PARYAYA IN UDUPI KRISHNA TEMPLE

Paryaya is a religious ritual which takes place every alternate year in Krishna Matha (Krishna Temple) of Udupi. The puja and administration of Krishna Matha is distributed among the Swamijis (seer or monk or pontiff) of Ashta Matha's established by Dvaita philosopher Sri Madhvacharya. Each swamiji of every matha gets chance to perform puja to Udupi Sri Krishna by rotation for a period of two years.

UDUPI KRISHNA TEMPLE DURING PARYAYA IN MOON LIGHT 

During paryaya, the puja and administration of Krishna Matha is handed over from Swamiji of one of Ashta Matha to the Swamiji of another Ashta Matha. It takes place every two years in even numbered years. On 18 January 2014, the puja and administration was handed over to Kaniyoor Mutt's Vidhyavallabhatirtha Swamiji from Sodhe Mutt's Visveswaratirtha Swamiji.

UDUPI SRIKRISHNA

The paryaya takes place in the early hours of 18 January of even numbered years at Udupi. The preparations start from the previous year itself. The ascending Swamiji goes to a place called Dandathirta and takes dip at holy pond and does puja as per tradition. He enters Udupi city at around 3AM. A procession is taken from Jodukatte (Near Taluk office) of Udupi town, where ascending Swamiji and other Swamijis are carried in planquin along with cultural shows and plays. Previously, the procession started from Kinnimulki which was considered as southernmost tip of Udupi town. The Swamiji then enters Krishna Matha accompanied by outgoing Swamiji, where the reins of Krishna Matha are handed over formally. The hand over ceremony is held at Sarvajna peetha inside Krishna Matha. At this ceremony the descending Swamiji hands over articles like the Akshaya Patra and the shrine keys to ascending Swamiji. A formal durbar takes place in the Rajangana. There are many rituals which are followed as it was seven hundred years ago. A public ceremony is held at Rajagana within the premises of the Krishna Matha for benefit of general public.

ENTRANCE OF SRIKRISHNA DEVARA MATA, UDUPI, KARNATAKA

During the biennial Paryaya festival the temple management is handed over to the next Matha. Each of the Mathas is headed by a Swami, who will be in charge of the temple during his Paryaya. The Paryaya is held on 18 January on the even years (like 2010, 2012 and so on), starting early in the morning at around 3 AM. During this festival there are tableaus from various groups which gather in Udupi. Festivals like Makara Sankranthi, Ratha Sapthami, Madhva Navami, Hanuma Jayanthi, Sri Krishna Janmashtami, Navarathi Mahotsava, Madhva Jajanti (Vijaya Dashami), Naraka Chathurdashi, Deepavali, Geetha Jayanthi etc. are celebrated very grandly by Paryaya Mutt every year.

UDUPI KRISHNA TEMPLE DURING PARYAYA

Krishna Janmashtami is held every year. During this festival groups of men wear "Pili Vesha (Tulu)/Huli vesha (Kannada)" Tiger costume and other costumes. They visit and collect donations from shops and houses around Udupi with a lot of enthusiasm among the participants and general public.

TEMPLE'S HOLY WATER POND 

Bhajana Saptaha Mahothsava which is held in Sri Laxmi Venkatesh Temple. Saptaha means 7 days. During this time Bhajans are sung continuously day and night for 7 days. This event takes place every year during August starting from Nagara Panchaami till Dwadashi.  

CROWD AT UDUPI DURING PARYAYA

Rathothsava (Chariot festival) is held in almost all occasions around Rathabeedi. During this time the ratha (chariot) of Lord Krishna is pulled by locals around Rathabeedi.

UDUPI KRISHNA BRHAMA RATHAM

HOW TO REACH UDUPI

Getting Udupi: 

Mangalore is a nearest airport to reach Udupi which is 90 km away. Udupi is the main railhead on the Konkan Railway line.

The NH-17 provides a link to Mangalore and Karwar via Kundapur. Private as well as government buses connect Udupi to various parts of Karnataka.

City and suburban transport is available for travel within Udupi and suburbs. The buses originate from the suburban bus stand (City Bus Stand). There are different route numbers.

The nearest harbour/port to Udupi is Malpe, which is 5 km away, and Gangoli (Kundapur), which is 36 km away. The New Mangalore Port/Harbour is 50 km away from Udupi.

Udupi Railway Station is managed by the Konkan Railways. It is about 3 km from Udupi town and is on the Thiruvananthapuram-Mumbai rail route. Direct trains are available to Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi, Rajkot and Ahmedabad. Travelling north, Kundapura Railway Station is the nearest main station.

UDUPI KRISHNA MATHA

Udupi is known for the Krishna Mutt (Temple of Lord Krishna) and also native place of the Vaishnavite saint Shri Madhvacharya who founded the Krishna Mutt in the 13th century.

Moola Vigraha of Lord Sri Krishna 

According to folklore, there was a storm in the sea at Malpe. Shri Madhvacharya was on the shore at the time and saw a ship which was in trouble. He helped the ship reach the edge of a sea to safety. The sailors were very grateful to him and gave him deities of Lord Krishna and Lord Balarama. He did the pratishte (installation ceremony) of the deity of Lord Balarama near Malpe. This temple is known as Vadapandeshwara. He brought the deity of Lord Krishna and did the pratishte at Udupi. This temple is known as Krishna Mutt.

Udupi Krishna Temple

Shri Madhvacharya handed over the puja and administration of Krishna Mutt to his 8 disciples. Each of them set up their Matha (monasteries) around the Krishna Mutt. These are known as the Ashta Matha. These Mathas are Pejavara, Puttige, Palimaru, Adamaru, Sodhe, Kaniyooru, Shirur and Krishnapura. Since then, the daily sevas (offerings to god) and administration of the Krishna Mutt are managed by the Ashta Mathas (eight temples). Each of the Ashta Mathas performs Mutt management activities for two years in a cyclical order. During the Paryaya festival, held every two years, the Mutt management is handed over to the next Matha. Each of the Mathas is headed by a Swami, who will be in charge of the Mutt during his Paryaya.

Udupi 

In the 16th century during Sri Vaadiraja's administration, Kanakadasa an ardent believer of God came to Udupi to worship Lord Krishna. He was not allowed inside the Mutt since he was from the caste other than Brahmin, as during that time only Brahmins had the privilege of entering the Mutt to offer pooja to the God. He tried to see Lord Krishna from a small window, but was only able to see Lord Krishna from the back. It is believed that Sri Krishna was pleased by Kanakadasa's bhakti(devotion), so he turned to window. This window is known as Kanakana Kindi. To this day, the Vigraha (Deity) of Lord Krishna faces the back of the Mutt towards the Kanakana Kindi. All Hindu temples have their Vigraha (Deity) facing the entrance of the temple, except Krishna Mutt. Kanakana Kindi is decorated with carvings depicting the ten incarnations of Vishnu. Through the nine small holes of the window we should see the deity of Sri Kadagolu Krishna as a very young boy. He holds the churning rod in His right hand and rope in his left. The Krishna Matha is known throughout the world for its religious customs, traditions, and learning in Dvaita philosophy. It is also the center of Daasa Sahitya, a form of literature that originated in Udupi.

Brahma ratha of Udupi Krishna