Nandalike – Temples of Tulu Nadu

Visiting Nandalike was a very interesting experience. I had not planned to cover this temple in my trip this time. I traveled a long way to visit and cover a Shiva temple located close to Nandalike. After searching that temple for over an hour, I discovered that it was closed. There was no one nearby and so I could not enter the temple. I was hugely disappointed. After spending some time looking for the temple folks, I gave up and starting driving back. On the way, I saw a temple arch to my right. My watch showed that I had about 20-25 mins of time before it got completely dark which meant no photos. I instinctively turned right and continued to drive in spite of encountering a very bad stretch of road for about 2 kms. In the end, I reached this temple and to my utter surprise found that this was a Shiva temple as well. Truly, my joy knew no bounds!

Nandalike is located on the Padubidri – Karkala highway and has an ancient and beautiful Shiva (Mahalingeshwara Temple)

It was only after landing at this place that I realized the great history and tradition of this place. In terms of folklore, history and legend, perhaps there is no other place that is as rich as Nandalike. One of the first things I realized is that I would be able to cover only a miniscule amount of what is available here. I instantly promised myself that I would come back here and spend more time to cover all the other important places. This article therefore, is only limited to the Mahalingeshwara Temple.

The temple is built in typical Tulu Nadu style and has “Gudis” for Mahalingeshwara, Mahaganapati and the Daivas. The temple has been renovated and is very well maintained. The priests and administrative heads of the temple were very co-operative and encouraging.

Nandalike has a huge number of Daivas. The speciality of this temple is that almost all the Daivas have their own separate abodes. In my next visit, I certainly plan to photograph those individual Gudis. The main Daivas are Uri-Brahma, Veerabhadra, Nandigona, Kumara, Abbaga-Daaraga, Khadgeshwari, Rakteshwari, Annappa, Kshetrapala, Bhutaraja and Gajamalla.

There is a lot of folklore and local legend associated with these Daivas. In fact, the legend has it that the Daivas came to Nandalike first and then they were followed by Sri Mahalingeshwara.

The main Mahalingeshwara Temple was established by the great Dvaita Saint Sri Vadiraja Swamy of the Sode Matha.

There is a Ashta Lakshmi temple nearby. The temple also has a Mahanagaraja Swamy Sannidhana right next to the Mahalingeshwara Temple.

Near the temple is the house of the local rulers, the Heggades and the Pergades. This is known as the “Chavadi Aramane”. The descendants of this family reside here even to this day and oversee the smooth functioning of the temple and festivals.

The temple is located amidst lush greenery. In fact, two sides of the temple are surrounded by a beautiful moat. The pond belonging to the temple is also extremely well maintained.

Name: Sri Mahalingeshwara Temple

Location: Nandalike, Udupi, Karnataka

Dieties : Sri Mahalingeshwara, Ganapati

Main Bhootas : Uri Brahma, Rakteshwari, Abbaara – Daaraga, Veerabhadra, Annappa, others

Address : Nandalike Sri Mahalingeshwara Devasthana, Naalku Sthana – Nandalike, Karkala Taluk, Udupi District, Karnataka – 576126

Contact : (08258) 316485, Palace: 268347, Temple : 248346

Annual festival: From Shukla Dvadashi in Meena Masa (around Feb-Mar) to Krishna Panchami. The last day is the grandest day during the Jaatre.

Nearby temples: Belmannu Durga Parameshwari, Nandikur Durga Parameshwari, Bola Mrutyunjaya Rudra Somanatha, Inna Mahalingeshwara, Mundkur Durga Parameshwari

Specialities: The chavadi (hall) in the nearby palace is a very revered place. During the annual festival, disputes between locals are settled here in the presence of the Pergade/Heggade family elders. People lying here are known to have encountered great mishaps in their lives.

The palace has a rich history of its own. The place is definitely worth a visit as a tourist destination, in addition to a spiritual center.

Another highlight about Nandalike is that the great 19th century Kannada poet Muddana was a native of this place.

