A Memorable Visit To Udupi

A long cherished dream came true last weekend. I visited Udupi for the first time with my mum and brother. 3 days of great food, scenic locations, darshan and most of all some QUIET!

After reaching Udupi on sunday afternoon, we had a (great) lunch first and darshan next! As per custom, we first visited the Chandramouleeshwara, Anantheshwara and then Krishna at the Krishna Math. He is 'Muddhu Krishna' no doubt. He is so endearing!



In the evening we went to Paajaka, the birthplace of Madhwacharya (above pic). Durga Betta - as the name suggests, is a temple for Durga on a hill top. Both places are calm, serene and full of positive vibrations. In Paajaka, we could see the spots related to the events in Acharya's childhood. Like where he started his 'aksharabhyasa', the tamarind tree where he repaid his father's debt through tamarind seeds which turned to gold in the hands of the creditor.

On monday afternoon, after a great lunch at Udupi Math, we hired a taxi to visit the nearby places: First stop: Anegudde Vinayaka at Kumbhasi. The name Kumbhasi rang a bell with my mother and I and we enquired if this place had anything to do with Saint Sri Vadiraja. It did. Hoovinakere which is only 4kms from Kumbhasi is the birthplace of the saint. On the way to Hoovinakere there are paddy fields on either side and the greenery was a relief to our tired eyes! We saw the field 'Gowri gaddhe' (above pic) where Sri Vadiraja was born. There is a small idol of the saint within the field. This visit was unexpected and we were happier for it.

Next stop: Hattiangadi Siddhi Vinayaka. Then Kollur Mookambika. The road to Kollur has thick forests on either side. After darshan we left for Sringeri. Night stay.After darshan the next morning of Sringeri Sharadamba and the other sannidhi (below pic), we knew one thing - we have to come back again to this serene ashram. The place has such a calming effect.

Next stop: Dharmasthala. Greenery again and it had started to drizzle! 'Beautiful' is the word I could think of as we approached the place. The Manjunatheshwara linga is consecrated by Sri Vadiraja. The most crowded of all the temples we saw so far. Judging by the number of people, I guess this could be one of the richest temples in South India.


Anyway, after a good lunch we left for Kukke Subrahmanya.The road was covered with thick forest on either sides (again!). It was a treat for my eyes that only looks at the computer monitor otherwise. There were many streams along the way and I asked the car to be stopped to take pictures.

Kukke Subrahmanya is frequented by those who have Kalasarpa dosha in their horoscopes. The river here is called 'Kumaradhara' and the main deity is Subrahmanya or Karthikeya who killed the demon-snake Tarakasura. There is also a Samputa- Narasimha temple built by Madhvacharya and the idol is worshipped by the Saint of Subrahmanya Math. It is such a quaint and quiet place. We stayed on there as our bus to Bangalore was at 9.30 P.M.

It was the best trip I have had in a looong time. The next long weekend is during Christmas....