Vision of Madhvacharya

This is the only religion in the world which is also

a way of life for all to follow. Hinduism gets its guidance from the

is one of them. The Bhagavat Gita preached by Lord

Krishna to Arjuna, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra suggests various

paths to reach the ultimate aim, and that God is one.

The temple is the place where man learnt about himself, as well

learnt various arts like music, dance, and religion. The temple reveals

the various manifestations of the Supreme Being installed therein.

Hindu philosophy is essentially spiritual. "It is the intense spirituality

of India that has enabled it to resist the ravages of time and the

incursion into its motherland of alien philosophies. The founders of

philosophy strive for a socio-spiritual reformation of the country.

An important factor almost universally accepted is that faith in a

divine power shapes the destiny of mankind. Guru often traces their

lineage to God. Guru helps us to achieve self-realization, to become

what we really are. Spiritual liberation is the main provision that a

Guru makes to the disciples. In the Hindu Tradition, Guru in addition

to its common meaning of teacher also means "

heavy" in Sanskrit.

The role of the guru is therefore weighty and an important factor for

a disciple.

For the majority of the people who are keen to approach God and do

not posses the wherewithal to go through the texts, saints have left

treasures in the form of

hymns. Some of them are embedded with

"

Mantras", which praise the qualities of the Almighty and project

how He comes to their help and protection. Daily rendering of these

and devotional songs will fetch relief from stress and enable

everyone to understand how God has provided various graded steps

to realise Him. There were instances of some of these saints

performing miracles mainly to convince some among the doubting

persons, than to display their own divine stature. In Hinduism, the

saints are the medium through whom God reveals himself. The

is born with a mission and to accomplish the goal.

Sanathana Dharma had famous Saints, like Madhvacharya and Sri

Raghavendra who had expounded their own specific philosophy.

An attempt is made, in this book, to give a brief note on the life and

teachings of these great saints.

.

Madhvacharya along with Sankara and Ramanuja, through their

expositions of Upanishadic philosophy have projected India's

spiritual greatness. Shankaracharya preached

Advaita philosophy.

(Monism) Ramanujacharya preached

Visishtadvaita. (A blend

of Monism and Dualism) Madhwacharya preached

Dvaita philosophy

(Dualism).

Narayana Pandit Achar captures Madhvacharaya's life in a beautiful

poetic verse in his “

Sri MadhvaVijaya” which is in 32 Sarga

(chapters), an authentic work composed during his own time. For our

reference the personal life of Madhavacharya is being compiled from

the “

Madhva-vijaya”.

Madhvacharya was born of Tulu speaking parents in a village in the

Karnataka region close to Udipi. The young boy Vasudeva, Madhva’s

boyhood name, expressed a desire to become an ascetic even at an

early age of 8, but could not fulfill his desire as his parents objected

to it. Madhva’s childhood, like most great saints in this world, is filled

with much of miracles and wondrous events. It is said that Madhva,

as a child, often found missing from home to be found discussing

philosophy with the priests and worshipping God in the nearby

temples. He was fond of wrestling and swimming and was found not

concentrating much on his studies. But young Madhva always scored

high marks much to the dismay of his teachers. His father

discovered that anything taught to him was immediately grasped. He

had to teach new things to his son everyday, without repeating

anything from the previous lessons. Vasudeva also astounded the

teacher in his gurukula with a flawless recital of Vedic hymns,

including portions that the teacher had not covered till then. He

developed a giant physical strength as well psychic powers.

He studied the philosophy of

advaita in the beginning but very soon

was dissatisfied with the distance it keeps one from reality. He

started making his own interpretations of the scriptures. He always

used to declare that he remembered these ideas from his previous

birth. Though a student, his captivating powers of exposition, his

originality and his untaught learning resulted in his being named as

the head of the Monastery in which he was learning. His philosophy

is down-to-earth realism. He interprets the passage “tat-tvam-asi”

as saying essentially that everything is under the direction and

control of the Almighty, from whom we, the souls, are different.

At the age of 16 Vasudeva was able to leave home and become a

sanyaasi. From then on the young Vasudeva became known as

“Ananda Tirtha”, the name given to him by his sanyasa guru. Ananda

Tirtha later assumed the name “Madhva” by which he is most

commonly known today. Actually the words Ananda Tirtha and

Madhva are synonymous. Both mean ‘one who creates shastras that

bring happiness’. But the name Madhvacharya is more popular than

Ananda Tirtha.

In many of his writings Madhva openly identifies himself as the third

incarnation of

Vayudeva, the Wind-God, and having descended into

this mortal world in three successive incarnations, as

Hanuman, the

follower of

Lord Rama, as Bhimasena, one of the Pandavas, and

finally in

Kali-yuga in the guise of a sanyasi as Madhva. His followers

readily accepted and worshiped Madhva as the incarnation of

. Due to his display of vast learning Ananda Tirtha is also

popularly known as

Purnaprajna.

During the days of Madhva, Sankaracarya’s

advaita-vedanta

dominated Hindu education. And this produced a profound

dissatisfaction in the mind of the young Madhva, which often brought

him into conflict with his teachers. In fact Madhva’s objection to

advaita-vedanta became the most compelling force in his life and he

spent much of his adult life arguing against this view.

After studying in Udipi, Madhva travelled extensively to various

places in Tamil Nadu, where he continued to meet and debate with

advaita scholars. As a result, finally Madhvacarya became

determined to establish his own school of Vedic thought, free of what

he considered the blunder of Sankaracarya’s interpretation of the

Vedas.

Madhva soon returned to Udipi, but after a short time he again found

himself yearning for more travel. He desired to make a pilgrimage to

visit

Veda Vyasa at Badri in the northern Himalayas. In those days it

was believed that

Vyasa still resided on earth in a remote place in

these mountains. After arriving in Badri on a particular night it is

believed that Madhva mysteriously disappeared from the Ashram.

Many months passed and Madhva’s followers thought that he had

perished in the desolate mountains. One fine morning when Madhva

finally appeared before his disciples, they were resplendent and

joyful. It is told that he had ascended alone to the mythical abode of

at Mahabadari and had received the blessings of Vyasa. Upon

his return to Udipi, Madhva began to write his famous

Brahma-sutra

commentary.

With the emergence of this important commentary, Madhva had

something positive to add to his otherwise destructive debates with

his opponents. With the zeal of Hanuman he began his missionary

work. Supported by this text Madhva used his physical stamina and

sonorous voice to travel and preach. Madhavacharya displayed rare

leadership abilities and spiritual excellence during his life time and

earned a distinguished place for himself in the religious history of

India. Madhva was so powerful and effective in his teachings which

convinced many of his former teachers as well many other learned

scholars to his new school of Vedic thought.

The

Madhva-vijaya gives a graphic description of the effect Madhva

had on his audience, quoted as under:

.

Soon Madhva started his own temple in Udipi by installing a beautiful

image of

Bala Krishna, the child form of God. It is believed that he

obtained this image by rescuing a ship in distress near the coast of

Udipi. Madhvacarya signalled the ship to shore by waving lamps and

flags. Convinced that it was through the grace of Madhva that the

ship was saved, the ship’s captain offered him a gift. Madhva chose

the clay (gopi-candana) that was used for the ship’s ballast.

Upon washing the clay, Madhvacarya discovered a beautiful image of

Sri Krishna, which he personally carried to Udipi and began to

worship. This image of Krishna is still being worshipped in the

central temple of Udipi, one of the most important Krishna temples in

India. It is believed that the lamp burning till date beside the image

of Krishna in the temple was lit by Madhvacarya himself and has

never been extinguished.

The force of Madhva’s personality, the clarity of his thought and the

appeal of his vast learning brought many followers. As is natural

among humans, his sudden rising success also brought great

resistance and even hostile attacks from his opponents.

