Kadri Manjunatha Temple is a historic temple in

Mangaluru Mangaluru (), formerly called Mangalore ( ), is a major industrial port city in the Indian state of Karnataka and on the west coast of India. It is located between the Laccadive Sea and the Western Ghats about west of Bengaluru, the stat ...

in the state of

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. The incharge and priests in the temple are Shivalli

Madhva Brahmins Madhva Brahmins (also often referred as Madhvas or Sadh-Vaishnavas), are communities of Hindus from the Brahmin caste in India, who follow Sadh Vaishnavism () and Dvaita philosophy propounded by Madhvacharya. They are found mostly in the Indian ...

History

The temple of Manjunatheshwara on the hills of Kadri is said to be built during the 10th or 11th century. It was converted to a complete stone structure during the 14th century. The bronze (panchlauha) idol of Lokeshwar (identified as Brahma), about 5 feet high, of the temple is called as oldest of the South Indian temples. It has an inscription dated 968 CE (or 1068 CE), engraved on the pedestal. The inscription states that King Kundavarma of the Alupa Dynasty installed the Lokeshwara idol in Kadarika Vihara. It mentions Mangaluru as "Mangalapura". The image has three faces and six arms, and holds and hold flowers in two of the arms. The crown depicts a Dhyani Buddha. The image has an ornate prabhavali, and two attendants. It is very well preserved with enameled eyes. There exist two other undated bronze images of similar craftsmanship, one of them is identifiable as an Avalokiteshwar (called

Narayana Narayana (, ) is one of the forms and epithets of Vishnu. In this form, the deity is depicted in yogic slumber under the celestial waters, symbolising the masculine principle and associated with his role of creation. He is also known as Pu ...

) and other as

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was ...

(called

Vedavyasa Vyasa (; , ) or Veda Vyasa (, ), also known as Krishna Dvaipayana Veda Vyasa (, ''Vedavyāsa''), is a ''rishi'' (sage) with a prominent role in most Hindu traditions. He is traditionally regarded as the author of the epic Mahābhārata, wh ...

). Another stone inscription in Tulu, Kannada and Malayalam scripts of 12-13th century CE, in temple's kitchen, states that the ruler and the local landlords contributed land for the temple. A 1730 CE text Kadli Manjunath Mahatmyam gives an account of the association with Natha Mantha. It is believed that

Parashurama Parashurama (), also referred to as Rama Jamadagnya, Rama Bhargava and Virarama, is the sixth avatar among the Dashavatara of the preserver god Vishnu in Hinduism. Hindu tradition holds him to be the destroyer of the evil on Earth. According t ...

who was living in Sahyadri, killed the Kshathriyas who were cruel and donated the lands to Kashyapa. He prayed to Lord Shiva for a place to live. Lord Shiva assured Parashurama that if he performed a penance at Kadali Kshethra, Lord Shiva would reincarnate as Manjunatha for the betterment of the world. As per Shiva's orders Parashurama threw his axe into the sea and created a place for his penance. Yielding to Parashurama's prayers Lord Shiva appeared to him as Manjunatha with Goddess Parvathi and stayed at Kadri for the betterment of the world. As per the orders of Manjunatha the Sapthakoti Manthras become the seven Theerthas. This temple has

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

and

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

histories. Buddhism was practised here till the 10th century CE. In spite of the decline of Buddhism elsewhere, devotion to the Buddhist figures of

Manjusri Manjushri () is a ''bodhisattva'' who represents ''Prajñā (Buddhism), prajñā'' (transcendent wisdom) of the Buddhas in Mahāyāna Buddhism. The name "Mañjuśrī" is a combination of Sanskrit word "wikt:%E0%A4%AE%E0%A4%9E%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%9C%E0 ...

and

Avalokiteśvara In Buddhism, Avalokiteśvara (meaning "the lord who looks down", International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: ), also known as Lokeśvara ("Lord of the World") and Chenrezig (in Tibetan), is a Bodhisattva#Bhūmis (stages), tenth-level bodhisattva associ ...

continued in this region. The

Nath Natha, also called Nath (), are a Shaivism, Shaiva sub-tradition within Hinduism in India and Nepal. A medieval movement, it combined ideas from Buddhism, Shaivism, Tantra and Yoga traditions of the Indian subcontinent.

cult was partly oriented towards Buddhism as well as the Tantric

Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...

tradition. As a result, many Buddhist temples were taken over by Hindu traditions. According to M. Govinda Pai this temple was known as ''Kadri Manjunatha'' where is ''Manjunatha'' relates to Shiva and ''Kadri'' is derived from ''Kadri Vihara'' which was Buddhist

