BALAKRISHNA OF UDIPI

The captain of the ship approached the Acharya to express his gratitude for saving the whole crew, merchandise from total disaster. Thanking him soulfully with prostrations, he requested the Acharya to accept some gift for averting the catastrophe.

He accepted nothing except a lump of gopi mud for Puja purposes. The captain gave away that huge chunk brought from Dwaraka, using as a ballast through out the voyage, and to be thrown out after reaching the shore. When the lump was broken in the temple for making gopi chandan, they were surprised to see that bewitching image inside. Envisioning its past and future in entirety, the Acharya installed it in the temple with due rituals. Thus the famous temple was blessed with the charming image of Balakrishna with churning rod in one hand and sportive rope in the other, adorned with beautiful tufts on the forehead. And he has been worshipped with unprecedented fervour by Madvacharya first, and a long line of his eight pontiffs since inception. As this spectacle has a hypnotizing effect, millions of devotees are feasting their eyes with it, and are lifted with boons; for the sportive Balakrishna rains anugraha in abundance in a sportive spirit, perhaps to justify the pose he revels in at revealing it.

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