Guruvayur, Manikarnika Ghat, Udupi

Guruvayur: Where Heaven Meets Earth

Jagatguru Swami (BTG January '86)
Many factors contribute to the popularity of India's major temples. Sri Rangam, situated on the
Kaveri River, is popular because of its antiquity. Badarinatha, high in the Himalayas, is famous
for its geographical location. Konark, the sun temple in Orissa, is known for its unique
architecture, and Vyenkatesvara, in the South Indian hill town of Tirumala, owes much of its
fame to the Deity's reputation for fulfilling the requests of His worshipers. All these factors
combine at Guruvayur, in the South Indian state of Kerala. Guruvayur is one of the most
enchanting and glorious temples in all of India.
There are no movie theaters in the town of Guruvayur. No liquor stores nor night clubs.
Guruvayur is a holy city, where people come to make spiritual advancement. In an
atmosphere of devotion to Krsna, visitors immediately feel they have risen above this earthly
world to the divine. Appropriately, Guruvayur is known as Bhuloka Vaikuntha: "where heaven
meets earth."
A visit to Guruvayur, though common to devotees in India, is something very few Westerners
have experienced. To witness the thousands of devoted pilgrims who come to worship Krsna
every day is astounding. The faith of the pilgrims who visit Guruvayur is expressed in their
earnest and sincere faces as they enter the temple. While sitting in the large open-air corridor
outside the Deity's chamber, pilgrims hear priests tell about the many miracles performed at
Guruvayur. With palms joined in awe and reverence, the devotees pray that they too might
receive the blessings of Lord Krsna.
The temple schedule begins at 3 AM with darsana (seeing the Deity), followed by abhiseka
(bathing the Deity) and continues until 10 PM, when the Deity takes rest for the night.
Throughout the day the elaborate worship of the Deity of Lord Krsna engages the temple
priests and thousands of visitors in activities of Krsna consciousness. Accompanied by music
and singing, the devotees daily offer hundreds of vegetarian dishes, colorful silks and other
items of opulent clothing, jeweled ornaments, garlands of flowers, and even elephants as gifts
to the Deity.
During the mid-morning hours many wedding ceremonies take place, one after another.
Devoted couples, believing that being married at the Guruvayur temple is a great blessing,
come here from all over South India.
In the evening, varieties of classical dance, such as Bharata-natyam and Kathakali, are
performed for the public. The dancers combine dance and drama to depict the pastimes of
Lord Krsna. These dance traditions have existed in South India for thousands of years, and
no temple function is complete without them.
The evening also brings the main event of the day: a Deity procession led by jewel and gold
bedecked elephants. The beauty of the Deity and the grandeur of the elephants draws
thousands of pilgrims to witness the procession each evening. Before the arrival of the Deity,
elaborate preparations are made. Then, as the enthusiastic crowd stands expectant, a
devotee blows three blasts on a conchshell. The priests quickly emerge from the Deity's
chamber bearing Lord Krsna on a golden throne, which is placed on the lead elephant.
Surrounded by priests bearing multicolored umbrellas and varieties of fans, by musicians
playing drums, cymbals, gongs, and trumpets, and by exuberant devotees chanting the

names of the Lord, the Deity is carried around the temple compound, now illuminated by ten
thousand oil lamps.
After about one hour, with the circumambulation completed, the elephants return to the
starting point and stand motionless while the Deity is removed from the golden throne and
returned to His chamber. It is now 10 PM and the temple closes for the night.
Because the elephant procession is held every night of the year, the Guruvayur temple owns
an elephant ranch, where thirty-six elephants are trained to perform ceremonial functions. In
the history of the temple several elephants stand out as special. One of the most famous was
Kesava, also known as Gajaraja, or "king of the elephants."
Kesava's unique devotion for his service at Guruvayur will not soon be forgotten. When
Kesava became the leading elephant in the temple herd, he would no longer tolerate another
elephant's carrying the Deity. Once, when another elephant was selected to carry the Deity in
procession, Kesava became so disturbed that he attacked the other elephant and chased him
away. Whenever Kesava was to carry the Deity, he would demonstrate his great eagerness to
perform his service by pulling at the chains bound his feet.
For more than fifty years Kesava served Lord Krsna at Guruvayur. During one festival,
however, he became ill, just at the time of the Deity procession. His huge body began to
tremble, and he was removed from the procession and taken to a nearby stable, where he
fasted throughout the night. The next evening when the conchshell blew to announce the
appearance of the Deity, Kesava bowed before the temple, and amid thousands of devotees
chanting and playing on musical instruments, his soul departed from his body to attain the
eternal realm of Vaikuntha.
When pilgrims arrive at Guruvayur, they are reminded of Kesava by his tusks and portrait
displayed above the main entrance to the Deity chamber. And throughout the city many shops
sell colorful paintings of Kesava.
At Guruvayur, whether on the days of great festivals or in the moments before the evening
procession, when then thousand oil lamps are being lit, or while hearing about Kesava, the
king of the elephants, the pilgrim naturally feels a growing desire to glorify the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, Lord Krsna.
Manikarnika Ghat
Seeing all the miseries of mankind, Lord Siva, the eternally compassionate one, cried tears of
supreme sorrow. Rudra decided to perform penance and ask Lord Vishnu how to help the
helpless of this world. Lord Madhava is the only one who can grant liberation - hence Rudra
decided to call upon Him to find an answer for the liberation of all the souls of this world.
So fierce was the penance of Lord Siva that Lord Narayana came in person to grant a boon to
Isvara. The Lord of Vaikuntha asked Lord Siva to open His eyes, desist from this penance and
ask for any boon he desired. Seeing the Lord before him, Siva bowed and asked for but one
thing, "Please grant an easy route for salvation to all the creatures of this world. Their
sorrows, caused by ceaseless cycles of birth, death and karmic entanglements this incurs,
grieves me much. Please find an easy, fool-proof route so that they may be liberated with
ease from this cycle of constant rebirths."

