The Hanuman who okayed Bhava Bhoda

The aradhana of one of  the greatest Madhwa saints, Raghuttama Theertha, who belonged to the Uttaradhi Matha, is being celebrated on January 11, 2014.

Raghuttama Theertha, whose brindavana is near Tirukoilur in Tamil Nadu, was the pontiff of the Uttaradi Matha from 1557 to 1595.

Born as Ramachandra, he was the nephew of  Raghuvarya Theertha, the pontiff of the Uttaradi Matha  from 1502 to 1557.

Raghuttama Theertha has written several tippanis or commentaries on the works of Madhwacharya and Jayatheertha, including the Bhava Bhodas and they are Tatwa Prakashika, Brihadaranyakopanishad Bhashya, Geeta Bhashya Prameya Deepika, Vishnu Tatwa Nirnaya Teeka, Nyaya Vivarana Teeka, Anu vyakhyana, Vivaranoddhara and Nyaya Ratna Sambandha Deepika.

He stayed at Srirangam for several years where he wrote the Bhava Bhoda. Legend has it that he penned down the Bhava Bhoda only after an Anjaneya idol before whom he commenced writing nodded his head in appreciation.

This temple of Anjenaya exists in Srirangam even today and it is known as Grantha Sakshi Anjenaya Temple. The God here is called Sakshi as he nodded his head or stood Sakshi or proof for the scholarly five works which together are called Bhava Bhoda.  

The Sakshi Anjaneya temple is also known as Bhava Bhoda Anjaneya or Hanuman Temple.    

Srirangam in Tamil Nadu is near Trichy and it is the first among the one hundred and eight Divya Desams for Vaishnavas. This is  the place where Ranganatha reclines and it considered to be very holy as Brahma meditated upon Vishnu.

Raghuttama Theertha has written Tippanis or commentaries on  Brihadaranya Bhavabhoda, Nyaya Vivarana Bhavabhoda, Gitabhashya Bhavabhoda (Prameya Dipika Bhavabhoda), Vishnutatvanirnaya Bhavabhoda and Tattvaprakashika Bhavabhoda.

All these five works were written in Srirangam and in the temple of Bhava Bodha Anjaneya. The temple is now under the Uttaradhi Matha and it is located at 194, East Uttara Street, Srirangam.

The temple looks like a house and it does not have any gopura. Raghuttama Theertha sat here and composed the five Bhava bhoda looking at the Pranavakara vimana of the Ranganatha Temple.

It is said that Anjaneya himself stood beside the seer and whenever Raghuttama Theertha looked towards Anjaneya after composing a  line, Anjaneya nodded his head in approval.

The idol of Anjaneya is eight feet high and it faces West. The left foot is placed a little ahead of the right foot.

There is a room in the temple with an idol of Anjaneya and this is where Raghuttama Theertha wrote the Bhava Bhoda.

By the way, there is another Grantha Sakshi Temple of Hanuman in Yeregol near Gulbarga, It was at Yeragol that Jayatheertha or Teekcharya wrote most of his works. The cave where he composed his works in Yeragol can still be seen. 

The Nava Brindavana in Vellore

The fountainhead of Madhwa philosophy, Madhwacharya, visited this place in the 13th century and stayed awhile. He also wrote a grantha on on Vishnu Sahasranama here.

The next prominent saint to visit this place was Vyasa Raja. He was then the preceptor of the Vijayanagar Emperor and he installed a diety of  Hanuman at this place in the 16th century.

In his next avatar as Raghavendra Swamy a few decades later, Vyasa Raja stayed here for two weeks and meditated all the while on Hari.

This is Rayavellore or Vellore which has a Nava Brindavana to its credit.

In my earlier articles, I have written about the Nava Brindavana at Hampi (Nava Brindavana) Erode and the latest Nava Brindavana at Chennai.

Tamil Nadu has thus the distinction of having three Nava Brindavanas while Karnataka has two-the one at Nava Brindavana in Hampi and another at Sosale near Mysore.

The Nava Brindavana in Vellore is located across Palar river at Shanbakkam. The brindavana here belong to two different Madhwa Mathas and they are located at different levels.

The Nava Brindavana complex actually has only eight Brindavanas. The ninth is the brindavana of Raghavendra Swamy.

The story of Vellore’s tryst with Madhwa siddantha begins with the arrival of Madhwacharya from Rameshwaram.

Madhwacharya had defeated several Adwaitha scholars in Ramaeswaram and he had come to Vellore after completing Chaturmasa in Rameshwaram.

He stayed here for some time and wrote a commentary on Vishnu Sahasaranama.

