The tortoise that outilved Clive

One of the pioneering British soldiers who played a pivotal role in establishing British supremacy in India was Robert Clive. The son of a Shropshire Squire in England, he rose from the ranks to command the British Army and set the English on course to rule India.

Clive later became an opium addict and committed suicide in 1774 at the age of 49. More than two hundred years later, one of Clive’s pet died in India in 2006. Unbelievable? Read on. 

Clive had settled down in a beautiful villa at Latbagan in Barrackpore near Calcutta. He had several pets and one among them was a male Aldabra Giant Tortoise.  

This tortoise was a gift to Clive from the British sailors who captured the animal from the Seychelles Islands. Clive had four such tortoises in his villa. While three of them had died, the one he named as Adwaita had survived.

Nobody knows why the tortoise was named Adwaitha. All we know is that it was pet he treasured and he left behind when he went back to England.  

Carl Louis Schwendler, the founder of the Alipore Zoo in Calcutta, transferred the tortoise to the zoo in 1875. Adwaita lived in a enclosure in the zoo until its death in 2006.

It weighed 250 kilograms (550 lb) and it was a bachelor with no records of his progeny. Though he was huge, he lived on a simple diet of wheat bran, carrots, lettuce, soaked gram, bread, grass and salt. He was a loner and when he died he was the world’s oldest bachelor.

He died in March 2006 after his shell cracked and a wound developed. By then, he had also developed liver infection. At the time of his death, Adwaitha was one of the longest living animals in the world.

Generally, Aldabra tortoises are found in the Aldabra atoll of Seychelles. It is today a world heritage site with about 1.6 lakhs such tortoises.These animals are similar in size to the Galapagos Giant tortoises.

The average weight of a male is around 250 kilograms (550 lb). Females are generally smaller than males, with average specimens measuring 90 centimetres (35 in) in length and weighing 150 kilograms (330 lb).

Adwaita died at the age of  255. This makes it the oldest tortoise of modern times, living longer than Harriet by 80 years, and Tu’i Malila by 67 years.

Harriet, a 176-year-old Galapagos tortoise, lives at the Australia Zoo north of Brisbane. She was taken from the island of Isla Santa Cruz by Charles Darwin in the 19th century.

Though Clive is long dead and gone, his legacy continues to live in Kolkata and elsewhere. His estate was at Barrackpore and it can still be seen. The Fort William here was commissioned by Clive  and it is still  one of the best preserved forts in India. The fort is used by the Army and entry is restricted.

Madhwacharya's fighting text

If ever there was a fighting book, this has to be it. A gem from the saint philosopher, Madhwacharya, this book actually contains several points that Madhwacharya or Madhwa as he is generally called used in his arguments against Adwaithas in a debate several centuries ago.

The language and tenor of the work “Tattvodyota” is such that Prof B N K Sharma calls it the fighting work of Madhwa. Much of  Madhwa’s Dwaitha doctrine can be found here. The arguments that he put forth is robust and it “bombarded” the Adwaitha view points and overwhelmed the Adwaitha scholars who had gathered to oppose Madhwa and his Siddantha.

Madhwa employed subtle arguments to overcome two Adwaitha scholars who had challenged him to a debate. The two scholars were Pundarika Puri and Padma Theertha.

Both these Adwaitha scholars had decide to take on Madhwa at the instigation of other Adwaitha scholars. Madhwa had been drawing large crowds and two of the foremost Adwaitha pandits of the day-Shibana Bhatt and Shyama Shastri had lost to Madhwa and become his disciples-Padmanabha Theertha and Narahari Theertha.

Another Adwaitha scholar, Trivikrama Panditacharya had lost to Madhwa after a marathon debate.

Several Adwaitha scholars had got together at Udupi and instigated Pundarika Puri and Padma Theertha (he is the brother of  Trivikrama Panditacharya) to take on Madhwa at Udupi.

Madhwa accepted the challenge and this entire episode figures in Chapter 12 of Madhwa Vijaya written by Narayana Panditacharya, the son of Trivikrama Panditacharya.

Legend has it that when Madhwa began his arguments, the two scholars were so tongue tied that they failed to respond. Madhwa, realizing their predicament himself took their side.

The audience and the two scholars were treated to a magnificent debate by a single person who expounded opposite views. The debate was so scholarly and engrossing that each argument put forward seems to be the correct position.

