|Previous| |Re-Start| |Main|

January 11, 1980
The preparation for the Paryâya

	Decorated elephants leading a procession carrying food and vegetable from the nearby villages for the Paryâya festivities. The elephant is followed by an effigy representing a character from yakshagâna, a folk art of South Kanara district (dakshiNa kannaDa).
	HH Vishvottama Tîrtha Swamiji of Sode MaTha, who was the incoming Paryâya Swamiji in 1980, entering Udupi for the Paryâya festivities.
	The procession carrying foodgrains and vegetable has now entered the Car Street where Sri Krishna MaTha is.
	Procession carrying food and vegetable, for the Paryâya festivities, continues in Car Street

January 14, 1980
rathOthsava (Chariot festival) on makara sankramaNa with three RathAs

	Sode MaTha decorated with coloured lights for the Paryâya festival. Car Street comes alive during the nights of the festival and the Paryâya MaTha is a sight to behold.
	Sode MaTha decorated with lights on Car Street -- another view.
	On the night before makara-sankrAnti, the three Rathas are taken out in procession. This is a grand sight and the assembled devotees pull these Rathas with long ropes. Half way around the Car Street the procession comes to a halt and the Swamiji-s give a short discourse and then Lord Krishna is entertained by setting off of fireworks.
	The three Rathas in all their glory.
	The three Rathas -- another view.
	The three Rathas along with the fireworks.
	The highlight of the RathOthsava is when a cloth dipped in oil is set alight to illuminate the Lord seated on his chariot. Two very bright flares are also lit as we can see in this photo.
	The Brahma Ratha with all the illuminations.
	Brahma Ratha under the Moon

January 15, 1980
Brahma RathOthsava (Chariot festival with the large chariot) or choorNothsava

	On the morning of the makara-sankrAnti day, the processional vigraha of Lord Krishna is taken out on procession in the Brahma Ratha. Once He is installed, various offerings, including fruit, flowers and money, are made. In the picture, the outgoing Paryâya Swami, HH Lakshmivara Tirtha Swamiji of Shirur MaTha, is ascending the Brahma Ratha with Lord Krishna's vigraha. The time was approximately 9:30 am.
	The Paryâya Swamiji then comes to the doorway of the Ratha and throws offerings such as fruits, flowers and money to the crowd of attending devotees. In this photo we see the Swamiji distributing these offerings to the excited crowd.
	This photo shows the huge crowd of devotees pulling the Ratha. In the background is Sri Anantheshwara Temple.
	Brahma Ratha in all its glory (backlight)
	The temple elephant leads the Brahma Ratha procession. To the left of the Brahma Ratha is Sri Chandramaulishwara Temple and the Sode MaTha can be seen in the distance on the right.
	In this picture, Swamiji is descending the Brahma Ratha with Lord Krishna's vigraha before entering into Sri Krishna MaTha.
	At the conclusion of the procession, Lord Krishna's vigraha is taken to the Madhvâ-sarovara where he is given a bath along with the assembled devotees.
	Lord Krishna's vigraha is being given a bath in the Madhvâsarovara (a close up shot)

January 18, 1980
The Paryâya festival

	The Paryâya procession, held in the early morning hours, starts at joDu kaTTe, a few miles south of Udupi and takes about two to three hours before reaching Sri Krishna Temple on Car Street. The two effigies, in this picture, called the thattirAyas are accompanied by all the grand paraphernalia along with a huge crowd of devotees.
	Tableaux highlighting Lord Krishna with Arjuna on the Chariot.
	Different tableaux highlighting Indian culture accompanies the procession. In the picture, Lord Vishnu appears as Varaha with Lakshmi, followed by Hanuman, Bheema and Madhvâchârya.
	The MaTha vigraha of the incoming Sode Swamiji placed on a golden palanquin. BhU-varAha is the vigraha worshipped in Sode MaTha.
	The incoming Paryâya Swamiji, HH Vishvottama Tîrtha Swamiji of Sode MaTha, on a palanquin following the MaTha vigraha (a close-up shot).
	Sode Swamiji on palanquin.
	Bhaktas singing bhajans (devotional songs) in the procession.
	Sri Madhvâchârya's vigraha in a decorated tableaux accompanies the procession.
	After the procession, followed by various Paryâya rituals inside Sri Krishna MaTha, Swamiji-s are seated in the raajAngaNa in front of a large audience. The outgoing Swamiji bids farewell to the devotees and the new Paryâya Swamiji announces his plans and projects for the improvement of Sri Krishna MaTha during his Paryâya. Leaders and luminaries from different cross sections of society felicitate the new Paryâya Swamiji.
	Sitting from left to right are HH Vidya Varinidhi Tîrtha of Kaniyoor MaTha, HH Vidyâsâgara Tîrtha Swamiji of Krishnapur MaTha, Sri Lakshmivara Tirtha Swamiji of Shirur MaTha who was the outgoing Swamiji in 1980, and HH Vishvottama Tîrtha Swamiji of Sode MaTha who was the then incoming Paryâya Swamiji.
	Sri Madhvâchârya's vigraha decorated with garlands.
	Later in the day after the mahApUja, the huge crowd of devotees, assembled to celebrate, the Paryâya ceremony, are fed a huge feast. The image shows a huge pile of rice cooked for the devotees along with other items in the background in huge cauldrons.
	In the evening, the processional vigraha of Lord Krishna is taken to the Madhva-sarovara where it is placed onto a 'Ratha' which consists of two traditional boats lashed together with a platform and richly decorated. Sri Krishna and the Paryâya Swamiji are then paddled three times around the sarovara, much to the delight of the assembled devotees.

This section features pictures by M.K. Upadhya; descriptions by Ramadas and him.

|Previous| |Re-Start| |Main|

Created June 1, 1998; last modified August 10, 2001.