Madhvacharya had to face a lot of opposition due to his preaching

which were quite opposite to established norms of worship and

belief. His commentaries, on palm leaf books were stolen and

destroyed. His religious and social reforms in the Udipi region, to

avoid animal sacrifice and consumption of liquor during religious

ceremonies, were critisised by vested interests. But Madhva was

undeterred and continued his mission. There are references depicting

his fearlessness in crossing flooded rivers, facing armed robbers in

the forest. There is a story of his argument with a Muslim king who

had no sympathy towards Hindu monks. He spoke to the sultan in

Persian, convincing him that his Allah and his own Narayana are one

and the same. Madhva said to the sultan” We are all citizens of His

Kingdom.” This impressed the King who turned his follower.

Madhvacharya had remarkable yogic powers. He once became so

light that a small boy could easily carry him and make a tour of the

local temple.

Madhvacharya had an ox that used to carry his precious books and

sit by his side listening to his speeches. One day he announced that

the ox would write commentaries on his works, since he knew that

the ox was really Lord Indra. When the ox was poisoned by some

misguided people Acharya revived it by sprinkling sanctified water

on it chanting the Dvaadasha stotra. The ox later reincarnated as Sri

Jayatirtha and wrote commentaries on all the major works of the

Acharya.

To test his powers of digestion, a Brahmin once offered Acharya 4000

banana fruits and 30 vessels full of milk. Acharya ate off the food

without a trace. The super human abilities of Acharya impressed the

King of that place. He tried to force Acharya to stay in his kingdom

and even had him locked up in the village temple. Acharya became

invisible to the king and his soldiers, and left the place with his

disciples.

Using his powers Madhvacharya and his disciples appeared like

stones to thieves who had come to rob them. After the thieves left,

Acharya and disciples resumed their journey. The thieves looked

back and saw the group walking peacefully. They were stunned by

Acharya’s yogic power. They fell at his feet and asked for

forgiveness.

Once when a band of robbers attacked Madhvacharya and his

disciples on the difficult track to the Himalayas, Acharya made his

pupil Upendra-tirtha silence them after a fierce fight.

When the Acharya was touring Kalsa in Karnataka he noticed that

people were struggling to lift a huge rock boulder. He effortlessly

lifted it with hand and placed it on the river. This rock, called

still exists to this day. It also carries an inscription

about this incident.

During his lifetime, after he mastered the 21 rival traditions,

Madhvacharya wrote many important commentaries on the

.

The final years of Madhva were spent in teaching and worship. He

instructed his followers to reach the devotees and highlight the

intricacies of his teachings. His biographers reveal that Madhvacarya

disappeared one evening while reciting his favorite text, the

Aitareya

Upanisad

. It is believed that when Gandharvas and other heavenly

beings, who gathered in the sky showered flowers on Madhva, he

suddenly disappeared from underneath this mass of flowers.

describes that he now resides, beyond ordinary

vision, with

Veda Vyasa at the high mountain hermitage of Badri.

The Acharya had many disciples, eight of whom subsequently

became the Acharyas of the eight mutts of Udipi, and he gave

responsibility to eight of his senior disciples to conduct the worship

and administer the affairs for his Krishna Mutt. These eight disciples

gradually collected their own followers and established their own

mutts that later became known as the

ashta-mathas (eight mutts) of

Udipi. These eight mutts are named after the surrounding villages

where they originally resided. They are:

Palimar Mutt

Admaru Mutt

Krisnapur Mutt

Puttinge (Puttige) Mutt

Shiruru Mutt

Sode Mutt

Kaniyuru Mutt

Pejawara Mutt

Originally Madhwa directed them to take care of the ritual, 'pujas'

and administration on a two monthly rotation basis. This was a very

practical way for him to set the pattern, and methodology for the

change of office and on going activities. In this way he personally

trained his disciples to carry the mission over the centauries.

However, over time it was proven that a longer period between

offices could allow for the 'Paraya Mutt' to achieve more.

Later additional mutts were established by the followers of the

Acharyas who ascended the peetam, viz.

as established by

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Goswami Maharaja Prabhupada and

very recently ISKCON., "The International Society for Krishna

Consciousness", in 1977.

Though there is some controversy over his year of birth, which is

debated as 1199 and 1238, Madhva is believed to have lived for 79

years.

The Writings of Madhvacharya

The writings of Madhvacharya comprise thirty-seven works,

collectively called the

sarva-mula. They are divided into four groups.

The first group includes his commentaries on the

Upanisads,

Bhagavad-gita and Vedanta-sutra

. In this group there are ten

Upanisad commentaries, two Gita commentaries and four Vedantasutra

commentaries. The second group includes ten short works

called the

Dasa-prakaranas that outline the basic principles of

Madhva’s theology and demonstrates his refutation of key aspects of

advaita theology. The third group is Madhva’s commentaries on the

, the Mahabharata and the Rg-veda. The fourth

group is his miscellaneous works that includes important poems,

writings on rituals, image worship and rules for the ascetic order.

Madhva’s writing style is straightforward, unembellished and terse.

Works by Srimad Ananda Tirtha

Prasthaana-traya

Commentaries on the Gita (2)

Gita Bhaashya

Gita Taatparya

Commentaries on the Brahma Sutra (4)

Brahma Sutra Bhaashya

Anu bhaashya,

Anu Vyaakhyana

Nyaaya Vivarana

Commentaries on the ten principal Upanishads (10)

Ishaavaasya Upanishad Bhaashya

Kena or Talavakaara Upanishad Bhaashya

Kathopanishad Bhaashya

Mundaka Upanishad Bhaashya

Satprashna Upanishad Bhaashya

Maanduukya Upanishad Bhaashya

Aitareya Upanishad Bhaashya

Taittiriya Upanishad Bhaashya

Brhadaaranyaka Upanishad Bhaashya

Chaandogya Upanishad Bhashya

Dasha Prakaranas: Ten philosophical works dealing with various

aspects of Tattvavaada

Pramaana Lakshana

Kathaa Lakshana

Upaadhi Khandana

Prapancha Mithyaatva-anumaana Khandana

Mayaavaada Khandana

Tattva-samkhyaana

Tattva-viveka

Tattvoddyota

Karma Nirnaya

Vishnu-tattva-vinirnaya

Three commentaries on Bhaagavata Puraana, Mahaabhaarata, and

Rig Veda

Bhaagavata Taatparya

Mahaabhaarata Taatparya-nirnaya

Rg Veda Bhaashya

Eight miscellaneous works

Yamaka Bhaarata

Narasimha Nakha Stuti and its transliteration.

Dvaadasha Stotra and its description

Krishnaamruta Mahaa-arnava

Sadaachara Smriti

Tantra-saara Sangraha

Yati Pranava Kalpa

Krishna Jayanti Nirnaya

Madhva Navami is observed in his memory, as his birthday. The

temple town of Udipi bears Madhva’s memory at every step with

Eight Mutts and innumerable followers, who throng everyday

throughout the year.

Sri Raghavendra

Sri Raghavendra (1595 – 1671 A.D.) has a unique place in the

lineage of the Masters, because He is said to be still living in his

‘samadhi’ at Mantralayam on the banks of the Tunga-bhadra River, in

South India.

He voluntarily entered this samadhi in 1671 A.D. and his disciples, on

his orders built the structure of the samadhi over his seated posture

from which he left the mortal frame by his own will. He has declared

that he will ‘live’ in this samadhi’ for 700 years. It was God’s will it

seems, that

Sanku-karna a close attendant-devotee of Lord Brahma,

the Creator Himself, should be born repeatedly in this earthly world

and be a great spiritual leader of humanity. Mantralaya was chosen

by the Master as the right spot because the great devotee

Prahlada

had performed several ritual sacrifices here which makes the spot

very auspicious. Also it was the same spot where Lord Rama is

believed to have sat down once, while wanderings through the

forest.

Sri Raghavendra captured the imagination of millions through his

scholarship, devotion, spirituality, the divine qualities of infinite

grace and compassion through his mystical powers of perception and

action. From his Samadhi he is believed to be relieving his devotees

of their misery, and direct them to seek moksha from Lord Sri Rama.

That is why Sri Raghavendra is thought of as the wish-yielding

heavenly tree

kalpa vruksha, or the divine Cow kama-dhenu, which

both can bestow anything one wants, just the moment it is wished.