More photos here.

Photos of Pajaka

Sri Hariprasad Alur, one of the readers of this blog, has kindly sent a set of very nice photographs of Pajaka, and of Yantroddaraka Prana Devaru. With his kind permission, I reproduce the photos below.

Two huge stones placed by Sri Madhva when he was a small child

Aswatha tree planted upside down by Sri Madhva!

Belmannu – Temples of Tulu Nadu

Within Tulu Nadu itself, one of the most fascinating regions, especially when it comes to Temples, is the Karkala taluk of Udupi district. Just along the Padubidri – Karkala stretch, there are tens of ancient and fascinating temples. In my earlier visits to the region, I had covered a few like Palimaru, Mundkur, Inna and others. This time, I visited another of the beautiful temples in this stretch – the Belmannu Durga Parameshwari Temple.

Belmannu is a small village that lies almost exactly midway between Padubidri and Karkala. It is about 12-15 kms from Padubidri after turning right on the Mangalore – Udupi highway at Padubidri. Belmannu has a Durga Parameshwari Temple. The temple is located at the village Belmannu and one has to turn right at the village and travel a short distance to reach the temple. The most fascinating part of the temple is its location. When I was driving to the temple, I almost felt as if I was in the middle of a thick jungle. The amount of greenery surrounding the temple is unbelievable. As a matter of fact, the Durga Devi of Belmannu is known as “Vana Durga” or the “Durga of the Forest”!

Along with Sri Durga Parameshwari, the temple also has the idol of Sri Ganapati. The temple has an amazing serenity about itself that is quite unique. The temple structure itself, looks to have been renovated a few years ago and looks very good. The Prangana is very huge and is fairly well maintained. The priests of the temple are always from the Bhargava Gotra.

Information about the temple and its history was not easy to accumulate, partly due to the absence of the temple administrators during my visit, but I hope to obtain the same some other time. The main Bhuta at the temple is Rakteshwari. In addition, there are also many other Rajan Daivas at the temple.

The annual festival happens around March-April and is held for 5 days. It starts on the day Sun enters Aries (Mesha Sankramana)

Name: Sri Durga Parameshwari Temple

Location: Belmann, Karkala Taluk, Udupi District

Main deities: Durga Parameshwari, Ganapati

Bhutas: Rakteshwari, many others

Address: Belmannu Sri Durgaparameshwari Temple, Belmannu Village, Padubidri Karkala Road, Karkala Taluk, Udupi District, Karnataka

Contact: Sri B M Krishna Bhat, Managing Trustee, Ph: 9241943581

Nearby Temples: Nandikur Durga Parameshwari Temple, Bola Mrutyunjaya Ruda Somanatha Temple, Nandalike Mahalingeshwara Temple

More photos here.

New domain name for the portal

I am happy to announce that this portal now has a new domain name – http://anandatirtha.org

Of course, the previous domain – https://anandatirtha.wordpress.com will still continue to work. But the new domain name is the first step towards making my dream of building an organization for service towards the Tattvavada philosophy of Srimadacharya.

Regards, Hari

Tapta Mudra Dharana – 2009

Today is Ashaada Shukla Ekadashi – the beginning of Chaturmasya. Today is also the day when most Vaishnavas (Madhvas, specifically) take the “Tapta Mudra Dharana“. I managed to get the Mudras from Puthige Matha, Bangalore. The Mudras were given by Sri Sri Raghumanya Tirtha Swamiji of the Bhimanakatte Matha.

This time, the administrators of the matha had made very good arrangements. First of all, the Sudarshana Homa ended right on time at 6:45AM and the mudra dharane started exactly at 7AM. Also, the people who assembled were made to stand in a queue right from the beginning. Usually, people rush towards the Swamiji resulting in a traffic jam 🙂

As usual, there were a bunch of “devotees” trying to use their “influence” to avoid the queue but the administrators were politely refusing their requests. The whole event was disciplined and systematic, which made me very happy.