UDIPI AND UDIPI'S BALA KRISHNA

UDIPI AND UDIPI'S BALA KRISHNA

THERE'S MUCH MORE IN UDIPI OTHER THAN UDIPI CUISINE

1. Udupi (alternatively spelled as Udipi), also known as Odipu in Tulu, is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is the administrative headquarters of Udupi District. Udupi is notable for the Krishna Temple and lends its name to the popular Udupi cuisine. It is also known as Lord Parasurama Kshetra, and is famous for Kanakana Kindi.

2.The term Udupi (also Udipi) is synonymous with vegetarian food now found all over world.The origin of this cuisine is linked to Krishna Matha (Mutt). Lord Krishna is offered food of different varieties every day, and there are certain restrictions on ingredients during Chaturmasa (a four-month period during the monsoon season). These restrictions coupled with the requirement of variety led to innovation, especially in dishes incorporating seasonal and locally available materials. This cuisine was developed by Shivalli Madhwa Brahmins who cooked food for Lord Krishna, and at Krishna Matha in Udupi, the food is provided free of cost. Restaurants specialized in Udupi cuisine can be seen widely in most metropolitan and large cities around the length and breadth of India.

3.Main attraction of Udipi is Bala Krishna of Udipi

The town is famous as a place of pilgrimage because of the temple Sri Krishna Matha. This temple was founded by Srila Madhvacharya (A.D. 1238-1317), one of the greatest saints, philosophers, and religious reformers of India. Udupi is said to have attained the status of Vaikuntha, the kingdom of God, because the Supreme Personality of Godhead came and stayed there in response to the desire of His pure devotee Srila Madhvacharya.

AMAZING STORY OF KRISHNA CAME TO UDIPI

Dvaraka, one of the main places of Krishna, a Deity lay concealed within a large mass of gopi-candana clay (the yellowish clay Vaishnavas use daily in marking their freshly bathed bodies as temples of Lord Vishnu). No one knew the Deity was there, but because the lump of clay was exceedingly heavy, some sailors loaded it onto their merchant ship as ballast. On the ship’s southward journey, just off the coast of Udupi, a tempest blew the ship aground on a sandbank.

On that very day, Srila Madhvacharya absorbed in composing Dvadasha-stotra, his famous twelve-part poem praising Lord Krishna, had gone to the beach to bathe or, as some say, to receive the Lord. Upon seeing the ship caught fast on the sandbank and hearing the cries of the sailors in distress, Srila Madhvacharya waved his cloth in their direction. This calmed the stormy seas, and the ship floated free. Madhva then guided the vessel to safety. Eager to show his appreciation, the captain offered Madhva whatever he wanted from the ship’s cargo. Madhva chose the heavy lump of gopi- candana clay.

Disciple attendants of Madhvacharya had just started back to Udupi with the large lump of clay when, but a short distance from the beach, the lump broke in two, revealing the handsome Deity of Lord Bala Krishna. But now the combined effort of thirty of Madhva’s disciples could not budge the Deity. Only when Madhvacharya himself embraced and lifted the Deity as if He were a child did the Deity consent to be moved. In great transcendental ecstasy Madhva carried the Lord the four miles back to Udupi. On the way he completed the remaining seven parts of Dvadasha-stotra, reciting the verses out loud. Back in Udupi, Madhva bathed the Lord in the lake known as Madhva-sarovara and enshrined Him in the Sri Krishna Matha. Srila Madhvacharya instituted rigorous standards for worshipping Sri Krishna, and whenever he was in Udupi he would personally perform the thirteen daily worship ceremonies for the Lord.

4.Another interesting story of the temple relates to Kanakadasa, in the 16th century. Kanakadasa was an ardent devotee of the Lord, but he was denied entry into the temple owing to his caste. Kanakadasa did not mind. For him, the thought of his beloved deity was far higher than the idol. He was content with a glimpse of the deity through a window at the back of the sanctum, even though all he could see was the back of the Lord. As Kanakadasa sang His praises, the Lord couldn't resist taking a look at his devotee, and turned. Thus He stands till today, with his back to the door, facing a window. And that is how we see him, through the window, which is called, appropriately enough, the Kanakanakindi – after the devotee whom the Lord himself wanted to see!

5.Udipi is a very famous shaivite shrine and home for many ancient temples like Anatheswar temple,chandramouleswar temple,Anegudde vinayaka etc.,

6.Seeing the enthusiastic devotion of the residents of Udupi engladdens the heart of any devotee. Even a hardened nondevotional heart would be touched. Udupi is one of the few places left in India where devotional, spiritual traditions, for which India is famous, are still practiced intact. Such a pure devotional atmosphere is the principal symptom of the spiritual world. Thus a fitting epithet for Udupi is “the Kingdom of God on Earth.”