The seers whose Brindavana are located here are: Sripathi Theertha and Kambalur Ramachandra Theertha, both of Vyasa Raja Matha, Satyadhiraja Theertha and Vidyapathi Theetha of Uttaradhi Matha. The other Brindavanas belongs to  Kesava Udaya, a Shishya  of Satyadiraja Theertha and three other Bidi sanyasis-Govinda Madhava, Bhoovaraha and  Raghunatha. The ninth Brindavana is of Raghavendra Swamy.

The first to enter Brindavana here is Sripathi Theertha in 1612. He was the fifth pontiff of the Vyasa Raja Matha. His brindavana and that of his disciple, Kambalur Ramachandra Theertha is opposite to each other.   

There is an interesting story about Kambalur Ramachandra Theertha (There is another saint by the same name and he belongs to the Sripadaraja Matha. He is Uddanda Ramachandra Theertha and his Brindavana is at Penukonda).  

Kambalur Ramachandra Theertha was a well-known saint of his age. He was once sitting beneath a tree and expousing the Shastras when a person called Nanjundappa tried to throw a boulder on the seer’s head from the tree top.

The stone came tumbling down but it halted in midair. Only when Kambalur got up and went away, did the stone land on the place where he was sitting. Kambalur forgave Narayanappa and asked him and other disciples to place the boulder on his  Brindavana.

To this day, this boulder can be seen atop the Brindavana here.

Raghavendra Swamy read some of his works and was deeply impressed by them.

Kambalur was the contemporary of  Vedavyasa Theertha (till 1619 AD) and Vidyadhisha Theertha  (till 1631 AD) of  Uttaradhi Matha and Sudhindra Theertha  (1596-1623 AD) and  Raghavendra Swamy (1623- 1671 AD) of Kumbokanam Matha.

The Uttaradhi Matha seer, Satyadhiraja Theertha, cured the son of  Namab of Arcot of an illness. A grateful Nawab decided to bear the expense of a day’s pooje. To this day, the grant of Rs. 1 per day continues. Arcot today is a locality in Vellore.

Satyadhiraja Theertha also helped the Nayaka of Vellore, Thimappa and his son Chinnabommi, to build the fort at Vellore. Though they built the fort, it came tumbling down often. Perplexed they sought divine help from Satyadhiraja Theertha.

The seer asked the Nayaka to construct four Brindavanas on the walls of the fort. He also threw a big stone in the moat surrounding the fort. The fort held up and today it is acknowledged as a master of military engineering. Satyadhiraja Theertha was given Deekshe by Satyabhinava Theertha who ruled the Uttaradhi Matha pontificate from 1673 to 1706. Satyabhinava Theertha had two disciples,  Satyadeesha Theertha, and Sathyadhiraja Theertha. They both predeceased him.
Satyadhiraja Theertha’s poorvashrama name was Vidyamani Vidyadheeshacharya.   

The name of Vidyapathi Theertha is not included in the Swamijis who occupied the Uttaradhi Parampare as he did not complete the Chaturmasa Vrata after taking Sanyas. This is the reason why his Charamasloka is not available. 
He entered Brindavana in Vellore on Jestha Bahula Ekadashi. There is another saint by the same name belonging to the Vyasa Raja Matha. He too was known as Vidyapathi Theertha and he entered Brindavana in Kumbakonam in 1798.    

The Mrithika Brindavana of Rayaru was consecrated in 1991.

Madhwa seers who entered Brindavana alive

In the Madhwa parampare or line of succession, there are only four saints or seers from South India who have entered  Brindavana alive. The rest of the saints, barring a few, have entered Brindavana only after they left the mortal body.

The first to enter Brindavana Swjeeva or alive is the redoubtable Vadiraja Theertha. This saint, who belonged to the Sode matha Parampare, lived for 120 years. He was born in 1480 AD and lived upto 1600 AD. He saw the rise and fall of the Vijayanagar dynasty and he was a shishya of  Vyasa Theertha.

Vadiraja was given Sanyasa at the age of eight by Vageesha Theertha, who had succeeded the Dwaitha Matha after Kavindra Theertha. Born in Hoovinakere near Kumbasi in Kundapur taluk of Udupi district, Vadiraja was known as Bhuvaraha. A Shivalli Brahmin. he is considered to be the second highest saint in the Madhwa hierarchy after our Acharya, Madhwacharya.

An incarnation of Lord Latavya, he reformed the matha system of Udupi Sri Matha and wrote several beautiful krutis. An unmatched scholar, he was the Paryaya in charge of Udupi Temple for a record number of times.

