Mattur

Mattur (or Mathoor) is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

in Shivamogga district near the city of Shivamogga in

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 ...

state,

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 ...

, known for the usage of

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

for day-to-day communication, although the general language of the state is

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 ...

. Mattur is known for being one of the few Sanskrit-speaking villages of India. Their native language is Sankethi, which is a mixture of Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu and

. Mattur is located by the Tunga River around 4 kilometres from Shivamogga and has long been known as a centre of learning for Sanskrit and Vedic studies. According to copper plate inscriptions preserved by the archaeology department, Mattur along with neighbouring Hosahalli, were gifted to the people by the emperor of

Vijayanagara Vijayanagara () is a city located in Vijayanagara district of Karnataka state in India.Vijayanagara

in 1512. Sanskrit is the main language of a majority of the 5,000 residents of this village and is a required subject in schools. This rare trait received a significant boost in 1982 when Vishvesha Theertha, pontiff 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 ...
's Pejawara Matha, visited the Mattur and dubbed it, "the Sanskrit village". The village has produced over 30 professors of Sanskrit who teach in universities across Karnataka. Mattur's twin village, Hosahalli, shares almost all the qualities of Mattur. Hosahalli is situated across the bank of the Tunga River. These two villages are almost always referred to together. Mattur and Hosahalli are known for their efforts to support Gamaka art, which is a unique form of singing and
storytelling Storytelling is the social and cultural activity of sharing narrative, stories, sometimes with improvisation, theatre, theatrics or embellishment. Every culture has its own narratives, which are shared as a means of entertainment, education, cul ...
in Karnataka. Mattur has traditionally been home to a community of Sankethi Brahmins among its residents. It has a
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 ...
of
Rama Rama (; , , ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the seventh and one of the most popular avatars of Vishnu. In Rama-centric Hindu traditions, he is considered the Supreme Being. Also considered as the ideal man (''maryāda' ...
, a Shivalaya, Someshwara Temple and Lakshmikeshava Dhurga Temple.

References
Sanskrit areas of India Sanskrit revival Cities and towns in Shimoga district {{Shimoga-geo-stub