Jagadguru Sri Madhwacharya, who preached Tatvavada also installed the Krishna idol in Udupi and appointed 8 saints to worship Sri Krishna on Co-operation basis (Paryaya). These saints continued their linage & became the moola purusha of 8 different mutts called Ashta mutts.
Sri Madhwacharya initiated Sri Adhokshaja Theertha to sanyasa to worship Sri Krishna & gave Sri Vittala an idol. Sri Adhokshaja Theertha continued his lineage & it was known as Pejawar Mutt. Sri Adhokshaja Theertha is the first pontiff/moola purusha of this mutt.
By the side of Admar Mutt in the western portion of the Car Street is Pejawar Mutt. The main branch of this Mutt is in the village named Pejawar. The idol worshipped here is that of Vittala with Sridevi and Bhudevi gifted to the founder pontiff Sri Adhokshaja Theertha by Sri Madhwacharya. This idol with its one hand placed on the hips is also known as Aja Vittala to distinguish it from the other idols of Vittala. The idol worshipped by Sri Adhokshaja Theertha is rightly called Aja Vittala. Along with this, the idol of Sri Rama of Kanva Theertha is also worshipped. This is the idol worshipped by Sri Vijayadhwaja Theertha.
Below is a brief description of the saints of Pejawar mutt guru parampare.
- Sri Adhokshaja Theertha
- Sri Kamalaksha Theertha
- Sri Pushkaraksha Theertha
- Sri Amarendra Theertha
- Sri Mahendra Theertha
- Sri Vijayadhwaja Theertha
- Sri Uttama Theertha
- Sri Chintamani Theertha
- Sri Damodara Theertha
- Sri Vasudeva Theertha
- Sri Vadeendra Theertha
- Sri Vedagarbha Theertha
- Sri Anuprajna Theertha
- Sri Viswaprajna Theertha
- Sri Vijaya Theertha
- Sri Visweshwara Theertha
- Sri Viswabhushana Theertha
- Sri Viswavandya Theertha
- Sri Vidyaraja Theertha
- Sri Viswamurthy Theertha
- Sri Viswapati Theertha
- Sri Viswanidhi Theertha
- Sri Viswadheesha Theertha
- Sri Viswadhiraja Theertha
- Sri Viswabodha Theertha
- Sri Viswavallabha Theertha
- Sri Viswapriya Theertha
- Sri Viswavarya Theertha
- Sri Viswaraja Theertha
- Sri Viswamanohara Theertha
- Sri Viswajna Theertha
- Sri Viswamanya Theertha
- Sri Viswesha Theertha
- Sri Vishwaprasanna Theertha Swami (present pontiff)
Vishwaprasanna Tirtha Swami is now the seer of Pejawar Mutt. He succeeds Vishwesha Tirtha Swami.
He is the 35th seer in the lineage, or guruparampara, of Pejawar Mutt. He was born on March 3, 1964 at Haleyangady-Pakshikere in Dakshina Kannada district to Krishna Bhat and Yamunamma. His purvashrama or pre-sannyasa name was Devidas Bhat, and he was initiated into the monastic order in 1988.
He did Vedic studies at Admar Gurukula and also studied Vedanta Vidwat at SMSP Sanskrit College. He knows all four Vedas and did his B.A. at Poorna Prajna Evening College in Udupi. He speaks several languages, including Kannada, Tulu, Hindi, Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and English.
He is a good swimmer and a yoga practitioner. He has taught shastas to Kaniyooru Seer Vidyavallabha. He received sannyasa Deeksha in 1988, when he was 24. He also publishes a monthly magazine ‘Achara Vichara’. Nearly 2,000 cows are being cared for at the Neelavara Goshale and Kodavoor Goshale under his supervision.
He runs a special school at Neelavara. He has an interest in agriculture and cultivates colored capsicum at the Kodavoor goshale. He also runs a higher primary school at Ambagilu and Yellur, and the Prahlada Gurukula behind Pejawar Mutt, which teaches the Indian system of education as well as general education.