Palimaru – Temples of Tulu Nadu

Palimaru is a small village very close to Udupi. This village is the headquarters of the Palimaru Matha, one of the 8 mathas founded by Sri Madhvacharya. The first pontiff of this matha was Sri Hrishikesha Theertha, who was a direct disciple of Srimadacharya. The current pontiff is Sri Sri Vidyadheesha Theertha Swamiji.

The moola devaru of the Matha is “Sita Lakshmana Sahita Sri Rama”. Since the Swamiji was not in Palimaru when I visited the place, we could not get to see the main idols. The Garbha Gudi was also locked. But the matha itself is amazing. It is as if one has gone back 800 years into history. The matha and the temple is built in typical Dakshina Kannada style.

Another main attraction of the matha is the Mukhya Prana or Anjaneya temple. It is situated right behind the main temple. This temple was constructed a few years back and is very well known in Dakshina Kannada already. People call it the temple of the “Mathanaduva Anjaneya” or “Talking Hanuman”. Countless devotees have had their wishes fullfilled here after sincere prayers. The small temple is very beautiful to look at and the idol itself is very attractive. This temple is one of my favorites in Dakshina Kannada.

Another of the glorious attractions of the temple is the Brundavana of Sri Sri Vidya Manya Theertha Swamiji, the previous pontiff of the Palimaru Matha. He was one of the greatest Yatis of the 20th century and the Guru of several Dvaita scholars and pontiffs such as Sri Sri Vishvesha Tirtha Swamiji of the Pejavara Matha and Sri Sri Vishva Priya Theertha Swamiji of the Adamaru Matha. I call Sri Sri Vidya Manya Theertha the Raghavendra Swamiji of the 20th century.

Right behind the Anjaneya Garbha Gudi is located the Brundavanas of several past pontiffs of the Palimaru Matha. Some other brundavanas are located to the southern side of the temple. There is a board put up there which gives details of the Swamijis whose brundavanas are located at this matha. The earliest brundavana was from the 1300s!

The matha also has a beautiful Pushkarani with crystal clear water. Right behind the matha flows the Shambhavi river. There is a mini-bridge-cum-dam built over the river there. The sceneries around the river are breath-taking.

Name: Sri Palimaru Matha

Location: Palimaru, Padubidri, Udupi District

Main deities: Sri Rama, Mukhya Prana

Address: Sri Palimaru Matha, Near Padubidri, Udupi District

How to get there: On the Udupi Mangalore highway, turn towards Nitte/Karkala at Padubidri junction. Travel 4-5 kms to reach a junction called Adve. Turn right here and travel about 3-4 kms to reach Palimaru matha.

Other specialities: There is also a very ancient Shiva temple located at Palimaru village. In the Anjaneya temple, the priests perform Vayu Stuti Purascharane to the main idol based on our request. A lot of people come here and get the Purascharane done. It is considered very auspicious.

Best time to visit: All through the year

More photos can be found here.

The matha now has a very informative website of their own. Click here.

Navagraha Mantras in Kannada

I have uploaded the “Saswara” Navagraha mantras in Kannada to my mantras page. These include the mantras for the Adhi Devata and the Pratyadhi Devata for each of the nine grahas.

The Graha – Adhi Devata – Pratyadhi Devata list is as below.

Aditya – Savitru – Agni
Angaraka – Prithvi – Kshetrapala
Shukra – Indrani – Indra
Chandra – Apa – Gowri
Budha – Vishnu – Vishnu
Bruhaspati – Indra – Brahma
Shani – Prajapati – Yama
Rahu – Sarpa – Nirruti
Ketu – Brahma – Chitragupta

Of course, the list of Adhi Devatas and Pratyadhi Devatas is slightly different in different traditions. Hopefully we can cover the other lists through comments 🙂

Madhva Kshetras

Throughout Tulu Nadu, there are many holy places tied to Sri Madhvacharya. Many of these are mentioned in Sumadhva vijaya, the hagiography of Sri Madhva. They are scattered throughout Udupi and Mangalore districts of Karnataka and Kasaragod district of Kerala. One day, I hope to cover all these places and provide details of them. But here is a small introduction to some of the places.

