Rebuilding the Sanctuary: The 1613 CE Saraswat Endowments at Udupi Sri Krishna Matha

Carved into the western stone wall of the Sri Krishna Matha in Udupi is an epigraph from 1613 CE: Inscription No. 302 (South Indian Inscriptions, Vol. VII, page 154). Documenting a milestone during one of the most consequential architectural renovations of the temple complex, this record captures the intersection of regional history, community migration, and spiritual patronage in early 17th-century coastal Karnataka.

The Historical Setting: Shaka 1535

By the turn of the 17th century, Sri Krishna’s original wooden sanctum in Udupi had aged significantly. During his biennial paryaya turn, Sri Vedavedya Tirtha—the direct disciple and successor of Sri Vadiraja Tirtha of the Sode Matha—undertook a complete restoration (jirnoddhara) of the shrine.

Sri Vedavedya Tirtha temporarily relocated the deity to an outer pavilion, dismantled the deteriorating woodwork, rebuilt the garbhagriha and the matha structure in stone, covered it with a two-tiered copper roof, and consecrated the golden pinnacle (kalasha). The formal re-consecration (punah-pratishtha) took place on April 21, 1613 CE (Shaka 1535/1536 Pramadi, Vaishakha Shukla 12/13).

The Donors: Saraswats of Mathagrama (Margao)

Against the backdrop of this grand reconstruction, Inscription 302 records two significant endowments executed by brothers belonging to the Saraswat Brahmin community: Damarsa Prabhu and Govinda Prabhu.

Inscription Text from Source

The inscription explicitly records their lineage and geographic origins:

• Ancestral Home: Mathagrama (modern-day Margao, Goa), identified in the epigraph as the principal town among the Ashta Grama (Eight Villages) of Sasashti (Salcete).

• Lineage: Sons of Dama Prabhu (Damodara Prabhu), belonging to the Kaushika Gotra and the Rigveda Shakha. 

• One of their ancestors, also named Dama Prabhu had received stupendous honors from the king of Vijayanagara, 160 years before this grant, as documented in this blogpost.

• This means that the family continued to be prosperous for a long period of time. They were possibly settled in Bhatkal during this time.

Having migrated south to coastal Kanara amidst 16th-century Portuguese religious pressures in Salcete, the family maintained their ancestral identity while emerging as prominent patrons in the Vijayanagara–Keladi administrative sphere.

The Endowments

The inscription is divided into two distinct grants executed on the same day:

1. The Grant of Damarasa Prabhu (160 Varahas)

• Purpose: Dedicated to securing eternal heavenly merit (akshaya-punyaloka-prapti) for his uncle (Ranga Prabhu) and his (Ranga Prabhu's) son (Malayya / Mallya).

• Daily & Festive Offerings:
  • Daily Platter Offering (Nitya-harivana Naivedya): 2 1/2 hanes of rice per day (14 mudes per year).
  • Festival Rations: 2 mudes for special feasts.
  • Ascetic Alms (Yati-bhiksha): 1/2 mude per instance on Ekadashi/Dashami days (12 mudes per year).
  • Total Grain Volume: 32 mudes and 55 hanes of rice annually.

• Capital Sum: A permanent cash endowment of 160 large Varahas (Gadyanas) deposited as hiriya rokkha on the revenue of the Aruvara estate, sealed with the traditional libation of gold and water (sahiranyodaka-dharapūrvaka).

2. The Grant of Govinda Prabhu (55 Varahas)

• Purpose: Undertaken to earn eternal merit for his parents and to ensure the growth and continuity (putra-pautrabhivriddhi) of his lineage.

• Direct Contribution to the Renovation: Govinda Prabhu provided direct funds for the structural masonry of the garbhagriha, including:
  • Foundation stones and base slabs (gundottara talagallu)
  • The pedestal seat (panipitha)
  • Square perimeter facades (chaukada bhatti)
  • Door frames (dvarabandha), cross-beams (tole), and stone ceiling slabs.

• Perpetual Offerings & Eternal Lamp:

  • Daily naivedya to Sri Krishna and subsequent offering to the Acharya (7 mudes, 10 hanes of rice annually).
  • Daily coconut oil for the perpetual lamp (nitya tenginenne nandadipti) burning before the sanctum (4 mudes of rice equivalent).

• Capital Sum: 55 large Varahas, dedicated as a perpetual endowment (dharma-shasana) yielding interest for the temple's daily upkeep.

Significance

Inscription No. 302 provides essential chronological and cultural insights:

• Paryaya Chronology: It anchors the two-year paryaya system initiated by Sri Vadiraja Tirtha, placing Vedavedya Tirtha firmly in office during the 1612–1614 CE cycle.

• Cross-Regional Patronage: It highlights that while Saraswat Vaishnavas maintained their own institutional allegiances (such as the Kashi Matha and Gokarna Matha), they actively participated in major architectural and spiritual undertakings across coastal Karnataka.

• Linguistic & Social Integration: The use of hybrid titles—combining traditional Konkani names with Kannada administrative suffixes (e.g., Dama -> Damarsa)—demonstrates how seamlessly these merchant-administrators integrated into the broader socio-economic fabric of Tulunadu.

• Naming: The popular practice of naming the grandson with grandfather name explains why their father's name was also Dama Prabhu. Also, their Kuladevata is Lakshmi Damodara, in Jambavali.

Reference:

1. Itihaasada RashmigaLu - Shri H.L. Kamath

Gurus of Kashi Math | Guru Pravara manjiri

Source - Notes of Shri H.L. Kamath

Copied from a book written by Sri Udupi Raghavendra Acharya (son of Panduranga Acharya).