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

of the

Vajrayana ''Vajrayāna'' (; 'vajra vehicle'), also known as Mantrayāna ('mantra vehicle'), Guhyamantrayāna ('secret mantra vehicle'), Tantrayāna ('tantra vehicle'), Tantric Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism, is a Mahāyāna Buddhism, Mahāyāna Buddhis ...

cult. King Kundavarma of the

Alupa dynasty The Alupa dynasty (ಅಳುಪೆರ್, ಆಳ್ವೆರ್) was an India, Indian Hindu dynasty that ruled from 200 to 1444 A.D. in Southern India. The kingdom they ruled was known as ''Alvakheda Arusasira'' and its territory spanned the T ...

left an inscription on the base of the Avalokiteśvara image stating he was devotee of

. This image was not of Buddha, but of

Bodhisattva In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is a person who has attained, or is striving towards, '' bodhi'' ('awakening', 'enlightenment') or Buddhahood. Often, the term specifically refers to a person who forgoes or delays personal nirvana or ''bodhi'' in ...

, who was being worshiped as integrated form of Shiva. Further M. Govinda Pai has concluded this was center of

Manjusri's cult. And later on this Bodhisattavs were identified as Saivite deities. Shiv linga and

were worshiped together for centuries at this place until it was converted completely to a Saivite temple. ''Kadarika Vihara'' provides firm inscriptional evidence for this transformation. In front of the temple, at a height there are a number of water ponds. There's a garden surrounding the ponds. When one walks down from there in front of the temple is a huge lightpole. During karthika maasa, deepothsava is held here. There are statues of Machendranath, Gorakanath, Shringinath, Lokeshwara, Manjushri, and Buddha in the temple.

Description

Now, the chief

deity A deity or god is a supernatural being considered to be sacred and worthy of worship due to having authority over some aspect of the universe and/or life. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines ''deity'' as a God (male deity), god or god ...

of this

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

is Manjunatha, which incorporates a Shiva linga. The statue of Lokeshwara in the seated position with three faces and six arms is tipped to be the best bronze statue in India. It is about 1.5 meter tall.

Gomukha and water tanks

There is a natural spring at an elevated location at the back of the temple. It is called Gomukha. It is believed that the water flows from Bhageerathi river, in Kashi and thereby it gets its name as Kashi Bhageerathi theertha. The water from this spring is let into nine ponds of different sizes adjacent to it. Visitors wash themselves in these ponds before entering the main temple.

Annual festival

Annual Jathra Mahothsava is held during the month of January. Nine days of festival starts on the day of Makara Sankranthi. Bhandara of Malaraya Daiva is paraded from Kadri Kambala Ganada Kottige house ( G.K House kadri kambla, initiative led by DK Ashok) hasiru hore kanikey (requirements of mass feedings) is pompously carried forward. Theertha snana is held at morning, followed by dwajasthambha arohana, lighting of kanchi sthambha, and bali uthsava on the same day.

Savari Bali

Uthsava bali is held for four days, where lord Manjunatha consecutively visits four kattas in the four directions. # Bikarnakatte savari # Mallikatte savari # Mundana katte savari # Konchadi katte savari On the seventh day of festival, after the savari's "Seventh Deepothsava" is held and "Maha Anna Samtharpaney" (mass feeding) is held. Thousands of people assemble to get fed by the delicacies of prasadam offered.

Maha rathothsava

Following day of mass feeding, Maha manmaha rathothsava, chariot uthsava is held. Devotees all over the world assemble to seek the blessings of lord Shree Manjunatha and to be a part of the grand ceremony. BELLI RATHOTHSAVA or silver chariot uthsava is then followed. AVABRITHA SNANA DAY Thulabhara seve, Avabritha snana, Chandramandalothsava, and Dhwaja arohana is held. "MALARAYA DAIVA NEMOTHSAVA" Parva is held for Malaraya daiva, the right servant and Anappa daiva, the left servant of Manjunatha God. Procession of the bhandara from temple to kadri hills where nemothsava is held in the daivasthana for Malaraya and bhanta daiva. After the nemothsava the bhandara is brought back to G.K House kadri kambla, from where it was originally brought from. Under the guidance of Sudhakar rao Pejawar and mallika kala vrinda, cultural programs are held daily during the annual festival. Delicious meals or anna prasadham is fed to all the devotees during jathra mahothsava. Maha pooja, Uthsava bali, Nithya bali, Bhootha bali is held daily.

References

External links

Mangaladevi temple
{{Hindu temples in Karnataka Hindu temples in Mangalore Shiva temples in Karnataka Tourist attractions in Mangalore Buddhist sites in Karnataka