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Malemalleshwar Temple

Famous temples · Karnataka

Malemalleshwar Temple

The Udbhava Linga at the foot of Malemalleshwara Hill, west of Koppal city

Checked 22 Oct 2026 with 2 sources2 min read

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Getting there

  • By air

    The nearest airport is Jindal Vijaynagar Airport, 65.7 km away. Hubli Airport is 123.4 km away.

  • By train

    Hospet, Munirabad and Koppal are the nearest railway stations. Koppal station lies north-west of the city centre.

  • By road

    The drive from Hosapete is about 30.7 km and 30 minutes via NH50, NH67 and SH130. From Gangavathi it is 45.8 km and 55 minutes, and from Hubballi about 120 km and 2 hours 10 minutes.

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Why devotees come here

Malemalleshwar Temple stands at the base of Malemalleshwara Hill, west of Koppal city in Karnataka. It houses a self-manifested Shiva Linga, the Udbhava Linga, and its history is believed to go back nearly 1,000 years.

Malemalleshwara Hill, west of Koppal city, holds mythological, historical and religious significance. Local belief links it to the Mahabharata and calls it Indrakila Parvata. Legend says Arjuna did penance on the hill, and Shiva came to him as a wild boar to test him. After a battle that Arjuna won, Shiva blessed him with the Pashupatastra.

The temple at the base of the hill has been fully renovated. Its history is believed to go back nearly 1,000 years. At the top of the hill, traces of an ancient tribe called Morera have been found, who lived here around 3,000 years ago. On another side of the hill, an Ashokan inscription from the Mauryan Empire sits on a rock called Palki Gundu.

A cave on the hill, Bheema Gavi, is named after Bheemasena from the Mahabharata. Legend says he killed a tiger inside it. According to one inscription, Jain Acharya Simhanandi is believed to have undertaken a ritual fast unto death on the hill in 1008 CE.

Tips for your visit

  • Two national highways, NH50 and NH67, and four state highways, SH23, SH36, SH129 and SH130, meet at Koppal.
  • Kamala Sarovara, a natural lake filled with blooming lotus flowers through the year, adds to the hill's charm.
  • The hill is also associated with Gavisiddeshwara, the 11th pontiff of Gavimath, who is said to have done penance here as a young boy.

Darshan at home

Not in the app yet

Malemalleshwar Temple is not in the Divya Darshan 360 app yet. These Famous temples temples are, with darshan videos you can watch at home:

In the appChamundeshwari Temple, MysuruChamundi Hill, Mysuru, KarnatakaIn the appDakshineswar Kali Temple, KolkataDakshineswar, North 24 Parganas, near Kolkata, West BengalIn the appShirdi Sai Baba Temple, MaharashtraShirdi, Rahata taluka, Ahilyanagar district, Maharashtra
Get the appAndroid

The app is free, Android only. For darshan as if you are standing there, see the VR box (₹899, or ₹949 cash on delivery).

Questions people ask

Which deity is worshipped at Malemalleshwar Temple?

Shiva is worshipped here as the Udbhava Linga, a self-manifested Shiva Linga.

Is the temple on the hill or at its base?

The temple stands at the base of the hill. The hill extends to the west of Koppal city.

What is the Ashokan inscription on the hill?

It is an inscription from the Mauryan Empire, dating to the 3rd century BCE, written in Brahmi script and Prakrit. It lies on the rock called Palki Gundu.

Where is Koppal?

Koppal is the district headquarters of Koppal district in the Indian state of Karnataka.

How we checked this page

On 22 Oct 2026 we checked every fact on this page against these sources, official ones first. Anything we could not confirm is left out.

  1. Malemalleshwar Temple, Koppal District, Government of Karnataka koppal.nic.in
  2. Koppal, Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org

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