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History of Classical Sanskrit Literature c19.s2: Section 2

History of Classical Sanskrit Literature c19.s2

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English

Section 2

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**213. Śrī Madhva Ācārya** or Ānandatīrtha,⁶ was born in the village of Belle near Udipi in an orthodox brahmin family in the year Yuva, 4300 Kali or 1198 A.D.⁷ on the last day of Navarāṭri. That day is now known as Madhvanavami. His mother was Vedavallī. His original name was Vāsudeva. His early life displayed miracles of divine powers. By twenty five,¹ he became learned in all the sciences and Vedas. His knowledge was so profound that he was called Pūrṇaprajña. At that age he renounced his family and became an ascetic on the initiation of Acyuṭaprakāśa under the name of Ānandaṭīrtha. In his tours through-out India he engaged himself in philosophical controversies and became the founder of the Advaita school of philosophy. He expounded his Dvaita doctrine in his Bhāṣyas on Vyāsa Sūṭras, the Upaniṣads, and the Gīta. He spent his last years at the Saridantaram, the duab between the rivers Neṭrāvaṭi and Kumāradhāra in S. Canara and he lived for 79 years, 6 months and 20 days and disappeared in Pingala, 1278 A.D.²

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⁶ He is also known as Ananṭānandagiri, Ānandagiri, Ānandajnāna, Ānanajnānagiri, Jnānānda, Jnānānandagiri. (*CC*. I. 46), See Grierson, *ERE*, VII. 232; Bhandarkar, *VS*, 57 and *BR*, (1882-3), 207.

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⁷ C.M. Padmanabhacarya in his *Life of Śri Madhva* discusses the question and fixes the year 1223 A.D. as the date of birth or of taking the order. H. Krishna Sastri agrees with him. But the inscription at Srikurma dated Saka 1203 indicates the earlier date. (*EI*, III. 260-8). See Introduction to Translation of *Geetābhāṣya* by S. Subbarao and *A Sketch of the History of Madhva Acaryas* by G. Venkobarap (*IA*, XLIII, 233).

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¹ Some say it was thirteen.

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² According to the other view this was on 11th January 1318 A D. See B. Venkobarao, *Life of Sri Vyāsarāja*, XXVIII. Bangalore.

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Of his 37 works,³ many on philosophy, his mastery of the language is displayed in his poem YAMAKABHARATA, where he narrates the story of Mahābhāraṭa in Yamaka verse.⁴ Among his sṭoṭras are Āryāṣṭoṭra, Guruṣṭoṭra, Kṛṣṇastuti and Ḍvāḍaśasṭoṭra.⁵ Bhāgavat taṭparyanirṇaya⁶ and Bhāraṭāṭ ṭparyanirṇaya⁷ are learned critiques on Śrī Bhāgavaṭa and Mahābhāraṭa. Kṛṣṇakarṇāmṛtamahārṇava,⁸ Śaṅkaravijaya and Śaṅ-karācāryavaṭārakathā are also attributed to him.⁹

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³ Granthamālikāsṭoṭra (*TC*, II. 2008) gives the list.

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⁴ Printed Bombay and Madras. There are commentaries on it anonymous (*DC.*, XX. 7955) which refers to a prior commentary in verse (*TC*, II, 1143).

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⁵ Printed, Madras, Bombay.

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⁶ Printed, Madras and Bombay with Janārdanabhatta's commentary. See *TC*, II. 1161. For a short summary of it, see *TC*, II. 1995.

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⁷ See page 43 *supra*. For commentaries, see *TC*, II. 1143; by Viṭṭalācārya (*TC*, II. 1912); by Cheṭṭu Keri (*TC*, II 1549); by Lakṣmiṇṛsiṃha (*TC*, II. 1409).

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⁸ *BTC*, 107; *Rice*, 196.

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⁹ *CC*, I. 46.

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214. Trivikrama.

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Among the immediate desciples of Śrī Madhva was Trivikrama,¹⁰ whom he converted to his faith after a long series of discussions. He wrote Uṣāharaṇakāvya and Vāyusṭuṭi.¹¹

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¹⁰ Printed, Bombay with the commentary of Sumaṭīndra. Sumaṭīndra extolled King Shahaji of Tanjore in his Sumaṭīndrajayaghoṣaṇa. *Tanj. Cat.*, VII. 3284.

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¹¹ *TC*, II. 1141, 1907, with commentary (*TC*, II. 1914) by Kavidarpaṇa Vedāṅgamuni.

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Trivikrama's son was Nārāyaṇa. To him we owe the first account of Śrī Madhva's life in his poems Madhvavijaya,¹² Aṇumadhvavijaya,¹ and Maṇimanjarī.² His Pārijātaharaṇa is a Yamaka poem.³ He wrote also Śivastuti, Viṣṇustuti, Nṛsiṁhastotra and Saṅgraha-Rāmāyaṇa.⁴

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¹² Printed, Bombay, with commentary by Śeṣācārya, *TC*, II. 1169.

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¹ There is a commentary by Veṅkaṭabhaṭṭa, *TC*, II. 1665.

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² Printed, Bombay with Subrahmaṇya's commentary. There are commentaries by Anantācārya (*DC*, XX. 7915), by Jammi Bhāvanāsyācārya (*TC*, II. 7945) and by Vittalācārya (*TC*, II. 2003).

