Techie takes saintly turn as seer for Puttige Mutt

Software to spirituality

Puttige Mutt, one of the Ashta mutts in Udupi, will have an engineer as successor to pontiff Sugunendratheertha Swami.

Elaborate rituals were held at Puttige Moola Mutt in Hiriyadka on Monday for the anointment of Prashanth Acharya, aged 27 years, from Kadiyali. He will now be known as Sushreendratheertha, the 31st pontiff of the Mutt.

Acharya was an engineering graduate and was working as a team leader in a software company in Bengaluru for the past three years.

However, as he was more interested in spiritual life, he decided to take a plunge into sainthood. Prashanth is the son of Gururaj Acharya and Vinutha Acharya.

The senior pontiff of Puttige Mutt Sugunendra Theertha had taken ‘Sanyasashram’ when he was eight years old.

At 45, the senior pontiff has chosen Prashanth as his successor.

The other engineer seer in the Ashta mutts is BE (Mechanical Engineering) is Shreesha S, who was anointed as a successor of Admar Mutt in 2014 and became Eshapriyatheertha.

Puttige Mutt has eight branches, including in the United States, Australia and New Zealand.

Before the anointment, Acharya took a dip in River Swarna and received the saffron robes.

Sugunedratheertha chanted ‘pranava mantra’ and anointed him as the new seer.

The new pontiff prayed to the presiding deity of Puttige Mutt soon after. Sushreendra Theertha will study the Vedas for the next 12 years. Vidyendratheertha of Chitrapura Samsthana graced the occasion.