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Subraya

Male Mid 1870s - Abt 1952


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  • Name Subraya  
    Birth Mid 1870s  Kasaragod, Kerala State, India Find all individuals with events at this location 
    • Born in Kudlu, near Kasaragod.
    Gender Male 
    Death Abt 1952  Sakleshpur, Karnataka State, India Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Biographical Sketch Apr 2012  Kudlu, Kerala State, India Find all individuals with events at this location  [1
    Biographical Sketch of Subraya Panditha 
    • Biographical Sketch of Subraya Panditha :

      People say that everyone is unique in this world. Subraya Panditha was no exception. He was a unique person. Subraya was the eldest son of Thippayya and Venkamma of Kudlu, who cultivated their land to support the family. They had four sons and two daughters. They were Subraya, Parameshwari, Ishwarayya, Somayya, Manjamma and Ramayya.

      Subraya was born in Kudlu village in mid 1870s and lived about 77 years before passing away in early 1952. His school education was limited to elementary school in Kudlu. The family got him married early but unfortunately his wife died within a few weeks after the marriage. It looked as if his life was deteriorating from then on. Nothing remarkable was expected of him.

      His name is now inscribed on a marble slab, embedded in the front wall of the Chamundeshwari Temple in Kudlu, stating that he founded that sacred place. Please see photographs below.

      Kudlu Chamundeshwari Temple
      Kudlu Chamundeshwari Temple

      Devi Sanctum
      Devi Sanctum

      Subraya Panditha's Name on the Marble Slab
      Subraya Panditha's Name on the Marble Slab

      The story of his remarkable life and founding of the Chamundeshwari Temple in Kudlu are interwoven. He was a very handsome man with light brown skin color. He wore onti (shining earrings). He had shining eyes and his hair was white when he was in his sixties. The following is a brief account of his life.

      Sometime in 1910, Subraya suddenly got sick. His right arm below the shoulder was swollen and the pain was unbearable. Village doctors (Vaidyas) were unable to help him. Even after six months of sickness, no relief was in sight. Thippayya was frustrated and did not know what to do. A friend advised Thippayya to consult an astrologer, who uncovered the problem. An enemy had invoked a magical spell (Maarana) on Thippayya's family through witchcraft. Unless that magical spell was removed with the help of a Mantravadi Subraya could not get better.

      Three different Mantravadis tried to remove that magic spell at different times. It was so powerful that none could remove it. Thippayya then became desperate. The only thing he could do was to pray for God's help. Someone advised him to pray goddess Chamundeshwari and receive her divine grace for the family. That person gave a sacred book titled "Shri Devi Mahatme" and asked Subraya to read that book with utmost devotion.

      Every evening, for a period of 12 days, Mandala, colorful hand drawn patterns using rice and turmeric powders, was created on the front courtyard of the ancestral home. An oil lamp was placed in the middle of that Mandala. Subraya sat on the ground in front of the Mandala, supporting his painful swollen right arm on a chair. He read the sacred book until sunrise next morning with deep faith in God and sincere devotion. Subraya's arm got better and the swelling and pain disappeared in 12 days. He was overwhelmed with this divine experience. He was convinced that he recovered because of Devi's divine grace. He wanted to continue the process for a total of 48 days as Mandala worship was normally done for 48 days. The family chose to do only half Mandala (24 days) to cut down the costs.

      Shortly after Subraya's total recovery from illness, Thippayya had to handle another similar problem. His youngest son, Ramayya, fainted frequently and went into trance. It required immediate medical attention. Thippayya thought that the magic spell was affecting Ramayya. Again, he sought astrologer's advice. This time he was in for good news from the astrologer. The astrologer informed him that Devi was very pleased with the family for their devotion to her. Her divine grace would protect the family henceforth. Ramayya's fainting episodes were not symptoms of any inherent sickness. It was an indication of Devi's grace on the family. He advised the family to perform Devi worship (pooja) while Ramayya stood there prepared to receive Devi's mystic powers. At the end of the worship, Ramayya would experience mystic trance (Devi Bhava) and would advise the family what to do next.

      The worship was performed and Ramayya went into trance as predicted by the astrologer. In the trance state, he confirmed that Devi was very pleased with the family's devotion to her and that they should continue to worship her. This would protect the family from all difficulties. The central room of the ancestral home was converted as the sanctum for Devi's worship. The family continued to worship her at this place until a separate temple was built later.

      1n 1915, Thippayya's property in Kudlu was divided among his sons. Ramayya got the ancestral home as his share. The central room of the ancestral home continued to be the sanctum for Devi worship after the partition of the property.

