They played football before the game was known to the world. Popularly known as Polali Chendu, the game is played by the villagers of Polali as a seva to the Goddess Rajarajeshwari. Situated about 72 kms from Udupi, formerly known as 'Pulingapura', Polali is a hamlet in Kariangala village.
Polali Rajarajeshwari Temple situated in the heart of this village, is surrounded by high hillocks and wide paddy fields. This place was known as Pural and the deity Porala Devi as recorded in several old documents and ancient epigraphs.
History : Ancient inscriptions including Markandeya Purana, travel accounts by foreign travellers and Ashoka inscriptions have references about the temple in Polali. There are several inscriptions found at Ammunje, Kariyangala and in Polali Temple that establishes the temple was built in the 8th century AD by King Suratha.
As per historical records, many kings from royal dynasties like Kadamba, Chalukya, Aloopa, Rashtrakoota, Hoysala, Vijayanagara, Ikkeri, and Mysore who ruled this area have made land grants to the temple. In later years, Rani Chennamma of Keladi is reported to have gifted the temple with a grand chariot. There are references to the temple by Abdul Razzak, a foreign traveller, in 1448.
Legend: The clay idol of the main deity in the temple is historically believed to be up to 5000 years old. Legend has it that King Suratha from Alupa dynasty who had lost most of his kingdom at war, betrayed by his own ministers, took refuge with a sage named Sumedha in the forest where Polali is today. Under the guidance of the sage he made the clay idol of Goddess Rajarajeshwari and offered penance and won back his kingdom. As we approach the temple, we can see river Phalguni flowing from east to west on the northern side about 200 yards away. On the eastern side of the temple is a small hillock named Renjegiri and the southern side is a sandy area called Mogeru.
The medium sized temple, built on strong foundation of four feet high following Agama, faces east. The portico like structure, on four pillars, attached to the sanctum sanctorum and area outside for circumambulating is also built on the same foundation level. The outer passage, a well ventilated wooden enclosure, is on a level lower. Intricate designs with many god and goddesses have been carved on the wooden ceiling. The dwajastambha, Garbha Gudi and Mukamantapa is covered with copper plates. The front door frames of the sanctum sanctorum and the portico are made of black granite. The nine feet deity, in its sitting position wearing a grand jewelled crown on the throne, with open palms blessing will overwhelm you. The clay used for making the idol was specially prepared with herbal mixtures for added strength.
There are images of Lakshmi, Saraswathi, Subramanya, Ganapathi, Brahma Vatuka, Vishnu Vatuka, Maha Rudra, Bhadrakali, Shivadoothi, Manthresha, Mathrukeshwari, Karali Devi, Dandanatha Devi, Bhairava and Mantrini Devi. Apart from this, moulded bronze images of Goddess Rajarajeshwari, Bhadrakali, Ganapathi, Subramanya and Shiva are installed at the feet of the main deity.
The shrine of Goddess Durga Devi, hand sized and made of stone, is separately located in the quadrangle. The Kshetrapala is six feet in height and stands facing the east. Another unique feature of this temple is that the idol of the Kshetrapala’s wife in the sitting position holding a sacred vessel and a spoon is found facing the north.
Swami Viveka Chaitanyananda, Ramakrishna Tapovan explained another peculiarity of this temple, “Once in 12 years, a religious event Lepashta Gandha is conducted where the idols are given a coating of soil mixture with eight medicinal properties. What is unique is that the soil mixture used for coating the idols was prepared hundreds of years ago when the images were originally molded and installed.”
Polali Chendu : The famous Polali Chendu festival, also known as the football festival, is played for a period of five days during the annual temple festival. The football, a leather ball, is made by a cobbler family in Mijar.
On the set day, the ball is placed under a palm leaf umbrella on the gopuram of the temple. After offering prayers to the deity, the ball is taken to the football field and the game is commenced. Any number of people may compete in the games forming two teams. The objective of the game is to get the ball to the opposition's side. The game historically represents the fight of good over evil and the victory of the good over the evil.