The first disciple of Madhwacharya

He is universally regarded as the first disciple of Madhwacharya, the saint-philosopher who pioneered the Dwaitha concept. He is also the first Adwaitha scholar to have been converted to Dwaitha system by Madhwacharya himself.

He has several other distinctions as he is the first person ever to write commentaries on several works of Madhwacharya. He is also ranked as among the first to propound the Dwaitha Siddantha and the first Madhwa seer to ascend the Dwaitha peeta after Madhwacharya disappeared from view in Udupi.

He is also the first to enter Brindavana and the second after Madhwacharya to give deekshe to another Madhwa saint to found a new Madhwa matha. A high ranking minister in a kingdom in Andhra Pradesh which covered present day Godavari and surrounding areas, he was essentially a Telugu speaking Brahmin. But after accepting Madhwacharya as his guru, he spent all his life in Karnataka and spread the gospel of dualism throughout the State. 

On several occasions, he expounded the doctrines of the Vedas before a galaxy of scholars and among those in the audience was Madhwacharya himself. His commentaries on the many works of Madhwacharya, particularly the Bhashya, helped scholars and people of the times in understating the hidden meaning of the works.

These commentaries remained the only sources for people and scholars to interpret Madhwacharya till Jayatheertha or Teekacharya came up with his erudite interpretations and they supplanted the works by this seer.

This seer is none other than Padmanabha Theertha, one of the leading lights of the Dwaitha movement and a close disciple of Madhwacharya. He was born as Shobana Bhatta, an Adwaitha, and he took to Dwaitha when he was defeated in a debate by Madhwacharya himself.

Born in a small town on the banks of the Godavari, he quickly rose to become a minister on the Kingdom of Raja Mahendra. However, his place of birth near the Godavari is disputed by the renowned scholar BNK Sharma who says he was a Kannadiga.

BNK Sharma says Madhwacharya met Padmanabha Theertha, then called as Shobana Bhatta, when he was returning to Udupi from a pilgrimage to north India. This was sometime in 1265. Padmanabha Theertha was not only a leading scholar of his times but also an eminent logician. He was an expert in fourteen arts and he was silenced in fourteen seconds by Madhwacharya. References to this debate between Madhwacharya and Shobana Bhatta can be found in Madhwa Vijaya  by Narayana Panditacharya. This is a biography of Madhwacharya.

By the way, Hrikesha Theertha, another disciple of Madhwacharya talks of Padmanabha Theertha in his work, Sampradaya Paddathi, as “the teacher of good folk of Karnataka and others”. Another work, Gurukarya, clearly stats that he was a native of Uttara Kannada.

The reason why he is associated with a region close to Godavari is because of a reference in the Madhwa Vijaya by Trivikrama. It is in this work that Padmanabha Theertha is said to be a native of a country near Godavari.

Scholars and researchers say Padmanabha Theertha wrote 15 works but most of them are lost. He is also the author of commentaries on all the ten Prakaranas or the Dasa Prakaranas of Madhwacharya.

His Sannyayaratnavali is the precursor of Nyaya Sudha of Jayatheertha who has quoted from this work as has Vyasa Raja or Vyasa Theertha in his Chandrika.

Jayatheertha in his Nyaya Sudha gratefully acknowledges his debt to Padmanabha Theertha by saying,

“Sa padmanAbhatIrthakhyagogaNostu dR^ishe mama

na tattva mArge gamanaM vinA yadupajeevanam.”

The Sannyayaratnavali is considered to be one of the biggest works of  Padmanabha Theertha and it runs into 5304 granthas.

Madhwa Matha sources place his period as the Mathadipathi for seven years. He handed over the reigns of the Dwaitha Matha to Narahari Theertha before entering Brindavana in Nava Brindavana near Hampi in 1325.