[Currently, the grandson of Sri Raghavendra Acharya, resides in the Acharya Math, Udupi]

The Gurus of Kashi Math are:

1. Sri Narayana Tirtha

Vrindavana: Bhatkal.
Punyatithi (death anniversary): Chaitra Bahula Amavasya.

2. Sri Raghuchandra [Tirtha]

3. Sri Samyamindra [Tirtha]

Note - As per a theory in Gokarna Math, Raghuchandra Tirtha had attempted to create 8 Maths like Srimad Madhavacharya. But it was stopped by divine guidance.

One of his shishyas, Srimad Samyamindra moved to Kashi Math and started the Cochin Math.

This is a non feasible theory as due to accepted dates, this happened into the future, compared to even the recorded history of our Matha.

The upper two names seem to be added due to this theory.

4. Sri Vidyanidhi Tirtha

His native place was Varkat/Varkata, Vipinapura.

He [is said to have] installed Sri Mulki Narasimha Deva on Shalivahana Shaka 1346, Krodhi year, Margashira Shukla 15.

[ This seems to be deduced from an inscription at Mulki Venkatramana Temple, inscribed on the mirror situated in the Vasanta Mantapa of the temple;

शालीवाहाख्य भूभृद्वरकर शरदामिदुमान क्रमेण ।
षट्चत्वारिंशदब्दे त्रिशते सहस्रेणाचिते मार्गशीर्षे ।।
विद्यारत्नाकराख्यं यतिकुलमणिभिः स्थापितोमोवमूर्तिः ।
पायाद्वो नारसिंहो त्रिभुवनविजयी मूलिकापदणस्थः ॥

]

He established a Matha at Rameshwar and installed Ramadeva there.

His Vrindavana is at Kashi.

[This makes Vidyanidhi Tirtha distinct from Srimad Vijayeendra Tirtha. The story of Vidyanidhi Tirtha is also given in the Gaud Saraswat Brahmanakhyana of Tellicherry Vasudeva Shanbhag.

The details of Math at Rameshwar and Vrindavana at Kashi are also interesting.]

5. Sri Yadavendra Tirtha

Vrindavana: Kashi.

[As per official records, the samadhi is in Bhatkal, and was moved to its current location by Srimad Sudhindra Tirtha as the original samadhi mandir near Gopi River [a rivulet flowing into Chowtani River] was getting flooded.]

6. Sri Keshavendra Tirtha

Vrindavana: Basrur.

(It appears that he was living in Shalivahana Shaka 1530.)

7. Sri Upendra Tirtha

Vrindavana: Kashi.

He was living in Shalivahana Shaka 1590 [the final digit is unclear in the source].

Punyatithi: Phalguna Bahula 3.

8. Sri Devendra Tirtha

Vrindavana: Bantwal.

He was living in Shalivahana Shaka 1597.

9. Sri Raghavendra Tirtha

Vrindavana: Kashi.

He was living in Shalivahana Shaka 1603.

Native place - Tripunithura 

Punyatithi: Phalguna Shukla 14.

10. Sri Jnanendra Tirtha

Vrindavana: Nashik.

11. Sri Madhavendra Tirtha

Vrindavana: Bombay.

Native place: Alapalli [Allepy]

Punyatithi: Shravana Shukla 5.

[Installed the Varadaraya Venkatramana idol at Gurupura. The idol was brought by him from an old temple in Basrur, which was built by the GSB community there.

Entered Sajeeva Samadhi at a Vrindavan he built at Walkeshwar, Mumbai. This place was donated to him by Shri Rama Kamath in early 1700s, when he was returning from a Kashi yatra.]

12. Sri Yadavendra Tirtha

Vrindavana: Hemapura, Honavar.

13. Sri Rajendra Tirtha

Vrindavana: Turavur.

Punyatithi: Vaishakha Bahula [date missing/unclear].

14. Sri Upendra Tirtha

Vrindavana: Kashi.

Punyatithi: Phalguna Bahula 2.

[The source then appears to mention Prayag, perhaps as the Vrindavana/place, but the line is unclear.]

15. Sri Vishnu Tirtha

Vrindavana: Prayag.

16. Sri Sureendra Tirtha

Vrindavana: Alapalli [Aleppy]

Native Place -  Kalongol.

Regarding him, there is a judgement/order concerning a birudavali (grant/title document) given by Mr. Thomas Munro Sahib on 20-6-1800.

Punyatithi: Jyeshtha Shukla 7.

In the year 1778, he had lent Rs. 12,533/- to the East India Company and obtained a promissory note for it.

17. Sri Vibhudhendra Tirtha

Vrindavana: Manjeshwar.

Native place: Muttath/Cherthala

Punyatithi: Magha Bahula 5, Tuesday.

---

18. Sri Sumateendra Tirtha

Vrindavana: Aleppy.

Native place: Bayde [reading uncertain].

He belonged to a Vaidika Bhatta family.
Gotra: Bharadvaja.

His name in his purvashrama was Venkatesha Bhatta.

Father's name: Nagendra Bhatta.
Mother's name: Dhatri.
His younger sister: Gauri.

His nephew was Sri Bhuvanendra Tirtha, son of Gauri.

The date on which he attained Vrindavana was Pushya Bahula 30 — 1-2-1851, at daytime ghati 22.19 [the exact traditional time notation should be checked against the original].

His elder brother's name was Krishna Bhatta and younger brother's name was Janardhana Bhatta.

In Hevilambi year, Phalguna Bahula 2, he installed a deity at Panemangalore.

In Hevilambi, Ashvija Shukla 5, there was a matter concerning the rights of Vasudhendra Swami, in connection with which the people of the 68 pette were instructed/requested to come to Manjeshwar.

