Udupi is a coastal city in the southern state of Karnataka, rich in culture and cuisine. It is the hub of tourism in Karnataka due to its many beautiful temples.
Udupi Sri Krishna Temple; Image Source: Ravikiran R
LOCATION
Located in the southern Indian state of Karnataka, Udupi is a coastal city about 55km from Mangalore, and is one of the fastest growing cities in Karnataka. It is the most visited tourist site in the state of Karnataka.
MYTHOLOGY
It is said that the god of the moon, Chandra, once hosted a yagna to make the Gods happy. During this yagna he started attaining divine beauty, which made all the women as well as apsaras present there attracted to him. The wife of his guru was no exception and she fell in love with Chandra. Chandra’s respect for his guru was overpowered by his desire to have physical relations with his wife. This led to Lord Brahma cursing him as a Sinner. To get rid of his curse, he had to undergo penance, after which Lord Shiva finally granted him redemption, which happened in Udupi.
SIGNIFICANCE
Udupi is very well known for its cuisine, called ‘Udupi cuisine’. It is purely vegetarian food, with dishes containing primarily grains such as rice, as well as beans, vegetables, and fruit. The most loved of all South Indian cuisine, the dosa, originates from Udupi. Restaurants serving this cuisine can now be found around the nation. Udupi also has a handloom saree industry for lightweight cotton sarees, which is sadly now facing downfall because of the powerloom taking over.
ARCHITECTURE
The Shri Krishna Temple in Udupi is the main architectural attraction. The temple is designed like any other Kerala temple, a rock cut temple with singular entry and exit points and many layers surrounding the main sanctum. Udupi has many other such temples with a similar architectural style.
AT DIFFERENT TIMES
A Vaishnav saint, Madhavacharya – who was born and brought up in Udupi, set up the Shri Krishna Temple in the 13th Century. This caused a mass migration of Vaishnavs and Brahmins to the south of India. This completely transformed Udupi and made its temple culture grow exponentially.
ARCHAEOLOGY
Murugeshi Turuvekere,an associate professor of MSRS College, Udupi, discovered stone carvings dating back to 10000 BCE near Udupi. These stone carvings and the hunting tools found alongside them helped the archaeologists determine that this was a site of hunter gatherers, because no agrarian tools were found. These findings have been determined to be of the Early Stone Ages – The Paleolithic age.
DEMOGRAPHY
Udupi has a population of 144,960 as per the 2011 population census. It has an average literacy rate of 93.55% and a sex ratio of 927 females for every 1000 males. It has a population growth rate of 14.03%.
To read about more such interesting places, and to educate yourself on other aspects of our lovely country and its vibrant culture, read more blogposts from Sameedh.
