Sringeri - the spiritual world beckons ..

What is spiritual ? A beautiful serene moment, a togetherness with the divine, a blissful solitude , a positive vibration that cannot be felt anywhere else, a belief that goes deep within you that this is it, a complete abandon of all things material , including your ego, your anger, your hatred and even your identity ... Or is it something surreal, an inexplicable abstract feeling, when the body and mind is lost even though the senses are awakened..It is a word that means many things to many people and yet, cannot be fathomed.


If I were to ever recollect my spiritual experience -just one word comes to my mind. Sringeri. I have been there many times , first as a young child, when we learn to experience emotions but cannot explain, and later on now, when we still grapple with words to express our experience.

As a child, we used to go to Sringeri several times in a year.I remember the long curvy roads, the green and brown mountains, the heavy rains and the squalls, the the beautifully carved temples, the rhythmic chanting, the various rituals. I loved the Tunga river, the huge fish there, feeding them chaffed rice and then running across the river in a bridge to the other side to offer our prayers and obeisance to the Shankaracharaya .

I have never been the overtly religious or the ritualistic kind. And as we grow up, day to day life took over and our visits reduced . After a gap of almost three years , I finally made this trip .

The first thing that beckoned me was the River Tunga . A flight of steps leads you down to the river where the fish swim peacefully as the evening sun gracefully lit the waters.Some people were immersed in their evening rituals, while a few others were simply enjoying the sun set .


However I was quite shocked to see that this had become a tourist destination of sorts what with people screaming and even washing clothes.A few kids like me were feeding chaffed rice, but unfortunately their parents were not like mine who had told me not to pollute the river as its sacred. So pieces of paper, along with plastic were floating in the serene waters. I paused a moment recollecting my childhood and remember my mother telling me the story of Sringeri .

This is where Adi Shankaracharya set up his first Peetam or Mutt to teach and establish his Advaitha Doctrine . More than twelve centuries ago,he had come to Sringeri in search of a location . He saw an unusual sight on the banks of the Tunga that made him realize that this place was sacred . A cobra was seen spreading out its hood over a pregnant frog protecting it from the scorching sun.


He was struck by the sanctity of the area which could bring two enemies together and infuse love between them . The Acharya chose this very location to establish His first Mutt .The first Guru of the Peetam was Sureshwaracharya and this led to a tradition of having spiritual masters or Acharyas who represent Adi Sankaracharya and his doctrines. The present Acharya, Sri Bharati Tirtha Swamigal is the 36th in the line of Guru Parampara and is a renowned scholar

There are several temples in the mutt including the Sharadambal temple, which is that of the presiding deity . Adi Shankaracharya had invoked the Goddess of Knowledge , Sharada , consecrated an idol of her and even named the Peetam after her. It is said that the idol was initially made of sandalwood and "installed over the Chakra that Sri Adi Shankara carved on a rock." Later on many Acharyas embellished the temple and it became what it is today. Sculptures adorn the walls of the temple as each pillar invokes the spirit of the deity .

The Vidyashankar temple built in the 14th century is one of my personal favourites and I will dedicate a separate post for it . The other shrines include several deities like Kodandarama, Malayala Brahma, Thoranam Ganapathi,Stambha Ganapathi Janardhana Swamy,Balasubramanya, Chandramouleeswara Linga and each has its own story.

One of the most divine experiences is to watch the puja in the night where the Acharya worships the Chandramouleeswara Linga. It is a surreal like experience as one crosses the Tunga on a star lit night and walks across rich vegetation in silence , listening to the crickets ,enters the portals of the shrine as the invigorating chants fill the air and vibrates across the river..and then I realize that this is not just another pilgrimage . It is what one calls spiritual in the true sense of the word .It is something that needs to be imbibed and internalized.

Enroute to Sringeri

We crossed a couple of hanging bridges adjacent to each other enroute to Sringeri and I could not help but stop and take these pictures..One of them was defunct , but it had more charm than the other newly built bridge.I was tempted to cross over to the other side and lose myself in the wild..but as Frost said
"The woods are lovely, dark and deep
But I have promises to keep
And miles to go before I sleep
And miles to go before I sleep. "

Moodabidri - A thousand pillar basadi

The road meanders through lush fields bordered by coconut and palm trees . The bamboo stalks greet you as a collage of green and blue meets the eye. The rivers give us company.A hanging bridge appears out of nowhere dangling precariously above the fields.One nondescript hamlet follows another. Occasionally a noisy town appears and then merges into a dusty village. There is nothing unusual about this journey, except that it is steeped in heritage.




