Annual festivals, continued

Hayagriiva jayanti
The full moon day of shraavaNa is celebrated as Hayagriiva Jayanti. It was on this day that the Lord Vishnu took the incarnation of Hayagriiva on this Earth. This is an especially important festival of Sri Sode Mutt. During the paryaaya of other MaTha-s also, special rituals are performed by offering the special dish of 'Hayagriiva maDDi' which is a favorite of Sri Hayagriiva.

The same day pavitraaropaNa is also performed. Silken threads are folded into three and then 12, 24, or 36 pavitra knots are tied. This is then placed on the icon like a garland. This is known as pavitraaropaNa. It is believed that by offering this garland, demerits or bad effects accrued due to any shortcomings or defects in the ceremonies and rituals performed that year are warded off. This thread is also known as Kalki daara.

After offering these threads to Sri Krishna, they are sent to other MaTha-s along with prasaada, and are also distributed to householders. dadhi vrataarambha

From the twelfth day in the bright fortnight of shraavaNa to the twelfth day of the bright fortnight of bhaadrapada the people observe dadhivrata. During this time the devotees abstain from eating curds.

Anniversary of Sri Raghavendra Swami
The anniversary of Sri Raghavendra Swami falls on the second day of the dark fortnight in the month of shraavaNa. The paryaaya Swamiji offers special services to the saint and arranges a feast. Seminars and discourses take place. A three-day festival is also arranged in the shrine of Sri Raghavendra Tiirtha.

Sri Krishna jayanti
The eighth day in the dark fortnight of the month of simha is the day of incarnation of Sri Krishna. If the rohiNii star is on at midnight the day is known by the name janmaashhTami.

Those who follow the lunar calender celebrate this on the eighth day of the dark fortnight of the lunar month of shraavaNa. Those who follow the solar calender celebrate it on the eighth day of the dark fortnight in the solar month of simha. This may fall either in the month of shraavaNa or bhaadrapada. It may be noted that the star rohiNii appears on the eighth day in the month of simha. Hence the solar calendar appears to be more appropriate to follow in celebrating the festival, and is followed in Udupi.

Sri Krishna Jayanti is celebrated with great pomp and ceremony in Udupi. The devotees fast during the day and scholars chant Bhagavad-giitaa, Bhagavat, and other sacred texts. In Sri Krishna MaTha, the icon of Sri Krishna is decorated as a young child.

At midnight, as the moon rises, dishes such as chakkuli and laddige are offered to the icon of Sri Krishna and sacred leaves of bilva are offered. Water and milk are poured with shaN^kha (conch-shell) by the devotees. As per tradition, cowherds from the nearby villages also offer arghya of water and milk in front of the icon of Sri Krishna.

The rituals offered to Sri Krishna which take place in the early morning of the next day are like those offered on a dvaadashii day.

Note: In the homes of the devotees, Sri Krishna Jayanti is celebrated with great piety. They fast throughout the day and in the night, as midnight approaches, they perform abhisheka to the family icon. After the midnight pooja they then break their fast.

mosaru kuDike
During the day the Car Street fills with devotees who have come to celebrate the birth of Sri Krishna. It is a festival celebrating Sri Krishna's sport, fun, and frolic. The utsava muurti (processional icon) of Sri Krishna is taken around the Car Street on the golden palanquin.

Mud pots, known as mosaru kuDike, which contain turmeric and saffron water, are suspended from wooden poles. Devotees, dressed as cowherds, jump and hit at the pots with sticks in an attempt to break them. This is to celebrate the pastime of Krishna when He broke butter pots and ate their contents.

In Udupi, the icon of Sri Krishna holds a churning rod and rope, and so this re-enactment of breaking the butter pots by the people celebrates an important episode from the childhood pastimes of Krishna. For this reason it is celebrated with much pomp, festivity and fun.

Fancy dress parades relating to the childhood pastimes of Sri Krishna take place in the Car Street. Also appearing are dancers dressed as tigers and bears and so on, as a sort of service to Lord Krishna on his birthday. The Swamijis of all MaTha-s give presents and remuneration to these performers.

Ganesha chaturthi
The fourth day in the bright fortnight of the month of bhaadrapada is celebrated as the festival of Lord Ganesha. A special puujaa is performed to Ganapati. This puujaa is also offered to Sri Vishnu through the elephant-faced god. The icon of Ganapati made of clay by artists of Udupi is brought to baDage maaLige during an auspicious period on that day. The entire area is decorated artistically with different kinds of decorations. A huge rangavalli of Ganesha is constructed in front of the icon. This is a feast to the eyes for the next four days.

In this photo we see H.H. Sri Vishvesha Tiirtha Swamiji, at the worship of Ganapati in the baDage. On the floor we see the beautiful rangavalli made from couloured powders, flowers, etc.

