SRINGERI, an abode of adi shankaracharya

Satyam bruyatpriyam bruyanna bruyatsatyamapriyam.
Priyam cha nanrtam bruyadesa dharmah sanatanah.


Translation: "Speak the truth, speak the truth that is pleasant. Do not speak the truth to manipulate. Do not speak falsely to please or flatter someone. This is the quality of the Sanatan Dharma".
"O Indra, lead us on the path of Righteouness,, on the right path over all evils."
-- (Rig Veda Book X, Chapter CXXXIII, Verse 6) source Wiki

Who built the Vidyashankar temple of Sringeri ? is subject of great speculation. Many a historians credit the godfather of Vijaynagar empire Vidyaranya to have commissioned and completed the temple in 1356 AD. However the typical Hoysala star styled pedestal indicates that the temple was commissioned much earlier. My surmise is that Hoysala king Veera Ballal III commissioned the temple in 1325 AD but was unable to complete, due to constant war clouds, the edifice which was later modified and completed during the Vijaynagar emperors reign in 1356 AD.

The temple is located on the banks of the river Tunga which flows with a crystal clear purity from the Agumbe ghat. The temple is dedicated to Vidyashshankara ( 1228- 1333 AD ) the 11th pontiff of the Adi Shankaracharya lineage. After serving as the head of the Mutt for more than 100 years he attained Samadhi in an underground cellar. Being a yoga proponent he attained it through Lumbika Yoga almost akin to Sallekhana tradition of the Jains. He had forcasted that his body would be transformed into a full blown Shiv Linga which can be exhumed after 12 years. But his devotees hurried opened his Samadhi to find only a small Linga in formative stage.

ROUTE

We began our trip from Karnad by car to Moodbidri and from there to karkala and entered the picturesque Kudremukh forest and first visited the Hornadu Annapoorneswari temple. After a detour to Horanadu we had to return to the main road to Sringeri via the forest and Kudremukh Iron ore plant route which was closed due ecological concerns, enroute we came across the Hanumangundi water falls which is run by the forest department, with a steep climb downwards in midst of a forest. After visiting the falls we quickly moved towards Sringeri and visited the Vidyashankar temple and Sringeri Mutt. We saw the safari too enroute from where the trekking trips are conducted. Enroute we witnessed the beautiful evergreen malnad hill ranges of chickmanglur and than proceeded towards Belur and returned to Bangalore.


Legacy : Adi Shankaracharya was impressed by an unusual sight of a cobra giving shelter to pregnant frog giving birth with its raised hood. This incident made him to realize that the place is sanctified and blessed with good vibrations where enemies to help each other in times of need. The surrounding hill ranges of western ghat with river tunga provided the ideal setting to establish the first mutt of advaita philosophy or followers of sanathana dharma. Adi Shankaracharya ( 788 –823 AD) stayed put for almost 12 years in the Sringeri Mutt. Adi Shankara later founded four mutts located at Badrinath, Dwarka and Puri across the four corners of the country.


Guru Brahma, Guru Vishnu, Guru Deva Maheshwara. Guru Sakshath Parambrahma, Tasmai Shri Gurave Namaha. (tr: Guru is the creator Brahma, Guru is the preserver Vishnu, Guru is the destroyer Shiva. Guru is directly the supreme spirit — I offer my salutations to this Guru.) source wiki


Mythical : Srigeri name is derieved from sage Rishisrinhga who seemed to have bought rain to the drought stricken area during the Ramayan times. The nearby hills seems to have contained the hermit of the sage where he lived and meditated.


Vidyashankar temple has 3 enterances on the east, south and north. There is idol of Brahma with saraswathi on the south, Lakshminarayana on the west, and Uma Maheswara towards the North. The façade of the temple is finely sculpted with images representing the 10 incarnations of Lord Vishnu. There are various forms of Shiva and Shakti too embedded on the outer wall of the temple. A miniature Gommateswara can also be witnessed on the wall. There are stone rings hanging from one corner of the temple. The Linga in the sanctum is named as Vidyashankara Linga dedicated to great pontiff of the Mutt.

The gopuram or tower is three storyed finely sculpted to take on the vagaries of nature in terms of heavy rainfall and wind during monsoon. The peak of the tower contains the Khalasa which is made of copper which to an extent must be insulating the edifice from lightening.


