UDUPI: Sri Ishapriya Theertha Swami, the 33rd pontiff in the lineage of Sri Adamar Mutt, Udupi, ascended the throne of Paryaya in the wee hours of Saturday. The biennial Paryaya ceremony witnessed a grand procession from Jodukatte to Sri Krishna Mutt, in which thousands of devotees participated.
Cultural programmes were held at various places across the city late at night on Friday.
Before his ascension, Sri Ishapriya Theertha Swami left Udupi late at night on Friday for Dandatheertha near Kaup, where he took a holy dip and offered the puja. He arrived at Jodukatte at 2.30 am, where he was received by pontiffs of other mutts and was taken in a procession in a decorated palanquin to Sri Krishna Mutt.
Outgoing swami Sri Vidyadheesha Theertha of Sri Palimar Mutt performed rituals to welcome the new seer and handed over the ‘Akshaya Patra’, a ladle and the keys of the mutt, to the Paryaya Swami.