      Due to financial difficulties, around 1918, Subraya left Kudlu for Sakleshpur looking for a job. He settled there for the rest of his life. He married again and had a daughter, named Rajivi. He was quite well known in Sakleshpur as a divine healer and a devoted worshipper of Devi. People called him Subraya Panditha. He had immense faith in God. Subraya's house in Sakleshpur became a place for Devi worship. Two oil lamps, each about six feet tall, kept on either sides of the Devi deity, were lit all the time for more than 30 years. He sat, slept and prayed there and frequently got up during night to add oil to those lamps. Lamps which are lit continuously for long periods are called NandaaDeepas.

      People suffering from various diseases came to Subraya seeking divine grace and medicine. He did not care much for his life. Once, when many had left Sakleshpur town, fearing the deadly plague, he remained in the town to treat sick people. Local people in Sakleshpur held him in high regard and treated him with respect and reverence. He was a divine healer for them.

      In early 1930s, under the divine leadership of Subraya, with unwavering support of his three brothers and the financial support of the family and the public, the construction of the Chamundeshwari temple was started. Construction was completed and the temple was consecrated in the month of June 1933. 1n 1994, the temple was renovated and the purification ceremony (Brahmakalasha) was performed.

      Subraya and Rajivi came to Kudlu every year for the Navarathri worship and stayed with his brother Ishwarayya for about 10 days. Ishwarayya and Ramayya treated him with great respect and love and did whatever he wished to do. He spent all his time in the temple and was conspicuous among hundreds of devotees coming to the temple. He looked very saintly and venerable to them and they sought his blessings.

      During the nine days of Navarathri, he restricted his food intake. Every day he had only a cup of coffee, a bowl of green gram and jiggery syrup and a cup of boiled milk. He resumed his regular food only after the 10th day of Navarathri.

      Subraya performed several religious celebrations including Ramanavami in Sakleshpur. Around 1943, Subraya came to Kudlu especially to perform for the first time Ramanavami worship in Chamundeshwari temple. The worship was done for nine days (day and night). Each day Rama was worshipped. During each night the idol of Rama was placed on a palanquin. Devotees carried the palanquin on their shoulders and took it in a religious procession for a couple of hours in Kudlu. Several others joined the procession every night and sang Bhajans along the route. Many large herds of monkeys suddenly appeared and invaded many fruit gardens in Kudlu village a few days after the Ramanavami worship. Until then, herds of monkeys were not seen in Kudlu. People were upset because those monkeys destroyed their vegetable and coconut gardens. Someone in Kudlu mentioned that a few days after the conclusion of Ramanavami worship, a group of monkeys marched along the route on which the palanquin procession was held.

      Could it be that the monkeys came to Kudlu because of the Ramanavami worship? Subraya certainly thought so and his joy knew no bounds. He believed that Rama's presence had come to Kudlu as evidenced by the presence of the monkeys. For nearly six years, those monkeys stayed in Kudlu. They disappeared from Kudlu within a short period after the Ramanavami worship was terminated in Kudlu due to financial difficulties.

      Sometime in 1952, he fell seriously ill. A few days before falling sick, Subraya had noticed that the two NandaaDeepas, which were continuously lit for nearly thirty years in his house, simultaneously got extinguished. He told his daughter Rajivi then that it was a divine premonition of his life ending soon.

      He was brought to his brother Ishwarayya's house in Kudlu. He wanted to be close to the temple he founded when he died.

    Person ID I368  RKGenealogy Tree
    Last Modified 28 Apr 2012 

    Father Thippayya 
    Family ID F128  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Children 
     1. Rajivi
    Family ID F131  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  • Event Map
    Link to Google MapsBirth - Mid 1870s - Kasaragod, Kerala State, India Link to Google Earth
     = Link to Google Earth 
    Pin Legend  : Address       : Location       : City/Town       : County/Shire       : State/Province       : Country       : Not Set

  • Photos
    Kudlu Chamundeshwari Temple
    Kudlu Chamundeshwari Temple
    Kudlu Chamundeshwari Temple
    Subraya Panditha's Name on a Marble Slab
    Subraya Panditha's Name on a Marble Slab
    Subraya Panditha's Name on a Marble Slab in the Temple.
    Devi Sanctum
    Devi Sanctum
    Kudlu Chamundeshwari Temple - Devi Sanctum

  • Sources 
    1. [S2] Narasimha Kudlu, Biographical Sketch of Subrarya Panditha (Reliability: 3).