‘Kadali Sri Ugrana’ the Main Attraction of Kadri Temple Brahmakalashotsava celebrations
Mangaluru : Residing just a stone’s throw away from Sri Manjunatheshwara Temple in Kadri, Mangaluru, I can feel the excitement, the sound, the smell, and the fun that has been going on from the last few days, pertaining to “The Brahma Kalashabhisheka”, “The Maha Danda Rudrabhisheka” , and “The Maha Rudra Yaga”, which is once again being conducted after a break of 12 years, and started on May 2 will culminate on May 11 this time. Last time the rituals were conducted in 2006 in the presence of Sri Sri Raja Sandhyanatha, head of the Kadri Jogi (Yogishwar) Mutt.
Speaking to Team Mangalorean this morning ( Wednesday) MLA Vedavyasa Kamath, who is the honorary president of the celebration committee said “Similar rituals that were held 12 years ago have been conducted this year too in the presence of the present seer of Kadri Jogi Mutt, Sri Sri Raja Nirmalnatha, under the guidance of the main priest of the temple, Derebail Vittaldasa Tantri. Different religious rituals and cultural programmes have been already held and will continue during the Brahmakalashotsava celebrations, ending on 11 May. Also ahead of the celebrations, the temple managing committee has undertaken several development works on the premises, including an outer peripheral wall for Sri Durgaparameshwari Temple; construction of hall of Shani Puja and Satyanarayana Puja; granite flooring inside the Manjunatha temple, and the main mantapa for the temple”
“Since the celebrations which began on 2 May, various religious rituals, namely, Torana Mahurta, Ugrana Mahurta, Punyaha, Rakshoghna Homa etc., have been performed. Cultural programmes, including Bharatanatyam, Nagaswara recital, and Yakshagana were held on 2 May. There have been similar religious and cultural programmes till May 11 to mark the celebrations. The kalashabhisheka will commence from 7 a.m. on May 9 followed by the Brahma Kalashabhisheka at 9.35 a.m. The Maha Rathotsava will be held at 7 p.m. the same day” added Kamath.
“A host of religious leaders, have already attended the celebrations, and few more will attend during the celebrations, namely Vishwesha Tirtha Swami of Udupi Pejawar Mutt, Jithakamananda of Mangaluru Ramakrishna Mutt, Yogananda Saraswathi Swami of Kondevur Mutt, Vidyavallabha Tirtha Swami of Udupi Kaniyur Mutt, Vishwaprasanna Tirtha Swami of Pejawar Mutt, Charukeerthi Bhattaraka Pandithacharyavarya Swami of Moodbidri Jain Mutt, Dharmapalanatha Swami of Adichunchanagiri branch Mutt, Dharmasthala Dharmadhikari D. Veerendra Heggade, Vidyaprasanna Tirtha Swami of Subrahmanya Mutt, Keshavananda Bharathi Swami of Edaneer Mutt” added Kamath. Manjunath Bhandary-Chairman of Sahyadri Institutions, Navaneeth Shetty – organizing committee member also interacted with Team Mangalorean briefing about the celebrations.
About ‘Kadali Sri Ugrana’ :
Food grains and vegetables have been arranged in clean, neat and decorative style. The Ugrana or store area for the celebrations built in a temporary Mantappa, which is set up on the right side of the entrance to the temple has become an attraction for the people, as varieties of food grains and vegetables have been arranged in clean, neat and decorative style. The devotees and members of various organisations have been offering food items like rice, coconut, vegetables and others to ‘Kadali Sri Ugrana’ (store room), set up on 2,000 sqft area, on account of this Brahamakalashotsava of Kadri Manjunatha Temple in the city.
Ugrana In-charge Anand Shetty speaking to Team Mangalorean said, ” ‘Horekanike’ offerings have been made by people from different parts of the district, including Bejai, Batragudde, Yeyyadi and other areas in Mangaluru. Horekanike will be accepted till the evening of May 10, and until now devotees had donated large amount of rice, dal, coconuts, jaggery, cooking oil, pumpkins, chillis, cucumber, sugar, salt, spices etc, and also lots of vegetables and fruits including jack fruit, bananas, oranges, grapes, pulses and flour. A team of nearly 30 volunteers are helping me in loading and unloading the materials daily, and shifting these items to the cooking area”.
“Since devotees like to see the Ugrana, we have neatly arranged all the items offered to the temple by the devotees. We have divided the ‘Ugrana’ into two parts-where Rice, Toor dal and other items have been stored in the front of the store area, while cucumber, jack fruit, tender coconut, pumpkin, Ivy gourd, ‘Gulla’, chillis, banana and others vegetables are arranged neatly in another corner. A weighing machine has also been placed at the storeroom, since we have to weigh the required articles needed for the kitchen to prepare meals” added Shetty.
Shetty further said, ” We have installed a ‘Shivalinga’ in the middle of the Ugrana, where Puja is offered using a ‘Kalasha’ of rice to the Shivalinga daily. Nearly 8-10 thousand devotees consume breakfast in the morning, and nearly 20-30 thousand people are served lunch and dinner, all prepared from the items of Ugrana. More than 50 experienced cooks from Moodbidri, Karkala, Sagar, Puttur, Belthangady, Saligrama and surrounding areas help in the cooking, who are assisted by hundreds of local volunteers. As we had announced the required articles prior to the celebrations,the devotees offered the same articles. In addition, they had also offered vessels for cooking, along with few other items Asafoetida, jeera and coriander seeds as well. Many people have visited the Ugrana to see the arrangement of these food grains and vegetables”.
If I want to I can go daily for breakfast, lunch and dinner at the Kadri Celebrations since the temple is just a few minutes walking distance from my home- and for that matter, ONLY this morning I had a sumptuous breakfast comprising of Sheera, Upittu, Avalakki etc, being forced to have by the members of the organizing committee- and it was the best South Indian breakfast I had so far-Pure Vegetarian and Pure Authentic and Pure Ritual!