Bappanadu, an epitome of religious harmony

Ahmed Bashir patiently waits in the wee hours for the palanquin procession of Goddess Bappanadu Sri Durgaparameshwari to stop before his ancestral house in Bappanadu during ‘Pete Savari’, held as a part of the temple’s annual fair.

As the palanquin reaches Bashir’s house, the priest hands over ‘Gandha Prasada’ and flowers to Bashir before proceeding onwards.

Ahmed Bashir is a direct descendant of Bappa Beary, a historical figure who played a pivotal role in the construction of the Sri Durgaparameshwari Temple in Bappanadu village in Mulki. In fact, Bappanadu gets its name from Bappa Beary.

“Since the times of Bappa Beary, the temple follows an age-old tradition of handing ‘Gandha Prasada’ during the temple fair. I and my ancestors have been receiving this prasadam with all humility for the past 800 years,” says Bashir who runs a small shop near his house.

He told DH that his family visits the temple on the first day of the fair and offers flowers to the goddess.

Symbol of brotherhood

Sri Durgaparameshwari Temple, located 29 km away from Mangaluru, highlights a harmonious relationship not just between Hindus and Muslims, but also between Christians and Jains.

N S Manohar Shetty, presently serving as elected managing trustee, is from the Hindu community and M Dugganna Savantha, as hereditary managing trustee is from the Jain community.

Dugganna Savantha, a royal descendant of Mulki palace, says many devotees from Christian and Muslim communities visit the temple to conduct ‘Durga Namaskara Puja’ or ‘Chandika Homa’.

Jayashree, a devotee, says jasmine growers from the Christian community had offered jasmine ‘Chendu’ flowers to the temple during ‘Shayanotsava’ (during temple fair) of the goddess.

Tradition held without disruption

“Bappanadu Jatre Namma Oorina Jatre” (Bappanadu fair is the fair of the entire village), declares Mustafa a local resident.

Even during the peak of the hijab and halal issues, the temple management did not impose any restrictions on non-Hindu people. Prasada was handed to Bappa Beary this year too as per the tradition,” said Dugganna Savantha.

Historical references

Bappanadu temple is believed to have been built in the 14th century CE (Common Era). The temple architecture, ‘balipeetha’, writings of historians like Dr K G Vasantha Madhava and Paduru Gururaj Bhat justify the fact.

A stone inscription, dating back to 1,411 CE, has a mention of ‘Hamzamana’, an association of the Muslim vendors, ‘Thimmanna Odeyaru’, the then ruler of Mangaluru, ‘Setti Ayinuru’ (merchant’s association), among others.

This indicates that people from different communities had contributed to building the temple.

‘Bappanadu’ of Bappa Beary

The history of the temple is narrated in a Yakshagana play, ‘Bappanadu Sri Durgaparameshwari Kshetra Mahatme’. As the story goes, Bappa Beary from Ponnani, Kerala, reached Mulki after surviving a boat tragedy. When Bappa Beary was sailing through the Shambhavi river the boat hit a ‘Pancha Linga’ underneath the water, making the water turn blood-red in colour.

The goddess appeared in Beary’s dream and directed him to construct a temple for her in Bappanadu and that Atturu Bailu Udupa should be appointed as priest and Mulki palace’s royal descendant Dugganna Savantha as ‘Moktesara’ (the managing trustee). The wish of the goddess was fulfilled accordingly.

The character of ‘Bappa Beary’ was popularised by veteran artiste Sheni Gopalakrishna Bhat.