Of all the temples of India that I have visited, I found Sri Krishna Temple and Math Udupi to be very unique. Unique in it’s story, it’s prayers, it’s culture and conduct. Read on to know more about why I say so.
Although I am not a very religious person. But the beautiful mythological tales that interwine in the most interesting ways always grab my attention and curiosity. So is the tale of the Sri Krishna Temple and Math in Udupi. A Krishna Temple in South India that has a wonderful story of love and faith about it’s origin. So, it was the beautiful stories associated with the Sri Krishna Temple and Math that attracted me to this temple in the first place. Thus, let me start from there and take you through a virtual tour of this renowned temple in Udupi district of Coastal Karnataka.
Table of Contents
The Story of Sri Krishna Idol that is established in Sri Krishna Temple Udupi
There is a very interesting story about how the Krishna Idol that is established into the Sri Krishna Temple Udupi came into being. Sri Krishna was separated from his birth mother Devki post his birth. And it was only when he was a youth that he got to visit her again. Devki expressed sadness that she was never able to witness Sri Krisna’s childhood and all his playful activities from his childhood. To fulfil his mother’s wish, Sri Krishna once again took his child form and did his childish activities to please the mother. However, all his activities and plays as a child were also witnessed by his wife Rukmani who was also present there. Rukmani fell in love with this “balkrishna”. And thus got an idol of Bal Krisna made in his memory. And this murti or idol was actually designed by Vishwakarma himself using the Saaligrama stone.
Afterwards, Arjuna left this same idol in the Rukminivana. And it laid there for centuries until getting discovered once again.
The Story of the construction of Sri Krishna Temple and Math Udupi
While the Balkrishna idol lied in the forest, layers of sandalwood clay deposited over it and a solid structure was formed around it. So that the idol was not at all visible. Some merchants who were carrying logs and other stuff in the 13th century from the forest over a ship to export them, also carried this idol along with other stuff. However, when they were crossing near the coast of Udupi, a storm obstructed their progress. it was then, that Shri Madhvacharya saw the ship and guided the merchants and their ship to the shore of Udupi. When they landed on the shore, the captain of the ship asked Shri Madhvacharya to pick anything he wanted from the ship, as a reward for his help. And he picked the idol wrapped in clay and material deposits.
Of course he didn’t know then that there was an idol of Sri Krishna inside. As he was carrying this log to his place, the log fell off. And a part came off. Making the idol inside visible. Thus, Madhvacharya, already a devotee of Krishna, took it as a sure shot sign. And started the construction of Sri Krishna Temple and Math. Which eventually hosted the idol of the Bal Krishna.
Why does the Krishna Idol in Sri Krishna Temple face West ?
A few years after the temple was constructed, a pure devotee of Sri Krishna, Kanakadasa, visited Sri Krishna Temple Udupi. But, he belonged to the lower caste. And thus, was denied entry into the temple. Kanakadasa sat outside the temple, on the west side. And just waited there. Hoping there was some way he could see Lord Krishna. Legends say, that, a crack appeared in the wall right in front of him. And the idol of Sri Krishna turned west. To give darshan to the waiting devotee. Since then, the Krishna Idol in Sri Krishna Temple Udupi faces West. And so does the idol of all the other temples in this region.
The place where the crack appeared, theres a window constructed. It is named after the same devotee. And is thus called the “Kanaka Kindi”. If for some reason or the other, you can’t wait in the long queue to get a darshan from inside the temple, you can do a darshan of the idol from the Kanaka Kindi. This is the only temple in whole of India where I have seen something like this!!
A virtual tour of Sri Krishna Temple and Math
We arrived at the Sri Krishna Temple and Math around 11am in the morning. Since, we were staying in Mangalore at hotel Ocean Pearl . We had to drive to Udupi from there. If that was not the case, I would visit this temple early in the morning. To avoid spending too much time in the queue. We had taken a taxi for Udupi tour from Mangalore. Since, we wanted to avoid the hassle of finding parking space on every spot we visited in Udupi. And as we arrived at the Sri Krishna Temple and Math, we left the taxi in the parking lot. And started for the North Entrance of the temple.
Entrance to Sri Krishna Temple and Math Udupi
As we arrived at the North entrance to Sri Krishna Temple and Math Udupi, the queue was starting to form right from the road itself. We also became a part of this queue. The queue was moving really slowly. It took almost an hour to progress from this entrance to the place where the temple and Math related buildings start. Here, you will see the following structures on the left hand side of the queue –
- A place to deposit your luggage in case you have landed at the temple premises with luggage.
- Several shops selling puja items and souvenirs.
- A dedicated shoe rack to deposit your shoes.
While on the right hand side we could see a courtyard right in front of the north entrance. And the following structures around this courtyard.
- The north entrance to the temple.
- Souvenir shops, shops selling water, puja shops etc.
- Opposite the shops, an amphitheatre at North Entrance of Sri Krishna Temple – where a beautiful cultural performance by kids was going on.
Pushkarani at Sri Krishna Temple
The queue that starts near the north entrance to Sri Krishna Temple and Math winds all the way from eat to west around a pushkarani ( A sacred water pond) located besides the main temple premises. There is a shaded pathway winding around the pushkarani to reach the temple entrance.
Main Entrance of Sri Krishna Temple and Math Udupi
The queue ends on the main entrance to Sri Krishna Temple and Math Udupi. In front of the main entrance, you can see the other math buildings. There is a security here. And before entering the main entrance of Sri Krishna Temple and Math, male will remove the upper clothing like shirts or t-shirts.
