Mornings are special in Sringeri Mutt. Devotees start flocking for darshan and participating in the prayers quite early in the day. It is a wonderful sight to see them wearing bright clothing and adorned with Vibhuti & Vermillion, women with flowers in their hair. Music from the temple can be heard clearly due to the absolute silence otherwise. Birds are chirping and awaiting the Sunrise. One can hear temple activities, the tinkling of the bell and the smell of incense & camphor drafting in the air. It is a pleasure to wake up early and experience all of this as we were lodged very close to the main temple.
We
too went for our morning darshan at all the temples and then walked down the
steps to the riverside. Some people were sitting there and doing their
anushtanams (prayers) while others were feeding the fishes with puffed rice and
breadcrumbs. The fishes know that this is a place to get food and they are
present in hundreds, if not more. As soon as a breadcrumb is thrown, there is a
mad scramble among them, and the fastest ones get fed first. We were there for
some time and then returned to our room.
We
had made arrangement with a local caterer for breakfast. He came in at around
8.30 am and gave us Poha & coffee. Both were excellent and reasonably
priced. Our driver joined us for breakfast. We left soon after this and
proceeded to our next destination – Annapoorna temple, Horanadu.
This temple is located on the banks of
river Bhadra in Chikkamagaluru district, Karnataka, surrounded by natural
vegetation, forest, green lands, and natural beauty of the Western Ghats. The presiding
deity of Sri Annapoorneshwari was installed by Maharishi Agasthya in ancient
times. This temple is famous for the full gold idol of Mata Annapoorneshwari
and its uninterrupted Annadanam seva for several centuries.
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| Annapoorneshwari Temple |
We covered the 50 kms drive from Sringeri in
about an hour and half. When we reached it was mid-day and quite hot. The
temple itself wasn’t much crowded. We had to walk up some forty steps to reach
the temple entrance. As advised by my brother who had visited a few weeks
earlier, we decided to do the Kumkum Archana seva which enabled us to sit
inside the sanctum for about 5 minutes when the Archana was being done to the
chanting of Her 108 names. The darshan was excellent as we could see Her to our
hearts content from a distance of 12 feet. The idol was brilliant gold and
decorated with fresh garlands.
After the darshan, we also did Annadana Seva
(one can contribute any amount) where we were given a plate of rice which we
had to mentally offer to the Devi and then pour it in a container. This rice is
what is used in the daily Annadana service of the temple. After this, we went
to the dining hall and partook in the Annadana. Like in most temples of
Karnataka, this is a simple fare. Rice, Rasam, Sambhar, a sweet and buttermilk.
We were served in steel plates and had the option to either sit on the floor or
on a table (we chose the table). There were only about a dozen people who had
lunch with us although the capacity is sufficient to feed 150+ people at a
time.
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| Annapoorneshwari Temple |
After
this, we came back to our car and left for Dharmasthala. This is yet another famous
landmark of Karnataka which has arguably one of the richest private temples in
India. The presiding deity is Lord Shiva called Manjunatheshwara and His
consort called Ammanavaru meaning mother. The interesting thing about this
temple is that it also has separate shrines for the 8th Jain
Tirthankara (the temple is managed by a Jain family – the Heggades) and four
protective deities called the Dharma Daivas. The temple which is approx. 800
years old was reconsecrated by the saint Vadiraja in the 16th
century.
800 years ago, Dharmasthala was known as
Kuduma in Mallarmadi, a small village in South Kanara. The Jain Chieftain
Birmanna Pergade and his wife Ammu Ballalthi lived here. They were simple,
pious and affectionate people and well known as generous and kind to all. As
per legend, the guardian angels of Dharma assumed human forms and arrived at their
abode searching for a place where Dharma was practiced and could be continued
and propagated. The Pergade couple hosted these athithis with their usual
kindness and respect. Pleased with their behaviour, the Dharma Daivas appeared
in the dreams of Shri Birmanna Pergade and explained the purpose of their visit
to him. They instructed him to vacate his house for the worship of the Daivas
and dedicate his life to the propagation of Dharma. Without hesitation, he built
himself another house and began worshipping the Daivas at his original home – a
practice continued to this day. The Pergades are now called Heggades. They own
the substantial land in that area acquired over time and rumoured to be over
1000 acres. Besides the temple, they run other religious, cultural and social
institutions including schools, universities, medical colleges, ayurveda, rural
development etc.
We covered the distance of about 100 kms from
Horanadu in about 2.5 hours. At first, we checked into a hotel called Ocean
Pearl at Ujire. This is part of the same hotel chain where we stayed at Udupi.
After resting awhile, we went to the temple in the evening hours. The temple
was about 15 minute drive from our hotel. Although there weren’t many people
(compared to usual), we still decided to take a special darshan ticket costing
Rs. 200 per head. We had to walk a very long distance across the complex to
reach the main temple. Once inside, we were part of the regular crowd of
devotees who were thronging the temple and moving very slowly. The temple was
quite small and it was a little chaotic inside. It took us about 30 minutes to get
the darshan of all the deities including Lord Ganesh situated behind Manjunath
sanctum.
Once outside, we went for the Annadanam service.
There were a few hundred people eating in the huge hall which I guess could
feed a 1000 people at the same time. The food was the same except that we got a
very good payasam / kheer which was very well made. The whole process of food
distribution was very well organised and orchestrated.
After this, we returned to our hotel to retire for the night.
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