Avatars of the Acharya

Who has not heard of the sloka “Pratamo Hanuman Namo, Dwithiyo Bheema yevacha SaYeva Poorna Pragnya Bagavat Karya Sadhaka”.

This sloka tells us of the three avatars of Vayu-Hanuma, Bheem and Madhwacharya.

Madhwacharya, otherwise also known as Poornaprajnya or Ananda Theertha (1199-1278), was a saint-philosopher and social reformer  of his times.

It was he who propagated the Dwaitha concept in which the Pancha Beda plays an important role. It was for the first time ever in Indian philosophy that Madhwacharya distinguished the souls into three categories. It was also he who upheld the Taratamya or gradation of gods in which he placed Vishnu or Hari as supreme.

Madhwacharya has in several works of his indicated that he was the third avatar of Hanuma-Bheema-Madhwa trinity.

Also known as Sukha Theertha and Purnabodha,  he showed all the three avatars to Trivikrama Panditacharya (1258-1320), his disciple and author of the Sri Vayu Stuti.

It was after Trivikrama Panditacharya saw all the three avatars in a temple in Udupi that he composed the Sri Hari Vayu Stuti. His son, Narayana Panditacharya wrote the Madhwa Vijaya wherein he gives us a complete picture of the life and times of Madhwacharya. Of course, he too believes in the Hanuma-Bheem and Madhwa avatar.

However, the very first mention of such a avatar is in the Rig Veda. Ananda Theertha is commonly identified with Madhwa in the third Balittha or Balitha Sukta of the Rig Veda.

The Rig or Rg Veda says

“yasya trinyuditani veda vachane rupani divyanyalam.
bat.htad.hdarshatamitthamevanihitam devasya bhargo mahat.h
vAyo ramavachonayam prathamakam pr^iksho dvitiiyam vapuh
madhvo yattu tr^itiiyametadamuna granthah kr^itah keshave”

It is in this sukta that we see Vayu Devaru being mentioned as taking three avatars -Hanuman during Ramayana,  Bheema  during Mahabharata and finally as Madhwa during Kali Yuga.

The Vayu Purana too makes a mention of the three avatars.

It says,

“Vayurdivyani rupaani padmatrayayutaani ch | trikotimurthy sanyuktastretaayaam raakshasaantakah || hanumaniti vikhyaato Ramakaarya dhurandharah | sa vaamurBheemsenoabhuuddwaparaante kurudvah || Krishnamsampoojayamaas hatva duryodhanaadikaan | Dvaipayanasya sevaartham badaryaam tu kalao yuge || vayushch yatirupeNa krutva dushashtra Khandanam|

tatah kaliyugeh praapte tritiyo Madhwanamakah | bhurekha dakshiNeh bhagehmsnimadgarvashaantaye | dhikkurvanstprabhaam sadyoavateernoatra dvijaanvaye ||

Madhwacharya himself in Vishnu Tatwa Nirnaya says he came down during Kali Yuga and that he was earlier Hanuman and Bheema.

Madhwacharya had all the physical features, attributes or 32 shubha lakshanas that characterise a person, including the prescribed height, (shannavati angulo apetam) quoted in the Mahabharata-Tatparya Nirnaya.

By the way, only Hanuman is supposed to have all these 32 attributes. Even Gods like Shiva had only 28 attributes. The Balittha sukta speaks of the trinity of Hanuma, Bheema and Madhwa and here is part of a text from the Balittha SuktaBalittha tad.hvapushhedhayi darshatam devasya bhargah sahaso yato.ajani |

yadImupahvarate sadhate matirr^itasya dhena anayanta sasrutah || 1 ||
pR^ixo vapuh pitumannitya ashaye dvitiyamasaptashivasu matR^ishhu  |
tr^itiyamasya vr^ishhabhasya dohase dashapramatim janayantayoshhaNaH || 2 ||

niryadIm budhnanmahishhasya varpasa ishanasah shavasa krantasurayah  |
yadimanupradivo madhwa adhave guhasantam matarishva mathayati || 3 ||

prayatpituh paramanniyateparyapr^ixudho virudho dansu rohati  |
ubhayasya janushham yadinvata adidyabishhtho abhavad.hdhr^ina shuchih || 4 ||

adinmatr^iravishadyasva shuchirahimsyamana urviya vivavr^idhe  |
anuyatpurva aruhastanajuvoni navyasishhva varasu dhavate  || 5 ||

