Udupi (The Hindu): Devotees donate foodgrains and other items for the festival. The Horekanike procession, where the devotees donate foodgrains and other food items, for the Paryaya, was flagged off by Vishwesha Tirtha Swami of Pejawar Mutt from the Malpe beach here on Tuesday.
The 84-year-old Vishwesha Tirtha will ascend the Paryaya Peetha, also known as the Sarvajna Peetha, at the 800-year-old Sri Krishna Mutt/Temple here on January 18 for a record fifth time.
Earlier, Vishwesha Tirtha along with Vishwaprasanna Tirtha, junior seer of Pejawar Mutt, participated in ‘Samudra Puje’, where prayers were offered to the sea god at the beach.
About 100 open vans containing foodgrains participated in the procession from Malpe beach. The procession culminated at the Rajanagana Parking Lot, where the bags of foodgrains were shifted to a big store hall, created for the purpose.
The foodgrains on the first day of Horekanike were donated by the Malpe Fishermen’s Association and some other bhajan troupes of the area. Hiriyanna T. Kediyoor, president of the Malpe Fishermen’s Association, and Yashpal Suvarna, president of the Udupi and Dakshina Fish Marketing Federation, led the Horekanike procession.
The foodgrains and other food items are used for feeding a large number of devotees who visit the Sri Krishna Mutt/Temple during the Paryaya. The Horekanike, which began on Tuesday, will conclude on January 16. During the next 12 days, devotees from different parts of Udupi district will be offering donations of foodgrains and other items.
According of Panduranga Malpe, one of coordinators of the Malpe Horekanike procession, the donated items for the Horekanike procession included rice, jaggery, pulses, oil and coconuts. It was a tradition for the fishermen community to donate for the Horekanike procession, he said.
Later, addressing a gathering of devotees, Vishwesha Tirtha said that fishermen were ardent devotees of Lord Krishna. He lauded them for their unflinching relationship with Sri Krishna Mutt/Temple.
Earlier, in the morning, Vishwesha Tirtha, inaugurated the makeshift big store hall, constructed on 34,000 sq. ft land located at the eastern side of Rajangana parking space, to store the foodgrains received during the 12-day Horekanike.
The seer poured paddy into a brass vessel to mark its inauguration. It will continue till January 16
