UDUTADI

Udutadi(uDutaDi) (ಉಡುತಡಿ) is a small village that is associated with Akka Mahadevi, without doubt the best poetess in Kannada. This is the place where she was born and brought up. It is located at a distance of about 14 kilometers from Shikaripura a talluk head quarters in Shivamogga district. All most of all literary works concerning Mahadeviyakka mention Udutadi. Harihara begins this tradition in his biographical account ‘Mahadeviyakkana Ragale’. Scholars have opined that Udutadi is in the proximity of Balligame(baLLigAme) made famous by another Veerashaiva saint Allama Prabhu. There are two small hamlets called ‘uDupagaNi’ and ‘taDagaNi’ near Balligame. There is a fort near Udutadi which is shown as the fort of Kaushika the suitor(Husband?) of Mahadeviyakka. A small shrine was bulit in 1975, in this village to commemorate Akka. This village contains temples of Surya (Sun God) and Chennakeshava. The ruins of a matha called Gurulinga Channa Mallikarjuna Matha is linked with her life. Some scholars have disputed the contention that this is the village of Akkamahadevi

But they have not offered any alternatives.

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