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Introduction

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The Udupi Shri Krishna Temple is a historic temple dedicated to Sri Krishna and the Dwaita Matha, located in the city of Udupi in Karnataka. Situated on the Western coast of India, Udupi the land of temples welcomes devotees with open arms. At the heart of this Parasurama Kshetra, lies the Sri Krishna Matha Udupi along with the ancient Chandramouleeshwara and Anantheshwara temples. Even before the establishment of the Krishna temple, Udupi was already sacred land. The ancient temples of Chandramouleeshwara and Anantheshwara date to the 8^th century, and drew large crowds of devotees over the years.

The Matha area resembles a living Ashram, a holy place for daily devotion and living. 

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The Krishna Matha was founded by the Vaishnavite saint Jagadguru Shri Madhvacharya (CE 1238-1317), considered one of the three great Acharyas. He was the founder of the Dwaita School of Vedanta. It is believed that Madhvacharya found the vigraha of Shri Krishna in a large ball of gopichandana. As narrated by Sri Madhvacharya in his Tantrasara Sangraha, the vigraha is placed Pashchimabhimukha (facing west). All the other vigrahas in the other Ashta Mathas also face west.

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Madhvacharya, in the years before he founded the Sri Krishna Matha, was affiliated with the Sri Anantheshvara temple. Here he used to hold audiences spellbound with his learned discourses on the science of Krishna consciousness. Finally, when it was time for him to leave his physical form, he disappeared from within the Ananteshwara temple itself while giving a discourse on the Aitareya Upanishad.

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The Dwaita Vedanta Hindu philosophy believes Vishnu (the supreme soul) and individual souls have independent existential realities.

Photography is strictly prohibited inside the temple premises.

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The Itihāsa of Udupi

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Shayadri Khanda of Skanda Purana (pt-II, ch.1) refers to the reclamation of the coastal belt west of the Western Ghats from the sea by Bhagwan Parsurama, the 6^th incarnation of Vishnu. He shot seven arrows from Shayadri towards the sea and reclaimed the land of a trapezoid shape extending from Vaitarni to Kanyakumari. The region thus reclaimed goes by the name Parasurama Kshetra. It is divided into seven divisions known as Sapta Konkan. They are Viratam, Karatam, Barbara, Konkanam, Govarashtra, Tulangum, Keralam, and Havyagam. 

Around 12,000 to 10,000 BCE, geological events in the region of southwest India are thought to have resulted in the elevation of the coastal area. Coincidently, Vedic Itihāsa also ties in with this geological event 

Popular belief is that King RamaBhoja, an ardent follower of Parashurama installed the statue of Anantheshwara. The Chandramouleeshwara temple was built at the spot where Chandra (the moon) performed penance to get rid of the curse of Daksha Prajapati. The place where Chandra meditated was known as Udupi. (Udu = a star, and pa = follower). The usual practice is to visit the Chandramouleeshwaraand Anantheshwara temples and then visit Sri Krishna temple. 

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Shree Chandramouleeshwara Temple

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In ancient times, Udupi was known as Sivalli and Rajathapeetapuram. Itihaas mentions that Chandra, the Moon God, did penance here in a forest, propitiating Shiva to redeem Him from a curse by Daksha Prajapati. In Sanskrit, Udu means `star’ and Pa means `leader’. Chandra being the head of the stars, the place came to be known as `Udupi’. Shiva appeared before him and relieved him of his curse. The spot where Shiva manifested himself became the Sri Chandramouleeshwara Temple. Since Shiva was worshipped by Chandra, the deity is known as Chandramouleeshwara. This Shiva shrine is situated opposite the Sri Krishna temple. The Swayambu Linga changes colour thrice during the day – black in the morning, blue at noon, and white at night. The temple tank is known as Chandra Pushkarini or Madhwa Sarovar. Reference to this temple can be found in the Madhava Vijaya.

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Shree Anantheshwara Temple (Ananthasana)

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There is another shrine in Udupi for Sri Anantheshwara. When Bhagwan Parasurama reclaimed the land from the sea, he crowned his devotee RamaBhoja as the king of this land. He performed the Ashvamedha Yagna on this holy soil. While plowing the land prior to the yagna, he killed a snake accidentally. To redeem himself from Sarpa dosha (the sin of killing a snake), he made a silver peetam (Rajatha Peetam) with images of a snake carved on it. Hence the place acquired the name Sivalli or Siva-belli. Bhagwan Vishnu then manifested himself here as Anantheshwara and the king installed a Linga at that spot. Bhagwan Parasurama, an avatar of Vishnu, is worshipped in the Linga swarupa at this shrine. There is a 40-foot-high Deepa sthamba outside the shrine. The Brahmins who lived here came to be known as Shivalli Brahmins.

