32-ft-tall monolithic statue of Madhwacharya consecrated

A 32-foot-tall monolithic statue of Sri Madhwacharya was consecrated on the hills of Kunjarugiri near Pajaka Kshetra in Udupi on Monday.

The monolithic statue has been consecrated to mark the 700th ‘Avatara Samapti’ of Sri Madhwacharya. The initiative was the outcome of an oath taken by Udupi Palimaru mutt seer Vidyadheesha Swami.

The 32-foot-tall statue in standing posture is placed on an eight-foot-tall ‘Padmapeetha’, a lotus shaped pedestal installed on a 40-foot-tall platform.

Rituals

The religious rituals started at 5 am. Fire rituals such as ‘Tattva Homa’, ‘Tatva Kalasha Homa’, ‘Narayana Pavitra Homa’ and ‘Vishnu Gayatri Mantra Homa’ were conducted before the ‘Prana Pratishthe’ and ‘Bimba prathishthe’, the main rituals of the consecration and meant to invoke divine energy to the statue. Special ablutions were also offered to the statue.

Mantralaya Sri Raghavendra Swamy Mutt seer Subudhendratheertha Swami, Adamar Mutt seer Vishwapriyatheertha Swami, Ishapriyatheertha Swami, Mulabagilu Sripadaraja Mutt seer Keshavanidhitheertha Swami, Hanasoge Madhwamutt Vishwanandanatheertha Swami and Bannanje Raghavendratheertha Swami witnessed the occasion, in the presence of hundreds of devotees.

Vidyadheesha Swami said that the statue is installed at a great height to highlight the fact that Madhwacharya is a link between human beings and the Lord.

Pajaka Kshetra, the birthplace of Madhwacharya, has several relics of Sri Madhwacharya, including his foot impressions.