MANTRALAYAM ------- SREE RAGHAVENDRA SWAMY

November 1, 2003

Sri Raghavendra Swamy Devastanam - Mantralayam

History of the Temple in Brief

The temple of Sri Raghavendra Tirtha is on the eastern bank of river Tungabhadra

in the small town of Mantralaya of Yemmignur Mandal of Kurnool District. The

venerable seat of Madhva Matacharya sitting in the holy Brindavan is 300 years

old. Sri Raghavendra Thirtha has taken birth at the instance of Mahavishnu in

Kaliyuga to restore moral order on our earth and taking the mankind towards

pantheism. With his extra-ordinary genius he vanquished several pandits and won

many titles like "Mahabashayacharya", "Venkata Bhatta" and was appointed as

"Asthana Pandit". He was having a wife called Saraswathi and son named as

Lakshminarayana. Saraswathi died, on learning that her husband renounced the

wordly life. He became Pitadhipati at the instance of his Guru Sri Sudheendra

Thirtha and commenced his journey for the propogation of lofty ideals and to

establish Dharma. On his journey, with his super natural powers he turned an

illiterate man like

Venkanna as a scholar, gave life to the dead son of Raghunatha Desai, made the

pieces of meat, mischievously offered by Nawab of Adoni into fragrant flowers

and fresh fruits and offered to the dieties, cured incurable stomache ache of

Mallappa Scindia and prevailed upon Sri Thomas Munro to resume the Jagir gifted

away by Nawab of Adoni.

Moola Brindavan of Sri Raghavendra Theertha

Sri Raghavendra Stotra:

Sri Raghavendra Swami was one of the great proponents of the Madhva philosophy.

For nearly 50 years, he was the head of one of the great pItha-s. His

predecessors include such scholars like VijayIndhra Tirtha & SudhIndhra Tirtha.

He excelled in many fields such as logic, mImAmsA, music, yoga, dharmashAstra, &

all 64 arts. As an avatara of Prahlada, he chose as his Brindavan

Manchaale(Mantralaya) on the bank of the Tungabadhra, where Prahlada had

performed his yaj~na in kR^ita yuga. It is said that the stone used for the

Brindavan was sanctified by the touch of Sri Rama and Sita in the treta yuga.

His nephew, Narayanacharya, wrote Raghavendra Vijaya, which gives a full

account of the life of this great saint.

Purvashram

Sri Raghavendra Swami was born in 1595 in Kaveripattana, Tamil Nadu to Thimmanna

Bhatta and Gopikamba. His ancestors were of the Gautama Gotra. He was named

Venkatanatha as he was born by the grace of Lord Venkateshwara. When his father

was performing akSharAbhyAsa, Venkatanatha asked how a small letter like Om can

explain the great God. The father was overjoyed that his son understood that

the God cannot be fully explained by one small letter. Venkatanatha's

Upanayanam was performed in chaitra mAsa, when he was 8 years old. Although his

father passed away by then, Venkatanatha did not consider himself an orphan, as

he considered Sri Narayana as his father and Gayathri, who reveals Him, as

every twice-born's real mother. Venkatanatha studied yajur veda, maNimanjari,

and anumadhvavijaya at Madurai.His powers of meditation were shown when his

water from doing sandyAvandan happened to fall on a dry seed, which sprouted.

He also developed an expertise in playing the Veena, so he became known as

Veena Venkata Bhatta. This is not surprising, since Venkatanatha came from a

family skilled in music. His great-grandfather, Krishnabhatta, tutored the King

of the Vijayanagar kingdom, Krishnadevaraya, in vina, and his father was skilled

in music as well. Upon returning from Madurai, he was married to Saraswati, who

was from a noble family. His marriage, just like his Upanayanam and schooling,

was arranged by his brother Gururajacharya.

The Shastras say that for one who has control of his senses, wedded life does

not hamper learning. For Venkatanatha, most of his learning occurred after

marrying Saraswati, through the blessings of Goddess Saraswati. So Venkatanatha

went to Kumbhakonam, the seat of learning at the time. There, he studied under

Sri Sudindrateerta.He used to stay awake past midnight to write his own

comments and notes on the lessons that had been done. Once, he engaged in a

debate and defeated a mAyAvAdi at Rajamannar temple. Though his victory was not

unexpected Sri Sudhindra tirtha was surprised at his scholarship in grammar,

profound knowledge and rare debating skill, and called him "Mahabhashya

Venkatanathacharya" Similarly he explained the significance of taptamudra

dhAraNa quoting several smR^iti-s that the opponents had to accept his

arguements were irrefutable. He had a son, Lakshminarayana. Although he and his

family were in stark poverty, he was unaffected by it, being immersed in the

sweet nectar of the Madhva philosophy. Not even once did he give up his

teachings and learning; he was steadfast in his determination to live by

whatever came to him unsought and unasked. Still, when his master asked him to

take sanyAsA, he found himself in a grave dilemma. For one thing, he knew that

if he took sanyAsA, he would eventually have to take control of the maTha.