Smiling His charming smile, Lord Hiranyagarbha said, "Thou art the most compassionate
being in this universe. It behooves you to think thus. This sacred land where you have
performed such severe penance for the good of the world is so hallowed by your association
that from this day forth, anyone who comes here, will attain liberation. This I grant for your
sake and give you exclusive powers to liberate all creatures who come to you here."
Knowing the capricious nature of souls enmeshed in the quagmire of samsara Lord Siva
desired to extend the terms of the boon. "Lord, please grant such a boon so that even if the
creature that comes here is dead, their soul should attain liberation."
Moved by Rudra's infinite compassion, the Lord Kesava shook His head in admiration and
said, "Thou art compassion incarnate. I will grant you a boon so that anyone who comes here,
dead or alive, will attain your grace. Even if a creature dies here; or is cremated here, having
died elsewhere; thou hast the power to grant them liberation." When the Lord shook His head
in admiration for Pasupatinath's compassion for all jivas, one of His gem-encrusted earrings
fell to the ground, near the kund (pond/ lake) where Lord Siva was meditating. The hallowed
spot where Lord Siva performed his penance and where the Lord's jeweled earring fell, is the
current Manikarnika ghat (mani = jewel, karnika = earring, ghat = bathing place).
Later, when the heavenly river Ganges descended to the earth and purified the souls of
Sagar's sons, She decided to pay homage to Lord Visvanath's penance and came to flow
past this spot, transforming the ghat of a small kund (pond, lake) into a ghat (bathing steps)
on its own mighty banks.
From time immemorial, the burning ghat at Manikarnika in Varanasi have attracted those
seeking salvation. At a time when travel was neigh impossible and pilgrimage across the vast
subcontinent a major achievement of its own, people used to commit ritual suicide at this ghat
so that they may die and be liberated. In those days, travel was a dangerous adventure and
having once achieved the goal of reaching Kasi, some visitors felt that it was best to seek
salvation here and now, rather than risk being killed by bandits on the way back, or dying of
illness back home.
Currently, this is the busiest burning ghat at Kasi, and indeed probably the whole world. As a
result, most corpses do not get enough time to burn properly and are often unceremoniously
dumped half burnt into the sacred river. A constant stream of corpses come to this ghat to be
burnt, day and night. Between this and the Hariscandra ghat, the other famous burning ghat
in Kasi, the holy city hums with its own eternal life.
Udupi
When the time comes to go on a pilgrimage to the places of intense interest for Madhvas,
Udupi is the place to use as home base. There are seven famous centres of pilgrimage in the
North and South Kanara districts known as Tulunad.
raupyapiiTham kumaaraadriH kumbhaasii cha dhvajeshvaraH kruuDagokarNamuukaambaaH
saptaitaa mokshadaayikaaH
raupya piiTha (Udupi), kumaaraadri (Subrahmanya), kumbhaasi (Kumbhasi), dhvajeshvara
(Koteswar), kruuDa (Shankaranarayana), gokarNa (Gokarna) and muukaambaa (Kollur) are
the seven givers-of-mukti (holy places).

From Gokarna in the north of Tulunad to Subrahmanya in the south is a distance of some 200
miles. Gokarna is in North Kanara while Udupi, Subrahmanya, Kumbhasi, Koteswar,
Shankaranarayana and Kollur are in South Kanara. Gokarna is in the region of one hundred
miles to the north of Udupi and Subrahmanya approximately one hundred miles to the south.
The meaning and origin of the word `Udupi':
Udupi is known as oDipu in the Tulu language. Narayana Panditacharya in his notes called
Bhaava Prakasha on the Sumadhva Vijaya records thus:
rajatapiiThapurasya oDipu ityapabhrashhTa saMGYaa
The modern name Udupi must have developed from this ancient folk name.
A different etymology is provided by certain other scholars, but there is not too much credence
given to it. 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 bears the
moon on his head. Since there is the ancient temple of Chandramaulishvara in Udupi, the
place may have been known by the name Udupi, after its ancient deity.
It is quite evident that this idea developed very recently. The author of the Sumadhva Vijaya
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 Dwaarakaa) 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 oDabhaaNDiishvara. There appears to be some kind of
relationship between the words oDabhaaNDa 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 Sri Madhva saved
the ship carrying the icon of Sri Krishna from being wrecked during a storm.
The beach itself is quite pleasant to walk along. At one time cargo ships that had been
decommissioned were drawn up on the beach and cut up for scrap. This was some distance
to the south but was very interesting to watch.
Shivaruupya - Shivalli
The original name of the village of Udupi is Shivalli. Later on an attempt was made to
Sanskritize this name into Shivaruupya because Shiva dwelt there. The author of the
(Su)Madhva Vijaya refers to this name:

vedaadrisad.h rajatapiiThapureshvaraabhyaam.h
graamo vibhuushitataraH shivaruupyanaamaa
(S.V. II-10)
"The village stretching up to Indrali Hills in the East (present day Manipal) and presided over
by Lord Ananteshvara is known as Shivaruupya."
There is a popular legend which tells us how this ancient village became Shiva's village in
ancient times:
King Raamabhoja 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, maangoDu, arikoDu and taangoDu.
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 Sri
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 arikoDu shrine. This is in very bad condition as
the walls have collapsed. Also, there is no approach road.
The place known as taangoDu 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 Raamabhoja worshiped Lord Parashuraama in the form of a Shivalinga on a silver seat.
This temple is now known to us as Ananteshvara.
Ananteshvara
When Lord Vishnu took the incarnation of Parashuraama on this Earth he was "trained" by
Shiva in the art of archery. To commemorate this student-teacher drama, Lord Vishnu wanted
to get himself identified with the linga so that both the teacher and the student were
worshiped simultaneously by the devotees. Sriman 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 Ananteshvara came to vogue as a result of this.
Sri Vaadiraaja Tiirtha in his masterpiece Tiirtha Prabandha extols Ananteshvara in this way:
ivaantaryaamitaaM sviiyaaM priyaan.h prati nibodhayan.h
dayaavaarinidhiH shaiviiM shilaamaashritya shobhate
iiSasyaahiiSapadaviim bhaasayanniva bhaaviniim.h
adhyaaste sheshashayanaH snigdhaaM liN^gashilaam.h
(T. P. 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 Sri Madhva, his father, Nadillaaya (a.k.a. Madhya-geha BhaTTa), had
worshiped this Deity to beget a male child. It is believed that he used to pray to Lord

Bhujangashayana enshrined in this idol. Narayana Pandita makes a reference to this in his
commentary Bhaava Prakaashika on the Sumadhva Vijaya:
svadarshanoruvratine nishiite
praaptaaya bhogiindragato hariH prabhuH
svaM darshayitvaa khalu kuJNjamaadhava
dvijaaya tadvat.h pratimaaM vyadhaapayat.h
Even now the Deity is known as Ananteshvara, Anantaasana and Anantapadmanaabha.
`Ananta' means the serpent Shesha. Hence Ananteshvara means the Lord Narayana
reclining on a serpent. Ananta is also another name of Lord Vishnu. Lord Vishnu enshrined in
the Shivalinga came to be designated as Ananteshvara.
Ananteshvara was a famous temple and pilgrim centre of this region. It was also a centre of
Vedantic philosophy and formed a suitable background for the advent of Sriman
Madhvacharya.
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 Achaarya only because of their twelve years
of worship at the foot of this Deity Bhujangashayana ("the one who reclines on a serpent").
Hence this temple has great historic significance.
Sri Madhva used to sit in the Ananteshvara temple and teach his disciples. Even today the
place where he used to sit is considered to be a holy shrine. The plank where he used to sit is
still there but there is no icon of Sri Madhva. At one time a beautiful icon had been prepared
to be installed here, but when the time of installation came around, Sri Madhva appeared in a
dream and ordered, 'Please do not put any stone on me,' thus indicating that he was always
and already present there. To this day the stone icon is kept outside and the devotees offer
worship to the seat itself.
This shrine 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 Ananteshvara 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
Ananteshvara 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.
Chandramaulishvara
To the east of the Ananteshvara temple stands a smaller temple wherein presides Shiva,
known as Chandramaulishvara. Because the temple is a very ancient one, precious little is
known about its history.

This temple of Chandramaulishvara is smaller than that of Ananteshvara. 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 Madhva Vijaya that the temple was originally known as muuDu devaalaya
(mahendra digaalaya). Since it was on the Eastern side of the chief temple Ananteshvara, it
came to be referred to as the Eastern temple.
There is a special tradition the devotees participate in before entering the shrine of Lord
Krishna. First they must visit Chandramaulishvara and then they go on to Ananteshvara. From
there they proceed to Sri Krishna Mutt. Sri Vishvapati Tiirtha in his commentary on the
Madhva Vijaya records this custom:
rajatapiiThapure 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 Ananteshvara in the Western temple. This is
the custom followed here.'
Even now the Udupi ashhTa-maTha Swamijis visit the temple in this order before they
ceremoniously take charge of the management of Sri Krishna Mutt during the paryaaya
festival.