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RARE PICS OF BICHHALI WHERE RAYARU STAYED

Rayara Paduka



Rayara Eka Shila brindavan installed by Sri Appannacharyaru



Narasimha Devaru installed by Sri Sripadarajaru at Bichhali

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Lord Hanuman installed by Rayaru



Sri Appannacharyara House at Bichhali where Rayaru Stayed and performed Pooja



Naryana Mudra Used by Rayaru



Padma Mudra Used by Rayaru



Gadha Mudra Used by Rayaru



Shanka Mudra Used by Rayaru



Chkra Mudra Used by Rayaru

SRI RAGHAVENDRA SWAMYGALU

Sri Guru Raghavendra Swamy (1595–1671) is an influential 16th century Hindu saint who advocated Vaishnavism (worship of Vishnu as the supreme God) and Sri Madhvacharya's Dvaita philosophy. He ascended Brindavana at Mantralayam in present day Andhra Pradesh in 1671.
His devotees' faith regarding his continued presence at his Brindavan in Mantralayam, either in physical or metaphysical form makes it a very popular religious destination in India.

Birth

Sri Raghavendra Swami was born as Sri Venkanna Bhatta, the second son of Sri Thimanna Bhatta and Smt. Gopikamba on Thursday, Sukla Saptami of Phalguna month in 1595, when the moon was in Mrigashirisha Nakshatra, at Bhuvanagiri, near present-day Chidambaram in Tamil Nadu. Sri Thimmanna Bhatta was the son of Sri Kanakachala Bhatta and the grandson of Sri Krishna bhatta, a Veena scholar in the court of King Krishnadevaraya. Sri.Thimanna Bhatta and his wife, Smt. Gopikamba had a son, Gururajacharya and a daughter, Venkatamba.
Sri Venkanna Bhatta was also called Venkatanatha or Venkatacharya in honor of Sri Venkateshwara at Tirupati, with whose blessings he was considered to have been born, as a gift to his parents for their devotion and diligence towards the deity[1].

Early life

Sri Venkatanatha proved to be a very brilliant scholar from a very young age who learnt to play the Veena very proficiently thanks to his father and grandfather.
After his father's demise, young Venkatanatha was brought up by his brother Sri Gururaja Bhatta and completed the initial portion of his education under his brother-in-law Lakshminarasimhacharya's guidance in Madurai [1].

Marriage

After his return from Madurai in 1614, Sri Venkatanatha married Smt.Saraswathi Bai in the same year and had a son Sri Lakshminarayanacharya. After his marriage, Sri Venkatanatha and his family went to Kumbakonam where he studied the Dwaita vedantha, grammar and literary works under his guru, Sri Sudheendra Theertha.
Sri Venkatanatha was already very well versed in bhashyas and consistently prevailed over renowned and reputed scholars, irrespective of the complexity of the debates. He was an ardent devotee of Sri Moola Rama and Sri Panchamukha MukhyaPranaDevaru (the five-faced form of Hanuman - Pancha meaning five, mukha meaning faces). He spent a large part of his Poorvashrama life teaching Sanskrit and the ancient Vedic texts to children.
He never demanded any money for his services and endured a life of poverty along with his wife and son. They went without food several times a week. But he was so devoted in his quest for a higher spiritual plane that these obstacles never deterred his faith in the Lord[1].

Poorvashrama Miracles

Once while he was touring Kumbakonam along with his wife, Sri Venkatanatha and his family was invited to attend a function. Unfortunately, the hosts did not treat him well and wanted him to earn his food by running a chore. So they asked him to make some sandalwood paste for all the invitees. Sri Venkatanatha per his habit, was chanting stotras and mantras while preparing sandalwood for Tilaka. When the guests applied this paste, it induced a burning sensation all over their bodies. Surprised by this, the hosts sought a clarification from Venkatanatha. He replied that the burning sensation was due to the Agni Suktam (hymn for the worship as defined in the Esoteric Vedas) that he was chanting while preparing sandalwood and thus eternal power of Vedic Mantras revealed itself. This happens only when chanted with absolute dedication and devotion. The power is enhanced since it was chanted by someone as virtuous and devoted to Bhagwaan Hari as himself. Upon realizing his devotion and power, the host apologized profusely to Sri Venkatanatha and sought his forgiveness.
Sri Venkatanatha then prepared the paste again but chanted the Vedic Mantra to Varuna (Vedic rain gods) this time. It has been recorded that when the guests applied this paste, they were awash with a sense of being drenched in rainwater, reaffirming Sri Venkatanatha's power of devotion.[1]

