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Teppotsava in Udupi: Krishna's float on Madhva Sarovara
A lit float carrying Krishna circles the dark temple tank to singing
Teppotsava, the float festival, is the evening rite of Saptotsava, the seven-day festival at the Sri Krishna Matha in Udupi around Makara Sankranti. In the evening, images of Krishna and Mukhyaprana are placed on a decorated, lit float and taken round Madhva Sarovara, the temple tank beside the Matha. Next: 10–16 January 2027 (expected). Watching from the steps of the tank is free.
The float ride is an evening rite held on each night of Saptotsava, the seven-day festival that marks Madhvacharya's installation of the Krishna image and runs up to Makara Sankramana. The tank, Madhvasarovara, sits beside the temple and is the fixed place for it.
The week follows Makara Sankramana, the Sun's entry into Capricorn; the matha announces the programme in early January.
The legend
In legend, a ship ran aground off Udupi in a storm. Madhvacharya waved his cloth, the sea grew calm, and the ship floated free.
In thanks he asked only for a block of gopichandana, sacred clay from the hold. Inside it was an image of the child Krishna.
Madhvacharya bathed Krishna in the tank now called Madhva Sarovara and installed him in the Matha, believed to be on Makara Sankramana.
So in the week of that anniversary Krishna is taken out each evening on a decorated float onto the very water where he was once bathed.
Customs
After chamara seva
The float sets out after the evening chamara seva, the fan service, carrying Krishna and Mukhyaprana.
Seven days
Saptotsava starts five days before Makara Sankramana and ends the day after it. It is Udupi's best-known festival.
Three chariots
For the first five evenings two chariots go round Car Street. On Sankramana the Brahma Ratha comes out for the first time in the year, and all three roll together.
Swamis on the rope
On Choornotsava, the last day, the swamis of all the mathas take the Brahma Ratha's rope alongside everyone else, all equal before Krishna.
Fruit from the chariot
From the chariot the swamis throw coconuts, oranges and bananas, and people catch them as prasad.
Bathing in the tank
At the close the swamis step into Madhva Sarovara holding the image, and everyone gathered takes the purifying bath with them.
Words of the festival
ತೆಪ್ಪೋತ್ಸವ
Teppotsava
the float festival: the deity is taken out on a temple tank or river
ಮಧ್ವ ಸರೋವರ
Madhva Sarovara
the sacred tank beside the Krishna Matha where the float sails
ಸಪ್ತೋತ್ಸವ
Saptotsava
"seven festivals", Udupi's anniversary week of Krishna around Sankramana
ಚೂರ್ಣೋತ್ಸವ
Choornotsava
the week's last day: only the Brahma Ratha rolls, then the bath in the tank
ಮುಖ್ಯಪ್ರಾಣ
Mukhyaprana
"the chief breath": Vayu, Vishnu's helper in Madhva's teaching, honoured beside Krishna
True or myth
❌ Myth. The teppotsava runs every evening of Saptotsava, after the evening chamara seva.
✅ True. Until then only the Garuda Ratha and the small chariot go round Car Street.
✅ True. The old chariot, some 250 years old, had decayed, and Swami Vishwavallabha Tirtha built a new one during his paryaya.
How a Saptotsava evening runs
Saptotsava, literally 'seven festivals', is the Krishna Matha's anniversary week of the day Madhvacharya installed the Krishna image in the 13th century, believed to be Makara Sankramana, the Sun's entry into Capricorn. The week starts five days before Sankramana and ends the day after it. The press calls it the high point of Udupi's chariot season, which runs from Utthana Dwadashi in October or November until the start of the monsoon.
The Matha publishes no timetable. Local press reports place the float after the evening chamara seva, the service with fans before the deity; ask at the Matha on the day. Krishna and Mukhyaprana (Vayu, honoured beside Krishna in Madhva's teaching) are carried out to Madhva Sarovara and set on the float, which is moved slowly around the tank. The rite is tied to the tank because, in the Matha's tradition, Madhvacharya bathed the image in this water before installing it.
The chariots belong to the same evenings, on Car Street (Ratha Beedi), the square around the Matha. For the first five days two chariots go round: the Garuda Ratha with Krishna and Mukhyaprana, and the Mahapooja Ratha with Anantheshwara and Chandramouleeshwara, the deities of the two temples beside the Matha. On Makara Sankramana the great Brahma Ratha comes out for the first time in the year and all three roll together. The next day is Choornotsava, also called Suvarnotsava: a daytime rite, unlike the evenings before it. Only the Brahma Ratha is pulled, the swamis of all the mathas take the rope with everyone else, and at the close they step into Madhva Sarovara holding the image while the crowd bathes with them. The day also brings the Maha Anna Santarpane, a large free meal for devotees.
Where to watch
Everything happens within a few hundred metres of the Matha, and all of it is free to watch.
The steps of Madhva Sarovara
For the float itself, on the Saptotsava evenings.
Car Street on Sankramana night
The one night all three chariots go round together, with Krishna on the Brahma Ratha.
Madhva Sarovara on Choornotsava
The daytime close of the week: the Brahma Ratha, then the swamis' bath in the tank.
Planning and etiquette
The Saptotsava is worship organised by the matha on Paryaya duty, which announces the programme in early January.
- Come the day before Sankramana — That way you catch a float evening and the three-chariot night that follows.
- Book by the calendar — In even-numbered years the Paryaya follows right after the week (17–18 January 2028, expected) and fills the town, so book about two months ahead. Stay near Car Street; Manipal, about 5 km away, and Malpe have more rooms. See where to stay in Udupi.
- Dress for the temple — If you go inside the Matha, men remove their shirts in the inner temple, and jeans, T-shirts and sleeveless or short clothes are refused for everyone. Details: Udupi temple dress code.
- Getting there — Udupi has no airport; Mangaluru airport (IXE) is about 60 km away, and Konkan Railway trains stop at Udupi. Routes: how to get to Udupi.
FAQ
When is Teppotsava in Udupi?
Next: 10–16 January 2027 (expected). The float goes out on the evenings of the Saptotsava week, which starts five days before Makara Sankramana and ends the day after it; the matha announces the programme in early January.
What is Teppotsava?
A float festival: a temple deity is taken out on a decorated float on a temple tank or river. In Udupi, Krishna and Mukhyaprana circle Madhva Sarovara, the tank beside the Krishna Matha.
Does the float go out only on Sankranti night?
No. Press reports describe it on every Saptotsava evening, after the evening chamara seva. Sankramana night is when the Brahma Ratha joins the other two chariots on Car Street.
Is there a fee to watch?
No. The float on Madhva Sarovara and the chariots on Car Street are free to watch from the steps and the street.
Why is Saptotsava held at Makara Sankranti?
It marks the installation of the Krishna image by Madhvacharya in the 13th century, which tradition places on Makara Sankramana.
Sources (3)
Facts checked: 22 October 2026. Prices and hours are approximate; check locally.