Kukke Sri Narasimha Swamy Matha

Kukke Sri Narasimha Swamy Matha Devasthana is Located on the foothills of the Sahyadri Mountains and on the banks of Kumara Dhaara river in Sulya Taluk. The Subrahmanya Matha in Kukke is the home to the Samputa Narasimha.

The story behind the creation and the signficance of the name of the Kumara Dhaara River is itself very interesting. As legend goes, when King Indradyumna was performing some Yajnas, Bhoodevi appeared on to earth in the form of Mahanadhi. This Mahanadhi was later called the Dhaara river. It later came to be known as Kumara Dhaara because Lord Subrahmanya (also known as Kumara) was appointed as the Commander in Chief of Gods by anointing him with the water from this river.

The speciality of Kukke Subrahmanya Matha lies in the fact that the powerful Narasimha Samputa is present here. When Jagadguru Sri Madhwacharya had gone to the Himalayas to write commentaries on the Hindu Scripture under the guidance of the great Sri Ved Vyas, Ved Vyas had given him 8 Vyasa Mushti Saligrams. Sri Madhwacharya took 5 of these along with 144 Lakshmi Narayana Saligrams and 1 Lakshmi Narasimha Saligram and put them inside a Samputa. It is this Samputa that eventually became known as the Narasimha Samputa. It is said that Sri Madhwacharya adored this Samputa so much so that the scriptures called this Samputa as Sri Madhwacharya's heart.

When Sri Aniruddha Theertharu was serving as the first pontiff of this Matha, the then king (of the local area) Ballalraaya tried to break open the Samputa by placing it under an elephant's feet. Instead of the Samputa breaking open, the elephant died on the spot. The apologetic and regretful King realized his mistake and donated his monetary possessions to the Matha.

Sri Madhwacharya gave Sanyasa Initiation to Sri Vishnu Theertharu (his brother) and made him the head of the Matha. Sri Vishnu Theertharu left behind the Samputa Narasimha, Vyaasa Mushti, Vithala and Rukmini and Satyabhama, and a smiling Lakshmi Narasimha to the Matha. Many people believe that Sri Vishnu Theertharu is still performing prayers and penance in the Siddha Parvatha since no one has been successful in finding his brindavana. It is also said that initially, Sri Vishnu Theertharu had carried the Samputa with him, but ended up sending it back to the Matha via the Kumara Dhaara River at the request of Sri Aniruddha Theertharu.

Contact Details
Shri Samputa Narasimha Swamy
Shri Subrahmanya Matha,
Subrahmanya Post, Sullia T Q
Kukke Subrahmanya - Pincode 574 238
Dakshina Kannada
Phone : +9182 572 81221/1511