Avatars of the Acharya

Who has not heard of the sloka “Pratamo Hanuman Namo, Dwithiyo Bheema yevacha SaYeva Poorna Pragnya Bagavat Karya Sadhaka”.

This sloka tells us of the three avatars of Vayu-Hanuma, Bheem and Madhwacharya.

Madhwacharya, otherwise also known as Poornaprajnya or Ananda Theertha (1199-1278), was a saint-philosopher and social reformer  of his times.

It was he who propagated the Dwaitha concept in which the Pancha Beda plays an important role. It was for the first time ever in Indian philosophy that Madhwacharya distinguished the souls into three categories. It was also he who upheld the Taratamya or gradation of gods in which he placed Vishnu or Hari as supreme.

Madhwacharya has in several works of his indicated that he was the third avatar of Hanuma-Bheema-Madhwa trinity.

Also known as Sukha Theertha and Purnabodha,  he showed all the three avatars to Trivikrama Panditacharya (1258-1320), his disciple and author of the Sri Vayu Stuti.

It was after Trivikrama Panditacharya saw all the three avatars in a temple in Udupi that he composed the Sri Hari Vayu Stuti. His son, Narayana Panditacharya wrote the Madhwa Vijaya wherein he gives us a complete picture of the life and times of Madhwacharya. Of course, he too believes in the Hanuma-Bheem and Madhwa avatar.

However, the very first mention of such a avatar is in the Rig Veda. Ananda Theertha is commonly identified with Madhwa in the third Balittha or Balitha Sukta of the Rig Veda.

The Rig or Rg Veda says

“yasya trinyuditani veda vachane rupani divyanyalam.
bat.htad.hdarshatamitthamevanihitam devasya bhargo mahat.h
vAyo ramavachonayam prathamakam pr^iksho dvitiiyam vapuh
madhvo yattu tr^itiiyametadamuna granthah kr^itah keshave”

It is in this sukta that we see Vayu Devaru being mentioned as taking three avatars -Hanuman during Ramayana,  Bheema  during Mahabharata and finally as Madhwa during Kali Yuga.

The Vayu Purana too makes a mention of the three avatars.

It says,

“Vayurdivyani rupaani padmatrayayutaani ch | trikotimurthy sanyuktastretaayaam raakshasaantakah || hanumaniti vikhyaato Ramakaarya dhurandharah | sa vaamurBheemsenoabhuuddwaparaante kurudvah || Krishnamsampoojayamaas hatva duryodhanaadikaan | Dvaipayanasya sevaartham badaryaam tu kalao yuge || vayushch yatirupeNa krutva dushashtra Khandanam|

tatah kaliyugeh praapte tritiyo Madhwanamakah | bhurekha dakshiNeh bhagehmsnimadgarvashaantaye | dhikkurvanstprabhaam sadyoavateernoatra dvijaanvaye ||

Madhwacharya himself in Vishnu Tatwa Nirnaya says he came down during Kali Yuga and that he was earlier Hanuman and Bheema.

Madhwacharya had all the physical features, attributes or 32 shubha lakshanas that characterise a person, including the prescribed height, (shannavati angulo apetam) quoted in the Mahabharata-Tatparya Nirnaya.

By the way, only Hanuman is supposed to have all these 32 attributes. Even Gods like Shiva had only 28 attributes. The Balittha sukta speaks of the trinity of Hanuma, Bheema and Madhwa and here is part of a text from the Balittha SuktaBalittha tad.hvapushhedhayi darshatam devasya bhargah sahaso yato.ajani |

yadImupahvarate sadhate matirr^itasya dhena anayanta sasrutah || 1 ||
pR^ixo vapuh pitumannitya ashaye dvitiyamasaptashivasu matR^ishhu  |
tr^itiyamasya vr^ishhabhasya dohase dashapramatim janayantayoshhaNaH || 2 ||

niryadIm budhnanmahishhasya varpasa ishanasah shavasa krantasurayah  |
yadimanupradivo madhwa adhave guhasantam matarishva mathayati || 3 ||

prayatpituh paramanniyateparyapr^ixudho virudho dansu rohati  |
ubhayasya janushham yadinvata adidyabishhtho abhavad.hdhr^ina shuchih || 4 ||

adinmatr^iravishadyasva shuchirahimsyamana urviya vivavr^idhe  |
anuyatpurva aruhastanajuvoni navyasishhva varasu dhavate  || 5 ||

The suktas are very similar to stutis and stotras and they form a vital part of hymns and prayers. Some of the suktas include Devi sukta, Narayana sukta, Purusha sukta, Vishwakarma sukta, Devi sukta, Sri sukta, Medha sukta, Ratri sukta, Agni sukta, Ayushya sukta, Balitha sukta, Neela sukta, Bhagya sukta, Vishnu sukta, Bhu sukta, Durga sukta, Shanna sukta, Parjanya sukta and

Saraswati sukta.

