Sonda Vadiraja Matha
Unlike Sahasralinga which we both had visited before, Sonda Vadiraja Matha was a black box for us. We knew there were some religious rules to enter the mutt formally or to perform certain rituals there. Our idea was just to check out this religiously historic and famous place in Sirsi before going to Magod falls. And as we were visiting Sonde mutt we also thought of giving Sonde fort a try.
Sonde fort : not foound !!
Sonde Vadiraja mutt is just 9 km by car. If you plan to walk or riding a 2 wheeler, it is just around 4 km on the other side of the Shalmala river by taking the hanging bridge of Sahasralinga. We knew visiting Sonde fort requires a bit of walking as vehicles won’t go till the point.
The biggest challenge was the location of Sonde fort marked in the google map was wrong and we were aware of it before reaching the place. We were just hopeful of some tourism board near the place. but to our bad, there were no signboards guiding us to Sonde fort and we had to rely on rarely appearing villagers on road for the direction. After a lot of searching, we finally came to know that the Sonde fort is hidden somewhere on the other side of the river and we were already running late on our schedule. So we decided to skip Sonde fort and drive directly towards Sonde Vadiraja mutt.
Rama Trivikrama Temple
Before visiting the mutt, we entered a beautiful old temple named Rama Trivikrama Temple located on the huge campus of the Vadiraja mutt. Arasappa Nayaka constructed Rama Trivikrama temple in 1582 CE.
This is the only temple dedicated to Lord Trivikrama in the whole of India.
Legend says that the main deity idol was brought from Ashrama of Shri Vedavyasa of Badarinath. It is said that Shri Bhootaraja brought the idol along with the chariot taking orders from Shri Vadiraja gurusaarvabhauma. Shri Bhootaraja had to fight with a Rakshasa on the way and used one of the wheels of the chariot as a weapon. As proof even now you can see one of the wheels missing in the chariot-shaped sanctum.
Sonde Vadiraja Mutt
During the time we visited renovation work was going on near the entrance to the Vadiraja mutt. There was no one around and the place looked strangely empty. Later we came to know that it was lunchtime and almost everyone around was having food at mutt bhojanashale.
Sri Madhvacharya set up the Sonde Mutt or Sodhe Matha as a part of the Ashta mathas. It is believed that at the age of 120 years, he entered Samadhi alive from this matha. His mortal remains are enshrined in the matha.
As there was no one around, the place was totally calm. After visiting Brindavana, Bhootaraja moole (serene lake inside the campus) we decided to leave for Yellapura. Hunger was striking all of us. with the expectations of good lunch and excited about the most expected destination of the day- Magod falls we headed towards Yellapura.
Route We Took
Live the experience!
Isn’t it better to watch the place yourself?