This thought is inbuilt into the following classical prayer traditionally

addressed to Sri Raghavendra.

– are his

compositions. Appanacharya was very close to Raghavendra Swami.

At the time when Raghavendra Swami entered Brindavan, he was on

the other side of the river Tungabhadra. Appanacharya wanted to be

with his revered guru, but the river was flooding. He jumped into the

river, singing

Sri Poornabhodha stotra, realizing that if Raghavendra

Swami could lead him across the ocean of samsara, a mere river

could not hold him back. And he did cross the river safely, only to see

that Raghavendra Swami had already entered the Brindavan.

Appanacharya was in such a profound state of grief, that he could

not finish the stotra he started to compose - it was missing 7

aksharas.The stotra had reached its final stanza “

kirtir divijita

vibhutiratula

..” but he could not continue further. Suddenly, a voice

rang out from the Brindavan "

sakshi haya syotra hi" (meaning that

Lord Hayagriva is the witness to the statements made by

Appanacharya in his stotra, and that He would make them all come

true). Even today, it is believed that anybody reciting this stotra, at

the Brindavan with full faith and devotion gets all the grace of Sri

Raghavendra. Not only did this show that Appanacharya's

“Sri

Poornabhodha”

had Raghavendra Swami's approval, but it also

showed that Raghavendra Swami was still with them. This was the

first miracle he showed after entering Brindavan, and even today

miracles happen to people who go to Mantralaya Brindavan to seek

his blessings.

Works by Sri Raghavendra Tirtha



Dasha prakarana-s (6): Commentaries on six of the

ten Prakarana-granthas of Sri Madhvacharya



Suutra-Prasthaana -- works on the Brahma-sutra



Nyayamuktavali (Brief exposition of the

adhikaranashariras of the Brahma-Sutra)



Tantradiipikaa (A vrutti on the Sutras)



Bhaavadiipa (Exposition upon the commentary of

Sri Jayatiirtha upon the Vishnu-tattva-vinirnaya)



PrakaaSha (Commentary on the taatparya

chandrikaa of Vyaasa Tirtha)



Tattvamanjari (Exposition of the anubhaashya)



Nyaayasudhaa-parimala (Commentary on

nyaayasudhaa of Jayatiirtha)



Rig and Upanishad prasthaana



Mantraarthamanjari (Commentary on the first three

adhyaayas of the Rig Veda (the same portion as

touched upon by Sri Madhvacharya)



Khandaartha-s (lucid expositions) on nine out of

the ten Upanishads commented upon by

Madhvacharya.



Gita prasthaana



Prameyadiipika (Commentary on Madhva's Gita

Bhaashya)



Nyaayadiipika (Commentary on Madhva's Gita

taatparya)



Gitaarthasangraha or Gita-VivRitti



Gitaarthamanjari

Other works



Commentary on pramaana paddhati of Jayatiirtha



Bhaavadiipa (Commentary on vaadaavali of

Jayatiirtha)



Nyaayadiipa (Commentary on tarkataandava of

Vyasa Tirtha)



Bhaatasangraha (Commentary on the entire

miimamsa sutra-s of Jaimini)



Shri Ramacaritramanjari



Shr Krishnacaritramanjari



Pratah sankalpa gadya



Sarvasamarpanagadyam



NandiitAratamyastotra



Tarkatandava tippani



Dhyanapadhdhhati



Guddhabhavaprakashika (vyakhyana to

'anumadhvavijaya')

Miscellaneous works



Detailed commentary on Rig Veda



Commentary on Yajur veda



Commentary on Saama Veda



Short gloss on Purusha-sookta



Short gloss on Aambhranii-sookta



Short gloss on Gharma



Short gloss on Balittha -sookta



Short gloss on Hiranyagarbha-sookta

Last sloka of RaghavendraVijayam.

“

Santam shriramana priyam yativaram vyasasya bhavebrishan

Durvaramitamayi bhikshutimire paryasya chandram bhuvi/

Satsandasthutamishta dakshitiruham vandaruvi prashrayam

Tam Natva sakalo duruhasudrasham samyati vidyadikam//”

Those people who bow to Shri Raghavendra, the beloved of the Lord

of Lakshmi,

who is a venerable yati (saint), who meticulously follows the words

of Veda Vyasa.

who dispels the unbearable, boundless darkness of ignorance caused

by illusionist sanyasis just as the moon dispels the darkness,

who is always praised by the noble people, who is verily the wishing

tree which satiates all our wishes and

who is always with devout Brahmins will their material wants

satisfied be endowed with spiritual wisdom, and ultimately get

aparoksha Jnana. (Supreme Knowledge)

Miracles of Sri Raghavendra

Raghavendra Swami performed various miracles, but the most

significant miracle lies in the vast literature he left behind and his

contribution to the philosophy of Sri Madhvacharya. He wrote

extensive commentaries on the Upanishads, Bhagavad gita, Vedas,

as well as several granthas that Madhvacharya wrote.

Raghavendra Swami, while performing miracles, clearly stated that

what he did was not magic or sorcery or witchcraft. It was not

Patanjali's yoga, but the yoga of the Bhagavad Gita. The aim of his

miracles was to remove the suffering of those who seek refuge in

him and thus draw them towards God and religion.

The then ruler of Tanjavur district was depressed as there was a

great drought at that time. Raghavendra Swami made the ruler

perform appropriate rituals and ceremonies, which resulted in heavy

downpour, and turning the land fertile. Expressing his gratitude, the

King offered Raghavendra Swami a priceless necklace, which

Raghavendra Swami in turn put into the Yajna as an offering to Lord

Vishnu. The king took this act as an insult and grew angry. By

offering prayers to

Agni – the fire God - Raghavendra Swami

immediately brought back the necklace from the sacrificial fire and

handed over to the king. . The king realized his folly and understood

that a necklace meant nothing for one who renounced the world, and

he sought the forgiveness of Raghavendra Swami.



During Raghavendra Swami’s visit to Bijapur, the scorching

heat was unbearable. He found a Brahmin fainting by the heat

and unable to get up. When Raghavendra Swami recited a

mantra, water sprung up from the scorching sands, which

saved the Brahmin's life. In another instance, a child was

traveling with an entourage, through a desert. The heat was so

unbearable that the child started to cry. Raghavendra Swami

threw his upper cloth towards the child. Flying through the air,

it gave shade to the child for the rest of the journey.



At that time there was one Desai who had no faith in God or the

Vedas. He would challenge scholars to make a dry twig sprout,

using Vedic mantras. No one was able to do this. They called on

Raghavendra Swami to prove to Desai the power of the Vedas.

When Raghavendra sprinkled some water on the twig while

reciting a Vedic mantra, right before Desai's eyes, the twig

began to sprout. This incident instilled deep faith in the hearts

of many scholars who were present. After witnessing the twig

sprout with their own eyes, they believed that such miracles

were possible through the grace of the Lord. Desai, himself,

who used to scoff the Vedas, became a true believer in God and

upheld the Vedas, with Raghavendra Swami as his guiding

light.



Once when Raghavendra visited a mutt, a group of pundits who

were hotty in their attitude, thought that Raghavendra has

come to seek alms. They asked him to grind sandal paste

before joining for lunch. Realising the attitude of the pundits,

Raghavendra Swami, made the sandalwood paste chanting

Agni Sukta When the Pundits applied it, they found their skin

burning. Noticing their plight Raghavendra made it cool again

by reciting Varuna Sukta. Realising the greatness of the

swamiji they sought his apologies.



On a hot summer day, Raghavendra swami was on his way

home from a pilgrimage. He decided to rest in the shade of a

tree at Krishnapuram (near Hubli). While there, he saw the

Nawab (Muslim king) of the area walking towards him, with a

sad demeanor. The Nawab had heard of his miracles and had

come to him as a last resort. He stated that his young son died

of a poisonous snakebite and has been buried in a tomb close

by. After hearing this, Raghavendra swami contemplated

silently for a few moments and then asked the king to take the

body out of the tomb. When the puzzled Nawab did as he was

asked, Raghavendra swami sprinkled holy water from his

and prayed to his Aaradhya Murthy (favorite form of

the Lord). Lo behold, the young boy woke up as though

he was getting up from sleep. The Nawab was moved of the

greatness of Raghavendra swami.

