Kodavooru is a small town belonging to the temple city of

Udupi Udupi () also known as 'Odipu' () is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is the administrative headquarters of Udupi district, and one of the fastest-growing cities in Karnataka. Udupi is one of the top tourist attractions in Karnataka an ...

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 ...

. Home to Lord Shankaranarayana Temple and many other small sacred Hindu temples, it has a long history of its own.

History

Legend has it that Kroda Muni, a Hindu saint, had his ashram here and was doing 'thapassu' here for the good of the world, thus the name Krodasharama, which then converted into Kodavooru.

Nature and landscape

Being a typical coastal town, it is surrounded by

coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (biology), family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, ...

trees and paddy fields which contribute to its fine appearance during the

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in Atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annu ...

Tourism

*Kodavooru is just a kilometer away from

Malpe Malpe is a natural port in the Udupi District in Karnataka, India. Located at the mouth of the Malpe River about six kilometers to the west of Udupi, it is an important port and a major fishing harbor on the Karnataka coast. The town of Malpe i ...

, a

coastal tourist delight, with a beautiful beach and St. Mary's Island. * People can also visit the Temples in Belkale, Keremata, Kambalakatte, Mandechavadi and Kanangi Mutt. *Apart from the above attractions, Kodavooru contributes to the cultural richness of the city of

in having its own traditional Bharatanatya school known as NRITYA NIKETANA. Dance enthusiasts from various parts of the world visit this institute in order to learn Bharatanatya.

Culture

* Belonging to the culturally rich district of

, Kodavooru features a variety of arts and cultural events. *

Yakshagana Yakshagana is a traditional theatre, found in Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Kasaragod district and Uttara Kannada, Shimoga and western parts of Chikmagalur district, Chikmagalur districts, in the state of Karnataka and in Kasaragod district in Keral ...

is a popular form of musical dramatic art which is enjoyed here. Kodavooru is home to many prominent yakshagana artists. * Hulivesha kunitha, when performers paint their bodies with

tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is a large Felidae, cat and a member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Asia. It has a powerful, muscular body with a large head and paws, a long tail and orange fur with black, mostly vertical stripes. It is ...

stripes and dance to popular

Sandalwood Sandalwood is a class of woods from trees in the genus ''Santalum''. The woods are heavy, yellow, and fine-grained, and, unlike many other aromatic woods, they retain their fragrance for decades. Sandalwood oil is extracted from the woods. Sanda ...

Kannada Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, and is additionally a ...

tunes, is one of the most exciting moments one can experience during the days of Krishna Janmaashtami, ''(the Birthday Of Lord Krishna)'' * Kodavooru is also a very significant place for believers of

Dvaita Dvaita Vedanta (); (originally known as Tattvavada; IAST: ''Tattvavāda''), is a sub-school in the Vedanta ''Vedanta'' (; , ), also known as ''Uttara Mīmāṃsā'', is one of the six orthodox (Āstika and nāstika, ''āstika'') trad ...

, the system of philosophy founded by Shree

Madhvacharya Madhvacharya (; ; 1199–1278 CE or 1238–1317 CE), also known as Purna Prajna () and Ānanda Tīrtha, was an Indian philosopher, theologian and the chief proponent of the ''Dvaita'' (dualism) school of Vedanta. Madhva called his philosophy ...

. According to a traditional story,Biographies of Great Indians
/ref> Shree Madhva visited Kodavooru to pray to Lord Shankaranarayana when he was just three years old.

Important events

*The annual car festival of Lord Shankaranarayana. (It is performed for 9 days and consists of the Rathotsava i.e. the Chariot seve, Pooje furformed under different Ashwatha Trees in different places of the village of Kattepooje. This is the only time Lord Shankaranarayana is brought out of the temple to the devotee's house. The Lord is carried in the Silver Pallakki and is taken to the devotee's home.) *Lakshadeepothsava (This is the pooje in which the temple as well as the temple street is filled with the Deepa.) *This temple is also dedicated to the god like Ganapathi. (There are two Ganapathis, one inside the temple and one near the river which flows behind the temple, popularly known as "Tudekatte ganapathi" in Tulu, Durgamata, Lord shiva, Raghavendra mata, Nagabana, Brahmadeva, Nandi. A unique feature of this temple town of Udupi is that all the temples have only one nandi. Kodavooru temple is the only temple which has two nandis. So, beside the car festival of Lord Shankaranarayana, all the Festivals such as Ganesha Chauti (Gana homa's), Navaratri (especially Cahndika homa's) are performed here. *Maari pooje, which occurs more than twelve times in a year out of that Big Maari Pooje occurs twice a year, is also an interesting ritual which attracts a large number of devotees around the town.

Language

* Tulu are the most widely spoken languages along with English. However, Kannada is the official language of the state.

Industry

Being a small town, it depends on

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

as the main source of income. A considerable number of people here also rely on the fisheries which are supplied by the fishing harbour at the nearby town of

Beedi A beedi (also spelled bidi or biri) is a thin cigarette or cigar, mini-cigar filled with tobacco flake and commonly wrapped in a tendu (''Diospyros melanoxylon'') or ''Piliostigma racemosum'' leaf tied with a string or adhesive at one end. It ...

(a type of cigarette) Industries and Milk Producers Unions contribute a considerable degree of industry to the city.

Transportation

Kodavooru has reliable public transportation with buses connecting from places like Garadimajalu, Santhekatte to

and

Banking and finance

Canara Bank Canara Bank is an Indian public sector bank based in Bangalore, India. Established in 1906 at Mangalore by Ammembal Subba Rao Pai. The bank was nationalized in 1969. Canara Bank also has offices in London, Dubai and New York. History Amm ...

- Kodavooru Branch and Kodavooru Vyavasaya Seva Sahakari Sangha (a co-operative) bank operate here.

Schools and colleges

While Kodavooru does have a primary school, residents have to depend on nearby

or Kallianpur for higher education.

References

Cities and towns in Udupi district {{Udupi-geo-stub