While trying to find a solution to this problem, Vidya Lakshmi herself appeared

before him. She told him that if such great people like himself did not spread

the right philosophy, that of Sri Madhvacharya, the maTha-s would fall into

ruin. The light of Tattvavada would be extinguished by the darkness of

Mayavada. Understanding where his true duty lay, Venkatanatha obeyed Vidya

Lakshmi and took sanyAsA. Sri Sudhindra initiated Venkatanatha on the second

day of the bright half of PAlguNa mAsa in the year durmati corresponding to the

year 1621.He was given the holy name "Raghavandra Tirtha".

Pilgrimages

Sri Raghavendra Tiirta started his services by teaching all the works of

Srimadacharya to his disciples. He propagated right knowledge and vanquished

several opponents. Apart from imparting knowledge and guiding his disciples,he

composed works for the benefit of future generations

Soon after becoming the pIThAdipati, he began a series of piligrimages that took

him to several places. After visiting Dyupuri and Paripurnadevanagara(

Paripurnadevanagara in Sanskrit means "place where God, who is complete in

every way, resides"). At Manishrunga, he taught works such as pramaaNa paddhati

and realized that it would benefit the public, if sub-commentaries were written

on these major works, to make it easier to understand them. So it was here,

that Raghavendra Swami wrote glosses on pramANa paddhati, vaadaavaLi, pramaaNa

lakshaNa and many other works, many of which are known as bhAva dIpas.

He visited Rameshvaram and Madurai. Madurai was the seat of learning in those

days, and one of the experts there was Neelakanta Dikshit. After seeing the

lucid yet powerful style with which Raghavendra Swami debated, he was convinced

that Raghavendra Swami's master was really pUrNaprajna. When Neelakanta tried

testing Raghavendra Swami on various sutras, Raghavendra Swami showed him the

work he had just finished-Bhatta Sangraha. Neelakanta was so thrilled by the

depth of this work and how well it propounded Sri Madhvacharya's philosophy,

that he had it placed on an elephant and taken on a ceremonial procession.

At Srirangam, he gave extensive discourses on upanishads especially the

Ishaavaasya upanishad. His disciples requested him to write a book, explaining

the meanings of all the mantras, as well as their commentaries and glosses, of

all the Upanishads. He wrote glosses on the Ishaavaasya, thalavakaara, kaataka,

ShaTpraShNa, mundaka, maanDukya, taittarIya, bR^ihadAruNyaka, and chanDogya

Upanishads. He was about to write one for the aitareya, as well, but he wanted

to give the honor to his disciple, Smrutimuktavali Krishnacharya, who had

already completed the work. Raghavendra Swami wanted to keep his oath of

writing a gloss on all the Upanishads, so he wrote a gloss on only the mantra

part of the Upanishad-aitareya mantraartha sangraha

He visited Vishnumangala,where Trivikrama Panditacharya had debated Madhvacharya

for fifteen days,and finally had become an ardent worshipper of Madhvacharya.

Sri Raghavendra,then visited Subramanya and then Udupi,where he started giving

discourse on Sarvamula Granta. He wrote a gloss for the Vyasaraya Tattparya

Chandrika, called Chandrika Prakasha. Seeing his students struggle to

understand this tough text, he wrote the meanings of the Sutras, called

Tantradipika and the meanings of adhikAranas, known as Nyayamukthavali. At

Udupi, he sang his famous "Indu Enage Govinda" song upon seeing Udupi Sri

Krishna.

At Bidarahalli he met Srinivasacharya who was a unique householder. The glosses

that he had written were already well known. Sri Raghavendra examined his works

and was filled with admiration for Srinivasacharya, who, though being a

householder,dedicated himself completely to the spreading of knowledge and

learning. Raghavendra Swami bestowed upon him the name Srinivasa Tirtha, as a

mark of his high learning.

After leaving Bidarahalli, he went to Pandarapur, Kohlapur, & Bijapur defeating

Mayavadins, spreading Tattvavada philosophy, and giving Taptamudhradaran, thus

initiating them into Vaishnavism. While residing on the banks of river Krishna,

he wrote a tippani for Tattva Prakashika called Bhavadipa. He wrote a direct

commentary on Anubhashya, called Tattva Manjari

At Malkhed he celebrated the Suddha Mangala of his teachings and discourses.