We are driving down from Mangalore towards Sringeri . Flanked by the western ghats this picturesque road takes you on a pilgrimage . A confluence of the spiritual and the historic, this region is dotted with temples and basadis that speak of various rulers , their spiritual beliefs and the art and architecture they left behind for posterity .



A 40 minute drive from Mangalore takes us to Moodabidri , the Jain Kashi of the South as its called. The noon sun was at its best and the town seemed to be engrossed in a deep slumber. A seat of Jain culture and architecture, this town has been the seat of several dynasties that promoted Jainism for more than 500 years. A strong testimony to this lies in the Basadis or Jain temples which were built here and Moodabadri alone boasts of 18 of them. We wanted to see at least one of them and we decided on a 700 year old Basadi .


A detour from the main highway leads us to Tribhuvana Tilaka Chudamani basadi or the crest jewel of the three worlds. It is indeed a jewel of architectural splendor and genius.. The locals and the tourist books refer to it as the thousand pillar temple or the Savira Kambada Basadi. There is no records here , but we heard that it was built at the instance of local chieftain , Devaraya Wodeyar in the 15th century, the basadi houses a tall bronze image of Lord Chandranatha Swami, the 8th Tirthankara . The thousand pillar basadi is a three storey symmetric structure and looks like poetry carved in granite .


A huge wooden carved door opens to a fifty five feet tall single pillar called called the Manasthamba that greets us right at the entrance . A couple of ladders are perched here and there.We realize some restoration work has been in progress. There was a deep silence and not a soul was around. I was talking to my mother in Tamil when someone from behind asked me in the same language if I wanted a guide. I swirled around in surprise to find Chandra, a local who was once working as a waiter in Chennai. He took over from there and gave me a glimpse into the heritage of Moodabidri and the traditions of Jainism .


The first thing I learnt that the name Moodabidri was derived from the bamboo that was grown in these parts. Chandra told us that Bidiru meant bamboo and Moodu meant east . For the travellers from west, this thicket of bamboo was called Moodabidri . It had royal patronage as it was the capital of the Chowter dynasty who ruled over Tulunadu for over 70 years. They patronized Jainism and even today a 900 palace with beautifully engraved pillars and ornate ceilings stands as a testimony to their reign


As we enter the portals of the basadi it opens into a large ornate hall with a beautiful flooring and carved pillars . Chandra points out that the flooring is about 600 years old and it looks like it has been restored recently.The three storey structure which was patronized by the king was supported by the wealthy merchants and town councilors and still today stands as an epitome of a town’s homage to Jainism .The monolithic Manasthambha built by Queen Nagala Devi, queen of Bhairava Raja installed at a later date is about fifty five feet feet high.


We walk around the basadi and see more beautiful sculptures gazing at us from various angles. There are seven mandapas supported by several pillars , all symmetrical. Chandra points out that no two pillar is actually the same .

Each mandapa is supported by a multitude of pillars which have their own unique designs carved in granite .Elaborately carved figures of chauri-bearers, drummers jostle for space with elephants , giraffes , dragon and yalis or tigers . Chandra told us that this is an indication of the trade and relationship between the Jain merchants and foreign countries.

The sloping red roof with carved posts in copper and granite with wooden bars create a stark picture against the bright blue sky . Heads of snakes stand out at every corner .. The lawns are littered with the belongings of the laborers who have taken a lunch break. Chandra takes us inside to see the bronze idol of the deity and a moment lapses in just awe and wonder.

We sit down on the grass as the sun softens its stance .there are no tourists or pilgrims, just us, Chandra and a few laborers . The shrill cry of the birds interrupt our reverie. Chandra plays the perfect tourist guide. He says there is more to see in Moodabidri, the ancient monastery, one of the oldest basadis , the 12th century Guru basadi, the Gowri temple, ..We wanted to linger, but our destination was elsewhere. We promised Chandra that we would be back . We have a tryst with ancient Jainism.

