History, Importance, Timings, Festivals, Architecture, Unique way to Darshan, Interesting Facts and Travel Guide of Shri Krishna Temple, Udupi, Karnataka, India
Shri Krishna temple or Shri Krishna Math Temple located in a small town called Udupi in Karnataka is solely dedicated to Lord Shri Krishna. Here, Lord Krishna is worshipped as Balakrishna and beautiful idol of Balaswarup of Lord is installed in Shri Krishna temple Udupi. This historical temple is also famed as Udupi temple and one of the major pilgrimage destination of South India where thousands of devotee visits around the year to get the blessing of Lord Shri Krishna. Udupi is also one of the seven Mukti Stala or Mukti Kshetra of Karnataka which were created on the land reclaimed from the sea by Lord Parasuram, thus these seven Mukti Stala is also called as Parasuram Kshetra. Sri Krishna Temple and matha at Udupi was set up by Sri Madhvacharya in the 13th century.
Very popular and interesting legend associated with Shri Krishna Temple, Udupi, the great saint and Vaishnava Aacharya Shri Madhavacharya wanted to build a temple of Lord Shri krishna where he and his devotees could worship the god in Udupi. Madhavacharya was founder of Dwaita Philosophy and one of the three great Acharyas. Coincidently the Dwarka, one of the Sapt Puri of Hinduism and main place of Sri krishna in past times. The beautiful idol of Krishna, covered with clay or Gopi Chandan was loaded into ship from Dwarka, the people were unaware of this and the sailors had started their journey towards the South India. Here the ship got stuck up near shore of the Udupi at Malpe due to heavy storm. The Madhavacharya was reciting the poem of Srikrishna near to the shore of the Arabian Sea. The saint looked at the ship and waved his saffron cloth for the indication of safety and for this appreciation the sailors gave the heavy clay clump to the saint. When Madhavacharya was on way home, the clay broke and the idol of Lord Shri Krishna was revealed. The Pratima of Srikrishna was tried to be lifted by the 30 devotees but they were unable to uplift it while the saint single handedly lifted this by easy effort. The Madhavacharya took it in to lake to purify and then placed in to temple. The idol is placed facing towards the west or Paschimabhimukha which is different from the ideal position of idols, which is east facing.
The unique thing about the temple is that the lord is worshiped through the window which has the nine holes called NAVGRAHA KITIKI. The tradition to worship the lord through the window is maintained. The window is beautifully carved and coated with silver. This area has a vibe of an ashram where the devotees spend their life in worshiping the Srikrishna. There are numerous temples surrounding the main temples, one of the ancient and popular one is ANANTHESHWARA TEMPLE. There is a lake called Madhava Sarovar where the Madhavacharya purified the idol after being brought from the sailors.
It is said that King Rama Bhoja, an keen follower of Parashurama had installed the statue of Anantheshwara. Another important temple is Chandreshwara temple, it is on the place where God Chandra did penance, to get rid of the curse of Daksha Prajapathi. Devotee and tourist first visit Chandreswara, Anantheshwara temples and then visit Sri Krishna temple.
Sri Krishna temple and Mutt is managed by the Astha Mathas namely, Palimaru, Pejavara, Puttige, Adamaru, Sodhe, Kaniyooru, Shirur and Krishnapura. These eight Mathas are located in the Udupi which were established by Sri Madhavacharya and assigned his direct disciples These mathas works to spread the Dvaita philosophy and also administer the Udupi Krishna Temple in rotation scheme called Paryaya.
It is said that during the 16th century the Shri Vadiraja’s rule, kanakadasa who was solely a worshiper of Lord Krishna was not allowed to enter the temple due to the lower caste so Krishna created a hole in the window and also turned faces towards him for his worship and this ritual is followed by everyone today. This hole is famed as Kanakankindi and window is known as Kanakadasa window.
The temple's daily prayer starts exactly at 4 a.m. with the blowing of the conch and the beating of the 'Nagari' in the gopuram outside the Mutt premises. With this the Swamiars and other employees of the Mutt wake up, with their regular schedule after having a bath.
All Hindu festivals are celebrated enthusiastically in the temple. The Chaitra month is celebrated with great enthusiasm. The bhogh is offered to every devotee who comes to the worship during the festival period. Janmashtami is one of the important festivals of this temple, where thousands of devotees come to worship the Lord. Also, Deepavali, Ramnavmi, Hanuman Jayanti, Saptosvar, etc. are celebrated here with great zeal.
How to Reach Shri Krishna Temple Udupi, The Temple Town, Karnataka, India
Shri Krishna temple mutt is very popular and highly sacred site for Hinduism where thousands of devotee visits throughout the year. It is located in heart of Udupi thus easily access by public or private vehicle. As Udupi is major city and district place of Karnataka, it is very well connected with all cities of state via road, rail and air network. Udupi has major railway junction from where you can get train to all major cities of India. Mangalore airport is the nearest airline from Udupi at just 60 km. You can also get buses and private vehicle to reach Udupi easily. Udupi is located at 175 km from Gokarna, around 400 km from state capital Bangalore.