Incidentally, Raghavendra Swamy (1595-1671) has written a short gloss on the Balitha sukta. 

Karma Nirnaya of Madhwacharya

This is generally believed to be the last of Madhwacharya’s works. Just like the Rg Bhashya, here too Madhwacharya shows himself as being conversant with the Vedic language and its idiom.

Here too Madhwacharya takes us to the supreme Being who he calls Vishnu and the underlying thread of this work is the glorification of Vishnu.

There is an interesting legend behind the composition of this work.

Madhwacharya had come to a temple in Ucchabuti near Ujire.

Today, Ujire is a small town near Dharmastala and it is situated in Belthangady taluk of Dakshina Kannada district.

When Madhwacharya and his disciples went to the Janardhana  temple, some of the seers assembled there questioned him on certain aspects of Vedic Mantras and procedures. They thought that as Madhwacharya was a monk, he might not know details about Vedic sacrifices, their meanings and details.

Others accused Madhwacharya of only propagating Tattvajnana as he was not well versed in the karmakanda of the Vedas

Madhwacharya, however, stunned the gathering when he easily outsmarted the gathering and defeated them in the argument. He easily tackled all the queries that the seers put to him and gave them convincing answers about several aspects.

The seers accepted defeat and requested him to explain Mahaa Naamni Mantras of Aitreya  Aranyaka. Madhwacharya then explained to them the meaning and significance of Mahaa Naamni Mantras. He then wrote them in the form of a book which he called  Karma Nirnaya.

This book is also known as Kandartha Nirnaya. This work too gives us a totally new interpretation of the Vedas just as the Rg Bhashya did. Scholars say the Karma Nirnaya is only next to Visnutattva Nirnaya in its extent. It deals with many sacrificial hymns that are generally recited in connection with the Prstha Stotra of the Naiskevalya Sastra, says BNK Sharma, a scholar.

It also deals with the concept of Karmakanda in conjunction with the Brahman. Madhwacharya interprets the Karmakanda in the light of supremacy of Vishnu.

He takes on the theory of Nirguna Brahman and attacks it, saying how can God be without attributes or form. This comes in the opening section where he says Vishnu is Saguna or a supreme being with attributes.

 To Madhwacharya, the Brahman is immortal, imperishable, eternal, and thus the basis of the impersonal Nirguna. He says this is clearly stated in the Geeta. For him, the personal form indicated is generally Narayana or Vishnu.

Madhwacharya then cites several passages in the Vedas investing several attributes to the Brahman. He says the denial of

attributes to the Brahman in some scriptures must be interpreted only in terms of  Prkritic attributes.

He also refutes the concept of Nirvisesa preached by Shankaracharya. How can a Brahman have no characteristics or nirguna of its own, he asks. Shankara had preached that the Brahman has no individual or personal characteristic. Madhwacharya here says there is a personal characteristic as there is a difference between the Creator (Vishnu or Paramatma) and the created (Atma).

Madhwacharya says Nirvisesatva cannot be negative.

The gathering accepts these arguments and then proceeds to question the Acharya on the Mahaa Naamni Mantras, their meaning and how Upasargas or prepositions should be joined to those Mantras.

Madhwacharya says that prepositions like pracetana, pracetaya, aayaahi, pibamatsva, kratuccanda ritham, bruhat, sumna aadehi No vatso should be added to the riks “adhatanyam  jatere prema” and others to get the correct meaning of the mahaa naamni riks.

Madhwacharya then goes on to record the meaning of Mahaa Naamni riks in this book.

He says even works dealing with karmas are actually

hymns in praise of Vishnu. He, therefore, chooses a mantra in the Mahaanaamni meter which apparently praises Indra and explains its significance with reference to Vishnu.

He then goes on to interpret the entire Mahaanaamni hymns word by word. He concludes the work with this Mangalacharana sloka

  namo nArAyaNAyAja bhavazkroSNa rUGmu khaiH  |

  sadA vandita pAdAya zrIpAya   preyase -dhikam  ||

The English meaning says “I prostrate at the lotus feet of  Narayana who is very dear to Madhwa and one who is worshipped by deities like Brahma, Rudra, Indra, Surya and others.

The Acharya tells us here that is very important to know and understand the etymological meaning of a word in addition to the traditional one. He then goes on to say that if Vedas are interpreted etymologically, it can give us the ultimate meaning of Vedas.

