Udupi

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UDUPI

 

When the time comes to go on a pilgrimage to the

places of intense interest for Maadhva-s, 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.

 

roupyapiiTham kumaaraadriH kumbhaasii cha

dhvajeshvaraH |

kruuDagokarNamuukaambaaH saptaitaa

mokshadaayikaaH ||

 

raupya piiTha (Udupi), kumaaraadri (Subrahmanya),

kumbhaasi (Kumbhasi), dhvajeshvara (Koteswar), kruuDa

(Shankaranarayana), gokarNa (Gokarna) and muukaambaa

(Kollur) are the seven givers-of-mukti (holy places).

 

>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 Bhaava Prakasha on

the

Sumadhva Vijaya records thus:

 

rajatapiiThapurasya oDipu ityapabhrashhTa

saMGYaa

 

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

Chandramaulishwara

in Udupi, the place may have been known by the name

Udupi, after its ancient deity.

 

It is quite evident that this idea developed very

recently. 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 Dwaarakaa) 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 oDabhaaNDiishvara. There appears to be some

kind of relationship between the words oDabhaaNDa 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.

 

Shivaruupya - 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:

 

vedaadrisad.h rajatapiiThapureshvaraabhyaam.h

|

graamo vibhuushitataraH shivaruupyanaamaa ||

 

(Su. Vi. II-10)

 

"The village stretching up to Indrali Hills in the

East (presentday Manipal) and presided over by Lord

Ananteshwara is

known as Shivaruupya."

 

There is a popular legend which tells us how this

ancient village became Shiva's village in ancient

times:

 

King Raamabhoja 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,

maangoDu, arikoDu and taangoDu. 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 maangoDu 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 taangoDu 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 Raamabhoja worshipped Lord

Parashuraama 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 Parashuraama

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 Vaadiraaja Tiirtha, in his masterpiece Tiirtha

Prabandha extols Ananteshwara in this way:

 

ivaantaryaamitaaM sviiyaaM priyaan.h prati

nibodhayan.h |

dayaavaarinidhiH shaiviiM shilaamaashritya

shobhate |

iiSasyaahiiSapadaviim bhaasayanniva

bhaaviniim.h |

adhyaaste sheshashayanaH snigdhaaM

liN^gashilaam.h

 

(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, Nadillaaya

(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 Bhaava

Prakaashika on the Sumadhva Vijaya:

 

svadarshanoruvratine nishiite |

praaptaaya bhogiindragato hariH prabhuH |

svaM darshayitvaa khalu kuJNjamaadhava |

dvijaaya tadvat.h pratimaaM vyadhaapayat.h ||

 

Even now the deity is known as Ananteshwara,

Anantaasana and Anantapadmanaabha. `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

Achaarya 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.

 

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 muuDu devaalaya (mahendra

digaalaya).

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

Mutt. Sri Vishvapati

Tiirtha in his commentary on the Madhva Vijaya records

this custom:

 

rajatapiiThapure amaraalayadvayaM vartate |

tatra puurvaalayasthaH prathamato namyaH |

pashchimaalayasthaH pashchaannamya iti

sampradaaya 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 ashhTa-maTha Swamiji-s visit the

temple in this order before they ceremoniously take

charge of

the management of Sri Krishna Mutt during the paryaaya

festival.

 

 

 

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