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Udupi acquired nation-wide fame when it was turned into a unique seat of Vedantic learning in the 13th century under the leadership of Sri Madhvacharya. Apart from his contributions to Vedantic philosophy, he founded the famous Shri Krishna Temple of Udupi and made it the fountain-head of a new devotional movement, which eventually spread all over the country.    Shri Krishna is believed to be the source of happiness and salvation of all good people. Madhva installed this image of Krishna with the purpose of removing all obstacles and relieving the pains that beset His devotees on their way to salvation. The matha (temple) area resembles an ashram. Surrounding the Shri Krishna Matha are several temples, the most ancient one being made of wood and stone, and is believed to be 1,500 years old. Among the several disciples of Sri Madhva, eight monks were made responsible for the daily sevas (offerings). The administration of Shri Krishna Matha is managed by the Ashta Mathas (eight temples). Each of the Ashta Mathas performs temple management activities for 2 years on a rotational basis. They all are collectively known as Krishna Matha.  There is also the world’s first Navrathna Chariot in the premises, which is kept closed inside a gate and devotees put coins through a small space into it.  Lord Krishna is worshipped meticulously 14 times a day, according to an elaborate code of elegant rituals, starting at 4 a.m. and closing at about 11 a.m. A distinguishing aspect of this worship is feeding of devotees on a large scale as part of the “prasad”. There is a separate “guashala” of the temple from where all the dairy products come. |
