Thanks for sharing Anuradha. Also, this village has one software professional from almost every family. Shimoga is just six hours journey from Bangalore. Mattur is a small village that does not have any dining places or guest houses. Mattur village was given to the Sanketi Brahmins by Vijayanagara Kings who came here from Tamil Nadu some 500 years ago. Another three Trayambakeshwara, Gowri Shankar, Someshwara are dedicated to Shiva. He said, we are very content people and we are happy with what we have. Visitors can hire taxis or cabs to reach Shimoga from the airport at Mangalore and then head to Mattur through local means of transport. We were looking for Sh Ashwath Avadhani Ji, who had kindly agreed to show us the village. You can easily drive to the village from Shivamogga, that is well connected by road and rail to Bengaluru. The place is ideal for a single day visit. A walk in heritage, culture, and tradition of our ancient glorious past! Yes, Mattur – the Sanskrit speaking village is an Agrahara, which the families living here received as a royal grant. MY DREAM WAS 2 VISIT THIS PLACE WITH MY WIFE AND EACH TIME ONE OF US WAS THE CAUSE OF THE TOUR PLAN GETTING SHELVED, A dusty road through the fields and Arecanut plantations took us to the village. It is a village widely known for the usage of Sanskrit … I will add this village in to my wish list. I had to pinch myself and tell that I am listening to this Sanskrit Samvad in everyday life in real. please please please madam I want to go there for learning Sanskrit please give me the phone number of their teacher please please madam this is my number please send me his nu mber on this mobile 8878184009 or in this [email protected], That’s a living Agraharam of the foregone shewe have in today’s date. Sanskar Bharati, a school in the village that imparts the knowledge of Sanskrit to the 5000 odd people, attempts to … b) some village near rae bareilly in up. Mattur is famous as the ‘Sanskrit village’ of India. More about Mattur and its people On visiting Mattur you would find that the entire village is built as a square, with a central temple and a village ‘Pathshala’. Sankethi is a sub community among smartha bhramins. It has a temple of Lord Rama, a Shivalaya and a Someshwara temple. Outside one of the temples, we saw a hero stone erected. Everyone welcomed us inside their homes without any hesitation, without knowing who we are and what is our purpose of visit. Traditional Village one must visit. The giant statue of goddess Saraswati at the centre of a courtyard of a village school and the Sanskrit signboard outside the gate is the perfect prologue to this story. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Festivals and occasions are celebrated according to traditional rituals. hopin g for that day to happen soon thriugh u or……. This village is situated on the banks of the River Tunga and has a beautiful small Lord Rama temple situated on its banks which is one of the few attractions of the village. I will Definitely visit this village. We love admiring the art, history, culture and art history of the tourism destinations and bring back to you the must-see things in India and the world. Visiting the school in the village was fun, where I interacted with the 5th-grade students and they surprised me with their knowledge of Sanskrit. This website uses cookies to improve your experience. Mattur is a culturally rich hamlet of 5000 people with Sanskrit as the native language. In and around the village, you can explore the temple town of Sringeri and Remains of Kelady Kings at Ikkeri & Keladi. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Most of the people are engaged in Sanskrit in some way. The Sankethis of Mattur did not always speak Sanskrit and conversed in a rare dialect called Sankethi which is a mixture of Tamil (one of the other oldest languages of India), Sanskrit, Kannada and Tamil. Just step in here to feel the aura of the ancient in the modern. Consider Piramal Haveli, Westin Pushkar Resort & Spa – Luxury Travel in Pilgrim’s city, Living The Lucknow Life With Clarks Awadh, Kindle Oasis – A Perfect Travel Companion, Bhagoria Festival Of The Bhil Tribes In Madhya Pradesh, Kailasanathar Temple – Oldest Of Shiva Temple In Kanchipuram, Halebeedu Hoysaleshwar Temple A Hoysala Marvel, 11 Lesser Known Hoysala Temples Of Karnataka, Chennakesava Temple – Shining Jewel Of Belur, Karnataka, Collarwali Tigress The Queen Of Pench National Park, Road Trip To Mechuka In Arunachal Pradesh, Kampilya – Birthplace Of Draupadi In Ancient Panchal, Ziro Valley Arunachal – Home Of Apatani Tribe. In the video we come across a subhashita on a sign board in Mattur impels us to stop and reflect–कीटोऽपि सुमनस्सङ्गात् आरोहति सतां शिरः Even a lowly insect, by virtue of being in contact with a flower, manages to reach the head of a saintly person [The purport is–in the company of the virtuous, even ordinary persons acquire respect and recognition]. This