Vadirajatirtha
Encyclopedia
Sri Vadirajatirtha traditionally 1480 - 1600, a Haridasa
, is said to have been a Shivalli Tulu Brahmin and native of the village of Hoovinakere
, near Kumbhashi in Kundapura
taluk, Udupi District
in Karnataka
state. His parents were Ramacharya and Gauri.
He is considered the second highest saint in the Madhva
hierarchy, next only to Srimad Ananda Tîrtha, even though his guru was Sri Vyasatirtha
. He is regarded as an incarnation of Latavya. He was not only a great poet but also very effective in the administration of the Udupi Matha system. He brought about many changes to the operational system of the Matha
which by itself showed his high placing in the Madhva
hierarchy.
He became a Sanyasi at the young age of 8. The pre-sanyasa name given to Sri Vadiraja was Bhuvaraha. He worshipped Lord Vishnu
in the form of Hayagriva.
It was Sri Vadirajatirtha who changed the Paryaya
system of Udupi to two years from the earlier practice of 2 months. This extension of each individual Paryaya enabled the Swamis to travel far and wide and spread the message of Madhva tradition. Another of Sri Vadirajatirtha's achievements is that he lived a life of 120 years and performed Lord Krishna's Paryaya at Udupi 5 times.
In an age that knew great Sanskrit scholars and intellects, Sri Vadirajatirtha who himself was a great scholar, was able to accommodate the needs of the less scholarly, taking the haridasa tradition to the masses
by translating many important works into the Kannada language. He was able to explain sophisticated concepts in the form of simple stotras. About the saint, Dr. B.N.K. Sharma writes "In this respect, his work marks a new and necessary phase in the history of Dvaita
literature and breathes the spirit of a new age which produced other popular exponents of Madhva-Siddhânta, both in Sanskrit
and in Kannada".
Vadirajatirtharu used to offer daily prasadam to Lord Hayagriva by holding the prasadam on his head. Lord Hayagriva is said to appear in the form of a horse and eat the prasadam by kneeling on Vadirajatirtha's shoulders.
Vadirajatirtharu brindavana is installed in Sodhe temple near Sirsi in Karnataka. The temple also has a pond Dhavalaganga which is very sacred and pilgrims take bath in this pond. The pond has four corners and is available for pilgrims only at 2 corners. One corner of the pond is prohibited since it is believed that Lord Bhutaraja uses that corner of the pond even now. The temple has a tradition wherein every devotee visiting the temple needs to offer coconuts to Lord Bhutaraja.
Stotras
His other works are
... to name only a few.
He has written sub-commentaries (Tippanis) on Sri Jayatirtha's Nyayasudha and Tattvaprakasika called "Gurvarthadipika". He has also written Tippani on Isavasya Upanishad Tika.
Sri Vadirajatirtha's brindavana is in Sodhe
, Karnataka.
Haridasa
The Haridasa devotional movement is considered as one of the turning points in the cultural history of India. Over a span of nearly six centuries, several saints and mystics helped shape the culture, philosophy and art of South India and Karnataka in particular by exerting considerable spiritual...
, is said to have been a Shivalli Tulu Brahmin and native of the village of Hoovinakere
Hoovinakere
Hoovinakere is a village in Kundapura taluka of Udupi district.It is birth place of Vadiraja swamiji of Dwaita philosophy. The village is located near to Kumbashi or Annegudde .- References :...
, near Kumbhashi in Kundapura
Kundapura
-Languages and culture :The town mainly consists of Kannadigas who speak Kundagannada, Konkanis and Tuluvas. The Goud Saraswat Brahmins who fled Goa during the Portuguese arrival in the 16th century arrived by Boat in Basrur and some settled in Kundapura and surrounding villages. These people and...
taluk, Udupi District
Udupi district
Udupi district , ಉಡುಪಿ ಜಿಲ್ಲೆ) in the Karnataka state of India was created in August 1997. The three northern taluks, Udupi, Kundapur and Karkal, were separated from Dakshina Kannada District to form Udupi district. Udupi district is surrounded by Uttara Kannada district in north, Dakshina Kannada...
in Karnataka
Karnataka
Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...
state. His parents were Ramacharya and Gauri.
