The period of Sri.Achalananda Dasaru is said to be the 9th century. However his compositions resemble those of the 16th century literatures. His place of domicile was Haiganpura in Bangalore District. He was an ardent devotee of "Lord Narasimha".
He toured whole of the country and propagated the Bhakti cult/Bhagavata Dharma. He toured barefoot while the idol of his Lord was carried in a nicely decorated palanquin. (Palaki). He used to sing the glory and virtues of the Lord by tuning Tamburi(also called as Tambruhi the meaning speak/sing of Him). The palanquin of the Lord was carried by the invisible Rudra Ganas and witnessing this miracle people became the ardent devotees/followers of Dasaru. While he was at Pandharapura he was blessed by the Lord Panduranga Vithala. Lord gave him the Darshana (the divine appearance) on one afternoon when Sri.Achalanand Dasaru was offering an Arghya(the religious and customary way of worship)to sun in the Chandrabhaga river. From that day all his compositions were dedicated to Achalananda Vithala.
Miracle:
While he was touring Nepal the prince of Nepal died of snake bite. The king of Nepal humbly prayed to Sri.Achalananda Dasaru to save his son. Dasaru by chanting Garuda mantra summoned the serpent and made to suck back the poison from the body of the prince and he was saved.
In his family the Mudduvithala, Gopinatha, Haridasa, Timmannadasa, and Panduranga were the famous Haridasas who propagated the Bhakti cult. After Sri.Achalananada Dasaru we are unable to trace the names of any famous Haridasas till 13th Century. Sri.Vijayadasaru(18th Century) in one of his compositions has stated that many Haridasas earlier to the era of Sri.Purandardasa(16th Century) have praised the Lord and has made a special reference of Shri. Achalananda Dasa and some names of Adya family. However we are unable to name any Haridasas of that period.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Sri Gopala Dasaru 1722---1762 AD
anyarindali sukhavaayitembudakinta
ninnindaayitemba klesha melayya
ninnariyade anyara ballenembudakinta
kannilladiruva kuruda melayya
punyapaapavariyade badukuva
manujaniginta naayi kunni lesayya
kulahinanaadaru sukha duhkhagalu
ninnindaayitemba mati cennaagi tilisayya Gopaalavithala ||
Murariraya and Venkamma were a poor Brahmin couple living in village Mosarakallu in Raichur district of Karnataka. They were blessed with four sons - Bhaganna, Dasappa, Seenappa and Rangappa. When Rangappa was an infant, Murariraya died, leaving his family helpless and destitute. They were driven out of the village by their relatives. Venkamma moved with her children to Sankapura, another village. There also they could not find any shelter as the villagers offered them no help.
In the outskirts of Sankapura there was a dilapidated temple of Anjaneya Swamy. As the saying goes - Sri Hari is the refuge of the helpless - Anjaneya Swamy gave them shelter! The mother and sons started to live there.
Venkamma used to go to the village for alms. During the harvesting season, she was able to collect food-grains. One compassionate farmer donated them a piece of land and another farmer helped them cultivate it, yielding a bumper crop. But the village Head, accused Venkamma of illegally utilisizing water from the Government Tank, confiscated the food grains. Actually, he was taking revenge against her for not working as a servant in his house. Venkamma begged him to show mercy but he drove her away mercilessly. Seeing his mother shedding tears, Bhaganna became angry and cursed the Karnam to remain childless and his tank to remain dry forever.
Miraculously, Bhaganna's curses came true. The village Head dies childless and the tank remains dry even today!
Venkanna approached the village teacher and requested him to accept her sons as his students. The compassionate teacher agreed and started teaching them with affection. The three boys began learning enthusiastically.
After sometime, one householder in the village performed Bhaganna'a thread- ceremony along with that of his son. Bhaganna was initiated into the Gayathri-Mantra and decided to meditate on it, with his mother's encouragement. One day, when Bhaganna was meditating, a huge serpent entwined his body and put its hood above his head! Seeing this, people ran to Venkamma and brought her there. However, knowing the power of the Gayathri Mantra, Venkamma did not panic. Before their very eyes, the serpent uncoiled itself from Bhaganna's body and disappeared!
One day Bhaganna felt as if some unknown hand was writing the 'Bhijakshras' on his tongue. From that moment, he developed extraordinary powers like spontaneously composing songs, predicting the future, peering into the past of a person (going back to upto three births) etc. From then, a new chapter began in his life.
Bhaganna once visited Advani (Adoni), a town in Andhra Pradesh where the Sri Vijaya Dasaru lived. Bhaganna who had heard many legends about him decided become his disciple. He wanted to be initiated into the Dasa order and enlightened by the famous saint. Sri Vijaya Dasa was happy to initiate him and give him the Ankitha nama of 'Gopala Vitthala'. From that day onwards Bhaganna became 'Gopala Dasaru'. He travelled all over the country from Rameshwaram to Badari. He used to visit Tirumala every year for the 'Brahmostvam' of Lord Sri Venkateshwara.
There was a renowned scholar named Srinivasacharya in Manvi, in Raichur district. He did not like Haridasas and thought very poorly of Kannada Devaranamas. He resented the popularity of Sri Vijaya Dasaru and Sri Gopala Dasaru.
Once when Sri Vijaya Dasaru and Sri Gopala Dasaru visited Manvi, a great feast was organized in their honor. Even though Srinivasa was absent at the feast, Sri Vijaya Dasaru sent him a personal invitation to attend the feast. In order to avoid the feast Srinivasa sent a message saying that because of stomach problems he had already taken lunch. Sri Vijaya Dasaru said "So be it!". From that day, Srinivasa developed intense stomach problems which grew worse by the day, finally reaching unbearable proportions.
Srinivasa went to Tirupathi, Ghatikaachala and Mantralaya, performing intense Seva towards the Lord, Vaayu Devaru and Sri Raghavendra Swamigalu. None of this proved to be of any avail. Finally, at the end of his stay in Mantralaya he decided to commit suicide. That night, the epitome of mercy, Sri Raghavendra Swamigalu, appeared in his dream and told him that the cure for his problems lay in surrendering to Sri Vijaya Dasaru and seeking his blessings. Srinivasa felt intense disgust at his own arrogance and rushed to Sri Vijaya Dasaru, deeply regretting his behavior. Sri Vijaya Dasaru welcomed him without rancor, gave him a cure right away, and directed him to Sri Gopala Dasaru who would be his Swaroopa Guru. Srinivasa went to Sri Gopala Dasaru and spent some time with him. He realized the greatness of both Dasaru and the fallacy of his own thinking.
Later, Sri Gopala Dasaru and Srinivasa visited Tirupathi, where another miracle happened. Due to a combination of his previous ill-health and the strain of travelling to Tirupathi, Srinivasa expired on Bhadrapada Shukla Navami. Then, Vijaya Dasaru appeared in an astral form before Sri Gopala Dasaru and directed him to donate 40 years of his life-span to Srinivasa and revive him. Sri Gopala Dasaru immediately complied, and by the grace of the Lord, Srinivasa came back to life again.
Later, Sri Gopala Dasaru gave Haridaasa Deekshe to Srinivasa and directed him to Pandarapura for Ankitha. Later Srinivasa became renowned as Sri Jagannatha Dasaru.
This is the evidence of the sacrifice of Sri Gopala Dasaru. After warding off the stomach ache of Srinivasacharya, Sri Gopala Dasaru himself got that ailment and suffered the rest of his life from it.
It is said that even though Sri Gopala Dasaru had travelled all over India, and composed songs in Vittala's name, he had not visited Pandharapura. Once while he was in the forest looking for Tulasi, a horse-rider started chasing him. Finally, when he was unable to run any further, Sri Gopala Dasaru gave up and surrendered to the rider, expecting the worst. The rider came near him and said 'Ale Nahi' and vanished (in Marati this means 'you did not come!"). After recovering his poise, Sri Gopala Dasaru realized that the rider was none other than Panduranga Himself, complaining about Sri Gopala Dasaru's failure to visit Pandharapura. He promptly visited Pandharapura and Udupi. How great must he have been, who was personally invited by the Lord! And what do you say about the compassion of the Lord who complains about His devotee's failure to visit Him!!
On the eighth day of the dark half of the lunar month of Pushya of the year Chitrabhanu, Sri Gopala Dasaru performed Panchamritabhsheka and Sahasaranamarchana to Lord Srinivasa in the temple and at his house. After that he sat in meditation and laid down his mortal body. His famous disciples were Vyasa Tatvagnya, Ajit Swami.
Dasappa, Sri Gopala Dasaru's brother was called Guru Gopala Dasaru. He was a great seer. Seenappa Dasa too, was a seer and his fame spread far and wide.
Gopa prakara sankasham Gopalarchana tatparam
Godeva vandya padarjam Gopalakhya Gurum Bhaje
Sri Mohana Dasaru 1730---1815 AD
Mohana Dasaru was a famous devotee of Sri Hari and was blessed even when he was young. Mohana Dasaru's father Bhimappa Nayaka was in Anegondi and was a jeweller. He had earned a good deal of money. But he died without distributing his property to hs wife and children.
Bhimappa Nayaka's wife with her son, young Mohana, became almost destitute. Both found it hard to lead even a simple life of sufficient food and clothing. The wife was ill-treated and she suffered the pain of social and financial insults. Not able to undergo deprivation the wife decided to commit suicide along with her son. The place chosen was the present Nava Vrindavan off Hampi. It is an island in the river Tungabhandra.
It so happened that Sri Vijaya Dasaru was at Anegundi to conduct the Sri Purandara Dasaru’s Aradhana he saved the woman who was in the act of committing suicide along with her child. He looked after them as part of his family. Later that boy became his disciple and a very famous Haridasa called Mohana Dasaru.
Mohana Dasaru was destined to write a number of songs in praise of Sri Hari. But, unfortunately he met with prematue death. When he suddenly died Vijaya Dasaru it is said went personally to the God of death and got back Mohana Dasaru. Later Mohan Dasaru became a seer, philosopher and a great devotee of Sri Hari. Vijaya Dasaru used to say " In devotion none to beat Bhaganna (Sri Gopala Dasaru), In Noble saying Mohana Dasaru and in strength of writing Timmanna Dasaru".
Mohana Dasa wrote his songs to preach to the common people. With his sayings and teaching methods he won the heart of the people. His Ankita nama was "Mohana Vittala".
Bhimappa Nayaka's wife with her son, young Mohana, became almost destitute. Both found it hard to lead even a simple life of sufficient food and clothing. The wife was ill-treated and she suffered the pain of social and financial insults. Not able to undergo deprivation the wife decided to commit suicide along with her son. The place chosen was the present Nava Vrindavan off Hampi. It is an island in the river Tungabhandra.
