Raghavendra Tirtha - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.

org/wiki/Raghavendra_Tirtha

Raghavendra Tirtha
Shri Raghavendra (Śrī Rāghavēndra Tīrtha)
Sri Raghavendra Tirtha
(c.1595–c.1671) was a Hindu scholar, theologian
and saint. He was also known as Sudha
Parimalacharya (Sudhā Parimaḷācārya). His
diverse oeuvre include commentaries on the
works of Madhva, Jayatirtha and Vyasatirtha,
interpretation of the Principal Upanishads from
the standpoint of Dvaita and a treatise on Purva
Mimamsa. He served as the pontiff of the
Madhvacharya Mutt at Kumbakonam from 1624
to 1671.[1] Raghavendra was also an
accomplished player of the Veena and he
composed several songs under the name of Venu
Gopala.[2] His shrine at Mantralayam attracts
thousands of visitors every year.

Contents
Life
Works
Personal
In culture
References
Born Venkata Natha
1595 or 1598
Bibliography
Bhuvanagiri (now in
External links Tamil Nadu)
Further reading
Died 1671
Mantralayam (now in
Andhra Pradesh)
Life Religion Hinduism
Raghavendra was born as Venkatanatha in the
Spouse Sarasvati
town of Bhuvanagiri, Tamil Nadu into a family of
Children Lakshminarayanacharya
musicians and scholars. His great-grandfather
Krishnabhattar was a tutor to Vijayanagara king Philosophy Dvaita
Krishnadeva Raya and his father Timmanacharya Religious career
was an accomplished scholar and musician.[3] Guru Sudheendra Tirtha
After the fall of Vijayanagara empire,
Successor Sri Yogendra Tirtha
Timmanacharya migrated to Kanchi with his wife

1 of 4 14/07/19, 11:01 pm
Raghavendra Tirtha - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raghavendra_Tirtha

Gopikamba. Venkatanatha had two siblings: Honors Parimalacharya

Gururaja and Venkatamba. Venkatanatha's
education was undertaken by his brother-in-law Lakshminarasimhacharya, after the early
demise of his father and he was subsequently married.[4]

According to Raghavendra Vijaya, his triumph in debates at Thanjavur attracted the

attention of Sudhindra Tirtha, the erstwhile pontiff of Kumbakonam mutt.[5] [6] Though
initially uncertain about the prospect of renunciation, Venkatanatha relented to Sudhindra's
demands and was ordained as a monk in 1621.[4] After the death of Sudhindra Tirtha in
1623, Venkatanatha succeeded him as the pontiff the mutt and took on the name
Raghavendra Tirtha. He undertook a pilgrimage visiting places including Udupi, Kolhapur
and Bijapur.[7] He received grants from Dodda Kempadevaraja and settled down in the
village of Mantralayam, which was presented to him by the Governor of Adoni. In 1801,
while serving as the Collector of Bellary, Thomas Munro is believed to have come across an
apparition of Raghavendra.[8][9] He died in 1671 and his mortal remains are enshrined in
Mantralayam. Traditional accounts report that Raghavendra asked his tomb (Brindavana) to
be built around him as he entered into a state of samadhi. He was succeeded by his disciple
Yogeendra Tirtha.[6]

Works
Forty works have been attributed to Raghavendra.[2][9] Sharma notes that his works are
characterised by their compactness, simplicity and their ability to explain the abstruse
metaphysical concepts of Dvaita in understandable terms. [10][2] [9] His Tantradipika is an
interpretation of the Brahma Sutra from the standpoint of Dvaita incorporating elements
from Jayatirtha's Nyaya Sudha, Vyasatirtha's Tatparya Chandrika and the glosses by
Vijayendra Tirtha. [10] Bhavadipa is a commentary on Jayatirtha's Tattva Prakasika which,
apart from elucidating the concepts of the source text, criticises the allegations against
Madhva raised by Appaya Dikshita and grammarian Bhattoji Dikshita. Raghavendra's
expertise in Purva Mimamsa and Vyakarana is evident from his works on Vyasatirtha's
Tatparya Chandrika, which runs up to 18,000 stanzas. He wrote a commentary on Nyaya
Sudha titled Nyaya Sudha Parimala.[11] Apart from these works, he has authored
commentaries on the Upanishads, first three chapters of Rig Veda (called Mantramanjari)
and Bhagvad Gita. As an independent treatise, he has authored a commentary on Jaimini
Sutras called Bhatta Sangraha which seeks to interpret the Purva Mimamsa doctrines from a
Dvaita perspective.[12]

