A Muzrai-administered temple

Like the great majority of long-established Hindu temples in Karnataka, Sri Mahalingeshwara Temple is administered by the state, not by a private trust.

What is Muzrai?

“Muzrai” (ಮುಜರಾಯಿ) — from a Persian/Urdu word for an allowance set aside for religious or charitable upkeep — is the popular name for Karnataka's Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments Department. It traces back to the Muzrai Regulation of 1913 and the Mysore Religious and Charitable Institutions Act of 1927, and today operates under the Karnataka Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments Act, 1997 (as amended in 2011). The department administers upwards of 35,000 Hindu temples across the state that receive government oversight and, in many cases, grants.

How Muzrai temples are graded

Temples under Muzrai are classified by annual income into three grades, which determine the level of state oversight and staffing:

Grade A

Above ₹25 lakh / year

~200 temples statewide

Grade B

₹5 lakh – ₹25 lakh / year

~140 temples statewide

Grade C

Below ₹5 lakh / year

~34,000+ temples statewide

This temple's specific grade has not been independently confirmed for this page. The Deputy Commissioner's office, Udupi district, is the authoritative source for its current classification.

Administrative jurisdiction

Department: Muzrai (Hindu Religious Institutions & Charitable Endowments) Department, Govt. of Karnataka
District oversight: Deputy Commissioner's Office, Udupi District
Sub-division: Assistant Commissioner, Kundapura Sub-Division
On-site management: Executive Officer / temple committee — to be confirmed

A note on the adjoining matha

Muzrai administration applies to the temple itself. The adjoining Vrindavana of Sri Varadaraja Tirtha and the broader Sode Vadiraja Matha lineage are, as with mathas generally, maintained independently by the matha's own religious establishment rather than by the Muzrai Department — the two should not be assumed to share a single administration.

Official transactions

For seva bookings, e-hundi donations, and other formal transactions at Muzrai temples, the Government of Karnataka operates its own portal through the Hindu Religious Institutions & Charitable Endowments Department (itms.kar.nic.in). This website does not process payments or bookings on the temple's behalf — please use the government's official channel, or the temple's on-site counter, for any actual transaction.