Thus the Acharya himself started the debate providing both the opening arguments (poorvapaksha) and the replies (siddhanta). He began by talking of the Bheda and Bhava (difference) that exists at the human level. This, he said, continues even at the higher level or even at the stage of Moksha. He distinguishes between the Brahman and Jeeva. He debunks the theory that the world is magical and that it is only an illusion.

For Madhwa, God who creates the universe is the Independent reality, while the universe created by him is a dependent reality. Taking this point further, the Acharya says If God is “bimba” or the original substrate, souls are only pratibimbas or images. The image is always dependent on the original; it can never become identical with it. Nor can it match the original. Thus, the original and the image are always distinct.

He came down on Adwaitha philosophy like ton of bricks and compared the Brahman of Adwaitha with the Shunya of Buddhism. In one stroke, he demolished the arguments put forward by the Adwaitha philosophers that they had fundamental differences with the Buddhist way of life. He says theism is the only way of life accepted by the Shastras.

He said the “attributeless” Brahman of Adwaita can hardly be any different from  the Shunya of Buddhistic tradition. Narayana, the God is one but there are many divinities. These divinities are godlike and not God, he said.

He further said that no two things in the universe are the same or identical. Each is different from the other. Even leaves of the same tree are not identical as each leaf differs with the other. Thus, the idea propogated by the Adwaitha philosophy that all is one and one is all is wrong, said Madhwa. 

To the astonishment of the Adwaitha scholars, Madhwa quoted extensively from several Adwaitha works including Samkshepa Sariraka.

When the Adwaitha scholars said “Vishwam mithyaa drshyatvaat”  (the world is false), the Acharya retorted “Chandrapraadeshatvaadivishayam tu

Doorasthatvaadidoshayuktatvaadapatu”  (Jayatheertha or Teeka Charya has beautifully explained these two lines)

When the debate went the way of Madhwa, the Acharya held the gathering spellbound with a beautiful rendition of the Vedas. Verses seven to twenty eight in Madhaw Vijaya give us a gist of this recitation.

Narayana Panditacharya then compares Madhwa to a rampaging Narasimha and he says the Acharya used five main weapons to vanquish the defenders of ignorance. The first weapon was the Chakra in the form of Vedas, second was Shanka in the form of Acharya’s Brahma Tarka, third was Puranas as Gada (mace), fourth was the bow as Pancharatra and the last weapon was Ithihasa as sword.

Both Jaya Theertha or Teekacharya and Raghavendra Swamy have written notes on this text.     

The victorious Raghavendra

Well, we all know about the miracles of Raghavendra Swamy. But not many know that Rayaru was also an excellent debater and he won debates wherever he went.

A renown scholar, he put to shame many scholars with his depth of the Shastras and erudition. Even as a boy, he had shown an inclination towards learning and as he grew up, his knowledge was like the Kalpavruksha.    

Sudhindra Theertha had entered Brindavana at Nava Brindavana in Hampi and Raghavendra Swamy had personally overseen the arrangements.

Soon afterwards, Raghavendra Swamy decided to go on Sanchara. He first visited Thanjavur. The land of the erstwhile Cholas was experiencing unrest and the kingdom was passing through a severe famine.

The Nayaka of Thanjavur, Vijaya Raghava Raya, urged Raghavendra Swamy to help the people. Raghavendra Swamy stayed on in Thanjavur for several years and helped the King overcome the famine.

The grateful King offered a necklace to Raghavendra Swamy who promptly offered it to Agni. This offended the King and Raghavendra Swamy put his hand into the fire and gave hi back the necklace.

Rayaru then came to Kumbakonam. He stayed there for some time before deciding to move on and spread the gospel of Madhwa philosophy.

He visited Paripurna Nagara, Kamalalaya and Ardha Nareeshwara and finally reached Poompuhar where Cauvery joins the sea. He then travelled to Rameshwaram where he gave discourses. He came to Tamrapani where he helped a Brahmin who had been excommunicated by members of his community.

Raghavendra Swamy purified the Brahmin by sprinkling holy water from his Kamandala. He visited Madurai where he was accorded a welcome by its ruler Tirumala Nayaka.

Here, Raghavendra Swamy took on Nilakanta Dixit, grandson of Appaiah Dixit, a contemporary of Vijayendra Teertha (His Paramaguru), in a debate on Mimamsa.

Nilakanta Dixit accepted defeat and honored Raghavendra Swamy by seating him on an elephant. Rayaru left Madurai after visiting the Sundareshwarar and Meenakshi deities.

Rayaru then travelled to Namakkal where he prayed at the temple of Narasimha. He then continued towards Vellore, which was then in the hands of the Vijayanagar Kings. However, Hampi had lost its glory and the Vijayanagar Kings after Ramaraya had shifted base first to Penukonda-Chandragiri and then to Vellore.