Padmanabha Theertha also handed over the reigns of a matha in Mulabagal near Kolar which he established to Lakshmidhara Theertha and this later came to be known as Sripadaraja Matha. This was sometime in 1324. The idol of Gopinatha that the matha has today was the one which Madhwacharya gave to Padmanabha Theertha who in turn handed it over to Lakshmidara Theertha.

Some of his works include Geetha Bhashya Teeka, Mayavada Khandana Teeka, Sattarka Deepavali, Tatvaviveka Teeka, Upadhi Khandana Teeka (Nyaayavali), Ananda Mala, Prapancha mityatvanumana Kandana Teeka, Katha Lakshana Teeka, Geetha Tatparya Nirnaya Teeka,  Tatvodyota Teeka, Tatvasankyana,  Teeka,  Pramanalakshana Teeka, Karmanirnaya Teeka,  

Vishnutatva nirnaya Teeka and Vayuleela vistarana.

The aradhana of  this great saint as held at Nava Brindavana on November 11.

There is a Mrithika Brindavana of Padmanabha Theertha in the Sripadaraja Matha in Mulabagal and also at the Vyasa Vittala temple near Rajarajeshwarinagar in Bangalore.  

The Haridasa tradition

There are more than a thousand Haridasas from Karnataka alone and all of hem have contributed their mite to the development of Haridasa or Vaishnava literature.

Unfortunately, many of these Haridasas are only heard of and their compositions have either disappeared or lost forever. Though the first ever recorded Haridasa would be Naraharti Theertha, one of the four disciples of  Madhwacharya (1238-1317), the Haridasa tradition is believed to have started sometime around 880 When Achalananda, who lived near Bangalore, began composing songs.

However, Achalananda’s songs and the compositions of others, which Prof. B.N.K. Sharma calls as Adyas, has not survived.

Prof. Sharma surmises that these Adyas could be Smarthas and that they could have lived and composed songs in the period between Narahari Theertha and Sripadaraja of Mulabagal.

Whatever be the context and setting, there is not much Haridasa literature till the advent of Madhacharya and his disciples.

Narahari Theertha, therefore, must be regarded as the first Madhwa saint to have written several Devara Namas and he can therefore be rightfully considered to be the first Haridasa.

However, Haridasa experts say the Dasa tradition goes back several centuries earlier to Narahari Theertha. They agree that the Haridasa tradition got a huge boost during the life and time of Madhwacharya.

Though Madhwacharya composed several works and many of them are still existing, all of them are in Sanskrit. Since he lived in and around Udupi, and since his parents belonged to the same area, there is no doubt that he knew and spoke Kannada and Tulu. Yet, there are no composition and works of his in Kannada though he is believed to have written a few.

By the way, only three songs of Narahari Theertha has been discovered so far. They are “yanthu marulade nanenthu”. Narahari here is saying that he has so far been deluded and it is only now that he has become enlightened. His second composition is “hariye idu sariye”. This could perhaps be the first ever composition on Hari and here Narahari is asking Hari himself whether this is proper. The third composition is “tiliko ninnologe neene” meaning knowing within thyself. He had his Ankita as “Narahari” or “Narahari Raghupathi’’.

Before Narahari, it was the turn of Padmanabha Theertha to inspire people to take to the Dwaitha way of life. An ardent disciple of  Madhwacharya, he was the first to write commentaries on works of  Madhwacharya. Though he is credited with having written 16 works,  he appears not have written any Devara Namas. Yet, his influence over other Madhwa seers such as Jayatheertha, Sripadaraja, Vyasaraja cannot be underestimated and the last two are among the foremost among Haridasa composers.  

Similarly, while many hundred compositions of Purandara Dasa out of his supposed 4,75,000 are available, that of  his wife who too was a composer and their sons, including Madhwapathi, are lost. However, only a few compositions of Madhwapathi are available though he was as prolific a composer as his father. Very few compositions of Purandara’s other two sons-Hebbana Dasa and Lakshmana Dasa- are available.