It so happened that Sri Vijaya Dasaru was at Anegundi to conduct the Sri Purandara Dasaru’s Aradhana he saved the woman who was in the act of committing suicide along with her child. He looked after them as part of his family. Later that boy became his disciple and a very famous Haridasa called Mohana Dasaru.
Mohana Dasaru was destined to write a number of songs in praise of Sri Hari. But, unfortunately he met with prematue death. When he suddenly died Vijaya Dasaru it is said went personally to the God of death and got back Mohana Dasaru. Later Mohan Dasaru became a seer, philosopher and a great devotee of Sri Hari. Vijaya Dasaru used to say " In devotion none to beat Bhaganna (Sri Gopala Dasaru), In Noble saying Mohana Dasaru and in strength of writing Timmanna Dasaru".
Mohana Dasa wrote his songs to preach to the common people. With his sayings and teaching methods he won the heart of the people. His Ankita nama was "Mohana Vittala".
Helavanakatte Giriyamma Around 1750 A.D
Helavanakatte Giriyamma was one of the Haridasa women the other being Harapanhally Bhimava who had Ankitha nama as "Bhimesha Krishna" , basically from Ranebennur of Dharwar district. She lived around early 18th Century and was having poorna anugraha of Sri Sumateendra Theertharu, Sri Gopala Dasaru and Sri Satyabodha Theertharu.
Once Sri Sumateendra Theertharu (Sri Raghavendra swamy mutt, Third Theertharu after Rayaru) had come to Malebennur and stayed at Ranganatha Temple. Helavanakatte Giriyamma was a strong devotee of Ranganatha Swamy, she used to compose keerthanaas on him. As she was a lady and further she had no children, people were against her composing keerthanaas.
It was the Bhiksha day of Giriyamma. After the Mahapooja and Mangalarathi were over, the Sri Sumateendra Theertharu asked Giriyamma to come and take the Thirtha. Mataadhikari replied as she has no issues, she is not eligible to take Thirtha from the Sri Sumateendra Theertharu. But Sri Sumateendra Theertharu insisted that she must take the Thirtha. She came and stood stretching her right hand. The Sri Sumateendra Theertharu observing her hand said that Chakrapaaani, the Lord was her son, and her hand had the characteristic of Devaki, Her palms were that of Kausalya’s character, and requested her to show him Lord Balakrishna calling her Yashodhamma.
Giriyamma never used to take food without completing her daily routine of singing, performing pooja etc. She started putting rangoli reciting keerthanas on the Lord worshipping with turmeric-kumkum keeping the idol of Venugopala at the centre gifted by Sri Gopala Dasaru. Sri Sumateendra Theertharu who was sitting nearby happened to see the idol. He heard Giriyamma singing Keerthanaas in a melodious style. Venugopala was dancing making sounds from the tiny bells tied to his legs according to the tune from the flute. He was amazed. Giriyamma took that child in her waist and kept before the Sri Sumateendra Theertharu requesting him to give Mantrakshate to the child. Sri Sumateendra Theertharu was overwhelmed with “ Ananada Bhashpa” He said, “Kanaka Dasaru showed to Sri Vyaasarayaru the Paramaathma, Vaikunta Dasaru showed Paramaathma to Sri Vadhirajaru, Because of you, I also got the chance of looking at the heavenly manifestation of Venugopaala. Oh ! Mother, just like them I have had the Darshana of Baalakrishna because of you.
Sri Sumateendra Theertharu said “You are Yashodha, You are Kausalya, You are Anasuya”,
Giriyamma said, that it was His Moola Raama and sang
Raama Shree Raghunandana|
madanakoti mohanaanga maadhava puNcharitha karuNaapaanga||
HeLavanakatte nilaya venkata shree ranga|
sumatheendhra hRudhaya pankaja Bhrunga|
sadhaanandha kadhana vikrama bhaahu
Kothanda Dhuritha seetaaraama shree raghnandhana.||
Next day it was a day for Tapthamudra DhaaraNa. “Sudharshana Homa” was conducted and all had Mudradhaarane. When it was the turn of Giriyamma, the Sri Sumateendra Theertharu observing her stretched hands, said that Sri Hari had himself had done “Chakraankana” and he had no powers to do “Chakraankana” to her. He said not only those Bhakthas who had darshan of these hands had become pure , he was also fortunate to have been blessed” and thus praised Giriyamma.
Helavanakatte Giriyamma has her Ankitha nama as "Helavanakatte Ranga"
Once Sri Sumateendra Theertharu (Sri Raghavendra swamy mutt, Third Theertharu after Rayaru) had come to Malebennur and stayed at Ranganatha Temple. Helavanakatte Giriyamma was a strong devotee of Ranganatha Swamy, she used to compose keerthanaas on him. As she was a lady and further she had no children, people were against her composing keerthanaas.
It was the Bhiksha day of Giriyamma. After the Mahapooja and Mangalarathi were over, the Sri Sumateendra Theertharu asked Giriyamma to come and take the Thirtha. Mataadhikari replied as she has no issues, she is not eligible to take Thirtha from the Sri Sumateendra Theertharu. But Sri Sumateendra Theertharu insisted that she must take the Thirtha. She came and stood stretching her right hand. The Sri Sumateendra Theertharu observing her hand said that Chakrapaaani, the Lord was her son, and her hand had the characteristic of Devaki, Her palms were that of Kausalya’s character, and requested her to show him Lord Balakrishna calling her Yashodhamma.
Giriyamma never used to take food without completing her daily routine of singing, performing pooja etc. She started putting rangoli reciting keerthanas on the Lord worshipping with turmeric-kumkum keeping the idol of Venugopala at the centre gifted by Sri Gopala Dasaru. Sri Sumateendra Theertharu who was sitting nearby happened to see the idol. He heard Giriyamma singing Keerthanaas in a melodious style. Venugopala was dancing making sounds from the tiny bells tied to his legs according to the tune from the flute. He was amazed. Giriyamma took that child in her waist and kept before the Sri Sumateendra Theertharu requesting him to give Mantrakshate to the child. Sri Sumateendra Theertharu was overwhelmed with “ Ananada Bhashpa” He said, “Kanaka Dasaru showed to Sri Vyaasarayaru the Paramaathma, Vaikunta Dasaru showed Paramaathma to Sri Vadhirajaru, Because of you, I also got the chance of looking at the heavenly manifestation of Venugopaala. Oh ! Mother, just like them I have had the Darshana of Baalakrishna because of you.
Sri Sumateendra Theertharu said “You are Yashodha, You are Kausalya, You are Anasuya”,
Giriyamma said, that it was His Moola Raama and sang
Raama Shree Raghunandana|
madanakoti mohanaanga maadhava puNcharitha karuNaapaanga||
HeLavanakatte nilaya venkata shree ranga|
sumatheendhra hRudhaya pankaja Bhrunga|
sadhaanandha kadhana vikrama bhaahu
Kothanda Dhuritha seetaaraama shree raghnandhana.||
Next day it was a day for Tapthamudra DhaaraNa. “Sudharshana Homa” was conducted and all had Mudradhaarane. When it was the turn of Giriyamma, the Sri Sumateendra Theertharu observing her stretched hands, said that Sri Hari had himself had done “Chakraankana” and he had no powers to do “Chakraankana” to her. He said not only those Bhakthas who had darshan of these hands had become pure , he was also fortunate to have been blessed” and thus praised Giriyamma.
Helavanakatte Giriyamma has her Ankitha nama as "Helavanakatte Ranga"
Sri Kalloor Subbanna Dasaru 1720--1815 AD
There was a great scholar Subbannachar in a village called Kalloor, who was an authority of “Nyayasudha”. This was a kriti written as a commentary on Srimad Madhwacharyaru’s Brahmasuthra Bhashya, by Sri Jaya Theertharu (also known as Tikacharyaru). But Subbannachar was subject to intellectual arrogance. He had heard about Sri Vijaya Dasaru but looked down upon him as a mere kannada song composer. There was a religious event “Sudha Mangala” in his place where Sri Vijaya Dasaru came disguised as a cook and prepared the special sweet dish “Mandige” since the original cook was had not turn up.
Sri Vijaya Dasaru requested him for a few teachings from Sudha. But Subbannachar in his arrogance insulted him saying Sudha is far above intellect. Sri Vijaya Dasaru, without getting disturbed, requested for at least a line from Sudha and he was again turned down. Sri Vijaya Dasaru pulled an odd job person from the kitchen in front of Subbanachar and holding his hand on his head commanded him to give pravachana on Sudha. The odd job person confounded the entire audience and Subbanachar with a non-stop recital of Nyaya Sudha, as long as Sri Vijaya Dasaru held his hand. The moment Sri Vijaya Dasaru dropped his hand his intellect dropped back to its original level. Subbannachar was stunned. He realized he is standing before a Mahatma blessed by God. He fell at his feet and requested to be accepted as his disciple.
Further Sri Vijaya Dasaru fulfilled his wish to be made a Haridasa and gave him the Ankita nama of “Vyasa Vittala”. This disciple of Sri Vijaya Dasaru later on composed a stothra in praise of his Guru Sri Vijaya Dasaru which is famously called as “Vijaya Kavacha” which is recited even today regularly and has been a tradition with the Kannada women folk for the past 250 years.
Sri Vijaya Dasaru requested him for a few teachings from Sudha. But Subbannachar in his arrogance insulted him saying Sudha is far above intellect. Sri Vijaya Dasaru, without getting disturbed, requested for at least a line from Sudha and he was again turned down. Sri Vijaya Dasaru pulled an odd job person from the kitchen in front of Subbanachar and holding his hand on his head commanded him to give pravachana on Sudha. The odd job person confounded the entire audience and Subbanachar with a non-stop recital of Nyaya Sudha, as long as Sri Vijaya Dasaru held his hand. The moment Sri Vijaya Dasaru dropped his hand his intellect dropped back to its original level. Subbannachar was stunned. He realized he is standing before a Mahatma blessed by God. He fell at his feet and requested to be accepted as his disciple.
Further Sri Vijaya Dasaru fulfilled his wish to be made a Haridasa and gave him the Ankita nama of “Vyasa Vittala”. This disciple of Sri Vijaya Dasaru later on composed a stothra in praise of his Guru Sri Vijaya Dasaru which is famously called as “Vijaya Kavacha” which is recited even today regularly and has been a tradition with the Kannada women folk for the past 250 years.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Sri Vijaya Dasaru 1682--1755 A.D
Jala Kashta Shaila Gagana Nela Pavaka Vayutaru
Phala Pushpa Balligalavalage Hari Vyaptanenaritavage!
Ananada Ananda mate Paramananda ----- Vijayadasaru
Sri Vijaya Dasaru is one of the most renowned scholars and philosophers in Dvaita philosophy as well Dasaru Sahitya. He is revered as the spiritual heir of Sri Purandara Dasaru. He is regarded as the reincarnation of Brigu Muni.
