The Durga of Udupi

The seer of  Admar Matha, Vishwapriya Tirtha Swamy, recently released a logo about  the renovation of the ancient  Durga Devi Temple in Udupi.

The temple is located on the top of a hill at Kunjargiri village in Udupi district. The hill is called Durga Betta, Vimanagiri or Kunjargiri. Kunjara means elephant and Giri means mountain.

The temple is 6 kms from Udupi.

The seer said the Durga Devi Temple was nearly 5,000 years old and that it was established by Parushurama. The renovation of the temple had been taken up a couple of years ago and it was in the final stages of completion.

The renovation was estimated to cost Rs. 4 crores and nearly Rs. 2 crores had already been spent on it. The religious programmes related to the renovation  would be held from February 14, 2013.

The Durga Devi Temple is important to Madhwas as Madhwacharya, the exponent of Dwaita philosophy, had spent his childhood in this village too. Madhwacharya was born as Vasudeva in the nearby village of Pajaka Kshetra. During his childhood, Madhwacharya used to come to the temple every day.

There are four places at the Kujargiri hill where water is available. They are called the tirthas and they were created by Parusharama. The tirthas are Parushu tirtha towards the east of the hill, Gada tirtha on the west, Bana tirtha on the north and Dhanus tirtha on the southern side.

The Durga at Kunjargiri is also “Vana Durge” because the temple was surrounded by forest.