Udupi, 
the city of Sri Krishna
 and Madhvacarya




Udupi


the city of Sri Krishna
 and Madhvacarya




When the time comes to go on a pilgrimage to the places of intense interest for Madhvas, Udupi is the place to use as home base. There are seven famous centres of pilgrimage in the North and South Kanara districts known as Tulunad. 

From Gokarna in the north of Tulunad to Subrahmanya in the south is a distance of some 200 miles. Gokarna is in North Kanara while Udupi, Subrahmanya, Kumbhasi, Koteswar, Shankaranarayana and Kollur are in South Kanara. Gokarna is in the region of one hundred miles to the north of Udupi and Subrahmanya approximately one hundred miles to the south. 

The meaning and origin of the word `Udupi’:

Udupi is known as Odipu in the Tulu language. Narayana Panditacharya in his notes called Bhava Prakasha on the Sumadhva Vijaya records thus:

rajatapithapurasya odipu ityapabhrashta sanjna

The modern name Udupi must have developed from this ancient folk name. 

A different etymology is provided by certain other scholars, but there is not too much credence given to it. According to them the original Sanskrit name is derived from udupa (udu ‘star’ + pa ‘lord’) — lord of the stars, namely, the moon. Udupi then refers to Shiva, who bears the moon on his head. Since there is the ancient temple of Chandramaulishvara in Udupi, the place may have been known by the name Udupi, after its ancient deity. 

The author of the Sumadhva Vijaya opines that the word is of Tulu origin. The word `Udupi’ also does not seem to have been associated with Shiva anywhere else in the Sanskrit literature. 

Even if the word is to be considered to be originating from a Sanskrit root, one can provide a better explanation and etymology. `Udupi’ also means boat or raft in Sanskrit: 

udupam tu plavah kolah

The word `Udupi’ can then mean a place to which Lord Krishna came (from Dwaraka) by boat. 

The Tulu word Odipu can also be associated with a more or less similar meaning. There is a temple at Malpe which is known as odabhandishvara. There appears to be some kind of relationship between the words odabhanda and odipu. Its Kannada version is `Udupa’. The root element of all these words is odepu, meaning “cracking,” or “breaking.” Until the secret of this word is cracked, the origin of the modern word Udupi will remain shrouded in mystery. 

This temple at Malpe is well worth a visit and appears to be of great vintage. It is only a short distance to the beach from the temple and so it is possible to walk to where Sri Madhva saved the ship carrying the icon of Sri Krishna from being wrecked during a storm. 

The beach itself is quite pleasant to walk along. At one time cargo ships that had been decommissioned were drawn up on the beach and cut up for scrap. This was some distance to the south but was very interesting to watch. 

Shivarupya – Shivalli

The original name of the village of Udupi is Shivalli. Later on an attempt was made to Sanskritize this name into Shivaruupya because Shiva dwelt there. The author of the (Su)Madhva Vijaya refers to this name: 

vedadrisadh rajatapithapureshvarabhyam
gramo vibhushitatarah shivarupyanama
(Su. Vi. II-10)

”The village stretching up to Indrali Hills in the East (present day Manipal) and presided over by Lord Ananteshwara is known as Shivarupya.”

There is a popular legend which tells us how this ancient village became Shiva’s village in ancient times: 

King Ramabhoja decided to perform a sacrifice and so began to plough the land in preparation. A serpent was hit by the plough and died on the spot. To atone for this sin the king constructed four shrines in the four corners of the village. 

The four serpent shrines are known as muchchilkodu, mangodu, arikodu and tangodu. Actually these are Skanda shrines. About two miles to the South-East on the way to Alevoor is the muchchilkodu shrine near Kukkikatte. This shrine which is under the jurisdiction of Sri Pejawar Mutt has been renovated beautifully and the area looks like a peaceful hermitage. Another Skanda shrine is located at mangodu about three miles to the South West of Udupi. This is also renovated nicely. About three miles to the North-East of Udupi by the side of Puttur temple on the National Highway is the arikodu shrine. This is in very bad condition as the walls have collapsed. Also, there is no approach road. 

The place known as tangodu which is supposed to be in the North-East corner of the village has not yet been located. It needs to be identified and renovated. In the middle of the village King Ramabhoja worshipped Lord Parashurama in the form of a Shivalinga on a silver seat. This temple is now known to us as Ananteshwara. 

Ananteshwara:
When Lord Vishnu took the incarnation of Parashurama on this Earth he was “trained” by Shiva in the art of archery. To commemorate this student-teacher drama, Lord Vishnu wanted to get himself identified with the linga so that both the teacher and the student were worshipped simultaneously by the devotees. Sriman Narayana, reclining on a serpent, came down to this temple and stayed in the linga. This is a rather unusual incident and the concept of Ananteshwara came to vogue as a result of this. 

Sri Vadiraja Tirtha, in his masterpiece Tirtha Prabandha extols Ananteshwara in this way: 

ivantaryamitam sviyam priyan prati nibodhayan
dayavarinidhih shaivim shilamashritya shobhate 
isasyahisapadavim bhasayanniva bhavinim
adhyaste sheshashayanah snigdham lingashilam
(Tii Pra. I.14-15)

’The Almighty Lord got himself merged in this Shivalinga to proclaim to the devotees that he rests in the soul of Shiva also. To prove this cosmic truth Vishnu rests in this Shivalinga.’ 