He was born in a very poor Brahmin family in Chekalaparvi of Manwi Taluk in Raichur District. His parents were Sri Srinivasappa and Kusamma. He went to Kashi (Varanasi) for four years for studies and later returned to his native land.
He married Aralamma at the age of 16 and had a troubled domestic life because of poverty. He went back to Kashi (Varanasi) after his parents' death. He became a renowned sanskrit scholar
One day he had a dream in which Sri Purandara Dasaru appeared, initiated him into the Dasa Deeksha and gave him the Ankitha Nama of 'Vijay Vittala'. From then on, he was known as Vijaya Dasa. He woke up from his profound dream in ecstasy and started praying Lord Hari. From that moment life turned upside down for him. No more Dasappa, he became Sri Vijaya Dasa. Whatever he spoke became a sahitya. All his devarunamas and other compositions carried the ankita of “Vijaya Vittala”. People started thronging where he was and fell at his feet. The King of Benares sent his palanquin and many rich gifts. Sri Vijaya Dasaru understood what was happening. It was all Lord Hari’s grace. It was at this time that he sang, his most famous song,
A tradition of rendering philosophical verses and singing them all along to the tune of a Thamburi. These verses are known as Keeerthans.
He spent the rest of his life popularizing Dwaita concepts, the works of Srimadacharya and Hari dasa's. He has written about 25,000 Padya Sulyadi In Kannada sahitya his literary works are regarded as second only to those of Sri Purandara Dasa. He is affectionately called Dasa Shreshta, for his personality, knowledge and the brilliant disciples he left behind
Sri Vijaya Dasa composed many songs and Suladis. His style is very scholarly and full of words from Sanskrit. His thorough grasp of the Sastras is very evident in his works. His compositions are simple and lucid, replete with telling phrases and similies, like those of his master Sri Purandara Dasaru. He was an ardent Vaisnava, true Madhva as the Saviour of mankind.
Vijaya Rayara pada nijavagi nambalu,
Ajana pitha thane oliva,
"Vi" yendu nudiyalu, Vishnu Dasanaguvanu,
"Ja" yenalu Janana hani
"Ya"yendu kondade Yama Bhataru Oduvaru
"Raya" nendenalu hari kava, vara veeva
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Sri Mahipathi Dasaru 1611---1681 AD
Sri Mahipathi Dasaru was the son of Sri Koneri Rao, an orthodox and ardent devotee of Sri Hari.
When Koneri Rao wanted to perform the Upanayana of his son the astrologer who saw his horoscope predicted that Mahipathi would lead a royal life and become a sacred yogi.
Sri Mahipathi Dasaru continued his early education with his father and became a popular scholar like him. He became very fluent in Sanskrit, Marathi, Hindi, Kannada, Urdu and Persian. His philosophical discourses were very popular and attended by thousands.
One day, Khawas Khan a minister in Adil Shah's court was passing by the Narasimha Temple where Sri Mahipathi Dasaru was conducting a discourse and saw thousands of people listening to the discourse. Khan listened for some time and liked what he heard. He wanted a discourse to be conducted in his house too. Sri Mahipathi Dasaru immediately agreed to do so.
The next day, Sri Mahipathi Dasaru conducted a discourse in Khan's house. He explained incidents from Srimad Bhagavatha, Ramayana etc in urdu and parsi, languages which the people in the house understood. His discourse was so well liked that it became a practice and henceforth discourses were conducted both in Khan's house and the temple. Many muslims, including mullas, attended his discourse and appreciated his knowledge and scholarly attitude.
Once, the Nawab's auditors were in a fix as they could not rectify a mistake in their accounts. Somebody suggested that Mahipathi should be consulted as he was good at accounts. When Sri Mahipathi Dasaru saw the accounts he immediately identified the mistake. The Nawab was very happy and appointed Sri Mahipathi Dasaru as his courtier. Eventually, Sri Mahipathi Dasaru's sincerity and hard-work made him the Diwan.
Sri Mahipathi Dasaru married a girl called Tirumala, and led a very simple and austere life, even though he could afford luxuries and comforts.
In Bijapur, there lived a brother and sister called Shahanunga and Shahanungi. They belonged to the Soophi sect and were very popular as they could predict the future. However, their existence and character seemed to something of a mystery as nobody knew where they lived, what they ate, or wore. They were very pious and respected by both Hindus and Muslims.
One day, Sri Mahipathi Dasaru was inspecting some construction work on the banks of a water tank. Shahanunga came there and was curious to know what Sri Mahipathi Dasaru had in his hand. Sri Mahipathi Dasaru told him that it was the Nawab' ring (raja mudra). Shahanunga begged Sri Mahipathi Dasaru to give the ring and upon receiving it, threw it into the the tank. Sri Mahipathi Dasaru was scared as the ring was a symbol of the Nawab's position and power, and could not be trifled with. So he pleaded with Shahanunga to retrieve the ring. Shahnunga asked his sister to get the ring. She immediately retrieved hundreds of identical rings from the water. The baffled Sri Mahipathi Dasaru could not identify the Nawab's ring and requested Shahanunga to help him, whereupon Shahanunga retrieved his ring and uttering the words 'mouthghaghana mouthghaghana throw this throw this' he disappeared.
Sri Mahipathi Dasaru could not understand Shahnunga's utterance [mouthghghana means smell of dead body] or its significance. After pondering about this for a while he gave up and decided to approach Shahnunga himself for an explanation. This was not easy as Shahnunga's whereabouts were difficult to predict. Finally, after great effort, Sri Mahipathi Dasaru finally met Shahnunga and prostrated before him, asking him to explain the significance and accept him (Sri Mahipathi Dasaru) as a disciple. Shahnunga told him to go to Bhaskar Swamy who was living in Saravada and take him as his preceptor.
After this Sri Mahipathi Dasaru decided give up his position and went to Bhaskar Swamy. Even though the Nawab was initially reluctant to let him go, he relented on hearing Sri Mahipathi Dasaru's goal, and wished him luck. Even Tirumala was happy with Sri Mahipathi Dasaru's decision and decided to accompany him to Sarawada.
Bhaskar Swamy was very famous in Karanataka and Maharashtra. Even though Sarawada was a small village, his presence attracted a number of devotees, turning Sarawada into a piligrimage centre.
Sri Mahipathi Dasaru and his wife went to Bhaskar Swamy for obtaining sacred and philosophical knowledge. Bhaskar Swamy accepted Sri Mahipathi Dasaru as his disciple and gave him upadesha. He also blessed the couple to have illustrious children. Sri Mahipathi Dasaru and his wife stayed with Bhaskar Swamy for some time before going to their native place in Bijapur.
Later, Sri Mahipathi Dasaru went to Shapura village in Gulbarga district, where he selected the Sri Hanuman Temple on the banks of the Mandakini river as the setting for his activites. From then on, he composed many songs with the Ankitha Nama as 'Mahipathi'. He spent the rest of his life conducting philosophical discourses, bhajans and other devotional activites.
Sri Mahipathi Dasaru had two sons - Devaraya and Krishnaraya. Devaraya chose the career of a warrior and became the leader of some small army. Krishnaraya followed in his father's footsteps and became a haridasa, and composed many songs.
When Koneri Rao wanted to perform the Upanayana of his son the astrologer who saw his horoscope predicted that Mahipathi would lead a royal life and become a sacred yogi.
Sri Mahipathi Dasaru continued his early education with his father and became a popular scholar like him. He became very fluent in Sanskrit, Marathi, Hindi, Kannada, Urdu and Persian. His philosophical discourses were very popular and attended by thousands.
One day, Khawas Khan a minister in Adil Shah's court was passing by the Narasimha Temple where Sri Mahipathi Dasaru was conducting a discourse and saw thousands of people listening to the discourse. Khan listened for some time and liked what he heard. He wanted a discourse to be conducted in his house too. Sri Mahipathi Dasaru immediately agreed to do so.
The next day, Sri Mahipathi Dasaru conducted a discourse in Khan's house. He explained incidents from Srimad Bhagavatha, Ramayana etc in urdu and parsi, languages which the people in the house understood. His discourse was so well liked that it became a practice and henceforth discourses were conducted both in Khan's house and the temple. Many muslims, including mullas, attended his discourse and appreciated his knowledge and scholarly attitude.
Once, the Nawab's auditors were in a fix as they could not rectify a mistake in their accounts. Somebody suggested that Mahipathi should be consulted as he was good at accounts. When Sri Mahipathi Dasaru saw the accounts he immediately identified the mistake. The Nawab was very happy and appointed Sri Mahipathi Dasaru as his courtier. Eventually, Sri Mahipathi Dasaru's sincerity and hard-work made him the Diwan.
Sri Mahipathi Dasaru married a girl called Tirumala, and led a very simple and austere life, even though he could afford luxuries and comforts.
In Bijapur, there lived a brother and sister called Shahanunga and Shahanungi. They belonged to the Soophi sect and were very popular as they could predict the future. However, their existence and character seemed to something of a mystery as nobody knew where they lived, what they ate, or wore. They were very pious and respected by both Hindus and Muslims.
One day, Sri Mahipathi Dasaru was inspecting some construction work on the banks of a water tank. Shahanunga came there and was curious to know what Sri Mahipathi Dasaru had in his hand. Sri Mahipathi Dasaru told him that it was the Nawab' ring (raja mudra). Shahanunga begged Sri Mahipathi Dasaru to give the ring and upon receiving it, threw it into the the tank. Sri Mahipathi Dasaru was scared as the ring was a symbol of the Nawab's position and power, and could not be trifled with. So he pleaded with Shahanunga to retrieve the ring. Shahnunga asked his sister to get the ring. She immediately retrieved hundreds of identical rings from the water. The baffled Sri Mahipathi Dasaru could not identify the Nawab's ring and requested Shahanunga to help him, whereupon Shahanunga retrieved his ring and uttering the words 'mouthghaghana mouthghaghana throw this throw this' he disappeared.
Sri Mahipathi Dasaru could not understand Shahnunga's utterance [mouthghghana means smell of dead body] or its significance. After pondering about this for a while he gave up and decided to approach Shahnunga himself for an explanation. This was not easy as Shahnunga's whereabouts were difficult to predict. Finally, after great effort, Sri Mahipathi Dasaru finally met Shahnunga and prostrated before him, asking him to explain the significance and accept him (Sri Mahipathi Dasaru) as a disciple. Shahnunga told him to go to Bhaskar Swamy who was living in Saravada and take him as his preceptor.
After this Sri Mahipathi Dasaru decided give up his position and went to Bhaskar Swamy. Even though the Nawab was initially reluctant to let him go, he relented on hearing Sri Mahipathi Dasaru's goal, and wished him luck. Even Tirumala was happy with Sri Mahipathi Dasaru's decision and decided to accompany him to Sarawada.
