Ashta Mathas (Eight Mathas) of Udupi

Shri Madhwacharya initiated Sanyasa to eight of his brahmachari shishyas in order that they propagate the Dwaita Philosophy and carry on the pujas to ShriKrishna. It is said that the number eight is very dear to Lord Krishna, who was the 8th child of Vasudeva and
Devaki. Shri Madhwacharya also gave each of the eight Mathas, a deity of the respective Matha. The Paryaya Swamiji assisted by the other Swamijis worships Lord Krishna. There is an elaborate code elegant rituals governing the daily worship and festivals conducted at the temple regulating the mutual relationship of the eight Mathas.
 
SHRI KANIYUR MATHA
 

SHRI KANIYUR MATHA

Emerging from the temple of Lord Shri Krishna, the first Matha to be seen is the Kaniyur Matha. The main branch of the Matha is Kaniyur, a place near Kukke Subramanya, 145 kms from Udupi. The original head of the Matha was Shri Rama Theertha. Shri Narasimha is the presiding deity. The present pontiff of the Matha is ShriVidhyavallabha Theertha Swamy.
 
SHRI SODE MATHA
 

SHRI SODE MATHA

The second Matha to be encountered on Carstreet is the Shri Sode Matha. The deity is Shri Bhoovaraha. Earlier this Matha was attached to a place called Kumbashi and called the Kumbhashi Matha. It was later during the time of Shri Vadiraja Swamiji that the Matha came to be known as Shri Sode Matha. Sode or Sonda is a place near Sirsi(North Kanara) and is 224 kms from Udupi. The original head of the Matha was Shri Vishnu Theertha, the younger brother of Shri Madhwacharya, It is believed that he is still engaged in penance in Kumaradri hills. The present pontiff the Matha is Sri VishwaVallaba Theertha.
 
SHRI PUTHIGE MATHA
 

SHRI PUTHIGE MATHA

After the Sode Matha, is the Shri Puttige Matha. Upendra Theertha was the original Swamiji of this Matha who was given the deity of Shri Vittala by Shri Madhwacharya. The main branch of this Matha is at Puttige, 21 Kms from Udupi. The present pontiff is Shri Sugunendra Theertha Swamiji.
 
SHRI ADMAR MATHA
 

SHRI ADMAR MATHA

The next Matha to be seen is Shri Admar Matha. The main branch of this Matha is at a place called Admar, 21 Kms from Udupi. The original head of this Matha was Shri Narasimha Theertha who worshipped a Kallinga Mardhana Shri Krishna Deity given to him by his Guru Shri Madhwacharya. The present Senior & Junior pontiffs are Shri Vibhudesha Theertha Swamiji and ShriVishwapriya Theertha Swamiji respectively.
 
SHRI PEJAVARA MATHA
 

SHRI PEJAVARA MATHA

Next to Admar Matha is Shri Pejavar Matha. The original Swamiji of this Matha was Shri Adhokshaja Theertha. Shri Vittala is the presiding deity of the Matha. The main branch of this Matha is at Pejavar 55 Kms from Udupi. The present senior & junior pontiffs are ShriVishwesha Theertha Swamiji and Shri Vishwaprasanna Theertha Swamiji respectively.
SHRI PALIMAR MATHA
 

SHRI PALIMAR MATHA

The first Swamiji of this Matha was Shri Hrishikesha Theertha whose handwritten scripts, are still preserved at the Matha. For his worship, Shri Madhwacharya gave the deity of Shri Rama. The main branch of this Matha is at distance of 30 Kms. from Udupi. The present pontiff is Shri Vidhyadeesha Theertha Swamiji.
 
SHRI KRISHNAPURA MATHA
 

SHRI KRISHNAPURA MATHA

Shri Krishnapur Matha is on the Northern side of the Carstreet, next to Shri Palimar Matha. The first head of this Matha was Shri Janardhan Theertha. He was given andeity of Kaliya Mardhana Shri Krishna. the main branch of this Matha is at Krishnapur near Surathkal 45 kms from Udupi. The present pontiff is Shri Vidhyasagara Theertha Swamiji.
 
SHRI SHIROOR MATHA
 

SHRI SHIROOR MATHA

Next to Shri Krishnapur Matha and on the right side of Shri Krishna Temple we see Shiroor Matha. Shri Vamana Theertha was the original Swamiji of this Matha. He received Shri Vittala deity from Shri Madhwacharya for his worship. The main branch of this Matha is at Shiroor, a place 21 kms. from Udupi near Hiriyadka. The present pontiff is Shri Lakshmivara Theertha Swamiji.