Ordination into Sanyasa as Guru Raghavendra

Thus while his life was spent in the worship of God and service of humanity, his spiritual guru, Sri Sudheendra Theertharu, was looking for a successor to his math. He had a dream where the Lord indicated that Sri Venkatanatha would be the right person to succeed him as the pontiff. Sri Venkatanatha initially refused due to his responsibility towards his young wife and son but was soon blessed by the Goddess of Learning, where she in a dream indicated that he was to seek salvation as a Sanyasi. Sri Venkatanatha treated this as an omen and changed his mind. The sanyasa ordination took place in 1621 on the Phalguni Sukla Dwitiya at Tanjore[1].

Moksha of Smt. Saraswathi

On the day of Sri Venkatanatha's ascension into SanyasAshrama, his wife, Smt.Saraswathi was seized by a sudden desire to see her husband's face for the last time. She ran towards the Matha throwing caution to the winds and accidentally drowned in an old and unused well on the way.
Per the tenets of Hinduism, she became a ghost trapped mid-way between Heaven and Earth due to her untimely death. Since her last wish of seeing her husband was not fulfilled, her ghost went to the matha to witness the ordaining function. However, by the time she arrived, her husband had become a Sannyasi Sri Raghavendra Theertha. However, Sri Guru Raghavendra could immediately sense his wife's presence with his spiritual powers. He sprinkled some holy water from His Kamandalu on her as a means of granting her last wish. This action granted her moksha or liberation from the cycle of births and deaths and was considered her reward for a lifetime of dedicated and selfless service to Sri Raghavendra Swami.[1]

Sri Sudheendra Tirtha Swamiji

On handing over the Peetha to Sri Raghavendra Swami, his guru, Sri Sudheendra Tirtha Swamiji left for his heavenly abode. His Brindavana was constructed at Anegundi near Hampi under the personal supervision of Sri Raghavendra Swami. Sri Sudheendra Tirtha Swami's Brindavana is the ninth Brindavana at that location, earning the region the popular moniker of "Nava Brindavana". It is an extremely holy pilgrimage centre for Madhvas.

Sri Yadavendra Tirtha and Sri Raghavendra Swami

Much before Sri Raghavendra Swami ascended as Peethadipathi of the Mutt, Sri Yadavendra Tirtha had been given Sanyasa by Sri Sudheendra Tirtha Swamiji. When he came back to Tanjore from his Teertha Yatra across Southern India, Sri Raghavendra Swami offered to make him the Peethadipathi of the Matha and offered him the idols of Sri Moola Rama. However Sri Yadavendra Tirtha, on seeing the devotion and spiritual prowess with which Sri Raghavendra Swami was pontificating the Mutt, declined the offer and continued on his pilgrimage. Thus Sri Raghavendra Swami then continued to enrich Dvaita Vedanta from Kumbakonam where numerous shishyas joined the Matha.

Kumbakonam drought

During Sri Raghavendra Swami's time at Kumbakonam, the Tanjore district as a whole was reeling under the effects of a severe 12 year long drought. The Maharaja of Tanjore approached Swamiji for spiritual solace and was advised to perform some Yagnas. No sooner were these rites performed, was the region flush with rain and prosperity. As a mark of gratitude, the Maharaja gifted the Matha with a necklace embellished with precious stones.
Swamiji offered the necklace as a contribution to a yagna that he was performing then. The Maharaja took affront at this action. When Swamiji realized this, he immediately put his hand into the homa kunda and retrived the necklace in a condition identical to which it was given to him by the King. Neither the necklace nor Swamiji's hand showed any indication of having been in a raging fire. This incident only served to reaffirm the greatness of Swamiji and converted the Maharaja of Tanjore into an ardent Bhakta.