Bhaskar Swamy was very famous in Karanataka and Maharashtra. Even though Sarawada was a small village, his presence attracted a number of devotees, turning Sarawada into a piligrimage centre.
Sri Mahipathi Dasaru and his wife went to Bhaskar Swamy for obtaining sacred and philosophical knowledge. Bhaskar Swamy accepted Sri Mahipathi Dasaru as his disciple and gave him upadesha. He also blessed the couple to have illustrious children. Sri Mahipathi Dasaru and his wife stayed with Bhaskar Swamy for some time before going to their native place in Bijapur.
Later, Sri Mahipathi Dasaru went to Shapura village in Gulbarga district, where he selected the Sri Hanuman Temple on the banks of the Mandakini river as the setting for his activites. From then on, he composed many songs with the Ankitha Nama as 'Mahipathi'. He spent the rest of his life conducting philosophical discourses, bhajans and other devotional activites.
Sri Mahipathi Dasaru had two sons - Devaraya and Krishnaraya. Devaraya chose the career of a warrior and became the leader of some small army. Krishnaraya followed in his father's footsteps and became a haridasa, and composed many songs.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Sri Kanaka Dasaru 15O8---16O6 AD
There was a chieftain of the soldiers in the King Krishnadevaraya’s court. He was a shepherd named Birappa. His wife was Buchchamma. They were an ideal couple and were staunch devotees of Sri Venkateswara. They had no children for quite sometime, but later were blessed with a male child due to their continuous pleads to Lord Venkateswara. They named him Timmappa.
Timmappa showed no interest in studies. The father being a soldier himself made him learn martial arts; he lost his parents at an early age and his wife too, within a few years of marriage. He was left a lonely soul in the vast world. People, people everywhere but not a single person to love him.
Timmappa need not have worried since the Lord himself came to him in his dream and ordered him to become his disciple. We are pulled miles apart from the Lord. So even when God comes down to bless us, we are not ready to accept it. So was the case with Timmappa. He flatly refused to obey the order. He expressed his desire to enjoy material comforts. Bhakti and Mukti are not his cup of tea. Lord Adikesava repeatedly appeared before him in his sleep, but he was adamant.
Once, the enemies attacked their Kingdom and Timmappa had to partake in it. He displayed his valor well and shattered the soldiers of the opponent. When he was thus like a lion in the fight, a soldier threw a knife at him from behind. Timmappa fell down and became unconscious. Even after he came back to his senses, he could not move due to severe pain. God felt this as the opportune moment. He appeared before him and put in the same proposal.
The words ‘Are you hurt Timmappa’ were more hurting than the real hurt. He did not hesitate to shout at God. ‘Don’t you have any other work? Why do you pester me like this? I hate Bhakti or Mukti. When thousands of people are after you for your blessings to be showered on them, why are you after me?
God explained the reason. Will God’s actions be unreasonable? ‘Timmappa, you were my devotee in previous Janma. You were a great pundit who served him wholeheartedly. Due to your ‘Karma Phala’ you weren’t able to pray to me in this Janma. But now the time is ripe. You pray to me sincerely and I will bless you.
Timmappa struck a bargain with him ‘OK fine! I will oblige you if you oblige me. You first relieve me of this physical pain. Then I can accept that you can relieve me of the physical world. Even as he uttered the last words, Adi Keshava Swami relieved him of his pain with a gentle touch across his body. The gentle touch also tickled the spiritual feeling in him. Then God vanished.
There was a sea change in Timmappa. The one, who was against God, could hardly bear his separation from God. He ran to the temple of Adhi Keshava. His powerful feelings gave went to a prayer spontaneously.
His golden faith for Kesava turned him into Sri Kanaka Dasaru.
There was a drastic change in him ever since then. The original Timmappa was mad after material comforts while this Sri Kanaka Dasaru was mad after God. His every thought was centered on Lord Adhi Keshava.
One day Lord Adhi Keshava told him in his dream to become a disciple of the Guru Vyasaraja Theertharu to seek Jnana. Accordingly he went to Hampi to learn from Sri Vyasaraja Theertharu. Sri Vyasaraja Theertharu, though a Guru, was bound by the caste differences. He was not willing to teach an untouchable, but Sri Kanaka Dasaru was not ready to leave him. Unable to avoid him the guru said ‘you just chant the name of buffalo.’ The disciple had so much faith in him that he was continuously chanting the word buffalo, in a lonely place. Lord Yama was delighted at his faith in his Vahana and so appeared before him as a buffalo. He was ready to fulfill any desire of his, but Sri Kanaka Dasaru humbly said, ‘I don’t have any desire, but my guru may have.’ He took the buffalo to the guru.
The guru was astonished at the situation, but all the same, he did not want to miss a golden opportunity. So he asked the buffalo to remove a boulder across the stream. The buffalo fulfilled it and disappeared. It was named ‘Kanakatruma’. You can see it still near Madanapalli village in Chittoor district. The guru realized the greatness of Sri Kanaka Dasaru and blessed him with his teachings.
One day Sri Vyasaraja Theertharu was doing Pooja. He was decking God in his heart. He reached a stage where he was supposed to deck God with a garland of flowers. He was toying with the idea of removing the crown for garlanding God. Sri Kanaka Dasaru as he happened to step in then said, ‘Guruji! The crown is big, whereas the garland is small. Why don’t you keep it at the feet instead? The Guru has realized that Sri Kanaka Dasaru has become a blessed soul.
Sri Kanaka Dasaru wanted to go on a pilgrimage and have the Darshana of all Gods. He had bath in many holy rivers. He visited many holy places. Then he reached Tirumala. The Lord Venkateswara was pleased to see him in his place. He appeared in the dream of Mahantu of the temple and ordered him to honour Sri Kanaka Dasaru as he was His staunch devotee. But Sri Kanaka Dasaru looked so inconspicuous that the Mahantu could not identify him. Sri Kanaka Dasaru lingered at the main door the whole day, but couldn’t have the Darshana of God.
As luck would have it, that day the jewelry of the Lord was stolen and the suspicious eyes turned towards Sri Kanaka Dasaru. They felt so because he was seen loitering there all alone even at night. He was arrested and was whipped. He fainted. Will God leave his disciple to his fate? He appeared in the dream of Mahantu again and expressed his anger over him. The man who was to be honored was being whipped! Was there any justice? The Mahantu rushed to Sri Kanaka Dasaru, released him, fell before him and pleaded guilty. He took him to the temple and the jewelry of God was very much there! God was his usual self decked in all jewels!
Sri Kanaka Dasaru said, ‘Oh God! Your Leela is unbelievable. I can understand that the episode of the theft of your jewelry is created by you just to spread my name. He was moved to tears for God’s concern for him.
Praying to God incessantly he finally reached Udupi to have Krishna’s Darshana. Just as he was about to step in, the trustees of the temple forbade his entry since he was an untouchable. He felt his life was a waste if he couldn’t have the Darshana of the Lord. He pleaded to the trustees but they fell into deaf ears. His tears only hardened their hearts.
Sri Kanaka Dasaru went to the one side of the temple and wept bitterly. The human beings were like stones but the God in the stone was melted by his tears. The statue turned from its original place. The statue which was facing east turned towards Kanaka Dasaru. In one word, Lord Krishna took a turn and he had the Darshana of the disciple who was deprived of his Darshana. Sri Kanaka Dasaru joy knew no bounds. Today disciples see God through the window Sri Kanaka Dasaru saw. It is called ‘Kanakana Kindi’.
Most of the compositions of Sri Kanaka Dasaru have the Ankitha Nama of “Kagineleyadhi Keshava”. There is a class of compositions called Sri Kanaka Dasara Mundige full of abstract imagery, subtlety of metaphysics and inscrutable implications, challenging the finest in the Bhakta.
Besides many devotional songs including "Mundiges" (allegories) he wrote the Mohanatarangini, Haribhakthasara, Ramadhyana Charite and Nala Charite. His portrayal of feelings is vivid and penetrating. He can be most homely and sublime as occasions demand and rise to inimitable perfection of art.
Sri Kanaka Dasaru lived for 90 years and composed thousands of Keertanas. He constructed many temples. He became a blessed soul by the blessing of God and he is an inspiration to many more to lead a life of spirituality like him.
Sri Purandara Dasaru 1480---1564 AD
Our knowledge of Sri Purandara Dasaru's life stems mainly from the compositions of Sri Vijaya Dasaru who lived hundred and fifty years after the passing away of Sri Purandara Dasaru. This is taken as authentic since Vijaya Dasaru is believed to be the incarnation of Bhrigu Muni, and an Aparoksha Jnani.
Vijaya Dasaru had great a faith in and devotion for Sri Purandara Dasaru. It is believed that Sri Purandara Dasaru himself appeared in Vijaya Dasaru's dream and bestowed on him the Ankitha nama of ‘Vijaya Vittala'.
Sri Purandara Dasaru lived in Purandara gadha, a small town in present-day Maharashtra, but belonging to the then Vijayanagara kingdom. His earlier name was Srinivasa Nayaka. He was engaged in the family business - dealing in precious stones. He was very rich and popularly known as Navakoti Narayana. He was a miser by nature, and cared for nothing except money.
Sri Hari decided that it was time for Srinivasa Nayaka to give up his love of money, and take his rightful role among saints. So, He took the form of a poor Brahmin and approached Srinivasa Nayaka for money in order to perform the Upanayana (thread ceremony) of his son. Even though days rolled by, Nayaka did not give him anything, but the Brahmin too did not relent. He visited Srinivasa Nayaka's shop again and again.
Six months passed by in this way. Finally, Nayaka decided that he had to do something to get rid of the Brahmin. He had a collection of worn-out coins that were more or less worthless. He poured this in front of the Brahmin and asked him to take them and never come back. The Brahmin went away, seemingly crestfallen.
Saraswathi, the wife of Srinivasa Nayaka, was a kind hearted soul who in her own way, tried to make amends for her husband's miserliness. The Brahmin, who knew this, went directly from Nayaka's shop to his residence. He told her his story and how her husband had sent him away with nothing but mere worthless old coins.
Saraswathi was disgusted by her husband's behavior. She wanted to help the poor Brahmin, but felt helpless since she could not give anything without her husband's permission. When she explained her helplessness, the Brahmin asked if she had something given by her parents (which, presumably, she could give without asking her husband's permission). She agreed and gave him the diamond nose-stud that her parents had given her.