His favourite god was Hayagriva, a form of Vishnu. His devotion was so total that he would hold the Hayagriva in a vessel over his head and a horse (Vishnu) would come and place its legs on his shoulder and eat the prasada every day.  

He entered his Brindavana alive at Sode near Sirsi. The Sode matha where his Brindavana is located has a small pond called Dhaula Gange. Pilgrims are allowed at only two corners. One corner is where Bhutaraja even today comes, tales bath and performs pooje.

Some of his works of Vadiraja include, Rukminisha Vijaya, Theertha Prabhanda, Swapna Vrundavanakyanam, Sarasa Bharathi Vilasa, Kavi Kadamba Kanta bhushana, Mahabharatha Lakshalankara Teeke, Talavakaropanishad  Bhashya Teeke, Taittareeyopanishad Bhashya Teeke, Kathakopanishad Bhashya Teeke, Atharvanopanishad Bhashya Teeke, Mandookopanishad Bhashya Teeke, Tantra Saara Teeke, Mahabhaaratha Prasthana, Shatprashnopanishad Bhashya Teeke Tippani, Mahabharatha Tatparya Nirnaya Bhavaprakashika, Tatvaprakashika Guruvartha Deepika, Ishavasyopanishad Bhashya Teeke Prakashana, Geethabhashya Tippani, Nyaya sudha Guruvartha Deepika and Bhagavatha Anukramanika.

He has 44 Strotras to his credit and eleven works in Kannada.

Vadiraja has performed hundreds of miracles. You can perform Kai (coconut) Seve here. The pontiff of the Sode Matha, Vishwa Vallabha Theertha, is the Paryaya seer this time around.

Vadiraja Theertha entered Brindavana at Sode in 1600. Accomodation is available at the matha itself.

I will relate a miracle of Vadiraja that was experienced by my relative in my next article.   

Raghavendra Swamy

The second seer to enter Brindavana alive is  Raghavendra Swamy of Mantralaya. He was born in 1595 as Venkatanatha in Bhuvanagiri in present day Tamil Nadu. (Bhuvanagiri is near Chidambaram)

Well, what can I write about this great man. Anything written about him, his works, his miracles, falls flat as his greatness is immeasurable.  His works are Vedatraya Vivriti, Mantrartha Manjari,  Commentary of Pancha Suktas, Dashopanishat Kandartha, Geetartha Sangraha,

Prameya Deepika Vyakhya,  Geeta Tatparya Teeke Vivaranam,  Tantra Deepika, Nyaya Muktavali,  Tatwa Manjari,  Tatwa Prakasika Bhava Deepa, Parimala, Dasa Prakarana Teeke Vyakhya, Rama Charitra Manjari, Krishna Charitra Manjari,  Tatparya Nirnaya Bhava Sangraha, Vaadavali Vyakhya, Chandrika Prakasa, Tarka Tandava Vyakhya, Pramana Paddhati Vyakhya, Anu Madhwa Vijaya Vakhya, Prathah Sankalpa Gadya,  Bhatta Sangraha and Prameya Sangraha.

Can anyone forget his composition Indu Yennage Govinda.

A Kalpavriksha Kamadhenu, Rayaru as he is better known, has been giving solace hundreds of years even after he entered Brindavana.

This bard of Mantralaya is such a person that if you weep, he is on hand to wipe away your tears. He entered Brindavana in 1671. He has continued to perform miracles from within the Brindavana. There are thousands of stories about him and his miracles.

Accommodation is available in plenty. After the flooding, Mantralaya is a changed place today.   

Raghuttama Theertha

He was the third Madhwa saint to enter Brindavana alive. He was the son of the Purvasharama sister of Madhwacharya. Need anything more to be said about him.

He was the head of the Uttaradhi Matha just after the demise of the Vijayanagar Empire. He was the pontiff when the Madhwa Sidhantha and even Hinduism was undergoing a turmoil in the south. The Muslim kings of the Deccan had almost overrun the entire south India and the Mughals in the north were ruling the roost.

It was Raghuttama who settled the Madhwa Siddhantha on a sound footing in those troubled times. He guided the Madhwas for more than 38 years as head of the Uttaradhi Matha.

He is the author of five Bhavabodhas. These works bring out the many meanings of Madhwacharya’s writings. The five Bhavabodhas are: Brihadaranya Bhavabhoda,  Nyaya Vivarana Bhavabhoda,  Gitabhashya Bhavabhoda (Prameya Dipika Bhavabhoda),  Vishnutatvanirnaya Bhavabhoda and Tattvaprakashika Bhavabhoda.

Two other works are Vivaranoddhara and  Nyayaratnasambanda Deepika

 His Brindavana is at Manampoodi near Tirukoilur. Manampoondi is between Tiruvvanamalai and Tirukoilur. It is 237 kms from Bangalore.

