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Places to visit: |
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Murdeshwar - Kollur – Shringeri – Hornadu – Dharmasthal– Udupi – Manipal - Malpe. |
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The temple of Annapoorneshwari , situated in Hornadu; with its pomp, glory and grandeur attracts people not only from Karnataka, but also from other places of India . Eight KM from Hornadu, surrounded by Bhadra River on three sides, holy place Kalasa has the shape of a pot. On the fourth side we have the duggapana katte hill . At the base of this hill you can find the great kalasheshwara temple. The soil and stones of Kalasa tell the stories of puranas and kings. as you enter the place you will feel, as if you are in the cradle of god, giving you the sense of security and satisfaction. The place is ready to reveal it's sacredness and holiness of its mystic and ancient days. The temples you can visit are
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About 60 Kms from Mangalore is a fairly large and upcoming town that was sanctum of Madhvacharya, the great Sanskrit Philosopher. The famous temple here, has a fascinating idol of Lord Krishna that is richly adorned with jewels. The main attraction of this temple is the 'Kanakana Kindi' -a small window through which Krishna is believed to have given darshan to his ardent devotee, Kanakadasa. Sri Madhvacharya, sensing this by his 'Aparoksha' or divine gnana, awaited the arrival of this precious ballast at Vadabhandeswar, a seashore spot near Udupi. When the boat approached that place it was caught by severe storm and was about to sink. The captain of the boat, seeing a holy man on the sea shore entreated him to save him from disaster. Sri Madhvacharya waved his upper cloth and quieted the storm. The grateful captain offered all the riches in his boat to the Acharaya but he accepted from out of the lot only the lump of 'gopichandana' which was used as ballast. On breaking this, Sri Acharya found the beautiful and perfect idol of Sri Krishna. He carried the idol to Udupi, a distance of four miles, singing the praise of Lord Narayana in ecstasy. These hymns under twelve chapters are called " Dwadasa Stotra". He washed the idol of Sri Krishna in Madhwa Sarovara and installed it in the temple nearby and started worshipping it. These poojas have been going on since then even to this day in unbroken continuity. Since Sri Madhwacharya's time, these poojas are being conducted by his disciples who are all 'balasanayasis'. The right of touching and worshipping this idol rests with the pontiff of these eight mutts only who are the spiritual descendants of Sri Madhvacharya. No one else is permitted to touch the idol. He is the source of happiness and salvation of all good people. Madhva installed this image of Krishna with the avowed purpose of removing all obstacles and relieving the pains, which beset His devotees on their way to salvation. Among the several disciples of Sri Madhva, eight monks were jointly and severally made responsible for conducting the daily worship of Lord Krishna at Udupi, besides the usual duties of monk hood. These eight direct disciples of Madhva established separate lines of their own by ordination, and these eight lines of ascetics came to be known as the Eight Maths or Ashta Math of Udupi. |
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The high spot of academics on the education map, Manipal is well known for the number of places of interest, besides its academic institutions.
Anatomy Museum
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Located on the main Mangalore-Karwar highway, Murudeshwar is sandwiched between the picturesque Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea. Its main attractions are its beach, an awesome Shiva statue and a Shiva Temple built with Chalukya and Kadamba sculptures in the Dravidian style of architecture. The temple is located on a hillock which offers a magnificent view of the sea.
Kollur, 80 kms from Udupi, is one of the most important places of pilgrimage on the west coast attracting pilgrims from all over India. The temple dedicated to the Divine Mother, Sri Mookambika, stands in the valley of the great Kodachadri peak. Inside the sanctum sanctorum of the 
temple, there is an ancient jyotirlinga which is divided by a golden line into two unequal parts, the greater representing the three Goddesses, Mahalakshmi, Mahasaraswati and Mahakali and the smaller Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwara. The temple dome, including the kalasha, is made up of gold. 
Origin of Sringeri Sharada Peetha 
Situated 100kms from Udupi, Shringeri is a wellknown centre of pilgrimage on the banks of the river Tunga and at the foot of the Sahya mountain - a part of the western ghats, in Chikmagalur district of Karnataka. It is as sacred as Kashi, Rameshwaram, Puri, Dwaraka, Tirupathi, Srisailam, Srirangam, Pandharpur, Badrinath and Pashupathinath. This place is held in high esteem also because of the Maha samsthan of Jagadguru Sri Shankaracharya.
It is here that Sri Adi Shankarachrya, the exponent of the Advaita system of philosophy, established the first southern centre (" Shringeri Math ") for propagating the Sanatana Dharma. Sharada being the Goddess worshipped here, this holy place is known as Sharada Peeth as Goddess Sharada is being worshipped here. While moving all over India, Sri Shankara selected a few places for establishing his spiritual centres. Shringeri is prominent amongst such places, the others being Puri, Dwaraka, Badrinath, Kashi and Kedarnath. Sri Shankara spent a longer period of his life at Shringeri. It was here that he wrote several of his treatises. 