The Brahmin took the ornament straight to Srinivasa Nayaka's shop! Nayaka became angry with the Brahmin for coming back, despite his instructions. The Brahmin clarified that he was there not to beg, but to pledge an ornament and take a loan. Nayaka was skeptical and asked the Brahmin to show him the ornament. When he saw the ornament, he was mystified because he immediately recognized it as the one belonging to his wife. When questioned about the ornament's antecedents, the Brahmin told him that it was a gift from a benefactor.
Asking the Brahmin to come back the next day, Nayaka safely locked away the ornament in a box and went home. When he saw his wife without her ornament he questioned her about it. She tried to stall him with non-committal answers, but he insisted on seeing it immediately. He was angry because he thought she had given away a valuable ornament to a beggarly Brahmin.
Saraswathi felt the ground giving way under her feet. She knew that her husband would punish her if she told him the truth. Unable to think of an alternative, she decided to commit suicide. She poured poison into a cup and lifted it to her lips. Just as she was about to drink the poison, she heard a metallic sound. Lo behold, wonder of wonders! The ornament was right there!
She could not believe her eyes. Her heart filled with gratitude, she prostrated before the idol of Krishna and took the ornament to her husband. Nayaka was astounded as it was the very same ornament that he had safely locked away in his shop. He quickly excused himself and ran back to the shop to check. The box in which he had safely locked away the ornament was empty! He was now completely and totally dumbfounded.
He went back to his house, and pressed his wife to tell him the truth. She told him everything that had transpired. This put his mind into turmoil. After deep thought, he came to the conclusion that the Brahmin was none other than Sri Hari Himself. He recalled all the incidents that had transpired in the previous six months. He was disgusted with himself, and his miserliness. He felt that his wife had conducted herself far more decently and generously than himself. Since it was his love of money that had made him ill-treat the Lord, he gave away all of his wealth with the Lord's name on his lips.
From that day onwards he became a devotee of Sri Hari. Navakoti Narayana became a Narayana Bhakta; the hands which sported gold and diamond rings now played the tamboora, the neck which used to be resplendent with golden chains now housed the Tulasi maala. The man who had turned away countless people away, now himself went around collecting alms and living the life of a mendicant. The Nayaka who would have lived and died an unimportant life became Purandara Dasaru, loved and revered even centuries after his death.
Just as the philosopher's stone turns everything it touches to gold, the Lord took a wretched miser and made him into the doyen of all haridasas. Such was the magic wrought by the Lord!
After Srinivasa Nayaka became the saint-singer celebrating Sri Hari, he sought a teacher for guidance and was received as a disciple by Sri Vyasaraja Theertharu. Sri Vyasaraja Theertharu who had been accepted as a great saint had composed verses both in Sanskrit and Kannada. He bestowed the name of 'Sri Purandara Dasaru' on the unattached Srinivasa Nayaka and blessed him heartily.
Purandara Dasaru has expressed his gratitude to Sri Vyasaraja Theertharu in one of his verses thus: "My only refuge is the feet of Vyasaraja. I was able to understand Purandara Vittala by his grace"...
In the course of time Sri Purandara Dasaru came to Hampi and settled down with his wife and children. He had four sons-Varadappa, Gururaya, Abhinavappa and Madhvapati. Every morning Sri Purandara Dasaru went into the town wearing bells on his ankels and tulasi mala around his neck. He carried a tamboori in the hand and sang his Hari-keertanas sounding the tamboori with his fingers.
The verses he sang were his own compositions. They were on a variety of themes. Some of them described Sri Krishna's adventures in this world. Some others sang about God's kindness to man. A few more verses were simple compositions expounding the philosophy contained in the Vedas, Upanishads and Bhagavadgita in simple words. In yet other verses Purandara Dasaru praises Lord Krishna affectionately. In some verses he has even made fun of the Lord.
He sang these songs to the accompaniment of tamboori and the bells tied to his ankles and went about the streets of the town. The people admired the listened to his songs. Purandara Dasaru accepted alms given to him during the wandering and led a life of saint.
Sri Purandara Dasaru went on singing and finally he realized God's grace. He felt the ecstasy of God realization and at such moments he broke into song declaring "I saw Achyuta with my own eyes". He often became unconscious on account of the joy of God realization and sang: "I am saved, I have conquered life. The good fortune of serving at the feet of Padmanabha has come to me".
Each stage of Sri Purandara Dasaru's growth and development as a pious man moving towards the higher stages of God realization is significant. The greatness of his divine nature can be compositions (Suladis and Ugabhogas). The conflicts, anxieties, his hopes, fears and despair have been expressed in simple Kannada very eloquently and clearly.
Sri Purandara Dasaru became great because of his success in living the life of piety and proving the superiority of the soul over the worldly success. He has created a world of his own with his preoccupation with the life of the spirit and the strength of his devotion. We can read his verses and understand how the boy Dhruva and the sinner Ajamila reached the highest places as devotees by their devotion and piety.
Sri Purandara Dasaru set the highest value on good conduct. The strength and greatness of Sri Hari's name have been beautifully enshrined and sung in this world. People who do not know Sanskrit find it hard to understand the Vedas and Upanishads. But Purandara Dasaru has explained the whole essence of these scriptures in simple Kannada and shows the way that one should live.
He practiced in his life what he preached. It is important to note this aspect of his life. He gifted away all his wealth and lived the life of renunciation which he preached to others. Although he took to the life of renunciation and asceticism he did not desert his wife and children. He lived with them.
He made it clear to others by his conduct how it was possible to achieve purity of thought, word and deed regardless of caste, religion or creed. He did not believe that man could understand God by mere external purity unless it was accompanies by purity of mind.
Whatever Sri Purandara Dasaru says, the way he introduces it and explains it is very pleasant. His similes are very simple and telling. He compares wicked men to the knotted tree of thorns. He warns the non believers that life is being wasted at every stroke of the bell. When he saw a post man he sang "A letter has arrived from Padmanabha. A letter that has been written by Padmanabha himself!”
He preached several moral precepts making use of familiar incidents like the postman delivering letters. It was God's gift that Sri Purandara Dasaru was able to preach, in simple Kannada, what is difficult even for philosophers to put across in a way which the ordinary people can understand.
Just as Sri Purandara Dasaru used incidents to preach the value of devotion, he was able to put across difficult principles in the few simple words in Kannada. Here is the verse: "The eyes which cannot see Narahari (Krishna) are no better than the eyes of peacock's feathers". He has criticized the pretense of people who merely shave off their heads without cultivating detachment of mind and pose as saints.
Scholars opine that Sri Purandara Dasaru lived for about 84 years (from AD 1480 to 1564). On the basis of the verse by Madvapati, his son, it is held that Sri Purandara Dasaru passed away a year before the fall of Vijayanagara Kingdom. Taking it as authentic, his death anniversary is celebrated on the New Moon Day, in the second fortnight of Pushya.
It's once own duty to understand Sri Purandara Dasaru's personality from his compositions and not be content with the stories that have grown around his name. We cannot come across such originality and variety in any other saint of that creed. On the basis of a verse in his name, it is said that he composed 4,75,000 songs. Whatever the number of his songs we can see the greatness from the verses available now.
He made music and song an integral part of the common man's life. About a quarter of his songs deal with his spiritual life and how it grew stage by stage. The remaining songs reveal his abundant experience, devotion, wisdom and his detachment.
Sri Vyasaraya Theertharu, his teacher himself has called his verses "Purandaropanishat". There is no need for some one else's praise.
"Salutations to you, Purandaraguru, Greatest of the saints and the kindliest"
Purandara gurum vande Dasa-sreshtham dayanidhim
This great soul Sri Purandara Dasaru composed around 4,75,000 mind and soul soothing songs out of which only around 1000 are available.
ANKITHA NAMA : PURANDARA VITTALA
Sri Vaikuntha Dasaru 1480--1550 AD
Sri Vadirajaru reformed a rich person who was a miser who lived in Belur, Hassan. This person was given a Hayagriva Salagrama and told that by performing pooja to the Salagrama his property would increase, out of greed this miser started to do pooja to it and in due course started to get devoted towards Lord Hayagriva and lost interest in the materialistic world. At this juncture Sri Vadirajaru blessed him and named him “Sri Vaikunta Dasa.” Later on Sri Vaikunta Dasaru started composing Kirtanas in Kannada on Sri Hari with Ankitha nama of Vaikunta. Among his compositions a song called Kapatamata and many Suladis.
Sri Vadirajaru Theertharu 1480--1600 AD
Sri Vadirajaru occupies a very exalted place in the galaxy of saints in Madhva parampare. Some accord to him a lofty status along with Sri Jaya Theertharu, Sri Vyasarajaru and Sri Raghavendra Theertharu, whereas others consider him second only to Sriman Madhvacharyaru.
In any case, he is universally acknowledged as a great saint with immense spiritual powers in addition to being an outstanding poet, philosopher, social organizer, reformer, debater and prolific writer.
There are many aspects about him that are truly outstanding. He lived for 120 years, (1480-1600 AD) out of which 112 years as a Sanyasi. . He saw 5 Paryayas and entered his Brindavana alive in 1600. No other saint, irrespective of doctrinal affiliations, can claim this distinction He went around India twice and captured his experience in a travelogue.
He has left his unique imprint on many institutions. The present Paryaya system in Udupi, the mini Udupi he has created in Sode, the Sri Manjunatha temple in Dharmasthala, the multitude of Devaranamas and Stotras that he has left behind are some aspects that come to mind immediately.
Some consider him to be an incarnation of Lathavya, a Riju-gana deity, destined for the post of Vayu in the next kalpa (creation cycle). In his previous birth, he is believed to be the messenger who conveyed RukminI's message to Lord Krishna.
Biographies on Sri Sri Vadirajaruru include the Sri Vadirajaru-Guruvara-Charitamruta, Sri Vadirajaru Vruttasangraha and the autobiographical work Svapna-Vrundavana-Akhyana. But as is the case with many other saints, a detailed account of his childhood seems to be unavailable.
In the Hindu year SharvarI (1480 AD) Sri VageeshaTheertharu visited a village called Huvvinakere 25 miles North of Udupi. He met a pious but poor and childless couple, Ramabhatta and Gowridevi. They begged him to bless them so that they could have children. He did so, but imposed one condition; the first male child would have to be handed over to the mutt for upbringing.
When the couple hesitated to accept this offer, he made it easy for them by imposing a seemingly easy condition – if the child were to be born inside the house, they could keep it, but if birth happened outside the house then they would have to hand it over. They agreed to it wholeheartedly.
In due course, by the grace of God, Gowridevi became pregnant and the couple was ecstatic. They remembered their agreement and took extra care. Gowridevi was not allowed to leave the house. Since their house was nothing but a small hut surrounded by a small paddy field, Ramabhatta could easily tend to his work in the field while being available for any requirement in the house. Nine months passed and childbirth was imminent.
