The great philosopher-saint Madhvacharya (1238–1317 CE) founded the Sri Krishna Matha at Udupi. He wrote commentaries on the Bhagavad Gita, the Brahmasutras, and the major Upanishads, establishing the Dvaita Vedanta school — which holds that the individual soul and the divine are eternally distinct, yet the soul's highest joy comes through bhakti (devotion) to that divine.
The principal vigraha here is of Bal Krishna in the posture of churning butter, with a rope around his waist. Darshan (sacred viewing of the deity) is traditionally taken through a small window called the Kanakana Khindi — a latticed opening through which the devotee and the deity see each other. The story goes that a devotee named Kanakadasa was not permitted to enter the temple; his devotion moved the very wall, and a window opened for him. That window remains to this day.
Darshan at Udupi is taken through the Kanakana Khindi — a small latticed window whose legend speaks of devotion strong enough to move walls.
The Ashtamatha tradition — eight mathas that take turns managing the Udupi Krishna temple on a rotational basis — has continued unbroken since Madhvacharya's time. The Madhva Sarovara, a sacred tank within the compound, is traditionally used for a ritual bath before darshan.
Udupi itself is a coastal Karnataka town surrounded by coconut groves and greenery, with the sea not far away. The nearby Malpe harbour and beaches make it a place where the sacred and the natural sit easily together.
- Open year-round; darshan is through the Kanakana Khindi window.
- Traditional bath in the Madhva Sarovara before darshan.
- Malpe harbour and beaches are nearby.
- The Ashtamatha rotational management system continues to this day.