The Vijayanagar Emperor, Venkatapathi Raju, honored Raghavendra swamy. The court of Vellore saw a fascinating debate between Raghavendra Swamy on one hand and two Adwaitha brothers, Veerabadra and Bairava Bhatta, on the other hand.

As can be expected, Raghavendra Swamy won the debate and the Adwaitha brothers conceded defeat. The Vijayanagar Emperor appreciated Raghavendra Swamiji and gifted several villages near Vellore.

Rayaru spent time at the Hanuman Temple at Vellore. It was at this place near Shanbakkam where Madhwacharya had a written a commentary on Vishnu Sahasaranama and Vyasa Theertha had stayed here. He met several Madhwa seers here and also read texts by Kambalur Ramachandra Theertha of  Vyasaraja Matha. One of Kambalur’s texts is believed to have influenced Rayaru deeply and moulded his thinking.

Kambalur was one of the Shishyas of Vijendra Theertha of Sri Matha, Kumbakonam. Vijendra Theertha was the paramaguru of Raghavendra Swamy. Coincidentally, Vijendra Theertha was one of the disciples of Vyasa Theertha.  

He then came to Vishnumangala where the Brindavana of Trivikrama Panditacharya is situated. Rayaru then travelled to Subramanya and from there to Udupi.

While in Udupi, Raghavendra Swamy stayed at a small Matha in front of the Sri Krishna Temple. This matha had been acquired by the Sri Matha of Kumbokanam when Vijendra Theertha was heading it.

Raghavendra Swamy looked as if he had gone into a trance when he saw Lord Krishna. He sang and danced in ecstasy. He composed several songs on Krishna under the pen name Venugopala.

He also stayed back in Udupi for the Chaturmasa and wrote some of his works, including Nyaya Mukthavali, a treatise on theology. He also wrote  Tantra Deepika and Parimala.

When the time for leaving Udupi came, Raghavendra Swamy gifted the Krishna Temple with a golden idol of  Krishna holding a Kadagol (stick to churn butter) in his hand.

During his subsequent tours, Raghavendra Swamy visited Srirangapatna, which was the capital of the Wodeyars. Dodde Deveraja Wodeyar honored the seer and gifted the villages of Nallur and Devarajapur.

Raghavendra Swamy stayed back at Srirangapatna for the Chaturmasa. After the Chaturmasa, he came to Chitradurga where he stayed at the Rama Temple.

It is here that Raghavendra Swamy exhibited one of his finest miracles. This miracle showed that Rayaru had the extraordinary power of helping a person get Moksha.

The devotees and followers of Raghavendra Swamy saw a person come to the seer regularly and almost every day pleading for complete “Mukti” .  One day, Raghavendra Swamy asked the person whether he was serious about attaining mukti. When the person answered in the affirmative, Rayaru said he would grant him the wish.

The overjoyed devotee fell at the feet of Raghavendra Swamy who asked him to bathe, perform Sandhyavandhana and then come to him.

Rayari then gave the person Pancha Gavya. He asked for a fire to be lit and instructed the devotee to jump into it. The devotee jumped into the fire and his mortal figure was engulfed in flames.

Many devotees of Rayaru started criticising him for making an innocent man jump into fire.

Even as the shocked gathering began talking ill about Rayaru, they heard the sound of ringing bells. When they looked up towards the sky, they saw the devotee seated in a Vimana which was moving towards heaven.

It suddenly struck the gathering that Rayaru was capable of sending people directly to Hari for Moksha. All the devotees fell at the feet of Rayaru, seeking forgiveness.

Rayaru then came to Nava Brindavana where he once again worshipped the Brindavana of Sudhindra Theertha, his guru. He also paid his respects to other brindavans, including the brindavana of his previous incarnation, Vyasa Theertha.

He then came to Chakra Theertha and worshipped Vyasa Pratistha Hanuman and the Brindavana of Narahari Theertha. He then commenced his tour of north Karnataka.

He stopped at Gadag where he visited the Veera Narayana Temple. As Vyasa Theertham he had given the ankita Nama Kumara Vyasa to Narayana who had composed Kumara Bharata in the temple.

He then proceeded to Kiritagiri where people got to see a miracle of Raghavendra Swamy.

A rich landlord, Gurunatha Rao Desai and his wife Indiramma had invited Raghavendra Swamy, for Bhiksha. When the pooje was in progress at their house, the young son of Desai slipped into a vessel containing mango juice (Rasaina) and died.