He accepted, by formal deed, the Venkataramana temple at Panambur, which had been built by Sagara Damarsa Pai, on Shalivahana Shaka 1748, Vyaya year, Jyeshtha Bahula 10.

He appointed the same Bhatta to conduct the worship and granted 14 mudis of rice for the purpose.

The record is said to be with that Bhatta.

He established the Kundapura Acharya Matha and brought the image of Lord Venkataramana from Basrur, installing it there.

---

19. Sri Bhuvanendra Tirtha

Vrindavana: Basrur.

Native place: Palliparatte/Pallipuram

The name given for his family/parents is Narasimha Kamath [the Kannada phrase is difficult and may mean his father's/family name].

He was born in Shalivahana Shaka 1759, at Manjeshwar, under the Shravana nakshatra.

He entered Vrindavana in Shalivahana Shaka 1808, Vyaya year, Margashira Shukla 9.

[The following passage is somewhat corrupted:] At the time of entering the ashrama he was 13 years old; seven days after he entered the ashrama, his guru attained samadhi.

At Alapale in 1865, in Rakshasa year, Phalguna, Sri Bhuvanendra Tirtha met Purnaprajna Tirtha of Gokarna Matha at Manjeshwar.

In 1884, Tarana year, at Bilagi, there was a meeting involving Padmanabha Tirtha, Sri Bhuvanendra Tirtha and Sri Varadendra Tirtha.

Sri Bhuvanendra Tirtha and Sri Varadendra Tirtha also met the Swami of Kavale Matha at Khanapur.

At Kashi, he constructed/raised a Vidyamantapa.

He arranged for scholars and Vaidikas of his own community to perform the Shodasha-karmas according to the appropriate ritual procedure.

He established a yantra at Manjeshwar.

---

20. Sri Varadendra Tirtha

Father's name: Ananta Mhāle.
Mother's name: Gangabai.
Purvashrama name: Giri Mhāle.

Born in Shalivahana Shaka 1787, Krodhana year, Ashvija Bahula 4, Sunday night, ghati 9, under Rohini nakshatra, at Cochin.

He entered the ashrama at Manjeshwar, in Dhatu year, Jyeshtha Shukla 10 (6-6-1876).

He attained samadhi in Shalivahana Shaka 1836, Ananda year, Ashadha Shukla 2, Thursday (24-6-1914), at the Abhijit Muhurta, at the Bombay Walkeshwar Matha.

At Udupi, in Shalivahana Shaka 1818, Durmukhi year, Vaishakha Bahula 2, Wednesday, in Mithuna Lagna, he installed Sri Venkataramana Deva.

In Sharvari year, Jyeshtha Shukla Paksha, he installed Sri Krishna Deva in the temple built by Krishna Baliga of Punjalakatte.

---

21. Sri Sukritindra Tirtha

Grandfather: Vitthala Prabhu.
Father: Subba Prabhu.
Mother: Kaveramma.

Purvashrama name: Srinivasa Prabhu.

Born in Shalivahana Shaka 1818, Durmukhi year, on Chaitra Bahula 8, Sunday, under Purvashadha nakshatra, in Dhanus Rashi, corresponding to 5-4-1896.

At the age of approximately 16 years, 3 months and 27 days, he accepted sannyasa/ashrama in Paridhavi year, Shravana Bahula 4, Saturday, at Tiruchirappalli, on the banks of the Kaveri River, on 31-8-1912.

Udyavara installation/renovation installation:
The renovated installation was performed on 29-3-1936, in Dhatu year, Chaitra Shukla 7, Sunday, at daytime ghati 11-36.

At Vile Parle, Bombay, he installed Ramadeva in 1935.

At Kashi, he performed the re-installation (punah-pratishtha) of Lakshmi Venkatesha Deva on 27-4-1936, Dhatu year, Vaishakha Shukla 6, Monday.

He attained samadhi on 10-7-1949, in Virodhi year, Ashadha Shukla 15, Sunday, at 11:30 p.m., at Cochin.

---

22. Sri Sudhindra Tirtha

Purvashrama name: Sadashiva.

Father: Ramadas Shenayi.
Gotra: Vatsa.

He was born and entered the ashrama in Shalivahana Shaka 1896, Tarana year, Vrishabha month, Jyeshtha Shukla 2, corresponding to 24-5-1944, Wednesday, at daytime ghati 11, standard time 11:30, in Karkataka Lagna, at the Sri Venkataramana Temple, Mulki.

At that time he received the name Sudhindra Tirtha.

---

Final note in the manuscript

The above-mentioned guru-parampara, as recorded in the book written by Udupi Raghavendra Acharya, extends up to Sri Sukritindra Tirtha. I have copied it here.

However, it appears that he prepared this succession on the basis of a work called Gurupravaramanjari.

According to the records available in the Matha, the first four Gurus mentioned in that work did not actually exist [in this succession]. It is also apparent from the documents preserved in the Matha that the subsequent succession is not as recorded here either.

History | Shri Lakshmi Venkatramana Temple, Udupi

India is a land of temples. It is said that, Indian is a born philosopher. To this perhaps it may be added that Gowda Saraswath Brahmin is a born worshipper. It is because of this attitudinal inherence the Gowda Saraswats on their exodus from Goa constructed Temples wherever they settled. This was to meet the cultural, social and spiritual needs independently. The GSB settlers in and around Udupi, thus were compelled, being anxious and enthusiastic to construct a temple at Udupi. As if by God’s grace at this juncture the gift of land by late Smt. Kaveri Amma alias Sathyabhama Amma (Sridevi Nayak) through an endowment deed on 11.7.1883 was of great avail. By the gift it was intended that Pooja (scriptural form of worship) to her family Deity “Sri Lakshmi Narasimha” be performed on installation at the proposed temple along with the temple Deity. For this purpose she gifted two sets of properties to meet the expenses of Poojas to “Sri Lakshmi Narasimha” and the temple Deity separately.

