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| Madhav sarovar - you can see the general queue at the other side |
Links for all parts
Leaving Udupi without visiting the iconic Sreekrishna Temple is unthinkable. For visiting the temple, the early morning of an uneventful day is the best time. There will be less crowd, calmness, one can roam around the temple premises and also take a sneak peek at the excellent temple architecture. Each temple has its own story to tell, and so does the Udupi temple.
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| Path to sanctum |
The temple is linked to the 13th-century saint Madhvacharya, who also founded the Dvaita school of Vedanta. According to mythology, the temple's idol of Lord Krishna was originally worshipped by Rukmini in Dwaraka. After being lost at sea for centuries, it was rediscovered by Madhvacharya in a miraculous event. He calmed a storm to save a ship near the Malpe coast, and as thanks, the ship's captain offered him a lump of sacred clay. Within the clay, Madhvacharya found the idol of a young Krishna holding a churning rod and rope, which he installed in Udupi. The Krishna idol here faces west, which is very rare.
Another famous story involves Kanakadasa, a poet-saint of a lower caste, who was barred from entering the temple. It is believed that his devotion moved Lord Krishna, and the temple wall miraculously cracked, opening a window known as Kanakana Kindi, through which Krishna blessed him. Even today, devotees view the idol through this window.
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| Udupi Sreekrishna temple |
From an administrative viewpoint, the temple follows the Paryaya system, where eight monasteries take turns managing it every two years. Free meals are available here to all devotees.
Morning
It’s not easy to wake up early in the morning when the previous day was spent traveling. However, it doesn’t make sense to come all the way here and sleep. Contradicting viewpoints indeed! Indecision cost us time, and finally, we decided to go to the temple. Divya and Niha stayed back, as they wanted to sleep for some more time. I called Gokul and Deepa, but they were also embraced by the lord of sleep. Finally, mom and I decided to go and walked towards the auto stand, which was not far. From there, the temple is around 8 km away. Even though it’s a bus route, buses are not frequent.
After a while, the auto driver dropped us near the temple gate, and we went inside. The first structure we came across was the Sreekrishna Math. This structure, I remember from my previous visit almost a decade ago. Next, we saw an endless queue. For a while, mom thought of going back to the hotel as it seemed difficult to get darshan anytime soon, and she hadn’t eaten.
We walked further and finally reached the front entrance. There was a small hope of having a special queue here, which could bypass the long queue for a fee. Nowadays, special queues are available in many famous temples. Some people are against this, as they consider paying an amount to make the darshan faster to be unfair. I don’t disagree that staying in the general queue to view the deity is the right way. However, when one is in a distant city and all you have is a couple of hours, this may be the best option. In some temples, this system is very straight forward; in others, they offer a costly pooja, and paying for it allows 4-5 people (the number varies by temple) a faster darshan. Maybe this is done so that everyone has some kind of feel-good factor. In most temples, whether you are in a special queue or a general queue, you might see the deity from the same distance (as both queues generally merge near the sanctum). However, in some temples, people in the special queue are allowed to go much closer to the deity.
When checked, the special queue seemed to be starting somewhere ahead. We climbed the steps and went to the first floor. Here, we could see the other end of the queue. Three or four people were carrying a pre-teen girl from the queue to outside. It looked like she had dizziness. Our queue slowly moved ahead, and there was a counter where a lady, probably in her late forties, was explaining to a group that doing annadan (I didnt hear the name clearly, but it was associated with 3-4 special darshan tickets) was more economical than paying individually for the special darshan queue. Well, we moved ahead and stopped at the counter for the special darshan and joined the new queue. This was also not short; there were a lot of people in the queue. We passed through a couple of wooden (made fully of wood but not decorated in any way) vestibules. After a long wait, we finally reached the sanctum, stayed there for some time, and then exited. After buying a couple of laddoos, we came out and explored nearby shops to buy some souvenirs. Later we slowly, we walked forward and reached the 'Math' again. Here, we visited two more temples.
Shri Chandramouleeshwara Temple
Dedicated to Lord Shiva, this temple holds great historical and spiritual significance. According to mythology, the temple is associated with Chandra (the moon god), who is believed to have worshipped Lord Shiva here to be relieved of a curse. Pleased with his devotion, Shiva appeared in the form of a linga, which is now enshrined in the temple.
Anantheshwara Temple
Primarily a Shiva temple, it holds unique significance as a place where Lord Vishnu is also revered. It is considered one of the oldest temples in the region, predating the nearby Udupi Sri Krishna Temple. According to mythology, the temple was established by Parashurama, the sixth avatar of Lord Vishnu, after reclaiming the land of coastal Karnataka from the sea.
St. Mary’s Island
Post-lunch, it was time to visit St. Mary’s Island. I had visited the island when I was in Udupi last time. However, it was not from the beach but from Malpe fishing harbor. Divya had also visited the island during her previous role as a college lecturer. For the rest, it was their first time. Gokul bought the tickets, and we stood in a temporary queue around 2-3 in the afternoon. Finally, our boat came, and people boarded.
The challenge was that there is no jetty here, and the sea is very shallow. You might wonder how on earth they would push this boat into the sea with so many passengers and waves. Certainly, Yamaha's renowned engine cannot operate on sand! Well, they used the ancient method: employing several people to manually push the boat into the sea. However, there was a problem—the boat had more than enough people. It seemed to exceed the safe number recommended for a boat of that size. The organizers came inside and asked some visibly overweight passengers to disembark temporarily. Then, the manual laborers resumed pushing the boat. Finally, the boat moved further into the sea, the engines started, and we sailed towards the island, leaving the beautiful Malpe Beach behind.
These are a group of four small islands known for their unique hexagonal basalt rock formations, created by volcanic activity millions of years ago. Legend says Vasco da Gama stopped here in 1498 before reaching Kerala and named the islands after St. Mary. The island is not yet commercialized apart from boat rides, so remember to carry enough water and snacks.
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| St. Mary's island |
We got down at one end and walked towards the other, along a shell-laden path. I spent time photographing the unique rock formations, while my mom hesitated to go further. Divya mostly roamed around with Niha, and Gokul tried to invent new jokes along the way. Many areas I visited during my previous trip were now off-limits to tourists, marked with red flags.
We took the last boat back to Malpe, walked through the crowd, and reached a restaurant for refreshments. After resting briefly at the hotel restaurant, we returned to the beach road. Along the way, we stopped at roadside shacks for snacks like potato twisters and juices. Since it was Diwali, there were dance and music programs organized. After dinner, everyone returned to their rooms, while I walked toward the sea. I watched some performances on stage for about 10-20 minutes before spending an unknown amount of time by the sea.
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| Hexagonal rock structures |
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| Potato twister |
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| Looking back... |
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| Gokul and Deepa enjoying the sunshine |
Sajeev
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