is proved by the fact that almost every house in this village has an IT professional and many of them work abroad. Trayambaka Rai, a minister in the Krishnadevaraya King’s court set up the Trayamkeshwara temple and the village … Personally, for me, it was watching a living dream. Mattur (Karnataka) May 4: Tucked away in Karnataka's Shimoga district, Mattur holds the unique distinction of being the only village in the country to still converse in Sanskrit. Today all the people in the Agrahara and many in the village can speak Tamil which is their mother tongue, Kannada which is the local language and Sanskrit which is the chosen language of the village. Mattur, a small hamlet near Shivamogga (Karnataka), where the "God's Own Language" - Sanskrit, is still spoken among the local Priest families In between the rituals, I took out time to drive to Mattur village, just on the outskirts of Shivamogga city. The villages not only know Sanskrit, but fluently speak the ancient language. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. Mattur Lake: Mattur Lake- Sanskrit village in Shimoga Karnataka - See 13 traveller reviews, 4 candid photos, and great deals for Shimoga, India, at Tripadvisor. The native language or mother tongue of the people is Sankethi and not Tamil. Mattur, a culturally rich village is now almost famous & is also called as a “Sanskrit Village”. How I wish more youth could find their livelihood within their homelands. You can still see the marking of three segments of land around the temple – each one marked for 40 families in the Agrahara. The Sankethis are a community among the Brahmins who migrated from Kerala about 600 years ago and settled here in Mattur.. Their daily lives revolve around Sansk The part of the village that I enjoyed the most was visiting Gurukul. Their aim is to spread the knowledge of this dying language to keep it alive among the new generation of the country. Visitors can also hire auto rickshaws to reach Mattur from Shimoga. Wanted to know if these people speak other languages or not. Under such circumstances the use of Sanskrit as a means of communication in Mattur is a rare and commendable affair. God’s own language Sanskrit is spoken here in day-to-day communications. We love to walk around cities and bring them to you as walking tours. Mattur The Great Sanskrit Village on the Bank of Tunga River Pincode is 577203 ( Vidyanagar Shimoga ) . Ashwath Ji took us for a walk around the village. The journey back to Vedic roots started in 1981 when Sanskrita Bharati, an organisation that promotes the classical language, conducted a 10-day Sanskrit workshop in Mattur. Mattur is a village nearby Shimoga, Karnataka. Mattur can be visited throughout the year. Mattur (or Mathur) is a village in Shimoga district near the city of Shivamogga in Karnataka state, India, known for the usage of Sanskrit for day-to-day communication, although the general language of the state is Kannada.. Mattur has a temple of Rama, a Shivalaya, Someshwara temple and Lakshmikeshava temple.. Mattur's twin village, Hosahalli, shares almost all the qualities of Mattur. We travel the offbeat roads and bring you the road trips. According to a track back by a local newspaper, this tradition of Sanskrit owes its roots to Sanskrit Bharati, an organization which started propagating the language in the village of Mattur, many decades earlier. He also gives credit to the youth who are engaged in nurturing Sanskrit, without whom it would have been difficult to sustain. Mattur, (Karnataka) [India] May 4(ANI): Tucked away in Karnataka's Shimoga district, Mattur holds the unique distinction of being the only village in the country to still converse in Sanskrit. Young boys are taught Vedas from the age of ten at the local village school where English is also taught as a subject. Filed Under: Shimoga Tagged With: Mattur, Sanskrit Village, Shimoga, Shivamogga. It is heartening to see that the village has adopted technology to teach Sanskrit to the world. It is considered to be the root of many Indian languages. hope somebody will visit them and bring it as a news,serial or a blog in the media /net. Marriage outside the community or outside the region is not encouraged. History of Mattur village Laxmi Narayan Temple – Mattur Village Mattur village was given to the Sanketi Brahmins by Vijayanagara Kings who came here from Tamil Nadu some 500 years ago. There are several buses that ply from Shimoga to Mattur all day long. Dr. Karthik, Please find someone to fund my travels and I will go and documents all such villages. Train services to Bengaluru […], Looking for a way to pay Mysore property tax online? The feel of the place was very different, it had a homogeneity that we now miss in most places. Tucked away in Karnataka's Shimoga district, Mattur holds the unique distinction of being the only village in the country to still converse in Sanskrit. Mattur is known for having Sanskrit language as