There has been an ongoing discussion whether the idol of śrīnivāsa at Tirupati is that of Viṣṇu. On similar lines, controversy seems to have erupted in Karnataka regarding the idol of Kṛṣṇa in the famous Mādhva shrine at Udupi.
The knowers of Shilpa śāstra suggest that the idol of Kṛṣṇa in the shrine at Udupi does not conform to the lakṣaṇas laid out in the āgamas for an idol of Viṣṇu or Kṛṣṇa. The idol, according to some experts of iconography, is of Skanda or Subrahmanya.
According to popular belief, this idol was originally from the fabled city of Dvārakā and was obtained by Madhvācārya through a sailor. The idol, known to have been covered with gopīcandana, was consecrated and installed in the shrine at Udupi by Madhvācārya, the founder of Dvaita Vedānta.
There is also the popular tale of Kanakadāsa, pleased with whose devotion, the idol is said to have turned towards the western direction within the shrine at Udupi. But it is now pointed out that the consecration of the original idol was done facing the west and that the tale of Kanakadāsa probably was created during the time (fifteenth century) of the prominence of the Kuruba community (shepherds) to which Kanakadāsa belonged. As the idol arrived from the sea which faces the west, it is said to have been consecrated facing the same direction.
This controversy is nothing new, but seems to have gained new momentum due to discussions on digital and social mediums. Many of the points outlined below are recorded in a Kannada book published by the Indian Archaeological Society named – ‘Udupi: Itihasa and Puratattva’. A researcher and writer named Manjeshwara Mukunda Prabhu has spent more than a decade investigating this subject and has collected various opinions from different research scholars which indicate that the idol is indeed of Subrahmaṇya and not Kṛṣṇa. He published an article for the first time in 1985 with his study which had then created a big controversy. Some of the noted scholars who have studied the idol and its history in depth and conclusively opine that it is indeed an idol of Skanda are:
– Dr. G N Panth, Director, National Museum, New Delhi
– Dr. R C Sharma, Director, Indian Museum, Calcutta
– T V G Shastri, Director, Birla Archaeological and Cultural Research Center, Hyderabad
– Dr. V V Krishna Shastri, Director, Government Museum, Mangalore
– Thiru N Harinarayana, Director and Research Scholar, Government Museum, Hyderabad
All these reputed scholars have published their studies supplemented by verifiable proof. P Gururaja Bhatt, in his book, Studies in Tuluva History and Culture (page 331), notes: ‘the absence of kirīṭa is another feature and owing to the impact of age, the face is worn out”. He posits that the idol is much older than the time of Madhvācārya with several interesting implications.
Following are some of the key arguments put forth by these various scholars.
Udupi was originally a śaiva kṣetra
Researchers are of the opinion that Udupi, to begin with, was a śaiva kṣetra. The place gets its name ‘Udupi’ after Chandra (moon) – (Udu+pa = nakṣatrādhipati) who is said to have performed penance here to please śiva to rid himself of leprosy which he contracted due to a curse from Dakṣa prajāpati. Lord Shiva is said to have appeared here to Chandra, cured him of his affliction, and worn him as an ornament, thereby appearing as Chandramaulīśvara. Two ancient temples in Udupi are of Ananteśvara and Chandramaulīśvara. Shivalli, a place near Udupi (known for Shivalli Brahmins) was a famous center of śaiva worship before the time of Madhvācārya. There are references available today that speak of four shrines dedicated to śakti and to Skanda in four directions surrounding the temple of Ananteśvara. Of these, one of the temples of Skanda is missing today, and as recorded in an issue of the Archaeological Gazette of India, the current temple of Kṛṣṇa is known to originally have been this now missing shrine of Skanda.
Iconography of Kṛṣṇa and Skanda idols
It is pointed out that the pose of the idol holding what is alleged to be a churning rod in one hand, with his other hand on his waist – is not associated with idols of Kṛṣṇa and such an idol is not seen elsewhere in India.
(a) The idol sporting a daṇḍa in one hand, is stationed in the heroic pose of ekabhaṅgi or samabhaṅgi (a straight posture with no bends) rather than the tribhaṅgi (three bends of the body at the waist, neck and the knee) which is commonly associated with idols of Kṛṣṇa. Even the aṣṭottara used in the temple of Kṛṣṇa today includes the name: tribhaṅgine namaḥ. Various forms of Kṛṣṇa such as Nartana Kṛṣṇa (dancing posture), Govardhanadhāra (lifting mount Govardhana), Kāliṅgamardana – none of these are seen in samabhaṅgi.