Even before Purandara turned to god, his wife Saraswati Bai, was a highly religious person and it was she who had brought up her sons and a daughter in a highly religious and orthodox manner. Except for this fact, very little is known of her literary achievements.

He had his formal initiation at the hands of Vyasaraja in 1525 when he was about 40 years old.

Purandara then writes his first song. This is Ana Le Kara in Shudha Savaeri raga and set to Triputa tala, where he laments how he wasted so many years of his life in going after materialistic things.

We also have no information about the literary career of  Gopikambe, mother of Raghavendra Swamy. Even she is supposed to have composed several Devara Namas and she sang them even as her husband, Thimanna Bhat, played the Veene. No wonder, our Rayaru too was proficient in both-playing the Veene and composing.

Another prolific composer is Mahipati Dasa (1715-1790). He hailed from Kakandhiki in Bijapur district. His son too was a well-known Haridasa of the times but Krishna Dasa’s compositions are very few. While we have a fairly large body of literature belonging to Mahipati, the same cannot be said of Krishna Dasa.

There is also little information on the life and times and of course compositions of  Vittala Dasa, Vijata Dasa, Venkata Dasa and Krishna Dasa. The last three dasas belonged to Udupi. Nekkar Krishna Dasa  or Krishna Dasa was also called Varaha Thimmappa. He was a scholarly  person of the Dasa Parampara. Many of his poems are reported to have been plagiarised by singers.

Varaha Thimmappa Dasa lived during the time of Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan. When Sagar in Shimoga district fell into the hands of Hyder, he fled to Tirupathi. He was a contemporary of Madhwa Dasa of Udupi.

So, we see that not all Dasas have got their rightful due. There are several other Dasas whose compositions are not well known or have disappeared, but that is for another post to report.  

The first Madhwa saint to enter Brindavana

There are hundreds of Madhwa Brindavanas all over India. These Brindavanas are generally found in or around holy places. There are more than two dozen Madhwa mathas and some of the institutions such as the Asta Mathas of Udupi date back to the time of Madhwacharya, the great Dwaitha philosopher and fountainhead of Madhwa philosophy.

The saints who have ascended the Madhwa mathas as their head and also Bidi Sanyasis (saints who were not affiliated to a matha and preached independently of the matha) were entomed in a Brindavana.

There are a number of Brindavanas in places such as Nanjungud (in the Raghavendra Swamy Matha which has an idol of Raghavendra Swamy or Rayaru), Nava Brindavanas at Hampi (Nava Brindavana-Anegundi), Shenbakkam in Vellore, Sripadaraja Matha in Erode and Vyasaraja Matha in Sosale, Mantrayala (Raghavendra Swamy), Sode or Sonda (Vadiraja), Tirukoilur (Raghottama Theertha), Mulabagal (Sripadaraja) and other cities and towns.

The first ever saint from the Madhwa Parampare to enter Brindavana was Padmanabha Theertha.

Padmanabha Theertha was the first disciple of Madhwacharya. He was one of the four direct disciples of Madhwacharya-the other three being Narahari Thertha, Madhava Theertha and Akshoba Theertha.

Padmanabha Theertha was known as Shobana Bhatta. He was an advaitha scholar and he lost to Madhwacharya in a debate. He became an ardent follower of Madhwacharya and began propogating Madhwa Siddhantha.

Though his mother tongue was Telugu, he popularised Dwaitha Siddhantha in Karnataka.

Padmanabha Theertha and others got their initiation into the Matha parampare by Madhwacharya at Kanva Theertha, a small town near the seashore, a little away from Udupi. When Madhwacharya left for Badari, he anointed Padmanabha Theertha as his successor.

To him goes the credit of writing the first ever commentary or Teeke on Bhashya of Madhwacharya. Even the redoubtable Jayatheertha, the disciple of Akshiba Theertha and one of the greatest Madhwa scholars, refers to the scholarship of Padmanabha Theertha.

