Raghavendra Tirtha
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Rāghavēndra | |
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| Born | Venkanna Bhatta 1595 or 1598 or 1601 CE |
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| Philosophy | Dvaita |
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| Guru | Sudheendra Theertha |
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| Hindu philosophy | |
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Śrī Rāghavēndra Svāmi (1595–1671 CE), born Venkanna Bhatta, was a Hindu saint and philosopher who served as the head of the matha in Kumbakonam from 1624 to 1636. He wrote a commentary Sudha Parimala on the Nyaya Sudha, an exposition of Dvaita philosophy. His Jeeva samadhi in Mantralayam in the present-day Andhra Pradesh is an important place of pilgrimage. The numerous miracles he performed have led to him being worshipped even today in the form of god and he is believed to be the saviour for those who placed faith in him.
Biography
Raghavendra was born as Venkanna Bhatta[1][2] in the town of Bhuvanagiri in Tamil Nadu to Kannada Brahmin parents, Thimanna Bhatta and Gopikamba, in 1595, 1598 or 1601. He was also known as Venkatanatha or Venkatacharya in honor of Venkateswara.[3]
After his initial education under his brother-in-law Lakshminarasimhachar in Madurai, Venkatanatha was admitted to the Sri Mutt in Kumbakonam where he took sannyasa and adopted the name Raghavendra Tirtha. In 1614, after he returned from Madurai, Venkanna Bhatta married Sarasvati Bai. Their son, Lakshminarayanacharya, was born in the same year, after which the family moved to Kumbakonam.[3]
In Sri Mutt, Raghavendra Swami studied under Sudheendra Theertha. He quickly emerged as a talented scholar and consistently won debates over scholars older than him. He was also known as a teacher of Sanskrit and the ancient Vedic texts.[3]
In 1621, Raghavendra succeeded his guru Sudheendra Theertha as the head of the Sri Mutt and served from 1624 to 1636. He travelled all over South India expounding Madhvacharya's Dvaita philosophy and is attributed with a number of miracles. At some point, he toured South India visiting pilgrimage sites and teaching philosophy.[3]
In 1671, after assuring his disciples in a speech that he will be in spirit with them for the next eight hundred years, Raghavendra attained Jeeva Samadhi at Mantralayam.
Purvashrama Miracles
In Kumbakonam once Raghavendra Swami and his wife were invited to a puja, and he was asked to produce sandalwood paste for the invitees. The paste induced a burning sensation over their bodies, which Raghavendra Swami attributed to the hymn Agni Suktam which he was chanting while preparing sandalwood, thus transferring the power of Vedic Mantras to sandalwood. Different hymns, according to him, would produce different feelings.[3]
Raghavendra and Sir Thomas Munro
An incident concerning Raghavendra Swami and Sir Thomas Munro has been recorded in the Madras Districts Gazetteer.[4][5] In 1801, while serving as the Collector of Bellary, Sir Thomas Munro, who later served as the Governor of Madras is believed to have come across an apparition of Raghavendra Swami. Sir Thomas Munro recorded as having spoke with Raghavendra Swami in English over an endowment proposal which he ultimately quashed as per the Swami's advice.
Works and Compositions [6]
Raghavendra wrote many spiritual compositions and one devotional song that was dedicated to Krishna (Kannada: ಇಂದು ಎನಗೆ ಗೋವಿಂದ ನಿನ್ನಯ ಪಾದಾರ ವಿಂದವ ತೋರೋ ಮುಕುಂದನೇ... "Show me your feet today, oh Lord Krishna").[7]
- dasha prakaraNa-s (6): Commentaries on six of the ten PrakaraNa-granthas of Madhva
- Suutra-Prasthaana -- works on the brahma-sUtra
- Rg and upanishad prasthaana-s
- gItA prasthaana
- Other famous works
- shrI rAmacaritramaN^jari
- shrI kR^iShNacaritramaN^jari
- prAta.h sankalpa gadya
- sarvasamarpaNagadyam
Literature on Sri Raghavendra Swami
There are many literatures on the life history of Sri Raghavendra Swami but the most authentic of them all is the his biography penned by his nephew Sri Narayanacharya called 'Sri Raghavendra Vijaya' which was endorsed by Sri Raghavendra Swami himself. [8]
One of the more recent publications is an 8-volume anthology titled "Sri Raghavendra Mahatmyam". Originally brought out in Tamil, it has also been translated into English. It covers devotee experiences, etc. Each volume is around 400-500 pages.
- Vol. 1 of Sri Raghavendra Mahatmyam ("The Saint of Mantralaya" in English) is available at http://www.scribd.com/doc/96876717/Raghavendra-Mahatmyam-Vol1
- Vol 2 is available at http://www.scribd.com/doc/96959113/Raghavendra-Mahatmyam-Vol-2
References
- ^ "Shri Raghavendra Swami : A Great Devotee of Shri Vishnu". hindujagruti.org.
- ^ "Life Story of Guru Raghavendra Swamy". gururaghavendra.in.
- ^ a b c d e "History of Sri Raghavendra Guru". www.SriRagavendra.com. 2009-08-05. Retrieved 2013-04-09.
- ^ Proceedings - Indian History Congress. 1945. p. 331.
- ^ Giriraj Shah (1999). Saints, gurus and mystics of India, Volume 2. Cosmo Publications. p. 473. ISBN 8170208564, ISBN 978-81-7020-856-3.
- ^ http://www.dvaita.org/scholars/raghavendra/raghav5.htm#5
- ^ "Indu yenage Govinda". Song Indu yenage Govinda from Kannada film 'Raghavendra Mahime'. Retrieved 2013-03-17.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|work=(help) - ^ http://www.raghavendramutt.org/articles/raghavendra-vijaya-part-1
External links
- Official website of Sri Raghavendra Swamy Mutt Mantralayam
- Sister website maintained by Mutt
- Details on Appanacharya
- Details about Sri Ragavendra swamy's Guru
- Website dedicated to GuruRaya
- Mantralaya Series
- PURUSHASOOKTA explanatory definition written by Sri Raghavendrateertharu
- Raghvendra Vijaya composed by Sri GuruJagannath Dasaru
- life story about Jaiteertharu,sixth pontiff of Sri Madacharya Peetha
- A page on Sri Raghavendra at Dvaita.org
- Article about Mantralaya
- Bichali's official website
- http://sriraghavendratemple.org/
- http://aalayamkanden.blogspot.com/
- Sri Lakshmi Nrsimhar Guru Raghavendra Trust, Kanchipuram, TN, India
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