Tour of South India

Sri Raghavendra Swami embarked on a tour of South India, spreading the Dvaita Philosophy and visiting famous pilgrimage centers such as those at Rameshwaram and Srirangam. At Rameshwaram, he clarified the origins of the Siva Linga as the one that was installed by Lord Rama himself before his journey to Lanka to fight Ravana. In this context, he also clarified that Ravana was a Rakshasa since he was born to a Rakshasi mother and Brahmin father. He rebuffed the claim made by some scholars that Lord Rama, as the Supreme One, is not bound by Brahma Hatya Dosha (or any other doshas) for eliminating Ravana.
He also traveled to Kanyakumari, Thiruvananthapuram and Madurai where he met his Poorvashrama brother-in-law with whom he had spent a large part of his childhood. As part of his Yatras, he traveled to Vishnu Mangala, Kukke Subramanya and Udipi in Karnataka, amongst other such spiritual centers and impressed one and all with his mastery of Dvaita philosophy, won many admirers, gained many devotees and published stellar works of literature and philosophy some of which were carried around in processions of elephants as a mark of respect for its brilliance.

Dewan of Adoni

On one of his numerous travels, Sri Raghavendra Swamy came across a young cowherd who prostrated before him in respect. Swamiji blessed him and told the little boy to think of him or pray to him in times of adversity.
A few days later, the Nawab of Adoni was riding by the same region. Being illiterate, he asked the same boy to read him the contents of a letter he was carrying then. The little boy too was illiterate. Hence he was unable to do read the letter and was too afraid to disclose his handicap to the Nawab. Hence he simply said that he would be unable to read the letter. This enraged the Nawab who threatened the boy with dire consequences for failing to obey him. The boy, who was in desperation by then, remembered the benevolent Swamiji who had passed by the same route a few days ago. He prayed hard to him and tried reading the letter. Miraculously, he is said to have told the Nawab the contents of the letter. Since the information was favorable to the Nawab, he was impressed and the boy became the Dewan of Adoni. Many years later, the Nawab learnt about Sri Raghavendra Swami from his Dewan.

Nawab of Adoni and Mantralayam

Much after the above incident had occurred, Sri Raghavendra Swami got an opportunity meet the Nawab of Adoni face-to-face. The Nawab, instead of being respectful to him, decided to test his spiritual skills and placed before the Swamiji, a plate of non vegetarian delicacies completely covered with a piece of cloth, in the guise of offering alms.
Per Hindu customs, alms are customarily offered to a visiting saint to seek his blessings. Swamiji took some water from his Kamandala, meditated and sprinkled it on the covered plate, as part of his regular practice of purifying any food before consumption. He then opened the plate. It contained fresh fruits. The Nawab immediately became remorseful and became an ardent devotee of Swamiji then on. As an apology, he offered to give the Swamiji any amount of land and wealth. While Swamiji refused any such gift for his personal gains, he asked that the land around Manchale (present day Mantralayam), which was part of the Nawab's kingdom, to be handed over to his Matha.
Though the Nawab of Adoni offered to give him a more fertile region, Sri Raghavendra Swami insisted on the dry and barren region around Mantralayam, on the banks of the Tungabhadra river.
Many years later, he told a devotee that it was the region where King Prahalada had performed his yagnyas to Lord Rama during the Dwapara Yuga and was hence an extremely holy land. Thus the Matha moved to Mantralayam where Sri Raghavendra Swamy continued his spiritual journey. At Mantralayam, Sri Guru Raghavendra encouraged Annadhanam (donation of food) to all devotees. It is a practice that is followed by the Matha to this date and is heavily subsidized by donations.

Sri Raghavendra Swami at Mantralayam

Panchamuki
Sri Guru Raghavendra performed penance at a place called Panchamukhi, near Mantralayam, in present day Andhra Pradesh where He received darshan of Hanuman in the form of Sri Panchamukha MukhyaPrana. Sri Guru Raghavendra is considered by his devotees to be a reincarnation of Prahlada, the devotee who was saved by Vishnu in his avatar as Narasimha (see Vaishnava Theology). Prahalada in turn is believed to be a reincarnation of Shankukarna, a Devatha, in the Dwapara Yuga. Hence, Sri Raghavendra Swamy chose Mantralayam as the location of his Brindavan

