Further notes on Sri Raghavendra Tirtha and Chhatrapati Shivaji INTRODUCTION: In my previous note on the historical meeting between Sri Raghavendra Tirtha and Chhatrapati Shivaji at Kolhapur, I have given a brief description of the said event. In that write-up, I have written that this meeting was organised by one Naropant Hanumante, a Madhva Brahmin…
INTRODUCTION This article is about Sri Kanadasa and serves as a brief account of his life history. CHILDHOOD & EARLY LIFE: Timmappa (would-be Kanakadasa) was born in c.1508 to Beerappa and Bachchamma. Beerappa was a palegar of Bada village under Vijayanagara rule. Bada village was a strategic & vantage point for Vijayanagara…
SUVARNAMUKHI – THE DIVINE ADDRESS OF TIRUMALA The accuracy of Puranic narratives can be better explained with the help of Suvarnamukhi River and Tirumala Kshetra. Veda Vyasa, in all the Puranas that speak about Tirumala, always cites Suvarnamukhi as the ‘divine address’ to reach Venkatagiri. This article tries to elaborate this aspect. Tiruvengada Kottam…
INTRODUCTION Sri Brahmanya Tirtha is a lesser known stalwart from Dvaita school of Vedanta which has more than 800 years of recorded history. Sri Brahmanya Tirtha’s first unique identity is that he was the Ashrama Guru of the much celebrated Madhva Guru, Sri Vyasatirtha. It is well known that Sri Vyasatirtha lived during the heydays…
प्रणवत्कामधॅनुं च भजस्सुरतरूपमम्|श्रीभावबँधकृत्पादचिंतामणि मुपास्महे|| The contributions of Sri Raghuttama Tirtha to Dvaita school of Vedanta are unique and effective. This article is about his philosophical works that have made a deep impression on the scholars of subsequent periods. TYPES OF DVAITA SCHOLARS The noted historian of Dvaita School of Vedanta Dr. B.N.K. Sharma classified the…
This is a brief note on the plight of Brahmans working under Islamist rulers of 18th century, as gleaned from a life account of Venugopaladasa, illustrious shishya of Sri Vijayadasa. After the fall of Vijayanagara, the greatest Hindu Empire in South India & also after the disintegration of kingdoms of various Nayakas, the 17th century…
Sri Vyasatirtha also known as Vyasaraya or Vyasaraja Tirtha acted as spiritual master for 6 Vijayanagara emperors from Saluva Narasimha to Achyuta. But his reach and influence were not limited to Vijayanagara Empire or South India but got spread in the North and more particularly in the Eastern India as well. This article is about…
This article is about an anecdote found in a Telugu book on Andhra literature in Vijayanagara which throws light on Sri Vyasatirtha’s persona. Tekumalla Achyuta Rao, a Telugu writer specialised in history of Telugu literature wrote a book titled “Vijayanagara mandali Andhra Vangmaya Charitramu” (విజయనగరమందలి ఆంధ్ర వాజ్ఞ్మయ చరిత్రము) which means “The History of Telugu Literature in…
HISTORIC MEETING OF SRI RAGHAVENDRA TIRTHA & CHHATRAPATI SHIVAJI This small write-up is about the historical meeting between Sri Raghavendra Tirtha of Mantralayam and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. As per tradition, he is the reincarnation of Sri Vyasatirtha who flourished during Vijayanagara’s golden epoch i.e. Krishnaraya’s reign. It is well documented that Vyasatirtha was the…
Recently, an audio clip that contained a legend associated with a popular polemical work titled Advaita Siddhi written by Madhusudana Saraswati from Sankara’s Advaita School gone viral. This Advaita Siddhi is a rebuttal of Vyasatirtha’s Nyanamruta. Here is a translation (not verbatim but the essence of the speech). “Madhusudana Saraswati was an erudite Advaita scholar. He wrote ‘Advaita Siddhi’…