He is considered the second highest saint in the Madhva
Madhwas
The Madhwa are one community of Brahmins of India, whose members follow the doctrine of Dvaita or Dualism as codified by Madhwa Acharya ....
hierarchy, next only to Srimad Ananda Tîrtha, even though his guru was Sri Vyasatirtha
Vyasatirtha
Vyasatirtha , also called Vyasaraja or Vyasaraya or Vyasraja swamin, was acclaimed as one of the three spiritual lights or munitrayam of dvaita Vedanta, i.e., Sri Madhvacharya, Sri Jayatirtha and Sri Vyasatirtha. He was a scholar of very high order with a judicious defence of the Dvaita Vedanta...
. He is regarded as an incarnation of Latavya. He was not only a great poet but also very effective in the administration of the Udupi Matha system. He brought about many changes to the operational system of the Matha
Matha
A matha ) is a term for monastic and similar religious establishments of Hinduism and Jainism. A matha is usually more formal, hierarchical, and rule-based than an ashram.-Advaita Mathas:...
which by itself showed his high placing in the Madhva
Madhwas
The Madhwa are one community of Brahmins of India, whose members follow the doctrine of Dvaita or Dualism as codified by Madhwa Acharya ....
hierarchy.
He became a Sanyasi at the young age of 8. The pre-sanyasa name given to Sri Vadiraja was Bhuvaraha. He worshipped Lord Vishnu
Vishnu
Vishnu is the Supreme god in the Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the five primary forms of God....
in the form of Hayagriva.
It was Sri Vadirajatirtha who changed the Paryaya
Paryaya
"Paryaya" in Sanskrit means "alternative". It can be loosely meant as "Another".-Paryaya ritual at Udupi:Paryaya is a religious ritual which takes place every alternate year in Krishna Matha of Udupi...
system of Udupi to two years from the earlier practice of 2 months. This extension of each individual Paryaya enabled the Swamis to travel far and wide and spread the message of Madhva tradition. Another of Sri Vadirajatirtha's achievements is that he lived a life of 120 years and performed Lord Krishna's Paryaya at Udupi 5 times.
In an age that knew great Sanskrit scholars and intellects, Sri Vadirajatirtha who himself was a great scholar, was able to accommodate the needs of the less scholarly, taking the haridasa tradition to the masses
by translating many important works into the Kannada language. He was able to explain sophisticated concepts in the form of simple stotras. About the saint, Dr. B.N.K. Sharma writes "In this respect, his work marks a new and necessary phase in the history of Dvaita
Dvaita
Dvaita is a school of Vedanta founded by Shri Madhvacharya....
literature and breathes the spirit of a new age which produced other popular exponents of Madhva-Siddhânta, both in Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
and in Kannada".
Vadirajatirtharu used to offer daily prasadam to Lord Hayagriva by holding the prasadam on his head. Lord Hayagriva is said to appear in the form of a horse and eat the prasadam by kneeling on Vadirajatirtha's shoulders.
Vadirajatirtharu brindavana is installed in Sodhe temple near Sirsi in Karnataka. The temple also has a pond Dhavalaganga which is very sacred and pilgrims take bath in this pond. The pond has four corners and is available for pilgrims only at 2 corners. One corner of the pond is prohibited since it is believed that Lord Bhutaraja uses that corner of the pond even now. The temple has a tradition wherein every devotee visiting the temple needs to offer coconuts to Lord Bhutaraja.
Famous extant works
- Yukti-Mallika (work on logical analysis of different philosophical systems) - This is his Magnum Opus with 5 Chapters called Sourabhas. They are "Guna Sourabha", "Shuddhi Sourabha", "Bheda Sourabha", "Sadhana Sourabha" and "Phala Sourabha". Here is "argues in poetry" as late Prof. B.N.K. Sharma puts it. This work has a commentary by Sri Surottama Tirtha the pointiff of Bhandarkeri Mutt and the purvashrama younger brother of the Great Sri Vadirajatirtha himself. There is also a commentary on this by late Sri Satya Pramoda Tirtha of the Uttaradi Mutt.