He says,

“rUDhiyOgau vinA kashchinnairvArthO vEdagO bhavEt|
tatrApi yougikO mukhyaH sarvatrAsti sa vaidekE||”

Here, he says the etymological meaning should be taken. He asks people to follow the epistemological meaning (yOgArtha) along with the regular meaning of usage (rUDhArtha). He rates the epistemological meaning as more important than the other.One of  the best commentaries on this work is by Jaya Theertha. The first however is by Narahari Theertha.

By the way, the Lakshana Granthas (2), Khandana Traya (3),

Tattva Granthas (4) along with Karma Nirnaya are collectively known as Dasaprakaranas.

The Trinity who protect this town

Indian mythology says that this town is protected by the holy trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Maheswara. The river that flows by this town is known as Yami or Yamuna, the daughter of Sun and the sister of Yama, the God of Death.

This town is sacred to the Hindus as Veda Vyasa, the first scribe of the world, who wrote the Mahabharata, was born here. During the Mughal rule, this town was an important place as it had a huge mint which was set up by Akbar. There is unfortunately, little or no trace of the mint. It was also here that the British managed to defeat Rani of Jhansi, Laxambai, and her 10,000 troops during the war of Indian Independence in 1857. Subsequently, the British wrested control of this town and its surroundings and held it on till 1947.

A few decades ago, this town was the centre of dacoits the most famous among whom as Phoolan Devi.

Phoolan and her gang operated in and around the town before she surrendered and subsequently became a Member of Parliament on a Samajawadi part ticket. She was shot dead in front of her official quarters in Delhi in 2001.    

Coming back to Kalpi, it was on an artificial island here that Veda Vyasa was born to Sage Parashara and Kali, the fisherwoman. Kali is also known as Satyavati, who later married Shantanu.

The story of Veda Vyasa’s birth goes as follows. Sage Parashara wanted to cross Yamuna and he took the help of a young beautiful woman named Kali, who was the daughter of a fisherman.

The beautiful Kali aroused passion in Sage Parashara who created a thick fog around the boat and created an artificial island. The couple had sexual union on the island.

Sage Parashara then told Kali that as soon as he leaves, a son will be born to her. He predicted that his son would become the teacher of the world and divide the Vedas. He also blessed Kali, saying that after the birth of a son, she will remain a virgin.

Soon Kali gave birth to a male child. As soon as the child was born, he grew up and told Kali that she had played her part in the divine mission by giving birth to him and that she need not worry about him. He also said that he will come to her aid whenever she so desires.

As a child, Vyasa was referred as Krishna and as he was born on an island he was also known as Krishnadwaipayana. When he divides the versa into Rig, Yajur, Sama and Atharvana, he came to be known as Veda Vyasa.

There is a temple dedicated to Veda Vyasa in Kalpi. In ancient times, the town was known as Kalpriya Nagari.

Akbar set up a mint here a mint for manufacturing copper coins. In the middle of 18th century, Kalpi fell into the hands of Marathas. In 1858, Lord Strathnairn defeated 10,000 freedom fighters under Rani of Jhansi.

The Vishnu Purana itself says that Vyasa Vyasa was born here 5000 years ago. Besides Veda Vyasa, other eminent sages like Uddalakor or Aruni, Vamiki, Parasara and Vamdeo were born here.

Birbal, the great wit and a minister of Akbar, was also born in Kalpi. When he was born in 1528, Birbal was known as Maheshdas Brahmbhatt. He was a Chaurasia Brahmin.

Kalpi fell to the Muslims in 1196 when Qutb-ud-din-Aibak, the viceroy of Muhammad Ghori conquered it.

Kalpi was one of the places in India where total solar eclipse was witnessed on October 24, 1995. The sky is very clear here and, therefore, it gives a very good sighting of the eclipse. It is also known for handmade papers which are very smooth and very delicate.

The Kalapriyanath temple here was one of the biggest structures dedicated to the Sun God. It was believed to have been constructed by Shamba, sons of Krishna, as he sought a cure from leprosy.

Varahamihira, the astrologer, astronomer and one of the Nava Ratnas of  the legendary King Vikramaditya, took his astronomical observations from this temple.

Varahamihira, in his book Brihat Jataka, also called Brihat Jatakam or Brihajjatakam, himself refers to this town saying that he was taught astrology here. This is one of the four principle texts of Varahamihira.

The Sun Temple had a such a huge auditorium that the plays of Bhavabhuti, the 8^th century Sanskrit scholar, such as Mahavircharitram, Malti Madhava and Uttar Ramacharitrami were enacted.

