Lord Krishna's Car was standing majestically near the entrance of his temple at Udupi. After spending some time near his Car we proceeded towards the temple. It is a small temple, the outside architecture looked simple and many parts of the outside building seemed to have been built in the recent times; moreover we could see many donations have been made by people from different sectors of the society, for instance, one business man had contributed air conditioner for the entire temple; the paintings dedicated by various artists are kept displayed throughout the inner walls of the temple. They just echo the intensity of love and attachment the people have on this temple.
We stood in the queue watching all the paintings made on various Hindu Gods.The queue moved slowly and finally we encountered a small window like structure whose bars are beautifully decorated with Gold plated carvings. Through the holes we saw the idol of Lord Krishna glittering in the lighting which came from the oil lamps kept on both the sides. Truly, words won't be sufficient to describe the beauty.
Initially I was not aware that this is the only view available - the view of the idol through the window. I was on the wrong notion that this is just a trial and that one can get the complete view at the main door. The window is such that one cannot get the complete view of the Lord through just a single hole. We had to see through various holes to view the entire parts of the idol.
Here I like to appreciate the intelligence of the architect. He was knowing the formula that curiosity increases with concealment; There was a natural rise in our curiosity as we couldn't get the complete view of the idol through just one aperture of the window. Hence we stood in the queue to see the Lord once more.
Of course, there is the below interesting story which had been spread through word of mouth:
"In the 16th century, during Sri Vaadiraja 's rule, Kanakadasa, an ardent believer of God, came to Udupi to worship Lord Krishna. He was not allowed inside the temple since he was from a lower caste. Sri Krishna, pleased by the worship of Kanakadasa created a small hole in the back wall of the temple and turned to face the hole so that Kanakadasa could see him. This hole came to be known as KanakanaKindi"(Courtesy: http://www.mangalore.com/documents/udupi.html)
A further search on the internet gives a more realistic explanation for the Kanakadasa story as below:
"Kanakadasa once wanted to have a darshan (encounter) of the Lord Krishna in Udupi. He was not allowed into the shrine by castist priests as he was not a higher-caste by birth. Kanakadasa then started singing the praises of Shri Krishna and was lost to outside world in a corner outside the temple. Legend has it that the western wall collapsed so that Kanakadasa could have darshan of Lord Krishna's icon. A small window was constructed at the breach later. The idol of Lord Krishna is still today worshipped through the window. This window came to be known as Kanakana kindi (Kanaka’s window). Historical evidence shows that there was indeed a small earthquake on that day which led to the collapse of the wall. (Note that the statue of Lord Krishna was facing to west even before this incident). The memory of Kanakadasa was permanently etched in the temple of his beloved Lord Krishna. Today that window stands as a tribute to the unique saint of Karnataka.
A further search on the internet gives a more realistic explanation for the Kanakadasa story as below:
"Kanakadasa once wanted to have a darshan (encounter) of the Lord Krishna in Udupi. He was not allowed into the shrine by castist priests as he was not a higher-caste by birth. Kanakadasa then started singing the praises of Shri Krishna and was lost to outside world in a corner outside the temple. Legend has it that the western wall collapsed so that Kanakadasa could have darshan of Lord Krishna's icon. A small window was constructed at the breach later. The idol of Lord Krishna is still today worshipped through the window. This window came to be known as Kanakana kindi (Kanaka’s window). Historical evidence shows that there was indeed a small earthquake on that day which led to the collapse of the wall. (Note that the statue of Lord Krishna was facing to west even before this incident). The memory of Kanakadasa was permanently etched in the temple of his beloved Lord Krishna. Today that window stands as a tribute to the unique saint of Karnataka.
From that time onward, Kanakadasa could have the darshan of Sri Krishna with his physical eyes as well as his inner eye. To perpetuate this sacred memory, the tradition of looking at the icon of Sri Krishna through this window before entering the shrine started."
According to me, Stories like these should not be investigated for its authenticity, in the first place. They are meant just to entertain the hearer. In the language of the present age, they are a kind of advertisements. To explain you further, lets take the example of an advertisement where Sachin Tendulkar appears on the TV screen and says "Boost is the secret of my energy" This dialogue is accompanied by one of his favorite shots where he scores a Sixer. This ad is for the Brand "Boost" - an energy drink. Here the medium used is Television which is omnipresent.
Now lets decode the story of KanakanaKindi:
Kanakadasa was a famous person in those days.
Brand name was Udupi - remember the lines from part 1 of this blog "Temples, according to me, were built to bring a fortune for the people living in that area"; "The people wanted to promote their village"
Medium used was Krishna who was well known everywhere and universally accepted as a super hero and whose life and teachings are accepted as the role model for all the ages to come. Your comments are welcome!
Thanks
Saptha
No comments:
Post a Comment