ged in the dining hall at chauki. Annual Festivals
All Vaishnava festivals are celebrated in Sri Krishna Mutt with great pomp and grandeur. On special occasions, the icon of Krishna is decorated in magnificent costumes and thus becomes Mastya, Kurma, etc. Krishna decorated as Arjuna's charioteer is especially eye-catching. Sri Krishna Mutt is a hive of activity throughout the twelve months of the year and the following is a list of the more important festivals celebrated with great pomp and ceremony.
Yugaadi
The first day of the month of Chaitra is the New Year's day
according the lunar calender. Similarly, the first day of the
month of mesha is the new year accord ing to the solar calender.
Here, in Krishna Mutt, the solar system is more popular and hence
Yugaadi, the New Year festival, is celebrated according to the
solar calender.
A tray containing a coconut, fruits, jewels, and a mirror is
placed in front of the icon of Sri Krishna on the previous night.
The next morning, these auspicious objects are the first things
seen by Sri Krishna. This ritual is known as the darshana of
kaNi. The paryaaya Swamiji then takes an oil both first thing in
the morning, and a priest reads out the almanac for the coming
year to those assembled &127 the latter activity is called
panchaanga shravaNa. Special dishes are offered to the deities. A
grand festival is arranged in the dining hall at chauki.
Matsya Jayanti
The third day in the bright fortnight of the chaitra month is
believed to be the day when Lord Vishnu took the incarnation of
Matsya, the fish. On this day the icon of Sri Krishna is
decorated with an armor resembling a fish.
Raama Navamii
Sri Raama was born on the ninth day of the brighter fortnight of
chaitra. On this day the icon of Sri Krishna is decorated with
bow and arrow instead of the usual churning rod and rope, and a
special service is arranged to be held at noon. A car festival
takes place in the night. Since the personal icon of the Swamiji
of Sri Palimar Mutt is that of Sri Rama, a special festival of
Rama is celebrated with even greater pomp and festivity during
the paryaaya of that MaTha.
Hanumajjayanti
On the full-moon day of the month of chaitra, known as the
chitraa puurNimaa, special dishes are offered to the icon. It is
a day of festivity at the shrine of Mukhya PraaNa also.
Kuurma Jayanti
The second day in the brighter fortnight of the month of
vaishaakha is celebrated as Kuurma Jayanti. On this day the icon
of Sri Krishna is decorated as a tortoise.
AkshayatR^itiiyaa
The third day in the bright fortnight of vaishaakha is the
day of the incarnation of Lord Vishnu as Parashurama. The icon is
decorated with an axe, to depict Him in a heroic pose.
This coincides with the anniversary of passing of Sri Vijayadhvaja Tiirtha, the sixth piiThaadhipati in the lineage of Sri Pejawar Mutt. He is famous for his commentatory upon the Srimad Bhaagavata epic. He lived in the 15th century and his vrindavana is in Kanva Tiirtha. There is also a pipal tree by the side of the vrindavana under which he is believed to have written his commentary. During the tenure of Sri Pejawar MaTha a special festival is arranged in Sri Krishna Mutt on this day and the akshaya paatra given by Sri Madhva is offered a special puuja.
Vasantotsava
From akshayatR^itiiyaa to the full moon day of the month of
vaishaakha a special vasantotsava, or the festival of spring, is
arranged every day. The maNTapa puuja a which is usually held in
the maNTapa in front of the sanctum sanctorum is now celebrated
in the vasanta mahal. Different kinds of kosambari, puLiyogarai,
etc., are offered to the Deity.
Vasanta Dvaadashii
On a twelfth day in the brighter fortnight of vaishaakha, Lord
Vishnu took the incarnation of Veda Vyaasa through Satyavati. At
about 3:00 P.M., a special festival is arranged. The utsava
muurti (processional icon) of Sri Krishna is placed in the
palanquin and taken to Vasant Mahal. Lemon juice, puLiyogarai,
kosambari and other dishes offered to the Deity are distributed
to the devotees assembled there. No separate vasantotsava
festival takes place that night.
Narasimha Jayanti
Lord Vishnu took the incarnation of Narasimha on the fourteenth
day in the bright fortnight of vaishaakha. A special festival is
arranged, but there is no tradition of decorating Sri Krishna as
Narasimha. Since Sri Krishnapur MaTha and Sri Kaniyur MaTha have
the icon of Narasimha, special car festivals and feasts are
arranged on that day during the paryaaya-s of those MaTha-s.
Bhaagiirathii Janmadina
Bhaagiirathii, the goddess Ganga, was born on the tenth day in
the bright fortnight of the month of jyeshhTha. It was on this
day that the river Ganges came down to the earth at the request
of Bhagiiratha (hence the name, Bhaagiirathii). A special puujaa
is arranged at the shrine of Bhaagiirathi beside the
Madhva-sarovara. A car festival is arranged in the evening.
Mahaabhishekha
On the tenth day of the bright fortnight of aashaaDha a special abhishekha is performed to the icon of Sri Krishna. In the morning the icon is scrubbed and washed and all other MaTha icons and shaalagraama are also cleaned. A special feast is arranged: On the previous day the temple premises, oil-lamp holders, instruments of rituals, jewellery, etc., are washed and cleaned.
Prathamaikaadashii
The eleventh day in the bright fortnight of the month as
aashaaDha is known as prathamaikaadashii, or shayanii Ekaadashii.
