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Udupi Sri Krishna Matha
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Udupi Sri Krishna Matha
Udupi Shri Krishna Temple is a well-known historic Hindu temple dedicated to Krishna and Dvaita Matha, located in the city of Udupi in Karnataka, India. The Matha area resembles a living ashram, a holy place for daily devotion and living. Surrounding the Shri Krishna Temple are several temples namely the Udupi Anantheshwara Temple which is over a thousand years old.
The Krishna Matha was founded by the Vaishnavite saint Madhvacharya in the 13th century. He was the founder of the Dvaita school of Vedanta. It is believed that Madhvacharya found the vigraha of Krishna in a large ball of gopichandana. As told by Madhvacharya in his Tantrasara Sangraha, the Vigraha was placed initially in the east direction. Due to intense devotion shown by Kanakadasa, the deity is said to have turned Pashchimabhimukha (facing west). All the other Vigrahas in other Ashta Mathas face west as well. Devotees always have darshan of Krishna through the inner window, known as the Navagraha Kindi and the outer window known as the Kanakana Kindi, which is decorated by an arch named after the saint Kanakadasa. A statue has also been erected. A similar window covers the immediate front of the Vigraha and is called Navagraha Kindi. It is often mistaken to be the Kanakana Kindi.
The temple opens at 5:30 hours IST. The unique feature of the temple is that the deity is worshipped through a silver-plated window with nine holes (Navagraha Kindi). The temple also offers prasada at noon and is popularly called Anna Brahma as it feeds a vast number of devotees.
Kanakana Kindi, or Kanaka’s Window, is a small viewing aperture to the western wall of main temple hall where the devotee can have a glimpse (darshana) of the central idol (vigraha) of Lord Krishna. The legends link this kindi to Kanakadasa, a Haridasa saint in early modern India.
German scholar Hermann Friedrich Mogling documented the oral traditions about Kanakadasa in the 1860s, roughly 200 years after the events. The legends at that time were slightly different from the present day legend.
Kanakadasa was born Veera Nayaka an army chieftain of the Kuruba community in the Vijayanagara Kingdom. After losing a battle, Veera Nayaka became a dasa and devoted himself to singing devotional songs praising Krishna.
When Kanakadasa came to Udupi as a pilgrim, Sri Vadiraja Tirtha, the chief priest of the temple, arranged a roadside hut for him behind the temple. As a non-Brahmin, Kanakadasa was not allowed to enter the temple. He spent his time in the hut playing his tambura and singing, separated from the Krishna idol by the temple wall.
According to legend recorded by Mogling, Krishna's idol turned westward in response to Kanakadasa's devotion. During an earthquake one night, a crack appeared in the shrine wall, allowing Kanakadasa to see the idol. When Vadiraja learned about this, he widened the crack into a window rather than sealing it.
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Udupi Sri Krishna Matha
Udupi Shri Krishna Temple is a well-known historic Hindu temple dedicated to Krishna and Dvaita Matha, located in the city of Udupi in Karnataka, India. The Matha area resembles a living ashram, a holy place for daily devotion and living. Surrounding the Shri Krishna Temple are several temples namely the Udupi Anantheshwara Temple which is over a thousand years old.
The Krishna Matha was founded by the Vaishnavite saint Madhvacharya in the 13th century. He was the founder of the Dvaita school of Vedanta. It is believed that Madhvacharya found the vigraha of Krishna in a large ball of gopichandana. As told by Madhvacharya in his Tantrasara Sangraha, the Vigraha was placed initially in the east direction. Due to intense devotion shown by Kanakadasa, the deity is said to have turned Pashchimabhimukha (facing west). All the other Vigrahas in other Ashta Mathas face west as well. Devotees always have darshan of Krishna through the inner window, known as the Navagraha Kindi and the outer window known as the Kanakana Kindi, which is decorated by an arch named after the saint Kanakadasa. A statue has also been erected. A similar window covers the immediate front of the Vigraha and is called Navagraha Kindi. It is often mistaken to be the Kanakana Kindi.
The temple opens at 5:30 hours IST. The unique feature of the temple is that the deity is worshipped through a silver-plated window with nine holes (Navagraha Kindi). The temple also offers prasada at noon and is popularly called Anna Brahma as it feeds a vast number of devotees.
Kanakana Kindi, or Kanaka’s Window, is a small viewing aperture to the western wall of main temple hall where the devotee can have a glimpse (darshana) of the central idol (vigraha) of Lord Krishna. The legends link this kindi to Kanakadasa, a Haridasa saint in early modern India.
German scholar Hermann Friedrich Mogling documented the oral traditions about Kanakadasa in the 1860s, roughly 200 years after the events. The legends at that time were slightly different from the present day legend.
Kanakadasa was born Veera Nayaka an army chieftain of the Kuruba community in the Vijayanagara Kingdom. After losing a battle, Veera Nayaka became a dasa and devoted himself to singing devotional songs praising Krishna.
When Kanakadasa came to Udupi as a pilgrim, Sri Vadiraja Tirtha, the chief priest of the temple, arranged a roadside hut for him behind the temple. As a non-Brahmin, Kanakadasa was not allowed to enter the temple. He spent his time in the hut playing his tambura and singing, separated from the Krishna idol by the temple wall.
According to legend recorded by Mogling, Krishna's idol turned westward in response to Kanakadasa's devotion. During an earthquake one night, a crack appeared in the shrine wall, allowing Kanakadasa to see the idol. When Vadiraja learned about this, he widened the crack into a window rather than sealing it.
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