Sri Vedavardhana Tirtha Swamiji Ascends Paryaya Peetha of Udupi Sri Krishna Math
Udupi: Sri Vedavardhana Tirtha Swamiji of Sri Shiroor Math ascended to Paryaya Peetha of Sri Krishna Math, Udupi on Sunday, marking the beginning of his two-year tenure as Paryaya seer.
The celebration of Paryaya signifies daily worship of Lord Krishna among the eight traditional Ashta Mathas of Udupi and delegation of responsibility for the management of the historic Udupi Sri Krishna Math.
At 20 years old, Sri Vedavardhana Tirtha Swamiji is the youngest among the Udupi seers.
According to tradition, the Swamijis began their Paryaya rituals with a holy dip at Danda Tirtha near Kaup, about 15 km from Udupi. On reaching Jodukatte in Udupi, he offered pooja to Sri Devi and Bhu Devi Sahita Sri Vittala, the presiding deity of Sri Shiroor Math.
Thousands of devotees lined the streets to witness the grand parade featuring elaborate paintings, folkloric and classical art forms and cultural ensembles.
Besides Sri Vedavardhana Tirtha Swamiji, the procession also included the presiding deity of Shiroor Math and seers of other Ashta Mathas — Sri Vidyasagara Tirtha Swamiji (Krishnapura), Sri Vidyadhisha Tirtha Swamiji (Palimaru), Sri Vishwaprasanna Tirtha Swamiji (Pejawara), Sri Vidyavallabha Tirtha Swamiji (Kaniyooru), Sri Vishwavallabha Tirtha Swamiji (Sode), Sri Eshapriya Tirtha Swamiji (Adamaru mathematics junior priest) and Sri Vidyarajeshwara Tirtha Swamiji (Palimaru mathematics junior priest).
On reaching Ratha Beedhi (Car Street), the seers walked on a white cloth ceremonially laid on Kanakana Kindi. After praying at Kanakana Kindi, the Swamijis also took darshan of Sri Chandramaulishwara and Sri Anantheshwara and offered special prayers to Sri Madhvacharya at the Anantheshwara Temple.
Sri Vedavardhana Tirtha Swamiji at Sri Krishna Math, Udupi had darshan of Sri Krishna, Sri Mukhyaprana and other deities and was formally welcomed by Sri Sugunendra Tirtha Swamiji and Sri Sushreendra Tirtha Swamiji of Puthige Math.
In front of the idol of Sri Madhvacharya, at the entrance of the holy temple, Sri Sugunendra Tirtha Swamiji ceremonially handed over the ‘Akshaya Patre’ and ‘Sattuga’ (the sacred vessel and ladle traditionally bestowed by Sri Madhvacharya), symbolizing the transfer of responsibilities to the Pariah. He then accompanied the new Paryaya seer to Sarvajna Peetha in Simhasana.
All the seers then assembled at ‘Aralu Gaddige’ and then went to Paryaya Darbar, where they were joined by many dignitaries in Rajangana. Representatives from Tirumala also delivered the prasadam on the occasion.
In order to support Vedic scholars and encourage students to take up Vedic studies, Sri Vedavardhana Tirtha Swamiji decided to organize continuous Veda Parayana during the two-year Paryaya period in which scholars would chant all the four Vedas every day from morning to evening.
Devotees will also be encouraged to serve at Sri Krishna Math through cleansing drives, annadana and other daily activities and registrations for the same will be available on the Shiroor Math website.
Priority will be given to festivals, cultural programs and annadana, with the assurance of regular worship along with special emphasis on security, cleanliness and preservation of age-old traditions.