Shri Lakshmi Narasimha vigraha from SLVT, Udupi

The names of the 9 members of GSB Community articulated in the original gift deed of Smt. Kaveri Amma are:

1. Sri Chinivartha Ananthayya Shanbhag – Shroff and Land Lord
2. Sri Ananthayya alias Sheshagiri Pai – Land Lord and Merchant
3. Sri Ammembal Krishna Pai – Advocate
4. Sri Kumble Subba Rao – Advocate
5. Sri Vasudeva Prabhu – Advocate
6. Sri Haradi Upendra Pai – Taluk Supervisor
7. Sri Krishna Padiyar – Merchant and Land Lord
8. Sri Manjunatha Anantha Baliga – Land Lord
9. Sri Shroff Venkat Rao – Shroff.

Later these became the hereditary trustees vested with powers of construction and administration of the Temple. They being ardent devotees of Lord Venkatesha, with the assistance and co-operation of the members of the community and also of a group of dedicated and devoted volunteers, expeditious construction of a Sanctum Sanctorum (Garbha Griha) made of granite stone and copper plated roof was accomplished. For this the foundation stone had been laid by H.H. Srimad Bhuvanendra teertha Swamiji of Sri Samsthan Kashi Math. 

The idol of Sri Venkatesha was sculpted by the then celebrated sculptor of Karkala Sri Laxman Shanbhag. Standing on a one foot pedestal the idol is of 3 feet height. The serenity of beauty on the countenance is divinely spectacular. The hinder arms holding conch and disc (chakra) and the frontal arms showing assurance of security (Abhayahasta) and the other scretched upto knee (depicting that the ocean of life will be knee deep to His worshippers) 

Shri Venkatesha

The installation ceremony of the idol was performed by Srimad Varadendra Thirtha Swamiji of Sri Kashi Math on 29.4.1896 (Shalivahana Era – 1818), “Durmukhi Samvat”, “Vaishakha” month – 2nd of dark half) with the participation of thousands of devotees. 

Srimad Varadendra Thirtha blessed the congregation and predicted that the temple will acquire unexampled prominence and will foster enormous spiritual advancement in future. The enchanting “Namaskara Slokam” (the verse describing utmost obeisance) composed by the scholarly Srimad Varadendra Swamiji is on the pillar on the left hand side of the sanctorum. This supplicatory verse eulogises Lord Venkatesha as the God of Gods and destroyer of sins and can be deciphered in its replicated form, rendered in a very intelligent manner. 

Maala bandha, as described, on the left pillar.

वन्देऽहं देवदेवं सुरनरवरदं वेइ्कटाकल्पकल्पं । आवासं वासवादि त्रिदशदरदहं श्रीकरं कम्बकण्ठम् ।।

दासार्च्य सारसास्यं परतरशरणं गौरचीरप्ररम्यं । कञ्जाक्षं जाल्मजात- क्षतिकृतिकृतिनं भूपतिं पक्षिपत्रम् ||

Translation

I bow to the God of gods, the bestower of boons upon gods and men,
the wondrous Lord of Veṅkaṭa, incomparable in splendour;
the abode of auspiciousness,the destroyer of the fears of the gods, beginning with Vāsava (Indra),
the bringer of prosperity,whose neck is beautiful like a conch.

[I bow to] Him who is worshipped by His servants, whose face is like a lotus,
the supreme refuge, exceedingly beautiful, clad in a white garment;
the lotus-eyed Lord, the skilful destroyer of the wicked and their evil deeds,
the Lord of the earth, who bears the bird-banner / the emblem of Garuḍa.

The below inscription is on the right pillar, and it is a commemoration plaque.

श्रीमद्भुवनेन्द्रतीर्थगुरुभ्यो नमः ।

शाके नागाब्जनागावनिपरिगणिते 

दुर्मुखाब्दे च राघेमासे 

कृष्णद्वितीयायुत बुधदिवसे 

युग्मलग्ने जनेभ्यः ।

प्रासादे गौडसारस्वतधरणिसुरैः 

कारिते रौप्यपीठे 

श्रीलक्ष्मीवेङ्कटेशो वितरतु 

वरदेंद्रेण संस्थापितः ॥

Translation

"Salutations to Guru Śrīmat Bhuvanendra Tīrtha.

In the Śaka year counted as Nāga-Abja-Nāga-Avani (1818), in the Durmukhi naama Samvatsara, in the month of Rādhā (Vaiśākha), on Wednesday combined with Kṛṣṇa Pakṣa Dvitīyā, during Yugma Lagna (Gemini ascendant);

In the temple constructed by the Gauḍa Sārasvata Brahmins at Raupyapīṭha (Udupi), may Lord Śrī Lakṣmī Vēṅkaṭēśa, consecrated by Śrīmat Varadēndra Tīrtha, bestow auspiciousness and well-being upon all people."

This foundation plaque commemorates the installation (Pratiṣṭhā) of the deity Lord Śrī Lakṣmī Vēṅkaṭēśa at the Śrī Venkataramana Temple, Udupi by Śrīmad Varadendra Tīrtha Swamiji on April 29, 1896 (Śaka 1818, Durmukha Samvatsara, Vaiśākha Kṛṣṇa Dvitīyā).

