Krishna Temple

Sri Madhva then went on to write commentaries on the 10 principal Upanishads. He also was the first Acharya to comment on the Rig Veda when he composed the Rig Bhashya which commented on 40 suktis of the Veda. Along with that, he also authored the Bhagavata Tatparya and other works.

Around this time, Sri Madhva also obtained the idol of Bala Krishna on the coast near Udupi. Legend has it that Sri Madhva saved a ship from getting wrecked and in gratitude, the captain asked Sri Madhva to accept a gift. Sri Madhva, who already had a vision of what was to happen, chose nothing but 2 huge sticks of Gopi Chandana that were being used to balance the cargo in the ship. One of them contained an idol of Balarama which was established near Odambadeshwara and other stick contained the magnificent idol of Sri Krishna which is even today worshipped in the Udupi Sri Krishna Temple.

It is believed that when Sri Madhva cleaned the Krishna idol and performed initial rituals on the idol near the Sarovara (Madhva Sarovara), he asked his disciples to bring the statue to the inside of the temple. Even 40 people could not move the statue. Sri Madhva himself had to then carry the idol inside and establish it.

After this, Sri Madhva undertook a second trip to Badari. On the way, many interesting incidents took place. Once, after Sri Madhva and his followers crossed the Ganga river, the troops of a Muslim ruler arrested all of them. Sri Madhva explained to the King that it was the same Supreme Being that all people on earth worshipped and therefore he feared none. Looking at the fearless saint and impressed by his words, the King offered many gifts to Sri Madhva (all of which were politely refused) and permitted them to leave.

On another ocassion, a band of dacoits attacked the party. Sri Madhva asked Upendra Tirtha, his disciple, to confront them. Sri Upendra Tirtha, who went on to become one of the eight disciples who got the opportunity of worshipping Sri Krishna at Udupi, and who is the founder of the Puttige Matha, fought like a man possessed and drove away the bandits.

Sri Madhva always emphasized the need for maintaining physical health along with mental abilities. His hagiography, Madhva Vijaya, is filled with episodes which describe his supernatural physical prowess and the many incidents in which he physically defeated his opponents. Even today, in a place called Kalasa on the banks of the Bhadra river in Karnataka, one can find a boulder weighing more than 1 tonne that was shifted to the middle of the river by Sri Madhva single handedly. A stone inscription from that period that describes this incident stands as testimony to the extra ordinary strength of Sri Madhva.

Sri Madhva successfully visited Badari and returned back. He was instructed by Sri Veda Vyasa to write a Tatparya Nirnaya on the Mahabharata. Consequently, Sri Madhva created the Mahabharata Tatparya Nirnaya, his biggest work comprising of more than 5000 shlokas. The work is a masterpiece commentary on the fifth Veda and contains amazing insights into the epic. Many intriguing questions that may linger in the minds of an inquisitive reader of the Bharata are clarified in this work.

Sri Madhva, throughout his life, demonstrated extra ordinary skill in multiple aspects of his life. He once enchanted a crowd at Goa with his singing skills. Many of the idols he gave to his disciples, which are still worshipped, were personally sculpted by him. The Madhva Vijaya goes ga-ga over his physical attractiveness, confirming that he had the Dwa-trimsha-lakshanas – the 32 physical attributes that signify the highest amongst the devatas.

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