Udupi
Udupi
is one of the most revered pilgrimage sites in Karnataka and is known for its
association with
Madhvacharya,
the founder of the dualistic -
Dvaita
school of philosophy.
Seven Muktistala pilgrimage sites in Karnataka are
Kollur,
Udupi,
Subrahmanya, Kumbasi, Kodeshwara, Sankaranarayana and
Gokarna. Udupi is located
at a distance of 36 km from Mangalore, the nearest airport.
The name
Udupi arises from the legend that
Chandra
- the king of the stars (Udu-star, pa-king) performed penances towards Shiva (Chandramouleeswara)
here to relieve himself of the curse that had been inflicted upon him by
Daksha Prajapati.
Udupi is
also known as
Shivali
- or Shiva belli. Legend has it that
Parasurama
upon reclaiming land from the sea, crowned his devotee Ramabhoja as a ruler.
Ramabhoja killed a snake accidentally and to redeem himself from sarpa dosha, he
created a silver peetham with a snake carved on it, installed Parasurama in the
linga swaroopam and worshipped him as
Ananteswara.
The
Balakrishna
temple at Udupi enshrines an image of Krishna believed to have been made by the
divine architect Viswakarma.
Legend
has it that Krishna's mother Devaki and his wife Rukmini wished to enjoy his
childhood pranks, at the end of the Dwapara yuga. The divine architect
Viswakarma then created this image of Krishna bearing a churn in his right hand
and a string in his left. Rukmini worshipped this image every day.
After Krishna's departure from this world,
Arjuna is believed to have hidden it, and the image is believed to have gotten
covered with gopi chandanam - a substance similar to sandal paste.
A ship proceding from Dwarka is beleived to
have carried this 'lump' bearing the image of Krishna and as it proceded
through the stormy seas, Madhvacharya sensed the divine cargo, and calmed the
storm and saved the ship. In return, he accepted this lump of a cargo, and
discovered the image of Krishna. Madhva then installed and worshipped this image
at Udupi.
The
Balakrishna
temple founded by Madhvacharya dates back to the 13th century CE. It is a
modest structure enshrining the image of Balakrishna in a sanctum viewed through
a grating referred to as the
Navagraha kindi,
which has nine square holes. The Navagraha window is covered with silver sheets
embossed with 24 different images of Krishna.
To the west
of this is the
Kanakadasa
mandapa. Legend has it that Krishna's image turned towards the western wall,
which had collapsed to reveal a full darshan of Krishna to Kanakadasa who had
earlier been denied entry into the temple.
There is
also a shrine to
Chenna Kesava
behind the sanctum. Behind this shrine is the eastern entrance of the sanctum,
which is open only on Vijayadasami. Also in the temple are shrines to Garuda and
Hanuman. Madhva's shrine is situated right next to the sanctum. There are also
shrines to Subramanya and Vaadiraaja in this temple.
Worship:
Worship services here begin at 4AM. The worship services carried out here are
the Nirmalya Darshana, Ushatkaala pooja, Panchamrita pooja, Udvardana pooja,
Kalas Pooja, Go Pooja, Alankar Pooja, Maha Pooja, Brindavana Pooja, Samara Seva,
Ranga Seva, Seeveli Seva and the Ekanta Seva.
Festivals:
Makara Sankranti in the month of Makara (January 15) when the sun transits to
the zodiac sign of Capricorn, a grand chariot festival is celebrated - carrying
images of Krishna, Chandamouleeswara and Ananteshwara in procession. This seven
day festival involves a float festival, and another chariot festival the Bhramma
Rathotsavam is celebrated on the 7th day, when the Aaraattu is carried out in
the Madhva Sarovar tank. Krishna Janmashtami is also celebrated with great
splendour here.
Other temples
at and near Udupi include the Ananteshwara and Chandramouleeswara temples
mentioned above, Shakti temples at Puttur, Kannarpadi, Bailur and Kadiyali, and
Subramanya temples at Tangodu, Mangodu, Aritodu and Muchilkodu and the Balarama
temple at Vada Pandeshwara.
The Mutts around Udupi:
Udupi as mentioned before is the seat of Madhva's dvaita philosophy. Eight of
Madhva's successors headed mutts established by him in this area. These mutts
are located at Palimar (Sri Rama), Admar (Kaliyamardana Krishna), Krishnapura (Kaliyamardana
Krishna), Sode (Bhu Varaaha), Puthige (Vitthala) , Sirur (Vitthala), Kaniyur (Narasimha),
and Pejawar (Vitthala). The spectacular
Paryaya
festival, when the leadership of the mutts changes, is celebrated once in two
years.
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