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A visit to the Udupi Sri Krishna temple
Darshan of Sri Krishna at the Udupi temple.
>From morning 4 o'clock to night 11 o'clock, how His devotees love Him,
serve Him, and offer respects to Him makes one wonder what kind of
extensive knowledge base did the vedic civilization had in serving
God.
Udupi is a small town with a population of about 35,000 in the state
of Karnataka which is in the south-western part of India. Udupi is
about 35 miles from a major city called Mangalore which is
well-connected by trains and buses from Madras and Bangalore. Udupi
is the place where the revered Madhvacharya in the 12th century
installed the diety of Lord Krishna in a temple. Sri Madhavacharya
is the founder of the Dvaita philosophy school, one of the four
Vaisnava schools of Hinduism. Sri Madhvacharya established proper
worship procedures according to the vedic scriptures for Lord Krishna
in this Udupi temple. The deity here attracted devotees of the
"daasa" tradition, some of whom are Purandaradaasa, Vijayadaasa,
and Kanakadaasa. Of these Kanakadaasa's relationship with the temple
is very strong and there are a number of interesting stories of
revelation by Sri Krishna to Kanakadaasa. Sri Madhvacharya's disciples
established eight Maths namely, Kaniyur Math, Sode Math, Puttige Math,
Admar Math, Pejavar Math, Palimar Math, Krishnapur Math and Shirur
Math to facilitate the management of the temple. These Maths take
turns every two years in managing the temple.
To have darshan (visit) of Sri Krishna is a real treat. Other
highlights of a visit to the temple are a delicious feast in the
afternoon and the few minutes association with the
presiding Swamiji following the feast. Every afternoon, people having
questions on spiritual life can get a few minutes to talk to the
Swamiji and get some guidance.
The deity is worshipped fourteen times a day starting at 4 a.m. when
the door is opened. This is the Nirmaalya Visarjana puja. This is
followed by Ushakaala Puja, Aksaya paatra puja-gopuja,
Panchaamrtabhisheka puja, Udvartana puja, Kalasa puja, Tiirtha puja,
Alankara puja, Avasara sanakadi puja, Mahaa puja, Caamara seva puja,
Raatri puja, Mantapa puja - astaavadhaana puja, and lastly Ekaanta seva -
sayanautsava puja. The last puja ends about 11 p.m. During festival
days, it can go on further.
If you have any questions, please write to me.
-Eswar Josyula
