Uduppi kshethram

  Uduppi kshethram

 Gopyadhadhe thvayi kruthagasi dhama thavadh

Ya they dhasasru kalilanchana sambhramaksham

Vakthram nineeya bhaya bhavanaya sthithasya

Saa maam vimohayathi bheerapi yadh bhibhedhi.

                              (Shrimad Bhagavatham)

           Radhekrishna! Krishna is very naughty. Yasoda became very upset when He broke the curd pot. To teach Him a lesson Yasoda decides to keep Him tied with a rope. As she came near Him with a knotted rope Krishna pretends fear and looks at Yasoda with a begging expression. Yasoda matha is overwhelmed with love her little Krishna and wants to hug Him. Sri Shuka depicts this bala leela of Bhagavan in Shrimad Bhagavatham beautifully.
       The gopis of Brindavan used to spread the Bala leelas of Little Krishna wherever they went. Rukmini was very much fascinated by these leelas and begged Bhagavan to show her His bala bhavam. Bhagavan appeared before her as a two year old cute child holding a churning rod in one hand. Rukmini lost herself in the beauty. On her request Bhagavan took the idol form to be worshipped by her. In the course of time Dwaraka was plunged into the sea and the everybody forgot about the deity. 

        It was Sri Madhvacharya who recovered the deity embedded in gopichandan from a ship, in Kaliyuga. He installed the deity in proper way in Udupi and we are all fortunate to see the same deity worshiped by Rukmini in Dwaparayuga. Bhagavan is a chubby cute toddler holding a churning rod in one hand and wears an extremely fascinating look. The Udupi temple is under the control of 8 Madhva Matadhipathis. They take turns in the running of the temple affairs.

          Udupi is situated near Manipal, a city of international educational hub, in Karnataka. The place is well connected by road and railway. The nearest airport is at Mangalore which is about 60 kms away. Accommodation is available in plenty in Manipal and Udupi. The temple opens at 5 a.m. followed by abhisheka alankaram. Darsan is mostly uninterrupted throughout the day here. Prasada lunch and dinner is served for the thousands of pilgrims who throng here. 

 

      Numerous bhakthas popularly known as dasas have sung many songs and slokas on Udupi Krishna. Kanakadasa, disciple of Sri Vadiraja was a great devotee, for whose sake the Lord turned around and put 9 holes in the wall through which only now we can see the Lord. Kanakadasa was of a lower caste and not allowed to enter the temple in those days. He used to stand outside the back wall of the temple and sing about the Lord. His heart ached for a darsan of the lord. His pangs of separation flowed out as songs which melted the Lord. Unable to bear the bhaktha's plea for darsan anymore, Bhagavan turned Himself around and with the help of the churning rod in His hand put 9 holes in the wall to give darsan to this great bhaktha. He remains the same way to this day and we can see the Lord through the 9 holes. The entrance through which Kanakadasa had the Lord's darsan is called 'Kanakana Kindi'. 

           On important days car festivals or Rathothsavams are conducted here which is a sight to see. The uthsava moorthy is taken out in a ratha or car in procession around the temple. Devotees pull the chariot with loud cries of 'Govinda! Gopala!' On the night we arrived we were unexpectedly blessed to attend a rathothsavam. 

 

    Afterward we had dinner at the temple and darsan after the dinner.  Morning at 5 a.m. we joined the small queue for darsan. The queue keeps moving and we have to keep circling the sanctum so that all can have repeated darsans. We could see the abhisheka and alankara very well.  We received theertha prasada and left the temple only halfheartedly  for our breakfast. After breakfast we left Udupi for Sringeri. Radhekrishna!