Udupi, Jan 17: A celebratory atmosphere prevailed in the temple town as the biennial Paryaya festival in which the 85-year-old Pejawar mutt seer Sri Vishwesha Tirtha Swami ascended the Paryaya Peetha for the fifth time creating a new history in the legacy of 800 and odd years of the famed Sri Krishna temple.
The seer took charge of the puja rights of Lord Srikrishna from Sri Vidyavallabha Tirtha Swami of Kaniyur Mutt and ascended the “Paryaya Sarvajna Peetha” at 6 am inside the sanctum sanctorum of the temple.
No seer of the Ashta Mutts or eight mutts of Udupi has ascended the Paryaya Peetha over four times ever since the biennial Paryaya system began in 1522.
Paryaya denotes transfer of power of the exclusive rights of worshipping Lord Krishna and management of the Sri Krishna Mutt/Temple from one seer to another seer of the Astha Mutts once in two years in turns. The city was teeming with devotees who had come not just from different parts of the State but also the country. The Car Street saw a maximum number of devotees going around visiting not just the Sri Krishna Mutt/Temple, which was the cynosure of all eyes but also the Ashta Mutts or eight mutts of Udupi.
In fact, the queue to offer prayers to Lord Krishna at the Sri Krishna Mutt/Temple was so long that it stretched nearly to the Rajangana Parking Space. Since Udupi is known as “Anna Brahma Kshetra,” there was a massive rush for the afternoon meals as well at the dining halls of the Sri Krishna Mutt.
Even the store-hall, where rice, coconuts and vegetables such as pumpkins, Mangalore cucumber, Mattu Gulla, Elephant Yams, and others were stored, was a centre of attraction. This was because the vegetables were kept in a systematic way and eye-catching.
Meanwhile, the cooks had a busy time at the temporary kitchen, created behind the Adhoksha Mantapa. They were cooking food for over 75,000 devotees.
Sri Vishwesha Tirtha Swami was born on April 27, 1931 as the second child of Narayanacharya and Kamalamma, a devout couple from Ramakunja. They named child as Venkataramana. The then head of the Pejawar mutt, Sri Vishvamanya Theertha Swami, initiated Venkataramana as a Sanyasi when he was eight years old.
The initiation happened on December 3, 1938 at Chakratheertha near Hampi and Venkataramana became Sri Vishwesha Theertha, upon initiation.The young Sanyasi completed his early education in Udupi. The head of the Bhandarakeri Mutt, Sri Vidyamanya Theertha Swami, taught all the Shastras to the young Yati for eight years and helped transform him into a knowledgeable and erudite scholar of Vedanta and Shastras.
Sri Madhwacharya, the proponent of ‘Dwaitha’ (Dualism) philosophy who installed the ‘Saligrama Shila’ idol of Lord Srikrishna here about 800 years ago, also blessed the eight (Ashtha) mutts with eight young Yatis to perform Lord Srikrishna’s puja rituals on a rotation basis. Later, seer Sri Vadiraja Swami of Sri Sode Mutt modified this by introducing the biennial Paryaya system by changing the two-month term into a two-year term among the seers of Ashtha mutts on rotation in 1522. Since then, the celebrations of handing over the charges of the puja rights have been a grand event with people’s participation.
The current cycle is the 32nd of the biennial Paryaya and the Pejawar Mutt is the eighth mutt in the order of succession to the Paryaya Peetha in the cycle. The cycle starts with Palimar Mutt followed by Admar, Krishnapura, Puttige, Shiroor, Sode, and Kaniyur Mutts, ending with Pejawar Mutt.
Row over Puttige seer’s presence
Puttige Mutt seer Sugunendrateertha Swami said on Sunday night that the controversy surrounding his presence in the Paryaya ceremony remains unresolved.
He told reporters after the first round talks with the senior and junior seers of the Pejawar Mutt that the first round of talks was a failure as they could not come to any consensus. A few seers of the Asta Mutt are opposing his presence, as he has undertaken foreign travel, considered a taboo for pontiffs. However, Vishweshateertha Swami, the incoming Paryaya pontiff, is okay with his presence.
He declined to name the seers opposing his presence. “I am under pressure from my followers and disciples to attend,” the Puttige seer said. Later in the night, the pontiff told a press conference that he would stay away from the celebrations after a deal was brokered.
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