UDUPI
When the time comes to go on a pilgrimage to the places of intense interest for Mâdhva-s, Udupi is the place to use as home base. There are seven famous centres of pilgrimage in the North and South Kanara districts known as Tulunad. roupyapiiTham kumaaraadriH kumbhaasii cha dhvajeshvaraH
kruuDagokarNamuukaambaaH saptaitaa mokshadaayikaaH
raupya pîTha (Udupi), kumârâdri (Subrahmanya), kumbhâsi (Kumbhasi), dhvajeshvara (Koteswar), kruuDa (Shankaranarayana), gokarNa (Gokarna) and muukâmbâ (Kollur) are the seven givers-of-mukti (holy places).
From Gokarna in the north of Tulunad to Subrahmanya in the south is a distance of some 200 miles. Gokarna is in North Kanara while Udupi, Subrahmanya, Kumbhasi, Koteswar, Shankaranarayana and Kollur are in South Kanara. Gokarna is in the region of one hundred miles to the north of Udupi and Subrahmanya approximately one hundred miles to the south.
The meaning and origin of the word `Udupi':
Udupi is known as oDipu in the Tulu language. Narayana Panditacharya in his notes called Bhâva Prakasha on the Sumadhva Vijaya records thus:
rajatapiiThapurasya oDipu ityapabhrashhTa saMGYaa
The modern name Udupi must have developed from this ancient folk name.
A different etymology is provided by certain other scholars, but there is not too much credence given to it. According to them the original Sanskrit name is derived from uDupa (uDu 'star' + pa 'lord') -- lord of the stars, namely, the moon. Udupi then refers to Shiva, who bears the moon on his head. Since there is the ancient temple of Chandramaulishwara in Udupi, the place may have been known by the name Udupi, after its ancient deity.
It is quite evident that this idea developed very recently. The author of the Sumadhva Vijaya opines that the word is of Tulu origin. The word `Udupi' also does not seem to have been associated with Shiva anywhere else in the Sanskrit literature.
Even if the word is to be considered to be originating from a Sanskrit root, one can provide a better explanation and etymology. `Udupi' also means boat or raft in Sanskrit:
uDupaM tu plavaH kolaH The word `Udupi' can then mean a place to which Lord Krishna came (from Dwârakâ) by boat.
The Tulu word oDipu can also be associated with a more or less similar meaning. There is a temple at Malpe which is known as oDabhaaNDiishvara. There appears to be some kind of relationship between the words oDabhaaNDa and oDipu. Its Kannada version is `Udupa'. The root element of all these words is oDepu, meaning "cracking," or "breaking." Until the secret of this word is cracked, the origin of the modern word Udupi will remain shrouded in mystery.
This temple at Malpe is well worth a visit and appears to be of great vintage. It is only a short distance to the beach from the temple and so it is possible to walk to where Sri Madhva saved the ship carrying the icon of Sri Krishna from being wrecked during a storm.
The beach itself is quite pleasant to walk along. At one time cargo ships that had been decommissioned were drawn up on the beach and cut up for scrap. This was some distance to the south but was very interesting to watch.
Shivaruupya - Shivalli
The original name of the village of Udupi is Shivalli. Later on an attempt was made to Sanskritize this name into Shivaruupya because Shiva dwelt there. The author of the (Su)Madhva Vijaya refers to this name: vedaadrisad.h rajatapiiThapureshvaraabhyaam.h