After worshipping the special Ganapati icon for four days, the icon is taken out in procession and then immersed in the Madhva-Sarovara.

At the entrance of the shrine also there is a small icon of Ganapati. Special worship is arranged there to the Lord Vishnu in the form of Sri Vishvambhara. The priests perform a sacrifice known as gaNahoma. The Swamiji offers prasaada of Lord Vishvambhara to Ganapati and performs aarati.

A special icon of Ganapati made of five metals is present at Ananteshwara and is worshipped every day. Here also, the festival of Ganesha is celebrated with pomp.

There is a very interesting story in connection with this Ganapati, but I have forgotten the full details. I was going to mention it in the chapter containing the initial reference to Ananteshwara but because of incomplete memory of the story I didn't .It goes along the lines — the icon had been worshipped in a fort (can't remember where) and when the fort was attacked by marauding Muslims the icon was removed and eventually placed in the Ananteshwara temple for safe keeping. Even after the Muslims had been driven back, the icon remained in the Ananteshwara temple.

During Ganesha-chaturthii, special festivals are held at Ananteshwara during the night and it is a magnificent sight. The whole of the temple is lit up with oil lamps and the people form a long queue to view the icon. Because of all the oil lamps this is the best time to view the icon.

Bhuuvaraaha jayanti
The fifth day in the bright fortnight of bhaadrapada is celebrated as Bhuuvaraaha Jayanti. In Sri Krishna Mutt, special dishes of roots and bulbs are offered to the icon. In Sode MaTha, a special festival is arranged as Sri Bhuuvaraaha is the presiding Deity there.

Kalki jayanti
The sixth day in the bright fortinight of bhaadrapada is celebrated with special services to Sri Vishnu in the form of Kalki.

dadhi Vaamana jayanti
It was on the twelfth day in the bright fortnight of bhaadrapada that Sri Vishnu took the incarnation of Vaamana and came down to earth. The icon of Sri Krishna is decorated as the small boy Vaamana. Special naivedya of curd and rice is offered. A good feast is arranged for the devotees.

After observing a month's diet restrction of avoiding curds, people start taking yogurt on this day. The period beginning from this day onward, up to the eleventh day of the bright fortnight of aashvayuja, is known as kshiira vrata. During this time milk is not to be partaken of.

ananta chaturdashii
The fourteenth day in the bright fortnight of the month of bhaadrapada is known as anantana vrata. The Lord Ananta Padmanaabha is invoked in a pot filled with water and decorated with coconut and flowers. Special puuja is celebrated with fourteen varieties of dishes.

navaraatri
From the first day to the ninth day in the bright fortnight of ashvayuja, the icon of Sri Krishna is decorated with the costumes of the goddesses such as Shrii, Bhuu, Durgaa, Satyabhaamaa, and Saraswatii. All the works of Sri Madhva are chanted by the scholars during the days of Navaratri.

pustaka puujaa
The volumes of holy scriptures are worshipped during the period of the stars muulaa to shravaNa, commencing from the sixth or seventh day of navaraatri and going up to the ninth or tenth day in that fortnight. In the northern corner of the hall known as candrashaale, palm leaf manuscripts are arranged in a nicely decorated maNTapa. Sri Veda Vyaasa and the goddess Saraswati are worshipped as guardian angels of learning and scholarship.

At the conclusion of the mahaapuujaa on each of these days, the Swamiji performs Vyaasa puujaa and at the conclusion of the rituals on the last day, the scholars celebrate their initiation ceremony.

vijaya dashamii
This is the festival of harvest. Tender shoots of corn are ceremoniously brought to the shrine and worshipped. They are then tied to the different parts and objects of the shrine.

This is the day the front gate, on the eastern side of the Mutt where the icon of Sri Chenna Keshava is installed, is opened to bring in the tender shoots. The entrance which was formerly used for going inside the shrine from the Madhva Sarovara is now used only once a year. The new rice is cooked and offered to the icon of Sri Krishna and a special feast called 'new meal' is served.

On this day a special feast is arranged at chauki. On all the other days of the year the Swamijis sit for lunch facing south, but on this day, they sit facing east.

Buddha jayanti, and Madhva jayanti
The vijaya dashami day is also celebrated as Buddha jayanti. Vishnu is worshipped in the the form of the Buddha on this day.