In culture
Raghavendra Tirtha has been eulogised by Narayanacharya in his contemporaneous
biography Raghavendra Vijaya and a hymn Raghavendra Stotra by Appannacharya. Outside
the confines of Dvaita, he is regarded as a saint known for preaching the worship of Vishnu
regardless of caste or creed.[13] Hebbar notes "By virtue of his spiritual charisma, coupled
with the innumerable miracles associated with him, the pontiff saint may very well be said to
possess an independent and cosmopolitan cult of his own with his devotees hailing not only

2 of 4 14/07/19, 11:01 pm
Raghavendra Tirtha - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raghavendra_Tirtha

from all walks of life but from all castes, sects and even creeds as well". [14] His
humanitarianism is evident in the devotional poems composed in his honour by Vijaya Dasa,
Gopala Dasa and Jagannatha Dasa. [15] Raghavendra has also seen representation in the
popular culture through Indian Cinema.

Year Film Title role Director Language Notes

The song from the

film titled "Indu
Mantralaya Dr. T. V. Singh Enage Govinda" was
1966 Kannada
Mahatme Rajkumar Thakur written by
Raghavendra
himself

Srinath won
Sri
Babu Karnataka State Film
1980 Raghavendra Srinath Kannada
Krishnamurthy Award for Best Actor
Vaibhava
for the film

Sri SP. The film was

1985 Rajnikanth Tamil
Raghavendrar Muthuraman Rajnikanth's 100th

References
1. Sharma 1961, p. 278.
2. Rao 1966, p. 85.
3. Aiyangar 1919, p. 252.
4. Sharma 1961, p. 279.
5. Aiyangar 1919, p. 253.
6. Rao 2015, p. 324.
7. Rao 1966, p. 84.
8. Shah 1999.
9. Rao 2015, p. 325.
10. Sharma 1961, p. 282.
11. Sharma 1961, p. 285.
12. Pandurangi 2004.
13. Rao 2015, p. 85.
14. Hebbar 2004, p. 230.
15. Sharma 1961, p. 281.

Bibliography
Sharma, B.N.K (1961). History of Dvaita school of Vedanta and its Literature, Vol 2 (3rd
ed.). Bombay: Motilal Banarasidass. ISBN 81-208-1575-0.
Rao, Krishna, M.V (1966). Purandara and the Haridasa Movement. Dharwad: Karnatak
University.
Pandurangi, K.T (2004). Bhatta Sangraha. Bengaluru: Dvaita Vedanta Studies and

3 of 4 14/07/19, 11:01 pm
Raghavendra Tirtha - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raghavendra_Tirtha

Research Foundation.
Aiyangar, Krishnaswami (1919). Sources of Vijayanagar History. Chennai: University of
Madras.
Shah, Giriraj (1999). Saints, gurus and mystics of India. 2. Cosmo Publications. p. 473.
ISBN 978-81-7020-856-3.
Rao, Raghavendra (2015). The Proceedings Of The Indian History Congress 8th Session.
The General Secretary Indian History Congress Allahabad.
Hebbar, B.N (2004). The Sri Krsna Temple at Udupi (https://archive.org/details/SriKrsnaTe
mpleAtUdupi?q=vijayindra+tirtha). Nataraj Books. ISBN 978-1881338505.

External links
Official website of Sri Raghavendra Swamy Mutt Mantralayam (http://www.srsmatha.org/)

Further reading
Raghavendra Vijaya: A Biography of Raghavendra Tirtha (https://archive.org/details/Ragha
vendraVijayam)

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Raghavendra_Tirtha&

oldid=905837593"

This page was last edited on 11 July 2019, at 19:33 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms
may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is
a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

4 of 4 14/07/19, 11:01 pm