Inside Sri Krishna Temple and Math
As one enters inside the main temple, there is a courtyard where people gather. A group of people, enough to comfortably fill the courtyard, are allowed entry from the main entrance. As they enter inside, they are able to do the Darshan of Sri Balkrishna one after the other. And as people do the darshan, they also keep moving. So that crowd doesn’t accumulate. And exist from the other side.
Langar or annadana at Sri Krishna Temple and Math
Free food is served to all devotees inside the Sri Krishna Temple and Math. This is a satvik food prepared without onion and garlic. And is first offered as a prasadam to the God. Subsequently it is served in two different batches on banana leaves –
Afternoon lunch served from 11:30am to 2:30 pm
Night food served between 8:00pm to 9:30pm
The food mostly consists of rice, sambar, rasam, vegetable side dishes, paysam and ghee. For every batch at the temple premises, food is freshly cooked. And served on fresh banana leaves. One batch of people take around 30 mins to finish the lunch. As soon as one batch is done, the cleaning staff cleanup the space and the next batch sits for lunch. All in all, around 5 batch of people have food during the afternoon lunch time and around 2-3 batch at night. Although I couldn’t have food here. But I have heard that the food here is very tasty. So, do plan your visit accordingly if you can. So that you can eat the prasadam in the Temple campus.
The eight Maths at Sri Krishna Temple and Math
After Sri Madhvacharya formed the Sri Krishna Temple, he also formed 8 different Maths around the temple. Each of these Maths handles the administration of Sri Krishna Temple for 2 years. And then the rotation of responsibilities happens. These are the “Astha Matha” and they are –
- Pejavara
- Puttige
- Palimaru Matha
- Admaru Matha
- Sodhe Matha
- Kaniyoor Matha
- Shirur Matha
- Krishnapura Matha.
The main source of money for these mathas is the donation by the devotees. The maths use this to do the administrative and other “seva” work associated with the temple. They also maintain a proper account of the same. As the administration of Sri Krishna Temple is handed over from one math to another every 2 years, it is done in the form of a celebration called “Paryaya Mahotsav”.
Apart from the maths, there are guest houses, and eateries inside the temple premises. One very famous one being “Mitra Samaj” restaurants. Also, there is a goshala which has many cows.
Prayer offered inside Sri Krishna Temple and Math
The Puja at Sri Krishna Temple and Math starts as early as 4:00am in the morning. It starts with the beating of “Nagari” which is like an alarm clock waking the BalKrishna as well as the whole town of Udupi. The puja in this temple is a very unique puja. Which starts with waking the Balkrishna, getting him ready, feeding him, playing with him and participating in his bal-kriyas. And finally as night arrives, helping him sleep by singing lullaby to him. How wonderful and unique is that!! The priests at the premises conduct all the pujas. Here’s a detail of all the different pujas conducted at the premises of Sri Krishna Temple Udupi.
General information on visiting Sri Krishna Temple
- The temple is open from 6:00am in the morning. Visit as early as possible to avoid long queues at the temple
- Certain times like Krishnajanmastami and other such festival times call for even more crowd.
- Unlike many other temples in India, there is no entrance fee, ticket of any kind and no concept of “special darshan” here. I really liked it. All devotes are thus equal in the house of God
- There is ample parking near the North Entrance gate of the temple.
- You can buy souvenirs, prasad and other things from the shops circling the Sri Krishna Temple and Math
- There are living quarters inside the Math, near the north entrance where the queue starts. If you have come from far and directly landed here for the darshan, you can stay here overnight. I couldn’t collect the booking details.
- Also, there is a waiting hall and a luggage lock room just like how you find at many train stations, where you can deposit your luggage and then go for the Darshan.
- There is drinking water facility available at the premises. And there is a langar (free food) served twice a day within the premises. ( So, basically the poorest of the poor can conveniently afford to visit Sri Krishna Temple and Math if they land into Udupi )
Dress code at Sri Krishna Temple Udupi
- While entering the main temple of Sri Krishna Temple, the men have to remove upper garment. Lower garment should be ideally a dhoti or pants.
- Women should wear either salwar kameez and dupatta, or saree, or any other traditional Indian wear like lehengas etc. to enter inside the temple.
Best time to visit Udupi
The best time to visit Udupi is from September to March. When the humidity is at the lower side. March – May the temperature keeps soaring high. And days are really uncomfortable to venture out. However, you can also attempt to visit in the monsoon months of June to August, just check the weather prediction. Until there’s chances of heavy rains, the monsoons will not be disrupting your trip. In fact, it is very pleasant when it’s cloudy and cold winds blow.
How to reach Udupi
Udupi is well connected to Mangalore and other cities of Karnataka through road and rail network. One can also fly into Mangalore and visit Udupi from there. In fact, we also stayed in Mangalore on our trip to coastal Karnataka. And explored Udupi from there. You can also take the Vistadome coach from Bangalore to Mangalore and Udupi. Overnight buses also comply from Bangalore.
Other places to see in Udupi
There are a ton of other places to see and things to do in Udupi. These include visit to some beautiful beaches of Udupi like Malple Beach, Kapu Beach, Delta beach. And also visiting some beautiful backwaters of Udupi. You can as well take day trips to Marvanthe beach and Murudeshwara Temple. Take a ferry to St. Mary’s Island. Also, visit the Manipal area. And see the beautiful western ghat valleys from there. And when in Udupi, you must try some mouth watering cuisines like the dose, idli, mangalore bun, rasam, filter coffee etc.
Where to stay in Udupi
There are ample stay options in Udupi. You will have to however, book them in advance. Some of these include :
Tents in between ocean and river
Click here to browse through the complete list of places to stay in Udupi.
Other resource from our trip to Udupi and Around
Our complete coastal Karnataka Road trip guide
Our Bangalore to Bekal Road Trip