Note - Nāga-Abja-Nāga-Avani (1818) - This is called a Bhuta Sankhya, a code to indicate the Shaka year in a reverse order. The digits are derived from a lookup, a sample of which is given below;

Srimad Varadendra Teertha camped at the temple after the installation ceremony and regulated the routine of the temple. His Holiness selected suitable priests from respectable families and entrusted them with the daily Pooja duties.

Sources

1. https://www.udupipages.in/temples/sri-lakshmi-venkatesha-temple-udupi/

2. https://www.kashimath.org/origin/

3. https://www.instagram.com/slvtudupi/?hl=en

Shri Bhuvanendra Dayavanadhi | Talacheri Vasudeva Shanbhag

As  given in Gaud Saraswat Brahmanakhyan book, by Talacheri Vasudeva Shanbhag

Composer: Taḷacēri Vāsudēva Śyānubhāga, Mūlki

Rāga: Mukhāri | Tāḷa: Ēkatāḷa (Tune: Śrī Voḷalaṅkēśāya Namō)

Pallavi:

Śrī Bhuvanēndra dayāvānadhi | sujanābdhi kalānidhi ||

Meaning:

O revered Guru Bhuvanendra Thirtha, an ocean of compassion! You are like the full moon that causes the ocean of noble and virtuous people to swell with joy.

Kāśīmaṭha paramparēyoḷati prakā | śīsiha Sumatīndratīrtha yati niya ||

maśīla karāmbujabhava nirata ja | rāśiravyāsa Rāma caraṇārcaka || 1 ||

Meaning:

Born from the lotus hands (karāmbujabhava / initiated as a disciple) of the disciplined ascetic Sri Sumatindra Thirtha, who shone brightly in the lineage of the Kashi Math Samsthan, you constantly worshipped the lotus feet of Sri Vyasa and Sri Rama.

Dhikkarisutta viṣayasukhavanu tā | pakkoḷagāgi sadyōdhēyiṁ mūrkhara ||

Tikkutuddharisalājñānāṭhavi huta | bhukkenisida dvijakamala divākara || 2 ||

Meaning:

Firmly rejecting sensual pleasures and embracing spiritual austerities (tāpa), you guided the ignorant with true righteous instruction. Like a forest fire that consumes the woods of ignorance, and like the sun that makes the lotus of the twice-born (dvija) blossom, you uplifted society.

Vandya nipuṇakōmala rūpada vada | nēnduvirācita vaibhavadi surēṁ ||

drandivadōḷu merediruvōl dvijaroḷa | guṁ diṅgēśadi kīrtiya beḷesida || 3 ||

Meaning:

Endowed with a venerable, skilled, and gentle form, and a countenance luminous like the moon, you shone like Indra reigning in the heavens, spreading your fame in all directions among the community.

Ratavirakti kīlakābdadoḷage sa | vvatiyāśrama hondutālapaḷḷeya ||

Natarājana satkāradoḷātana | matadiṁ kelakālamalli nelasida || 4 ||

Meaning:

Devoted to deep detachment, in the cyclic year Kilaka (1848-1849 A.D), you accepted the holy order of sannyasa (chaturthashrama). Honored by the ruler (natarāja) of Alappuzha (Aalappuzha/Alleppey), you resided there for some time according to his devout wishes.

Bhēdadoḷipa Vasudhēndrara cittada | krōdhanivārisi vinaya beḷasu tavar ||

Mēdiniyanu toreda vārteyiṁ duḥ | khōdadhiyoḷu muḷugida yamiratnavē || 5 ||

Meaning:

Resolving the differences and quelling anger in the mind of Sri Vasudhendra Thirtha, you fostered humility and harmony. When the news arrived that he had departed this mortal world, you—the jewel among ascetics—were plunged into an ocean of sorrow.

Raudriyoḷallinda mañjuḷāpura | bhadra nṛsiṁhana kāṇlakkalliya ||

Kṣudravivāda nivārisi sṛjana sa | mudradoḍane mūlikēgāgamisida || 6 ||

Meaning:

In the cyclic year Raudri (1860-1861 A.D), traveling from there to Manjeshwar (Manjulapura) to behold the auspicious Sri Narasimha, you resolved petty disputes, pacified the community, and arrived in Mulki amidst a vast sea of virtuous devotees.

Nantara śiṣya samājada sēveya | nuṁ taḷedallim mundarisi nagara ||

Prāntyadi biridina vāda gelidu śrī | manta rāyariṁ mānyava paḍediha || 7 ||

Meaning:

Graciously accepting the devotional service of your disciples, you journeyed further into the royal city province, triumphing in prestigious philosophical debates and receiving high honors from affluent kings and chieftains.

Gauḍasārasvata dvija caritava | prauḍhararuhuttallalli sthāpaneya ||

Dauḍininda dēvālaya maragaḷa | nauḍettadante gaida mahātmara || 8 ||

Meaning:

Elucidating the noble history and traditions of the Gowd Saraswat Brahmins to elders and scholars, this great soul ensured the steady foundation and restoration of temples and sacred heritage groves without letting them fall into neglect.

Kārakaḷadi dāriyagōsuga vyava | hāra naḍeyalada jaisutta mañjuḷa ||

Ūrali dhātuvinoḷu Varadēndrari | gārādhya caturthāśramavittiha || 9 ||

Meaning:

When a legal dispute arose in Karkala regarding access pathways, you successfully resolved it. Later, in the cyclic year Dhatu (1876-77 A.D) at Manjeshwar, you initiated your disciple Sri Varadendra Thirtha into the venerable fourth ashrama (sannyasa).