The suktas are very similar to stutis and stotras and they form a vital part of hymns and prayers. Some of the suktas include Devi sukta, Narayana sukta, Purusha sukta, Vishwakarma sukta, Devi sukta, Sri sukta, Medha sukta, Ratri sukta, Agni sukta, Ayushya sukta, Balitha sukta, Neela sukta, Bhagya sukta, Vishnu sukta, Bhu sukta, Durga sukta, Shanna sukta, Parjanya sukta and

Saraswati sukta.

Incidentally, Raghavendra Swamy (1595-1671) has written a short gloss on the Balitha sukta. 

The Hanuman who okayed Bhava Bhoda

The aradhana of one of  the greatest Madhwa saints, Raghuttama Theertha, who belonged to the Uttaradhi Matha, is being celebrated on January 11, 2014.

Raghuttama Theertha, whose brindavana is near Tirukoilur in Tamil Nadu, was the pontiff of the Uttaradi Matha from 1557 to 1595.

Born as Ramachandra, he was the nephew of  Raghuvarya Theertha, the pontiff of the Uttaradi Matha  from 1502 to 1557.

Raghuttama Theertha has written several tippanis or commentaries on the works of Madhwacharya and Jayatheertha, including the Bhava Bhodas and they are Tatwa Prakashika, Brihadaranyakopanishad Bhashya, Geeta Bhashya Prameya Deepika, Vishnu Tatwa Nirnaya Teeka, Nyaya Vivarana Teeka, Anu vyakhyana, Vivaranoddhara and Nyaya Ratna Sambandha Deepika.

He stayed at Srirangam for several years where he wrote the Bhava Bhoda. Legend has it that he penned down the Bhava Bhoda only after an Anjaneya idol before whom he commenced writing nodded his head in appreciation.

This temple of Anjenaya exists in Srirangam even today and it is known as Grantha Sakshi Anjenaya Temple. The God here is called Sakshi as he nodded his head or stood Sakshi or proof for the scholarly five works which together are called Bhava Bhoda.  

The Sakshi Anjaneya temple is also known as Bhava Bhoda Anjaneya or Hanuman Temple.    

Srirangam in Tamil Nadu is near Trichy and it is the first among the one hundred and eight Divya Desams for Vaishnavas. This is  the place where Ranganatha reclines and it considered to be very holy as Brahma meditated upon Vishnu.

Raghuttama Theertha has written Tippanis or commentaries on  Brihadaranya Bhavabhoda, Nyaya Vivarana Bhavabhoda, Gitabhashya Bhavabhoda (Prameya Dipika Bhavabhoda), Vishnutatvanirnaya Bhavabhoda and Tattvaprakashika Bhavabhoda.

All these five works were written in Srirangam and in the temple of Bhava Bodha Anjaneya. The temple is now under the Uttaradhi Matha and it is located at 194, East Uttara Street, Srirangam.

The temple looks like a house and it does not have any gopura. Raghuttama Theertha sat here and composed the five Bhava bhoda looking at the Pranavakara vimana of the Ranganatha Temple.

It is said that Anjaneya himself stood beside the seer and whenever Raghuttama Theertha looked towards Anjaneya after composing a  line, Anjaneya nodded his head in approval.

The idol of Anjaneya is eight feet high and it faces West. The left foot is placed a little ahead of the right foot.

There is a room in the temple with an idol of Anjaneya and this is where Raghuttama Theertha wrote the Bhava Bhoda.

By the way, there is another Grantha Sakshi Temple of Hanuman in Yeregol near Gulbarga, It was at Yeragol that Jayatheertha or Teekcharya wrote most of his works. The cave where he composed his works in Yeragol can still be seen. 

Of gods and seers

One of India’s most favourite Gods, Krishna, was a master of all the 64 arts that is called Kala in Sanskrit. His mastery earned him the title Chausath Kala Devatha.

Apart from Krishna, another God who had mastered these arts is Ganesha. Another God who was an expert in these arts was Hanuman or Anjaneya. Thus, if we have Hanuman in the Ramayana period, we have Krishna during the Mahabharata as exponents of such arts.

