A division bench of the High Court of Karnataka has dismissed a petition seeking to prevent the pontiff of Puthige Mutt, Sugunendra Theertharu, from performing pooja at the Udupi Sri Krishna Temple.
The petition claimed that the pontiff had travelled to the USA in 1997 and since the crossing of oceans was forbidden for pontiffs of the Ashta Mutts (eight mutts), he should be restrained from touching the idol of Lord Krishna and be disqualified from performing the religious rituals there.
Dismissing the petition and refusing to entertain the issue, the HC said that it found nothing wrong in travelling abroad in a spiritual quest and referred to the examples of Emperor Ashoka sending his children to Sri Lanka to propagate Buddhism and Shankaracharya travelling across India popularising his philosophy.
Citing the poem, ‘O Nanna Chetana’, by Rashtrakavi Kuvempu, the HC said that the quest for spirituality was done by travelling. Stating that it has no role in the issue of the Swamiji travelling abroad, the HC dismissed the petition.
As per the Paryaya’ (rotation), the Puthige Mutt pontiff is scheduled to take over the worship of the Krishna Temple on January 18, 2024. The petition also claimed that Sugunendra Teertharu was not appointed by the Dhawandwa Mutt as per tradition.
“In the event the 4th Respondent (Sugunendra Teertharu) touches and worships Lord Krishna, it would affect the sentiments of the people at large who follow Madhwa at large, and the old tradition will be broken. In order to maintain sanctity and purity of the idol, the fourth respondent is ineligible to perform pooja for twin reasons namely, he has crossed the ocean and he is not appointed as Peethadhipati by Dhawandwa Mutt,” the petition claimed.