Jeeva Samadhi

On Dwitiya Day of Sravana Krishna Paksha in 1671, Raghavendra Swami gave a soul-stirring speech [2] to hundreds of devotees who had gathered to watch the event. Some quotes from that speech are as follows -
• "Without right living, right thinking will never come. Right living is performing one's ordained duties according to one's station in life without hankering after the fruits of the actions and on the other hand offering all one's activities to the Lord. This is real sadachara (right living). This is real karma yoga."
• "Social work done for the good of worthy people should also be considered as the Lord's worship. In short, our life itself is a worship. Every action is a puja. This life is precious. Every second of our life is precious. Not even a second that has gone will come back. Listening to the right shastras and always remembering Him is the highest duty."
• "Always keep away from people who merely perform miracles without following the shastras and yet call themselves God or guru. I have performed miracles, and so have great persons like Srimadacharya. These are based on yoga siddhi and the shastras. There is no fraud or trickery at all. These miracles were performed only to show the greatness of God and the wonderful powers that one can attain with His grace. "
• "Right knowledge (jnana) is greater than any miracle. Without this no real miracle can take place. Any miracle performed without this right knowledge is only sorcery. No good will come to those who perform such miracles and also those who believe in them."
• "Have devotion to the Lord. This devotion should never be blind faith. Accepting the Lord's supremacy wholeheartedly is true devotion. Blind faith is not devotion. It is only stupidity. We should have devotion, not only for the Lord, but also for all other deities and preceptors in keeping with their status."
After this speech, Sri Raghavendra entered the Brindavana specially constructed for him with stone brought from Madavara village, near Manchale. Per his advice these stones were sanctified by Lord Rama, Sita and Lakshmana's footsteps when they visited the village during Treta Yuga.
He had advised his disciples to start arranging slabs around him once the japamala in his hand becomes still.
He began reciting the pranava mantra and slipped into deep samadhi. Once his japamala became still, his disciples arranged the slabs up to his head and then, as per his earlier instructions, they placed a copper box containing 1200 Lakshminarayana saligramas that had been specially brought from Gandaki river in Nepal. Then they placed the covering slab over it and filled it with earth. They poured twelve thousand varahas (abhisheka) over the brindavan that they had built.
Thus Sri Raghavendra Swami attained Jeeva samādhi on Dwitiya Day of Sravana Krishna Paksha in 1671. This date is celebrated each year as Sri Raghavendra Swamy Aradhana at Brindavans all over the world. The Raghavendra Mutt in Mantralaya housing his Brindavan is visited by thousands of devotees every year.
It is believed he would live for
• 76 years physically on the Earth.
• 100 years physically inside the Brindavana.
• 300 years through this literary works.
• 700 years in the Brindavana without a physical form.

Sri Appanacharya and Sri Raghavendra Stotra

Sri Appanacharya was one of Sri Raghavendra Swami's foremost disciples at Mantralayam. Knowing his unstinting devotion and that he would try and thwart his Jeeva Samadhi, Sri Raghavendra Swami sent Sri Appanacharya to a town in Karnataka on the opposite bank of the Tungabhadra river before entering the Brindavana to attain Jeeva Samadhi.
Upon hearing of his beloved Swamiji's decision to enter Brindavana, Sri Appanacharya came rushing back to Mantralayam only to find the Tungabhadra in full spate due to the rains. Unable to cross the river, he burst into a 32-stanza hymn, now popularly known as Sri Raghavendra Stotra as a prayer to his beloved Swamiji. It is said that on hearing the hymn, the Tungabhadra abated and allowed him to walk on her.
As Sri Appanacharya rushed into the Matha, he was mid-way through singing the last stanza of his hymn. At the same time, the last slab was placed on Sri Raghavendra Swamy in the Brindavana. On seeing this, Sri Appanacharya was overcome with emotion and was unable to sing any further to complete the stanza. Suddenly, a voice from inside the Brindavan said "Sakshee Hayastotra Hee", completing the Stotra and implying Sri Hayagreeva (an avatara of Lord Vishnu with the Horse head and Human body)and Prahalada and hence Sri Guru Raghavendra himself was witness to Sri Appanacharya's hymn.
This 32 stanza sloka has acquired fame as Sri Raghavendra Stotra or Sri Poornabodha sloka, since the first stanza starts with the words "Sri Poornabodha".
Another famous 2-stanza sloka praising Sri Raghavendra goes thus

Poojyaaya Raaghavendraaya Satya Dharma Rathaayacha
Bhajataam Kalpa Vrukshaaya Namathaam Kaamadhenave

Source : Wikipedia

SRI VYASARAJARU

SRI VYASARAJA THIRTHA

Arthikalpita kalpoyam prathyarthi gajakesari/

Vyasathirtha Gurubhoryarth asmad Ishtartha siddhaye//

Sri Vysaraja was the son of Ballana Sumati also called Ramacharys 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 Vysaraja who is believed to be an avatar of Prahlada was born. (1447 AD) This brought a sense of fulfilment to the aged couples through the grace of saint Brahmanyathirtha of Abbur 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 Ethiraja 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 sage Brahmanayathirtha 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 Thirtha.