Krishna is the eighth incarnation of Vishnu and today scholars have been able to approximately date the period in which he lived. Even the Kurukshetra war has been assigned a time line.

Krishna mastered 64 arts in 84 days in the ashrama of Sandipana in Ujjain or Avanti. He is, therefore, also called as Yogeshwar or the master of all arts or siddhis or subjects.

Krishna is supposed to have left the Earth on February 8, 3012 and that day was the beginning of Kali Yuga. Interestingly, Durga has 64 yoginis.

In Hinduism, many Gods apart from the above-mentioned ones have been invested with the mastery of 64 arts and some heroic figures in the Mahabharata like Bheema, Arjuna, Yudhistera, Nakula and Sahadeva were known or their mastery over a particular art.

Yudhistera was a proponent of dharma and he was known for his mastery over political maneuvering. He was a master spearsman.

If Arjuna was a matchless bowman, he was also an expert dancer. Bheema was a wrestler and mace fighter apart from being a master chef. Nakula was an expert horseman and he could treat any illness of horses. He was also an Ayurveda expert.

His twin brother, Sahadeva, was an expert astrologer.  During the Vanavasa, he worked as a cowherd as he was a master in the art of  tending to cattle.  

Madhwacharya (1199-1287) too was an expert in so many arts that it defies description. Apart from being a brilliant orator, he was also a man of immense physical strength and he had mastered the art of levitation or making oneself as weightless as possible and also becoming so physically strong that he could not be pushed let alone moved.

He was also an alchemist and this was proved when he gave tamarind seeds to a money lender which later transformed into gold coins. The tamarind tree still stands at Pajaka Kshetra. He was a writer par excellence and his Sarvamoola Grantha are perhaps the most scholarly work by a philosopher.

An excellent debater, he easily defeated all the pandits who preached other forms of siddantha such as Adwaitha. His prowess as a gymnast are too well-known to be elaborated here. 

After Madhwacharya, we come across a long line of Madhwa seers who were experts in the arts. While many of them such as Sripadaraja (1404-1502), Vyasaraja (1447-1539), Vadiraja (1480-1600), Vijendra Theertha (1517-1614), Raghavendra Swamy, Raghuttama Theertha (1537-1596) exhibited their prowess and expertise in these arts at different periods of time, there are many others like Purandara Dasa (1484-1564), Kanaka Dasa (1509-1609), Vijaya Dasa (1682-1755), Jagannatha Dasa of Manvi (1728-1809) and a host of others seers and holy men who could perform to perfection many of these arts such as magic, composing music, playing musical instruments, engage people in conversation, debate and also play the role of the Pied Pier of Hamlyn by ridding people of their sins and leading them on to the path of Sri Hari.

Madhwa seers and they are so many in number that it would be impossible to name them, were experts in Ayurveda, alchemy, palmistry, astrology, astronomy, theology, philosophy and magic.

The Uttaradhi Matha seers were known for their master over different arts. Satyavrata Theertha showed his prowess in the art of transforming matter when the then King of Golconda, Abdullah Qutab Shah, gave him a plate full of meat. The seer sprinkled holy water and the meat turned to flowers and fruits. (Raghavendra Swamiji too did the same with the Nawab of Adoni, Siddi Masud Khan sometime in 1658-59).

Another Uttaradhi Matha pontiff, Satyanatha Theertha, held on to his life for five more days and asked Yama Dootas to wait so that he could participate in Aradhana of his Ashrama Guru, Satyanidhi Theertha.

Another saint of the Uttaradhi Matha parampare, Satyabodha Theertha, could survive a poison conspiracy on him and also prolong the life of his successor, Satyasandha Theertha. He was a master of telepathy and this is attested to by an Englishman. A Trikalagyani, he was honoured by Hindus, Muslims, Christians and all others. Tipu Sultan, the tiger of Mysore, revered him as did other kings and nobles. It would take several pages to detail the miracles attributed to him. A lot of information on this saint even today can be gleaned from the Bombay Gazetteer, Karnataka Dharwad district Chapter III. Page Nos 58-59 edited and published by James M. Campbell, which was compiled in 1863.