(b) The chief object associated with the idol of Kṛṣṇa is the flute which is also missing in the idol at Udupi. The iconographical details hence seem to match those of Subrahmaṇya instead who is frequently depicted as Daṇḍāyudhapāṇi (bearing a staff in his hand).
(c) According to āgama and shilpa śāstras, some of the common characteristics of an idol or icon of Kṛṣṇa are śaṅkha and cakra, mukuṭa (crown), peacock feather, vanamālā, śrīvatsa lāñchana, pītāmbara (the idol in Udupi, on the other hand, is clad in kaupīna – associated with Skanda) and flute. Now, the reasons why this idol is that of Skanda are: samabhaṅgi (discussed earlier), daṇḍāyudha in the hand, kaṭihasta (hand on the waist), kaupīna (loincloth) and keśālaṅkāra (as opposed to hair covered by a crown in the case of Kṛṣṇa vigrahas).
The idol at Udupi perfectly fits the below popular pratimā lakṣaṇa of a Skanda vigraha from Kumara Tantra:
कल्पद्रुमं प्रणमतां कमलारुणाभं
स्कन्दं भुजद्वयमनामयमेकवक्त्रम् |
कात्यायनीसुतमहं कटिबद्धदाम-
कौपीनदण्डधरदक्षिणहस्तमीडे ||
kalpadrumaṃ praṇamatāṃ kamalāruṇābhaṃ
skandaṃ bhujadvayamanāmayamekavaktram |
kātyāyanīsutamahaṃ kaṭibaddhadāma-
kaupīnadaṇḍadharadakṣiṇahastamīḍe ||
Another similar verse can be seen from the ancient Kāmikāgama:
द्विहस्तो यज्ञसूत्राढ्यः सशिखस्त्रिमेखलः |
कौपीनदण्डधृक् सव्यपाणः कट्याश्रितो अपरः ||
dvihasto yajñasūtrāḍhyaḥ saśikhastrimekhalaḥ |
kaupīnadaṇḍadhṛk savyapāṇḥ kaṭyāśrito aparaḥ ||
Agencies associated with the Kṛṣṇa Maṭha of Udupi deny this theory and insist that the idol follows the guidelines of the work Tantrasārasaṃgraha of Madhvācārya and hence argue that it is no big deal if it defies the well-known rules of āgama and śilpaśāstra. However, this argument makes no sense as the idol (according to the narrative of the Mādhva votaries themselves) existed much before the birth of Madhvācārya, and hence also predates the work Tantrasārasaṃgraha. The very first reference to a churning rod (in the hands of this idol of Kṛṣṇa ) seems to have started from the time of Vādirāja (1480), a Mādhva Yati who first interpreted the daṇḍa as a churning-rod and the channavīta.
Dr. Selvapillai Iyengar, who has a doctorate in śilpaśāstra and is currently serving as a research scholar at KSOU, asks the following questions:
(a) Kṛṣṇa is generally depicted as wearing an urudāma (a thread around the waist or hip, which most traditional Hindus wear to this day), but never holding a rope in his left hand.
(b) Even if the idol did depict a rope, why is it held in left hand and not tied to the churning rod?
(c) Why is the churning rod, if it indeed was one, held in an inverted fashion with the churning end pointed upwards?
Subrahmanya worship in Dakshina Kannada
The idol said to be of Balarāma which also was retrieved by Madhvācārya from the ship and installed at Vaḍabhāṇḍeśvara, is again very similar to the idol of Skanda and does not conform to any lakṣaṇas of an icon of Balarāma. Both idols, researchers opine, are of Skanda and resemble numerous such idols found throughout the region of Dakshina Kannada where the worship of Subrahmaṇya was very popular in the past. Shown below is one such image of Skanda which closely resembles the idol in Udupi alleged to be a Kṛṣṇa vigraha.
Some experts also draw attention to the shrine of Kukke Subrahmaṇya, also situated in the coastal belt of Karnataka, which houses a vigraha that resembles the idol at Udupi. Both these idols exhibit very similar iconographical details popular in the region in the eighth century when Subrahmaṇya worship was at its peak. Also, an expert of iconography from Udupi named P Gururaja Bhatt points out that the daṇḍa, over a period of time, had worn off giving it the appearance of a churning rod, and it is actually a snake, that is mistaken for a rope (talk of adhyāsa!) Alternately, based on the lakṣaṇas of Skanda idols, this is recognized as channavīta. The coastal belt, where primary adherence was to śaiva customs, is recorded to have been effectively influenced to worship Viṣṇu after the establishment of Kṛṣṇa Maṭha by Madhvācārya.