Malkhed is situated on the Kagini River and is the place of Sri Jayatirtha's

Brindavan. Raghavendra Swami explained that, just the way Kagini River joins

Bhima river, then Krishna River, and finally the ocean, Sri Jayathirtha's work

explains Bhashya of Sri Madhvacharya, who in turn tells us of Lord Krishna, who

is an ocean of auspicious qualities.

Raghavendra Swami undertook extensive tours, under so many odds, visiting

Tirupati, Srisailam, Kumbakonam, and Kanchi. He neither stopped teaching his

devotees nor did he stop writing books. He took a vow to write Tippanis for all

the Tikas of Sri Jayathirtha. When he had completed tippanis for 17 of the 18

Tikas of Sri Jayatirtha, Lakshminarayanacharya, his son, shows him his work on

Rig Bhashya, written along Raghavendra Swami's line of teaching. This great

saint felt that his disciple's teaching should be shown to the rest of the

world, so instead of writing a Tippani, he wrote a Rigartha Manjari, a

vivritti, which gives the meaning of the first 40 suktas. He wrote

Mantroddhara, which gives details of all mantras according to Tantrasara.. By

understanding the mantras according to Tantrasara, it is possible to perform

many impossible tasks, through the grace of Sri Hari, by leading an austere

life.

During his pilgrimages, Raghavendra Swami not only covered a vast area

geographically in the days when road conditions were poor and travel was

arduous, but also wrote several works covering a vast area of the Tattvavada

philosophy. He convincingly defeated many Advaitin pandits, through the grace

of bhArati ramaNa mukhyaprANAntargata srIlaxmInArAyaNa.

Miracles

Although Raghavendra Swami performed various miracles, the most significant

miracle lies in the vast literature he left behind & his contribution to the

philosophy of Sri Madhvacharya. He wrote extensive commentaries on the

upanishads, bhagavad gIta, vedAs, as well as several granthas that Madhvacharya

wrote.

The Tanjavore district was under a great drought at that time. Raghavendra Swami

made the ruler perform appropriate rituals and ceremonies. Soon afterwards, rain

once again fell upon the lands. The king, to show his gratitude offered

Raghavendra Swami a priceless necklace, which Raghavendra Swami in turn put

into the Yajna as an offering to Lord Vishnu, who had really brought the region

out of the drought. The king grew angry at what he thought was an insult.

Raghavendra Swami immediately brought back the necklace from the fire. The

king, realizing that for one who renounced the world a necklace meant nothing,

asked for Raghavendra Swami's forgiveness.

Raghavendra Swami visited Bijapur, where the scorching heat was unbearable. One

brahmin was overcome by the heat and fell down, unable to get up. Raghavendra

Swami recited a mantra, and water sprung up from the scorching sands, which

saved the Brahmin's life. In another instance, a child was traveling with an

entourage, through a desert. The heat was so unbearable that the child started

to cry. Raghavendra Swami threw his upper cloth towards the child. Flying

through the air, it gave shade to the child for the rest of the journey

At that time there was a Desai who had no faith in God or the Vedas. He would

challenge scholars to make a twig sprout, using Vedic mantras. No one was able

to do this. So then the people called Raghavendra Swami to prove to the Desai

the power of the Vedas. He sprinkled some water on the twig while reciting a

Vedic mantra. Right before the Desai's eyes, the twig began to sprout. This

incident instilled deep faith in the hearts of many scholars who were present.

They had heard that Raghavendra Swami, in his earlier days, had made the cool

sandalwood paste burn, by reciting the Agni Sukta, then made it cool again by

reciting Varuna Sukta. After witnessing the twig sprout with their own eyes,

they believed that such miracles were possible through the grace of the Lord.

The Desai, himself, who used to scoff the Vedas, became a true believer in God

and upheld the Vedas, with Raghavendra Swami as his guiding light.

Raghavendra Swami, while performing miracles clearly stated that what he did was

not magic or sorcery or witchcraft. It was not Patanjali's yoga, but the yoga of

the Bhagavad Gita. The aim of his miracles was to remove the suffering of those

who seek refuge in him and thus draw them towards God and religion.

Last speech of Raghavendra Swami

The following is taken from "Raghavendra Darshanaa: Glimpse of Sri Raghavendra

Tirtha : Saint of Mantralaya",by Prof. Vyasanakere Prabhanjanacharya

The day that Raghavendra Swami had chosen to enter Brindavan (Virodhikruth

Samvatsara, Shravana Masa, krishna paksha, Dvitiya : 1671 A.D.) had come.

