Pejawara Adhokshaja Matha was established by Sri Madhvacharya, the great founder of the Dvaita Sampradaya, in the thirteenth century.
Sri Madhvacharya first founded the renowned temple of Sri Krishna at Udupi, the divine city on the banks of Netravati, and then established eight Mathas, the Ashta Mathas, to serve Sri Krishna. These eight Mathas share the responsibilities of conducting worship at the Temple and offering hospitality to the large number of pilgrims who visit the kshetra. By an ancient system, known as paryaya, the responsibility rotates amongst the eight mathas every two years. Pejawara Adhokshaja Matha is one of these eight Mathas situated around the Sri Krishna Temple at Udipi.
Sri Adhokshaja Tirtha was the first Acharya of the Pejawara Matha. His Holiness Sri Sri Viswesa Tîrtha Swamiji is the 33rd Peethadhipati in the lineage. He was born in 1931; he was initiated into Sannyasa on December 3, 1938 on the sacred banks of Tungabhadra, by His Holiness Sri Sri Vishwamanya Tirtha. At the time of initiation, the Acharya was only 7 years old. With the great scholar saint Sri Vidyamanya Tirtha as his mentor, Sri Viswesa Tirtha went through a rigorous course of studies and delved deep into Indian scriptures and philosophic treatises as well as into Sahitya, Nyaya and Vyakarana. To emphasise the scholarly responsibilities placed upon Sri Viswesa Tirtha, Sri Sri Vidyamanya Tirtha asked him to preside over Madhva Radhanta Samvardhini Sabha. After the demise of Sri Sri Vishwamanya Tirtha in 1940, Sri Visvesa Tirtha succeeded him as the 33rd Peethadhipati in the illustrious lineage of Pejawara Swamijis.
Sri Viswesa Tirtha Swamiji is today amongst the highest scholars of Sanskrit learning and is an extraordinarily adept speaker and writer of simple and pleasing Sanskrit. Both his presence and his language are seeped in madhurya; sitting in his presence for a few minutes leaves one imbued with a feeling of having been showered with divine sweetness.
To widely propagate the Madhva philosophy and to organise the Madhva followers across the country, Sri Swamiji founded Akhila Bharatha Madhva Mahamandala at Udupi in 1953. In 1956, Sri Swamiji founded the Poornaprajna Vidyapeetha at Bangalore. Poornaprajna Vidyapeetha is a model Gurukula, which provides free traditional Sastric Sanskrit education to young students.
Sri Swamiji has initiated Sri Vishwaprasanna Tirtha as his successor. Sri Viswaprasanna Tirtha was born in 1963, and was initiated into sannyasa in 1988.
Detailed information on Poornaprajna Vidyapeetha is available at: