Monday, May 15, 2006
Priests at Hariharapura
At Sree Math, Hariharapura, Chikmagalur District, Karnataka, October 2005.
Priests relax after a long ceremony at the Sree Math in Hariharapura.
The math (alt. spelling “mutt”) is ancient, dating back to the 15th century. The place at that time was called Kapalam and later renamed Hariharapura, after Harihara, one of the legendary founding brothers of the Vijayanagar empire.
Hariharapura is about 20km along NH13 from Sringeri, site of a far more prominent math. Both maths are located along the river Tunga. The Tunga eventually merges with the Bhadra to become Tungabhadra, which in turn flows into the Krishna, eventually reaching the Bay of Bengal.