ROYAL PATRONAGE :

The Sringeri Mutt was a hub of activity during the reign of Vijaynagar empire. Hindu temples were vandalized by the raids of Malik Kafur. Vidyaranya ( 1268 – 1365 AD) quickly garnered the support of like minded people to revive the Hindu empire in establishing the Vijayanagar empire with the help of Harihara and Bucca brothers by breaking away from the Bahamani sultans in 1336 AD who were re-converted back to Hindusism from Islam by Vidyaranya. This heroic act of Vidyaranya can be compared to the Chankya type of reign. He wanted Hampi to be built like a capital and Srigeri to be lauded as a religious root for the empire.

The secular nature of the temple is highlighted by the patronage of Tipu Sultan. The temple was sponsored by intolerant bigot testifies only to the secular credential of the Mutt. In fact the temple has in its possession 23 letters written by Tipu Sultan who wished to visit the temple in 1795 AD but Anglo Mysore war kept him busy. Once he had written a letter to the Swamiji on occasion of loot of temple wealth by raiding Maratha army chief in 1791 AD. He had written to Shankaracharya stating thus “
People who do evil knowingly with a smile on their lips, will shed tears as a consequence by weeping. Those who sin against holy places and saints are certainly destined to suffer the consequences, their wealth and family will be ruined “

LOCATION :

Sringeri can be reached vide road from different directions with road connectivity. One route is via Hassan, Belur, and Srigeri. The next route is from Mangalore, Mulki, Karkala, and Sringeri. Another route is from Tumkur, Tiptur, Arsikere, Birur and Sringeri.

Jog FALLS during Monsoon

Prologue

We traveled 18 miles from Honavar (then in the British ruled Bombay Presidency) by boat and reached Gerusoppa. We decided to see the Jain Basadis scattered around Gerusoppa and started crossing a stream. The leaches welcomed us with a great joy and sucked our blood gleefully. The amazing part was that none of us felt any pain! These leaches can consume enough blood to last them for a year, and only then they let go. Only after they let go, one notices the damage. In the middle of fighting the leaches, we could not pay our respects to the Jain thirtankaras. As we returned to Gerusoppa, the boys discussed how we could profit from the leaches. One of us said that he had heard that Mumbai merchants put on so much weight that it is a problem for them. He suggested that we build a dark room infested with leaches and market it as a weight reduction therapy!

Courtsey travel accounts Krishnanand rest of the nail biting travelogue can be browsed here http://www.kamat.com/kalranga/letters/jogfalls.htm


I distinctly remember my first trip to the jog was in 1978 during my degree days. We were group of five youngsters. We reached Jog around noon time. We decided to trek to the base of the falls with hardly any people following us. The steps were pretty well laid but steep. We reached the bottom of the water falls and had a good bath and even drank the crystal clear water. We did not have any queer and capricious experience of our clothes being robbed by gals, which was faced by Krishnanand and his gang in 1946. ( my take is that incident seems to masala being added for dramatisation. It is akin to Krishna robbing clothes of gopikas ) The sound of the falls even though not very ferocious was music to ears. The greenery around the area was astounding. The ascent was tiring obviously since we were hungry. None of us owned a camera, so we could not capture the nature at its best. We had some snacks at the top and boarded a bus back to Bangalore.

Current Scenario : We cancelled the trip to Jog last month due swine flu like symptoms. In fact I had informed Nagaraj that we will be coming around but failed to make the trip. But this time I was determined to make the trip. After meeting with Nagaraj we drove towards the Tlyerikoppa Lion Safari. We got to see Lions, Tigers, which looked very healthy when compared to Banerghatta National Park. The deer and sambhars too were in large numbers moving around freely. After undertaking a good safari ride which is reasonably priced at Rs 35 per head and visit to the zoo was also quite an interesting experience. The zoo is very well maintained with concrete pathways. The special features are peacocks, sloth bear, jackal, phython, and deers. We proceeded towards Sagar for a night halt. In lieu of the holiday season almost all hotels were fully booked we managed to squeeze into a decent lodge in absence of rooms at Vardaraj Motel.