He has written three works on the Bhagavath Geetha- Gitabhaashya-Bhaavadiipikaa: Gitataatparya-Nirnaya-Prakaashikaa and commentaries on the ten Prakaranas. He is also the author of Sattarkadiipaavali, which is a commentary on the  Brahma Sutra Bhashya of Madhwacharya. Another work is  Sannyaayaratnaavali which is a commentary on Anuvyakhana of  Madhwacharya.

He is believed to have entered Brindavana at Nava Brindavana, Hampi, in 1324 or 1325.

He is the first Madhwa saint to enter Brindavana. The other three direct disciples of Madhwacharya who entered Brindavana after him are Narahari Theertha at Chakra Theertha in Hampi, Madhava Theertha also at Hampi before it was shifted to Mannur and Akshoba Theertha in Malkhed.

The location of brindavanas of other great Madhwa saints are Sripadaraja at Narasimha Theertha in Mulabagal in Kolar district, Bramanya Theertha in Abbur near Chennapatna in Ramanagar district, Vyasa Theertha in Nava Brindavana (Hampi in Bellary district), Jaya Theerha or Teekachar and  Raghunatha Theertha in Malkhed of Gulbarga district, Vadiraja Theerttha in Sode which is Sirsi taluk, Kavindra Theertha, Vageesha Theertha and Raghuvarya Theertha (Uttaradi Matha), Rama Theertha, Srinivasa Theertha (Vyasaraja Matha), Sudhindra Theertha (Raghavendra Matha) and Govinda Odeyar all at Nava Brindavana.

The Brindavana of Vedavyasa Theertha of Uttaradhi Matha, Uddanda Ramachandra Theertha of Sripadaraja Matha and Lakshmikantha Theertha are in Penukonda in Andhra Pradesh. You come across this city when you travel from Bangalore to Mantralaya via Anantapur.

The Brindavana of Satyabodha Theertha is at Savanur in Karnataka. He belongs to the Uttaradhi Matha.

Of course the most famous Brindavana is of Raghavendra Swamy in Mantralaya. There is another Brindavana besides the Brindavana of Raghavendra Swamy and that belongs to his great grandson, Vadeendra Theertha.

There are several brindavanas of pontiffs who headed the Raghavendra Matha in an area behind the Matha building. There are also similar brindavanas in the Raghavendra Swamy matha in Nanjungud.

However, what distinguishes the Brindavana of Padmanabha Theertha is that he is the first to enter Brindavana. However, there are only four saints who entered Brindavana when they were alive. They are Vadiraja Thertha in Sode, Raghavendra Swamy in Mantrayala, Raghuttoma Theertha of Uttaradhi Matha at Titukoilur in Tamil Nadu and Satyavrata Theerta of Uttaradi Matha at Sangli in Maharashtra.

The brindavanas of Sripadaraja, Raghuttoma Theertha and Bramanye Theertha are not covered as they belong to the Surya Vamsha. The brindavans are open to the sky though they are surrounded by mathas. There is no building or roof over the Nava Brindavana in Hampi too.

The pioneer of Dwaitha Siddhantha, Madhwacharya, disappeared from sight after giving a discourse on Upanishads from a temple in Udupi. His younger brother, Vishnu Theertha, who was the first pontiff of the Sode Matha and Subramanya Matha also disappeared into a cave near Kukke Subramanya. Purushottama Theertha of Vyasaraja Matha and the teacher of  Bramanye Theertha also disappeared into a cave near Abbur. The cave is there even today and you have top trek a short distance from the Abbur matha to the cave.

Jitamitra Theertha of Raghavendra Matha also disappeared from under a tree in Gulbarga district. The tree exists even today and it is known as Jitamitra Gadde.             