His successor, Satyasandha Theertha, has the rare distinction of giving mudra Dharane to Lord Panduranga Vithala who had come in the form of an old brahmin to see him. During one of his discourses, the Brindavana of  Satyavrata Teertha moved to and fro, indicating its approval.   

Vijendra Theertha of Raghavendra Matha was an extraordinary man and he had mastered all the 64 arts in such a manner that he defeated experts in all the fields be it magic, theology, composition, singing, gymnastics, sculpting, oratory and debate among other things.

Raghavendra Swamy was an erudite scholar and an expert veena player. He was also a writer par excellence and his magnetic personality drew people to him. He was also an excellent debater. He has performed so many miracles that it would take thousands of pages just to mention them. He is blessing people even today and his Brindavana in Mantralaya in Andhra Pradesh draws lakhs of people.

So we see that our Madhwa Seers were exponents of the arts. Yet none of them were keen on publicising it. The seers, cutting across all mathas and sub sects, were experts in different arts and this is a subject that needs a deeper and comprehensive study.       

The bearded Hanuman

The Hanuman here is round faced and he has a beard and moustache too. He is not called Hanuman but Balaji, which generally means Srinivasa or Venkataramana.

The temple to Hanuman too is known not by his name but as Balaji. The temple has some unique customs that is not found anywhere else.

This is perhaps the only temple where food is offered to the deity in kilograms and this ritual is called Savamani. The word Sava means one and a quarter and Mun means Maund and this is a unit of mass measuring 40 kilograms. Thus, Savamani means 50 kgs and this quantity of food is offered to Hanuman.

The food is generally prepared by the temple cooks and we have to intimate the temple authorities before hand about the Savamani. The Savamani is prepared in the temple kitchen but in recent years, the heavy demand has led the temple authorities to outsource it.

So we, have several caterers and shop keepers in and around the temple offering Savamani to pilgrims. Food items like Boondi, Ladu, Peda, Baati, Dal, Churma are generally prepared as Savamani.

After the Savamani is offered to Hanuman, it is later used by the family which organized it.    

Another widespread ritual is the tying of coconuts with moli (sacred red threads) in the temple premises. Devottes believe that Hanuman would fulfill their wishes if this is done with devotion and faith. This practice originated by from the Jagirdar of Sikar,  Rao Raja Devi Singh.

The Jagirdar did not have a son. He heard about the Balaji temple and he came here, tied a coconut on a tree and went back. Ten months later, he was blessed with a son, Rao Raja Laxman Singh.

This unique temple is called the Salasar Balaji or the Salasar Dham and it is located on highway no 65 near Sujangarh in Churu district of Rajasthan.

The presiding deity here is Hanuman who is better known as Balaji and his face is round unlike Hanuman in other temples.

Over the years, this temple has grown to become one of the most prominent pilgrim centres of Rajasthan. Salasar Balaji is on the religious circuit that includes the pilgrim centers of Rani Sati temple and the temple of Khatushyamji both of which are nearby.

Salasar Balaji is now considered to be a Shakti Sthal (a place of power) and the Hanuman as swayambhu (self creation).

Several miracles are ascribed to the deity.

The idol is worshipped by Brahmin priests from the Dadhich clan and the temple is managed and maintained by the Hanuman Sewa Samiti Trust.

The temple is open from 4 a.,m, to 10 p.m., and on Hanuman Jayanti it remain open throughout.

Salasar is situated on the Jaipur-Bikaner highway and it is 40 kms  from Ladnun,  57 kms from Sikar, 24 kms from Sujangarh and 30 kms  from Laxmangarh.

Salasar is about four hours drive from Jaipur.

The Hindu and Muslim rocks

Thousands of years ago, when Hanuman was returning back home-flying in the air- from Sri Lanka, he saw a huge boulder which was slowly rolling down from its perch on a hill.

He saw the havoc that the boulder would pose to the people of the village below the hill if it rolled down. He then pushed back the huge boulder with his thumb and ensured that it would remain firmly rooted to the ground.

To prove this legend, there is still a thumb mark that you can see on the face of the boulder. The thumb impression is frozen on the rock and it is popularly called the “Hand of God”.

The rock stands as it is today, precariously perched at the edge of the hill. It would look as if it is going to fall any time but it has remained as it was put back by the money God. In case it falls today, it still has the potential to destroy at least half of the town below the hill.