On Sadhana Dvadashi day, Ramabhatta was having his food and Gowridevi was performing Tulasi-pooja in the backyard. She suddenly saw some cows entering the field and destroying the crops. Since this was their only source of livelihood she was very perturbed; she immediately took up a stick and entered the fields with the intention of chasing the cows away, totally forgetting the agreement.
In her excitement she moved quite a distance from the house and suddenly developed labor pains. She could not return home and had to deliver the child in the field itself. Thus divine will prevailed inspite of all human efforts to the contrary!!
Sri Vageesha Theertharu was informed about the birth of the child. He sent a golden plate and asked the parents to bring the child in that plate to the mutt. It is said that the baby never touched the ground until it reached the mutt.
Sri Vageesha Theertharu pointed out to the happy parents several auspicious attributes in the baby and predicted that it would one day become a very great Sanyasi. He fed the baby with the milk that had been offered to the deity and asked the parents to name the boy as Bhuvara (some say Varahacharya). He sent them home with the baby and asked them to bring it back after a few years.
The paddy field where Gowridevi gave birth to Sri Sri Vadirajaruru is called as "Gowri Gadde". Now there is a small temple in that spot.
Sri Vadirajaru studied under Sri Vageesha Theertharu until the latter’s demise. After this, he performed his guru’s Aradhane in a grand way and moved with his retinue to Hampi to study under Sri Vyasarajaru.
His stay in Hampi was very eventful and remarkable because it was a union of several divine individuals - Sri Vyasarajaru, Sri Vishnu Theertharu (later known as Sri Vijayendra Theertharu), Purandara Dasaru and Kanaka Dasaru.
King Krishnadevaraya was impressed by Sri Vadirajaru’s personality and gave him the title of ‘Prasangabharana Theertharu’ ( Jewel of a Speaker). Sri Vadirajaru returned back to Udupi after a few years. As a parting gift, Sri Vyasarajaru gave him the Vyasa Mushti that had been gifted to him during a trip to Udupi.
There were thousands of goldsmiths living in the coastal regions of Karnataka. One issue dogging them was lack of social status and acceptance in religious circles.
Once, a goldsmith melted an alloy of 5 metals and put it into the mould, with the intention of making a Ganapati icon. When he opened the mould he was surprised to see a Hayagriva icon with a horse's head and four arms. Another surprising aspect was that the icon was still red hot and radiant. He decided to destroy it and reuse the metal the next day.
That night he was instructed in his dream to hand over the icon to Sri Vadirajaru. Sri Vadirajaru too had a dream in which he was told that he would receive a special Hayagriva icon. Since Hayagriva was the Ishta Devata (favorite deity) of Sri Vadirajaru he was overjoyed.
The next day a delegation of goldsmiths met Sri Vadirajaru and handed over the icon to him. They also shared their sorrow at being social outcasts. Sri Vadirajaru took pity on them and decided to uplift them.
Accordingly, on a suitable occasion, the entire community of goldsmiths was provided with Chakrankana and brought into the fold of Bhagavata (Dvaita) dharma. From then, members of that community (Daivajna Brahmans) have regarded Sri Vadirajaru as their guru, and Sode mutt as their mutt.
Sri Vadirajaru also admitted Koteshwara Brahmins into the Dvaita fold, bringing them status and respect in society.
After completing his first Paryaya Sri Vadirajaru undertook his first tour of the country. He has documented the pilgrimage centers visited by him and their greatness in a travelogue called ‘Tirtha Prabhanda’.
This is a unique work without a parallel and provides an authentic description of several pilgrimage centers. At every major location he visited, he conducted Vidwat Sabhas (Conference of scholars) encompassing religious debates and discussions, establishing beyond doubt the supremacy and greatness of TattvavAda or Dvaita philosophy.
It is said that when he visited Tirumala, the entire hill looked like a Saligrama to him. He then climbed it on his knees, not wishing to put his feet on the sacred hill. He offered a garland of Saligrama as an offering to Lord Srinivasa.
Sri Vadirajaru toured the entire country at least 2 times. He recovered the statue of Sri Mukhyaprana from Ayodhya and established it in Udupi.
He also established a statue of Sriman Madhvacharya at Pajaka, his birth place.
While on tour, Sri Vadirajaru decided to observe Chaturmasya in Pune. He learnt that a Vidwat Sabha was underway to determine the greatest Maha-Kavya (poetic epic) ever written, and that people were leaning towards selecting "Shishupala-Vadha" by Magha as the winner.
He sent word to the organizers that there was a work by him with the same background, which covered the subject in accordance with Shastra, and requested them to include it in their evaluation. He also pointed out that "Shishupala-Vadha" (Killing of Shishupala) was inauspiciously named and did not highlight Krishna's greatness. He requested them to give him about 3 weeks to have the manuscript fetched from Udupi.
The organizers agreed, not knowing that there was no such manuscript and that Sri Vadirajaru was only buying time to compose that work from scratch. He then wrote Rukminisha-Vijaya within the next 19 days, harnessing every free moment available to him.
When this work was presented at the conference the scholars were swept away by its poetic brilliance and had no hesitation in declaring it as the greatest Mahakavya in Sanskrit literature. In accordance with their decision, the manuscript was taken in a procession around the city on a well-decorated elephant, with a lot of fanfare and glory.
From Pune, Sri Vadirajaru continued on his tour and reached Pandarapura. He stayed in a temple and spent a few weeks serving Lord Vittala. One day, an angry man accosted him and started verbally abusing him as follows “You are not restraining your horse. Every day I see a white horse coming to my corn field and grazing on my crop. I have chased it several times, each time it comes up to the temple where you are staying and disappears. I am convinced that the horse belongs to you. My crop is totally ruined. You have to compensate me adequately”.
Sri Vadirajaru told the complainant that he was mistaken and that the mutt did not have any horse whatsoever. The complainant however was not satisfied and insisted on doing a full search of the premises.
When he did not find any horse, he was totally surprised. By then Sri Vadirajaru had realized what was happening. He smiled and politely asked the complainant to take him to the corn field which the horse was supposed to have destroyed.
When they arrived at the field and examined the crop, the owner was flabbergasted to see golden corn at all the places where the horse had eaten his crop. Sri Vadirajaru then explained to him that that the horse was Lord Hayavadana Himself, and that he was very lucky to have seen Him.
The crop owner surrendered at the feet of Sri Vadirajaru, and offered his land to the mutt. On the way back, Sri Vadirajaru composed the Dashavatara Stuti. This is set to Ashvadhati (literally ‘horse gait or trot’) and when sung melodiously sounds like a horse dancing.
Sri Vadirajaru had a special process for offering Naivedya to his favorite deity Lord Hayagriva (also known as Hayavadana). Amongst pictures depicting Sri Vadirajaru, the one showing him offering Naivedya to the Lord is the most popular.
A sweet dish called Hayagriva (a preparation consisting of jaggery, almonds, ghee and cooked Bengal gram) would be prepared in the mutt. After regular worship, Sri Vadirajaru would close himself in a room and meditate on the Lord with utmost devotion, holding a plate full of Hayagriva held over his head.
Hayavadana would emanate from the icon in the form of a pure white horse, put His forelegs on Sri Vadirajaru’s shoulders and eat the Naivedya, leaving a small portion as prasada. It is said that Sri Vadirajaru would sing the 'Dashavatara-Stuti’; to please the Lord and the latter would dance to show His appreciation.
Some evil people contended that Sri Vadirajaru was only pretending to offer Naivedya to the Lord while eating the food himself. To prove their theory they added mild poison to the Naivedya so that Sri Vadirajaru would be affected by it and would then be forced to admit the truth.
Not knowing this, Sri Vadirajaru offered that food to Hayagriva with utmost devotion. That day, however, the Lord ate everything that was offered, without leaving anything behind as prasada. When Sri Vadirajaru saw the empty plate, he was very disturbed and realized that something was amiss. He spent the whole day thinking about why Lord did not give him prasada. On the night Lord prompted him about the incident and told him that his body has become blue due to the poison. Lord also suggested Sri Vadirajaru to offer special item prepared out of special type of Brinjal known as "Gulla". Sri Vadirajaru called the people from the village Mattu who were praying for his blessings and asked them to plant the "Gulla" and offer it to Lord. With this the whole village got blessed by offering "Gulla" to Lord Hayavadana. With this special Naivedya, the blueness of Shri Hayavadana vanished soon but remained in the neck to signify this incident.
The disciples of Sriman Madhvacharyaru originally stayed together in the Sri Krishna mutt, sharing the daily worship amongst themselves, with each disciple getting a period of two months. Even though this worked smoothly, there were several problems lurking beneath the surface.
They were:
Festivals come around at a certain time of the year; for example, Deepavali comes in Kartika, which is usually late October or early November. So a disciple who had his recent turn between Mar and April would have to wait a very long time before Deepavali came during his turn. This led to a lot of heartburn.
Administration suffered because it constantly changed hands every two months; major changes could not be initiated because of the 2 month limit; so, everybody continued with the status quo leading to stagnation and decay
Each disciple would get a period of just 16 months between turns, leaving little or no time for pilgrimage, institution building and other activities that required long travel outside Udupi
Even though these problems were well known, nobody had the stature or the courage to change a system that had been formulated by Sriman Madhvacharyaru himself. It took a saint of the eminence of Sri Vadirajaru to do this.
In 1532, Sri Vadirajaru created the Paryya system of rotation. Buildings for the eight mutts were established in the vicinity of the Krishna mutt. Each of the mutt was given a period of 2 years to manage the Krishna temple, effectively addressing all of the problems outlined above.
Every mutt got a chance to manage the temple during all the festivals happening in the calendar year for two years. Additionally, two years is sufficient time for a mutt to take up major administrative projects. Finally, each mutt gets a period of 14 years to tour the country to spread Dvaita philosophy and get ready for the next Paryaya.
Dharmasthala, on the banks of the river Netravati in Dakshina Kannada, was an inauspicious place where people used to practice witchcraft and worship devils and demons.
Once, when Sri Vadirajaru was on tour, he happened to pass by that place. The leaders of that community who came to know of his presence invited him to come and perform pooja in their village.
Sri Vadirajaru declined their invitation stating that the environment was full of evil spirits and hence very inappropriate for any auspicious activities. The people did not give up. They begged him with folded hands to somehow lift them from the morass they had fallen into and purify their environment.
Sri Vadirajaru was moved by their plight and decided to help them. He had one of his aides fetch an icon of Manjunatheshwara (Shiva) from the Kadiri temple. He then consecrated that in accordance with Shastra and installed in Dharmasthala.
From that day on, Dharmasthala lost its bad reputation and became renowned as an important pilgrimage center in South India. Millions of devotees visit that shrine every year and get their wishes fulfilled.
It is a unique temple where the worship of Lord Shiva is done by priests of Shivalli Madhva community, and the administration of the temple is in the hands of the Jain (Hegade) family.
