Vadabhandeshwara Temple, Malpe

Vadabhandeshwara Temple is one of the few temples of Balarama in Bharat, outside the Vrajabhumi area. Vadabhandeshwara village is in the vicinity of the Malpe Port in Karnataka. The Deity of Sri Balarama was installed by Srila Madhvacharya.

Who has not heard the name of Udupi Sri Krishna? Many devotees come to this holy Kshetra every day to have darshan of the Supreme Lord Sri Krishna. Here the divine Deity of Sri Balakrishna is in standing posture, holding churning rod in one hand and rope in another hand. Having darshan in this form the devotees return filled with devotion and satisfaction.

There are many temples all over the country dedicated to Lord Sri Krishna. But there are less temples dedicated to His elder brother Balarama. Many of them being quite rare.

Who is Lord Balarama?

Lord Balarama or Baladeva is actually Sankarshana. He is also Adisesha. He is the principle guru-tattva. Hence all the gurus appearing in the bonafide Chatur Sampradayas are His expansions. Devotees pray to Lord Balarama for spiritual strength to progress towards the ultimatum of spiritual life. He descends as Lakshmana, Nityananda Prabhu, the eldest associated of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. He also appears as Ramanujacharya.

In the Gaudiya Vaishnavism, Lord Balarama is the central figure. For example, in the Hare Krishna maha-mantra: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare / Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare, Rama refers to Lord Balarama. Primarily Gaudiya Vaishnavas worship Krishna and Balarama just like they worship Radha and Krishna. The temples dedicated to Balarama are exceedingly rare limited to certain areas like Vrindavana, Dwarka and Mayapur.

In the Krishna-lila Lord Balarama participated in many lilas of Lord Krishna in Vrindavana. He killed demons like Pralambasura, Dhenukasura, Chanura, Mushtika, Dvivida Gorilla, etc. He performed many uncommon heroic feats like single handedly lifting the city of Hastinapura and placing it in the middle of Ganges. He also pulled Yamuna towards Him in order to take bath in it. He was the teacher of Bhima and Duryodhana in Gada-yuddha.

He married Revathi, the daughter of King Raivata. While the Mahabharata War was going on, He went on a pilgrimage of Bharata Bhumi and purified many kshetras including Tirumala. He concluded His lilas in Prabhasa Kshetra.

The Vadabhandeshwara Temple is dedicated to Balarama

The Vadabhandeshwara temple is in Vadabhandeshwara village on the seashore of Malpe beach, four miles west of Udupi. The temple’s architectue is like that of Kerala. It is simple and serene. Hardly devotees throng this temple. The rajagopuram leads into the dim lit courtyard which leads to the garbha griha.

The Deity of Balarama sits into the garbha griha. He is holding butter in His hand. He is the balasvarupa of Vrindavana. Having darshan of the Lord reminds us of the makhan-chori lila of Krishna and Balarama.

History of Vadabhandeshwara Temple

The Deity of Vadabhandeshwara was installed by Srila Madhvacharya. According to the recorded history, once a ship was passing through the Malpe fort. Suddenly a storm arose and the ship began sinking. Srila Madhvacharya who was meditating near the seashore heard the voice of sailors requesting for the help. He waved his garment and ordered the sea to calm down.

The sea calmed and the ship sailed safely to the shore. The captain of the ship fell at the feet of Srila Madhvacharya for saving the life of sailors. He requested to accept something as a token of gratitude. The ship sailed from Dwarka, hence Saint Madhvacharya chose the block of Gopi Chandana as a gift.

Madhvacharya brought this block of Gopi chandan and put it in the Madhva Sarovara which revealed the transcendental Deity of Udupi Krishna. The Deity was carved by Vishwakarma, and was worshipped by Rukmini Devi in Dwarka. Towards the end of the Dwapara-yuga, Arjuna placed this Deity in Rukmini Devi’s garden which got covered by Gopi Chandana eventually.

While Madhvacharya was carrying the block of Chandana to Madhva Sarovara, it broke into two pieces. One piece fell at this place revealing the Deity of Balarama. Hence the place came to be known as Vadabhandeshwara or Odabhandeshwara. Meaning breaking into. Madhvacharya installed the Deity of Balarama here.

According to Sri Raghuvarya Tirtha, who was the saint of the Palimaru Mutt in the seventeenth century, the ship of the sailor actually crashed into this village and the gopi chandana block sank into the sea. Madhvacharya got to know about this and fetched both the blocks.

Many scholars believe that the village was earlier called as Odapandeeshwara – oda means break and pandi means sailboat carrying cargo in the Tulu language. Over a period of time it changed to Odabhandeshwara and currently known as Vadabhandeshwara.

Temple Timings of Vadabhandeshwara Temple

Vadabhandeshwara temple is open throughout year every day from 6:00 AM to 7:00 PM. Sometimes the temple closes in the noon.

How to reach Vadabhandeshwara Temple

The best way to reach Vadabhandeshwara temple is to join Tirtha Yatra’s Udupi Yatra and be blessed with the unforgettable darshan.

By Road: Vadabhandeshwara temple is 7 kms from Udupi town. Road transport can be easily availed. Regular bus services are available from Bengaluru and other prominent towns. Alight at Udupi and then take a taxi to reach the temple.

By Rail: Udupi railway station is the nearest railway station. Apart from that Mangaluru is the nearest railway station. It is well-connected with important towns of India.

By Air: The nearest airport is at Mangaluru. Private taxies are available from this airport.