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Sri Raghavendra Tirtha
Personal life
Born	Venkata Natha 1595 or 1598 Bhuvanagiri (now in Tamil Nadu)
Spouse	Sarasvati Bai
Children	Lakshminarayanacharya
Honors	Parimalacharya
Religious life
Religion	Hinduism
Philosophy	Dvaita Vedanta
Religious career
Guru	Sudheendra Tirtha
Successor	Sri Yogendra Tirtha

Sri Raghavendra Tirtha (Śrī Rāghavēndra Tīrtha) (c.1595 – c.1671) was a Hindu scholar, theologian and saint. He was also known as Sudha Parimalacharya (Sudhā Parimaḷācārya). His diverse oeuvre include commentaries on the works of Madhva, Jayatirtha and Vyasatirtha, interpretation of the Principal Upanishads from the standpoint of Dvaita and a treatise on Purva Mimamsa. He served as the pontiff of matha at Kumbakonam from 1624 to 1671. Sri Raghavendra swamy was also an accomplished player of the Veena and he composed several songs under the name of Venu Gopala. His shrine at Mantralayam attracts thousands of visitors every year.

Life

Sri Raghavendra swami was born as Venkatanatha in the town of Bhuvanagiri, Tamil Nadu into a Deshastha Madhva Brahmin family of musicians and scholars. His great-grandfather Krishnabhatta was a tutor to Vijayanagara king Krishnadeva Raya, his grandfather was Kanakacalabhatta and his father Thimanna Bhatta was an accomplished scholar and musician. After the fall of Vijayanagara empire, Timmanacharya migrated to Kanchi with his wife Gopikamba. Venkatanatha had two siblings: Gururaja and Venkatamba. Venkatanatha's education was undertaken by his brother-in-law Lakshminarasimhacharya at Madurai, after the early demise of his father, and he was subsequently married.

According to Raghavendra Vijaya, his triumph in debates at Thanjavur attracted the attention of Sudhindra Tirtha, the erstwhile pontiff of Kumbakonam mutt. Though initially uncertain about the prospect of renunciation, Venkatanatha relented to Sri Sudhindra Swamy's demands and was ordained as a monk in 1621. After the death of Sri Sudhindra Tirtha in 1623, Venkatanatha succeeded him as the pontiff of the mutt and took on the name Sri Raghavendra Tirtha. He undertook a pilgrimage visiting places including Udupi, Kolhapur and Bijapur. He received grants from Dodda Kempadevaraja and settled down in the village of Mantralayam, which was presented to him by the Governor of Adoni. He died in 1671 and his mortal remains are enshrined in Mantralayam. Traditional accounts report that Sri Raghavendra swamy asked his tomb (Brindavana) to be built around him as he entered into a state of samadhi. He was succeeded by his disciple Yogeendra Tirtha. In 1801, while serving as the Collector of Bellary, Thomas Munro is believed to have come across an apparition of Sri Raghavendra swamy.

Works

Forty works have been attributed to Sri Raghavendra swamy. Sharma notes that his works are characterised by their compactness, simplicity and their ability to explain the abstruse metaphysical concepts of Dvaita in understandable terms. His Tantradipika is an interpretation of the Brahma Sutra from the standpoint of Dvaita incorporating elements from Jayatirtha's Nyaya Sudha, Vyasatirtha's Tatparya Chandrika and the glosses by Vijayendra Tirtha. Bhavadipa is a commentary on Jayatirtha's Tattva Prakasika which, apart from elucidating the concepts of the source text, criticises the allegations against Madhva raised by Appaya Dikshita and grammarian Bhattoji Dikshita. Sri Raghavendra swamy's expertise in Purva Mimamsa and Vyakarana is evident from his works on Vyasatirtha's Tatparya Chandrika, which runs up to 18,000 stanzas. He wrote a commentary on Nyaya Sudha titled Nyaya Sudha Parimala. Apart from these works, he has authored commentaries on the Upanishads, first three chapters of Rig Veda (called Mantramanjari) and Bhagvad Gita. As an independent treatise, he has authored a commentary on Jaimini Sutras called Bhatta Sangraha which seeks to interpret the Purva Mimamsa doctrines from a Dvaita perspective.