Locals believe that the rock would stay as it is as long as civilization exists. There are so sure of the hand of Hanuman that nobody talks of the boulder or even fears that it would roll down.

This rock has got its own name, one of the few to do so. It is the Hindu rock. By the way, there is a Muslim rock too.

The Muslim rock too has romantic tale to narrate.

A little over two and half centuries ago, a Muslim soldier, who was the son of a Palegar of Budhikote, climbed the rock here and offered prayers. He was born in Budhikote and he knew the area around very well. A devout Muslim, he clambered on to the rock and offered prayers facing Mecca.

There are impressions or marks visible on the rock even today which testify to this act. The name of the man who prostrated on the rock and prayed regularly every day for several years: Hyder Ali, the father of Tipu and among the first Mysoreans, to take on the British.   This  perhaps could be the only hill which has rocks named after two religions and each with its own fascinating history.

This is the hill of Mulabagal in Kolar district. The hill rises over the ancient temple town and looks like a guardian of the area.

For the uninitiated, Mulabagal is on the way from Bangalore to Tirupathi. As people crammed in all types of vehicles whiz by, only a few care to stop at the once bustling Eastern capital of the Vijayanagar. Even among them, only a handful make it to the hills, which for the most part of the year lies deserted and desolate.

Even trekkers, climbers and Nature give this hill a miss. They  prefer several other hills around Mulabagal which are more tall or more difficult to climb than this hill.

The hill presets an interesting study in geology. It mainly  comprises a series of rocks of various shapes and sizes and of course the most prominent among them is the Hindu and the Muslim rocks.

The hill is not only a place of trekking climbing but it has its link with history too. Epigraphs and history suggests that on October 4, 1768, the Battle of Mulwagul, which was part of the First Anglo-Mysore War was fought on this very ground.

It was here on October 3 , that Hyder  saw the army of the Nawab of Arcot, Muhammad Ali Khan Wallajah. The Nawab had allied himself with the British  in their war against Hyder.

Hyder was on his way back to Bangalore from Guuramkonda when he saw the Nawab’s garrison billeted at hill here.

Hyder then quickly fell on the Nawab’s men and the British sent reinforcements under Colonel Wood.

The combined forces of the British and the Nawab recovered the lower fort of Mulabagal but were unable to beat Hyder out of the upper fort. The next day-October 4- Colonel Wood went out with a few companies to investigate movements and he was quickly surrounded  by Hyder soldiers.

When the battle began, another office, Colonel Brooks, and two other British men of arms dragged two cannons to the top of a nearby hill. Brooks then called out saying “Smith! Smith!, even as he fired the cannons at Hyder’s well-tuned army.

Both Hyder and the British thought that Colonel Smith was arriving with reinforcements. Hyder ordered his troops to fall back, enabling the almost defeated Colonel Wood to rejoin with Brooks and other reinforcements from Mulwagal.

Hyder realised his tactical error and renewed his attack, but the British and the Nawab held firm. Both sides lost men-Hyder close to 1,000 and the British 200.

However, the ferocious manner in which Hyder had attacked the British convinced Colonel Smith that he would be unable to effectively besiege Bangalore without first defeating Hyder in open battle.

The East India Company was left redfaced at the result of the battle and it  blamed Smith for the failure to decisively defeat Hyder. It  recalled him to Madras.

Hyder then regrouped from here and took the opportunity to besiege Hosur. Here again both Hyder and Wood met. Colonel Wood marched in relief of the town. As Wood approached, Hyder  raised the siege, attacked Wood's column and overran his baggage train in the Battle of Bagalur.  Hyder  captured supplies and arms and  drove Wood in disgrace toward Venkatagiri.

Wood was recalled and the East India Company replaced him with Colonel Lang. This was off no consequence as Hyder went from strength to strength and even came upto the gates of Madras and the British were forced to negotiate with him.  

Nothing remains of the battle now save the name of the town Mulabagal. In ancient days, it was known as Mudalabagilu meaning the eastern-door.

It was the eastern most frontier and, therefore, the entrance to the Vijayanagar empire. The town boats of a massive Hanuman temple with the idol being consecrated by Arjuna. Sage Vasishta is believed to have installed the idols of the main deity Srinivasa, Padmavati and Rama-Sita-Lakshmana at the temple.
The town is associated with the Ramayana and there are several tales about it. One of the hills still has the ruins of a fort which is worth a visit.