There is a pilgrimage center in Dakshina Kannada called Kati-Shivalaya near the place where Netravati and Kumaradhara rivers meet. It is a location with a lot of scenic beauty and hundreds of naturally occurring rock formations shaped like Shiva lingas. Sri Vadirajaru once came to that place with his retinue.
Thousands of people from nearby villages assembled to see him and experience his greatness. Most of them had an overpowering desire to perform Abhisheka to the naturally occurring Shiva Lingas, but there was no water in the rivers to support such a large-scale operation.
When word of this reached Sri Vadirajaru he drew a line in the sand with his staff (Danda) and prayed to the Lord. Immediately, water sprung forth from the line and formed a large stream. The people who had assembled there were overjoyed to see this and praised their luck in being witness to the greatness of Sri Vadirajaru.
This stream can be seen even today and goes by the name of Danda Thirtha
Sri Vadirajaru had a disciple called Narayanacharya, who was very intelligent but ill-mannered. He had the bad habit of maligning everybody including his own guru. Sri Vadirajaru was very patient with him but one day when he crossed all limits, Sri Vadirajaru cursed him to be a Brahma-Pishachi (a type of ghost).
Narayanacharya became a ghost and started haunting a forest near Hampi. He would stop all wayfarers and ask them a cryptic question “A kA mA vy ko na snAta ha?” (Meaning ‘who does not bathe in A kA mA vy?’). Nobody could answer this. He would then harass them and cause a lot of pain and suffering.
To understand the question one needs a little bit of background. The months of Ashadha, KartIka, Marghashira and Vyshakha in the Hindu calendar are considered holy. People usually perform special poojas to God during this time, and since bathing is a pre-requisite for any pooja, almost everybody bathes in these months. So the ghost was really asking “who are the evil people who do not bathe in the holy months of AshADa, kArtIka, mArghashira and vyshyAkha?”
Once when Sri Vadirajaru himself was passing by that forest he was confronted by the ghost. He then put a question to the ghost “What are you willing to wager?” The ghost replied “If you answer this, I will be your slave for life. If you don’t, I will eat you and your retinue”.
Sri Vadirajaru agreed to the ghost’s condition and gave the following reply to the question: “Randa-putrah tvam na snata ha!” (Son of a prostitute, you don’t bathe in these holy months). Since this answer was correct, the ghost lost and hence had to serve Sri Vadirajaru for life. From that day onwards, he faithfully served Sri Vadirajaru and is fondly called as Narayana Bhuta or Bhuta-Rajaru.
Sode or Svadi is a small town in North Kannada district of modern Karnataka, and about a few miles from Sirsi. In the sixteenth century it was the capital of a small province governed by a chieftain called Arasappa Nayaka, owing loyalty to the Vijayanagar Empire. With the fall of the Vijayanagar Empire Sode became an independent province with Nayaka as the king.
He was under the influence of an evil sorcerer who poisoned his mind against Brahmins. They were ill treated and subjected to all kinds of harassment like not being allowed to draw water from community wells and subjected to insults in every possible manner. Nayaka also estranged other sections of the population leading to total chaos in the province. Enemies saw a golden opportunity to attack the province and did so. With enemy soldiers ringing his fort, and his own ministers rebelling against him, Nayaka had no choice but to flee from the palace. As he was fleeing he came across the retinue of Sri Vadirajaru who was passing by.
The radiance emanating from Sri Vadirajaru’s face and his glorious personality created a major change in Nayaka’s thinking. He immediately surrendered at Sri Vadirajaru’s feet and sought his protection. He felt genuine regret at all the sins committed by him and begged Sri Vadirajaru to forgive him. Sri Vadirajaru was moved by his regret and decided to help him. He blessed him with Mantrakshate and asked him to go back and fight his enemies. Nayaka did so and by the blessing of Sri Vadirajaru prevailed over his enemies.
The overjoyed Nayaka invited Sri Vadirajaru into the town of Sode with all due pomp and glory. The sorcerer guru, who had fled from Sode, returned and challenged Sri Vadirajaru to a debate. When his witchcraft and arguments did not prevail against Sri Vadirajaru, he had to leave the province as a traitor. As a symbol of this liberation of Sode, Sri Vadirajaru decided to use Arasappa Nayaka's Gante (bell used during pooja) as the main one in the mutt.
Even today one finds that the bell used in Sode mutt has a Basava (bull) icon on the top of its stem instead of Sri Hanuman, as is the practice with other Madhva temples and mutts.
From that onwards, Nayaka shed his wicked ways and became an ardent devotee of Sri Vadirajaru, serving him with utmost devotion. He begged Sri Vadirajaru to stay in Sode itself, to bless him and his subjects.
It is said that during his visit to Badari, Sri Vadirajaru had met with Sriman Madhvacharyaru and Vedavyasa devaru. He had expressed his desire to establish a grand temple to Lord Trivikrama and had requested them to provide him with a suitable icon.
Arasappa Nayaka had one long standing desire - to set up a major temple in Sode. When he expressed his desire to Sri Vadirajaru, Sri Vadirajaru told him that this was his desire too and asked him to make the necessary arrangements for the construction of the temple.
As the temple started approaching its final shape people were wondering where the icon was. Sri Vadirajaru assured them “This is not a regular icon that needs to go through the normal process of consecration. It is already being personally worshipped by Sriman Madhvacharyaru. So the only consecration needed is to perform the Maha pooja in Svadi. Our Lord Trivikrama will come in his own special chariot”.
He then sent Bhuta Raja to Badari to fetch the icon. When Bhuta Raja was on his way back with the icon in a chariot he was attacked by some demons. He used one of the wheels of the chariot to fight and defeat them. He reached Sode in time for the Maha pooja with everything intact except for one missing wheel on the chariot. Even today one can see just 3 wheels on the chariot in Sri Trivikrama temple's Garbha Gudi. It is said that when the temple was being constructed there was a small mishap and one of the stone pillars was about to fall down. The mason who was working on it was very scared and instinctively uttered an oath invoking the name of Sri Vadirajaru and asked the pillar to stop falling. The pillar stopped in mid air, thus revealing the power of Sri Vadirajaru’s name. Later Sri Vadirajaru came there and moved the pillar to its proper location.
Sri Vadirajaru had other reasons for moving out of Udupi. When he had introduced the Paryaya system and changed the administration period from 2 months to 2 years, some critics had accused him of ulterior motives.
Saddened by this, Sri Vadirajaru had wanted to move out of Udupi and stay away from all petty politics. He also wanted to give his disciple, Sri Vedavedhya Theertharu, more prominence in Udupi. So, with the above considerations in mind, he readily agreed to Nayaka’s request.
Nayaka was overjoyed and had a large mutt constructed in Sode on the banks of the river Shalmali. Sri Vadirajaru settled down in Sode completely. When his next Paryaya opportunity came, he did not ascend the peetha, giving Sri Vedavedhya Theertharu a chance to worship the beloved Lord Sri Krishna;
Some of the main highlights in and around Sode (also called Sonda by the local community) are:
* Dhavala Ganga (on the lines of the Madhva Sarovara in Udupi)
* Gopalakrishna temple (like the Krishna temple in Udupi)
* Dhavala Gangadhara (like the ChandramoulIshwara in Udupi)
* Sri Mukhayaprana temple (like the Mukhyaprana temple in Udupi)
* Tapovana, where Sri Vadirajaru used to meditate
Once a bolt of lightning struck the big jackfruit tree under which Sri Vadirajaru used to teach his disciples. Sri Vadirajaru revived it back to life. It is still alive and its fruits are offered as Naivedya to Lord Hayagriva.
Towards the end, Sri Vadirajaru’s health started deteriorating. It is remarkable that even though he had enormous mystical powers, and had performed many miracles including even reviving the dead, he refused to use his powers for his own benefit.
He chose to suffer whatever ill-health came his way as God’s Prasada and never complained about it. Sri Vadirajaru decided to visit Udupi one last time and have Darshana of Krishna before departing from the earth. He was then suffering from poor eyesight and was worried if he would be able to see the Lord properly.
On the way he composed several songs expressing his anguish and anxiety. Finally, when he arrived at Udupi and stood before the icon, his eyesight cleared and he had Vishwa-Roopa Darshana of the Lord in all His glory.
He then called Arasappa Nayaka and asked him to make arrangements for 5 Brindavanas – one for Sri Vadirajaru, and the other four equipped with the special presence of Vishnu, Brahma, Vayu and Rudra. Arasappa Nayaka was heartbroken to hear of his guru’s impending departure, but had to obey the order given to him.
Accordingly, in the year 1600 (Hindu year of Sarvari) Sri Vadirajaru performed the Utsava of Lord Trivikrama as usual in Phalguna, with the final Rathotsava on Poornima. Then, a few divine attendants sent by Lord Indra appeared before Sri Vadirajaru and conveyed the request of the Gods to return back to heaven as his mission on earth was completed.
Sri Vadirajaru sent a message back to Indra asking for 3 more days so that he could complete the final rituals associated with Lord Trivikrama’s Utsava. Indra agreed with pleasure.
Finally, on Phalguna Bahula Thritiya, Sri Vadirajaru entered the Brindavana alive. The moment the last stone was laid on the Brindavana, a great grieve broke out from his disciples.
Sri Vadirajaru, who had entered the Brindavana wearing his robe and Padukas (wooden sandals), and was being taken in a golden car to heaven, threw down the robe and sandals as mementos for his sad disciples. Every year, when the Aradhane of Sri Vadirajaru is performed, the robe and sandals are worshipped with extra fervor.
The Svapna-Vrndavana Akhyana is a very special work. It was authored by Sri Vadirajaru after entering the Brindavana. It is the only work in which he has revealed that he is an incarnation of Latavya. The genesis of this work happened in a very special way.
Sri Vadirajaru’s retinue contained an illiterate Brahmin who was also deaf and mute, but had a lot of devotion towards Sri Vadirajaru and served him in many menial ways. The kind hearted Sri Vadirajaru knew about the mute’s devotion and service, but was waiting for the right opportunity to reward him. Years after entering the Brindavana, Sri Vadirajaru appeared in the mute’s dreams and instructed him as follows:
*Sri Vadirajaru would appear in his dream every day and dictate a portion of the Akhyana
*The mute would have to meet the pontiff of the mutt the next morning and recite whatever he had heard. Sri Vadirajaru would bless him with the power of perfect memory and speech for the time it took him to recite the previous night’s portion
*This would happen for a few weeks until the Akhyana was completed
The above sequence of events happened as planned and the Akhyana was fully composed. But nobody really understood its true meaning and significance, and the mute too died after a few years. Many years later, he reincarnated as an ascetic in the Sode mutt and finally became its pontiff. He then wrote a commentary on the Akhyana, explaining its contents and significance.