Raghavendra Swamy revived the boy  and the grateful Desai handed over the village of Kiritgiri to the Sri Matha. At Hubbali, another miracle followed. Rayaru revived Shezada, the dead son of the reigning Nawab of Dharwad under whom the Hubbali province came.

Shazada had already been placed in a tomb when the grief struck Nawab came to Rayaru. The seer asked for the boy to be taken out of the tomb and he sprinkled holy water on the boy’s face. The boy revived.

At Sirsangi, he revived a dry twig which suddenly turned green. The Desai, a Veerashaiva, began respecting Brahmins and stopped harassing them.

In Pandrapur, he once again performed  a miracle by providing water and shelter to o a pregnant woman (She was the wife of one of Rayaru’s devotee called Dasappa )who was to deliver a baby.Dasappa became the father of a son and he was named Ramappa.

In Pandrapur, Raghavendra Swamy overcame  Shesha, a scholar, in a debate. He worshipped Panduranga Vittala. Incidentally, Panduranga Vittala was the favourite deity of Purandara Dasa who was the star disciple of Vyasa Theertha.

Raghavendra Swamy  also visited Kolhapur and Nashik where he saved a Brahmin from drowning in he Godavari river.

He then came to Bijapur where the reigning Adilshai monarch, Ibrahim Adil Shah, welcomed him.

The Adil Shah  honored Rayaru with the white umbrella. Coincidentally, an earlier Adil Shah had honored Vyasa Theertha with the White Umbrella.

Ibrahim Adil Shah conferred the title Jagadguru on Raghavendra Swamy. Strangely, Ibrahim himself was called Jagatguru by his subjects for his religious tolerance and love for poetry and music.

At Bijapur, Raghavendra Swamy performed a homa. Ibrahim Adil Shah came to the place where the homa was being performed and gifted a gen studded necklace.

Raghavendra Swamy offered the necklace to Agni and put it into the fire. This upset the Adil Shah and Raghavendra showed his miraculous powers by pulling the necklace out of the fire.

He then came to Alur where he wrote a commentary on Tatwa Prakashika and Tatwa Manjari, a gloss on Sutra Anu Bhashya.

He then proceeded to Manvi in Raichur districtwhere he spent his . Chaturmasya.

Here too, Raghavendra Swmay was absorbed in writing a book. One day, he saw a person from a lower caste standing near and beckoned to him. To the astonishment of all others, Rayaru began talking to the person.

Rayaru asked him to do some seve to God. The next day, the person brought some mustard seeds and handed them over to Rayaru. Mustard was not used during Chaturmasa but Rayaru asked the cooks to use it in the preparation of food.

The person ate the food and died. Rayaru later told his devotes that the person was none other than Kanaka dasa. He said during his previous incarnation, Kanaka Dasa was his disciple.

Kanaka Dasa had to complete his Prarabda and, hence, he incarnated again. He got moksha in his next life-as a low caste person.

Now came the episode of Bidarahalli Srinivasacharya and the mustard seeds. After this, Raghavendra Swamy visited Adoni where he was accorded a warm welcome by Venkanna. The Adoni Nawab, Siddi Masud Khan, tested the holiness of Raghavendra Swmay by offering a plateful of meat. The meat turned into fruits and flowers, leaving Masud Khan dumbstruck.     

Raghavemdra Swamy visited Tirupathi and then Srimushna, He then went to Kumbakonam where he was given a warm welcome by the people.

Rayaru then handed over the administration of the Chakrapani and Sarangapani temples to Ahobala Matha and came back to Bichale and then entered Brindavana at Mantralaya.

This is the route that is generally put out as the Sanchara Yatre of Rayaru. There may be some minor omissions but this is taken as the most authentic route map.

Kumbhakonam-where he took Sanyas

Tanjore –where he was honored

Paripoornadevanagar

Kamalalaya

Poompuhar –where the Cauvery meets the ocean

Champakeshwara

Rameshwaram

Alagiri

Ananthashayana

Janardhana

Tirunelvelli

Madurai

Srirangam

Namakkal

Vellore

Vishnumangala

Subrahmanya

Udupi

Nanjangud

Srirangapatna

Ramanathapura

Chitradurga

Gadag

Hubbali

Shirasangi

Kittur

Pandarapur

Kolhapur

Bijapur

Manvi

Adoni

Srishaila

Tirupathi

Kanchi

Arunachala

Vridhachala

Srimushna

Bichali

Mantralaya