Kanakadasa and the Lord of Udipi

Kanaka Dasaru is a well known saint in the Dvaita tradition of Madhvacharya. He along with Purandaradasa, are among the most famous saints of the Dasakoota (or Haridasa) parampara which flourished in the land of Karnataka in the medieval period. The songs composed by the Haridasas  and their stories are an integral part of the Bhakti tradition of South India, of the music of South India (known as Carnatic music) and of the Dakshin Sampradaya tradition (which was put together in its present form by three saints from the banks of the Kaveri - Marudhanallur Swamigal, Sridhara Ayyaval and Bodhendra Swamigal). The Padagalu composed by the Haridasas are full of devotion, symbolism and deep spirituality. Let's leave discussions about the symbolism of particular padagalus and the Dakshin Sampradaya to a future date, and on this Janmashtami day let's hear a story about Kanakadasa and his beloved Lord Sri Krishna. 

Kanakadasa was a contemporary of the great saint Purandaradasa and a shishya of another realized soul Vyasaraaya of Hampi. Originally born in a warrior caste, he was well trained and proficient in the warrior arts. However, during an actual war, even after fighting hard and courageously, he ended up on the losing side and only just about (miraculously) escaped alive. This incident made him disillusioned with the world, worldly belongings and worldly matters. He turned to spirituality and to his beloved Lord Krishna for wisdom and enlightenment. Through the grace of his realized Guru, he scaled great heights of spirituality (as can be seen from his immortal compositions). 

Vyasaraaya once adviced Kanakadasa to perform a pilgrimage to the famous Udipi temple which enshrines Lord Krishna in the form of a kid, and to sing his songs to the Lord at this sacred place. Udipi is the karmabhoomi of Madhvacharya, the chief proponent of the Dvaita tradition and philosophy. According to legend, Madhvacharya retrieved the present icon of the Lord from a big lump of sandalwood which was unknowingly present (unknown to the ship crewmen, but sensed through divine vision by the saint) and was being carried in a ship that had set sail from Dwaraka (the ancient kingdom of Krishna) ferrying sandalwood and other materials for sale to a region in the southern part of India. Madhwacharya calmed a storm that had risen near the coast of Udipi, and saved this ship from destruction. In payment, he asked for this particular lump of sandalwood, out of which came  forth the beautiful idol that has been enshrined in the Udipi Sri Krishna temple today.

The head of the Udipi mutt was aware of Vyasaraaya's and Kanakadasa's devotion. On Kanakadasa's arrival at the mutt, he immediately made arrangements for Kanakadasa's stay in a hut outside the western perimeter of the main temple. The next day, Kanakadasa went for a darshan of the Lord at Udipi. The casteist brahmin priests and attendants did not allow him to enter the main temple, and spoke abusive words to Kanakadasa and turned him back. A dejected and sad Kanakadasa returned to his hut. He took his tamburi and went outside his hut, and started singing his songs in praise of the Lord Sri Krishna.

He was completely immersed in and lost in singing about the grace of the Lord, and in pleading with the Lord to shower His mercy and grace on him, and bless him with a vision of His beautiful face. Being His Dasa, he did not ask for any worldly wealth and did not care for it. All he wanted was just a darshan of the Lord. Suddenly there was an earthquake. The western outer wall crumbled, and a few slabs of stone in the inner wall of the sanctum sanctorum cracked open. The idol of Sri Krishna which was originally facing east, turned around and faced Kanakadasa, who was sitting on the western side of the temple.

With tears streaming down his face, Kanakdasa beheld the idol of his Lord Sri Krishna, seemingly beaming at him. The brahmins who had denied entry to this great devotee came and fell at his feet and asked for his forgiveness. Lord Krishna had spoken and demonstrated through this episode that devotion alone is supreme.

Even today, the idol at the Sri Krishna temple faces west. The crack that appeared on the wall of the sanctum sanctorum has been replaced with a window. Devotees who visit this temple, behold the beautiful image of the Lord through this window. The place where Kanakadasa sat and sang his beautiful songs in praise of the Lord, is covered with a grand gopuram today, and offers a direct view of the Lord's idol inside the sanctum. Devotees visit this place in memory of this great saint and witness the icon of the Lord Sri Krishna, who had turned around, away from the priests blinded by man man made distinctions of caste, and showed His beautiful image to His dear devotee who had nothing but pure unadulterated love and devotion for Him.