We traveled early to Jog after seeing Ikkeri aghrovareswar temple. Jog is approximately 35 kms from Sagar enroute to Honnavar there is a deviation toward left which leads to Jog Falls. The road is beautifully laid and if one clips he can reach Jog within 30 minutes. The rainy season has bought in plenty of rainfall, but we were surprised to see the river water levels on the Shravathy river flowing towards the Jog was very low. Naturally the Jog was not in its full blossom. Maybe the release of water is restricted at Lingnamakki dam area. Another surprise was that water was muddy unlike the last time around. This is a clear sign of sand mining and soil erosion which is taking place at the banks of the river. This was a little bit of downer for me. However the greenery around the falls is maintained giving a majestic look to the entire gorge. All the four falls were flowing in a medium trickle. The Raja and Roarer looked a decent fall. Rani and rocket too had water trickling down. The landscaping work around the bay area is still unfinished. Lot of work is under construction. The parking bay looks neat. The hanging rope bridge too has been well designed. Photographers with stock photo keep beckoning us for a shot. If one tries to click the jog falls with one’s own camera the effect is dull. On the hindsight it is worth getting a photo profile done by these professionals who mix and match our heads into the stock photo of Jog falls. Jog fall is recommended for visit only during the rainy season. It is better to check the weather reports and plan a trip to Jog otherwise one is bound to be disappointed.

JOG FACT FILE :

ELEVATION : 2600 Feet
FREE FALL : 829 Feet
WIDTH OF FALL: 1550 Feet
RIVER Sharavathi
Dam Linganmakki
Electricity Gen 227 Mega watt
Date of construction : 1964

Koodli Sangam

The two mighty rivers of Karnataka join at Koodli which is 16 kms from Shimoga. Tunga flows from the western ghat from northwest direction and Bhadra from southwest. The industrial belt has added to the pollution of Bhadra river. Tunga is relavtively cleaner.

Rameshwara temple is built most probably built during the Chalukyan era, considering the absence of architectural grandeur. Hoysala symbol has been subsequently incorporated to give a touch of the era. Subsequently the Ikkeri Nayaks too have contributed to the renovation of this temple. The ASI has beautifully landscaped the premises to give it a neat look.

HISTORY


There are three temples located in Koodli and they are Rameswara, Brahmaeswara and Narasimha temples. The old inscriptions found at Brahmaeswara temple refers to a donation made by king of Ayodhya to the temple maintainence. The Sringeri Mutt has copper inscription of grant made by Kadamba king Purandara Raya in 1075 saka era. Further Hoysala king Veera Ballal III donated on the occasion of return of his captive son from Delhi by Mohammadian. Further grants were made to the temple by Vijaynagar Emperors. However in 1791 Marathas under Parusuram Bhau looted and burnt the temple. They were threatened to be ex-communicated from Hindu religion by the Mutt swamiji and they made amends by seeking pardon.



On the lawns a collapsed structure houses the Shiv Linga which is oddly shaped. The priest confirms that it was obtained from the river bed and installed. Adjescent to this structure one has a big Ashwat tree wherein snake gods are worshipped.

In front of Rameshwara temple there is another temple known as Chintamani Narashimaswamy temple. The temple architecture reminds one of the Chola kingdom style but less impressive. Below the steps adjescent to the river bed there is a small temple at the confluence point of Tunga and bhadra.

Behind the chintamani temple there is Brindavan, which seems to be samadi place of priests who have passed away. It is adorned with Tulsi enclosure and is worshipped by priests even today. Entry to non-brahmins seems to be restricted.

Opp to Chintamani temple remaining idols have been strewn around with cattles grazing around. It is ideal for antique hunters to grab the same and make some quick buck. I hope the state Museum takes possession of these idols and install them in one of the museum.

There are two Mutts in Koodli, one belongs to Advaita philosophy Shankar Mutt and other one represents Dvaita philosophy Arya Akshoya theerta Mutt. Shankar Mutt is also known as the Koodli Sringeri Mutt. It received patronage from the Wodeyars. A well maintained cows stable is undertaken by Arya Akshoya theerta Mutt.

Before entering the Koodli temple complex on the edge of the town there is another ancient temple. Even though it less visited, it gives an impression of ancient times. However all these temples have been whitewashed giving it an ugly look.

Overall the visit to Koodli gives one a feeling of religious fervor but devoid of much hassling of a crowded atmosphere.

Koodli is located on Hole-Honnur route proceeding to Chennagiri and Chitradurga. It can be approached from Bhadravathi as well as Shimoga, almost equi-distance. If one is short of time one can give this destination a go by during summer particularly