Inside The Temple of Sri Krishna Matha

a) GARBHAGUDI (SANCTUM SANCTORUM – ALTAR OF LORD)
 

Deities Inside The Temple

The Garbhagudi consists of 2 rooms. In the bigger room the. Swamiji’s perform the daily tarpana. There is also silver mantapa with the golden cradle where the shayanothsava of the Lord takes place. It is in the inner room that the deity of Lord Krishna installed facing west. There is a churning rod in the right hand and rope in the left and is the only one of its kind in India. The unique aspect of this deity is that it is etched with Chakrankitha. Only during ksheera Abhisheka is the beauty of this decoration evident.
 
b) SARVAJNA PEETA (SIMHASANA)
 

Madhva Peetha

Coming out of the Garbagudi is a narrow passage leading to the Sarvajna Peeta (Simhasana). This being the seat of Dwaita philosphy enthrones the Paryaya Swamiji.
 
On the left is a small dark room reserved for cooking special offerings for Lord Krishna’s Naivedya.
 
c) CHAUKI
 

Chowki

Moving ahead leads to the Chauki. The door at the left leads us  to the kitchen. The big hall of the Chauki, with seating capacity of : about 400 is the place where the Swamiji takes food in the form . of prasada of Shri Krishna along with scholars, guests and other pilgrims.
 
d) BHOJANA SHALA
 

Bhojana Shala

North of the Chauki is the Bhojana Shala. In the dining hall thousands of people are fed every day since the beginning of the .Madhwacharya era. The Bhojana Shala was constructed by the27th Poniff of Shri Shirur Matha,Shri Lakshmi Samudra Thirtha Swamiji in 1915 AD. It is because of this that Udupi is known as Anna Brahma Kshetra with Tirupathi being known as Kanchana (Gold & Money) Brahma Kshethra and Pandarapura, Nada (music) Brahma Kshethra.
 
e) LORD SUBRAMANYA GUDI
 

Subhramanya Gudi

East of the Vasanth Mahal is the shrine of Lord Subramanya constructed by Shri Vadiraja Swamiji. It is believed that Lord Subramanya is guarding a great treasure underneath donated to ShriVadiraja Swamiji by a Moghul Sultan.To the right side of Shri Subramanya Gudi is the Navagraha gudi..installed by Shri Lakshmivaratheertha Swamiji of Shri Shiroor Matha in 1995.
 
f) GOSHALA
 
Further to the East is the Cow shed (Goshala). Since cows are rendered very dear to Lord Krishna, Go puja is also is one of the sixteen pujas performed by Paryaya Swamiji. It is also a custom that the Paryaya Swamiji personally feeds the cows in the Goshala. after the Mahapuja. Beyond that is the stable for the elephant. . There are two elephants “Lakshmeesha_’ and “Subadhra”.
 
g) VRINDAVANA (SAMADHIS)
 

Samadhis in Vrindavana

Behind Vasantha Mahal on the northern side is Vrindavana. There are 43Samadhis- Vrindavanas and a very old Ashwatha tree. Aswatha Pradakshina is one of the duties of the Swamiji in charge of the Krishna Matha.
 
From there we can notice a vast level ground known as Rajangana. Paryaya assembly is arranged here. Mass feeding and cooking takes place here at festival time.

Madhva Sarovar

Madhva Sarovar

The tank is amongst the most sacred of ancient Theerthas in our country. It is believed that once in 12 years Mother Ganga flows into this Theertha filling it with her bounty. This was stressed repeatedly by the Saint Vijayadasa in his kritis.

To experience the full realization of this theertha a comprehensive reading of the SKANDA PURANA – SAHYADRI KHANDA – Section is advised. This theertha is named Madhwa Sarovara from the original PAAPA NASHINI (washing away of sins) after the period of Acharya Madhwa.

In the South West corner of the Madhwa Sarovar is a beautiful deity of Bhagirathi seated on a crocodile. In the middle of the tank is a beautiful mantapa. The deites of the Ashta Mathas are specially worshipped (Ksheerabdi Pooja) on the evening of Utthana Dwadashi every year. During Rathosthsava Nights, floating festival or Teppothsava takes place. This mantapa was constructed by Shri Raghavendra Swamiji of Puthige Matha in the 16th century.

Kanakana Kindi

Kanakana Kindi

Shri Kanakadasa was a great devotee of Lord Shri Krishna. He lived at around the same time as Shri Vadiraja Swamiji at Udupi and was carrying out his Bhajans in front of the temple regularly.Kanakadasa, an ardent believer of God, came to Udupi to worship Lord Krishna. He was not allowed inside the temple since he was from a lower caste. Sri Krishna, pleased by the worship of Kanakadasa created a small hole in the back wall of the temple and turned to face the hole so that Kanakadasa could see him. This hole came to be known as Kanakana Kindi.  As per custom, the Swamiji who takes over charge of the worship for 2 years (paryaya) is required to see the Lord first through this spot. The sight of the beautiful deity of Krishna is available to everybody since then through the Kanakanakindi.