Divine jewels of Tulunadu - Part 1

 Divine Jewels of Tulunadu- Part 1

I love Tulu Nadu and Udupi, it is called my different names like Kudla, Mangaluru etc. The kind of Divinity and the depth of Indian culture which you can find here is just great. I feel lucky that my roots come from here. This blog is something which is very close to my heart as I will be describing about the place where i have placed my heart and my mind in. 

This place is not only good for tourism but to understand the culture as well.

Here are some places which you can visit here to witness the divinity of God and the grandeur of the culture of Bharat. I always call this place as ಸಿರಿಗನ್ನಡ ನಾಡ ಹೊಳೆವ ಮೂಗುತಿ which literally mean " the shining nose pin of the land of Karnataka" Well let me come to the best part, here are few places which you can visit. I will be writing in parts as i cannot cover the entire places in just one blog. 

First i will cover with the main places which you can visit in Kudla.

DHARMASTALA 

800 years ago, Dharmasthala was known as Kuduma in Mallarmadi, a then village in South Kanara. Here lived the Jain Chieftain Birmanna Pergade and his wife Ammu Ballalthi in a house called Nelyadi Beedu. Simple, pious and affectionate people; the Pergade family was known for its generosity and hospitality to all.
According to legend, the guardian angels of Dharma assumed human forms and arrived at Pergade’s abode in search of a place where Dharma was being practiced and could be continued and propagated. As was their habit, the Pergade couple hosted these illustrious visitors with all their wherewithal and great respect. Pleased by their sincerity and generosity, that night the Dharma Daivas appeared in the dreams of Shri Birmanna Pergade. They explained the purpose of their visit to him and instructed him to vacate his house for the worship of the Daivas and dedicate his life to the propagation of Dharma.
Asking no questions, the Pergade built himself another house and began worshipping the Daivas at Nelyadi Beedu. This continues even today.
As they continued their worship and their practice of hospitality, the Dharma Daivas again appeared before Shri Birmanna Pergade to build separate shrines dedicated to the four Dharma Daivas – Kalarahu, Kalarkai, Kumaraswamy and Kanyakumari. Also, Pergade was instructed to choose two persons of noble birth to act as the Daivas’ oracles and four worthy persons to assist Shri Pergade in his duties as the Executive Head of the shrines. In return, the Daivas promised Shri Pergade family protection, abundance of charity and renown for the ‘Shri Kshetra’.

As ordained, Shri Pergade built the shrines and invited Brahmin priests to perform the rituals. These priests requested Pergade to also install a Shivalinga beside the native Daivas. The Daivas then sent their vassal Annappa Swamy to procure the Idol of Lord Manjunatheshwara from Kadri, near Mangalore. Subsequently Shree Manjunatha Swamy temple was built around this idol.

Around the 16 Century, Shri Devaraja Heggade invited Shri Vadiraja Swami of Udupi to visit the shrine. The Swamiji gladly came but refused to accept Bhiksha (food offering) because the idol of Lord Manjunatha had not been consecrated according to the Vedic rites. Shri Heggade then requested the Swamiji to re-consecrate the shiva Linga himself. Pleased by the observance of the Vedic rites and Heggade’s charity to all, the Swamiji named the place Dharmasthala the abode of religion and charity. Thus, the roots of charity and religious tolerance established by the Pergades 800 years ago have been nurtured and strengthened by twenty-one generations of the Heggade family, (Heggade being a derivative from Pergade). Today’s Dharmasthala blossoms with the fruit of this selfless dedication.

So, this was the history of Dharmasthala the timings of this temple are as follows so plan your visit accordingly, I suggest visit early mornings as the crowd will be a lot lesser compared to the other timings. It’s better you get up at 4am, get ready and visit temple as you will feel that peaceful atmosphere. 6:30 am to 2:30 pm Darshan and in the evening 5 to 8:30 pm. They will provide lunch and believe me lunch here is the best, you can never get more satisfied than this.

 It’s good to plan your visit like this, so that you can cover, most of the places. Morning sharp 6:30 Visit the Dharmasthala temple, after darshan have your breakfast, then proceed towards Shishila, I will be describing about Shishila further. This place is something where you will want to spend a lot of time. As the place is so beautiful, calm and divine. 

PS: Please make sure you keep the place clean and be a responsible traveller, please don’t’ litter and I will appreciate if people take up initiatives to clean the place.

So, after visiting Shishila, (You can spend around 3 hours here or more depends on how you feel about the place.) Then you can procced towards Southadaka Ganesha temple and your final destination will be Kukke Subramanya.

Make sure you come to these places not just for tourism, come here with a spiritual mindset, believe me you will find a lot of answers to your life here. This is more like a pilgrimage than tourist attractions.

                                                                           SHISHILA

The second place I mentioned about is Shishila, the history of Shishila goes like this. In Karnataka’s Dakshina Kannada district, Belthangady Taluk, 32-km from the famed Dharmasthala Temple, nature’s bounty perhaps could not have been greater, with thickly forested mountains bordering on all sides, wisps of clouds dancing across the tree tops and the monsoon-fed Kapila River flowing with all her might. By the side is the ancient Shishileshwara temple. The only blight on this happy picture is a memorial carved in stone that reminds one of a terrible disaster that befell the liveliest occupant of the river–the Mahaseer fish.

This fish along with many other perished in thousands when miscreants poisoned the river in 1996. Shaken by the tragedy, residents of Shishila village joined hands to set up the Matsya Samrakshane Vedika (Fish Protection Forum).

Known as the Shishila Temple Fish Sanctuary, it is one of the finest such sanctuaries in the country, with the Mahaseer taking precedence over the other 40 varieties of fish that live in these waters. The fish go back hundreds of years with perhaps only the 700-year-old Shishileshwara Temple upping it in the antiquity stakes. Today, protection of aquatic life rests in the hands of the self-appointed guardians of the sanctuary.

I will be covering about the history of the other places in my upcoming blogs, I don’t want my readers to get bored of my blogs. So, Sayonara