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Udupi Sri Krishna Matha

Udupi, Udupi district, Karnataka

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Udupi Sri Krishna Matha
Photo: Ashok Prabhakaran from Chennai, India, CC BY-SA 2.0

About

The Sri Krishna Matha of Udupi was founded in the 13th century by Sri Madhvacharya, teacher of Dvaita Vedanta. It feels like a living ashram, where worship, study and service go on every day. Here the Lord is not seen directly but through a silver-plated window with nine openings, the Navagraha Kindi. Worship and management are handled in turn, two years at a time, by eight monasteries called the Ashta Mathas. Every devotee who comes at noon is served a prasad meal, which is why Udupi is also called 'Anna Brahma'. It is also a great centre of Dasa Sahitya, the tradition of Kannada devotional songs.

The story

Tradition says Sri Madhvacharya found this murti of Shri Krishna inside a large lump of gopichandana (sacred clay) and installed it at Udupi. He set up eight mathas for his disciples, and the swamis of these mathas still serve the Lord in turn. The best-loved story here is that of the devotee Kanakadasa. Once a chieftain in the Vijayanagara army, he gave everything up to sing to Shri Krishna. By the custom of that time he could not go inside, so he stayed in a small hut behind the temple and played his tambura and sang outside the wall. Devotees believe the Lord, moved by his true devotion, turned towards him and a crack opened in the wall so that Kanakadasa could have darshan. The window at that spot is now called Kanakana Kindi, with an arch named after him. Historians think the murti always faced west and that this is a later folk story, but for devotees it remains the most beautiful memory of true bhakti.

Visiting

October to February is pleasant; Paryaya and Janmashtami are very crowded. Do take the noon prasad meal. The ancient Anantheshwara temple is right beside the matha, and Malpe beach is a short drive away.

Festivals

  • Paryaya: every two years (in even years, in January) the temple's service passes to the next matha
  • Shri Krishna Janmashtami
  • Makar Sankranti, Ratha Saptami and Madhva Navami
  • Gita Jayanti and Vijayadashami (Madhva Jayanti)

Famous temples

Sources