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Madhava Sarovar

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Behind the Sri Krishna shrine is a tank known as Madhva Sarovar. Sri Raghavendra Tirtha of Sri Puttige Matha renovated it with stone slabs in the 16^th century CE.

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The itihāsa of the Sarovar provides interesting reading. It happened during the era of Sri Madhvacharya. The Acharya was then still a boy. He wanted to undertake a tour of Badari. His preceptor Achuta Prajna did not want to be separated from his disciple. He heard a divine voice stating that the Acharya need not come to the North in search of the Ganges. The sacred river itself will come South in search of the Acharya. The people witnessed a column of white stream of water springing up in the South West corner of the tank. All people present took a bath in the sacred waters along with the Acharya. Madhva Vijaya records that once every twelve years the waters of the sacred Ganges flow into this tank. This continues even now.

The white waters of the Ganges sprang up during the Paryaya of Sri Vibudhapriya Swamiji, the 29^th pontiff of the Sri Adamar Matha, and a small shrine was constructed by him in the South West corner to commemorate the event. It is a beautiful idol of Bhagirathi seated on a crocodile. All Swamis have to bathe in this tank before they commence worship at the shrine. 

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There is a beautiful mantapa in the middle of the tank. The ritual of pouring milk on Tulasi ksiiraabdhi takes place here on the 12^th day of the white fortnight of Kartika month. The beauty of this tank must be witnessed during the teppootsava, the boat festival. With thousands of lamps lit around the mantapa, their reflection in the water provides a delightful sight, appearing that Varuna is performing aarti.

If we go around the tank on the northern side, the bhoojana sale is visible, where thousands of devotees are fed daily. Special arrangements are made on the first floor of this building for feeding students and guests.

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Udupi Krishna and the Dwarka Connection

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You must be wondering how Krishna came to Udupi. A question that came to my mind too, when I visited the mandir. How did the Krishna vigraha end up in the mound of gopichandanam (holy sandalwood) that served as a ballast for a ship? The ways of the Divine are mysterious and work in a manner that is incomprehensible to mortals. To understand the arrival of Krishna in Udupi, one needs to travel back in time from the present Kaliyuga to the Dwapara Yuga, the Yuga that was graced by the Krishna Avatar of Vishnu. 

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Devaki, the mother of Sri Krishna, had entreated him in his adulthood at Dwarka to show her a glimpse of his childhood, which she had been deprived of since Krishna’s birth he had been taken away from her. In response to his mother’s wish, Krishna assumed his childhood form. It was an ecstatic experience for Devaki and she lived those moments with great joy, which she had earlier missed. Sri Krishna soon returned to his normal form and Devaki thanked and blessed her son for the wonderful experience. 

Witnessing this, Rukmini, the wife of Sri Krishna, fell in love with his child form and requested her husband for a murti of Balakrishna. Sri Krishna entrusted Vishwakarma with the task and the vigraha was carved out in Shaligram Shila (sacred stones found in the Gandaki riverbed in Nepal, which are considered to be manifestations of Lord Vishnu) for her daily worship.

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The end of Lord Krishna’s sojourn on earth came about at Bhalka Tirth near Somnath in Gujarat at the close of Dwapara Yuga. Krishna ascended to the heavens and reached Vaikunta from Dehotsargh, on the banks of Hiran River. It is believed that Rukmini, who was an avatar of Lakshmi, the consort of Vishnu, also ascended to Vaikunta at the same time.

Arjuna, who carried out the final rites of the corporeal remains of Krishna, found the idol of Balakrishna and buried it in a forest known as Rukmini Vana in Dwarka. In the course of being worshipped with the application of sandalwood paste, the idol got completely covered with the paste. Subsequently, Dwarka was engulfed by the sea. The vigraha of Sri Krishna was also submerged in the great flood that occurred at the end of the era of Krishna. How the vigraha of Bala Krishna had come to be buried in Dwarka is told in Prameya-navamalika-tika, a work from the 17^th century by Raghuvarya Tirtha, an acharya in succession from Madhvacharya.^[1]

Centuries later in Kaliyuga, a sailor found the vigraha in the shape of hard rock on an island, and mistaking it for a clod of Gopi Chandan he took it onboard his ship.  Sometime later, his ship was struck by a raging storm near the seashore of Vadabhandeshwar (near Malpe Beach). When the meditating Sri Madhvacharya sensed the danger through his aparoksha or divine jnana (knowledge), he got the ship safely to the shore by waving the end of his saffron robe and quietening the storm. The pleased captain of the ship offered Sri Madhvacharya anything on the ship in return. Sri Madhvacharya asked for the sandalwood piece in the holds of the ship, which was being used as ballast. Realizing through his deific vision that it was the same Balkrishna vigraha that Rukmini worshipped, he took it to the Sarovar, purified it, and installed it in the Matha with the avowed purpose of removing all the pains and obstacles which beset his devotees on their way to salvation. 

