The head of the Pejawar mutt, Vishwesha Theertha Swami is on ventilator after being admitted to the Kasturba Hospital in Manipal on Friday morning. He was admitted after he reportedly complained of difficulty in breathing around 5 am.
A release from the hospital stated that the seer has pneumonia, for which he is being treated and that he is “currently serious”.
“Pejawara Sri Vishvesha Teertha Swamiji was brought to Kasturba Hospital, Manipal with complaints of difficulty in breathing since 5 AM this morning from a private hospital. He is currently serious and connected to a ventilator. He is being treated for extensive pneumonia with antibiotics and supportive treatment,” the statement added.
According to The Hindu, the Dewan of the mutt, Raghuram Acharya told the newspaper that the seer had fever on Thursday, and that the seer woke up at 2 am, and complained of difficulty breathing around 3 am.
Sources in the mutt told news agency UNI that he will be kept in the hospital for two more days for treatment.
Ports and Fisheries Minister Kota Srinivas Poojary reportedly visited the hospital to meet the seer. According to the Hindu, Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa will be visiting the hospital at 4 pm on Saturday.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah is also expected to visit the seer, Deccan Herald reported.
The seer ended his fifth term as the 'Paryaya Swamiji' in January 2018. No other seer has ascended the ‘Paryaya Peetha’ five times since the system of transferring power between the eight mutts surrounding the Udupi Sri Krishna temple began in 1522.
The seer is an influential public figure and has been closely associated with the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Ram Janmabhoomi movement in the past. Soon after the Ayodhya verdict, a source told the New Indian Express that the VHP was mulling over appointing the seer as a member of the trust to be established for the construction of the Ram Temple.