Udupi Krishna Temple, Timings, History, Dress Code, Poojas

Udupi Sri Krishna Temple Pooja Timings and daily Sevas List. Shri Udupi Krishna temple Dress Code. Udupi Sri Krishna Temple | Kanaka Kindi Temple. Udupi Sri Krishna Temple, History, Ticket Price, Poojas

Shri Udupi Krishna Temple ranks as the best tourist attraction, with thousands of Hindu devotees streaming from across and beyond India. The temple also marks as the final resting holy place of Lord Krishna. Udupi temple is located in Udupi Karnataka State, India. It’s a holy dwelling of Lord Krishna and Dvaita Matha, who resembles the living Aashram. This a dedicated area for daily worship that surrounds Shri Krishna Temple.

Devotees visit the temple for various rituals and Poojas and to receive blessings from Lord Krishna. Udupi temple is designed with different structures compared to other temples. It’s more of complex shrines rather than a single building. The shrine has Mathas, which are Hindu institutes. Various temples surround the Udupi temple, such as Udupi Anantheshwara Temple.

The religious institute is home to Dvaita Vedanta (philosophy). A strong belief is that Vishnu is the supreme soul and that other individual souls exist independently. Udupi temple also is the center of the Udupi form of literature known as Dasa Sahitya. Lord Krishna is decorated with beautiful jewelry and a golden chariot.

Udupi Sri Krishna Temple

Udupi Krishna Temple
Udupi Krishna Temple

Krishna Mathas and Udupi Temple Details

It’s believed Krishna Mathas are thousand-plus years and were founded in the 13th century. Saint Jagadguru Shri Madhvacharya established the Mathas and the Dwaita school of Vedantha.The legendary narrated that Kanakadasa Lord Krishna’s devotees were once denied entry at the temple. The worshipper didn’t give up but started praying from outside the temple.

Lord Krishna was happy with the devotee, and he turned toward Kanakadasa’s direction. Lord Krishna made a hole in the wall to allow the devotee to get in worship him. The hole is referred to as Kanakana Kindi or the window of Kanaka.

Hindu devotees from different parts also visit the surrounding temples, Chandreshwara and Anantheshwara temple, to commemorate an important festival known as Paryayotsava. At Udupi Krishna temple, devotees receive Darshan through the Lord’s Krishna Navagruha Kindi (inner window) and Kanakana Kindi (outer window). The Navargraha window is also set in front of Vigraha for worship.

Lord Krishna is worshipped and honored using a silver-plated window with nine holes known as Navagraha Kindi. After worship, devotees receive Prasadam (Anna Brahma), a free meal from the temple at noon.

Krishna Mathas are run and managed by Astha Mathas. This are the eight monasteries; they are entitled to manage the temple for two years each. Astha Mathas are referred to as Ashtha Mathagalu; each Astha worships their particular deity known as Pattada Devaru.

Names of Astha Mathas

The eight Astha Mathas managing Udupi Krishna temple names are as follows:

  • Pejavara
  • Puttige Matha
  • The Palimaru Matha
  • Admaru Matha
  • The Sodhe Matha
  • Kaniyoor Matha
  • Shirur Matha
  • Krishnapura Matha.

To fund all temple activities, devotees provide donations which are managed by Astha Mathas. Pilgrims can offer any kind of donation (cash or material).

Lord Krishna History

Devaki, Lord Krishna’s mother, didn’t have a chance to cater to Krishna as a baby since she was imprisoned. Lord Krishna was born in Mathura but spent all his childhood in Vrindavan, where he ruled Dwarka. After her release, Devaki requested Krishna to give her an experience of how he was as a child.

Lord Krishna took the form of a child to satisfy the mother’s desire and did all childhood tricks. However, his wife Rukmini loved Krishna’s childlike form (Balakrishna) and requested a celestial architect (Vishwakarma) to create an idol of Balakrishna. The image was beautiful and was curved from the Shaligram stone.

Rukmini worshiped the idol, and when Lord Krishna left the world, his body was cremated by Arjuna. The statue of Balakrishna was buried at Rukmini Vana or Rukmini’s forest. However, the idol was misplaced by the floods in Dwarka.

In the 13th century, a ship from Dwarka got stuck in a storm. Sage Anandatirtha was at Udupi shore and noticed the ship. To provide help, the sage guided the ship using his Angavasthram. To thank Anandatirtha, the ship captain offers whatever the sage wanted from the ship. Anandatirtha chooses a rocky ballast.

During transportation, the rock started cracking and revealed the idol of Balakrishna. The Sage cleaned it up to perform the rightful rituals, thus discovering the Udupi Krishna temple. This made Anandatirtha the founder of the Udupi Krishna temple.

Udupi Temple Timings

Udupi temple doors are open to all devotees daily. The temple opens from 5:00 am to 9:00 pm (5:00 am to 11:00 am and 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm). All Darshans are free and can be booked online or offline. Devotees are free to offer contributions to assist in various temple services.

How to Reach Udupi Temple (Krishna temple)

Udupi temple is located in Karnataka State, India, where there are multiple means of transport, from buses, trains, and planes.

Train

The nearest railway station is Udupi railway station, its 3Km from the temple, making it easy to access and connect with other means.

Road

The KSRTC bus service is available across Karnataka state; pilgrims can book buses to commute from any location to Udupi. One can also book a taxi or private bus for transport.

Festivals at Udupi Temple

Pilgrims from all over the world visit to celebrate the following festivals:

  • Saptotsava festivals
  • Vasantotsava
  • The Krishna Leelotsava festivals
  • Laksha Deepotsava.

FAQs

  1. What other places can one visit while at Udupi temple?

Visitors can visit the following locations near the Udupi temple:

  • Ananteshwara and Chandreshwara temples
  • Maple beach
  • Mahathobhara Shri Vishwanatha temple 

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