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In the 16^th century, during Sri Vaadiraja ‘s Paryaya, Kanakadasa, an ardent devotee, came to Udupi to worship Sri Krishna. He was a renowned composer of Carnatic music, poet, reformer, and musician. He is known for his keertanas and ugabhoga, and his compositions in the Kannada language for Carnatic music. His early work includes poems titled “Narasimha Stotra“, “Ramadhyana Mantra“, and “Mohanatarangini“. Kanakadasa had a connection with Udupi as he was the disciple of Vyasatirtha Swami. However, he was not allowed inside the temple since he was from a lower caste. Sri Krishna, pleased by the worship of Kanakadasa created a small hole in the back wall of the temple and turned to face the hole so that Kanakadasa could see him. This hole came to be known as Kanakana Kindi.^[2]

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The sight of the beautiful Muddu Krishna henceforth became available to everybody only through the Kanakana Kindi.

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Temple Description

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A path leads to Madhav Sarovar, the sacred tank. To the West is the entrance to the shrine.

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There is a statue of Chenna Keshva at the entrance. This is the entrance to the sanctum sanctorum from the East. The Swamis used to enter the sanctum sanctorum through this after bathing in the tank. When the number of devotees increased, the door was closed. Only on the occasion of Vijayadashami, this door is now opened. The nine sacred corns are also brought inside the shrine that day through the door for the fresh harvest feast. 

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On proceeding towards the left along the circumambulation path, one comes across a small room known as anuyaaga sale, the hall of oblation to the Agni devata. A golden palanquin is kept in the room in front of that.

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To the West is the surya sale, a hall where scholars recite the Vedas, Puranas, itihāsa and the works of Sri Madhvacharya. In the evening musicians sing and play their instruments and offer their services to Sri Krishna. Attached to the surya sale is another room to the West. This is known as Cinnada Koone, or the treasury of jewels. All jewels offered to Sri Krishna since the days of the emperors of Vijayanagar to the Kings of Mysore are stored here.

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To the right is a mantapa in front of the shrine. In between this mantapa and the sanctum sanctorum, there is a small passage and the Navagraha Kitiki – the window of nine planets. It must be noted that there is no entrance to the sanctum sanctorum in the front. One has to look at the vigraha through this window.

The lamps burning by the side of the vigraha of Sri Krishna have a centuries-old history. The lamp lit by Sri Madhvacharya has been kept burning to this day without having been allowed to get extinguished. There is a tradition that records that when Chaitanya Maharshi came to Udupi he got a lamp lit from this lamp and took it to Vrindavan and preserved it there. Thus the lamp lit by Sri Madhvacharya sanctifies not only Udupi but also Vrindavan.

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The unique feature of the temple is that the deity is worshipped through a silver-plated window with nine holes (Navagraha Kindi). Devotees always have darshan of Sri Krishna through the inner window, known as the Navagruha Kindi, which covers the immediate front of the vigraha, and the outer window known as the Kanakana Kindi, which is decorated by an arch named after him. The Navagraha Kindi is often mistaken to be the Kanakuna Kindi.

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In the northern corner of the mantapa is a smaller mantapa reserved for the worship of sacred texts during Navratri. There are two shrines on either side of this hall. In the North, there is Mukhyapranaand in the south there is a small shrine of Garuda. These two murtis were brought from Ayodhya and installed, as mentioned in the biography of Sri Vadiraja. When Sri Vadiraja went again to Ayodhya he brought the murtis of Hanuman and Garuda and installed them in front in front of Sri Krishna’s vigraha.

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Further North, there is a platform for the sacred Tulasi plant and a big deepa stambh. This Tulasi vrindavan is well decorated during the bright fortnight of the lunar month of Kartika. It is worshipped with recitations and dancing for twelve days during that period.

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Temple Administration

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The Krishna Matha is known throughout the world for its religious customs, traditions, and tenets of Dwaita or Tatvavada philosophy. It is also the center of Daasa Saahitya, a form of literature that originated in Udupi.

Thousands of devotees throng the Krishna temple throughout the year to catch a glimpse of Sri Krishna. The daily sevas (offerings to Bhagwan) and administration of the Krishna Matha are managed by the Ashta Mathas (eight monasteries). Each of the Ashta Mathas performs temple management activities for two years in a cyclical order. They are collectively known as the Ashta Mathagalu in Kannada. Each Ashta Matha has its own deity which is called Pattada Devaru.