Madhwacharya and Yakshagana

Madhwacharya is known all over the world as the pioneer of the Dwaitha system of philosophy. To millions of Hindus he is the avatar of Hanumantha and Bheema.
Scores of swamis, seers and others, including the Haridasas have eulogised him and sang peans in  their compositions. Madhwas rever him as the son of Vayu, the God of Wind. His contribution to the vast reportire of Dwaitha literature is immense and mind boggling. Hundreds of years after Jaya Theertha or better known as Teekachar wrote commentaries on the works of Madhwacharya, books and compilations on the Acharya continue to be written.
However, what is not  very well known is that the Acharya was not only a great philosopher but also the founder of the present day performance of  Yakshagana.
Please remember that the term Yakshagana is only a recent scholastic name given for a genre of arts called Kelike, Aata, Bayalaata and Dashavatara.
Historians and researchers trace the origin of Yakshagana to a native musical system known as Ghandharva Grama. This system is totally extinct now. The earliest mention of the term Yakshagana is around 1200 AD in the book Sangeetha Ratnakara of Saranga Deva. It was then better known as Jakka.
The term Yakshagana, which we use today, can be traced to Madhwacharya and his second direct disciple Narahari Theertha. (The Acharya ordained four disciples first into the Dwaitha pontificate. They are Padmanabha Theertha, Narahari Theertha, Madhava Theertha and Akshoba Theertha).
The Acharya and his disciples travelled all over India propagating the Dwaitha system. The Acharya travelled to Badari twice. In those days, such tours, called sanchara, were undertaken by foot. The Acharya and his large number of followers halted at several places enroute to their destinations in south and north India. During such times, some of the disciples were inspired by the Acharya and Narahari Theertha to enact some incidents from the Ramayana and the Mahabharata.
These performances were entirely based on the epics and here good always triumphed over evil.  The language used was also what was written in the epic. The Acharya too is supposed to have watched these performances and given suggestions.

Noted scholar Bannanje Govindacharya, in his speeches and writings, has said that Narahari Theertha had staged a performance around 1300 AD and this play was based on the dashavatara.
This performance became very popular and people flocked in large numbers to see it. Thus Narahari Theertha, with the blessings of the Acharya, started the first Yakshagana troupe which gave performances in Udupi. These performances were mainly called Dashavatara Aata. 
People of the coastal districts took to this form of  performance and slowly buy surely it spread far and wide and today it is better known as Yakshagana. People living in Kerala also adopted this form in their own distinctive style and this came to be known as Kuchipudi.
During the next few centuries Yakshagana took deep roots in and the coastal districts of  Karnataka.                
Did you know that the Wodeyar King, Kanteerava Narasaraja Wodeyar 2 in the early part of the 18^th century authored 14 Yakshagana texts. His works on Yakshagana would have gone unnoticed but there were discovered in the Government library at Chennai a few decades ago. Another Wodeyar King, Mummadi Krishna Raja Wodeyar has written several Yakshagana texts. Even the Bheeshma of Carnatic music, Purandara Dasa has authored Yakshagana songs. Other Yakshagana poets include  Parti Subba, Ajapura Vishnu, Muddanna, Nagire Subba and others.
The first inscription about the Yakshagana is found at the Lakshminarayana temple at Kurugodu at Somasamudra in Bellary district. This inscription is dated to 1556 AD. Thes inscription says land has been donated to Yakshanagan  performers of  tala maddale programmes.  Yakshagana also finds mention in a palm leaf book Virata Parva by Vishnu. This manuscript was discovered at Ajapura  which is now known as Banavara. There is another palm-leaf manuscript  on Yakshagana called Sabhalakshana .
Yakshagana has drawn episodes from Torvi Ramayana written by Kumara Valmiki, a Brahmin who lived near Bijapur. The Vaishnava Bhakti movement of the Haridasas gave an impetus to the Yakshagana movement.  
No article on Yakshagana would be complete without mentioning the contribution of  Shivarama Karanth.  Today, Yakshagana has transcended all boundaries and is known all over India and abroad.
Even today, the Yakshagana draws heavily from the epics and this is a testimony to the influences that the Acharya and his disciples wielded.