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Filled with lore

Temple town Mangalore, a city with myriad names, communities and dialects

The road from the airport was beautiful. We crossed bridges built across the backwaters, passed a few hamlets with small tiled houses and gazed upon lush fields filled with water. We were driving from Kudla, which is the Tulu name for Mangalore, mean ing junction.

Located at the confluence of the Netravati and Gurupura rivers, this is a city with myriad names, communities and dialects. Called Maikala by the Bearys, Kodial by Konkanis, and Mangalooru by Kannadigas, the city has been in the map of several global historians and explorers.

It is said that Arabic traveller Ibn Battutua wrote about Manjarur, while Greek historian Ptolemy referred to it as Maganoor. However, the place called Mangalore today owes its name to a deity, Mangala Devi, whose temple attracts pilgrims from all over.

There are many stories about this Goddess who lent her name to the port city, Mangalapura, but this is the most elaborate story we heard there, a lore that has travelled down the ages.

A demoness, Vikashini, wanted to avenge the death of her father, Hiranyaksha by Lord Vishnu. So, she prayed to Lord Brahma who granted her a boon that she will bear a son of Lord Shiva who will be invincible. Her son, Andhakasura, threatened Lord Vishnu who approached the Goddess to kill the demon. It is said that the Goddess in the form of Rakteshwari jumped into the ocean and killed him. A yuga passed and Parashurama was looking for a piece of land to continue his penance. He approached Varuna, the Lord of the Seas, who refused. A provoked Parashurama flung his axe and carved a portion of the land from the sea.

The claimed coastal region, known as Parashurama Kshetra is today parts of coastal Karnataka, Maharashtra and Kerala. The story goes that Parashurama continued his penance at the place where the Goddess killed the demon and a temple was built here. Several years passed by, and Tulu Nadu was ruled by a king called Bangaraja.

It is said that the Goddess appeared in his dream and showed him a shrine buried under a mound. The king rebuilt a temple there and it was called Mangala Devi. Later on, Kundavarma of Alupa Dynasty renovated the temple under the guidance of two sages, Matsyendranath and Gorakhnath, who had come from Nepal.

As we left the temple, we realised that this is not just a story, but the identity of Mangalore.

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