1/17/2016

An important Vaishnava Bhakti centre - Mangalore - The Hindu

TODAY'S PAPER EDITORIAL FEATURES

Published: January 17, 2016 00:00 IST | Updated: January 17, 2016 02:03 IST
January 17, 2016

An important Vaishnava Bhakti centre

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
When there is talk of Udupi, the first thing that comes to your mind is the Sri Krishna Mutt/Temple. The 800-year-old Krishna Temple is
known for its various religious and cultural festivities. Among these festivities, the biennial Paryaya festival is eagerly awaited by the citizens.
In fact, the city gets fully spruced up for the event.
Idol
It was Sri Madhwacharya, the exponent of Dwaita philosophy, who made Udupi, a coastal town, one of the important spiritual centres in the
country. He installed the beautiful idol of Balakrishna there. It is said that this idol was being worshiped by none other than Rukmini in the
Dwapara Yuga. When the town of Dwaraka, where this idol was installed, got submerged in the sea, the disciples of the sculptor, Vishwakarma,
saved it. It is said that in the 13th century, the idol was being carried by sailors of a merchant ship in a lump of Gopichandana.
The sea was rough and the ship was caught in a whirlpool in the Arabian Sea. Sri Madhwacharya saved the ship from sinking at the
Vadabhandeshwara coast at Malpe.
He found the idols of Balakrishna and Balarama in the lump of Gopichandana. He installed the idol of Lord Balarama at the Vadabhandeshwara
Temple in Malpe and that of Balakrishna in Udupi. The Sri Krishna Temple is said to have been constructed at the end of the 13th century.
The idol of Lord Krishna at the temple, with a churning rod in the right hand and a rope in the left, is the only such in the country.
14 pujas a day
The Paryaya swamiji has numerous responsibilities. Lord Krishna has to be worshiped 14 times a day. These pujas, which begin at the crack of
the dawn, culminate late at night.
These pujas are the Nirmalya Visarjana Puja, Usha Kala Puja, Akshaya Patra-Gopuja, Panchamritabhisheka Puja, Udvartana Puja, Kalasha
Puja, Tirtha Puja, Alankara Puja, Avasara Sanakadi Puja, Maha Puja, Chamara Seva Puja, Ratri Puja, Mantapa Puja and Sayanotsava Puja.
The first 10 pujas are held in the forenoon, while the remaining are held in the evening. The pujas begin as early as 4 p.m. and conclude by 11
p.m. The same routine is repeated the next day. Different types of musical instruments are played to mark the different pujas.
Chinnara Santharpane
Sri Krishna Mutt has been known for centuries for its legendary mass-feeding (free food twice daily) to the pilgrims, students,
visitors/invitees and to needy patients in various hospitals. Thus, over 8,000 people are provided with free prasadam everyday. Besides, the
Sri Krishna Mutt has been providing free mid-day meal to nearly 30,000 schoolchildren in private aided schools under its Chinnara
Santharpane scheme.
The Sri Krishna Mutt and the Ashta Mutts have patronised Vedic studies as well as modern education through the educational institutions
established by them. Thus, they have been providing succour to the mind and the body.
The Krishna Mutt has also been providing health-care facilities to poor people without discrimination as to their caste or creed by meeting
their medical expenses. It has also been sponsoring several social, economic, and cultural activities in the Udupi region. This is evidenced by
cultural programmes such as music, dance, drama, Yakshagana Bayalata, Tala Maddale and Harikathas held almost everyday at either
Rajangana or the Madhwa Mantapa. Religious discourses, which provide spiritual solace to the devotees, are held daily.
Festivals
All Hindu festivals are celebrated at the Sri Krishna Mutt with traditional pomp and gaiety. Spiritual activities go on round the year at the
temple. Some of the important festivals celebrated include Ugadi, Matsya Jayanti, Rama Navami, Hanumajayanti, Kurma Jayanti, Akshaya
Tritiya, Vasantotsava, Vasanta Dwadasi, Narasimha Jayanti, Bhagirathi Janmadina, Jayatirtha Punya Tithi, Naga Panchami, Upakarma,
Hayagriva Jayanti, Sri Krishna Jayanti, Vittal Pindi, Ganesh Chaturthi, Bhuvaraha Jayanti, Dadhi Vamana Jayanti, Anantachaturdasi,
Navaratri, Vijayadasami, Madhwa Jayanti, Deepavali, Utthana Dwadasi, Lakshadeepotsava, Saptotsava, and Madhwa Navami.
Udupi ranks as an important centre of Vaishnava Bhakti movement along with Tirumala in Andhra Pradesh and Pandharpur in Maharashtra.
Lord Krishna is known as Anna Brahma because of the feeding activities at Sri Krishna Temple. Lord Vittala at Pandharpur in Maharashtra is
known as Nada Brahma because the devotees keep singing bhajans there. Lord Venkateswara at Tirumala in Andhra Pradesh is known as
Kanchana Brahma because devotees are known to donate there.
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1/17/2016

An important Vaishnava Bhakti centre - Mangalore - The Hindu

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