Danda theertha: This is the place where Sri Madhva studied the Vedas, under Sri Achyuta Preksha Theertha. This place also has a pond which was ‘created’ by Sri Madhva using his danda or stick. This place is located on the Udupi Mangalore highway. It is about 10kms from Udupi. Upon finding Bharat Canning Company, one needs to turn left to reach this place.
Sandalike Padi: This is the place where Sri Madhva encountered a Bhuta, when returning from Badarikashrama. It is located on the Udupi Kukkikatte road.
Kantavara Kanteshvara Temple: Some ignorant people tried to test the strength of Sri Madhva here. They could not even move the toe of Sri Madhva! He also displayed his Laghima siddhi here by going around the temple on the back of a small boy. This is located on the Padubidri Karkala road, off the Udupi Mangalore highway. After 15kms on this road, one reaches Belmann. The next stop is Manjarapalke and a right turn here and 10kms later, one reaches Kantavara.
Madhva: This is also the name of the place! Sri Madhva used to rest while on his way to Naddanthadi Matha. It is located on the Mangalore Dharmasthala road. From Mangalore, it is about 39kms and the name of the stop is itself Madhva.
Naddanthadi Matha: Sri Madhva used to travel very frequently between Udupi and Subramanya. During this journey, he used to stop at Naddanthadi. There is a matha here today and a “Madhva Mantapa” at the place where Sri Madhva used to sit down. On the Dharmasthala Ujire road, one needs to get down at Moorje. The place is about 45kms from Mangalore.
Erki Matha: Sri Madhva performed one of his numerous miracles here. In the season of Greeshma, he ‘created’ rain here. There is a pond at this place as a witness to the event. Another speciality of this place is that the head of the matha here has the authority (granted by Sri Madhva himself) to perform “Tapta Mudra Dharana” on Shayana Ekadashi, the only Gruhastha permitted to do so! Erki matha is located on the Uppinangadi – Kadaba – Subramanya road. From Uppinangadi, Aatoor is located about 10kms away. Erki matha is close to this place.
Kodipadi: It was at Kodipadi that Sri Madhva got back his stolen library. The King of Kumble returned this to Sri Madhva in a grand ceremony here. There is also a Janardana idol at the temple which was worshipped by Sri Madhva, plus a pond and a stone bench from that period. Kodipadi is on the way from Mangalore to Mani (Bangalore Highway). It is located 2kms before Puttur. After entering through the arch of Kodipadi, one has to travel 3kms to reach the place.
Adoor Mahalingeshwara Temple: This is a very important place for Madhvas. It was here that Sri Madhva defeated numerous scholars from other schools and converted them to Tattvavada. It was at Adoor where he also revealed the fact that every single name in the Vishnu Sahasranama had at least 100 meanings. Sri Madhva has also established a Vishnu idol here. One needs to take the Kasaragod Sullya road and cross Mulleriya and Kotyadi to reach Adoor.
Paranti Panchalingeshwara Temple: When Sri Madhva visited this place, the temple was in shambles and even the “Naivedya” to the Lord had stopped. Sri Madhva re-established the worship procedure here. He also revealed that he had worshipped at this place during the time of the Mahabharata (as Bhima). There are five natural Lingas located here. From Uppinangadi (Mangalore Bangalore Highway), after 11kms, one reaches Kanchana. 2kms from here is Periyadka and from there one needs to reach Mudya. Paranti is close by from here.
Kokkada Mahalingeshwara Temple: Sri Madhva wrote the famous “Krishnamruta Maharnava” here and also established a Vishnu idol in this temple. From Uppinangadi, one needs to travel 19kms to reach Nelyadi. 3kms from here, one needs to turn left and travel a further 5kms to reach Kokkada.
Kavu Matha: This was the home of Sri Trivikrama Panditacharya and Sri Narayana Panditacharya, the great Gruhastha disciples of Sri Madhva and the authors of many priceless works. Their brundavanas are also located here. Kavu matha is located 45kms from Mangalore and 2kms from Kasaragod, near the chowki stop.
Madhur Temple and Vishnumangala Temple: Both these places were visited multiple times by Sri Madhva. They are located close to Kasaragod city.
Kanvatirtha Kanva Matha: Sri Madhva gave a sermon here during a solar eclipse. Here, he also established the principle of “Dvandva Matha” or “Twin mathas” of Udupi, according to which there are 4 pairs of mathas worshipping at the Udupi temple. In case of the inability of the current matha to discharge their duty, the dvandva matha takes over. Kanvatirtha is located 20kms from Mangalore, towards Kasaragod. One needs to alight at the Talapadi bus stop. Kanvatirtha is close to Talapadi.

Of course, I have not covered Udupi and Pajaka here but they are very well known and a must visit also.

I hope this small writeup will be beneficial to Madhvas. It would be good if we plan to visit these places whenever we are visiting Udupi, Dharmasthala or Kukke. The rich religious, cultural and historical significance of these places will then start spreading.

Karthika Deepotsava at Nellitheertha

A couple of weeks ago, the month of Karthika was celebrated at the Nellitheertha temple. A “deepotsava” was held and thousands of lamps were lit.

Our scriptures mention that lighting lamps in the month of Karthika is extremely auspicious. Throughout India, people make it a point to light at least a couple of additional lamps during the entire month.

A Ranga Puje was held on the ocassion. Later in the evening, a “Bali Utsava’ was also conducted for Lord Somanatheshwara.