their primary language. Mattur and its sister village, Hosahalli also support the ancient tradition of gamaka which is a unique form of singing and storytelling in Karnataka. Yes, Mattur – the Sanskrit speaking village is an Agrahara, which the families living here received as a royal grant. Mattur is located at a distance of 300 km from Bangalore, the state capital. History of Mattur village. It is a unique experience to hear Sanskrit as the common language on the streets of the village. Karnataka is a state in Southern India. We did not have his contact number, but we were told to ask anyone in the village. and Laxmi Narayan Temple – Mattur Village. keep posting. Mathur also known as Mathoor or Mattur lies seven kms from the district headquarters of Shimoga. Here, even the vegetable vendor speaks in Sanskrit. The most fascinating part of visiting the village is listening to the conversations in Sanskrit. I was curious to know if they inherited this Sanskrit speaking or they learned it like we learn languages that are not our mother tongues. The easiest way to reach Mattur is via Shimoga, one of the main towns of Karnataka. Here, even the vegetable vendor speaks in Sanskrit. Though Mattur is a Sanskrit speaking village, it is not detached from the modern world. I wondered if it would be like visiting India that existed 2000 or more years ago. In a small village of 600 people, we could see so many things. Till the early part of the 1980’s decade the villagers of Mattur spoke in Kannada and Tamil. Yes, you heard it right. The village is a hub for those who wish to study the Vedas, but they have to be Brahmin males. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. We go on jungle safaris and bring back nature trails for you. Mattur is just seven Kms. Good, informative write up–as always. Ashwath Ji told me about a few more villages in South India like Radhakrishna Nagar near Dharwad where Sanskrit is being revived as a spoken language. There are 7 temples in this small village. But the best time is to visit from November to March when the weather is pleasant. Tucked away in Karnataka's Shimoga district, villagers in Mattur can be seen speaking eloquently in Sanskrit. Something that might have been a norm in good old days, but is a rare exception in 21st CE, has to be intriguing. "The priest of [the local religious centre] Pejawar Mutt gave a call to make Mattur a Sanskrit-speaking village. PC : www.thebetterindia.com Mattur – India’s Last Sanskrit Speaking Village. T ime seemingly stands still in the agrahara of Mattur, a village perched on the eastern bank of River Tunga near the city of Shivamogga at the foothills of the Western Ghats in Karnataka. Sanskar Bharati, a school in the village that imparts the knowledge of Sanskrit to the 5000 odd people, attempts to preserve this ancient language in the modern times. The temple complex is a beautifully decorated area that has a garden and a small fresh water stream flowing near it. It is located on the banks of River Tunga and is at a distance of about 8 km from Shimoga (Shivamogga). List of 2021 Karnataka Government Holidays, District-Wise COVID-19 Cases In Karnataka, How to Obtain A Marriage Certificate in Karnataka. Trayambaka Rai, a minister in the Krishnadevaraya King’s court set up the Trayamkeshwara temple and the village came up around the temple. They all belong to the same Brahmin caste. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. Mattur: Sanskrit Speaking Village Where Ancient Meets Modern. If you know at least one Indian language, you can follow the conversations to a large extent. You have entered an incorrect email address! It was the primary sacred language of Hinduism. I loved the streets that had a sense of community and openness. It is a small one-room temple where women come and do kirtan every evening. We sat with Ashvath Ji on an open platform after listening to him converse with people in the street in Sanskrit. Mattur is a peaceful village where the residents live as a close knitted community. Mathur is the last Sanskrit speaking village left in India. So finally, last month I got an opportunity to visit the village and spend a few hours there. There is a Ved Pathshala where scholars learn the Indian scriptures. It does tell me that this Sanskrit speaking village does not live in isolation despite being unique in its own way. Till the early part of the 1980’s decade the villagers of Mattur spoke in Kannada and Tamil. Since then it is not just the members of the Sankethis community but members of all the communities residing in the village, irrespective of their social or economic standing, have started communicating in Sanskrit. As of now, they are steel almirahs that store the manuscripts as well as Sanskrit books. 