The period covering the next four months is known as the
chaaturmaasya. It is believed that during this period, the Lord
Vishnu reposes on His serpent-bed Adi-shesha in what is known as
the 'yoga-nidraa' (literally meaning "the sleep of
yoga") .
On this Ekaadashii day, Maadhvas observe a sacred ritual of initiation by embossing the sacred seals on their foreheads, chests and arms by way of heated mudraa-s.
On this day, the sudarshana homa is arranged in Sri Krishna MaTha. Silver seals of chakra and shankha are heated in the sacred fire and they are stamped first on the chest, forehead and shoulders of the Swamiji and then on the chest, forehead and shoulders of the devotees present. This is a sort of initiation that many undergo every year.
Devotees from far off places come to Udupi to participate in this ceremony on this day. They take a holy bath in the Madhva-sarovara, undergo the ritual mudraa-dhaaraNaa and return to their places of residence. Even women and children get initiated in this manner.
From this day onward the next month, the shaaka vrata &127 a ritual dietary restriction &127 is observed. The eating of vegetables and chillies is forbidden for the duration. Only green gram, black gram, and such other items are used for cooking.
chaaturmaasya
On the full moon day of aashaaDha, the paryaaya Swamiji takes a
ceremonial shave and this is the commencement of chaaturmaasya or
staying in a fixed place for a period of four fortnights.
After the daily rituals are over, the Swamiji holds a tray containing sacred clay and firewood, and addresses the assembled devotees thus.
praayeNa praavR^ishi praaNi saN^kulam vartma dR^ishyate |
atasteshaamahimsaarthaM pakshaavai shrutichodanaat.h |
sthaasyaamashchaturomaasaanatraivaasati baadhake ||
It is the rainy season. The paths are full of insects. We shall restrict our movements so that they are not hurt. As per a statement of Shruti, a fortnight (of scriptural practice) is considered as equal to a month. We propose to spend four fortnights here in a fixed place so that no harm be caused to living beings.
To this the householders present reply, 'Please do stay here and grace us by your presence.'
During the next two months the scholars chant the Vedas, Ramayana, Mahabharata, Bhaagavata and the works of Sriman Madhvacharya.
Now-a-days, instead of the full-moon day of aashaaDha, the chaaturmaasya starts from the fifth day of the dark fortnight of aashaaDha. This coincides with the anniversary of passing of Sri Tiikaachaarya (Sri Jayatiirtha).
During the Ekaadashii fasting days of this period a special worship known as jaagara puujaa takes place in the nights. After the raatri puujaa the Swamiji carries on his head a tray containing a tuLasii. He dances chanting the glory of the Lord. The musicians and attendants dance and sing devotional songs and then the scholars chant the sacred epics until late into the night. (Ekadashii nights are meant to be spent awake in the study of scripture and chanting of prayers, etc., in addition to the whole day and night being spent fasting.)
Special discourses on the sacred epics are arranged in three
places:
(1) the platform in the Madhva-sarovara,
(2) the room known as simhaasana in front of the seat known as
the Madhva-piiTha and
(3) in the candrashaalaa near the southern door of the shrine of
Hanuman.
These arrangements are made so that the chanting of the sacred texts can be heard from the time the devotees take their bath in the Madhva-sarovara until they leave the temple after taking the darshana of Sri Krishna.
Apart from the chaaturmaasya, the chanting of sacred texts takes place every day in the chandrashaalaa. As well as this, special chanting takes place in the simhaasana. They also take place everyday throughout the year in the chauki during the time of the mid-day meal.
Sri Jayatiirtha's 'puNya
tithi'
Sri Jayatiirtha's anniversary of passing falls on the fifth day
of the dark fortnight of aashaaDha. As the great commentator upon
Sri Madhva's works, Sri Jayatiirtha is known as Tiikaachaarya,
and is loved and respected by all Maadhvas. It is for this reason
that the system of commencing the chaaturmaasya on this day came
into vogue.
Sri Jayatiirtha's anniversary is celebrated in Udupi by the chanting of the Nyaaya Sudhaa and his other works, and by lectures and discourses upon them. A special feast is also arranged.
Naaga Panchamii
This is celebrated on the fifth day of the bright fortnight of
the month shraavaNa. The serpent god is worshipped on this day in
the Subramanya shrine which is located in front of the BaDagu
MaaLige.
Upaakarma
The thread-renewal ceremony for those belonging to the clan known
as Rg Vedii-s takes place on the shraavaNa star day in the month
of simha. Those who belong to Yajur Veda branch celebrate this on
the full moon day of the month of simha. On the day of the star
hastaa in the month of simha the men belonging to Saama Veda
branch celebrate their upaakarma. This usually comes in the lunar
month of bhaadrapada.
The Krishna MaTha celebrates all these three upaakarma rituals. The people belonging to all these three branches and residing around the town of Udupi participa te in these rituals and wear new sacred thread.
The Rgupaakarma is celebrated in the Ananteswara temple and the Yajurupaakarma is (also) celebrated in the Chandramaulishvara temple.
Though the ceremony of changing the sacred thread does not apply to the Swamiji-s their ritual stick does have the sacred thread with it and hence it is to be changed. The Swamijis of Udupi perform this ritual on the day of Rgupaakarma.
This section is due to Ramadas. Much of the material comes from a book published for the 1984 paryaaya of H.H. Sri Vishwesha Tiirtha Swamiji, by Bannanje Govindacharya, U.P. Upadhyaya, and Muralidhar Upadhyaya.