- Mahabharata-Prasthana (an independent view of Mahabharata by Veda Vyasa)- This work is called Mahabharata Lakshalankara an explanation of hundred thousand difficult words of the great epic Mahabharata.
- Mahabharata-tatparya-Nirnaya (commentary on same work written by Srimad Ananda tirtha)with Kannada translation.
- Rukminisha-VijayaRukminishavijayaRukminishavijaya is one of the works of Sri Vadiraja, the famous 15th-century Dvaita philosopher. The book highlights the story of Lord Sri Krishna, as described in the 10th book of the Bhagavatha-Purana....
(narrates encounter between Krishna and Shisupala)- This is a mahakavya which was written to exceed Maga's Shishupala Vada, which is considered one of the pancha mahakavyas (five great poems) of Sanskrit literature. - Svapna-Vrndavanakhyana- This is a sort of auto-biography where he explains his swaroopa (original form) and his Rujutva. Rujuyogis are those jivas (forms) who are qualified to attain the position of Brahma.
- Sarasa Bharati Vilasa- This is about the svarupa's of Lakshmi, Brahma (& Vayu) and Saraswati (& Bharati).
- Sruti Tattva Prakashika - Explanation of some important verses of Veda which outwordly looks like it is lending support to advaita.
- Devotional songs in Kannada
Stotras
- Ramesha Stuthi
- Dashavataara Stotra
- Dashavataara Stuti
- Hayavadana Astaka
- Narahari Astaka
- Roupya Peetha Krishna Stuthi
- Hayavadana Astaka
- Hayagreeva Panchaka
- Hayagreeva Dhyana Prakarana
- Hayagreeva Stuthi
- Hayagreeva Sampada Stotra
- Sri Krishna Stavana
- Dhee Shuddhi Stotra
- Varaha Hayavadana Stotra
- Aapada Stotram
- Ukti Pratyukthi stotram
- Aksha Panchakam
- Varaha Panchakam
- Sri Raama Kavacham
- Sri Raama Dashakam
- Sri Raama Panchakam
- Avataara Traya Stotram
- Swapna Padyam
- Lakshmi Shobhane
- Kannada Hadugalu
- Tulu Hadugalu
- Bhogola Varnane
His other works are
- Sri Nyayaratnavali
- Thirtha prabandhaThirtha prabandhaThirtha Prabandha is one of the main Sanskrit works by Sri Vadiraja Swamy, the 16th century Dvaita philosopher and saint. The document is written in the form of a travelogue and contains descriptions of pilgrim centers throughout India....
- Sri Hari Bhaktilata
- Sri Pasandamatakamdanam
- Sri Vivaranarnavam
- Sri Upanyasa Ratnamala
- Kavi Kadamba Kanta bhushana
- Talavakaropanishad Bhashya Teeka
- Taittareeyopanishad Bhashya Teeka
- Kathakopanishad Bhashya Teeka
- Atharvanopanishad Bhashya Teeka
- Mandookopanishad Bhashya Teeka
- Tantra Saara Teeka
- Shatprashnopanishad Bhashya Teeka Tippani
- Mahabharatha Tatparya Nirnaya Bhavaprakashika
- Ishavasyopanishad Bhashya Teeka Prakashana
- Geethabhashya Tippani
- Vaikuntavarnane
- Gundakriye
... to name only a few.
He has written sub-commentaries (Tippanis) on Sri Jayatirtha's Nyayasudha and Tattvaprakasika called "Gurvarthadipika". He has also written Tippani on Isavasya Upanishad Tika.
Sri Vadirajatirtha's brindavana is in Sodhe
Sodhe
Sodhe or Sodha or Sonda is a village near Sirsi in the Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka in India. The place is also the headquarters of the Sodhe Matha, one of the Ashta mathas established by Sri Madhvacharya, the famous Dvaita philosopher...
, Karnataka.