(There are some very important points to be noted in this episode.

Our shastras talk about the concept of "

Ayushya", defined as the

total amount of time that a person is allowed to live on earth, in a

particular body. Any death that happens before this time is untimely

and is called "

apamrutyu". Our shastras say that once "Ayushya" is

over death cannot be prevented, since that is Divine Will. However,

"

apamrutyu" is a different aspect altogether. Life-histories of our

saints and other great souls are replete with instances where they

warded off untimely death in deserving cases. In this case, since the

child had suffered apamrutyu, Raghavendra swami used his divine

powers to revive it.)



He did a similar thing in another instance. He was visiting the

house of a village Chieftain. A large number of people had

assembled for the occasion. As part of the food served to the

guests, seekarane (a thick form of mango juice) was being

prepared in a huge vessel. Unfortunately, when nobody was

watching him, the Chieftain’s son fell into this vessel and

drowned. When the Chief and his wife came to know about it,

they were totally devastated. However, they wanted to hide

the news because they did not want to inconvenience

everybody who had assembled there. Being a gyani, Sri

Raghavendra sensed the tragedy and asked the grief stricken

couple to bring the dead boy before him. When this was done,

he sprinkled water from his kamandala and revived the boy.

The joy of the ecstatic parents knew no bounds.



There were some evil people who were jealous of the

greatness of Raghavendra swami and were always looking for

opportunities to humiliate him. When some of them heard of

the above incidents, they conspired to come up with a plan to

humble Raghavendra swami. They chose a location that was

very close to Raghavendra swami’s place that day and asked a

person to pretend to be dead. They covered his face and sat by

his side wailing as if he was really dead. When Raghavendra

swami passed by, some of them approached him and entreated

him to revive this “dead” man. Raghavendra swami looked at

the body and said “I cannot revive him since his

Ayushya is

over”. This was what the evil persons wanted to hear. They

immediately started condemning him and trumpeted to the

world at large “Look at this pseudo sanyasi. He does not know

the difference between a living and a dead person. Our friend

is pretending to be dead. He is now going to get up and

denounce this fraud”. Nothing happened. Then they tried to

wake him up, thinking that he was asleep. None of their efforts

were successful as the person was truly dead!

They realized their mistake and begged Raghavendra swami to

revive the person, but he pleaded his helplessness since the

person’s

Ayushya was really over. The men who came to humble

Raghavendra swami were themselves humbled and his greatness

became even more enhanced.

A point to note is that Raghavendra swami did not curse the man to

die or punish the evildoers. It was again Divine will that the

conspirators chose a person whose

Ayushya was really over and the

timing was perfect to humiliate them. The Lord well and truly

protects His beloved devotees.



Once a few scholars came to meet Raghavendra swami. One

the way they got lost and wanted to ask for directions. They

noticed a washerman walking with his load on his head, but

before asking him a question, they debated amongst

themselves in Sanskrit if it was worthwhile asking somebody

who looked like an illiterate. Imagine their surprise, when the

washerman interrupted their discussion by saying

in chaste sanskrit “If all that you want to know is directions to

meet Raghavendra swami then I should be able to help you”.

He then gave directions in chaste sanskrit to the embarrassed

scholars, and proceeded on his way. The scholars rested for a

while and then proceeded to the river for their afternoon

sandhya. They saw the washerman sitting on the bank. They

politely asked him in sanskrit if it was okay to perform

sandhyavandana there. He gave them a blank look and told

them rather crudely in the local language “Look, if you want to

speak with me, use a local language I can understand”. Even

from his tone and grammar it was obvious that he was an

illiterate with little or no command over any language. The

scholars were surprised since he had spoken to them in

Sanskrit a few moments ago! They dismissed him as a madman

and proceeded with their task. The washerman left with his

load and started walking back slowly. After a while, the

scholars passed him again on the road. This time, he politely

asked them in chaste sanskrit if they had had any difficulty in

locating the road and if they needed any help. The scholars

were totally baffled and practically ran away from there. When

they reached the mutt, they spoke to a knowledgeable person

and explained the curious phenomenon they had observed. The

person laughed and said “Did the washerman have his load on

his head when he spoke to you?” When the scholars nodded in

reply, he continued “It was not the washerman talking to you.

It was the clothes. He was carrying the clothes that our

Raghavendra swami had discarded. As long as he had the load

on his head, he was a totally a different person. Once the load

was discarded he became his normal self”. Such was the power

of Raghavendra swami’s personality that even the clothes that

he had discarded carried mystical powers.



Venkanna was a Brahmin boy in a small village under the

sovereignty of the Nawab of Adoni. Due to family problems, he

was not tutored or taught any useful skills. He was assigned to

the task of tending the family’s herd of cows, and thus used to

spend his entire days in the countryside watching over the

cows. He had heard of the greatness of Raghavendra swami

and was eager to meet him and seek his blessings. His prayers

were heard because one day the retinue of Sri

Raghavendraswami passed close by. He immediately ran to the

palanquin that Raghavendra swami was travelling in and

prostrated before it. Raghavendra swami looked at him and

inquired about his antecedents. Venkanna explained his plight

and stood with outstretched palms. Raghavendra swami took

pity on the boy and gave him some (mantrakshas) -

consecrated rice and told him “When you are in real distress

and need my help, put this on your head and think of me”. The

palanquin moved on. Venkanna tied the precious rice into a

bundle and always carried it with him.

One day, Venkanna was relaxing under the shade of a tree

when he saw a noble man get down from a horse and rest

under the shade of another tree close by. Curious, he watched

him closely and immediately realized that the noble man was

none other than the Nawab himself. Even as this realization

dawned on him, he saw another man on horseback approaching

the Nawab. The new person got down from the horse,

prostrated in front of the Nawab and handed him a written

scroll. Now, both the Nawab and the rider were illiterate and

needed somebody to help them. When the Nawab looked

around, he saw Venkanna. He also saw Venkanna’s tuft and his

sacred thread and concluded that this was a Brahmin. Since

Brahmins are usually literate, he felt that his problem was

solved. He beckoned Venkanna and handing him the scroll,

commanded him to read. Poor Venkanna was in a dilemma

since he was also illiterate. He could not refuse a direct order

of the Nawab since that would mean immediate death, nor

could he tell the truth that he was illiterate because the Nawab

would not believe him and would think that Venkanna was

trying fool him. Caught in this deadly trap, he suddenly

remembered the kind guru who had promised to help him in his

hour of need. He took the consecrated rice and put it on his

head. With this mind full of devotion towards Raghavendra

swami and his lips secretly muttering “Raghavendra,

Raghavendra”, he boldly opened the scroll. Lo behold, the

characters on the scroll began to make sense and he could

read!

It was actually a piece of good news, informing the Nawab that

his wife had delivered a baby boy, thus making him a father,

something that he was passionately yearning for. When he

heard the news, he was overjoyed and immediately took out a

pearl necklace from his neck and gave it to Venkanna.

However, Raghavendra swami sitting in Venkanna’s mind did

not allow him to be satisfied with this. He boldly prostrated

before the Nawab and told him “If your Highness is really

happy with me, then please give me a good job in your

administration. I will serve you faithfully and honestly to the

best of my ability”. The Nawab was pleased with this answer

and accordingly gave him a good job. Through hard work and

diligence, Venkanna worked his way up the ranks and in a

short time became the Nawab’s trusted divan. Thus a chance

encounter with Raghavendra swami transformed Venkanna’s

entire life into a bed of roses!