Sri Vyasathirtha 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 Mulabagal, then a centre of learning. Sri Sripadaraj welcomed this young yati. Sri Vyasathirtha learnt all the secrets of vedantic lore. Sri Sripadaraja found in him extraordinary merit and said:

Vadi timira Marthandaneniside/Vadi Sharabha Bherunda Vysamuniraya//

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 Agraharams to foster learning and Dharma.

When he was made kulaguru, it created a feeling of great jealosy. Learned men from different parts of India came and disputed the position. Sri Vyasaraj easily vanquished his opponents. His elequence was a spiritual and intellectual treat. He strengthened and adorned the Madwa school of thought and brought it in to the highest pinnacle of temporal recognition.

After the victorious battle at Raichur by Krishnadevaraya, he conducted a Durbar in which he seated Sri Vyasaraja on a seat of GOLD when men of learning and warriors prostrated themselves before Sri Vyasaraja. He performed Ratnabhisheka with all precious stones. Sri Vyasaraja did not take any of them .They were distributed to the men of learning, warriors, and even mussalman chiefs who were serving the king. Vyasa samudra was built at Kandakur near Madanapalli village

Sri Vyasaraja 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 Tapashakti.

He lived for a glorious life of 93 years full of extraordinary achievements. Sri Vyasaraja left this world on Saturday the 8th Mrach 1539 (Vilambi Nama samvatsara Phalguna bahula Chathurthi).

His works:

Sri Vyasaraja was born to further the work of elucidating the divine and subtle doctrines of Dwaita philosophy propounded by the great Sri Madhwacharya and commented upon by Sri Jayatheertha. In his three great works known as VYASATRAYA, viz., 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 Madhwacharya and the teekas of Sri Jayathirtha. Hence he is included among the three original thinkers. You will remember that every Madhwa , sitting before the food that is served,before taking the Aposhana, utter the slokas on Sri Madwar first, next Sri Jayathirthar and thirdly Sri Vysarajar.

He has condensed in a nutshell the important prameyas contained in the 37 works of Sri Madhwar in a single stanza. This was an answer to a question by a pandit at Kanchi asking to tell about the imporatnce of Madhwa siddhanta in a nutshell.

Sri Manmadwanate Harihi paratarah Satyam Jagattatwako/
Bhinnajeevagana Hareranucharaah NichochhaBhavam gatah//
Muktirnyja Sukhanubhhootiratula Bhaktischa tatsadhanam/
Hyakshdritayam Pramanamakilaamnaykavedyo HARI//

Thus his works are still a living fount of thought and inspiration to all students af Dwaitha-nay 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 Vysaraja toured all over India,and established that Dwaita Siddhanta was the right and faultless Siddhanta. Pakshadharamisra, of Kashi who accepted his defeat respectfully admiring the wide learning and loigical arguments by Sri Vyasarajar presented the Pachhe Linga which is worshipped on Mahashivartri day even now at Kundapura Vysaraya Mutt. It is in recognition of this triumphal march that Sri Purandaradasar has said.,

Esu munigalu Iddu Yenu madidaru/ Vyasamuni Madhwa matavanu Uddharisida/

Sri Vyasaraja was the chancellor of the Imperial University of the Vijayanagar Empire. He sat on the Saraswathi peeta. He was the Guru of a distingushed galaxy of shishyas, Sri Vijayendra, Sri Purandaradasa, Sri Kanakadasa and so on. These sishyas kept the light of Indian philosophical thought shining with all brightness for a long time and even after their guru had left this world.

He went on trumpeting the fundamental philosophical truth of HARISARVOTAMATWA. His unfailing conviction and fervor about this knew no bounds, so much so that he throws a challenge

Ukkuva Tuppakke kai Ikkuve/ Chakaradhara paramatmanobbanalldillavendu//

Is this not an echo of Sri Madhwar’s call in the Sri Dwadasha Stotra?

