About 60 Kms from Mangalore is a fairly large and upcoming town that was sanctum of Madhvacharya, the great Sanskrit Philosopher. The famous temple here has a fascinating idol of Lord Krishna that is richly adorned with jewels.

 

The main attraction of this temple is the 'Kanakana Kindi' -a small window through which Krishna is believed to have given darshan to his ardent devotee, Kanakadasa.

 

Lord Narayana, in his incarnation as Parasurama, after making twenty one assaults on the Kshatriyas and destroying them, performed a great yajna. In this yajna, he gave away all the land as gift to Brahmins. Finding that he was not left with any land for himself and reluctant to stay in the land already given away as gift, he reclaimed from the Arabian sea a strip of land from Gokarna to cape Comorin.

 

This coastal strip of land, obtained by Parasurama from Varuna the Sea God, is known as Parasurama Kshetra or Parasurama's land. Ramaboja, a great devotee of Parasurama, was proclaimed king of this land.

 

Intending to perform Ashwamedha yajna or horse sacrifice, Ramabhoja got the site for sacrificial fire ploughed up. While ploughing, a serpent got killed by the ploughshare. Although this serpent was nothing but a demon in disguise, Ramabhoja was greatly worried as it was a sin to kill a serpent.

 

To atone this sin, he was directed by lord Parasurama to build a big silver pedestal with the image of a serpent at each of its four corners and to worship him who would be seated in spirit on the pedestal and also to distribute gold equal to his own weight to deserving persons. Ramabhoja did likewise and performed the Aswamedha yajna successfully. At its conclusion, Lord Parasurama appeared and declared that he was pleased with the yajna and that henceforth the sacrificial land 'Roopya Peetha' (silver pedestal) would become a famous pilgrimage. This land is also known as 'Thoulava' land and because Ramabhoja performed 'Tulabhara'.

 

This in brief is the ancient history or the legend, of this land.

This Roopya Peetha land is now known as Udupi. The name has been derived from the Moon. The moon was once cursed by Daksha Prajapati. To ward off his curse, the moon performed penance in propitiation of God Iswara in this forest land. Iswara was pleased, appeared before the moon and removed the evil effects of the curse.

 

This place has since been known as Chandramuleeswar and there is an ancient temple of this name in this place. The actual spot where the moon performed penance is known as Abjaranya. There is a sacred tank Chandra-Pushkarani by its side. In Sanskrit, 'Udu' means stars; 'pa' means lord of. Hence 'Udupa' means lord of the stars, that is, moon. The place where the moon performed penance and obtained grace is known as Udupi.

The nearest airport is Mangalore(60 km).

Mangalore is the nearest railhead & is linked to other parts of the State.

Some distances are

Mangalore -60 km

Malpe - 10 kms

Manipal - 6 Kms.

The main attraction is the Krishna Temple, Pajaka, Ananteshwar Temple, Chandramauleshwara temple. The actual feel of Udupi comes to visiting the famous Manipal, Kaup Beach, Malpe and Brahmavar.

Sri Ananthesvara Temple - In the middle of the temple square, one can find the Anantheswara Temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu, the temple has very intricate carving in wood and stone, the Altar is the master piece of art.

Chandramauleshvara Temple - In the temple square near the market area is the Chandramouleshwara Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva boasts of towering roof like a pyramid.

Madhava Sarovar - This is the holy tank or Kalyani where devotees take a dip before offering prayers to God.

Pajaka is the birth place of Saint Madhvacharya. This is the ancestral home of the Saint. Some memorabilia of the seer can be found here, like the huge banyan tree and the two stones he lifted and the pond from where he used to fetch water.

Manipal is very famous educational centre and the medical college. There is a small muesium showcasing artifacts collected by Mr. Vijaanath Shenoy.

Kaup Beach, the beautiful beach with a coast line of 12 kms is located in Southern Udupi. There is the 100 feet light house, a must see.

Malpe Beach is a port town, 6kms from Udupi is famous for its scenic beauty. This place attracts many tourists owing to the estuary of the Malpe river and St Marys Island. One can find magnificent rock formation. These rocks made of basalt are naturally formed.

Brahmavar named as the "settlement of Brahmins" is a town about 13 kms from the North of Udupi. This place is famous for the Mahalinga temple, Gopinatha temple , Janardhana shrine in the Agrahara. There is the oldest Holy Family Church which was established in the Aptil 01, 1934, and the Saint Mary's Syrian Church are located in Brahmavara.

Yellur is a small village in Udupi district located at a distance of 25 Kms from Udupi and 4 kms from Uchchila on the national highway between Udupi and Mangalore. This village houses a temple which is believed to be over 1000 years. The temple here is of Lord Shiva called Mahatobhara Yellur Vishwanatha. According to puranic legends Kunda Raja an honest shoodra King once requests Bhargava Muni to stay in his kingdom and he tells there are no temples or Brahmins and even a sacred river or tulsi and refuses his invitation.

The disappointed king hands over the charge of his kingdom to his deputy and sets out to the banks of river Ganga and performs great penance to please Lord Shiva, seeing the kings devotions Lord Shiva appears and asks him to make a wish. An elated Kunda Raja requests the Lord to stay in his kingdom and the Lord readily agrees and says he will make his appearance at a spot where enmity and hatred are unheard of. Accordingly he makes Yellur one of his abodes.

In the mean while a poor hungry woman who had just lost her son was hunting for food in the forest and by chance lands upon a plump tuber. In an a effort to remove the tuber from the ground she removes the knife and tries to cut the tuber to her shock she sees blood oozing out of it and she thinks it is the blood of her son "Yello" and beings to scream. Hearing her scream Lord shiva appears in the form of Linga and the place got its name as Yellur.

It is also belived that the blood that oozed out of the tuber stopped only when the King Kunda Raja and his people poured tender coconut water on it. Hence, devotes visiting the temple at any given time offer tender coconut to please the God. Besides tender coconut oil is also offered to God. According to the temple authorities this constant offering of oil ensures that the lamps in the temple will never go dry.