Once Raghavendra swami visited Adoni and accepted

Venkanna’s invitation to stay with him. Venkanna conveyed

about Raghavendra swami’s prowess to his Nawab and forced

him to visit to pay his respects. Now the Nawab was skeptical

about Raghavendra swami and did not accept any authority

other than Allah and his devotees. He wanted to expose

Raghavendra swami and score a point on Venkanna. He

secretly ordered for three silver plates, full of meat, but totally

covered with silken cloth to be prepared. He took this with him

and accompanied Venkanna to the mutt. Along with the

offering brought by Venkanna, he also offered his covered

plates as naivedya for Mula Rama. Raghavendra swami saw

through his guile and sprinkled water from his kamandala on

the plates. Later, he ordered the clothes to be removed. The

Nawab was waiting for this moment with bated breath. He was

licking his lips in anticipation of unmasking this Brahmin

swamiji.

When the clothes were removed, they revealed 3 plates full of

fresh fruits and flowers! The Nawab was astounded and

instantly realized the greatness of Raghavendra swami, and the

great sin he had committed by testing this man of god. He

immediately prostrated before Raghavendra swami and with

tears in his eyes begged his forgiveness. The kind and ever

merciful Raghavendra swami forgave him gladly. However, the

Nawab was not satisfied, he begged Raghavendra swami to

accept some offering from him. Raghavendra swami initially

refused saying that he was a sanyasi who had no desire for

worldly things, but the Nawab kept on begging him, so finally

he had to agree. He asked for the Nawab to give him the village

of Manchale on the banks of the river Tungabhadra. The Nawab

was surprised since that was a barren land, yielding no crops

or revenue. He tried to talk to Raghavendra swami to accept a

fertile land, but Raghavendra swami would not accept anything

other than Manchale. The Nawab immediately gifted that

village to Raghavendra swami.



Raghavendra swami had a devoted disciple who was studying

the shstras under his tutelage. The education was over and

time had come for the disciple to return home and marry. As

the head of the mutt, Raghavendra swami was expected to

bless this disciple and give him some money so that he could

start life as a householder. In this case, it was even more

imperative since the disciple came from a very poor family.

However, he chose to bid farewell when Raghavendra swami

was on the way to the river for his bath and did not have

anything to give him. When Raghavendra swami expressed

this, the disciple immediately replied “Even a handful of mud

from you is even more precious than a hand full of gold”.

Raghavendra swami was pleased with his devotion and

accordingly scooped up a handful of mud from the ground and

gave it to the disciple. The disciple received this with total

reverence and tied it into a bundle. He then placed the bundle

on his head and started back home.

He traveled till night and reached a village, and decided to halt

there that night. He approached the chieftain and requested

him to give him a place to sleep for the night. The chieftain said

“You may sleep on the jugali of my house (a space just

outside) but I have a problem. My wife is pregnant and is likely

to deliver tonight. We have had extremely bad luck in the past

because all our children have died immediately after birth. I am

hoping that it is different this time”. The disciple agreed and

slept immediately outside the main entrance to the house with

his precious bundle as a pillow. At night, a dark and ferocious

ghost approached the house. This was the one that was killing

all the children immediately after birth. This time, it had to

cross the disciple to enter the house, but could not do so since

the bundle under his head appeared like a wall of fire to it. It

tried several times in vain and finally woke up the disciple. It

told him “Your bundle contains a divine fire that is impossible

for me to transgress. Why don’t you throw the bundle away? I

will give you heaps of money, gold and precious jewels. The

disciple pretended to agree, but quickly withdrew some

consecrated mud from the bundle, and threw it on the ghost.

The effect of this action was spectacular. The ghost screamed

loudly and was immediately burnt to ashes. The noise woke up

everybody in the house came outside the house. The disciple

explained everything to them; at the same time the midwife

came out of the house with the good news that the chieftain’s

wife had delivered a healthy boy! The chieftain was ecstatic

and hugged the disciple with joy. He attributed his good

fortune to the advent of the disciple and thanked him

profusely. The next day, he requested the disciple to stay back

in the village and even offered his sister’s hand in marriage,

along with lot of money. The disciple gladly accepted this

generous offer and lived happily. Thus, a handful of mud from

Raghavendra swami brought the disciple wealth a good wife,

powerful connections and life-long happiness



The other miracle, which happened at Mantralayam itself,

following the jeeva samadhi of the saint, involves the Collector

of Bellary Thomas Monroe. As per the Endowments Act, during

the British rule, the mutt at Mantralayam was to lapse to the

British as the then Pontiff was stationed at Nanjangud.

However, the people of Mantralaya represented to the Collector

that Mantralayam was a gift given by Masood Khan to the saint

and hence was inviolable. To resolve the issue, as it involved

religious faith, the Collector paid a visit to the holy site.

As Thomas Monroe entered the Brindavanam, people could see

him conversing in English with someone inside but could not

see that person. Then the Collector is said to have asked of the

people, "Is this the saint you have so extolled?" On reaching

Bellary, Monroe recommended to the Governor of Madras

Presidency that the status quo on the Mantralayam issue be

maintained, as he was convinced that it was the legal property

of the Mantralaya Peetha. Thomas Monroe was directed to

assume charge as Governor as the then Governor left for

England due to personal reasons. The first thing the new

Governor, Thomas Monroe, did was to endorse his approval on

the note made by himself on Mantralaya. The Superintendent of

Madras Printing Press recorded this in the Gazette in the year

1861. The priest at the Mutt was pained to know that Sir

Thomas Monroe got the divine vision of Shri Raghavendra

Swami, but he could not. He could not fathom the reason for

this discrepancy. That night, Shri Raghavendra Swami,

appeared in his dream and explained him that he (Swamiji) and

Monroe were friends during his Prahlada incarnation and it was

destined that Monroe did a noble deed for the former.

Therefore, this special privilege was granted to Monroe.

Extract From the then Madras Gazette:

Sri Raghavendra is considered to be magnanimous and benevolent;

countless devotees of his testify to the miracles he has performed.

The sacred sand of the Moola Brindavana (Moola Mrithika) has very

special significance, to cure diseases and throw away evil forces.

Last speech of Raghavendra Swami

The speech that Sri Raghavendra Swami gave prior to entering

Brindavan is a concise summary of the philosophy of Sri

Madhvacharya. In this materialistic world, such values and morals

that Sri Raghavendra Swami, and many other great souls propagated

will lead us to true happiness. We are fortunate to have such people

to guide us on the path of right knowledge and keep us away from

the path of incorrect knowledge.

The following is taken from "Raghavendra Darshanaa - Glimpse of Sri

Raghavendra Tirtha Saint of Mantralaya", by Prof. Vyasanakere

Prabhanjanacharya

When the day that Raghavendra Swami had chosen to enter

Brindavan (Virodhikruth Samvatsara, Shravana Masa, krishna

paksha, Dvitiya : 1671 A.D.) had come, thousands of people had

congregated there. The crowd contained devotees as well as nonbelievers.

Some people had come just to make fun of what was going

on. The devotees were filled with anxiety; they didn't want their

revered Guru to leave them. There were also people who were

merely curious, just to see what would happen-although Sri Vadiraja

Tirtha had entered the Brindavan in the same manner, alive, in the

year 1600 A.D, and there were a few among the crowd who had

witnessed on that occasion Those who had only heard about it were

greatly curious to see such a miracle with their own eyes.

For a while he was lost inmeditation; then Sri Raghavendra started

his soul-stirring speech.

, Sri Narahari Tiirtha (1300 AD) the direct disciple of

Madhvacharya may be regarded as the founder of the Haridasa

movement, though very few songs are available of him in Kannada.

Sri Padaraja Tiirtha is well-known as the grandfather of Haridasas

(Haridasa Pitamaha). He made a bold attempt to compose songs in

simple kannada, expounding the difficult and highly philosophical

teachings of Madhva in simple and clear language. Sri Padaraja's

disciple Sri Vyasaraja gave great impetus to the Haridasa movement

and made it very popular by his disciples who are chief among

Haridasas - Sri Purandaradasa and Sri Kanakadasa. The center of

activity of the Haridasas in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries was

Vijaynagar (Hampi) and near by places, and Sri Purandara Dasa and

Sri Kanaka Dasa were the chief architects.

