Udupi: The foundation stone for a stone shrine dedicated to saint-poet Kanakadasa was laid on the Ratha Beedhi (Chariot Street) of Udupi Sri Krishna Matha.
Sri Vidyasagara Teertha Sripada of Krishnapura Matha, Sri Vidyavallabha Teertha Sripada of Kaniyooru Matha and Paryaya Sri Vedavardhana Teertha Sripada of Shirooru Matha jointly performed the foundation stone laying ceremony.
The proposed shrine is intended to honour Kanakadasa, the 16th-century saint-poet and prominent figure of the Bhakti movement, whose devotional compositions and contribution to Kannada literature continue to be remembered.
Religious and scholarly representatives attend
Several religious scholars and representatives of various maths attended the ceremony.
Those present included Shirooru Matha Diwan Dr Udayakumar Saralattaya and Parupatyegara Srisha Bhat Kadekaru. Scholars from Uttaradi Matha, including Satyadhyana Acharya Katti, Vidyasimhachar Mahuli, Vidyadhishachar Guttal, Prakash Achar Savanur, Pandurangachar Rotti, Anandatheerthachar Chimmali and Karthik Achar, were also present.
Trust and community representatives participate
Former minister Pramod Madhwaraj attended the programme along with C.L. Anand, honorary president of the Udupi Bhakta Kanakadasa Seva Trust, and its office-bearers.
The representatives included Trust president Siddaraju K.S., vice-president Babu S.N. and general secretary Dayanand C.K. Social worker Chandrashekhar and Hanumanta Doollin of the Udupi District Kanakadasa Samaj Seva Sangha were also present.
Other attendees included Basavaraj Kurubar, joint secretary of the Karnataka Pradesh Kurubara Sangha, Hanumanta Aadin, Byanappa H. Kuri, Devu Poojari and Nitin Mysuru, besides office-bearers of various organisations and members of the Trust.
The foundation stone laying ceremony marks the beginning of the proposed shrine project on the Chariot Street, adding another memorial to Kanakadasa in the historic surroundings of Udupi Sri Krishna Matha.