Thousands of people had congregated there, hearing that Raghavendra Swami would

enter Brindavan. The crowd contained devotees as well as doubters. Some people

had come just to make fun of what was going on. The devotees were filled with

anxiety; they didn't want their revered Guru to leave them. There were also

people who were merely curious, just to see what would happen-although Sri

Vadiraja Tirtha had entered the brindavan in the same manner, alive, in the

year 1600 A.D, there were few who had witnessed that. Those who had only heard

about it were greatly curious to see such a miracle with their own eyes.

Sri Raghavendra, as was his daily practice, got up before dawn meditating on Sri

Hari and finished his bath during the early hours itself. After his japa and

dhyana he conducted the morning discourse. His disciples were in deep sorrow at

the thought that this was going to be their master's last discourse. Their

master was filled with an overwhelming desire to teach as much as possible and

the disciples were anxious and eager to absorb everything. The subject matter

was as usual Srimadacharya's Bhashya and Sri Jayatirtha's commentary for it.

That day's discourse was the culmination of his life's mission. For the

thousands that had gathered there the realisation that such a treasure-house of

knowledge would leave them forever filled them with pain and agony. The

discourse came to an end. After bathing once again, he started the puja of Sri

Rama and other icons of the samsthan. After going through all the details of

the puja he blessed the entire gathering with tirtha, prasad and

phalamantrakshata. As the appointed time was nearing he went to the spot that

was already chosen and sat in padmasan. He had his japa mala in his right hand

and in front of him were all the moola granthas, sarva moola, tikas and

tippanis on the vyasa peetha. For a while he was lost in contemplation; then

Sri Raghavendra started his soul-stirring speech.

"Hereafter I will disappear from your sight. The Lord who sent me to you has

Himself ordered me to return to Him today. I have completed His task. Everyone

has to obey His orders - coming here and returning when He calls us back. You

need not feel sad that I am leaving you. The moola granthas, sarva moola and

their commentaries will be your guiding light. Never give up their study under

a worthy master. The Lord has blessed us with this priceless life just to study

them. The shastras have an answer for all our mundane problems. Follow the

shastras and listen to the words of the enlightened. Put into practice as much

as you can whatever you learn. The shastraic way of life is the royal road to

peace, prosperity and happiness.

The search for knowledge is never easy. As the Upanishads say it is like walking

on the razor's edge. But for those who have strong faith and put in sustained

effort and have the blessings of Sri Hari and Sri Madhvacharya, this is not

difficult. Always keep away from people who merely perform miracles without

following the shastras and yet call themselves God or guru. I have performed

miracles, and so have great persons like Srimadacharya. These are based on yoga

siddhi and the shastras. There is no fraud or trickery at all. These miracles

were performed only to show the greatness of God and the wonderful powers that

one can attain with His grace. Right knowledge (jnana) is greater than any

miracle. Without this no real miracle can take place. Any miracle performed

without this right knowledge is only witchcraft. No good will come to those who

perform such miracles and also those who believe in them.

The Lord is full of auspicious qualities and absolutely faultless. There is no

virtue that does not exist in Him. He is the Lord of Ramaa, Brahma and all

other devathas at all times and in all ways. His form is beyond prakrithi

(nature). His body is made up of jnana and ananda. He is omnipresent and

omniscient. All the jivas are subservient to Him. Mahalaksmi who is ever

liberated is His consort. All jivas (souls) are not equal. There is gradation

amongst them and they are of three types. Whatever state they attain finally is

in keeping with their intrinsic nature. The sattvik souls attain moksha which is

a state of eternal bliss. The tamasic souls attain eternal hell where there is

all pervading darkness. This is a state of eternal sorrow. The rajasic souls

keep rotating in samsara always, experiencing both happiness and sorrow. The

shastras declare such a three fold classification and gradation of souls. It

can be seen everywhere in

this world. There are several schools of philosophy which go against these

tenets and declare that there is no God, no dharma, this world is false; there

is nothing but void; the jivas and Brahma are the same; there is no three fold

classification or gradation, all the jivas are equal to Brahma, the Vedas are

not true, Brahman is nirguna (attribute less), nirakara (formless). None of

these philosophies are correct. The world that we see is real; this world has a

master; he is neither nirguna nornirakara. The shastras declare Him to be

nirguna and nirakara because He is devoid of the three qualities of sattva,

rajas, and tamas (unlike us). For the suffering soul His grace is the only

means to attain salvation which is eternal bliss. Those who forsake Him will

never be truly happy.