Sri Vyasaraya

Sri Vyasaraya is one of the most reputed among the propagators of

the Dvaita philosophy. He was born of pious parents called

Seethamma and Ramacharya. He had his early education from Sri

Sripadaraya. Later he adorned the pontific seat of the Dvaita School

of Philosophy, a repository of the teachings of knowledge, devotion

and detachment. In appreciation of his deep devotion, Lord Krishna

would converse with him and even dance before him. As his teacher,

Sri Sripadaraya had seen this with his own eyes, his affection for Sri

Vyasaraya swelled all the more. Sri Vyasaraya wrote celebrated

works such as "

Tatparyachandrika" “Tarakatandavamu” and

"

Nyayamrutamu".

Once while Sri Vyasaraya was at the shrine of Tirumala, the worship

of Sri Venkateswara was hampered. He was asked by King Salva

Narasimha Raja to offer worship on his behalf (to Sri Venkateswara).

In pursuance of this expressed desire, Sri Vyasaraya conducted

worship of Sri Venkateswara for twelve years according to the

traditions and rites sanctioned by the Vedas and the sastras and

earned the grace of the Lord.

During the reign of Sri Krishna Deva Raya, once the ruler was

afflicted with a disease named "Kuhu" and he was restless with

suffering. He consulted some astrologers who examined his

horoscope and suggested that he would be rid of it if he forsook his

throne.

Sri Krishna Deva Raya decided to relinquish his throne and was in

search of a proper person to take his place to rule. He sent out his

state elephant with a garland in its trunk and offered to appoint as

king whomsoever the elephant garlanded. The elephant left the city

reached the forest and trumpcated before a cave where Sri Vyasaray

was performing penance. When he came out of the cave the elephant

garlanded Sri Vyasaraya.

The royal servants who accompanied the elephant informed Sri

Vyasaraya of the king’s order. Considering the elephant's action as a

divine command, Sri Vyasaraya agreed to ascend the throne. With

great exultation, Sri Krishna Deva Raya offered the throne as a gift to

Sri Vyasaraya Swami.

Some time after Sri Vyasaraya had commenced his reign; there were

impending signs of the king being slowly recovering from the

disease. Sri Vyasaraya descended from the throne and leaving his

upper garment on it, stood at a distance. At once, the cloth caught

fire and was soon reduced to ashes. The courtiers were astonishes.

They praised the greatness of the Swami. The danger of the "Kuhu"

disease was averted and Sri Krishna Deva Raya's life was saved. Sri

Vyasaraya told the king that he was freed from the dangerous effects

of the disease and asked him to re-ascend the throne and rule the

people according to Dharma.

Sri Krishna Deva Raya obeyed the Swami's command and began to

rule over his empire.

Sri Vyasaraya who had performed great penance won the grace of

the Lord and has written various works of philosophy and founded

many shrines of Sri Anjaneya

Devotees very well know that the

Yanthroddhara Pranadeva's image

was consecrated by Sri Vyasaraya at Hampi which shrine is called

'The giver of all boons to devotees'.

Sri Vyasaraya preached to the world for many years that "Lord Hari

is the greatest God" and "Vayu is the greatest Jeeva" and, after

winning universal fame, being worshipped by his devotees and

adorning the supreme seat of the Dvaita philosophy for ninety years,

attained the Brindavan on the banks of the Tungabhadra River, near

Anegondi on the fourteenth day of the dark fortnight in the month of

phalguna of the year Hevilambi. At this place besides him eight

pontific heads of the Dvaita School have entered Samadhi. So this

place is called "Nava Brindavan".

Sri Vadiraaja Tirtha

Sri Vadiraaja Tirtha is the second highest saint in the Madhva

hierarchy, being next only to Srimad Ananda Tirtha himself, in the

taratamya. He is widely regarded as being the incarnation of Latavya,

a

rju-tatvika-yogi and the successor to Mukhya Praana. Therefore,

even though he nominally had Sri Vyaasa Tirtha as a guru, he

acknowledges only Srimad Ananda Tirtha himself, as his preceptor.

He is an outstanding poet, a very pugnacious opponent, and a most

ardent devotee

Pilgrims visiting the famous temple in Tirumala (Tirupati) often

yearn, on some pretext or the other, whether the duration of their

stay in front of the idol cannot be prolonged. They come out of the

sanctum-sanctorum with a desire as to when they will get another

opportunity to obtain a glimpse of the Lord, in spite of the several

difficulties they have to undergo to visit this famous religious centre.

It is to satisfy them that God and one of His dear and ardent servants

worked out a scheme whereby the pilgrims can get a ``darshan''

again. For this, the saint arranged to carve out a replica of the Lord's

idol on one of the tiers of the canopy (Vimanam), though smaller in

version. When Sri Vadhiraja went to worship at the main temple the

priests made him to wait, not knowing who he was. Responding to

his prayers the Lord made His first ``appearance'' to Vadhiraja

as``

Vimana Venkatesa''. Even today pilgrims have their second

darsan of the Lord on the Vimana. The saint's status as Sri

Madhvacharya's subsequent representative in later years has been

confirmed by the Lord enabling him to reach Badrinath (in the

Himalayas) and submit one of his monumental works. This rare

audience reveals that he was the only one, other than Sri Madhwa, to

receive Lord's direct grace and that he will succeed the former after

a cycle. Sri Vadhiraja's ``Brindavanam'' at Sode in North Kanara is

somewhat unique in its constructional features.

Two of the saint's exquisite poems, one a travel guide composed

after visiting various pilgrim centers all over India, and another, an

epitome of Srimad Bhagavatam, show his genius. The second is a

veritable literary garden, every verse sending out an aroma of

devotion. A brief advice of his can be the religion of our times.

``

Remember Krishna, worship Hari, bow to Vishnu, take refuge in

Achyuta, overcome greed, give up avarice, conquer lust, listen to the

Lord's stories, smell the Tulasi petals placed at His feet and eat the

food offered to Him

.''

The disciples of Srimad Ananda Tiritha originally stayed together in

Sri Krishna Mutt

. They shared the daily worship amongst themselves.

As time went by, the daily worship was divided up so that each of the

disciples performed the worship for a period of two months. This

inevitably created friction because when certain festivals, etc., came

around, it could possibly be years before they each had a chance to

personally conduct these ceremonies.

Sri Vadiraaja Tirtha established the system of worship for a period of

two years. . He was responsible for creating the paryaya system of

rotation, according to which each of the eight

Udupi ashhta-Mathas

has a two-year spell "in office" at the Krishna temple in Udupi, with

each getting a turn sometime during a sixteen-year cycle. In this

way, each of the Swamijis could perform all the festivals, etc., and

the worship of Sri Krishna could have continuity for a reasonable

length of time, unimpeded by the constant changes of administration

which occurred under the old system.

It was around this time that the eight mutts known as "

Udupi ashhta

Mathas

" were established in the vicinity of Krishna Mutt.

This two year system also allows each of the swamijis to conduct the

important daily duties concerning the welfare of their disciples and

the worship in their own Mutts. It also allows them the time

necessary to accumulate the enormous amount of money needed to

perform the worship in the Krishna Mutt.

Sri Hayagriva was the form of the Lord Vishnu that Sri Vadiraaja

Tirtha worshipped, and the Lord Himself used to appear in the form

of a white horse to please His devotee. He offered food to God during

his worship. God as ``Hayagriva'' approached him only from behind

and accepted it. It so happened that a goldsmith was trying to make

a gold statue of Ganapati. To his surprise, the idol kept taking the

shape of Lord Hayavadana. The goldsmith tried many times, and each

time the cast was taking the shape of Lord Hayavadana. The

goldsmith got tired and frustrated, and started hitting the idol with a

hammer. To his surprise, however hard he hit, no damage happened

to the statue. Then, one day the goldsmith had a dream. In the

dream, he saw the Sri Hayavadana Himself telling him to give the

statue to the saint who would be approaching him the next day. Sri

Vadiraaja Tirtha then went to the goldsmith, as directed by Sri

Hayagriva, and asked for the promised icon. The goldsmith

prostrated at the feet of Sri Vadiraaja Tirtha and offered the icon of

Lord Hayavadana, which the saint then consecrated and used for

worship.