The courtyard of the temple was so huge that when the Rashtrakuta King Indra the third invaded Kannauj in 915 AD, his army including elephants, horses and soldiers stayed within its confines. These elephants are supposed to have battered down the huge walls of the temple.

The seven queens of Lahariya king Srichand performed sati near the Sun temple at a place called Satmathia. There are seven small temples to mark their sacrifice.

The location of the Kalpriyanath and Satmathia temples have been traced to a small village called Gulloli. The village is six kilometers from Kalpi and is on the right bank of  Yamuna.

The embankment (Ghat) of the Sun Temple is known as Suryaghat. The original Sun Temple with the deity is believed to be beneath a huge mound here.

Kanpur is 78 kms from Kalpi and Lucknow is 158 kms away.

The twenty eight Veda Vyasas

Veda Vyasa is one of the holiest figures in India. He is the man who divided the Vedas into four and taught four of his principal disciples one each.

He taught Paila the Rig Veda: Vaishampayana the Yajur Veda, Jaimini the Sama Veda and Sumantu the Atharva Veda. He then taught the Puranas to Lomaharshana.

Veda Vyasa is also credited with having written the Mahabharata. He is also the narrator of the world’s greatest epic and also a figure in it.

He is also called Krishna Dvaipayana-the word Dvaipayana refers to his complexion and also the place of his birth- and is a scribe of both the Vedas and the Puranas.

Vyasa is also considered to be the kala-avatara or part-incarnation of Vishnu himself. Madhwacharya equated him with Badarayana, the compiler of the Vedanta Sutras. He is also considered to be one of the seven Chiranjivis (long lived or immortals), who are still in existence. Shaivites consider him to be the fourth rishi of the Adwaitha Parampare of which Shankara is the chief proponent. He is one of the few to have a festival after him. It is called Guru Poornima or Vyasa Poornima. This is the day on which Vyasa was born and also the day on which he divided the Vedas.

Vyasa was grandfather to the both the Pandavas and th Kauravas. Both Pandu, father of the Pandavas, and Dhritarashtra, father of Kauravas, were his sons as was Vidura.

Madhwacharya went to Badari twice and met Veda Vyasa and Narayana too. It was Veda Vyasa who taught him the holy scriptures which later came down to us in the form of   Dwaitha philosophy.

The Srimadhwavijaya by Narayana Panditacharya has given us perhaps the most evocative and comprehensive description of Vyasa and Hari himself as seen by Madhwa. Several chapters in the work are devoted to the description of Vyasa.  

Veda Vyasa is born every Dwapara Yuga to divide the Vedas and disseminate their knowledge. In the present era, there have been twenty-eight dwapara yugas and, therefore, there are twenty-eight individuals who have held the title of Veda Vyasa.

The Kurma Purana gives the names of these 28 as:

(1) Svayambhuva Manu.

(2) Prajapati.

(3) Ushana.

(4) Brihaspati.

(5) Savita.

(6) Mrityu.

(7) Indra.

(8) Vashishtha.

(9) Sarasvata.

(10) Tridhama.

(11) Rishabha.

(12) Suteja.

(13) Dharma.

(14) Sachakshu.

(15) Trayaruni.

(16) Dhananjaya.

(17) Kritanjaya.

(18) Ritanjaya.

(19) Bharadvaja.

(20) Goutama.

(21) Vachashrava.

(22) Narayana.

(23) Trinavindu.

(24) Valmiki.

(25) Shaktri.

(26) Parashara.

(27) Jatukarna.

(28) Krishna Dvaipayana.

The place where the Vedas were divided and Puranas written

It is a small town in the most populous State of India. Though it is near the State capital of Lucknow, it is not on any tourist map. Yet, if Hindu mythology is to be believed it is perhaps one of the most important places.

This is the place where the Puranas came to be written and the Vedas came to be divided. It is also the place of the deep well of Vishnu which has immense religious significance. This town is also one of the 108 Divya Desams of Vishnu and revered by the twelve saint poets called Alwars.

This is the town of Naimisaranyam or Naimisaranya also called Nimsar. It is located at the junction of the roads from Sitapur and Khairabad. It is 32 km from Sitapur and 42 km from the Sandila railway station and just 45 miles north of Lucknow.

The town is on the left bank of  the river Gomati. This is the place where the Visnhu Chakra created the highly revered well called Chakra Kunda. Every new moon day, a large number of people gather at the well and purify themselves with a dip. If the new moon falls Monday, it is believed that a holy bath in the well and offering to the presiding deity Lalitha will wash away all the sins committed in the lifetime.

