BadaneKayi

There is a folklore linked to hyagriva: Saint Vadiraja used to offer hyagriva, made of dal, coconut, jaggery and ghee, to Lord Hyagriva, who was in the form of a horse. It is believed that every time Vadiraja offered the dish, the Lord consumed half of it and left the rest in the bowl. The cook, suspecting that Vadiraja consumed the dish without offering it to the Lord, laced it with poison. In order to protect Vadiraja from the poison, Hyagriva consumes the entire bowl himself because of which his neck takes a on a dark tinge. The Lord suggests a variety of brinjal as an antidote to the poison. This variety is nothing but the famed ‘Mattu Gulla’, grown only a small area in Mattu near Katpadi in Udupi and is used in sambars and curries.