A brief history of UDUPI
The
meaning and origin of the word “Udupi”
Udupi is known as oDipu in the Tulu
language. Shri Narayana Panditacharya, the direct disciple of Shriman
Madhwacharya, in his notes called Bhava Prakasha on the Madhwavijaya, records
thus:
rajatapeeThapurasya oDipu ityapabhraShTa
samjnyA
The modern name Udupi must have developed
from this ancient folk name.
A different etymology is provided by
certain other scholars. According to them the original Sanskrit name is derived
from uDupa (uDu 'star' + pa 'lord') -- lord of the stars, namely, the moon.
Udupi then refers to Shiva, who wears the
moon on his head. Since there is the ancient temple of Shri Chandramauleeshwara
in Udupi, the place may have been known by the name Udupi, after its ancient deity.
The author of the Madhwavijaya opines that
the word is of Tulu origin. The word “Udupi” also does not seem to have been
associated with Shiva anywhere else in the Sanskrit literature.
Even if the word is to be considered to be
originating from a Sanskrit root, one can provide a better explanation and
etymology. “Udupi” also means boat or raft in Sanskrit:
uDupaM tu plavaH kolaH
The word “Udupi” can then mean a place to
which Lord Krishna came (from Dwaraka) by boat.
The Tulu word oDipu can also be associated
with a more or less similar meaning. There is a temple at Malpe which is known
as oDabhAnDeshvara. There appears to be some kind of relationship between the
words oDabhAnDa and oDipu. Its Kannada version is “Udupa”. The root element of all
these words is oDepu, meaning "cracking," or "breaking."
Until the secret of this word is cracked, the origin of the modern word Udupi
will remain shrouded in mystery.
This temple at Malpe is well worth a visit
and appears to be of great vintage. It is only a short distance to the beach
from the temple and so it is possible to walk to where Shri Madhwa saved the
ship carrying the icon of Shri Krishna from being wrecked during a storm.
Shivaroopya – Shivalli
The original name of the village of Udupi
is Shivalli. Later on an attempt was made to Sanskritize this name into
Shivaroopya because Shiva dwelt there. The author of the Madhwavijaya refers to
this name:
vedAdrisad rajatapeeThapureshvarAbhyAm |
grAmo vibhooshitataraH shivaroopyanAmA ||
SMV 2-10 ||
"The village stretching up to Indrali
Hills in the East (present day Manipal) and presided over by Lord Ananteshwara
is known as Shivaroopya."
There is a popular legend which tells us
how this ancient village became Shiva's village in ancient times:
King Ramabhoja decided to perform a
sacrifice and so began to plough the land in preparation. A serpent was hit by
the plough and died on the spot. To atone for this sin the king constructed
four shrines in the four corners of the village.
The four serpent shrines are known as
muchchilkoDu, mAngoDu, aritoDu and tAngoDu.
Actually these are Skanda shrines.
About two miles to the South-East on the
way to Alevoor is the muchchilkoDu shrine near KukkikaTTe. This shrine which is
under the jurisdiction of Shri Pejawar Mutt has been renovated beautifully and
the area looks like a peaceful hermitage.
Another Skanda shrine is located at
maangoDu about three miles to the South West of Udupi. This is also renovated
nicely.
About three miles to the North-East of
Udupi by the side of Puttur temple on the National Highway is the aritoDu
shrine. This is in very bad condition as the walls have collapsed. Also, there
is no approach road.
The place known as tAngoDu which is
supposed to be in the North-East corner of the village has not yet been
located. It needs to be identified and renovated.
In the middle of the village King
Râmabhoja worshipped Lord Parashurama in the form of a Shivalinga on a silver
seat. This temple is now known to us as Shri Ananteshwara.
Shri
Ananteshwara Temple
When Lord Vishnu took the incarnation of Shri
Parashurama on this Earth he was "trained" by Shiva in the art of
archery. To commemorate this student-teacher relationship, Lord Vishnu wanted
to get himself identified with the linga so that both the teacher and the
student were worshipped simultaneously by the devotees. Shriman Narayana,
reclining on a serpent, came down to this temple and stayed in the linga. This
is a rather unusual incident and the concept of Ananteshwara came to vogue as a
result of this.
