Ever since I heard that a child from Mattur village talks in Sanskrit, I was eager to see this village. Curiosity was awakened in the mind, the culture, and language, which was ours in ancient times, is today’s 21st. Somewhere in the century is still alive! this is incredible.
I started thinking, am I going to travel to more than 2000 years old India? Many questions were echoing in his mind. Do the residents here speak other languages along with Sanskrit?
Have they got the Sanskrit language as a heritage or have they learned it in the same way as we learn other languages along with our mother tongue? My curiosity was at its peak. Finally, last month I got a golden opportunity to go to Muttoor and spend a few hours there.
I had gone to Shivamogga to attend a family wedding ceremony. Taking some time off between the marriage ceremonies, I set out to visit the village of Muttoor, situated on the border of Shivamogga.
We reached the village of Muttoor through dusty roads, amidst fields and betel nut orchards. After reaching there we started looking for Shri Ashwath Avadhani Ji.
hyderabad to srisailam taxi service
He gave his valuable time to showing us the village. We didn’t have his contact or phone number. But we were told that we could ask anyone in the village for their address. Isn’t this the ancient method of village philosophy, where everyone knew about each other!
Mattur Village Walking Tour
We started our tour of the village on foot. There were traditional South Indian-style houses all around us. There were many wooden pillars in the corridors of the house that opened on wide paths.
The platforms built under tall trees were telling that even now the chaupal would sit here. Young or old, all men wore a similar vesti, which is a traditional South Indian dress.
The whole village had a different aura. There was a kind of uniformity which is not found in most places. The doors of most of the houses were open, giving us an impression of the atmosphere of trust spread all around.
The people there neither knew us nor were aware of the purpose of our coming. Still he was inviting us to his house without hesitation.
We sat on an open platform with Ashwath ji. Earlier, we were astonished to hear his constant conversation with the villagers in Sanskrit language.
It was as if we were living a dream. I chuckled to myself and said that I was really listening to everyday life conversations in Sanskrit language.
History of Muttoor Village
The Vijayanagara emperor had given the village of Muttur to the Sankiti Brahmins when they migrated from Tamil Nadu some 500 years ago. Yes!
The Sanskrit speaking Muttur village is an agrahara that was received by the families here as a royal grant. Trimbakaraya, a minister in the court of Emperor Krishnadevaraya, got the Trimbakeshwara temple established around which the village was settled.
This agrahar land was distributed among the 40 families of the village. Three plots for each family! You can still see the measuring symbols here.
Around 600 people from 120 families reside in Agrahara. However, the total population of the village is around 2000. All of them belong to the same Brahmin caste.
That is why there is uniformity all around. No one knows how the village got its name Muttoor. It may be composed of Mahat + Uru which means a large village or an important village.
Mattur and Sanskrit
Most of the residents here are associated with Sanskrit in some way or the other. There is a school where students are taught lessons in the Sanskrit language.
There is a Veda Pathshala where learned Pandits practice Hindu scriptures. We met here some students from all over South India who have come here to study Sanskrit and Shastras.
When I asked Ashwathji when the conversation in Sanskrit started in the village, he immediately replied – Parampara. Our ancestors who were well versed in Vedas and Shastras used to talk in Sanskrit only.
However, the credit that Sanskrit has received in the last few days also goes to the courses conducted by Sanskrit Bharati.
I asked him that if this tradition was present in many parts of India, if not all over India, then how is it still alive in Muttur only? He said that the residents of Muttur are extremely satisfied and happy with what they have.
Giving credit to the youth of Muttoor, he said that the youth of the village played an important role in preserving the Sanskrit language. Without his contribution, it would have been difficult to preserve the language.
Today, all the people of Agrahar and most of the residents of the village can speak Tamil, Kannada, and Sanskrit languages. Tamil is their mother tongue, Kannada is the local language and Sanskrit is their own chosen language.
Ashwathji told me about some other villages in South India where efforts are being made to revive Sanskrit as a spoken language. Radhakrishna Nagar situated near Dharwad is one of these.
They believe that when the youth of the village migrated to the cities, then along with the culture of the village, the language also starts disappearing. If we stay in the village, the language of the village will naturally be preserved.
I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the village of Muttur is using modern techniques to teach Sanskrit to the world. Many young entrepreneurs teach Sanskrit to people online from Mutoor village.
Hearing this, I felt that more and more youth should find a means of livelihood in their village itself. With this they can play an important role in preserving the heritage of the village.
Attractions in Mattur Village
Ashwath ji took us on a walk to the village of Mattur. We saw many unique places in this small village of 600 people. I really liked the roads here and their community and openness.
bank of tung river
On the banks of river Tunga, there was an open ground where Agnihotra or Havan is performed. Since I came here in the afternoon,
I did not have the privilege of seeing them. I have decided that I will come here again and will definitely try to see the Havan being held on the bank of an ancient river.
Mattur Village Temple
There are total 7 temples in this small village of Mattur. There are 3 temples dedicated to Lord Vishnu – Keshav Temple, Shri Ram Temple, and Lakshmi Narayan Temple.
The other 3 temples, Trimbakeshwar Temple, Gauri Shankar Temple, and Someshwara Temple, are dedicated to Lord Shiva. Another temple is dedicated to Anjaneya i.e. Hanumanji.
We visited the Laxmi Narayan temple located at the entrance of the village. It is also called Durga Mandir. It is a small, one-chamber temple. Women come here every evening and perform kirtan.
Vedashala and Gurukul
Visiting the Gurukul of the village was one of the most enjoyable moments of my journey. It was a simple old house where you enter by taking off your slippers and shoes, where small children live and study Indian scriptures.
There is also a small library in the Gurukul of Mattur which has a collection of many books and Sanskrit scriptures. I thought, if it had enough capital, a big library could be built here where people could come and study. At present, there were steel shelves in which manuscripts and Sanskrit books are kept.
village school
My experience in the village school was very emotional. I did 5th there. Meet the students of the class. Those little boys astonished me with their Sanskrit knowledge. May God take us towards that future that is nourished and irrigated by our culture.
The most interesting experience of the visit to the village of Mattur was listening to the conversation in the Sanskrit language. If you have knowledge of at least one Indian language, then you can understand these dialogues a little.