Maṅgaḷūrali maṇēlakārara pra | saṅgavēḷe Gōkarṇa Kāśi kala ||

Hangaḷoḷ jātyādhikārava sthāpisi | Gaṅgāsnānake vijayaṁ gaidida || 10 ||

Meaning:

During the assembly of the Manelkar family in Mangalore, you settled contentious jurisdictional disputes between the Gokarna and Kashi maths, reaffirmed religious and social order (jātyādhikāra), and then proceeded on a victorious pilgrimage to take a holy dip in the sacred River Ganga.

Kāśiyoḷiha Kavaḷeya maṭhavanyara | pāśadoḷidduda biḍisuta yātrēya ||

Tōṣadi puraisuta sanvādada | lēsininda Vasupurakke dodagida || 11 ||

Meaning:

In Varanasi (Kashi), you liberated the branch of the Kavale Math from the clutches of unlawful claimants. Completing your holy pilgrimage with great joy and engaging in scholarly discourses, you arrived peacefully at Basrur (Vasupura).

Mārgaśīrṣa sita pāḍya vayyadali | vargada durdaśe īkṣisalārade ||

Nirgamisidare sakalaru gōḷiḍe | svargavāsamaṁ taḷeda suguṇamaṇi || 12 ||

Meaning:

On the first lunar day of the bright fortnight (Shukla Pratipada) in the month of Margashirsha, unable to bear the spiritual decline of the world, this repository of noble virtues attained his heavenly abode (Mahasamadhi at Basrur), leaving all devotees weeping in grief.

Hariyē sarva vidyā guṇa bhāgyada | śiriyannode viyōgaduḥkha maha ||

Śaradhiyoḷaddu kaṅgāṇadēmmanu | ddhṛriste Varadēndrariṁ karuṇadi || 13 ||

Meaning:

O Lord Hari, while we were submerged in the deep ocean of sorrow caused by the departure of our Guru—the treasure of all knowledge and virtues—You compassionately protected and uplifted us through his successor, Sri Varadendra Thirtha.

Satya kṣamāguṇa niyatanītiyā | gatyavāda kramagaḷa ērpāṭu ||

Jātyabhyudayada cintane kīrtiyu | nitya beḷagali prakṛta guruvaḷōḷivu || 14 ||

Meaning:

May truth, forgiveness, moral conduct, necessary institutional arrangements, welfare of the community, and eternal glory forever shine brightly through the grace of our present Guru.

Vāsudēvaśāṇṇavi mūlikeya ni | vāsiyu sakalaranujñeyinda raci ||

Sī sṛtti sabheyoḷu Voḷalāka | dhīśa Nṛhari Śrīramēśagarpisida || 15 ||

Meaning:

Vasudeva Shanbhogue, a resident of Mulki, composed this work with the permission and blessings of all elders, and offered this hymn in the holy gathering to Sri Narasimha and Sri Ramesh (Venkataramana), the sovereign deities of Volalanka.

(Acrostic note: The first syllables of the verses read as "Śrī Rāmacandrana bhaktanāda guruvē namma..." [O Guru who is the devout servant of Sri Ramachandra!]).

Kashi Math and Gokarna Math: From Jurisdictional Rivalry to Reconciliation

The history of the relationship between the Śrī Kashi Math Samsthan and the Śrī Gokarna–Partagali Jeevottam Math is an important but comparatively little explored chapter in the history of the Gauda Saraswat Brahmin community. The two institutions shared the same broad religious world, the same Dvaita-Vaishnava inheritance, and overlapping constituencies along the western coast of India. Yet, during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, their relationship became marked by rivalry, competing claims of religious jurisdiction, and restrictions concerning mantropadeśa and mudrādhāraṇa. By the second half of the nineteenth century, however, the relationship had changed dramatically. Personal contacts, mutual hospitality, institutional gestures and deliberate initiatives gradually replaced hostility, eventually producing the close relations between the two Maths that are evident in later records.

The surviving evidence suggests that this was not a simple, uninterrupted conflict. Rather, it was a fluctuating relationship in which cooperation and rivalry alternated, and in which questions of religious authority were closely intertwined with the social organization of the Saraswat community.

The rise of a more explicit Math jurisdictional conflict

The situation becomes clearer when we examine the generation of Srimad Sureendra Tīrtha and Srimad Vibhudendra Tīrtha.

Srimad Sureendra Tīrtha was the Kashi Math pontiff at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Vibhudendra Tīrtha was his disciple and became an important travelling representative of the Kashi Math. The Kashi Math's historical account describes Srimad Sureendra Tirtha as spending much of his time at Alleppey while Srimad Vibhudendra Tirtha undertook extensive digvijayas. Srimad Vibhudendra Tirtha was active in the coastal Karnataka region, including Manjeshwar and Mangalore.

Srimad Vibhudendra Tīrtha and the prohibition on Gokarna Math initiation

A record concerning Srimad Pūrṇaprajña Tīrtha provides an unusually direct reference to Srimad Vibhudendra's intervention.

At the beginning of Srimad Pūrṇaprajña's pontificate, he travelled through North and South Kanara. On Phālguna Śukla Pratipadā, Śaka 1752 (1830 CE), while at Bhatkal, he issued a rāyas to the members of his community in Karnataka. He instructed them not to receive mantropadeśa or mudrādhāraṇa from the Kashi Math Ācārya.

The reason given was explicit: when Srimad Pūrṇaprajña's guru had earlier travelled in that region, Kashi Math Ācārya Srimad Vibhudendra Tīrtha had imposed a similar prohibition upon their Swami.