On another instance, when Sri Vadiraaja Tirtha was in Pandharapura

serving Lord Vitthala, there was a corn field near the temple and the

owner of the corn field used to see a white horse coming to his field

and graze the corn. The white horse used to eat the Dall (lentils)

grown in the field, and used to get back to the mutt where Sri

Vadiraaja Tirtha used to reside. The owner got angry, and

approached Sri Vadiraaja Tirtha with a complaint that a horse

belonging to the latter was coming to his field and eating his crop.

Sri Vadiraaja Tirtha assured him that he did not own such a horse,

and that in fact, there was no horse of any description in the mutt.

The complainant however was not satisfied, since he was positive

seeing the horse enter the Mutt; he did a full search of its premises,

but could not locate the horse. Meanwhile, Sri Vadiraaja Tîrtha,

knowing that the horse was the Lord Hayavadana Himself, told the

landowner that he was very lucky, and asked him to see the places in

his field where the horse ate. To his great surprise, the farmer saw

golden corn at all the places where the Lord ate. He surrendered at

the feet of Sri Vadiraaja Tirtha, and offered his land to the Mutt.

Every day, Sri Vadiraaja Tirtha would offer a sweet dish called

Hayagriva (a preparation consisting of jaggery, almonds, ghee and

kadale (lentil) and keep it in a tray and hold it on his head while

seated and meditate Lord Hayagriva. Lord Hayavadana taking a form

of a white horse, would put his feet on the shoulders of Sri Vadiraaja

Tirtha, and eat the sweet, then play for some time like a horse, and

disappear into the Hayavadana icon. It is said that Sri Vadiraja Tirtha

would sing the

'Dashavataara-stuti', set to an 'ashvaghati' (literally,

a horse's trot) beat, to please the Lord, and the latter Himself would

appear and dance when His devotee sang to Him.

The great Sri Vadiraja Tiirtha the contemporary of Sri Vyaasa Tiirtha

and also his disciple is considered to be another pillar of Dasa

movement. He is renowned as a great leader of both the Vyasakuta

and Dasakuta. Sri Padaraja, Sri Vyaasaraja and Sri Vadiraja are

called

'yathi trayaru' three great saints in Dasa movement. Sri

Padaraja is the beginner and grandfather of Dasa's, Sri Vadiraja

promoter of dasa sahitya by his scholarly contribution and Sri

Vyaasaraja has made dasa movement more popular by his esteemed

disciples.

The songs try to rouse the spirit of man from a life of worldly

attachment and turn it to God. They deal with all aspects of spiritual

discipline taught by the scriptures and take us along the path of selfrealization.

Their philosophical system is just the same, as that

presented by the great writers of the Dvaita Vedanta in their original

works in Sanskrit.

The most luminous of the composers and originators of Karnataka

style of music was Pundarika Vittala. According to some writers his

period synchronizes with that of Krishna Deva Raya and he is reputed

to have founded Mela Prastara Ragas.

The Haridasas were the first saints in the world to whom Bhakti

through music was the only mode of attaining salvation. All these,

inclusive of Sripadaraja, Vyasaraja, Purandara, Vadiraja and Kanaka

and others accept the religion of Madhva and his dualistic

philosophy. Purandara was a devout follower of Madhva philosophy.

His system Bhajana as described in the Vedas is called

Sri Purandara and Sri Kanaka Dasa made Dvaita

philosophy to spread all over through the common language,

kannada.

Sri Purandara is the founder of Karnataka Music and his songs range

from the most homely to the most philosphical. In fact the learners

of Karnataka music will start his compositions first.

The Dasas of Karnataka were the first to develop the cult of devotion

to Vitthala and make it a living faith and a powerful instrument of

mass uplift through the aid of their soul-stirring music and bhajana

in the language of their province. Their example was subsequently

taken up and carried further by the saints of the neighboring

province of Maharashtra like Ramadasa, Tukarama and others. The

Haridasas of Karnataka were preachers of devotion to God and made

distinctive contribution to the religious life of Karnataka. They

conveyed great and sacred truths in Kannada in a very simple and

clear style so as to be understood by common people. Haridasas

moved from place to place and toured the whole towns and villages

singing and dancing with single- stringed “

tambura” instrument, foot

bells-

kalgejje - and castanets – chatike - being their only musical

accompaniments. Although it is very rare to see such devoted and

noble Haridasas in the present century, we still find a few of them

during temple festivals

UDIPI

Udupi, about 60 Kms from Mangalore, is one of the sacred places of

pilgrimages to Hindus. Thousands of pious devotees throng the

Krishna temple all round the year to catch a glimpse of the Lord.

In ancient times, Udupi was known as Sivalli and

Rajathapeetapuram. Legend has it that Chandra, the Moon God, did

penance here in a forest, propitiating Lord Shiva to redeem Him from

a curse by Daksha Prajaapati. In Sanskrit,

Udu means `star’ and Pa

means `leader’. Chandra being the head of the stars, the place came

to be known as `

Udupi’. Some others opine that it has its origin in

the Sanskrit '

udupam' - a boat - in which Krishna came from

Dwaraka.

It has been a tradition and the unique feature of this temple, that the

Lord is worshipped only through a window with nine holes, called the

are then taken and poured on the icon of Hanuman. After

this they are distributed to the devotees as sanctified water.

Udvartana pooja

Sri Krishna is then cleansed of oil and ghee, etc, and this fifth ritual is

known as udvartana

pooja Sri Krishna is rubbed with the powder of

green gram to remove the grease, and then warm water is poured.

Sandalwood paste, flowers and

tulasi are offered and then hot rice,

milk, butter, and tender coconut are offered.

Arati is then waved on a

round plate.

Kalasa pooja

The sixth

poojais when Sri Krishna is bathed in pure water. Before

this ritual begins, two golden pots are filled with clean water and the

presiding deities of

kalasa are invoked. This is known as kalasa pooja

the golden pots are decorated with

tulasi and sandalwood paste and

the Swamiji sanctifies this water with the chanting of

, milk, curds, fruits, coconut, betel leaves and nuts,

etc. At the same time, rice cake and rice gruel, in remembrance of

Kanaka Dasa, are offered in a silver bowl.

The Swamiji places

tulasi leaves onto the dishes and then comes out

of the shrine for some time. It is believed that Sri Madhva himself

comes into the shrine now to offer the dishes to Krishna.

During this ritual of samarpana, musicians chant the”

dvaadasha

stotras

.”

After this offering of

naivedya, aaratis are waved by the Swamiji and

the assembled devotees ring bells and play different kinds of musical

instruments such as

shankha and taala. This mahaa pooja is a feast

to the eyes and ears of the devotees assembled in the shrine.

The Swamiji then makes his way to the shrine of Mukhya Praana and

offers worship. The

naivedya which was offered to Sri Krishna is now

offered to Mukhya Praana. The Swamiji performs

aarati both to

Hanuman and Garuda.

The Swamiji then offers

pooja to the icon of Sri Madhva at the

entrance to the main shrine. He stands at the steps and performs

to devotees and then returns to his room. He

engages himself there in teaching and scholarly discussions with

students and professors and also grants interviews to devotees.

At 4:00 P.M., the drum announces the commencement of the evening

rituals. Around 4:30 P.M., the scholars begin their discourses in the

while the Swamiji listens. They continue till around

6:00 P.M. when the sacred books are worshipped. The Swamiji

himself attends this

pooja and offers prasaada to the assembled

devotees. After this the singers assemble in the chandrashaalaa and

start singing devotional songs and the Swamiji goes to the tank for

another bath.

Chaamara sevaa pooja

While the Swamiji is engaged in his

japa (meditation) after his bath,

the

utsava-muurti is brought to the mantapa. A basket filled with

fried rice is placed on each side of the icon. Milk, fruit, coconuts,

betel leaves and nuts, and

laddus are placed in front of the icon.

On both sides of the

mantapa the rows of oil lamps brighten the area.

