Sri Durga Devi kunjarugiri
About Sri Durga Devi
Shree Durga Devi Temple in Kunjarugiri, Udupi, Karnataka. It is an ancient temple where the idol of Goddess Durga was installed by Lord Parashurama.
Kunjarugiri is a village in Udupi district in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located about 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) from Udupi City, near Shankarapura. The main attraction of the village is a hill, known as Durga Betta, on which stands a temple of Durga, known to locals in the Tulu language as Kunjar Amma. Parashurama is credited with erecting the temple in honour of the divine mother, Adi Shakti. It is said that when he created Kerala, he found in the depth of the sea a pearl, which he fashioned into a nose ring and decorated the idol of Kunjaru Amma with. According to legend, however, the sea always retrieves whatever is taken from it. To protect the idol for a long time, Parashurama installed the idol in the Kunjaru hill; but to this day, the sea keeps coming closer to the hill.
Sri Madhvacharya, the founder of the Dvaita school of philosophy, used to visit the Durga temple every day during his childhood. One day, when he was in the Kunjaru temple, his mother called from Pajaka, a kilometre or two away; Madhavacharya is believed to have jumped straight to his house. To this day, his footprints can be seen on a particular rock. Around the hill, there are four ponds or 'thirthas' that were visited by Sri Madhva every day. The four ponds are called Dhanus Thirtha, Gada Thirtha, Bana Thirtha and Parashu Thirtha.
Kunjarugiri is approximately 11 Kilometers from Shree Krishna Matha in Udupi.
5 KMs away from Katapadi , 2 KMs away from Subhasnagar / Kunjarugiri Cross road.
Katapadi is 6 KMs away from Udupi on NH66 (Earlier called as NH-17).
It takes approximately 45 minutes to reach Kunjarigiri from Udupi.
From Shree Krishna Matha, drive due South-West 3 Kms to reach NH-66.
Turn left on to NH-66. (Earlier called as NH-17) (Mangalore Highway).
(An alternative is to drive due West to NH-66, possibly via SH 25A which is to the North of the temple.)
Drive South 6 Kms on NH-66. Turn left at Katapadi on to Shankarapura-Shirva-Belman Road.
Drive South-East 3 Kms on Shankarapura-Shirva-Belman Road to reach Subhashnagara (Kunjarugiri cross road).
Turn left in Kunjarugiri cross road.
Drive East 2 Kms to arrive at Kunjarugiri on the left.
There is a road to go up to the hill in the left.
Transportation
There are direct Buses to Kunjarugiri ( but not very frequently) from Udupi via Katapadi and Subhasnagar daily during certain timings.
The first BUS starts from Udupi at 6:30 AM and last BUS is at 6:45 PM.
The last BUS from Kunjarugiri to Udupi is at 6:45 PM.
An alternative is to take a bus from Udupi to Subhashnagara (Kunjarugiri Cross road) via Katapadi and hire a rickshaw (Auto) from Subhashnagara (Kunjarugiri Cross road) to Kunjarugiri.
--
Lord Parashurama Temple
Pajaka Kshetra, Shri Madhwacharya’s Birth Place
--
--