This is a crucial piece of evidence. It establishes that Srimad Vibhudendra was remembered by the Gokarna–Partagali side as having personally intervened in the question of religious initiation and mudrādhāraṇa. It also places the dispute squarely in the sphere of competing religious jurisdiction, rather than merely social disagreement.

The geographical setting is equally important. The rāyas was issued from Bhatkal, one of the major Saraswat centres of the coastal region. The Gokarna–Partagali Math itself traces an important part of its early history to Bhatkal, where its first pontiff, Srimad Narayana Tīrtha, established a Math and organized the Saraswat community.

Thus Bhatkal was not merely a convenient stopping place. It was a significant arena in which the religious allegiance of Saraswat families could be contested.

The importance of mantra and mudrādhāraṇa

The repeated appearance of mantropadeśa and mudrādhāraṇa is unlikely to be accidental.

The Kashi Math's foundational tradition itself emphasizes that the Kashi Math was entrusted with authority over the religious affairs of its Saraswat followers, including the right to administer mudrās. The Kashi Math's account of its foundational copper plate records that the Kumbakonam Math granted Srimad Yadavendra Tīrtha and his successors authority to imprint mudrās upon the Brahmins of their community and to settle disputes within that community.

Consequently, the question of who could give mantra and who could perform mudrādhāraṇa was not merely ceremonial. It was a means of establishing religious affiliation and jurisdiction.

The 1830 exchange can therefore be understood as a reciprocal assertion:

Kashi Math: its followers should not receive these marks or initiation from the Gokarna Math.

Gokarna Math: its followers should not receive them from the Kashi Math.

The underlying issue was thus whether a Saraswat family belonged, for purposes of religious authority, to one Math or the other.

The 1825 Basrur meeting: evidence that the relationship was not continuously hostile

Yet the evidence does not support a picture of uninterrupted hostility.

In Śaka 1747 (1825 CE), Srimad Ānanda Tīrtha, the Gokarna Math pontiff, and his disciple Srimad Pūrṇaprajña Tīrtha met the Kashi Math's Srimad Sumatīndra Tīrtha (disciple of Srimad Vibhudendra Tirtha) at the Digvijaya Viṭṭhala Math in Basrur. The two parties subsequently travelled together as far as Nagara Math.

This is striking because it occurred between the earlier phase of Srimad Vibhudendra's career and the retaliatory rāyas issued by Srimad Pūrṇaprajña Tirtha in 1830.

The meeting demonstrates that the two institutions could still maintain cordial relations even while questions of jurisdiction remained unresolved.

The relationship should therefore not be described simply as a continuous feud. A more accurate description would be periodic institutional rivalry superimposed upon an underlying tradition of personal and religious interaction.

1830 A.D : renewed assertion of separate jurisdiction

The 1830 Bhatkal rāyas nevertheless shows that the underlying issue had not disappeared.

Srimad Pūrṇaprajña's guru was Srimad Ānanda Tīrtha. The official Partagali Math chronology places Srimad Ānanda Tīrtha's pontificate in the early nineteenth century and Srimad Pūrṇaprajña's subsequent accession to the Gokarna Math seat. The Partagali Math describes Srimad Pūrṇaprajña Tirtha as having been initiated by Srimad Ānanda Tīrtha and succeeding him in Śaka 1750.

Srimad Pūrṇaprajña's 1830 A.D action can therefore be read as an institutional response to an earlier Kashi Math assertion of authority. The language of the document is particularly revealing because it does not merely prohibit ordinary social contact: it specifically addresses mantra initiation and mudrādhāraṇa, the mechanisms by which religious affiliation was formally expressed.

The conflict thus had acquired a distinctly institutional character.

Samadhi of Srimad Vibhudendra Tirtha and a new Kashi Math crisis

Srimad Vibhudendra Tīrtha attained samādhi in 1834 A.D. His death was followed by an internal succession dispute within the Kashi Math itself.

His two disciples, Srimad Sumatīndra Tīrtha and Srimad Vasudendra Tīrtha, became involved in a dispute over succession and the division of Math property. Srimad Vasudendra Tirtha eventually sought partition through the courts. The Kashi Math's own records state that a decree favouring partition was obtained, but that the situation changed when Srimad Sumatīndra Tirtha initiated Srimad Bhuvanendra Tīrtha and later died in 1851. Due to Srimad Bhuvanendra's humble and persistent requests, Srimad Vasudendra Tirtha then abandoned his claim to divide the Math and accepted Srimad Bhuvanendra Tirtha as his ward, thereby preserving the unity of the institution.

This internal crisis is relevant to the history of Kashi–Gokarna Math relations because it shows that the Kashi Math itself was undergoing a major institutional transition during the very decades when its relationship with the Gokarna Math was changing.

Srimad Bhuvanendra Tirtha emerged from this crisis as the 17th Kashi Math pontiff, and his later career appears to mark a significant change in the relationship between the two Saraswat Maths.

Srimad Bhuvanendra Tīrtha and the beginning of reconciliation

The documentary evidence supplied by the Marathi historical account places the first clear signs of reconciliation in the 1860s.

In Śaka 1786 (1864 CE), Srimad Bhuvanendra Tīrtha arrived at Manjeshwar, where he stayed for 10 days while the two Swamis (Srimad Bhuvanendra Tirtha and Srimad Pūrṇaprajña Tīrtha) remained together.

An even more detailed account concerns the journey of Srimad Padmanābha Tīrtha (Gokarna Math), disciple of Srimad Pūrṇaprajña Tīrtha. After an extensive pilgrimage through South India, Srimad Padmanābha Tirtha reached Manjeshwar in Śaka 1787 (1865 CE) and met Srimad Bhuvanendra Tīrtha.

