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Kanakana kindi
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kanakana Kindi or Kanaka's Window is a small peephole in the Udupi Sri Krishna temple through which the great Indian saint Kanaka Dasa was given darshan by lord Krishna.
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Kanaka Dasa was a great devotee of Udupi Sri Krishna, once he came on a pilgrimage to Udupi, as he was Non-Brahmin, he was not allowed to enter the temple by Brahmin priests. Which to this day is remembered by the people of Karnataka as an insult by the priests on Non-Brahmins. It happened at the height of Muslim invasion of India and when the very survival of Hinduism was at stake. Kanaka Dasa was astonished by the behaviour of priests who behaved like the sole representatives of the god. So he began singing in the praise of the Lord, camping in a hut in front of Krishna Temple. So intense was the devotion of Kanaka Dasa, that without entering the shrine he was granted a sight of Krishna's image through a crack appearing on the western wall of the temple where he was camped. The statue of lord Krishna which was facing east is said to have turned towards west where Kanaka Dasa was camping.
The Irony of the incident was that Kanaka Dasa belonged to Kuruba caste, the same as Vijayanagara Emperors. Harihara Raya and Bukka Raya of the same Kuruba caste were responsible for the survival of Hinduism in the whole of south India, when they established the great Vijaynagar empire to protect Hindus and Hinduism from the onslaught of Islam. The Vijaynagar Emperors were great patrons of Hindu culture and heritage and built many great temples in south India which stand to this day as a testimony of the contribution of Kuruba people to Hinduism.
It is believed that Sri Vadiraja Swami set up a window to commemorate this divine event. This window, with a trellis work of peep-holes is popularly known as Kanakana kindi (Kanaka's window). Peeping through this window, a pilgrim can have a ready flashing sight of Krishna's image without entering the temple. After this window was installed, it became customary for all devotees to catch a sight of Krishna's image through this window, before entering the temple.
Many historians and scientists believe that a minor earthquake happened on the same day when Kanaka Dasa was refused entrance to the temple and a crack appeared on the western wall, with the idol of Krishna also making a westward tilt which allowed Kanaka Dasa to have a glimpse of the Idol.