The Swamiji completes his evening meditation and arrives at the

passage in between the

mantapa and candrashaalaa. Two chowrii-s

(hand-held fans used in worship) made of yak's tail set in golden

handles are kept there. The Swamiji picks them up and waves them

in front of the icon in an intricate manner. This is the first of two

rituals performed in service of Krishna outside the

garbha gudi. The

second is the

mantapa pooja which takes place after the raatri pooja.

For about five minutes the Swamiji serves the Lord by fanning Him

with the

chowriis. The Swamiji then hands over the chowries to his

disciples who continue to wave the chowries in an artistic manner.

The Swamiji himself now performs

panchopachaara pooja by

offering the fried rice and jaggery kept in the baskets. Through the

, Itihaasa seva, Puraana seva, and sangita (music) seva.

If a devotee has offered a special service that day he is given the

privilege of honouring the Swamiji by offering sandalwood paste and

waving

aarati.

The icon of Krishna is now placed in the palanquin and taken around

the

garbha gudi to the melodious accompaniment of the flute.

Eaanta seva -- shayanotsava puujaa

After the palanquin has gone around the shrine, it stops at the

entrance and Swamiji takes the icon of Sri Krishna into the first

room, where it is placed in a golden cradle. This cradle is situated

behind the entrance guarded by Sri Chenna Keshava. From now until

the dawn Krishna is supposed to sleep here. Only the Swamiji and his

immediate associates participate in this service and for this reason it

is known as

ekaanta sevaa, worship in seclusion.

While the Swamiji rocks Sri Krishna in the golden cradle, the

musicians sing lullabies. The Swamiji offers milk, sandalwood paste,

sandalwood oil, holy leaves, nutmeg, cloves, perfume, etc., and

waves

aarati.

This is the termination of the fourteen services offered each day to

Lord Krishna. The Swamiji now sits on the simhaasana and

distributes

prasaada to devotees and pilgrims. By around 11:00 P.M.

all the daily rituals in Sri Krishna Mutt have been completed and the

shrine is locked for the night, to reopen at 4:00 A.M. the next

morning for yet another day in the service of Krishna.

Note: Pooja timings are subject to change.

(This section is collected from a book published, by Bannanje

Govindacharya, U.P. Upadhyaya, and Muralidhar Upadhyaya)

It is referred to that eight of Madhvacharya’s disciples stayed at

Udupi to take up the responsibility of worshipping the idol of Lord

Krishna as well as the propagation of the tenets of Madhva’s

philosophy. In the beginning all these eight pontiffs used to stay

together in Sri Krishna Mutt. They used to share the priestly duties

according to their convenience by mutual consent. Later the tradition

of each Matathipathi taking charge of the temple for two months was

established. This system continued up to the period of Sri Vadiraja

who changed it to a two-year term.

The eight mutts

Kaniyoor Mutt, Sode Mutt, Puttige Mutt, Admar Mutt,

Pejavur Mutt, Palimar Mutt Krishna Mutt, Shirur Mutt

, were later

constructed around the temple.

Since Shiva was worshipped by Chandra, the Lord is known as

Chandramouleeshwara. This Shiva shrine is situated opposite to Sri

Krishna temple. The Swayambu Linga is found to change colours

thrice during the day -- black in the morning, blue at noon and white

at night. The temple tank is known as Chandra Pushkarini or Madhwa

Sarovar.

There is another shrine for Lord Ananteshwara. When Sage

Parasurama redeemed the land from sea, he crowned his devotee

Ramabhoja as the king of this land. He performed Ashwamedha Yaga

on this holy soil. While ploughing the land prior to the yaga, he

accidentally killed a snake. To redeem himself from Sarpa dosha (sin

of killing a snake), he made a silver peetam (Rajatha Peetam) with

images of snake carved on it. Hence the place acquired the name

Sivalli or Siva-belli. The king installed a Linga Ananteshwara. Lord

Parasurama is worshipped in Linga swarupa in this shrine. There is a

40-foot-high Deepa sthamba outside the shrine

Udipi is connected by road and buses ply to Mysore (265 km),

Bangalore via Hassan (365 km), Kollur (120 km), Sringeri (130 km),

Karwar (215 km) Belur (155 km) and several other places.

There are choultries with basic facilities in Udipi, and food is served

free to the pilgrims in the temple. For convenience with modern

facilities one can stay in Mangalore and can drive down to Udipi.

Manthralayam

Though there are Brindavanams located in several parts of the

country, the original Brindavan dedicated to Sri Raghavendra Swami

is located in Mantralaya, which is in the district of Kurnool in Andhra

Pradesh. The colloquial name for the place is Maanchale, which has

been sanskritized into Mantralaya. Under the grace of Sri

Raghavendra, Mantralaya has turned a pilgrimage center, where

devotees flock to view a glimpse of the Brindavan of this great saint.

Many South Indian cities, - Bangalore, Tirupati, Mangalore, Madras,

Hyderabad, Bellary and Mysore, - are connected to Mantralaya by

road, and for the convenience of pilgrim Tourist buses ply from

almost these centers. Bangalore is the closest city.

The nearest Railway station is Mantralayam Road, on Chennai –

Mumbai section, and is about 12km from Mantralaya.Town. Almost

all trains halt at this station. APSRTC buses or rental van/auto

rikshas can be hired from the Railwy station to Mantralaya which

takes 45 minutes drive. Approximate cost of travel per person is

Rs.50 for private transport and Rs.4 for Public Bus.

The Mutt provides comfortable accommodation, at a nominal price.

Private hotels with modern facilities are also available in the town.

The Mutt also serves free meals to pilgrims within the Mutt between

11 AM to 3 PM on all days except Ekadasi day.

Generally, the temple is open between 06:00 to 14:00 and 16:00 to

21:00. In the evenings the Golden, Silver and wooden Chariots are

taken round inside the temple.

Regular poojas and special sevas are conducted as under:

TYPES OF SEVA

KANAKA KAVACHA SAMARPANA

SARVA SAMARPANA

RAJATHA RATHOTSAVAM

POORNA SEVA

KANKA MAHA POOJA

MAHA POOJA

SARVA SEVA

UTSAVARYA PADA POOJA

PANCHAMRUTHAM

KSHEERABHISHEKAM

ARCHANA SAHITA HASTODAKA

ARATI SAHITA HASTODAKA

HASTODAKAM

TULASI ARCHANA

PRATHYAKSHA - GAJAVAHANA

MANGALARTHI

SEVA SANKALPAM

VASANTA POOJA

KARTEEKA DEEPOTSAVAM

GRUTA NANDA DEEPAM (1 MONTH)

TAILA NANDA DEEPAM (1 MONTH)

SARVASIDHI YANTRAM

SANTANA YANTRAM

BHEETI YANTRAM

NAMAKARNAM

KARNAVEDAM

ANNA PRASANAM

JAVALA

AKSHARABHYSAM

UPANAYANAM

NAGAPRARISTA

UDYAPANAM

PARIMALA PRASADAMAN

ENDOWMENT SEVAS*

TYPES OF SEVA

KANAKA KAVACHA SAMARPANA

SARVA SAMPARNA

RAJATHA RATHOTSAVAM

POORNA SEVA

KANAKA MAHA POOJA

MAHA POOJA

SARVA SEVA

UTSAVARAYA PADA POOJA

PRATHYAKSHA GAJAVAHANA

PANCHAMRUTHAM

KSHEERABHISHEKAM

HASTODAKA ARCHANA

HASTODAKA ARATI

HASTODAKAM

TULASI ARCHANA

MANGALARTHI

GRUTA NANDA DEEPAM (1 MONTH

IN A YEAR)

TAILA NANDA DEEPAM (1 MONTH

IN A YEAR)

*The Above Endowment Sevas will be performed on the specific date

or thithi intended by the party, out of the interest from the fixed

deposit amount remitted by the pilgrims,.

For Accommodation and conducting Sevas – Contact:

The Manager, Shri Raghavendra Swamy Mutt,

Mantralayam, Kurnool District,

Andhra Pradesh - 518345.

Phone- (91)-(8512)-279429, 279459

Email-info@srsmutt.org

Copyright © 2006 Dvaita Resources

The information on this page may not be republished on another webpage or website. Please LINK TO US instead