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³ Printed, Poona. *DC*, XX. 7936.

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⁴ Printed, Bombay and Belgaum. In *DC*, XV. 7976, there is an anonymous commentary.

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**215.** Of Madhva's desciples, four succeeded as pontiffs, one after another, Padmanābha, Narahari, Mādhava and Akṣobhya. From Akṣobhya,⁵ Jayatīrtha got his initiation. He is said to have died in 1388 A.D. The life of Jayatīrtha is described in poems by Vyāsatīrtha in his Jayatīrthavijaya,⁶ by Kṛṣṇa in Jayatīrthavijayābdhi,⁷ by Saṅkarṣaṇa in Jayatīrthavijaya,⁸ and by Karkohalli Śrīnivāsa in Jayīndrodaya.⁹

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⁵ Akṣobhya, Vidyāraṇya, Vedānta Deśika and Jayatīrtha were contemporaries.

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⁶ Printed, Mysore.

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⁷ *Mys. OML. Sup.* 10.

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⁸ Printed, Belgaum.

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⁹ *Mys. OML. Sup.* 10.

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**216.** After Jayatīrtha, the most famous among the Madhva Acāryas was Vyāsarāya.¹⁰ He lived in 1447-1539 A.D. He was practically the moving influence in the Court of Vijianagar from the days of Sālva Narasiṁha to Acyutadevarāya who ruled in 1486-1542 A.D.¹¹

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¹⁰ He was desciple of Brahmaṇyatīrtha, whose life is described in Brahmaṇyatīrthavijaya (See B. Venkobarao's *Int. to Sri Vyasayogicarita*, LXXIII). Brahmaṇya died about 1523 A.D.

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¹¹ See para 124 *supra*.

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The life of Vyāsarāya is described in the Vyāsayogicaritacampū by Somanātha,¹² which was continued by Śrīvidyāratnākarasvāmi,¹³ and the poem Vyāsavijaya. Somanātha's prose is enchanting. The reader feels as if it is Kādambarī. He is reported to be the sister's son of Anantabhaṭṭa, author of Campūbhārata, who lived about 1500 A.D. Somanātha was introduced to his hero Vyāsarāya in the reign of King Acyutadevarāya and must have lived about 1535 A.D. Somanātha's grand-father Bhaṭṭa Gayāmukṭi Bhāskara, known as Kālameghādhvarin, was a great poet.¹⁴

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¹² Ed. Bangalore with a long introduction dealing with the contemporary history of Kingdom of Vijianagar by B. Venkobarao.

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¹³ *Op. cit.* lxxii.

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¹⁴ See B. Venkobarao, *op. cit.* iiii-ix.

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**217.** Puraṁdaradāsa, the distinguished author of Kanarese devotional songs, was Vyāsarāya's desciple. So was **Vadirāja**. Vādirāja is said to have opened an old treasury at a crisis, for King Acyutadevarāya. He rebuilt the temple at Udipi, but before the golden dome was erected the Kingdom of Vijianagar was subverted by defeat at the battle of Talikota.¹ He was a great poet and among his poems are Rukmiṇīśa-vijaya,² Sarasabhāratīvilāsa,³ Tīrthaprabandha,⁴ Ekībhāvastotra,⁵ and Daśāvatārastuti.⁶ His life is described in Vādirājavṛttaratnasaṅgraha by Raghunātha.⁷

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¹ See B. Venkobarap, *op. cit.* CLXXIII.

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² *CC*, I. 562.

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³ Printed, Belgaum.

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⁴ Printed, Calcutta.

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⁵ Printed, Bombay.

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⁶ Printed, Belgaum.

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⁷ *CAL*, II. 25.

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Satyanāthatīrtha's original name was Raghunāthācārya. He died in 1674 A.D.⁸ His life is depicted in Satyanāthamāhātmyaratnākara,⁹ in Satyanāthābhyudaya¹⁰ by Saṅkarṣaṇa, son of Seṣācārya, and in Satyanāthavilāsa by Śrīnivāsa.¹¹

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⁸ *CC*, I. 688.

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⁹ *CC*, I. 689.

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¹⁰ *Mys. OML. Sup.* II; *Tanj. Cat.*, VI. 2676.

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¹¹ *Tanj. Cat.*, VI. 2676, 2680.

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There are poems on the lives of Dvaita Ācāryas:¹² Viśvapriyaguṇa-līlāvilāsa by Setumādhava,¹³ Raghavendravijaya by Nārāyaṇa,¹⁴ and Satyanidhivilāsa by Śrīnivāsa,¹⁵ Seturāyavijaya,¹⁶ Satyabodhāvijayā,¹⁷ by Kṛṣṇa.¹⁸

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¹² On the history of Madhva Acaryas, see *IA*, XLIII. 233, 262.

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¹³ *Mys. OMS. Sup.* 11.

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¹⁴ *SVH*, 252. Raghavendra was contemporary of Yagnanārāyaṇa Dikṣita, (See para 150 *supra*).

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¹⁵ *Mys. OMS. Sup.* 11.

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¹⁶ *CAL*, II. 16

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¹⁷ *Ibid.*,

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¹⁸ *Mys. OML. Sup.* 11.

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