Without right living, right thinking will never come. Right living is performing

one's ordained duties according to one's station in life without hankering after

the fruits of the actions and on the other hand offeringall one's activities to

the Lord. This is real sadachara (right living). This is real karma yoga.

Another facet of right living is performing right rituals and observing fasts.

Fasting on ekadashi and krishnashtami is compulsory for everyone. Both men and

women belonging to all walks of life have to observe this. Those who give up

this will always have the doors of the Lord's home closed. This is what the

shastras declare. Observance of chaturmasya vrata is another compulsory mode of

worship. Along with this, vishnupanchaka and other vaishnava vratas can be

performed according to one's capacity. The main goal of all such vratas is to

earn His grace and love.

One should always be careful never to harm or hurt another. Philosophical

thought is very necessary for the soul's growth. Without philosophical thought

we can not arrive at the right conclusions. But let there be no personal

enmity. Social work done for the good of worthy people should also be

considered as the Lord's worship. In short our life itself is a worship.Every

action is a puja. This life is precious. Every second of our life is precious.

Not even a second that has gone will come back. Listening to the right shastras

and always remembering Him is the highest duty. Without this life becomes

meaningless. Have devotion to the Lord. This devotion should never be blind

faith. Accepting the Lord's supremacy wholeheartedly is true devotion. Blind

faith is not devotion. It is only stupidity. We should have devotion, not only

for the Lord, but also for all other deities and preceptors in keeping with

their status. In short having

devotion to those above us, goodwill amongst those who are our equals and having

affection for those who are below us are the excellent values of life. Anybody

who approaches you should not go heavy at heart or empty handed. Spirituality

can never exist without social grace. And social life without spirituality is

no life at all. Spirituality never denies any virtue. But always remember that

the Lord is the home of all values. The world does not exist for our sole

pleasure and enjoyment. The thought that we are here for the good of the world

is real spirituality. While incorporating right thinking and right values in

our life we should also make it a habit to give up wrong values and wrong

thinking. If we do not fight against them it amounts to approving them. But

such disapproval should never turn to cruelty. It should be within the limits

of justice. The outstanding feature of this should be love for truth and not

personal hatred.

This is our philosophy. This is Srimadacharya'a philosophy. This is the

philosophy all the shastras proclaim. This is the philosophy that kings and

sages like Janaka and Sanaka believed and followed. The Lord's devotees like

Dhruva and Prahlada incorporated this philosophy in their lives. Those who

believe and live by this philosophy will never come to any harm is the

assurance of the Lord.Being God's devotees you should honour and respect His

devotees. Help as much as you can those who seek your aid. But always remember

your duties. Offer all your actions to the Lord and never hanker after temporal

gains. All actions performed with a selfish motive is like milk turned sour.

There can be no higher motive than the motive to please God and the motive of

earning jnana (right knowledge). But giving up all actions and following

unworthy methods is like taking poison which will destroy us completely. It was

Srimadacharya who preached this

wonderful philosophy. The same Vayu who manifested as Hanumantha to serve Lord

Sri Rama and as Bhimasena to serve Lord Sri Krishna also manifested as

Srimadacharya and preached this philosophy. This was his service to Lord Sri

Vedavyasa. His life, like his works was philosophy itself.

Now I take leave of you. Though I will not be with you in person my presence

will be in my works and in my brindavan. You can serve me best by propagating,

studying, preserving and listening to my works. My blessings to you."

The message of the master gave new light to all the people gathered there. He

had revealed to them the secret of his philosophy which he believed in, the

philosophy which he preached and the philosophy by which he lived all his life.

But the pain of separation made them forget the happiness that his message gave

them. As they were hearing his sermon, they realized that he was a true jnani,

a yogi, a scholar and a radiant monk possessing a soft and compassionate heart.

Fear of displeasing him was the only reason why they held back their tears.

After this Sri Raghavendra began reciting the pranava mantra. In a very short

time he was lost in meditation. He reached the highest point in mediation. His

face was serene. He was shining with a rare brilliance. All the learned people

who had gathered there were reminded of the sloka from the Bhagavad Gita :

omityekaksharaM brahma vyaaharan.h maamanusmaran.h yaha prayaathi tyajan.h dehaM

sa yaathi paramaaM gathim.h

At one stage the japamala in the master's hand became still. Venkanna and other

disciples who understood this sign started arranging the slabs around him. They

arranged the slabs up to his head and then, as per his earlier instructions,

they placed a copper box containing 1200 Lakshminarayana saligramas that had

been specially brought from Gandaki river. Then they placed the covering slab

over it and filled it with earth. They poured twelve thousand varahas

(abhisheka) over the brindavan that they had built.

