshipers who have special wishes. Ashlesa Puja and Sarpa Dosha Pujas are the special ones conducted here. Inside the temple, there is a cluster of Lingas known as Kukke Lingas.There are shrines here for Kala Bhairava and Uma Maheshwara.

Just like temples of  Kerala, devotees entering the temple must remove the upper garment - undershirt (banions), shirt, etc. Lungi or Kaili is a taboo. As for women, they should not wear  short skirts, etc. Salwar-Kamiz is allowable.

Ref:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kukke_Subramanya_Temple