Before the birth of Sri Madhva, his father, Nadillaya (a.k.a. Madhya-geha Bhatta), had worshipped this Deity to beget a male child. It is believed that he used to pray to Lord Bhujangashayana enshrined in this idol. Narayana Pandita makes a reference to this in his commentary Bhava Prakashika on the Sumadhva Vijaya: 

svadarshanoruvratine nishite |
praptaaya bhogindragato harih prabhuh |
svam darshayitva khalu kunjamadhava |
dvijaya tadvat pratimam vyadhapayat ||

Even now the deity is known as Ananteshwara, Anantasana and Anantapadmanabha. `Ananta’ means the serpent Shesha. Hence Ananteshwara means the Lord Narayana reclining on a serpent. Ananta is also another name of Lord Vishnu. Lord Vishnu enshrined in the Sivalinga came to be designated as Ananteshwara. 

Ananteshwara was a famous temple and pilgrim centre of this region. It was also a centre of Vedantic philosophy and formed a suitable background for the advent of Sriman Madhvacharya. 

It was because of this temple that the place was ranked as foremost among the seven centres of pilgrimage. One should not forget that the Nadillaya couple could beget an illustrious son who was destined to be the great Acarya only because of their twelve years of worship at the foot of this deity Bhujangashayana (“the one who reclines on a serpent”). Hence this temple has great historic significance. 

Sri Madhva used to sit in the Ananteshwara temple and teach his disciples. Even today the place where he used to sit is considered to be a holy shrine. The plank where he used to sit is still there but there is no icon of Sri Madhva. At one time a beautiful icon had been prepared to be installed here, but when the time of installation came around, Sri Madhva appeared in a dream and ordered, ‘Please do not put any stone on me,’ thus indicating that he was always and already present there. To this day the stone icon is kept outside and the devotees offer worship to the seat itself. 

This shrine is very difficult for the devotee to see. One is not allowed to enter inside the temple itself, and the only way to see this place is through a small window on the southern side of the outer enclosure of the temple. 

The Ananteshwara temple is an amazing place. As one enters from the street, one can see the huge linga which is deep inside the temple and lit by oil lamps. Inside the temple, but closer to the front, there is a small icon of Ganapati. To come here and pay respects to Lord Ananteshwara is a very calming experience and it is very easy for the hours to simply slip by without one noticing it. 

When you step back and take in the view at the temple you can only marvel at the huge slabs of granite which make up the roof. It is the largest temple in this region in both its shape and its historic significance. 

In the South-West corner of the compound there is a small shrine of Ayyappa. Each year the worshippers of Ayyappa come here in their thousands while on pilgrimage. (Note: This deity is not worshipped by Madhvas.) The Ayyappa shrine in the Ananteshwara temple is quite famous. Each year, during the month of January, thousands of Ayyappa devotees pour into Udupi each day and take darshana here while on their pilgrimage to Sabarimala. It is an amazing sight to see this huge mass of people, all wearing black cloth, in the one place at the one time. This is a very small shrine indeed and it is hard to believe that so many people make such an effort to come here. Not only do all these pilgrims visit the Ayyappa shrine but they all take bath in the Madhva-Sarovara and have darshana of Sri Krishna. 

The Ayyappa shrine is situated in the South-West corner of the Ananteshwara temple compound and there is a small gateway here. Everyone, including Madhvas, who enters or leaves the compound by this route stop and pay their respects. 

”Ayyappa” is not worshipped by Ayyappa’s name by Madhva-s but it is said that the “Ayyappa” in Sabarimalai is none other than Sri Veda Vyasa (Sriman Madhvacharya’s Guru in Badarikashrama and incarnation of the Lord Vishnu Himself). 

In his narration of Srimad Acarya’s meeting with Sri Veda Vyasa in the 7th chapter of the great epic Sumadhva Vijaya, Sri Narayana Panditacharya describes the Lord as “achalasana yogapattika varakaksya sakridaptamishhtadam” which means that Sri Veda Vyaasa was sitting under a tree with the pattika tied around his knees and in deep penance. If one notices the stature of “Ayyappa,” one finds it is the same as the one just described. 

Chandramaulishvara
To the east of the Ananteshwara temple stands a smaller temple wherein presides Shiva, known as Chandramaulishvara. Because the temple is a very ancient one, precious little is known about its history. 

This temple of Chandramaulishvara is smaller than that of Ananteshwara. To enter this temple one has to descend steps. It appears that originally there must have been a tank in that place which was later filled up with mud and a temple built on top of the fill. 

We read in the Madhva Vijaya that the temple was originally known as mudu devalaya (mahendra digalaya). Since it was on the Eastern side of the Chief temple Ananteshwara, it came to be referred to as the Eastern temple. 

There is a special tradition the devotees participate in before entering the shrine of Lord Krishna. First they must visit Chandramauleshvara and then they go on to Ananteshwara. From there they proceed to Sri Krishna Matha. Sri Vishvapati Tiirtha in his commentary on the Madhva Vijaya records this custom:

rajatapithapure amaralayadvayam vartate | 
tatra purvalayasthah prathamato namyah | 
pashchimalayasthah pashchannamya iti sampradaya niyamah || 
II.14 

’There are two temples, the Eastern one and the Western one. One must first salute Lord Shiva at the Eastern temple and then go to Lord Ananteshwara in the Western temple. This is the custom followed here.’ 

Even now the Udupi ashta-matha Swamijis visit the temple in this order before they ceremoniously take charge of the management of Sri Krishna Mutt during the paryaya festival.

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