Appanacharya was very close to Raghavendra Swami. At the time that Raghavendra

Swami entered Brindavan, he was on the other side of the river Tungabhadra.

Appanacharya wanted to be with his revered guru, but the river was flooding. He

jumped into the Tungabhadra, singing Sri Poornabhodha stotra, realizing that if

Raghavendra Swami could lead him across the ocean of samsara, a mere river

could not hold him back. And he did cross the river safely, only to see that

Raghavendra Swami had already entered Brindavan. Appanacharya was in such a

profound state of grief, that he could not finish the stotra he had started to

compose-it was missing 7 aksharas. These final 7 aksharas came from inside the

Brindavan. Not only did this show that Appanacharya's Sri Poornabhodha had

Raghavendra Swami's approval, but it also showed that Raghavendra Swami was

still with them. This was the first miracle he showed after entering Brindavan,

and even today miracles happen to people who go to Mantralaya

Brindavan to seek his blessings.

The speech that Sri Raghavendra Swami gave just prior to entering Brindavan, is

a concise summary of the philosophy of Sri Madhvacharya. In this materialistic

world, such values and morals that Sri Raghavendra Swami, and many other great

souls propagated will lead us to true happiness. It is our 'saubhAgya' that we

have such people like these to both guide us on the path of right knowledge and

lead us away from the path of incorrect knowledge.

Sri Raghavendra Swami Moola Brindavan

The original Raghavendra Swami Brindavan is located in Mantralaya, which is in

Western Andhra Pradesh, in the district of Kurnool. Routes from Hyderabad,

Bangalore, Raichur, and Bellary, are shown on the map. It is possible to get

there by rental van, bus, or train. The colloquial name for the place,

Maanchale, has been sanskritized into Mantralaya. Under the grace of Sri

Raghavendra, Mantralaya has become a pilgrimage center, where devotees flock to

view a glimpse of the Brindavan of this great saint.

BusesMany South Indian cities are connected to Mantralaya by bus--Bangalore,

Tirupati, Mangalore, Madras, Hyderabad, Bellary and Mysore. The most convenient

bus from Bangalore leaves at 9:15 pm & reaches Mantralaya at 6 am, the next day.

The conducted tours from Hyderabad are typically 7 hours long(one way), leaving

every Saturday at 9.30 am and returning on Sunday at 9.00pm. They usually cover

the Brindavan as well as the Raghavendra Swamy Temple.

TrainThe nearest Railway station is MANTRALAYA ROAD, which is about 12KM from

Mantralaya. Most of the trains stop here except for the super fast trains. From

Bombay convenient trains are "DADAR MADRAS mail", which leaves Dadar at about

2PM & reaching Mantralaya Road at about 4AM next day, and Bombay Mail. After

reaching Mantralaya Road, a bus or rental van can be taken to Mantralaya (about

1 hr ride). Address of the Mantralaya Temple

Sri Raghavendra Swamy MathaMantralayam 518 345Kurnool Dist Andhra Pradesh,

India.The Administrative Officer to contact is Mr. Rama Rao. Telephone number:

59429 and 59459. STD code: 8512 If calling from the US, dial

011-91-8512-59429 or 59459 If going to Mantralaya from the US, please use the

"USA Guest House" which is one suite in a set of four. To use this, it is

better to call Sri Gururaja Rao (contact us if you want his phone number).

Suggested Plan

Try to reach Mantralaya before 7 a.m .There are quite a few

choultry/accommodation available. Take tickets for "Sevas" as early as

possible. People generally take a dip in Tungabadhra before doing the Seva Get

ready by 8 a.m to do Sankalpa of Sevas. Get the Darshanam of Panchamrita,

Kanaka Pooja and other Sevas. Then do Pradakshina and Namaskara . Around

noon,adjacent to the Brindavan,watch the Mahapooja to Moola Rama,Mukhyaprana

and Brindavana Tiirtha prasada [lunch] is served around 1 p.m.

Rates of Specific Endowment Sevas Note : -The sevas below will be performed on

the date/thithi intended by the party/devotee and after one year of the date of

remittance. As these sevas will be performed on the interest received from the

fixed deposit amount. -Cheques/D.Ds may be sent in favour of Manager, SRS

Mutt. Matryalayam-518345 (AP) INDIA, drawn on SBI branch Mantralayam.

Seva

Amount (Rs.)