In culture

Raghavendra Tirtha has been eulogised by Narayanacharya in his contemporaneous biography Raghavendra Vijaya and a hymn Raghavendra Stotra by Appannacharya. Outside the confines of Dvaita, he is regarded as a saint known for preaching the worship of Vishnu regardless of caste or creed. Hebbar notes "By virtue of his spiritual charisma, coupled with the innumerable miracles associated with him, the pontiff saint may very well be said to possess an independent and cosmopolitan cult of his own with his devotees hailing not only from all walks of life but from all castes, sects and even creeds as well". His humanitarianism is evident in the devotional poems composed in his honour by Vijaya Dasa, Gopala Dasa and Jagannatha Dasa. Raghavendra has also seen representation in the popular culture through Indian Cinema.

References

1. Sharma 1961, p. 278.
2. ^ Rao 1966, p. 85.
3. Hebbar 2005, p. 229.
4. Callewaert 1994, p. 187.
5. Sharma 2000, p. 482. sfn error: no target: CITEREFSharma2000 (help)
6. Aiyangar 1919, p. 252.
7. ^ Sharma 1961, p. 279.
8. Aiyangar 1919, p. 253.
9. ^ Rao 2015, p. 324.
10. Rao 1966, p. 84.
11. Shah 1999.
12. ^ Rao 2015, p. 325.
13. ^ Sharma 1961, p. 282.
14. Sharma 1961, p. 285.
15. Pandurangi 2004.
16. Rao 2015, p. 85.
17. Hebbar 2004, p. 230.
18. Sharma 1961, p. 281.

Bibliography

• Sharma, B.N.K (1961). History of Dvaita school of Vedanta and its Literature, Vol 2 (3rd ed.). Bombay: Motilal Banarasidass. ISBN 81-208-1575-0. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Hebbar, B.N (2005). The Sri-Krsna Temple at Udupi: The History and Spiritual Center of the Madhvite Sect of Hinduism. Bharatiya Granth Nikethan. ISBN 81-89211-04-8. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Callewaert, Winand M. (1994). According to Tradition: Hagiographical Writing in India. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. ISBN 978-3447035248. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Rao, Krishna, M.V (1966). Purandara and the Haridasa Movement. Dharwad: Karnatak University. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• Pandurangi, K.T (2004). Bhatta Sangraha. Bengaluru: Dvaita Vedanta Studies and Research Foundation. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Aiyangar, Krishnaswami (1919). Sources of Vijayanagar History. Chennai: University of Madras. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Shah, Giriraj (1999). Saints, gurus and mystics of India. Vol. 2. Cosmo Publications. p. 473. ISBN 978-81-7020-856-3. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Rao, Raghavendra (2015). The Proceedings Of The Indian History Congress 8th Session. The General Secretary Indian History Congress Allahabad. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Hebbar, B.N (2004). The Sri Krsna Temple at Udupi. Nataraj Books. ISBN 978-1881338505. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)

External links

• Official website of Sri Raghavendra Swamy Mutt Mantralayam

Further reading

• Raghavendra Vijaya: A Biography of Raghavendra Tirtha

v t e Madhva religious figures
Madhvacharya (1199–1278) Naraharitirtha (1243–1333) Akshobhya Tirtha (1282–1350) Jayatirtha (c. 1345 – c. 1388) Sripadaraya (Sripadaraja) (1404–1502) Vyasatirtha (1460–1539) Vadirajatirtha (1480–1600) Vijayendra Tirtha (1514–1593) Purandara Dasa (1484–1564) Kanaka Dasa (1509–1609) Raghuttama Tirtha (1548–1595) Raghavendra Swami (1595–1671) Satyanatha Tirtha (1648–1674) Vijaya Dasa (1682–1755) Gopala Dasa (1721–1769) Jagannatha Dasa (1728–1809)

• 1595 births
• 17th-century Hindu religious leaders
• Madhva religious leaders
• Dvaita
• People from Cuddalore district
• 1671 deaths
• Hindu saints
• Scholars from Tamil Nadu
• 17th-century Indian scholars