People of the coastal districts know well about Kadri Shri Manjunatha temple of Mangalore which is quite popular in the region, but there are many who may not know about a small place called Jogi Mutt which is a few steps away from Lord Manjunatha temple.
Jogi Mutt, also known as Kadri Mutt has a rich history. Interestingly, the background and traditions of the mutt are quite different than that of Lord Manjunatha temple. ‘Nath’ tradition is being followed in Jogi mutt and ‘Akhil Bharath Yogi Mahasabha,’ a national-level organisation looks after the affairs of the place.
Background of Mutt
Anandnath Jogi, who studied and wrote a book about the place, says that ‘Nath’ tradition was started by Parashuram. In ‘Thretayug,’ Parashuram brought the ‘Pathradevate’- Lord Shiva in the form of ‘Akshayapatra’ to Kadri. Later, Lord Shiva gave ‘Dhiksha’ to Muttsyendranath who is called as ‘Adiguru’. After Muttsyendranath, 84 blessed men including nine ‘Naths’ including Ghoraknath, Chouranginath, Sundarnath, Manjunath lived in the place.
The Mathadhipati of Jogimath is called as Raja. Once in every 12 years new Mathadipati gets appointed through ‘Pattabhisheka’. Usually, this process is done during Kumbha Mela of Nasik. Newly appointed Mathadhipati reaches this place by walk, which would take several months. As many as 600 sadhus would come with him. Subsequently, the Pattabhishekha would be performed on the holy day of Shivarathri.
Centuries back Mathadhipatis never used to go back to their motherland. One can witness many structures in the place where blessed men or ‘Naths’ were attaining Moksha by entombing themselves till death. Now Mathadhipatis leave their ‘Akshayapatra’ into sea as a symbol of old tradition.
Though the mutt is not as popular as Lord Manjunatha temple, people, especially Sadhus come from Utttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Kolkatha and various parts of the country every year. From 2004, Raja Sandyanath Jogi of Rajasthan is the Mathadhipati of Jogi Mutt. Speaking to City Herald, Mangalnath Swamiji of the mutt says, “We are five members here as Mathadhipati, Dhankayak, Kotari, Poojari and Bhandari. Almost all Hindu festivals are being celebrated here. Special poojas are being offered to Lord Kalabairav on every Sundays.”
A place to visit
Jogi mutt creates curiosity. There are caves where sadhus used to live. Some structures like ‘Parashurama Kunda,’ temples, long bearded sadhus, cows and wandering dogs, silence create a strange atmosphere in the place. The place can be a nice spot to see or it can be a topic for research as well.
How to reach?
Visitors have to travel nearly 2 kms from Jyothi Circle to reach Kadri Shri Manjunatha temple. From the temple, it is hardly a fifteen minutes of walk to reach Jogi Mutt. The place is very near to Kadri park as well and it would be a nice plan to visit all three places at once.