Shri Kshetra Kapileshwar Devasthan Belgaum

Lord of all lords, Lord Shiva. Amongst all the deities of our cosmos, Sri Shivasankar is a great deity. Lord Shiva is worshiped as the divinity by all of us. His gracefulness would offer immense glory and power to all God and Goddess. He is always immersed in earthly materials—ash, water and Bilwa leaves. His glory is enormous.

Sri Kapileshwar Shiva Temple in Belagavi is a revered and conscious temple considered as the "South Kashi." This temple is a unique, sacred, and great Jyothirlinga, not just confined to Belagavi but known across India.

There are several myths surrounding this sacred site. In India, there are 12 Jyothirlingas and 4 Daamas. Pilgrims believe that visiting these holy places, followed by a dip in Kapila Theertha, makes one’s life meaningful and leads to salvation. Even today, devotees undertake this sacred journey culminating at Sri Kapileshwar Temple. The temple was established through divine Yajnas and rituals, with the shrine being named Sri Kapileshwar after the sage Kapil.

The sacred fire pit created by Sage Kapil is still active. The Kamal Basti, constructed in the 11th century in the Killa Fort of Belagavi, mentions this temple, providing historical proof of its ancient and divine origin.

The temple premises host an assortment of deities, including Lord Ganesh, Sri Krishna, Sri Kalabhairava, Sri Veerabhadreshwara, Sri Dattatreya, Navagraha, Rahu-Ketu, the Snake Goddess, Sri Shirdi Saibaba, Maruti, and Sri Vishnu. A rare and divine sight is that of the Sri Kapileshwar and Sri Vishnu idols facing each other, a unique feature of this temple.

This uniqueness has earned it the name “South Kashi Sri Kapileshwar Great Jyothirlinga.” A scientific team from Pune visited the temple to measure its spiritual energy using the Lyakar Antenna and Bovis scale (Life Force Index). It was astonishing to find the energy levels reaching up to 10,05,000 Bovis units in the garbha gufa, signifying immense positive vibrations.

Daily, around 4000–5000 devotees visit the temple. On Mondays, this number rises to 10,000–15,000. During the holy month of Shravana and on Mahashivaratri, the number crosses lakhs.

Following the Trambakeshwar Sinha Hasta (Lion’s Paw) Kumbha Mela, millions of saints visit this sacred place and stay for three days to perform Yagnas and serve the deities before continuing their pilgrimage to Handybadnath Dutt.

Eminent personalities like Shankaracharya (8th century), Swami Vivekananda (Oct 18–29, 1892), Lokmanya Tilak (1895), and Mahatma Gandhi (1924) have visited this holy shrine and offered their respects at Sri Kapileshwar Jyothirlinga.