Hagiographical Accounts
There is proof for the existence of the idol (now believed to have been consecrated by Madhva) even before the times of Madhvācārya. Also, the hagiographical Madhvavijaya of Nārāyaṇapaṇḍitācārya does not speak of an idol which bears a churning rod in its hand. This work which provides a keśādipādānta description of Kṛṣṇa, makes absolutely no reference to a churning rod, which is the most significant aspect of the idol at Udupi. Also, other than works of āgama and Tantra which make no mention of a mūrti bearing a churning rod and rope in its hands, Purāṇas such as Brahma, Brahmavaivarta, Bhāgavata, Viṣṇu, etc. also do not illustrate such a form of Kṛṣṇa or Viṣṇu.
The earliest reference to the idol of Kṛṣṇa – even before Vādirāja’s popular narrative, is seen the hagiography Sumadhva Vijaya by one Nārayaṇa paṇḍitācārya, said to be a direct disciple of Madhvācārya:
गोपिकाप्रणयिनः श्रियः पते-
राकृतिं दशमतिः शिलामयीम् |
शिष्यकैस्त्रिचतुरैर्जलाशये
शोधयन्निह ततो व्यगाहयत् ||
स्पर्शनाद्भगवतोऽतिपावनात्
सन्निधानपदतां गतं हरेः |
त्रिंशदुद्यतनरैः सुदुर्धरां
लीलयाऽनयदिमामसौ मठम् || (9.41-42)
gopikāpraṇayinaḥ śriyaḥ pate-
rākṛtiṃ daśamatiḥ śilāmayīm |
śiṣyakaistricaturairjalāśaye
śodhayanniha tato vyagāhayat ||
sparśanādbhagavato.atipāvanāt
sannidhānapadatāṃ gataṃ hareḥ |
triṃśadudyatanaraiḥ sudurdharāṃ
līlayā.anayadimāmasau maṭham || (9.41-42)
According to popular tradition, Madhvācārya rescued a ship that arrived on the shores of Malpe by waving his saffron robes and guided it to safety in a raging storm. When the owner of the ship offered anything from the ship as a gift for saving his life, Madhvācārya is said to have chosen two logs of gopīcandana which concealed the idols of Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma. It is this idol that is currently believed to be installed in the temple at Udupi. However, none of the older works, especially the Sumadhvavijaya, make any mention of this tale. According to Nārayaṇa paṇḍitācārya believed to be the direct disciple of Madhvācārya, the idol was retrieved from the depths of the sea by Madhva with the help of his disciples and subsequently installed at the Kṛṣṇna maṭha at Udupi. As clearly seen from the above verses of Sumadhvavijaya, the popular story of the idol arriving in a ship from Dvārakā seems to be a later spinoff.
Based on the hagiographical śaṅkaravijaya, Hastāmalakācārya, a disciple of śaṅkara, who was from this region, is known to have established the earliest idol of Kṛṣṇa in Udupi, which is today rumored to be the ‘Taila Kṛṣṇa’ worshipped in the Kangu Maṭha of the Mādhvas. A picture of this idol is shown below.
Manjeshwara Mukunda Prabhu posits that Tantrasārasaṃgraha indicates Madhvācārya’s familiarity with āgama and śilpaśāstra and hence it is difficult to believe that he mistook the idol of Skanda for Kṛṣṇa. Also, after the establishment of this idol, for the next 300 years, there seems to have been no dhyāna ślokas composed on the deity by the pontiffs of the Kṛṣṇa Maṭha at Udupi, till the time of Vādirāja in 1500. Prabhu argues that Vādirāja camouflaged the idol with various alaṅkāras (decorations) – one of which happens to be Skandālaṅkāra, and composed verses and songs to popularize the deity as Kṛṣṇa. Below is a verse composed by Vādirāja which seems to be the first description of the idol as Kṛṣṇa which calls the daṇḍa as ‘mantha (churning rod):
कृष्णं वन्दे मन्थपाशधरं दिव्यार्भकाकृतिम् |
शिखाबन्धत्रयोपेतं भैष्मीमध्वकरार्चितम् ||
kṛṣṇaṃ vande manthapāśadharaṃ divyārbhakākṛtim |
śikhābandhatrayopetaṃ bhaiṣmīmadhvakarārcitam ||