Vishwapriya Tirtha Swami of Admar Math on Thursday anointed as junior seer of the math, which is one of the eight maths or Ashta Maths of Udupi.
Ishapriya Tirtha Swami (29) was anointed after he accepted the Sanyasa Deekshe here. He is the 33rd seer in the lineage or ‘guru parampara’ of Admar Math.
Various rituals, including ‘Pattabhishekha’, were conducted amidst chanting of mantras at Sri Durgadevi temple, which is located atop a hill here. All the rituals took place under the guidance of Vishvapriya Tirtha Swami. Vidyadheesha Tirtha Swami of Palimar Math was also present. Ishapriya Tirtha will study ‘shastras’ under the guidance of Vidyadheesha Tirtha Swami.
A large number of devotees had come to witness the event. A BE degree holder in Mechanical Engineering, Ishapriya Tirtha Swami is the first highly academically qualified seer at the Ashta Maths.
Herga Vedavyasa Bhat, priest at Sri Krishna Math, Udupi, told presspersons that before giving ‘Sanyasa Deekshe’ to a person, his inclination towards spirituality was checked. His horoscope was also consulted. The parents of such a person should have more than a son, he said.
Venkataramana Muchinthaya, Dewan of Admar Math, said the math ran several educational institutions in different parts of the country. These institutions were started by Vibudesha Tirtha Swami, who passed away in 2009. Vishwapriya Tirtha Swami has looked after these educational institutions and temples well. “We hope Ishapriya Tirtha Swami will continue this tradition,” he said.
The ‘purvashrama’ name of Ishapriya Tirtha Swami was Shreesha S.
The youngest of four sons, Shreesha was born on March 20, 1985, to Chandrashekhar S. and Gouri, who reside at Shiroor village, near Hiriyadka, in Udupi district.
Shreesha studied till PU at Tirthahalli in Shimoga district. He completed his BE in Mechanical Engineering at the Jawaharlal Nehru National College of Engineering in Shimoga in 2006. He worked in Udupi and Mangalore for some time.
Shreesha’s brothers Ramamurthy, Rajesh and Girish hold degrees in Computer Science.
While Mr. Rajesh is employed in the U.S., the other two are employed in Bangalore.
Shreesha was attracted to spirituality from a young age. He has studied Sanskrit grammar, Mahabharata Tatparya Nirnaya, Vishnutatva Nirnaya and Amarakosha.
