Travel Guide Udupi

165,000 inhabitants. Its many temples, churches and beaches are among the main attractions of this part of the Konkan coastal strip. The Krishna of Udupi has a magnetic appeal. It is said that Narayana, in his incarnation as Parasurama, fought twenty-one battles against the Kshatriya and, after their destruction, performed a great yajna. In this yajna, he gave the whole earth as a gift to the Brahmins. Discovering that he had kept no land for himself, and unwilling to stay on land already given as a gift, he claimed from the Arabian Sea a strip of land from Gokarna to Cape Comorin (now Kanyakumari). This coastal strip of land, obtained by Parasurama from Varuna (god of the Sea), is called Parasurama Kshetra, or Parasurama land. Ramabhoja, a great devotee of Parasurama, was proclaimed king of this territory. As he was about to perform an ashwamedha yajna, or horse sacrifice, Ramabhoja had the site set aside for the sacrificial fire ploughed. And while ploughing, a snake was killed by the ploughshare. Although this snake was nothing more than a demon in disguise, Ramabhoja was greatly distressed because it was a sin to kill a snake. So that he could atone for this sin, Parasurama ordered him to erect a large silver pedestal, with a representation of a snake at each of its four corners, which he should venerate. He was also to distribute to the needy a quantity of gold equivalent to his own weight. Ramabhoja did as he was told and was able to perform theashwamedha yajna successfully. Then Parasurama appeared and declared that he was happy with the yajna and that, from now on, the sacrificial ground "Roopya Peetha" (silver pedestal) would become a famous place of pilgrimage. The site is also known as Thoulava because Ramabhoja performed a tulabhara there.That, in a nutshell, is the story, or rather the legend, of this place. This place, which is now called Udupi, and whose name comes from the Moon, was once cursed by Daksha Prajapati. To ward off the curse, the Moon did penance in order to win the good graces of Iswara, god of this forest region. Iswara was pleased, appearing before the Moon and reversing the curse's harmful effects. Since then, the place has been known as Chandramuleeswar, and there's an ancient temple of that name. As for the precise place where the Moon did penance, it's called Abjaranya. Near Abjaranya is a sacred reservoir, Chandra-Pushkarani. In Sanskrit, udu means "stars" and pa means "lord of". Udupa therefore means "lord of the stars", i.e. the Moon.