Udupi Shri Krishna Matha- Karnataka

Address

Udupi Shri Krishna Matha- Karnataka Temple Car St, Sri Krishna Temple Complex, Thenkpete, Maruthi Veethika, Udupi, Karnataka 576101 Phone: 0820 252 0598

Diety

Lord Balkrishna (child form of Lord Krishna)

Introduction

Udupi Sri Krishna Temple is a well-known historic temple dedicated to Lord Krishna and Dvaita Matha located in the city of Udupi in Karnataka, India. The Matha area resembles a living Aashram, a holy place for daily devotion and living. Surrounding the Shri Krishna Temple are several temples namely the Udupi Anantheshwara Temple which is over a thousand years old. The temple is considered as one of the holiest pilgrimage sites in Southern India. It is also the hub of Daasa Sahitya.

Puranic Significance

The temple was founded in the 13th century by the Vaishnavite saint and founder of the Dvaiti school of Vedanta, Shri Madhvacharya. It is believed that the saint found the idol of Lord Krishna buried in a large stone ball of sandalwood. There’s an interesting story associated with the discovery of Lord Krishna’s idol that sits at the temple. Udupi Shri Krishna Matha: The Legends According to mythology, when Lord Krishna’s wife Rukmini requested her husband for the idol of Balkrishna, the child form of the Lord, Shri Krishna entrusted Vishwakarma with the task of designing the idol. Vishwakarma made a beautiful idol of Balkrishna with the holy saaligrama stone and gave it to Rukmini for worship. The idol, in the course of being worshipped by hundreds of devotees at Dwaraka with the application of sandalwood paste, got completely covered with the sandalwood paste. It is believed that this same idol is now placed at the temple. As a consequence of the great flood that occurred at the end of the era of Lord Krishna, Dwaraka was completely engulfed by the sea. And the sandalwood covered idol of Lord Krishna also got washed away. Another interesting legend goes about the peculiar west-facing position of the idol at the Temple. It is said that Saint Madhvacharya had originally installed the idol facing east. Kanakadasa, a devout devotee of Lord Krishna, was denied entry to the temple through the main eastern entrance because he was from the lower caste. Desperate to get a glimpse of his Lord, Kanakadasa ran to the western side of the temple, and pressing his eyes through the three holes in the wall, began to pray fervently to Lord Krishna to appear before him. Impressed by his devotion, the Balkrishna turned to the west and made him seen to Kanakadasa through the 9-holed window and the opening on the wall beyond. It was since then that the idol of Balkrishna rests facing west inside the temple. And that’s how began the tradition of offering prayers to the Lord only through the 9-holed window in the western wall of the temple. The hole came to be known as Kanakana Kindi. Saint Madhvacharya and the Idol Decades passed. And then centuries later, a sailor found the idol in the shape of hard rock on an island. He began using the rock to balance his ship. Sometimes later, when his ship was faced with a raging sea storm somewhere beyond the west coast of the South Indian Peninsula, Saint Madhvacharya sensing the danger while meditating on the shore, beseeched Lord Vishnu’s mercy to calm down the angry weather. He then signaled the ship with his garment to sail ashore. After sailing ashore safely, the sailor fell on the Saint’s feet with gratitude and requested him to accept something from his ship as a token of thankfulness. Saint Madhvacharya chose to accept the sandalwood rock as his gift. Later when he happened to break the rock, the idol of Balkrishna emerged from it bit by bit. The Saint was filled with sublime joy and bliss when he realized through his deific vision that it was the same Balkrishna idol that Rukmini worshipped. He immediately decided to bring home the idol of his true devotion to his Matha at Udupi, some 4 km from the shore where he was praying. That shore today is known as the Malpe beach.

Special Features

The 9-holed window, also known as the Kanakadasa window, is attached to a wall in the Chandrasala hall. The hall lends itself a sublime ambience in aid of the holy sound made by numerous bells hanging at its arched entrance, as well as the beautiful glow of the earthen lamps burning in the hall. Devotees either sit there in meditation saying silent prayers or try to peep through the 9-holed window to get a glimpse of the Lord. One corner of the hall holds the shrine of Lord Hanuman in a meditative pose. Overlooking the Chandrasala hall is a four-pillared raised platform with a silver roof. The platform houses the traditional deepastambam, holding the sacred oil lamp. On the right side of the main sanctum in the path of circumambulation stands the statue of the temple’s founder Shri Madhvacharya, while on the northern side of his statue stands the shrine of Lord Panduranga. The holy tank Madhwapushkarani is placed next to the southern entrance of the temple. The eastern entrance to Shri Balkrishna’s sanctum sanctorum is strikingly beautiful flanked by a panchadhatu (5 metals) figure of Lord Vishnu mounted on his Garuda holding conch and discus. The eastern entrance usually remains closed and is open only once a year on the day of Vijaya Dashami.