Sri Krishna Temple – Sri Krishna temple, is one of the acclaimed Hindu temples in the Udupi district. Abode of Lord Vishnu, this Krishna Mutt, was founded by the Sri Vaishnava Saint, Jagadguru Sri Madhvacharya, in the 13th century. He was the founder of the Dvaita school of Vedanta. It is believed that Madhwacharya found the vigraha of Shri Krishna in a huge ball of Gopi Chandana. As mentioned by Sri Madhvacharya, in his Tantrasara Sangraha, the Vigraha of Lord Sri Krishna is placed in, Pashchim Abhimukham i.e. facing west. All the other Vigrahas, in other Ashta Mutts, face west as well.
Devotees always have darshan, of Lord Krishna through the inner window, known as the Navagruha Kindi, and the outer window called the Kanakana Kindi, which is embellished by an arch, named after him. A statue has also been installed. A similar window covers the immediate front of the Vigraha and is called Navagraha Kindi. It is often mistaken to be the Kanakuna Kindi.
The temple opens at 5:30 AM, every day, and the special feature, about this temple, is, that the deity is worshipped through a silver-plated window with, nine holes i.e. Navagraha Kindi. The temple also offers prasadam lunch, at noon and is popularly called Anna Brahma, as it feeds a large number of devotees. As per a legend, there was a Saint known as Kanakadasa. As he was from a lower caste family, this Saint was not allowed to enter the temple, to have the darshan of Lord Krishna.
However, impressed by Saint Kanakadasa’s bhakti and shraddha towards the Lord, Bhagwan Sri Krishna’s idol turned to face him, and a small hole in the wall was formed so that the Saint could get a glimpse of the Lord. This spot is now known as Kanakana kindi i.e. window of Kanaka.
According to folklore, Jagadguru Sri Madhvacharya one day had been to Malpe Beach with a few of his disciples, and got absorbed in composing a canticle, “Dvadasha Stotra.” As he was composing this verse, the sea was rough and fierce. Asudden, he could see a ship at a distance, being turtled by the waves, and people on board. Immediately, Sri Madhvacharya prayed to the Lord and waved his upper garment signaling to the people on the ship. Gradually, the sea became placid.
Nevertheless, due to the force of the wind, the vessel wrecked. However, people on the ship, nonetheless, were relieved that their lives were saved. The captain of the ship was very thankful to the Monk and got down the ship, to thank Sri Madhvacharya. He was a Muslim merchant, ferrying goods from Gujarat, and was well aware that, the rough sea could calm down, only by the power, of Sri Madhvacharya.
Then the captain, with utmost gratitude, requested the monk to take whatever he wanted from the things the captain was carrying from Gujarat. Sri Madhvacharya accepted his invitation, went on board, found a huge lump of Gopi Chandana, and asked if he could take that. Seeing that, the captain readily agreed to give it to him. So, Sri Madhvacharya and his disciples brought down the big lump of Gopi Chandana, from the ship. As the Monk and his followers were walking back to the beach, through the shallow waters, the lump of Gopi Chandana, split open, and from that, emerged an ornate idol. Sri Madvacharya immediately knew it was his favorite Sri Krishna idol.
Elated, Madhvacharya, with tears of joy, in his eyes hugged the idol and was very thankful to Lord, that he finally got what he desired. The idol of Lord Krishna could only be lifted by Sri Madvacharya, as when his disciples tried to lift it, it became extremely heavy. The monk then carried the idol to the tank near Lord Anantheshwara temple and dipped it inside. Washed by the cool waters of the tank, an extremely winsome form, came out of the Gopi Chandana, that captured the sight of the mesmerized onlookers.
Sri Madhvacharya then built a temple, next to Lord Anantheshwara, and Lord Chandramouleshwara’s shrines. From then on, Lord Krishna started residing at Udupi. The Monk later taught his eight disciples the rules of worshiping this Sri Krishna idol, and these eight followers established Eight Mutts or Ashta Mutts. From then on, according to the paryaya, each head of the Mutt gets a right to, perform, worship and administer the temple matters, once in two years, even to this day.
Address – Katte Acharya Marg, Sri Krishna Temple Complex, Thenkpete, Maruthi Veethika, Udupi, Karnataka 576103. Timings – 8:30 AM to 9:30 PM