Shri Vadiraja teertha, in his masterpiece
teertha prabandha extols Ananteshwara in this way:
ivaantaryaamitaaM sveeyaaM priyaan prati
nibodhayan |
dayaavaarinidhiH shaiveeM shilaamaashritya
shobhate |
eeSasyaaheeSapadaveem bhaasayanniva
bhaavineem |
adhyaaste sheshashayanaH snigdhaaM
liN^gashilaam || (I.14-15)
'The Almighty Lord got himself merged in
this Shivalinga to proclaim to the devotees that he rests in the soul of Shiva
also. To prove this cosmic truth Vishnu rests in this Shivalinga.'
Before the birth of Shri Madhwa, his
father, Nadillaya (a.k.a. Madhya-geha bhaTTa), had worshipped this deity to
beget a male child. It is believed that he used to pray to Lord Shri Anantashayana
enshrined in this idol. Shri Narayana Pandita makes a reference to this in his
commentary Bhava Prakashika:
svadarshanoruvratine nisheete |
praaptaaya bhogeendragato hariH prabhuH |
svaM darshayitvaa khalu kuJNjamaadhava |
dvijaaya tadvat.h pratimaaM vyadhaapayat
||
Even now the deity is known as
Ananteshwara, Anantaasana and Anantapadmanabha. “Ananta” means the serpent
Shesha. Hence Ananteshwara means the Lord Narayana reclining on a serpent.
Ananta is also another name of Lord Vishnu. Lord Vishnu enshrined in the
Sivalinga came to be designated as Ananteshwara.
Ananteshwara is a famous temple and
pilgrim centre of this region. It was a centre of Vedic philosophy and formed a
suitable background for the avatar of Shriman Madhwacharya.
It was because of this temple that the
place was ranked as foremost among the seven centres of pilgrimage. One should
not forget that the Nadillaya couple could beget an illustrious son who was
destined to be the great Acharya only because of their twelve years of worship
at the foot of this deity Anantashayana ("the one who reclines on a
serpent"). Hence this temple has great historic significance.
Shri Madhwa used to sit in the
Ananteshwara temple and teach his disciples. Even today the place where he used
to sit is considered to be a holy place. The plank where he used to sit is
still there but there is no icon of Shri Madhwa. At one time a beautiful icon
had been prepared to be installed here, but when the time of installation came
around, Shri Madhwa appeared in a dream of a swamiji and ordered, “do not put
any stone on me”' thus indicating that he was, is and always present there. To
this day the stone icon is kept outside and the devotees offer worship to the
seat itself.
This place is very difficult for the
devotee to see. One is not allowed to enter inside the temple itself, and the
only way to see this place is through a small window on the southern side of
the outer enclosure of the temple.
The Ananteshwara temple is an amazing
place. As one enters from the street, one can see the huge linga which is deep
inside the temple and lit by oil lamps. Inside the temple, but closer to the
front, there is a small icon of Ganapati. To come here and pay respects to Lord
Ananteshwara is a very calming experience and it is very easy for the hours to
simply slip by without one noticing it.
When you step back and take in the view at
the temple you can only marvel at the huge slabs of granite which make up the
roof. It is the largest temple in this region in both its shape and its
historic significance.
Shri Chandramauleeshvara Temple
To the east of the Ananteshwara temple
stands a smaller temple wherein presides Shiva, known as Shri ChandramauLeeshvara.
Because the temple is a very ancient one, precious little is known about its
history.
This temple of Chandramauleeshvara is
smaller than that of Ananteshwara. To enter this temple one has to descend
steps. It appears that originally there must have been a tank in that place
which was later filled up with mud and a temple built on top of the fill.
We read in the Madhwavijaya that the
temple was originally known as mooDu (east) devaalaya (mahendra digalaya).
Since it was on the Eastern side of the Chief temple Ananteshwara, it came to
be referred to as the Eastern temple.
There is a special tradition the devotees participate
before entering the shrine of Lord Shri Krishna. First they must visit Shri Chandramauleeshvara
and then they should go to Shri Ananteshwara, and from there they should proceed
to Shri Krishna Mutt.
Shri Vishvapati Tîrtha in his commentary
on the Madhwa Vijaya records this custom:
rajatapeeThapure amaraalayadvayaM vartate
|
tatra puurvaalayasthaH prathamato namyaH |
pashchimaalayasthaH pashchaannamya iti
sampradaaya niyamaH || II.14 ||
“There are two temples, the Eastern one
and the Western one. One must first salute Lord Shiva at the Eastern temple and
then go to Lord Ananteshwara in the Western temple. This is the custom followed
here.”
Even now the Udupi aShTa-maTha Swamijis
visit the temple in this order before they ceremoniously take charge of the
management of Shri Krishna Mutt during the paryaya festival.
~~ shree madhwEshArpaNamastu ~~