When Hindu India appeared to be crumb, bluing down, Sri Madhawacharya fought the doctrine of illusion, raised the value of the individual, and gave an impetus to the ideals of faith and hope and progress, He was followed by Sri Jayathirtharu and Sri Vyasarajaru. It was Sri Vyasaraja’s insistence of the reality of the world that gave new life, as it were, to the world. He was no mere doctrinaire. His intelligence was as high as his love and Bhakti were deep. Sri Vyasaraja was the greatest man of his age, in scholarship and renunciation and was the embodiment of Hindu Dharma. Here is the encomium by Sri Srpadarajar on Sri Vyasaraja:

Sasira Jihyegalulla Sheshane Kondadabeku Vysamunirayara sanyasadirawa.

Sri Vyasaraja’s ultimate prayer to God is:

Januma Janumadalli Kodukandya hariye/Animatta Bandhu Sri KRISHNA dayadinda yenage//

This is the boon for which everyone of us should pray.

The two outstanding personalities among Vaishnav pontiffs. Sri VADIRAJA and Sri VYASARAJA passed away , in the Phalguna Bahula, on two consecutive days, i.e. on Trtiya and Chaturthi of different samvatsara , respectively

Sri Vysaraja’s brindavanam is at Nava Vrindavan , in a small island near Bellary washed away by the Tungabhadra river, who left his mortal body on 8-3-1539.

SRIPADARAJARU HISTORY

Sri Sripadarajaru was one of the outstanding Yathis
of the Madhwa Parampara. It is believed that he is
the incarnation of Dhruva. His contributions to the
spread of madhva siddhantha and to Haridasa
Sahitya are considerable. He was also the
vidyaguru of Sri Vyasaraja Theertharu.
Sri 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"
He is also referred to as ‘Dasa Pitamaha'
(Grandfather of Dasas). He spread the message of
Bhagavatha Dharma through his Devotional songs.

Sri Lakshmi Narayana – Early Days
Born in Abbur, a picturesque village about
60 kms from Bangalore, to a poor couple
Abbur Sri Seshagiri Achar and Smt
Giriamma, the young boy Lakshmi
Narayana was to become the highly
revered Sri Sripadarajaru later on in his
life.He had his aksharabyasa from his father.
As a boy he was used to taking care of
cattle herd during the daytime to help his
family. Even at that young age he had a
dignified appearance and leadership
qualities. He will organise and stage
Dasavathara plays, along with his friends,
and invariably he will play the main
character in these plays.

Sri Lakshmi Narayana - Destiny
Sri Swarnavarna Theertharu was on his way to
Abbur. The young Lakshminarayana was taking
care of his herd. Sri Swarnavarna theertharu,
anxious to know the distance of the village, made
an enquiry with the boy. Lakshminarayana
answered the question intelligently by saying "see
me, see my herd, gaze at the sky and realize the
distance" and stood calmly. Swamiji was
wonderstruck at his intelligence and was pleased
with his presence of mind. He asked him to lead
him to the ashram of Sri Purushoththama
Theertharu. There the Swamiji was also highly
impressed with Sri Brahmanya Theertha, the
disciple of Sri Purushoththama Theertharu. After
conferring with Sri Purushoththama Theertharu,
Sri Swarnavarna Theertharu decided to take the
young Lakshminarayana under his wings

Sri Lakshmi Narayana Yogi

Very soon the young man Lakshmi Narayana became
a very scholarly pandit. Impressed by the prowess of
his sishya, Sri Swarnavarna Theertharu,
in his old age, decided to make him his successor.
After takingthe consent of his parents,
he gave him sanyasa and named him Sri Lakshmi Narayana Yogi.
For sometime Sri Swarnavarna theertharu was with
Sri Lakshmi Narayana, as he was engaged in
pravachana, japa tapa, guruseva .... Reposing full
confidence in his shishya, Swarnavarna muni handed
over to him his samsthana with all its grandeur
and entered the brindavana there at Srirangam. Thus Sri
Lakshmi Narayana Yogi occupied the peeta