11 thoughts on “ Mattur – Sanskrit Village ” Varsha May 17, 2017 at 3:12 pm. Mattur is a quaint village in Karnataka. We share our travel tips and of course, the travel stories we met on the road. However, in the recent past, the credit goes to a course conducted by Sanskrit Bharti. Mattur, a pleasant village in the Shimoga District of Karnataka is known as the only Sanskrit speaking village in India.Sanskrit is not only the main language among the people, but it is also the only language spoken in Mattur. a ) near karimnagar in telangana No wonder homogeneity exists. Here is a short, 7 mins video “Mattur Sanskrit Village” that supplements your impressions of Mattur (there are four other videos related to Sanskrit. The agrahara, a Brahmin colony, where Vedic traditions are preserved and where Sanskrit is spoken as the language du jour, has earned Mattur — and Karnataka — a place on the global map. There are about 120 families and 600 people in this Agrahara, although the total village population is about 2000. A simple old style home where you enter after taking your shoes off has young boys living and learning Indian Scriptures. We walked around the village that has traditional south Indian houses with pillared corridors opening into the wide streets between them. Going through the blog, I couldn’t help wondering on how life in Agrodak(renamed as Agroha) would look like…. from Shimoga, the district head quarters. The nearest airport to reach Shimoga is the Mangalore Airport that lies at a distance of around 195km from the spot. May they lead us to a future rooted in our own culture. There is another temple dedicated to Anjaneya or Hanuman. Yes, Mattur – the Sanskrit speaking village is an Agrahara, which the families living here received as a royal grant. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. It is the only village in India where most of the residents use Sanskrit as the medium of communication. Sanskrit Speaking Villages of Mattur & Hosahalli, Shimoga , Karnataka These cookies do not store any personal information. Guess is that it comes from Mahat + Uru which would roughly mean an important place or a big place. If you are from Chennai, you have to come to Bangalore and then take a bus to Shimoga. Mattur is typically differ from any other places in India. I wish they had funds to create a beautiful library that people can refer to. Matturu (ಮತ್ತೂರು in Kannada,also spelt Mathur/Mathooru etc) is a scenic village on the outskirts of Shivamogga (Shimoga) town in Karnataka. We visit the museums and tell you what not to miss there. SO INSPIRING 2 maintain our roots ! Students reciting vedas in Sanskrit. The whole village heeded to the call and started conversing in the ancient language. In Mattur (or Mathur) of Shimoga district in Karnataka, around 300km (186 miles) from Bangalore, businessmen and farmers alike talk in Sanskrit- or if nothing else at least understand it. Mattur, a culturally rich village on the banks of the river Tunga in Karnataka, is now famous across India as the 'Sanskrit village'. Mattur is a quaint village in Karnataka that lies some 300 km from Bangalore. Mattur village is in Karnataka. Most residents of this village, including small children, can fluently speak in Sanskrit and almost everyone understands the language. Yes, I visited village because Mattur is near to my native. Villagers use Sanskrit here for their day to … Visitors can board trains from the major cities of Karnataka to reach Shimoga. Mattur, Karnataka source. That is vintage style visiting an Indian village, where everyone knows everyone. Platforms below the old trees indicated that conversations still happen there. I was in Shivamogga for a wedding in the family. It was considered as devabasha which means the language of the gods. If we stay in villages, the languages will sustain naturally. Ref What makes Mattur so special is not only the villagers use the language in their daily life but they are also ready to teach it to anyone interested in learning it. Then the priest of the local religious centre asked the residents to adopt Sanskrit as their native language. It was a call the residents of Mattur took to heart and this is how Sanskrit became the primary language of the village. Alternatively, guests can stay in Shimoga that has a number of guest houses and restaurants. It is located on the banks of River Tunga and is at a distance of about 8 km from Shimoga (Shivamogga). Sanskrit is an Indo-Aryan language. Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. People are converse in Sanskrit with fluent accent. It is a unique accomplishment that the residents of Mattur have managed to keep alive the ancient language through their day-to-day communication in Sanskrit even though the official and native language of the state is Kannada. Mattur is mainly inhabited by the Sankethis, a Brahmin community that had migrated from Kerala and settled down in Mattur about 600 years ago. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. Local transport can be hired from the railway station to reach Mattur. 3 of them Keshav, Sri Ram and Laxmi Narayana Temple are dedicated to Vishnu.