In the midst of the Western Ghats , surrounded by greenery Goddess Annapoorneshwari makes Horanadu her home. The name of the goddess means "Feeding one & all", like the ever giving & loving mother. The specialty of this temple is that everybody who visit this shrine are provided with food & place to sleep or rest. 
Dharmasthala is perhaps the most highly revered and best known temple town in Karnataka. Located amidst the picturesque Western Ghats on the banks of the Netravati River, it is about 100 kms. from Udupi in Belthangady taluk. The Jain tirthankara and Lord Manjunatha (Shiva) are worshipped on the same consecrated ground. Devotees of all caste and creed visit this holy place well known for charity. Besides the many Jain basadis and a museum, the centrepiece of this temple town is a 39 ft. tall monolith statue of Lord Bahubali. Everyone enjoys generous hospitality without any distinction whatsoever. On an average the flow of pilgrims is about 10,000 people everyday. A mechanized and clean kitchen provides free food for all pilgrims can feel comfortable at the guest houses, which have all modern amenities. 
Dharmasthala symbolizes the true essence of religion and stands out as an oasis of peace and harmony. Here, one can witness a happy confluence of three faiths co-existing in complete harmony. While the presiding deity is Lord Shiva, the priests who conduct the daily rituals are Vaishnavaite Brahmins and the Dharmadhikari of the temple is a devout Jain. Thus religious tolerance and a spirit of oneness, which are the prominent characteristics of the Indian cultural heritage, has become the hallmark of Dharmasthala. 
This place was originally called "Kuduma" but in the l6th century it was named as Dharmasthala - the abode of dharma and charity. The lineage of the Dharmadhikari can be traced back Over 600 years. According to the legend, a Jain Heggade known for his piety and hospitality, was chosen by the Dharmadevatas-the guardian angels of dharma, for the propagation of dharma; being Shivaganas, they installed a Shivalinga from the Kadri temple in Mangalore, so that dharma could be established in the name of the Lord. Subsequently, the Manjunatha temple was built around the Shivalinga. They also ordained the Heggade to carry out certain traditional charities.
It is believed that the idol of Sri Krishna, installed in Udupi by Sri Madhvacharya, was got made by Sri Krishna himself by Viswakarma out of Saligrama stone. Towards the end of Dwapara yuga, Devaki felt a keen desire to see once again Krishna's balaleelas. These leelas which were enacted by Krishna for the benefit of his mother were also witnessed incognito by his wife Rukmini, who falling in love with this balaroopa requested him to get her a similar image for her daily worship. Thereupon Sri Krishna asked Viswakarma to make such an idol of Balakrishna with a churn in its right hand and a cord in the other. This idol was daily worshipped by Rukmini. After Sri Krishna's disappearance from this world, the idol fell into the hands of Arjuna, who hid it in Rukmini's garden. By lapse of time the idol got completely covered by gopichandanam. A sailor from Dwaraka loaded this heavy lump in his boat as ballast, in one of his trips along the west coast.
Udupi is famous for its Sri Krishna Mutt which though small is quite beautiful. There is no front door for this mutt. Instead there is a small window through which one could always get the darshana of the idol from outside the mutt. In front of the window there is a small 'gopuram'. The main entrance to the mutt is on the southern side. As on enters, on the right side is a tank called Madhwa Pushkarani. This tank has stone steps all round and a mantapam in the center. 
Brindavan Garden and Sri Venu Gopalakrishna Temple 
End Point
Dr. TMA Pai Planetarium
Hasta Shilpa
Malpe town is about four kms. to the west of Udupi. It is the most important port of the Karnataka coast and is situated at the mouth of the Malpe or Udyavara river. An ideal picnic spot with its virgin beach. The endless stretch of golden sand, graciously swaying palm trees, the clear blue sky, gurgle of the sea… all set the perfect mood for the unforgettable holiday here. 
St. Mary's Island are a group of small islands lying a little to the north of the port of Malpe 7 kms form Udupi. Vasco-da-Gama landed in 1498 on one of these islands which he called `EI Padron de Santa Maria'. It is from this that these islands got their present name. They are just a few scattered projections of rock rising out of the western or Arabian Sea around Malpe.
The northern-most island is about a square mile in area and not more than 250 yards in width. It has coconut gardens which make it the shadiest of all the islands and give it a true South Sea colour. The island is noted for its famous basalt rocks which Kulkunda, where a large cattle fair is held at the time of the have crystallized into columns and split into hexagonal mosaic. Perhaps, this is the only spot in India where basaltic rocks show up such peculiar formation.