Vijaya Dasa (1682-1755) was
one of the foremost Haridasas and it was he who was responsible for the second
coming of the Haridasas.
The Haridasa tradition had
gone into a terminal decline following the defeat of the Vijayanagar forces at
the hands of the Muslim states pf Deccan , This
was in 1565 and the Mulsim states had destroyed Vijayanagar and burnt it down.
The Haridasas had fled
Vijayanagar and the Haridasa tradition that was given a new meaning by
Purandara Dasa had virtually come to a standstill.
It was Vijaya Dasa who pioneered
the second revival and he write many kritis on Raghavendra Swamy. He had
several disciples, including Gopala Dasa.
Vijaya Dasa sent Gopala Dasa (1722-1762)
to Udupi and asked him to have a darshana of Udupi Sri Krishna. Gopala Dasa
obeyed his master and made preparation to travel to Udupi.
In those days, the route from
Adoni (where both Vijaya Dasa and Gopala Dasa were staying) to Udupi was full of
dacoits and robbers. This region was the centre of pitched battles between the Peshwas
who were at war with the Nizam of Hyderabad and the Mughals.
The death of Aurangzeb in
1707 had led to the decline of the Mughal power. The Nayakas and smaller states
in the Deccan were trying to assert their
independence. The Vijayanagar Empire had collapsed and so had the mighty Adil
Shahis of Bijapur and the Nizam Shahis of Golconda.
Even as Gopala Dasa made his
preparations to visit Udupi, Vijaya Dasa decided to protect him from dacoits
and evil forces by composing a small but powerful Ugabhoga. He taught Gopala Dasa
this Ugabhoga and asked him to keep on chanting it throughout the journey.
Vilaya Dasa told Gopala Dasa
that no harm would come to him if he continued chanting the Ugabhoga through his
journey. Vijaya Dasa warned Gopaa Dasa to
be careful about a dacoit gang which was led by a Vaishnava called Bheema in
Mandegadde near Udupi.
Vijaya Dasa said the modus operandi
of Bheema or Mandegadde Bheema was to invite pilgrims to have food at his place
and take some rest.He would then obtain details of the pilgrims and pass it on
to a dacoit gang of which he was the leader.
When the pilgrims left Mande
Gadde, the dacoits would waylay them and rob them of their belongings. Vijaya
Dasa said only the Ugabhoga could save Gopala Dasa from the clutches of the dacoit.
Gopala Dasa then took
upadesha and collected Mantrakshathe from the Vijaya Dasa and left for Udupi
with several others.
Gopala Dasa managed to fend
off dacoits or thieves en route to Udupi by reciting the Ugabhoga. The Ugabhoga
also transformed Bheema into a pious man.
Gopala Dasa then came to
Udupi where he had the darshana of Sri Krishna, which has been consecrated by
Madhwacharya more than five centuries ago.
On seeing the beautiful idol
of Sri Krishna, Gopala Dasa sang the
Ugabhoga composed for his safety by Vijaya Dasa. Legend says as soon as Gopala
Dasa finished singing the Ugabhoga, Krishna gave
him darshana.
The Ugabhoga goes as follows:
“Ondu kaiyalli khadga ondu kaiyalli
halage
Andavaagi pididukondu
diwaaraatriyalli
Ondu badiyalli nitya
baaraasanaagi
Hindu mundupadravaagadante
Indireramana kaayuttalire
enagaava
Bandhanagalilla dhanya dhanya
Kandarpanayya siri
vijayavithalareya
Endendigaapattu baraleesanO”
This Ugabhoga is
supposed to be a powerful mantra and it protects people from evil and diseases.
You can repeat it as many times as you want and it has a curative effect.
