सनातन पुस्तकालय Sanatan Cultural Library

The Sri Krishna Matha at Udupi is the heart of the Dvaita Vedanta tradition. In the thirteenth century the philosopher Madhvacharya installed here an image of Bala Krishna — the child Krishna holding the churning rod and rope; tradition holds that the image, originally from Dwaraka, came to him concealed in a ship's ballast of gopichandana clay, which he received after calming a storm at sea. Madhvacharya entrusted the worship to eight mathas — the ashta mathas — whose swamijis serve in rotation under the Paryaya system. Uniquely, Krishna here is worshipped not through a front door but through a silver-plated window, the Navagraha Kindi; devotees take darshana through the adjacent Kanakana Kindi, the window associated with the saint-poet Kanakadasa, before whom tradition holds the image turned. Janmashtami — the midnight of Krishna's birth in the month of Shravana — is this temple's supreme festival, drawing the whole Tulu-Kannada coast to Udupi's Car Street.

On Janmashtami day the Paryaya swamiji and devotees keep a fast, and through the night the matha resounds with bhajana and recitation. At midnight — the hour of Krishna's birth — the image receives elaborate abhisheka with milk, curd and holy waters, and arghya is offered; the swamiji and devotees break their fast only after these rites. Special offerings include the coastal festival treats chakkuli and laddu prepared in the matha kitchens. The following day belongs to Vittla Pindi, Udupi's own version of the dahi handi: mosaru kudike — pots of curd and beaten rice — are strung up along Car Street and around the Ratha Beedhi, and teams bring them down amid drumming and cheering, recalling the butter-thieving pranks of the child Krishna. Gorgeously painted huli vesha (tiger dance) troupes, a signature folk art of coastal Karnataka, dance through the streets, and a festival image of Krishna is taken in procession. The two days together turn Udupi into one continuous celebration of the divine child.

Janmashtami itself is a universal festival, and families from the Udupi and coastal Karnataka tradition in Ottawa can keep it at home in their accustomed way: a day's fast, an image or picture of Bala Krishna, midnight abhisheka with milk and curd, bhajanas of the Haridasas — 'Krishna Nee Begane Baaro' above all — and festival treats like chakkuli. Children can mark the Udupi flavour with a small mosaru kudike game or by hearing the stories of Madhvacharya's storm and Kanakadasa's window. The matha's celebrations are livestreamed and widely covered; with India nine and a half hours ahead in this season, Udupi's midnight rites stream in Ottawa's mid-afternoon, easy for families to watch together. For the exact local date of Janmashtami each year, consult this site's festival calendar. A visit to Udupi during the festival, paired with the region's beaches and temples, is a memorable way to show children the tradition at its source.