Sri Sripadarajaru – How come the name?
Once he occupied the peeta, his lustre grew manyfold. He went
on theerthayatra with Sri Vibhudendra Theertharu (the purva
peetathipathi of Sri Rayaru Mutt) and Sri Raghunatha
Theertharu of Uttaradi Mutt. Sri Raghunatha Theertharu was
far senior to Sri Lakshmi Narayana Yogi and a highly respected
yathi in the madhwa parampara. Sri Lakshmi Narayana Yogi
showed all due respects to him. Sri Raghunatha Theertharu
wanted to test his pandithya. Sri Lakshmi Narayana impressed
him hugely with a flowing commentary on a difficult phrase
from the famous grantha “Nyayasudha”.
The extremely happy Sri Raghunatha Theertharu said “If we are
all Sripadarus (sanyasis) you are truly Sripadaraja (King of
Sanyasis)”. And he blessed him that he will be as famous as
Srimad Acharya and Sri Teekacharya.

Sripadaraja Mutt
Sometime after he became the Pontiff of the Mutt,
he set out on travel. He came to Mulubagilu and
made up his mind to stay there knowing well its
Historical, Educational and Dharmic background.
At that time Mulubagilu was under the control of Vijayanagar kings.
Sripadarajaru comes in the divine parampara of Padmanabhatheertha Mutt.
Sri Padamanabha theertharu was the direct disciple of
Shri Madhwacharya. He was the first to write notes
(Sanyayarathnavali & sattarkadeepavali) on Madhwacharya's
great works. He paved the way for dwaitha sidhanta to
scale new heights. Narayana pandithacharya has lot of praise for
Sri Padmanabha theertharu as a lion critic . Sri Jayatheertharu
has described him as a pure person who lived in the ocean of
chaste knowledge. Sri Padmanabha muni saw to it that his
monastic order remained wedded to propagation of
dharma. This mutt was called as Padmanabhatheertha mutt before
Sripadarajaru, and after him, because of the alluring
personality of Sripadarajaru it became famous as Sripadarja mutt.

Sri Ranga Vittala
Having spent considerable time at Srirangam, Sri Sripadarajaru
observed the tradition at Srirangam temple and recognised the
divine power of music to carry bhakthi and dharma to common people.
Furthermore he was conscious of the fact that if the lines
are kept simple and in the native language, they can be understood
by even simple folks. With these inspirations he started
composing many devarunamas in kannada and started the tradition
of singing them during the puja. On the banks of Bhimarathi nadhi,
as indicated in his dream, he found buried a golden box which
contained the lovely vigraha of Sri Ranga Vittala. It became his
ankitha (signature) in his devarunamas.
His Bhramaragita, Venugita, Gopigita are said to be beautiful
and full of the essence of Srimad Bhagavatham

“Mahime Saladhe”
In A.D. 1471, King Chaluva Narasimhan of Chandragiri took
refuge under Sri Sripadarajaru to get rid of the dosha due
to his wrong deeds. Sri Sripadarajaru saved him through his tapas
sakthi. In gratitude he seated him on his simhasana and
conducted kanakabishekha. On that occasion his sishya
Sri Vyasaraja Theertharu composed and sang the famous devarunama
“Mahime Saladhe”. The king of Vijayanagara continuously
requested Sripadaraja to settle down in his kingdom, and become
his Raja-Guru. Sripadaraja declined to do so due to old age,
but agreed to send his beloved disciple Shri Vyasaraja instead.
Thus Shri Vyasaraja became the Raja-Guru of the Vijayanagara empire.

Sri Sripadarajaru’s Brindavana

Narasimha Theertha

Sri Sripadarajaru has his brindavana at a place called
Narasimha Theertha, about a mile from Mulabagilu, on the
Bangalore and Madras national highway. There is an
interesting anecdote about Narasimha Theertha which goes
as follows: It is said that when he was in 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 Theertha and
stay there for ever. From then on, a dip in Narasimha
Theertha is considered to be equivalent to a dip in Ganga.
The following stotra in honor of Sri Sripadarajaru was
composed by Sri Vyasarayaru:
Tham vande narasimha theertha nilayam Sri vyasaraja poojitham

Dhayantham manasa nrusimha charanam SrIpadarajaram gurum.

Pada Vakya Pramatabhyam Vikreedana Visharadam

LakshmiNarayana Muneem Vande Vidya Gurunmama