Udupi: Taptamudra dharana rituals held at Sri Krishna temple

Udupi, Nov 26: Sri Krishna temple came alive to the devotion of people who lined up for ‘taptamudra dharana’ ritual here on Thursday. Sri Vishwaprasanna Tirtha swamiji of Pejavar Adhokshaja mutt kick-started the ritual by first stamping himself before going on to stamp Sri Eeshapriya Tirtha swamiji of Paryaya Adamaru mutt. The paryaya seer later also stamped the devotees with images of shanka (conch) and chakra (wheel) on their chest and arms.

Prior to start of the much anticipated tapta mudra dharana ritual, Mudrangadi Lakshmeesha Acharya, priest of Adamaru mutt oversaw purnahuti of ‘Sudarshana homa’ that is performed on the ‘devaprabhodini ekadashi’ day that marks end of chaturmasya at Sri Krishna Temple. Both Sri Vishwaprasanna Tirtha and Sri Eeshapriya Tirtha swamijis were present on this occasion. The devotees in the interim waited patiently for the ritual to start.

Incidentally, the seals were earlier heated at the Sudarshana homa held at the temple. As per tradition, while the ‘chakra’ is stamped on the right arm, the shanka is stamped on the left arm. For women, the seals are stamped only on their arms. With pandemic protocols still in place, the devotees came forth in an orderly fashion, maintaining social distancing and wearing masks as they queued up for the Paryaya mutt seer to stamp them.

For the uninitiated, tapta mudra dharana is a unique ‘Vaishnava’ practice in South India. Here, a mudra or seal with the symbol of Srihari Vishnu is stamped on the body. This ritual is observed on the Shukla Paksha Ekadasi in the Ashada month. This ritual will be observed on July 20, 2021. Tapta means ‘heated’ and mudra means ‘seals.’ Stamping of the hot mudra on the body is seen as a way of stating one’s utmost devotion to Vishnu.