Kanaka Kavacha Samarpana

20,210

Sarva Samarpana

12,700

Rajatha Rathotsavam

6,700

Poorna Seva

4,650

Kanaka Maha pooja

3,300

Maha Pooja

1,900

Sarva Seeva

1,150

Utsavarayara Pada Pooja

950

Pratyaksha Gajavahana Utsavaam

1,550

Ksheerabhishekam

460

Gruta Nanda Deepam **

1,070

Taila Nanda Deepam **

660 **: 1 month in a year

This is a picture of the Moola Brindavan of Sri Raghavendra Swami in Mantralayam.

The padukas are those actually worn by Sri Raghavendra Swami. The Vigraha at the

top is Moola Rama Vigraha.

Trains Mantralayam has got a railway station 14 kilometers away from the

village. The station is known as MANTRALAYAM ROAD and its local name is

Tungabhadra Station. From the station to Mantralayam, you can take the local

vehicles or bus. The Mantralayam Road is on the train route between

Mumbai-Madras, Delhi-Bangalore, Hyderabad-Mumbai. Buses The goverments of

Andhra Pradesh, karnataka and Tamilnadu have provided bus faclities to

Mantralayam. You can contact your local bus station for more infomation. To

quote, some of the important bus stations around Mantralayam are

Yemmiganur-Adoni-Kurnool (Andhra Pradesh), Raichur-Bellary (Karnataka).

Archak Parimala Achar & Brothers,Hare Srinivasa, besides SRS MUTT,Mantralayam -

518345Andhra Pradesh, INDIAEMAIL: vyasrajachar TELEPHONE:

+091-8512-259442

MANTHRALAYAM

Madhwa Saint Sri Raghavendra attained his Samadhi at Mantralayam near Kurnool

some 300 years ago. A large number of followers and devotees of all religious

sects throng this little town located on the banks of river Tungabhadra all

through the year.

pUjyAya rAghavendrAya satyadharmaratAya chabhajatAM kalpavR^ixAya namatAM

kAmadhenavedurvAdidhvAntaravaye vaishhNavIndIvarIndaveshrI rAghavendragurave

namo.atyantadayALuve

(I worship as the Kalpa-vrksha, and salute as the kAmadhenu the esteemed

RaghavEndra who is always engrossed in the true dharma;. He is a brilliant sun

who destroys the false arguer, and a moon that casts a mellow light upon the

ViShNu bhaktas; salutations to that Guru ShrI RAghavEndra; salutations to the

one of extremely kind disposition.)

Raghavendra Theertha is the patron hindu saint at Mantralayam is verily the

wishing tree, divine jewel all in one, fulfilling the righteous desires to all

those deserving souls, who visit mantralayam (Picture on the side: Brindavan of

Raghavendra Swamy at Mantralayam) and pray for his benevolence. No one has

returned disappointed as the sage who is verily present to this date(from:1671

AD) in the Holy Brindavan answers all the prayers, grants all desires and makes

the devotees happy. He recommends his deserving devotees for Moksha [Theory of

school of thought where God and any other thing is not one. God is supreme,

independent doer of every thing (Sarva Karthru) and is controller of all from

his consort Lakshmi Devi tothe lowest living or non living thing. He is ocean

of all the finest attributes and is the friend philosopher and guide to the

worthy for their remption and grant of Moksha). Numberless celestials right

from Goddess Lakshmi

devi to the lowest straw await his orders to serve him and have his grace and

stand reverentially aside in great respect and awe]. Moksha giver is Lord Hari

..Sri Raghavendra is a proponent of Madhva 's philosophy Dvaita. He also gives

importance to correct knowledge or understanding of God and has a great

affection for seekers of knowledge. He has written numerous works, elaborating

on several aspects of Dvaita (For more on Dvaita Philosophy please visit, most

comprehensive site www.dvaita.org) . He is kindest sage, who showers blessings

irrespective of religion, cast, creed or Race. The Picture above (Top Left)

represents Guru Raghavendra as a Kamadhenu (Wishing Cow) and Kalpahavriksha

(Wishing Tree), celestial cow and tree which gives whatever you wish.