Another hill nearby is famous for being the first point the sun rises throughout Karnataka.

Mulabagal is about 100 kilometres from Bangalore and it is easily accessible by road. It is situated on the four-laned national highway.

When a boy showed Hanuman to Purandara

It was sometime in the early 1500s and Hampi or Vijayanagar was a thriving City and the richest in the while world.

Krishna Deva Raya was the Emperor and Vyasa Raja or Vyasa Theertha was his preceptor. Krishna Deva Raya had ascended the Vijayanagar throne in 1509 and he had  defeated Bijapur, Golconda, Berar and even Ahmednagar Kingdoms.  He had extended the boundary of the Vijayanagar from coast to coast and put the fear of  God in his Muslim adversaries.

While Krishna Deva Raya presided over the Raja Durbar, there was another equally important durbar and this was conducted by the venerable Vyasa Theertha.  If the Raya’s durbar was full of pomp and gaiety, Vyasa’s was academic and religious and it was also the place where Dasa Sahitya and Vaishnava literature flourished.

Vyasa Raja one day consecrated the Yanthrodaara Praana Devaru temple (Hanumantha) in Hampi. He would visit this idol regularly with Purandara Dasa (1484-1564) and his other disciples.  Purandara had made it a point to pray to the deity every day and also offer naivedya.

One day, Purandara was called away for some work and he asked his young son, Madhwapathi,  to go to the shrine and  offer naivedya. Madhwapathi agreed and he went with the naivedya to the deity. He first prostrated before the deity, offered prayers and then called out to the monkey god to eat the naivedya.

When there was no response from the deity, Madhwapathi became angry and started calling out to Hanuman to come and take the food. He said if he refused to eat, he would hit himself. When still the deity remained unmoved, Madhwapathi began punishing himself.  

Hanuman was unable to see the young boy torture himself. He came in his physical form to towards the boy and took the naivedya. He also ate the naivedya and left back a small portion.

Madhwapathi went back home with the small portion of the naivedya. Both Purandara and his wife were surprised at the tale their son related. Both disbelieved Madhwapathi.

The next day, Purandara accompanied Madhwapathi to the place and asked his son to give naivedya to Hanuman. To his surprise and amazement, Hanuman emerged from the rock, ate the naivedya and went back.

A stunned Purandara realised that Hanuman had shown himself to his son as he was pure at hear and pure in mind. Moreover, Madhapathi’s heart was full of devotion and bhakti.  

Purandara then appreciated the devotion of his son and blessed him, saying that he was lucky to see God at such an young age.   Purandara blessed told Madhwapathi that he was very lucky to have obtained the grace of Hanumantha.

When Purandara was on his death bed, Madhwapathi pointed out that  he had been able to complete only four lakhs and seventy five thousand songs out of the target of five lakhs he had set himself. Purandara told Madhwapathi that he had left the rest 25,000 songs to be completed in the next generation. He blessed Madhwapathi saying that he (Madhwapathi) would be reborn as Vijaya Dasa and composed the rest 25,000 songs.

Madhwapathi as Vijaya Dasa (1682-1755) composed 25000 songs with the ankita (signature) of  Sri Vijaya Vittala. Today, much of our knowledge of the life and times of Purandara are sourced from the songs of  Vijaya Dasa.

Kantesha, Brantesha and Shantesha

These names sound very much like Shiva but in reality they are names of very well-known Hanuman or Mukhya Pranadevaru temples.

While two of the temples are in north Karnataka, one is n south Karnataka. People of north Karnataka believe that they would be blessed and all their sins would be washed away if they see or rather visit all the three shrines in a single day.

The people north Karnataka perform sankalpa after completing their Harake (vow) of seeing all the temples at one go.

All the three places are near to Ranebennur and people from Karnataka can start their tour from this place. For Bangaloreans, visiting Brantesha first would be ideal and they can see the other two Hanuman temples later.

The temples are Kanteesha of  Kadaramandakgi and Santesha of  Satenahalli are in Haveri district, while Brantesha of Shikaraipura is in Shimoga district.

