TIRTHA PRABANDHA – AN YATI’S TRAVELOGUE
Today is the 409th ArAdhana of Sri Vadiraja Tirtha who appeared on earth in physical form for 120 years. He witnessed the fate of Vijayanagara Empire from c.1480-1600. This thread is about his unique contribution to the world of Samskruta literature titled “Tirtha Prabandha.’
Vadiraja was a prolific writer in Samskruta, Kannada & Tulu languages. Authored some of the unique works such as lakShAlankAra that offers meanings for 1 lakh important words of Mahabharata.
Sri Vadiraja occupies a special place in the world of Dvaita literature for writing full-fledged ‘kAvyA-s’ that are rich in form & expression. ‘rukmiNISa vijaya’ is the best example of his kAvyA-s. His ‘Bhgola Varnanam‘ is a special treatise on astronomy & geography.
Among all his literary works, ‘Tirtha Prabandha (tIrtha prabandha)’ has earned a place for itself not just in Dvaita fold but in the entire Samskruta literature. It has been hailed as “shAstra kAvya” as it not only has Vedanta teachings but also showcases many lesser known alaMkArA-s (rhetorics).
tIrtha prabandha as the name suggests is a composition of several poems written about gods, goddesses, sacred rivers, objects etc. that were visited during a pilgrimage. In a sense, tIrta prabandha is a ‘travelogue’ of its kind.Sri Vadiraja traveled the length & breadth of the country 6 times starting from c.1502 (he was 22 years of age) up to 1588 (aged 108 years). Here is the table showing his travels at different time slots.
During his pilgrimages, Sri Vadiraja wrote shlOkA-s in Samskruta & kIrtanA-s in Kannada about the kshetra, gods, goddesses & rivers. Later, these shlOkas have been arranged in an order & thus tIrtha prabandha kAvya came into existence.
Tirtha Prabandha comprises of 4 prabandhA-s [chapters] named after 4 cordinal directions i.e. pUrva [east], paschima [west], uttara [north] & dakshina [south]. Here are some of the salient aspects of this work.
TABLE 1: CHAPTER-WISE SHLOKAS & KSHETRAS.
TABLE 2: THEMES OF SHLOKAS & THEIR NOS.
The tables in the previous tweet reveal that Sri Vadiraja has covered the entire spectrum of Dharmik worship i.e. Gods, Goddesses to rivers, mountains & pious souls. Thus tIrtha prabandha represents the soul of Bharatiya lifestyle.Another fascinating aspect of tIrtha prabandha is the usage of Alankara Shastra. Sri Vadiraja deploys not just the frequently used alankArA-s such as Upama, Roopaka & Utpreksha but used rare rhetorics such as “sliShTa-garbhita-vibhAvana” alaMkAra. Here is the list:
Apart from these literary skills, Sri Vadiraja lets us know the then historical background of some of the pilgrim centers albeit subtely. Shlokas on Ayodhya, Hampi, Bankarapura etc. carry such vital clues that help in reconstructing the history of those places.
My friend Hariprasad Nelliteertha did an excellent analysis of Tirtha Prabandha’s shloka on Ayodhya & deciphered how Rama Mandir was already demolished before Vadiraja visited the holy place. Here is the link to his article on Medium.com :
In tIrtha prabaMdha, Sri Vadiraja dexterously uses some the tenets of Ayurveda, Vyakarana, Tarka & Dharmashastra etc. to explain the critical concepts of Vedanta. Thus it shows the all-round creativity of Sri Vadiraja.
Those who wish to have a translation of this magnificent, pious kAvya can check this link. Author Hariprasad Nelliteertha announced that the sales proceeds of this ebook will be donated to Neelavara Goshala, Udupi involved in taking care of aged cows & bulls. Click the below image to buy the book.
Sri Vadiraja, the bulwark of Dvaita Vedanta, by writing tIrtha prabandha enabled the Dharmikas to undertake virtual pilgrimage to 122 pilgrim centers of Bharata desha on every day. It takes approx 2 hours to recite 235 shlokas & they are easy to memorise!
May Sri Vadiraja, the bee at the lotus feet of Hayagreeva, shower his choicest blessings on all Dharmikas.
ॐ नमॊ वादिराजाय दीर्घदारिद्र्यघातिने|
राजभोगप्रदात्रे च नमोस्तु जयदायिने||
Sources:
1. Sri Vidya Vijaya Tirtharu’s articles.
2. Tirtha Prabandha Kannada translations by Sanuru Bhima Bhattaru & Dr. V. Prabhanjanacharya.