Sri Madhva was born in Paajaka Kshetra on the vijaya dashami day and a special puujaa is performed to the icon of Sri Madhva in the shrine of Sri Krishna and also to the icon of the Acharya at Anantheswara.

shamii puujaa
A procession of victory and the worship of the Samii tree are special rituals taking place the same day. A tableau of an army is taken in a procession to the Mahisha Mardini temple at Kadiyali with all royal paraphernalia and a shamii tree is worshipped there. The priest of the MaTha performs the ritual. Afterwards the royal elephant of the Mutt is also worshipped.

pashchima jaagara puujaa
For a period of one month, beginning from midnight on the tenth day of the bright fortnight of ashvayuja, and continuing up to the eleventh day in the bright fortnight of kaartika, special puujaa-s are performed daily in the late hours of the night. This ritual is known as pashchima jaagara puujaa because it is performed by remaining awake during the latter half of the night. It is performed to please Sri Kartika Damodara. Rice, jaggery, fruits and coconuts are offered and aarati is waved around the icon.

This period of one month is also observed by refraining from eating pulses (lentils). During the preceding three months of the chaaturmaasya, vegetables, curds (yogurt) and milk have not been eaten.

aakaasha diipa
During the month of kaartika, the sky-lamps are lit to propitiate Kartika Damodara. The stems of areca trees are set up and the light are hung from the top of these posts. Each of the eight Mutts has two of these sky-lamps, but Sri Krishna MaTha has four of them.

diipaavaLii
The ritual of worship through lamps begins on the twelfth day of the dark fortnight of the month of aashvayuja.

On the evening of the following day, an oil lamp is lit on the southern side of the shrine. During this ritual, known as yamadiipa, the priests pray to Yamaraaja, the god of death, to ward off untimely death and also to obtain prosperity for mankind.

jalapuuraNa and Ganga puujaa
On the same night the metal pot used for heating water is cleaned and decorated. A swastika is drawn on the floor by the side of the pot and Sri Ganga and Sri Trivikrama are worshipped after placing a shaaligraama upon it. The fire to warm the water is lit by the Swamiji and the pot is heated during the night.

naraka caturdashii
At dawn on the fourteenth day of the dark fortnight of the month of ashvayuja, after removing the flowers from the icon of Sri Krishna, and after the nirmaalya visarjana puujaa, the Swamiji applies oil to the icon. Sri Krishna is then washed with gram flour and hot water. This ritual is performed to commemorate the defeat and destruction of the demon Narakaasura by Krishna. It was on this day that Sri Krishna took an oil bath before sunrise and then went to Praagjyotishha (modern Assam) to vanquish the demon. During the day a special feast is arranged in the chauki.

The oil and gram flour offered to Lord Krishna is later distributed to the devotees present; they apply them to their body and then take a bath.

baliindra puujaa; alakshmii nissaraNa
On either the same day or on the next day, when the new moon period occurs in the night, the devotees celebrate the baliindra festival to ward off inauspiciousness.

In the Car Street in front of Kanaka's window, the image of baliindra is drawn on the ground using coloured powder. A lamp post is also erected to ward off inauspiciousness. In Krishna Mutt, after the night's regular puujaa, and in the presence of the Swamiji, the priests worship Baliindra. Through him the worship Sri Vaamana and they also perform other rituals to ward off inauspiciousness.

gopuujaa
The first day of the bright fortnight of kaartika is known as bali paaDya. On this day the cowshed of Krishna Mutt is cleaned, white-washed and decorated. The cows are bathed and decked with flowers. Special dishes are offered to them and aarati is performed.

tuLasii puujaa
For twelve days, beginning on the first day of the bright fortnight of kaartika and continuing up to the twelfth day, Sri Keshava and another eleven forms of Vishnu are worshipped via the tuLasii plant. This worship is performed after the raatri puujaa and is one of the most important festivals of Sri Krishna Mutt.

The tuLasii vR^indaavana, which is located near the tiirtha maNTapa, is nicely decorated. All the oil lamps around the huge lamp-post which is located there are lit and musicians sing and dance around the tuLasii vR^indaavana. The Swamiji worships Sri Kartika Damodara for twelve days by twelve different names through this sacred plant.

utthaana dvaadashii
The twelfth day in the bright fortnight of kaartika is known as utthaana dvaadashii. On this day, Sri Vishnu, who has been "sleeping" since the shayanii eekaadashii day, is "woken up." From this day onwards, a series of festivals begin in Sri Krishna MaTha.

This is also the last day of the tuLasii puujaa which has been performed for the past eleven days. The puujaa which has been held in the night time is performed this morning after the mahaa puujaa is over.

kshiiraabdhi
During the afternoon of the utthaana dvaadashii, the processional icon of Sri Krishna is taken out to the nicely decorated maNTapa in the middle of the Madhva-Sarovara. The ritual of pouring milk on the shaaligraama by the Swamiji takes place, and Sri Vishnu is woken up after his four months of yoga-nidraa in the milky ocean. Flowers and fruits are offered and aarati is waved.

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.

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