Since people visit it in a day, the trip is called Kadaramandagi Kantesha -Shikaripura Brantesha and Sathenahalli Shantesha.

Let me first come to Kantesha.

The idol of Kantesha is in Kadaramandagi village which was earlier known as Khantesh puri.

Several thousands of years ago, Hanuman lived in this village. He once saw the Sun and mistaking it to be a fruit, began flying towards it. Since then, this village was known as Kadara Man Dalagi.

Karada or Kadira means rays, Man Dala means group and G ameans gaminisidavanu. In Kannada, it takes the meaning Hanumantha.

Another meaning of the village is brightness.  

There is an interesting legend behind the Hanuman idol here.

Long ago,  some thieves stole buffaloes from a village in Dharwad district and buffaloes came to Kadaramanadalagi. The thieves wanted to make money by selling these animals.

The owners of the buffaloes traced the thieves to Kadaramanadalagi and came there armed with weapons. They too pitched camp at the village and awaited the day when the thieves would come out and try to sell the buffaloes.   

The thieves did not know what to do and took shelter at the Hanuman temple. Seeing the idol, they fell at its feet and sought its help in getting over their problem. They ardently prayed to Hanuman to save them from the clutches of the villagers.

They told Hanuman that they would continue praying before him if they were saved from the humiliation of being caught and punished. Hanumantha obliged and in a jiffy changed the colour of the buffalo skins to white.

The villagers could not identify their buffaloes and went back. Since then, the Hanuman here has become very popular and he is believed to help all people in distress.

Another legend is that after the Kurukshetra War in Dwapara Yuga, the Pandavas realised that they had Hanuman Lanchana. The King Janamejaya, installed this Hanuman here along with several other idols in various places.

The Saturday pujes are very important and no villager would dare to miss them. In case he absents himself and goes out of  the village on some work, the work will not be done.

When Hunime falls on a Saturday, villagers spread a blanket or rug in front of the deity and place peeled out bananas. Then comes the  Paraku seve to Hanuman where people sleep on the rug upside down and eat fruits from their mouth. They do not touch the fruits with their hands.

The Kadaramandalagi temple has an impressive eight storied gopura which tapers towards the top. In front of the big gopura, is another smaller gopura through which you enter the temple.

There is a small pond on the right side of the temple with a small Mantapa in the middle. The teppotsava  or Float festival is held here and attracts a large number of people.

The famous Kriti

“Yestu pogalali naanu,

Ennodeya ninna

Vishista Mahimegalannu” is written about this deity here.

The deity here is called Bheemanaavatara. The idol here looks you straight in the eye. Generally, Hanuman is found facing sideways.

Kadaramandalagi is just eight kms from Ranebennur. It s on the road to Byadgi. There are plenty of buses and taxis. 

The next place you can visit is Satennahalli.

The Hanuman idol of Satenahalli is called Shantesha. This is in Ranebennu taluk of Haveri district. You can plan your visit to cover  Kadarmandalagi-Byadgi-Chikkerur-Satenahalli.

The idol here was conscrated by Bramanye Theertha, the guru of Vyasa Theertha or Vyasa Raja. The idol here is very similar to Hanuman idols consecrated by Vyasa Theerha. 

he third temple of Hanuman is in Shikarapura in Shimoga district. This is the Brantesha and the idol here was consecrated by Vyasa Raja.

The last few years have seen tremendous development of Shikaripura and this is reflected in the  renovation of the temple too.

The temple or rather Hanuman is also called Hutcharaya Swamy.

If you are in north Karnataka, you can make Ranebennur the base and travel to all the three Hanuman temples.

Ranebenur has some well-known temples, It also has Raghavendra Swamy and Uttaradhi Mathas. You can reach Ranebennur from Bangalore by bus or train. which is on National Highway No 4.

The Moola Brindavana of Satyabhigna Theertha, one of the pontiffs of the Uttaradhi Matha, is here. The Brindavana of Hrikesha Theertha, one of the eight disciples of Madhwacharya, and the first saint of the Palimara Matha, is located here. The Lakshmi Narasimha temple was consecrated by  Vidyadheesha Theertha,

If you have time, visit Bada village of Kanakadasa, Kaginale, Chikerur and Haveri. They all have important temples.