Ambalpady/Ambalpadi is a holy place which is part of

Udupi Udupi (alternate spelling Udipi; also known as Odipu) is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. Udupi is situated about north of the educational, commercial and industrial hub of Mangalore and about west of state capital Bangalore by road. ...

town, the land of Lord Sri Krishna. With the ancient Sri Janardana temple with

Mahakali Temple Mahakali () is the Hindu goddess of time and death in the goddess-centric tradition of Shaktism. Similar to Kali, Mahakali is a fierce goddess associated with universal power, time, life, death, and both rebirth and liberation. She is the cons ...

on one side, Janardana pushkarani in the front, an Anjaneya temple with an idol incorporating incarnations of Mukhyaprana, and a Brindavan of Raghavendra Swamji in the surroundings, it is growing as a religious and cultural center in the coastal belt of

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

Location

With the Sri Krishna temple to the east and the holy beach where Sri

Madhwacharya Madhvacharya (; ; CE 1199-1278 or CE 1238–1317), sometimes anglicised as Madhva Acharya, and also known as Purna Prajna () and Ānanda Tīrtha, was an Indian philosopher, theologian and the chief proponent of the ''Dvaita'' (dualism) schoo ...

got the idol of Lord Krishna to the west, Ambalpady is situated about 3 kilometers away from Udupi bus-stand. If Lord Krishna is facing west, Lord Janardana at Ambalpady is facing east. If a straight line is drawn to the west from

Udupi Krishna temple Udupi Shri Krishna Temple is a well-known historic Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Krishna and Dvaita Matha located in the city of Udupi in Karnataka, India. The Matha area resembles a living Aashram, a holy place for daily devotion and living ...

, it reaches the Ambalpady Janardana temple.

Religious significance

Janardana is the presiding deity of Ambalpady. To his Southeast is goddess Mahakali who is worshiped with greater ardor. This is common as children go more often to their mother than to their father and confess their mother knowing for help. With the same belief, devotees come to goddess Mahakali to be relieved of their sins and get solution to their problems. There is one more reason for her dominance here. She had come earlier to this place to protect the land, and the place got its name because of her. Ambalpady is ‘Ammana Padi’, or the ‘Woods of Amma’. Later it became Ambalpady. It is believed that initially goddess Mahakali was worshiped in a stone. The same stone is being worshiped even now along with the wooden idol of Mahakali. Thus, Mahakali was worshiped earlier in this region and Janardana Swamy came here in search of the goddess and decided to stay here and protect devotees.

Notable residents and establishments

AICC General Secretary,

Oscar Fernandes Dr. Oscar Fernandes (27 March 1941 – 13 September 2021) was an Indian politician, a senior Indian National Congress leader and was the Union Cabinet Minister for Transport, Road and Highways and Labour and Employment, Government of India in ...

is from Ambalpady.

Bannanje Govindacharya Bannanje Govindacharya (3 August 1936 – 13 December 2020) was an Indian philosopher and Sanskrit scholar versed in Veda Bhashya, Upanishad Bhashya, Mahabharata, Puranas and Ramayana. He wrote Bhashyas (commentaries) on Veda Suktas, Upanishads, S ...

, one of the greatest scholars of Acharya Madhwa's philosophy, resides in Ambalpady. Ambalpady Medical Center, a medical diagnostic centre is located in Beedu Marga, Ambalpady, Udupi.

References

{{reflist Udupi Cities and towns in Udupi district