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The rain beat down on the sides of the car and it took all the driver's skill to navigate the narrow ghat road. Very little could be seen on either side except swinging branches of huge trees silhouetted against the darkening sky. It was monsoon season and perhaps the wrong time to go to
Sringeri, which lies in a valley in the Western Ghats. But it had been decided to leave cracker smoke- filled Madras for Diwali and it was too late to turn back.
As the road twisted and turned, the distant Kudremukh hills, which had dominated the horizon a few minutes earlier, were hidden from view by a thick blanket woven by the monsoon rain. The cabbie, who was a local and quite unfazed, guaranteed that he would take us to Sringeri in four hours flat. Four hours seemed an eternity in that situation. Suddenly, the headlights, which were on though it was mid-morning, highlighted a patch of road. Something dark and long moved across the road with confidence. It was a king cobra. 
"It is very lucky to see a king cobra in this area", said the taxi driver, bringing the vehicle to a halt. "Sringeri is the place where the cobra and the frog lived together in peace", he said. Our weariness vanished and excitement mounted on hearing this. We had long wanted to visit Sringeri, where Adi Shankara set up his first ashram. Sringeri in Sanskrit in fact means a snake and a frog.
It was after he saw the rare sight of a hooded king cobra giving shade to a pregnant frog, saving it from the burning rays of the sun, that Adi Sankara chose this mountain location for establishing a "Peeta". A place that makes the worst of enemies help each other is a place where a temple for the Goddess should come up, he felt. We wanted to pray at the shrine of Goddess Sharadamba and take a dip in the holy waters of the
Tunga.
 Sringeri is indeed a small town and the Sankara Mutt is its hub with everything revolving around it. We had booked accommodation in advance at one of the Mutt's rest houses. The room we got had a broken window -- it seemed there was no escape from the rain! From the window we could see the river and beyond the water a large expanse of green. The unbroken rain forest formed a dark green backdrop to the town.
It was night soon and after fitful sleep we headed for the river first thing on Diwali morning. It was all quiet and peaceful. Bathing in the Tunga is said to be equivalent to "Ganga snanam". The approach to the river was muddy but the water was clean and refreshing. After facing the city dwellers' embarrassment of dressing in public, we headed for the temple. The temple is very ancient and quite distinct. It is set on a huge expanse and it is said that Adi Sankara built the temple virtually single-handed.
The first shrine as you enter is the one dedicated to Lord Shiva, and we stopped there to pray. We then worshipped at the shrine of Goddess Sharadamba. The deity is beatific and beautiful. On the way out, we met the person we were looking for. My cousin's husband Michael, a Scotsman who has found his peace in Sringeri. He took us to the "samadhis" of the various Peetadipathis of Sringeri, where he meditates every day for several hours. 
We then went to the dining hall where all visitors are given simple food, which tastes divine. The afternoon was spent having darshan of the present Sankaracharya of Sringeri, Sri Bharathi Theertha Swami. The walk to his quarters, Narasimha Vana, across a lovely garden and a newly built suspension bridge across the Tunga is a memorable experience.
All too soon, it was time to leave Sringeri for the journey back to Mangalore. We leave with a promise to ourselves to go back there some time. Read about the history of Sringeri, the architectural marvel of the temple and the teachings of Adi Shankara here in the next
instalment.
(Continued)
Ambujam Anantharaman
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