Kere Basadi

Kere Basadi (meaning: Lake temple) or Chaturmukha Basadi is a Jain temple located in Varanga village in Udupi district of Karnataka, India. This 12th century temple is situated amidst of a lake giving it the name Kere Basadi (lake temple)[lower-alpha 1]. The temple is also known Chaturmukha Basadi as it houses a chaturmukha (four-faced) idol of tirthankaras. The temple is situated 26 kms from Karkala, another popular Jain center. A replica of this temple dating back to 15th century is built in Anekere village.

Kere Basadi
ವರಂಗ ಕೆರೆ ಬಸದಿ
Kere Basadi
Religion
Affiliation	Jainism
Deity	Parshvanath
Festivals	Rathotsava, Mahavir Jayanti
Governing body	Karkala Jain Mutt
Location
Location	Varanga, Udupi, Karnataka
Geographic coordinates	13°23′46.53″N 75°0′30.14″E
Architecture
Creator	Varanga Raya
Date established	12th century

History

The temple was built more than 850 years back.[1] The Sripurana, found Jain matha at Varanga[2], is one of the famous 8th century work by Jain tamils.[3] The Jain Matha is a offshoot of the Humcha Jain Matha. This matha is said to have been segment of Mula Kundakundanvaya Kranurgana's Mesha Pashana Gaccha.[4] According to an inscription found in Neminath Basadi, dating back to 1424 CE, King Deva Raya II of the Vijayanagara Empire visited the temple and granted land for operation.[4] The inscription also mentions the of a Jain Matha existence prior to installation of the inscription.[5] The matha is estimated to date back to c. 8th–9th century CE. There is inscription dating 1515 CE and 1522 CE mentioning of grants sanctioned by a Jain business man and Chenna Bhairava respectively.[6]

About temple

Kere Basadi is a 12th century temple, considered to be unique for being situated in the middle of a lake.[7] The mulnayak of the temple is Parshvanatha, the 23rd tirthankar. The temple is built in chaturmukha style, having four entrance[8] and a chaturmukha idol with images of Parshvanatha, Neminatha, Shantinatha, and Anantanatha representing the four cardinal direction.[9] The temple also houses an idol of Padmavati. It is believed performing puja (praying) here brings prosperity. There is also ritual for people to visit the shrine before marriage. It is believed to be a blessing if the flower from the right side of the idol falls.[4] One has to take boat to reach the temple. A replica of this temple was erected during 15th century in Anekere, Channarayapatna.

Other temples

Neminatha Basadi is a stone temple built in 9th century. The shrine is 70 by 70 feet (21 m × 21 m) in dimensions with a thatched roof. The temple has a ornate torana housing an image of seated tirthankar.[10] The temple houses an 5 feet black-colored idol of Neminatha in padmasan posture[4] as the mulnayak deity of the temple.[11] Temple also houses a bronze idol of Mahavira, Ambika, and Padmavati. A small shrine dedicated to Kshetrapala exists in the temple premises. The shrine features a 45 feet tall monolithic manastambha.[4]

The Kathale Basadi, Mathada Basadi and Chandranath Basadi are other important temple in the region dating back 1,000 years.[4][1][12]

In popular culture

The temple was featured in Mugulu Nage song Kere Yeri.

Festivals

The rathotsava (chariot festival) is the primary festival of this temple, a five-day event is organised annually in the month of February. Buta Kola is organised to celebrate Navaratri, Dusshera, Diwali. On Vijayadashami, Ratha Yatra with an idol of Padmavathi Devi is organised to commemorate the procession of King Deva Raya II during Vijayadashami.[4]

Gallery

• 
  Replica of Kere Basadi at Anekere built in 16th century

See also

• Karkala
• Shravanabelagola

Notes

1. ₹9.13 crore (US$1 million) for developing the Udupi includes Jain basadis in Varanga.[1]

References

Citation

1. The Hindu & tourist spots of Udupi.
2. Kachru, Kachru & Sridhar 2008, p. 5.
3. Umamaheshwari 2018, p. 126.
4. Basadis & Deccan Hearld.
5. Sewell 1884, p. 270.
6. Archaeological Survey of India 1882.
7. Titze & Bruhn 1998, p. 42.
8. Titze & Bruhn 1998, p. 43.
9. Kere Basadi & Deccan Hearld.
10. Titze & Bruhn 1998, p. 44.
11. Shah 1987, p. 169.
12. A mid-lake spiritual wonder & Deccan Hearld.

Sources

• Titze, Kurt; Bruhn, Klaus (1998), Jainism: A Pictorial Guide to the Religion of Non-Violence (2 ed.), Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-81-208-1534-6
• Umamaheshwari, R. (2018), Reading History with the Tamil Jainas: A Study on Identity, Memory and Marginalisation, Sophia Studies in Cross-cultural Philosophy of Traditions and Cultures, 22, Springer Publishing, ISBN 9788132237563
• Shah, Umakant Premanand (1987), Jaina-rūpa-maṇḍana: Jaina iconography, Abhinav Publications, ISBN 978-81-7017-208-6
• Sewell, Robert (1884), Lists of Inscriptions, and Sketch of the Dynasties of Southern India, Archaeological Survey of Southern India, 2, E. Keys at the Government Press
• Kachru, Braj B.; Kachru, Yamuna; Sridhar, S. N. (2008), Language in South Asia, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 9781139465502
• Archaeological Survey of India (1882). New Imperial Series. 7. Manager of Publications.
• Mallick, Anurag; Ganapathy, Priya (2019-08-06). "It's a whole new world". Deccan Herald. Retrieved 2020-03-07.
• Prabhu, Ganesh (2017-10-21). "Lesser-known tourist spots of Udupi in focus". The Hindu. Retrieved 2020-03-07.
• Padaki, Arun (2014-06-23). "A mid-lake spiritual wonder". Deccan Herald. Retrieved 2020-03-07.
• D'Souza, Sandhya (2010-01-10). "Basadis are testimony to rich". Deccan Herald. Retrieved 2020-05-09.