He belonged to the Surya Vamsha. Therefore, there is no covering or roof on his Brindavana. People with ailments related to eyes, limbs go to the Brindavana and perform seve. Accommodation is available a the Uttaradhi Matha which looks after the Brindavana.

     

Satyavrata Theertha

He is the last of the four saints to entre the Brindavana alive.

In his Poorvashrama he was known as Ranganathacharya.

He succeeded Vedanidhi Theertha as the pontiff of the Uttaradhi Matha. His contribution to the Matha is so immense, that all succeeding seers of the matha have taken the prefix Sathya. The present pontiff is the venerable Satyatma Theertha.

He was the head of the Uttaradhi Matah for three years. Once he visited Golconda. The then ruler of Golconda, Abdullah Qutab Shah, wanted to test Satyavrata Theertha’s powers.

He sent vessels containing meat to the seer, saying that it is his offering to Moola Rama.

Satyavrata Theertha sprinkled theertha on the plates and lo and behold , the meat turned to fruits and flowers. The King apologised and and prostrated himself before the seer and offered royal gifts.

He is the author of Sudha Vivrruti.

He gave Sanyasa to Sathyadharma Theertha and entered Brindavana at Sangli on the banks of river Krishna in Maharashtra. The Uttaradhi Matha looks after the Brindavana. Accommodation is available at the matha.

Please do not confuse this saint with Satyavara Theertha who also headed the Uttaradhi Matha. Satyavrata Theertha was the disciple of  Vedanidhi Theertha and he is the 18^th head of the Uttaradhi Matha from the lineage of Madhwacharya.

Satyavara Theertha was one of the four disciples of  the redoubtable Satyabodha Theertha. Satyavara Theertha was the 27^th head of the Uttaradhi Matha and his Brindavana is at Santebennur near Gauribidanur in Karnataka. His Guru was Satyasandha Theertha.   

Apart from the above mentioned four saints, there are some who have disappeared never to have returned. The first saint to disappear was Madhwacharya. He disappeared from his seat in the Anantheshwara Temple in Udupi and went to Badari.

The next saint to disappear was Madhwacharya’s brother, Vishnu Theertha who is the founder of Sode Matha and Subramanya Matha. He disappeared in the forests close to Kukke Subramanya.

The guru of  Bramanya Theertha of  Abbur or Kundapura Vyasaraja Matha was Purushottama Theertha. He too disappeared in a cave near Abbur in Chennapatna taluk of Ramanagar district. The cave can still be seen today.

Jitamitra Theertha of Raghavendra Swamu Matha disappeared when he was teaching students beneath a tree at Jitamitra Gadde in Raichur. 
In West India, Madhavendra Theertha, the 7th pontiff  of the Kashi Matha, entered Brindavana alive at Walkeshwar in Mumbai in the 18th century.        

The Madhwa Seer who showed the Sun at midnight, drank poison

There are hundreds of seers and saints in India and many of them have played a vital role in shaping the religious, philosophical and even social flow of the country and its people.

Many saints have been blessing people by performing miracles from their Brindavana.  If Raghavendra Swamy, Vadiraja Theertha, Sripadaraja and Raghuttama Theertha continue to inspire millions of people across the globe with their miracles, there is another saint who is equally known for his miracles and prowess. He was such a great Gyani or scholar and devotee of Moola Rama that he once showed the bright Sun to his disciples well after midnight.

This saint also prolonged the life of his Shishya by ten years. He was also called the Trikalajnani of He is none other than Satyabodha Theertha who belongs to the Uttaradhi Matha parampare.

A contemporary and close friend of  Dhirendra Theerta of Raghavendra Swamy Matha, Satyabodha Theertha was an unparalleled scholar and mystic. He was the Guru whom Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan of Mysore, the Nawab of Savanur and even the British regarded very highly.

Though he was an orthodox Brahmin, he counted thousands of Muslims and Christians and even people from other religions as his followers and disciples.

Just as Sir Thomas Munroe has given us a graphic account of his meeting with Raghavendra Swamy, another British official, James Campbell, has left behind an extensive write up on Satyabodha Theertha.

The write up by Campbell is even today available in the Bombay Gazeteer, Karnataka Dharwad district Chapter III, Page Nos 58-59 edited and published by James M. Campbell.   

Satyabodha Theertha was the 15^th pontiff after Ramachandra Theertha to occupy the seat of the Uttaradhi Matha. He was born as Ramacharya in Raichur and he was initiated into the religious order by Sri Satyapriya Theertha, his Guru and Peetadhipathi of the Uttaradhi Matha.

