To Sringeri.Temple
The purpose of this visit was mainly to have a darshan of Sri Krishna at Udipi,yet more place of historical and religious importance was added to the itinerary with the reasoning that this could be once in a lifetime visit so why miss out on others .
So early morning on 19 .2.13 we set off to Sringeri mutt 100 kms away from our place of halt Mangalore .Sringeri is the very first place that Adi Shankara launched and established mutts to revive and propagate Hinduism.
Roads need no comment as they are all good and traffic not as heavy or intolerable as is on T Nadu highways.
Like Kerala there are houses and only houses everywhere half hidden under green clumps of coconut trees.Barely any fields.The houses merge beautifully in the greenery .All are tiled houses that looks authentic with layers of dust and dried fungus gathered over the years dimming the glare of the red colour.In kerala the red tiles glinted with the brilliance of wealth.
We had to cut across Kudremukh national park for 20 kms on the way.
The dense forest has only river Thunga flowing quietly by as its companion with ruckus created by cicadas or tree crickets singing in unison at places where the trees grow densely.
The eerie forest ,cooler than the AC of the car,that sputtered out enabling me to hear the racket and feel the wind set me wondering at the determination of Adi Shankara to walk through such a thick forest that must have been thicker 1200 years earlier in his quest to organise Hinduism and to revive and spread it within Bharat .What inspired him to do so? The concept of monastery never existed in Vedic times .Was he influenced by Buddhism or did the winds of Christianity in distant shores as a organised religion carry the information here as well?
What ever the inspiration behind his remarkable endeavour and contribution to stabilise Hinduism in this sub continent is unmatched and unrivalled since then.Yes there were equally inspired and determined acharyas like Sri Ramanuja -12 th cent,SriMadhavacharya of 15 th cent Ad who is credited with consecrating Sri Krishna temple at Udupi along with establishment of 8 mutts, who strove hard to further widen the scope of Hinduism by subsuming caste to devotion .Yet it is to Adi Shankara 's credit to have thrown the first stone that may have caused the ripples in form of later acharyas and the philosophies and organisational capacities associated with them.
At Sringeri mutt had a splendid darshan of Saradambal that was originally consecrated by Adi Shankara himself .According to a famous caranatic vocalist we met on our return journey the deity personifying knowledge and wisdom was actually in memory of Sarada the wife of Misra ,who.[Sarada ]arbitrated the debate between her husband's mimasa belief against shankara;s advaita belief's ,as a reverential and sincere acknowledgement of her deep knowledge and sense of fair play.
The temple was quiet and made me pause and meditate saluting the ascetic and seeking his support and protection. from over there.
The asi protected monument by its side is a painstakingly intricate and beautifully sculpted temple with panels on Dasavatar along with family pantheon of Siva ,commissioned by .Harri hara and Bukka the founders of Vijayanagar empire , over the jeevan samadhi of the 10 th guru --Vidya shankar of shanakaracharya order .
River Thunga flows nearby as it has done for 1000's of years in surroundings in remarkably well preserved pristinity as it would have been when Adi Shankara sat on its banks meditating , is cool to touch and refreshing .
So early morning on 19 .2.13 we set off to Sringeri mutt 100 kms away from our place of halt Mangalore .Sringeri is the very first place that Adi Shankara launched and established mutts to revive and propagate Hinduism.
Roads need no comment as they are all good and traffic not as heavy or intolerable as is on T Nadu highways.
Like Kerala there are houses and only houses everywhere half hidden under green clumps of coconut trees.Barely any fields.The houses merge beautifully in the greenery .All are tiled houses that looks authentic with layers of dust and dried fungus gathered over the years dimming the glare of the red colour.In kerala the red tiles glinted with the brilliance of wealth.
We had to cut across Kudremukh national park for 20 kms on the way.
The dense forest has only river Thunga flowing quietly by as its companion with ruckus created by cicadas or tree crickets singing in unison at places where the trees grow densely.
The eerie forest ,cooler than the AC of the car,that sputtered out enabling me to hear the racket and feel the wind set me wondering at the determination of Adi Shankara to walk through such a thick forest that must have been thicker 1200 years earlier in his quest to organise Hinduism and to revive and spread it within Bharat .What inspired him to do so? The concept of monastery never existed in Vedic times .Was he influenced by Buddhism or did the winds of Christianity in distant shores as a organised religion carry the information here as well?
What ever the inspiration behind his remarkable endeavour and contribution to stabilise Hinduism in this sub continent is unmatched and unrivalled since then.Yes there were equally inspired and determined acharyas like Sri Ramanuja -12 th cent,SriMadhavacharya of 15 th cent Ad who is credited with consecrating Sri Krishna temple at Udupi along with establishment of 8 mutts, who strove hard to further widen the scope of Hinduism by subsuming caste to devotion .Yet it is to Adi Shankara 's credit to have thrown the first stone that may have caused the ripples in form of later acharyas and the philosophies and organisational capacities associated with them.
At Sringeri mutt had a splendid darshan of Saradambal that was originally consecrated by Adi Shankara himself .According to a famous caranatic vocalist we met on our return journey the deity personifying knowledge and wisdom was actually in memory of Sarada the wife of Misra ,who.[Sarada ]arbitrated the debate between her husband's mimasa belief against shankara;s advaita belief's ,as a reverential and sincere acknowledgement of her deep knowledge and sense of fair play.
The temple was quiet and made me pause and meditate saluting the ascetic and seeking his support and protection. from over there.
The asi protected monument by its side is a painstakingly intricate and beautifully sculpted temple with panels on Dasavatar along with family pantheon of Siva ,commissioned by .Harri hara and Bukka the founders of Vijayanagar empire , over the jeevan samadhi of the 10 th guru --Vidya shankar of shanakaracharya order .
River Thunga flows nearby as it has done for 1000's of years in surroundings in remarkably well preserved pristinity as it would have been when Adi Shankara sat on its banks meditating , is cool to touch and refreshing .
posted by K.C. Sujata at
10:46 PM
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