Anantheshwara Temple, Udupi – Legends

Anantheshwara Temple, Udupi – Legends

Anantheshwara:

As per legend, Kartavirya Arjuna, the king of Heheya Kingdom along with his army visited the ashram of Sage Jamadagni. The sage fed the hungry king and his entire army with offerings from his divine cow Kamadhenu. Seeing the divine power of the cow, the king demanded the cow for the betterment of his subjects. Sage Jamadagni refused because he needed the cow for his religious ceremonies. King Arjuna sent his soldiers to take the cow by force. In the ensuing conflict, Kartavirya Arjuna chopped off the head of Jamadagni.

When Parashurama, son of Sage Jamadagni and one of the Dasavatharas of Vishnu, returned to the hermitage and found his father dead. His mother informed him about the atrocities committed by Kartavirya Arjuna. In revenge, Parashurama killed the entire clan of Kartavirya Arjuna with a battle axe given to him by Lord. Shiva. He eventually killed all kshatriyas barring the Ikshvaku dynasty, thus conquering the entire earth. He enacted this wholesale eradication of the kshatriyas for 21 generations. After the annihilation of kshatriyas, he performed a great Yagna.

He donated all the land he won and left with no land for himself. He reclaimed a strip of land from Arabian sea by throwing his battle axe. This reclaimed land from the sea came to be called as Parashurama Kshetra which extends from Gokarna to Kanyakumari. Ramabhoja, an ardent devotee of Lord Parashurama was proclaimed the king of Parashurama Kshetra. Once, Ramabhoja wished to perform a Yajna. He selected a place and ordered the site to be ploughed up for sacrificial fire. During the ploughing, a snake was killed accidently. The king was worried as it was a sin to kill a serpent.

He prayed to Lord Parasurama for relief. Lord Parasurama directed him to build a big silver pedestal (Rajatha Peetha) 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. He further instructed him to distribute gold equal to his own weight (Thulabhara) to the deserving persons. As instructed, the king did and got relief from the sin. Also, he performed the Yagna successfully. Pleased with his devotion, Lord Parasurama appeared and declared that the sacrificial land, Rajatha Peetha (silver pedestal) would become a famous centre of pilgrimage.

The place came to be called as Rajatha Peetha Pura. This land also came to be called as Thuluva land as Ramabhoja performed Thulabhara. The king Ramabhoja also built four Durga temples and Subramanya temples one each in each direction. Later, Lord Shiva appeared in the form of Linga and occupied the silver pedestal. It is also said that Lord Parashurama was requested by Lord Shiva to be enshrined within the Linga in the form Lord Anantha. Thus, Lord Shiva came to be called as Anantheshwara.

Madhvacharya:

Madhvacharya (also known as Purna Prajna and Ananda Tirtha) was an Indian philosopher, theologian and the chief proponent of the Dvaita (dualism) school of Vedanta. Madhava called his philosophy Tattvavada meaning arguments from a realist viewpoint. Madhvacharya is said to have obtained his lessons from his Guru Achyuthaprekshacharya, of the Ekadandi order in this temple.

It is also said that Madhvacharya taught the holy scriptures to his disciples on the premises of this temple. There is a granite slab on which Acharya Madhwa sat while teaching his students in this temple. This slab is under  under worship even today. There is no idol in the slab. It is believed that Madhvacharya is present in the slab in invisible form.

Ananthapadmanaba:

As per legend, the father of Madhvacharya served as priest in this temple. When he shifted to the holy Pajaka kshetra, he carried a replica of an idol of Ananthapadmanaba idol with him and installed it in Pajaka. It is said that the idol is still in worship. Madhwa Vijaya states that Madhvacharya was born to them as a reward of their unwavering devotion to Lord Vishnu.