The conduct described in the record is dramatically different from the earlier period:

• the two Swamis visited each other's Maths;
• they accepted bhikṣā from one another;
• they maintained reciprocal hospitality;
• they visited Saraswat temples together;
• Srimad Bhuvanendra Tirtha invited Srimad Padmanābha Tirtha to the Narayanacharya Math;
• Srimad Padmanābha Tirtha received pāda-pūjā;
• they travelled together to the Venkataramana temple at Mangalore, the Ullal Narasimha temple and Kanva Tīrtha;
• they subsequently proceeded to Manjeshwar together.

These were not merely private conversations. They were public acts of mutual recognition.

The evidence suggests that the reconciliation was therefore taking place through repeated personal contact between the leaders and representatives of the two Maths.

The 1868 A.D letter

The next milestone is particularly valuable because an actual documentary reference survives.

On Śrāvaṇa Śukla 5, Śaka 1790 (1868 CE), Srimad Bhuvanendra Tīrtha wrote from Cochin in Sanskrit to Srimad Padmanābha Tīrtha, disciple of Srimad Pūrṇaprajña Tirtha.

He stated that he was sending a chatra (ceremonial umbrella) as a gift to Gokarna Math and invited them to inform him if anything further was required.

This letter is important because it moves the relationship beyond personal hospitality into the sphere of institutional courtesy.

A ceremonial chatra was an item associated with the dignity and public status of a religious pontiff. Sending one explicitly as a gift to the other Math therefore represented more than ordinary generosity. It was a visible acknowledgement of the standing of the other institution.

The Marathi historical account regards this as the first documentary evidence that the hostility between the two Maths was diminishing. But the fuller chronology suggests something slightly more nuanced: the process of reconciliation had already become visible in the personal meetings of 1864–65, while the 1868 letter represents its clearer institutional expression.

The 1878 Chaturmasya: reconciliation becomes normal

An even more striking development occurred in Śaka 1800 (1878 CE).

Srimad Bhuvanendra Tīrtha and his disciple Srimad Varadendra Tīrtha performed their Chaturmasya at the new Kashi Math at Mangalore Rathabīdi, a Math established by Srimad Pūrṇaprajña Tīrtha.

This is a remarkable reversal of the situation recorded in 1830.

Less than fifty years earlier, Srimad Pūrṇaprajña Tirtha  had instructed his followers at Bhatkal not to accept mantropadeśa or mudrādhāraṇa from the Kashi Math Ācārya. By 1878, the pontiff of Kashi Math and his disciple could perform their Chaturmasya at an institution associated with the Gokarna Math lineage.

The earlier jurisdictional antagonism had evidently ceased to prevent ordinary religious interaction.

Further, Srimad Padmanabha Tirtha stayed with Srimad Bhuvanendra Tirtha at the community temples in towns such as Sirsi, Siddapur, and Yellapur, thereby creating a conducive atmosphere for reconciliation.

In 1884, Tarana year, at Bilagi, there was a meeting involving Padmanabha Tirtha, Sri Bhuvanendra Tirtha and Sri Varadendra Tirtha.

Subsequently, Srimad Padmanabha Tirtha, accompanied by Shri Varadendra Tirtha, travelled through places such as Ullal, Mulki, and Gurupur, and helped remove the estrangement that had developed between the followers of the two maths.

From reconciliation to permanent settlement

The Marathi source attributes the final end of the unpleasant rivalry to Srimad Indirākānta Tīrtha, who took the initiative several years after the first signs of rapprochement. This was made important due to the Eki-Beki dispute which had stirred up and threatened the unity and integrity of the entire Gaud Saraswat Community.

This is consistent with the later historical memory preserved by the Gokarna–Partagali Math. Its official history states that by the time of Srimad Indirākānta Tīrtha, disagreements between the Kashi and Gokarna Maths had ceased and the two institutions had developed strong ties. The succeeding pontiff, Srimad Dwarakanatha Tīrtha, continued this policy of amicable relations, which was continued by Srimad Sudhindra Tirtha of Kashi Math. This is exemplified by the joint Chaturmasya of Kashi Math, Gokarna Math and Kavale Math in Karkala, an unfulfilled dream of Srimad Indirakanta Tirtha, which was engineered by Srimad Sudhindra Tirtha in 1963.

What caused the original rivalry?

The surviving evidence does not permit a single definitive answer.

It is possible that two different historical processes became intertwined:

1. older regional and social divisions among Saraswat communities; and
2. later competition between the Kashi and Gokarna Maths concerning religious jurisdiction.

The western coastal Saraswat community was geographically dispersed across Goa, North Kanara, South Kanara and Kerala. Both Maths had temples, followers and institutional interests throughout this region. The possibility that the same family or local community might have access to both traditions naturally created questions about who possessed authority to administer mantra, mudrādhāraṇa, religious privileges and community discipline.

The Kashi Math's own historical tradition emphasizes the authority of its pontiffs over Saraswat religious affairs, while the Gokarna–Partagali Math likewise developed a strong role as an organizing institution for the Saraswat community.

The rivalry therefore appears to have been less a theological disagreement between two incompatible schools than a competition between two closely related institutions for overlapping religious constituencies.

Conclusion

The history of the Kashi Math–Gokarna Math relationship is therefore not best understood as a permanent sectarian conflict. It was a long process of negotiation over overlapping religious authority within a single Saraswat community.

References

1. srimad.org - https://srimad.org/?p=323

2. Books by Shri Chandrakant Keni at https://www.partagalimath.org/e-content

3. Shri H.L. Kamath's notes in Itihaasada Rashmigalu (Chapter titled Gurus of Kashi Math)