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The expenses of Udupi Krishna Matha are borne by the voluntary contributions of the devotees and by the Ashta Mathas that manage the Krishna Matha. The Krishna Matha, which owned large tracts of land, lost it all in 1975 due to the enactment of the Land Reforms Act 1975 by the Government of Karnataka.

During the Paryaya festival, held once every two years, the temple management is handed over to the next Ashta Matha, which has been entrusted with the responsibility of running the temple by turns. Each of the Mathas is headed by a Swami, who will be in charge of the temple during his Paryaya. The Paryaya is held in even years like 2008, 2010, and 2012. The Paryaya tradition has completed 500 years as of 2021. Festivals like Makara Sankranti, Ratha Sapthami, Madhva Navami, Hanuman Jayanthi, Sri Krishna Janmashtami, Navaratri Mahotsava, Madhva Jayanti (Vijaya Dashami), Naraka Chathurdashi, Deepavali, Geetha Jayanthi, etc. are celebrated grandly by the Paryaya Matha every year.^[3]

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A vessel to cook rice along with a ladle is a legacy of the Udupi Shri Krishna Matha that dates back to the time of Sri Madhavacharya; it is known as Akshaya Patra. The handing over of the ladle and vessel is a ritual during the Paryaya that symbolically signifies the handing over of the rights for the worship and administration of the Udupi Sri Krishna Matha.^[4]

Vidyadheesha Swami of Palimaru Matha had taken a unique vow at the time of Paryaya to dedicate a golden tower for the sanctum sanctorum of Sri Krishna temple. A team of skilled artisans led by Venkatesha Shet crafted the golden tower in accordance with the architecture of the coastal area. More than 100 kg of gold has been used for this tower, in addition to 300 kg of copper and 900 kg of silver. The sanctum sanctorum measures 2,500 square feet and 40 gms of gold has been used for each square foot.^[5]

Though the architectural pattern of the temple has remained unchanged for centuries, its outer appearance was changed by renovations carried out during different periods.

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Annadanam

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Annadanam is a daily ritual at Sri Krishna Matha In Udupi. The temple offers prasadam, which is popularly called Anna Brahma. With thousands partaking of the Udupi Krishna Temple prasadam, many tonnes of rice are required daily and the quantity goes up manifold on special occasions like the Paryaya. Daily around 5,000 people eat the prasadam offered by the temple. The number of devotees swells to 30,000 or more during festivals and other important religious functions like the Paryaya.

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The famous Udupi cuisine traces its roots to the Ashtha Mathas and is satvik to the core – vegetarian and mainly prepared using whole grains, vegetables, and fresh fruits. The Prasadam served daily is rich with flavours of jaggery and coconut. No garlic or onion is used in its preparation. The main course usually consists of rice, sambar, rasam, vegetables, and sweets (payasam) served on banana leaves. 

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Prasadam is usually served at noon from 11.30 am to 2:30 pm while the evening timings are from 8.00 pm to 9.30 pm. A special delicacy served during lunch is called ‘Gojju’, which is prepared using pineapple, brinjal, and bitter gourd.^[6]

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Temples Around Udupi

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The Sapta Kshetra Darshan Tour covers seven Holy Places in Karnataka – Udupi Krishna temple, Kollur Mookambika, Sringeri Sharadaamba, Horanadu Annaporneshwari, Dharmasthala Manjunatha, Kuke Subramanya, and Mangalore Mangaladevi.

The Important Temples Around Udupi are:-

1. Shri Durga Temple at Indrali.

2. Shri Mahisha Mardini Temple at Bailur circa 12th -13th C.A.D.

3. Shri Durga Temple at Kannarpadi circa 11th C.A.D.

4. Shri Durga Temple at Puttur circa 12th -13th C.A.D.

5. Shri Janardana & Mahakali Temples at Ambalpadi Circa 10th C.A.D.

6. Shri Mahishamardini Temple at Kadiyali Circa 7th -8th C.A.D.

7. Shri Mahisha Mardini Temple at Kunjar Near Pajaka Kshetra.

8. Panatha Padmanabha Temple, Near M.G.M. College, Paniyadi.

9. Shri Venkataramana Temple at Udupi.

10. Shri Shankaranarayana Temple at Udupi.

11. Shri Venugopala Temple at Manipal.

12. Shri Vadabhadeshwar Temple at Malpe.

13. Shri Sharada Temple at Udupi.^[7]

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References

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^[1] https://www.iskconmangalore.in/visit-uidipi

^[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanaka_Dasa

^[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Udupi_Sri_Krishna_Matha

^[4] https://imvoyager.com/udupi-sri-krishna-matha-udupi-temple-guide/

^[5] https://travel.earth/sri-krishna-temple-in-udupi/

^[6] https://themitpost.com/lore-legends-udupi-krishna-temple/

^[7] https://udipikrishnamutt.com/

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