Why Kukke Subramanya temple has a Madhwa mutt?

Question

This question is specific to kukke Subramanya temple present in Dakshina Kannada District of Karnataka (refer : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kukke_Subramanya_Temple).

The main presiding deity is Subramanya i,e, a Shaiva deity. But the governing mutt belongs to Madhwa sampradaya i.e. Vaishnava sampradaya. Does anyone know the reason for this? Just curious to know the real history.

Also, as per temple history, Adi Shankaracharya stayed here during his digvijaya yatra and composed strotra praising the deity. So why not a Shankara mutt in this place? Just curious to know the real history. No question of hurting any faith here.

Answer 1

Kukke subrahmanya temple was older than Adi shankara.. And composed him a hym bhaje kukke lingam.. But after going on madhwacharya converted this shivalli Brahmins in to his dwaitha tradition..and constructed a mutt near temple..

Answer 2

An empty branch of Sringeri Mutt is still there besides samputa Narasimha mutt in kukke subramanya. ( Reference )

Due to Regulating act from East India Company temple administration was transferred from Shiva Brahmins to Madhwa brahmins [Reference (This book written by Madhwa Brahmin)]

For more detail about fate of Shiva Brahmins can refer this Book Tulunadina Itihasadalli

EndNote: From past history we can see that for every 300 to 400 year Temple administration is changed in south canara region from Aboriginals to Jains and different sects of brahmins and now everyone peacefully coexist.

Answer 3

In the book Sri Krishna Temple At Udupi by B.N. Hebbar available for free download here: https://archive.org/details/SriKrsnaTempleAtUdupi/page/n55/mode/2up?q=kukke

the author says, I quote:

// Page n55

During the course of Madhva’s tours within Tujunad in these two decades, he once journeyed to the Kukke-Subrahmanya-ksetra, the second holiest spot in the ParaSurama-ksetra, located on the banks of the Kumaradhara river in the Sulya taluk of Tujuva. Here, he is said to have encountered one Narasimha Tlrtha, the abbot of a Smarta-Bhagavata sampradaya institution, who challenged the acarya to a verbal duel. Madhva is said to have worsted this Bhagavata sampradaya abbot and won the latter’s institution as a booty for emerging victorious in the dialectical encounter. Madhva is then said to have converted that institution into an apostolic center of his own sect which goes by the name Kukke-Subrahmanya Matha today.71 The background and details of this episode (i.e., Madhva’s visit to Kukke-Subrahmanya) are given in Appendix I of this thesis, while narrating the foundation of the Kukke Subrahmanya Matha.// Unquote.

From this one can see that the original character of that Temple was converted by Madhva upon the above episode. Madhva is said to have installed a Saligrama there, thereby making the conversion of the Shaiva/Smarta temple to a Vaishnava sectarian one.

This Saligrama installing there is stated by Wilson too in his 'A sketch of Religious Sects of the Hindus' p. 93:

Quote //It seems not improbable, that the founder of the Mddhwa sect was,originally, a Saiva priest, and, although he became a convert to the Vaishnava faith, he encouraged an attempt to form a kind of compromise or alliance between the Saivas and Vaishnavas. Ma'dhwa was first initiated into the faith of Siva, at Ananteswar, the shrine of a Linga, and one of his names, Ananda Tirt'ha, indicates his belonging to the class of Dasnami Gosains, who were instituted by Sankara'cha'rya ; one of his first acts was to establish a Sdldgram, a type of Vishnu, at the shrine of Subrahmanya, the warrior son of Siva,// unquote.