According to Puranas, our Gods chose this place on Earth to establish Dharma. Their plan to spread Dharma on Earth went awry as a demon called  Vrittrasur was proving to be a major hurdle.

The Gods then requested Maharshi Dadhichi to give his bones to them so that they could create a weapon to kill the demon. The demon was finally killed.
To honor the sage, a festival is held every Phalguna and it is known as Chaurasi Kosi Parikrama.

As the Srimad Bhagavatam was narrated here, it is said that a pilgrimage to Badrinath and Kedarnath is incomplete without a visit to Naimisaranya. The Mahabharata itself says “Anyone who fasts, prays, and attains perfection at Naimisaranya finds happiness in all the worlds”.
There is another legend about this place. When Brahma contemplated a great wheel that would span the entire universe, the wheel’s center was at “Naimisaranya”.

The Puranas say that Naimisaranya has a parikrama (circumambulation) path of 16 kms, in which all the sacred places in India are located.
Rama, Balarama, Dadhuchi Muni, the Pandavas, Shankaracharya,  Ramanujacharya and several other saints of all beliefs and religious orders have come and visited the sacred spots here.

The Pandavas came here when they were in exile. Rama  performed sacrifice here for killing Ravana, a Brahmin.
The Chakra Kunda or Chakra Tirtha is a deep well whose depth has not been found out. When the Kali Yuga was about to commence, 80,000 sages headed by Saunaka Rishi approached Brahma and told him to identify the spot where they should hold the Yagna to ward off the evil effects of the Kali Yuga.

Thus at the end of the Dwapara Yuga and the beginning of the  Kali Yuga, Brahma released his Manonmaya Chakra to ascertain the impact of the impending Time. The Chakra travelled all around  the Earth and it finally came to a stop here.

Brahma then  prescribed the circumference or the ‘nemi’ of that zone, fit for Yagnas which were performed for ten thousand years even as he carried on the process of creation. Since the midpoint of the Chaka was here, Brahma declared this to be the center of the Earth

The Chakra Tirtha has no end. The British wanted to disprove this and they sank a cable for more than 1,000 metres (3300 feet) but they did not find the depth. They gave up.

Near the Tirtha is the Vyasa Gaddi. It is at this spot where  Veda Vyasa (Narayana), the author of Mahabharata is said to have divided the Vedas into four parts and also written the Puranas.

Locals point to a huge Banyan tree here which is said to be over 5,000 years old. They say this is the precise place where Vyasa sat and wrote the Puranas.

There are many places in and around the town, each with its own share of history, mythology and religion.

There is a temple of Hanuman with the idol of Ram and Lakshmana on his shoulders. It is said that Hanuman brought out Rama and Lakshmana from Patala Loka at this very spot.

There is a deity of Vyasa and the Pandavas in the temple.
The Hanuman Temple has a strange custom. Pilgrims buy sweets and put them in his mouth.
Other places to visit are the Suta Gaddi where the sage Suta Goswami sat while instructing other sages 5,000 years ago. He spoke about Srimad Bhagavat Geeta here. Ugrashravas, also Ugrasravas, Suta or Suta Goswami is the narrator of several Puranas, including Mahabharata, Bhagavath Purana, Harivamsa, and Padma Purana.

He narrated all these before a gathering of  sages here. Suta was the son of Lomaharshana and a disciple of  Veda Vyasa, the author of Mahābhārata. Ugrasrava belonged to the Suta caste, who were typically the bards of Puranic literature.

The entire Mahābhārata epic is structured as a dialogue between Ugrasrava Sauti or Suta -the narrator and sage Saunaka-the listener. The narration (Bharata) of the history of Bharata kings by sage Vaisampayana to the Kuru king Janamejaya was embedded within this narration of  Ugrasrava Sauti.

Vaisampayana’s narration (Jaya) in turn contains the narration of Kurukshetra war by Sanjaya to King Dhritarashtra. Thus the epic has as a story within a story.

There is also the Narada Deva Temple with 108 altars and the 1008 Sivalinga Temple containing copies of the four Vedas and Puranas, including Srimad Bhagavata (Bhagavat Purana). The Shiva temple here is also unique. The eyes of Shiva looking east in the morning and west in the evenings. The presiding deity of the town, Lalita Devi, has a temple around the Chakra Tirtha.

The best place to stay is either Lucknow or Sitapur. There are regular buses and taxis from Lucknow and Sitapur. If you want to visit all the holy places here, it is better to engage the services of a local guide. A smattering of Hindi will help as the guides and locals generally do not know any other language.