Sri Vadirajaru’s devotees regularly recite the Akhyana with utmost devotion. A fragment of the Akhyana called the Anu-Vrundavana Akhyana is also popular.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Sri Vyasaraja Theertharu 1447 - 1539 AD
Sri Vyasarajaru was the son of Ballanna & Sumati also called Ramacharya and Lakshmidevi, a brahmin couple of Bannur near 9 kms from Mysore city. They were great devotees. They had no issues for a long time. They were praying to God for progency. It is in this place and environment that Sri Vyasarajaru who is believed to be an avatar of Prahlada was born. (1447 AD) This brought a sense of fulfillment to the aged couples through the grace of saint Sri Brahmanya Theertharu of Abburu near Channapatna town. The saint took a promise, as usual in many cases that the boy should be given to the mutt. The boy was named Yathiraja and brought up by parents. After performing upanayana, he was sent to the mutt for higher education. After four years he returned home and later learnt Kavya, Nataka, Vykarana. Then the Sri Brahmanaya Theertharu sent for the boy, as agreed. Though the parents were reluctant to part with the boy, they had to submit themselves to the promise and the boy was left under the custody of the saint who treated him with greater affection than the parents. The saint was impressed by the wide range of the boy’s intellect, his great eloquence, his graceful form and his commanding personality. He gave him Sanyasahram with the name Sri Vyasa Theertharu.
Sri Vyasa Theertharu then undertook a tour of India . At Kanchi his extraordinary learning evoked profound admiration of the pandits there. There were jealous pandits also, who tried to poison him. But by divine grace was unhurt. He proceeded to Mulabagalu, then a centre of learning. Sri Sripadarajaru welcomed this young yati. Sri Vyasa Theertharu learnt all the secrets of vedantic lore. Sri Sripadarajaru found in him extraordinary merit.
He was sent to the court of Saluva Narasimha of Chandragiri. He performed pooja for lord Srinivasa at Tirumala hills, for 12 years. Later he went to the court of Vijayanagar. Sri Krishnadevaraya was the king who looked upon him as his kulaguru and was always ready to carry out his wishes. It was not the power, but he was all the time making profuse benefactions in the cause of learning and for the maintenance of Dharma. He was founding Agraharas to foster learning and Dharma.
When he was made kulaguru, it created a feeling of great jealousy. Learned men from different parts of India came and disputed the position. Sri Vyasarajaru easily vanquished his opponents. His eloquence was a spiritual and intellectual treat. He strengthened and adorned the Madhva school of thought and brought it in to the highest pinnacle of temporal recognition.
After the victorious battle at Raichuru by Krishnadevaraya, he conducted a durbar in which he seated Sri Vyasarajaru on a seat of GOLD when men of learning and warriors prostrated themselves before Sri Vyasarajaru. He performed Ratnabhisheka with all precious stones. Sri Vyasarajaru did not take any of them. They were distributed to the men of learning, warriors, and even Muslim chiefs who were serving the king. Vyasa samudra was built at Kandakur near Madanapalli village
Sri Vyasarajaru averted the danger to Krishnadevaraya from KUHUYOGA. An inauspicious combination of planets- by himself sitting on the throne during that time and overcoming it with his Taposhakti.
He lived for a glorious life of 93 years full of extraordinary achievements. Sri Vyasarajaru left this world on Saturday the 8th March 1539 (Vilambi Nama samvatsara Phalguna bahula Chathurthi).
His works:
Sri Vyasarajaru was born to further the work of elucidating the divine and subtle doctrines of Dwaita philosophy propounded by the great Sri Madhvacharyaru and commented upon by Sri Jaya Theertharu. In his three great works known as VYASATRAYA,--- Nyayavali, Tatparya Chandrika, and Tarka Tandava, he has besides giving his own original teachings , given his explanations and commentaries very clearly on the original texts of Sri Madhvacharya and the teekas of Sri Jaya Theertharu. Hence he is included among the three original thinkers. Every Madhva, sitting before the food that is served, before taking the Aposhana, utter the slokas on Sri Madhvacharyaru first, next Sri Jaya Theertharu and thirdly Sri Vyasarajaru.
He has condensed in a nutshell the important prameyas contained in the 37 works of Sri Madhvacharyaru in a single stanza. This was an answer to a question by a pundit at Kanchi asking to tell about the importance of Madhva Siddhanta in a nutshell.
Thus his works are still a living fount of thought and inspiration to all students of Dwaitha of Indian Philosophy. He composed in Kannada many Keerthanas, Suladhis and Ugabhogas. In these also, he has expounded the highest philosophical truth in easy language. His songs contain beautiful description of Sri Krishna Leela, Krishanee Begane Baro, in raga Yamanakalyani is a rare masterpiece sung in every house.
Sri Vyasarajaru toured all over India, and established that Dwaita Siddhanta was the right and faultless Siddhanta. Pakshadhara Misra, of Kashi who accepted his defeat respectfully admiring the wide learning and loigical arguments by Sri Vyasarajaru presented the Pachhe Linga which is worshipped on Mahashivartri day even now at Kundapura Vyasaraya Mutt. It is in recognition of this triumphal march that Sri Purandaradasaru has said.
Esu Munigalu Iddu Yenu Madidaru
Vyasamuni Madhwa Matavanu Uddharisida
Sri Vyasarajaru was the chancellor of the Imperial University of the Vijayanagar Empire. He sat on the Saraswathi peeta. He was the Guru of a distinguished galaxy of Shishyas, Sri Vijayendraru, Sri Purandaradasaru, Sri Kanakadasaru and so on. These Shishyas kept the light of Indian philosophical thought shining with all brightness for a long time and even after their guru had left this world.
The two outstanding personalities among Vaishnava pontiffs. Sri Vadhirajaru and Sri Vyasarajaru passed away, in the Phalguna Bahula, on two consecutive days, i.e. on Trtiya and Chaturthi of different samvatsara, respectively
Sri Vysarajaru’s brindavana is at Nava Brindavana, in a small island near Bellary by the Tungabhadra River,
Sri Vyasarajaru left his mortal body on 8-3-1539.
Monday, June 7, 2010
Sripadarajaru / Lakshminarayana Theertharu 1404 --1502 AD
Sripadarajaru is revered by all madhvas. It is believed that he is the incarnation of Dhruva. His contributions to Dvaita, Haridasa Sahitya, and the then existing Social and Political circumstances were considerable. He was also the Vidyaguru of Sri Vyasarayaru.
Sripadarayaru or Sripadarajaru is considered to be the originator of dasakuta. That is why his name stands first in the following stotra which is sung at the beginning of any traditional Harikatha discourse
"namah sripadarajaya namaste vyasa yogine namah purandararyaya vijayaryaya te namaha"
That is why he is also called as 'Dasa Pitamaha' (Grand Father of Dasas). He spread the message of Bhagawatha through his songs.
Sripadarajaru was born in Shivaganga on the banks of the river Kaveri. His parents named him Lakshminarayana.
Sri Svarnavarnaru Theertharu was the 8th pontiff descended from Padmanabha Theeirtharu (a direct disciple of Madhvacharya). He was once travelling towards Abburu when he came across Lakshminarayana playing with this friends. When asked how far Abburu was, the little boy gave a very clever reply. He said, "Look at the setting sun, and look at us playing here. Now you guess how far Abburu is! " (the intended meaning was "we are playing here even though the sun is setting because we are confident of reaching home before it gets really dark; in other words, Abburu is close by!"). The Swamiji was taken back by the boy's keen intellect and decided to make him disciple. Later, after obtaining his parent's consent, the boy was granted sanyashrama and named Lakshminarayana Yogi.
The name SrIpadarajaru was given to him by Sri Raghunatha Theertharu of Uttaradi Mutt. There are 2 versions about why he did so; one version goes that he was impressed by young Lakshminarayana Yogi's vidvat, whereas another goes that he personally witnessed the revival of a dead boy by Lakshminarayana Yogi. In any case, from then on Lakshminarayana Yogi became Sripadarajaru. (In Kannada, a swamiji is called "Sripadangalu" or "Srigalu", so Sripadarajaru literally means the king of Sanyasis).
Sripadarajaru had "Sukha Prarabdha" i.e., he was destined to live like a king even though he was a saint. Needless to add, he was at heart a total ascetic whose mind was pegged at the lotus feet of Gopalakrishna, but his prarabdha forced him to enjoy Rajavaibhoga.
According to a tradition, recorded in the Sri Brahmanya Theertha Vijaya, Sri Brahmanya Theertharu and Sripadarajaru were cousins and were roughly of the same age. It is remarkable that both renounced the world and devoted themselves to the cause of their faith and played a conspicuous part in the spiritual development of their gifted disciple Sri Vyaasa Theertharu.
Sripadarajaru earned great fame by removing Vijayanagara King's Brahmahatya Dosha (the sin of killing Brahmins) which is considered to be the most heinous of all sins.
He was a great scholar and poet. He started the practice of singing kannada Devaranamas, steeped in Bhakthi, at the end of all main pooja ceremonies.
His songs are very sublime and possess a happy blend of rhythm and meaning. His sincerity and passionate devotion are transparent in his songs. It is believed that the lord used to dance to his songs.
His compositions show a high order of musical excellence and literary grace. The personal element in his songs is most touching. In true mystic grammar, he analyses the defects and mental agonies of man and lays them bare before the Lord, praying for light and vision, impersonally, on behalf of struggling souls.
His important pieces are the Bhramaragita, Venugita, Gopigita, and Madhvanama (which extols Hanuma, Bhima, Madhva; the Phalasthuthi for this was composed by Jagannatha Dasaru).
Some of his famous Devaranamas are: "Ne Ittahange Iruveno Hariye", "Kangalidyathako Kaveri Rangana Nodada..", "Bhushanake Bhushana ...". His Ankithanama was "Ranga Vittala".
Sripadarajaru has his Brindavana at a place called Narasimha Thirtha, about a mile from Mulabagilu, on the Bangalore and Chennai National Highway. There is an interesting anecdote about Narasimha Thirtha which goes as follows:
It is said that when he was at his old age, he wanted to have Ganga-Snana, but could not travel all the way up North. Ganga then appeared before him and said that she herself would come to Narasimha Thirtha and stay there for ever. From then on, a dip in Narasimha Thirtha is considered to be equivalent to a dip in Ganga.
The following stotra in honor of Sripadaraja was composed by Vyasaraya
Tham vande Narasimha Thirtha nilayam Sri Vyaasaraja Poojitham
Dhayantham manasa nrusimha charanam Sripadarajaram gurum.
Pada Vakya Pramatabhyam Vikreedana Visharadam
LakshmiNarayana Muneem Vande Vidya Gurunmama.
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