Ramacharya spent his childhood in the Matha and Satyapriya Theertha took great interest in teaching him the Shastras. Once, he was worshipping the saligrama and shanka, when Lord Shvetavarha gave darshan to him in a miniature form.

Satyapriya Theertha soon entered Brindavana and left Satyabodha Theertha to guide the Matha.

Satyabodha then began on a long and extensive tour of India. He defeated all his adversaries (in philosophy and religion) and popularized Dwaitha Siddhantha.  Several Kings and Emperors showered him with letters of appreciation and Tamra Patras (copper plates).

The fame of  the seer spread far and wide and the Nawabs of Savanaur and Ramnad apart from Tipu Sultan honored him. The British too wrote that the seer radiated a hypnotic and divine presence. One British official swore that the seer had telepathic powers.

When the seer’s fame increased, some people felt jealous and decided to do away with the seer. They poisoned his food (Paramanna) which he would eat after performing Naivaidya to Moola Rama and Digvijaya Rama.

When Satyabodha Theertha offered naivaidya to the gods, the face of Moola Rama turn dark. The seer came to know what had happened but he kept quite.

The seer then proceeded to eat the poisoned food even though his Shishyas urged him to desist. His contention was what is good for Moola Rama is good enough for me. All the while, he sought pardon from Moola Rama for having him offered poison.

The poison had no effect and the Seer continued with his normal activities.

Another time, a man claiming to be a Shishya of Satyabodha Theertha had accumulated a lot of wealth by performing some magic. The Shishya claimed that he was doing all activities as per the wishes of Srinivasa. When Satyabodha heard of this, he went to the Shishya and the man could not perform any miracle. Humiliated and chastened, he surrender all his wealth and went away from the matha. He also promised Satyabodha Theertha that he would never resort to trickery to hoodwink people.

During one of his tours to north, Satyabodha Theertha came to Gaya in Bihar where he found that local priests called Pandas had completely taken over the management and daily activities of the Vishnu Pada temple.

The seer found that the Pandas were demanding money for everything and were harassing people in the name of religion. He then set up an exclusive shelter for pilgrims near the temple and named it Rama Gaya. The Pandas were completely isolated and begged the seer for forgiveness.

The seer then proceeded to Kashi and set up a matha at Durga Ghatta to provide facilities for pilgrims.

After his tour, he came to Savanur which then was under the rule of the Nawabs. By then he had ruled the Madhwa pontificate for more than 39 years. He decided to hand over the reigns of the matha to Satyasandha Theertha.

A little later, Satyabodha Theertha found that his successor had only a short time to live. He prayed to Lord Moola Rama with Raksha Stotram and ensure that the life of Satyasandha Theertha was extended by ten more years.

Once he was having food in the night. Several shishyas and others commented about it. They said this was not the first time that Sathyabodha Theertha had violated tradition by eating after daylight. They said it is wrong and not according to scriptures.

Satyabodha Theertha overheard them and asked them to come near him. He asked them to look up at the sky. When the Shishyas saw it first, it was dark and the moon was shining. When they saw it again they saw the Sun shining brightly.

While almost all the disciples were convinced about the prowess and greatness of the Seer, one person disdainfully claimed it was only magic. He immediately lost his eyesight.

The seer realised that his end was near, He wanted to go to the north and bathe in the Ganga. When he went to sleep, Lord  Badarinarayana came in his dreams and asked him to stay back in the Ashrama as Bhagirathi herself would come.

The next day, the Bhagirathi came flowing down to the matha and the seer and his devotees had a bathe in the holy waters.

Satyabodha Theertha left his mortal body at Savanur on March 9, 1783. His Brindavana is in the Uttaradhi Matha at Savanur. Such is his greatness that even today the matha is known as Satyabodha Matha.

Many details of the life and times of the seer can be found in Shri Satyabodha Vijaya written by Kanchi Acharya, his disciple. The kavya is a verse written in 21 saragas and it describes Satyabodha’s life in detail.

Satyabodha Theertha accepted ashrama in 1744 and he entered the brindavana in 1783. Naivedyagavisham in his charamashloka. This is in honour of the poison he took.

Satyabodha Theertha had four main disciples and all of them headed the Uttaradhi Matha. They are Satya Sandha Theertha, Satyavara Theerta, Satya Dharma Theertha and Satya Sankalpa Theertha.

Even today, Satyabodha Theertha continues to perform miracles from his Brindavana. There are hundreds of instances when he has helped devotees in distress. Visit his Brindavana at Savanur to get a feel of his greatness.  The matha has arrangements for staying.