Getting there
Moodabadri is about 37 kms from Mangalore and it is ideal to go on a day trip by road Buses ply on this route as well. The main tourist attractions are the Guru basadi, thousand pillar basadi, Chowta palace and the Jain monastery . In most places, you would need to pay some money for photography, though there are not any official boards announcing the same. There are no official guides as well, but locals like Chandra are a plenty and most of the time., the information is quite raw, but interesting.

The Mangala Devi of Mangalore

This is probably my nth trip to Mangalore . But as always, it has been a city in transit and never quite the destination. Except for a couple of official trips that I had made during my last job. It is a city that I've seen in bits and pieces and this time it was no exception.

I had flown in from Bangalore - the trains were running full and I did not want to hazard a bus journey what with the status of roads . My parents were coming to Mangalore by train from Chennai on a beautiful coast ride and we were going to Sringeri on a pilgrimage . As my flight landed early, I had a few hours to kill and I asked the cab driver to show we around Mangalore.I had time to see one temple - the Mangala Devi temple . I had wanted to see the frescoes housed in St Aloysius College Chapel, but the college exams were on and visitors were not allowed .



The road from the airport was beautiful. We crossed bridges built across the backwaters , passed a few hamlets with small tiled houses and gazed upon lush fields filled with water. We were driving from Kudla , which is the Tulu name for Mangalore meaning junction. Located in the confluence of the Netravati and Gurupura rivers , this is a city with myriad names,communities and dialects. Called Maikala by the Bearys, Kodial by Konkanis, Menguluru by Kannadigas, the city has been in the map of several global historians and explorers . Wiki says that the Arabic traveller Ibn Battutua wrote about Manjarur while Greek historian Ptolemy referred to Maganoor . However the town called Menguluru today owes its name to a deity Mangala Devi whose temple attracts pilgrims all over . There are many stories about this Goddess who lent her name to the port city, Mangalapura , but this is the most elaborate story we heard there,a lore that has travelled down the ages.



A demoness, Vikashini wanted to avenge the death of her father, Hiranyaksha by Lord Vishnu. So she prayed to Lord Brahma who granted her a boon that she will bear a son of Lord Shiva who will be invincible. Her son, Andhakasura threatened Lord Vishnu who approached the Goddess to kill the demon. It is said that the Goddess in the form of Rakteshwari jumped into the ocean and killed him.

A yuga passed and Parashurama was looking for a piece of land to continue his penance . He approached Varuna, the Lord of the Seas who refused. A provoked Parashurama flung his axe and carved a portion of the land from the sea . The claimed coastal region, known as Parashurama Kshetra is today parts of coastal Karnataka ,Maharashtra and Kerala .

The story goes that Parushrama continued his penance at the place where the Goddess killed the demon and a temple was built here .As several years passed by , Tulu Nadu was ruled by a king called Bangaraja .It is said that the Goddess appeared in his dream and showed him a shrine buried under a mound . The king rebuilt a temple there and it was called Mangala Devi. Later on , Kundavarma of the Alupa Dynasty renovated the temple under the guidance of two sages Matsyendranath and Goraknath who had come from Nepal . As we left the temple, we realized that this is not just a story, but the identity of Mangalore.

A long road ahead ..

I still feel like I am on the road, travelling, exploring ..The Hoysala trail did make me feel a bit of an explorer myself..The thrill of discovering something new...I need to read more about the places that I have been before posting on the Hoysala trail. I also need to complete my posts on my Mangalore-Sringeri trip and my Coorg trips before starting on the Hoysala trail..A few writing assignments are pending as well..

Why am I on a rant ? The roads still beckon me..maybe Im having withdrawal symptoms :)

The Hoysala trail - 20 villages in 3 days

Thats right..Ive been on the Hoysala trail in interior Karnataka , visiting about 20 villages and 30 temples - some in ruins such as the one here , which is in a small hamlet called Angadi where the Hoysala Dynasty actually began..One of my best trips ever this year, I must thank my cousin Lalitha and my uncle Muralippa for actually taking me there..