Devotees / Kulavis

It is estimated that currently the Shirali Maha Ganapathi and Mahamaya temple has 125 Kulavis (Kutumba / family with specific kula devatas), with a total of above 20,000 family members. Most Kulavis visit the temple once at least annually, and many Kulavis living all over India and abroad visit the temple every time they visit their hometowns in Karnataka, Maharashtra, Goa, Kerala and other states where they are spread over and India. The devotees (Kulavees) of the temple have reached to the pinnacle of their careers and respective fields in which they work with abundance blessings of Ubhaya Devas.

The temple management has built spacious, well - appointed staying rooms to accommodate Kulavis who visit the temple for their visits, Sevas and also provide prasad (food) to the Kulavis during their stay at the temple in the spacious Annapoorna prasad serving place.

The prasad is also served to all the GSB families and their fellow travellers who often travel to Goa and other north Canara temples to have darshan of their Kuladevas. Most GSB’s travelling on the Kanyakumari – Mumbai highway have their compulsory stop at the temple due to their ardent love and devotion towards Maha Ganapathi and Mahamaya.

The serene beach of Shirali at a distance of 3 kms from temple through the road winding behind the temple.

Ways to reach the Temple

By Road and Trains

Shirali is on the National Highway No. 66 (the highway that runs from Mumbai to Thiruvananthapuram). 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 (highway) of Shirali, the Maha Ganapathi Mahamaya Temple is about 500 meters in the interior, for which auto-rickshaws are available. Distances to Shirali from some of the major cities are:

• Bangalore 506 km, Mangalore 156 km, Goa (Panaji) 225 km, Mumbai 952 km, Pune 780 km and Bhatkal 05 km.

On the Konkan Railway line, the nearest railway stations are Chitrapur, Murudeshwar and Bhatkal (both about 6 km from Shirali to the north and south respectively). Autorickshaws, buses and other modes of road transport are available to reach Shirali from either of the railway stations. The Mangalore-Verna passenger train stops at Chitrapur station at 9.39 a.m. and Verna-Mangalore passenger train stops at 17:03 p.m.

By Air

The nearest airport is Mangalore (156 km) and the next closest is Dabolim Airport in Goa (200 km).