
Uppinangady or Ubar is a town in the
Puttur talk of
Dakshina Kannada
Dakshina Kannada district is located in the states and territories of India, state of Karnataka in India, with its headquarters in the coastal city of Mangaluru. The district covers an area nestled in between the Western Ghats to its east and the ...
district 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 ...
.
It is surrounded by the
Kumaradhara River on one side and
Nethravathi River on the other. When the town's two surrounding rivers rise during the
rainy season
The rainy season is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs.
Rainy Season may also refer to:
* ''Rainy Season'' (short story), a 1989 short horror story by Stephen King
* "Rainy Season", a 2018 song by Monni
* '' ...
and meet, this is called the "Sangam" which is a
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 ...
word for
confluence
In geography, a confluence (also ''conflux'') occurs where two or more watercourses join to form a single channel (geography), channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main ...
. The Sangam is a major event as people from the surrounding villages crowd the river banks to witness the merge. The population of Uppinangady is 7,172.
In 1923 the town of Uppinangady was washed out due to excessive flooding, and its courts were moved to
Puttur. Severe flooding also occurred in 1974.
Uppinangady was previously the Taluk Headquarters, but due to the issue of heavy flooding during the monsoon, the taluk centre was moved to Puttur.
Uppinangady is the 2nd largest urban area in Puttur Taluk.
The town of Uppinangady is situated at an altitude of 53 meters. Uppinangady is also known as "Dakshina Kashi". It is believed that there is also a sangam of a third river along with the other two rivers which is known as Guptagamini. It is famous for the Sahasralingeshwara Temple
Governance
Uppinangady Village is Administered by Grama Panchayat. The area under the Uppinangadi Gram Panchayat's jurisdiction is roughly 10 km. It has six wards with a total membership of 20 people.
According to the 2011 Census, there are 1544 families and 7813 people living in the Town overall, including 3901 men and 3912 women.
Uppinangady Gram Panchayat is part of the Puttur Taluk Panchayat and the Dakshina Kannada Zilla Panchayat Constituency.
Uppinangady village has 4 temples, 3 mosques, 1 church, 6 madrasas, and 2 bhajan mandirs. There is one primary health centre, nine schools, two colleges, and ten Anganwadi Centers, Village Development Project Self Help Group,JCI, Rotary Club, 8 Asha Workers, 2 Fair Price Shops, Primary Agriculture Self Help Group are all under the jurisdiction of Gram Panchayat and work together for the development of the Village.
Uppinangady is the major commercial hub for Shiradi to Kodimbadi in the Puttur taluk, Ramakunja, Alankaru, Biliyur to Perne in the Bantwal taluk, and more than 6 grama panchayats in the Belthangadi taluk. Uppinangady is also passed by the national highway that runs between Mangalore and Bangalore. Due to all of these factors, Uppinangady is a thriving business centre.
Uppinangadi Gram Panchayat's own grant includes not only house tax but also income from business license of around 700 shops in the town and rent of panchayat buildings.
Official Website of Uppinangady Grama Panchayat: http://uppinangadigp.com/
History
Its legend dates back to the time of
Mahabharata
The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...
. The
Skanda Purana
The ''Skanda Purana'' ( IAST: Skanda Purāṇa) is the largest '' Mukhyapurāṇa'', a genre of eighteen Hindu religious texts. The text contains over 81,000 verses, and is of Shaivite literature, titled after Skanda, a son of Shiva and Parv ...
states that when King
Yudhisthira
Yudhishthira (Sanskrit: युधिष्ठिर, Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ud̪ʱiʂʈʰiɾᵊ IAST: ''Yudhiṣṭhira''), also known as Dharmaputra, is the eldest among the five Pandavas, and is also one of the central characters of the anc ...
decided to perform the Rajasuya Yagna (to proclaim his sovereignty), he sent
Bhima
Bhima (, ), also known as Bhimasena (, ), is a hero and one of the most prominent characters in the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. As the second of the five Pandava brothers, Bhima was born to Kunti—the wife of King Pandu—fathered by Vayu, the ...
to present day Uppinangady. There, he was attacked by the huge giant animal named Purusha Mruga. To avoid attack, he dropped one of his hairs, which instantly turned into a Shivalinga. Seeing this, Purusha Mruga stopped to worship the Linga & then proceeded to attack. Bhima again dropped a hair, which turned into another Shivalinga. This happened for quite sometime. Finally, he dropped a handful of his hair, which instantly turned into a thousand Shivalingas. Purusha Mruga stopped to worship all the Lingas, giving time to escape. The Sangama (confluence) of Kumaradhara & Netravati rivers happen near the temple. However, during the monsoon, this confluence takes place directly in front of the sanctum sanctorum. It is considered an auspicious moment to bathe in the rivers' waters. It is also said that the 1000 Shivalingas, hidden deep in the sand, are revealed when the sand recedes.
Transport
Uppinangady is at the foothills of the Western Ghats in Dakhshina Kannada district, surrounded by forests. Uppinangady lies on
National Highway 75 which connects
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 ...
to
Bengaluru
Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...
. There are frequent bus and taxi service from this place to Mangaluru and its taluk headquarters
Puttur and also to
Kukke Subramanya
Kukke Subramanya (IAST: ''Kukke Subrahmaṇya'') is believed to be 5000 year old Hindu temple on the banks of Kumaradhara River in the village Subramanya, Karnataka, Subramanya in Kadaba taluk (previously in Sullia taluk) in Dakshina Kannada ...
.
The nearest railway station is Puttur Railway station located at a distance of 12 km. The nearest airport is Mangalore International airport 55 km away.
References
External links
{{commons category, Uppinangady
* http://www.fallingrain.com/world/IN/19/Uppinangadi.html
* Herald A. Stewart, ''A Handbook to South Kanara'', 1895
* http://www.sunmediaonline.com/indiachroniclenovember/travel.html
South Canara Gazetteers 1894,1938,1973
Cities and towns in Dakshina Kannada district