Nagaraja Indra — The Blind Priest Of Chaturmukha Basadi In Karkala
By: Team Kys
Tags: India, Travel, Grit, Religion, Spirituality

Sometimes we come across people who make us feel grateful towards what we have in life. For a moment, they make us feel like being the way we are is the greatest gift that can ever be. This is one such story!

Chaturmukha Basadi, is an entirely stone-carved Jain Temple located in the heart of a peaceful town called Karkala in Udupi District. It faces the great monolithic Bahubali Statue. The Jain Temple is a unique attraction in its own, but what is more unique about it is the priest who has been in charge of the temple since one can remember.

Nagaraja Indra — The Revered Priest

Meet Nagaraja Indra, a legendary figure, recognized and respected by the entire population of Karkala. He has been the priest of the Chaturmukha Basadi for over 40 years now. Every morning and evening, you’ll find him ascending and descending the 58 stone-stairs of the temple, sometimes carrying a large pot of water from his home that is about a kilometer away from the temple. He performs all the rites of the temple all by himself, and guards it as long as he can until dusk.

What’s so special about all this? You might ask. Well, it might surprise you to know that Nagaraja Indra is completely blind. However, he was not born blind. A tragic incident of an acid bottle exploding on his face, while he was an assistant at a Chemistry lab at a nearby college, snatched away the beautiful gift of eyesight from him forever.

Burns, Blindness And Bride

Nagaraja Indra was just 23 then and newly married. Life was as merciless as it could be, to snatch away the biggest grant it gives us all- the ability to see the world. He, his new bride, and his entire family did all that they could to save Nagaraja Indra from the burns. His skin healed eventually, but his eyesight never did.

Speaking to Nagaraja Indra is a pretty difficult task. He prefers to stay on his own, and not talk to anyone unless necessary. He had a hint of reluctance to reveal all the hardships that he had to go through all his life. Maybe it reminds him of unpleasant times, and so we chose to speak to his wife instead.

The Painful Physical And Mental Recovery

Nagaraja Indra’s wife- Amaraji, who sometimes comes to the temple when he is unwell or it rains too much, recalls things with a heavy heart. She has been through all the struggles of his life and it has been equally difficult for her. But the two have shown unparalleled spirit in facing their hardships.

They had to travel a lot and spend all that they had to cure the priest’s deep injuries caused by the acid. Not much financial aid was received, but yes, they did have a supportive family. It took a long time, and strenuous and painful efforts for the skin to heal, his wife recalls.

Self-Sufficiency And Self-Respect

Amaraji says with utmost respect towards her husband, that after all those struggles, today he is as self-dependent as any normal person would be. Everyone in the town sees him walk by himself along the highway from home to the temple every day. All the aid he takes is from his walking stick.

He does all his chores by himself till date (he’s over 80 years of age now!), and also manages to maintain the temple and perform the rites on his own. He doesn’t like seeking sympathy, and has never sought any kind of help from anyone, even during his days of terrible struggle and after. They are not well-to-do, they had to struggle all their lives, but they owe no one any debts.

Lab Assistant To Priesthood

Fate had been merciless on Nagaraja Indra. The accident was so devastating that it could have broken him forever. But he chose to fight his fate. He couldn’t do much- he neither had money nor any resources to make his life large from where he was. What he could do was continue the family tradition of priesthood at the biggest Jain Temple of the town. He had no aid and thanks to that, he learned to do things himself despite his blindness.

Nagaraja Indra says that he finds inspiration to keep going from the fact that he is doing spiritual work (I work for God, he says!). He says that he is completely satisfied in life because although God took away something initially, God also chose him for this beautiful work. In his opinion, some divine force had this peaceful and sacred work for him in store, and it doesn’t matter anymore that he had to sacrifice his eyesight for this.

Here’s a man who has lived almost all of his life with an unimaginable tragedy. For no fault of his own, he had to pay a price that no one would want to. But Nagaraja Indra stands as a true example of spirit and bravery, and of a positive outlook towards life.