View of Moola Brindavana at Mantralaya

Shunku Karna (A Devta) was cursed to be born, into the world, as Prahladha,

son of demon king Hiranyakashyapu, who had extreme devotion to Sri Hari. Lord

Hari took Narashima Avtara to Kill the demon King (his father) .In his next

birth, he was born , as Bahlika during the Period of Mahabharatha, he fought

against the pandvas, but he was a great Hari Bhaktha, he was willing to die at

the hands of Bheema (One of the Pandavas). In his Next birth, he was destined

to be one of the the great Madhwa saints, Vyasaraja . Displeased with the

amount of seva he performed for Hari, he was born again as Venkatanatha, who

became Guru Raghavendra, one of the greatest madhwa saints. Guru Raghavendra

is not visible to us now but was visible to Sir Thomas Munroe, the collector of

India about 150 years ago when British Ruled India. He is very much present in

the Brindavan alive (in athma form) at Mantralayam to this

332nd year of entry into his Brindavan as on 15.8.2003.He is still performing

many miracles ,it is said Deserving Blind get their Sight, Deserving Deaf and

Dumb hear and Speak, all evils vanish by saying "OM SHRI RAGHAVENDRA" with

devotion and by pleasing Guru Raghavendra . For more information on the content

in this page, please see the links or E-mail me, I would be glad to be in the

service of my Guru . Devotees pray to Sri Raghavendra by chanting the famous

shloka "...pUjyAya rAghavendrAya satyadharmaratAya cha | bhajatAM kalpavR^ixAya

namatAM kAmadhenave ||durvAdidhvAntaravaye vaishhNavendIvarendave

|shrIrAghavendragurave namo.atyantadayAlave ||". Sri Raghavendra is considered

to be magnanimous and benevolent. Countless devotees of his testify to the

miracles he has performed (humble attempt has been provided, to elaborate a few

in the miracles page). In this site we have also attempted to represent the

sentiments of devotees, of Guru

Raghavendra rather than representing him as just another Madhwa scholar as

portrayed in other Web Sites. For a complete Life history of Guru Raghavendra,

Please go to download section and download the E-Book, "HISTORY OF GURU

RAGHAVENDRA" , printed on Paperback by Sri Raghavendra Swamy Matha,

Mantrlaayam.

pUjyAya rAghavendrAya satyadharmaratAya chabhajatAM kalpavR^ixAya namatAM

kAmadhenavedurvAdidhvAntaravaye vaishhNavIndIvarIndaveshrI rAghavendragurave

namo.atyantadayALuve

(I worship as the Kalpa-vrksha, and salute as the kAmadhenu the esteemed

RaghavEndra who is always engrossed in the true dharma;. He is a brilliant sun

who destroys the false arguer, and a moon that casts a mellow light upon the

ViShNu bhaktas; salutations to that Guru ShrI RAghavEndra; salutations to the

one of extremely kind disposition.)

Introduction Antecedents: It is popular belief, based on testimonials from

aparOxa gyAnis, that the incarnations of rAyaru are as follows - Sankukarna –

PrahlAda – bAhlIka – vyAsa tIrtha –Guru rAyaru (Guru Raghavendra). Let us take

a closer look at each person in the lineage.

Sankukarna was a karmaja dEvata assisting chaturmukha brahma in the pUja of the

Lord. One day, he was a little late in bringing flowers for the pooja and brahma

cursed him to be born on the earth. Obviously this was a pretense since brahma

is beyond flaws like anger, greed etc. The real intention of brahma was to pave

the way for the incarnation of narasimha and also to show the world the

greatness of sankukarna.

The story of prahlAda is very well known and needs no further elaboration.

BAhlIka was a very pious king in dvApara yuga. He was a great devotee of Lord

Krishna, but due to circumstances beyond his control he ended up fighting

against the pAnDavas. He wanted to die at the hands of bhIma and so challanged

him to a fight, but bhIma was reluctant to hurt a devotee of the Lord. BAhLika

begged him to kill him so that he could take future births and serve him (bhIma

or madhvAchArya) with devotion. BhIma agreed to do that provided bAhlika hit the

first blow. When bAhlika did as directed, bhIma hit him gently with his

formidable mace. Thus bAhlIka got the death he wanted, a heart full of devotion

towards Krishna, and the divine sight of Krishna and bhIma at the time of his

death.

BAhlIka was reborn as vyAsa tIrtha, one of the most revered mAdhva saints. He

was an excellent writer with several great works to his credit, the chief ones

being tAtparya chandrika, tarka tAnDava and nyAyamruta. He was the revered

rAjaguru who helped king krishnadEvarAya through several major crisis in his

life. He was the jeweler who gave us precious gems like purandara dAsaru and

kanakadAsaru, and did invaluable service to the cause of haridAsa sAhitya.

Above all, he was a very great devotee of hari and vAyu, who established over

732 hanumanta icons including the famous yantrodhdhAraka temple in hampi,

personally worshipped Lord Venkateshwara in tirupati for over 12 years and

composed hundreds of devotional songs.

vyAsa tIrtha was reborn as venkaTanAtha (who later became rAyaru), with the

special grace of hari and vAyu dEvaru. This belief is based on the testimonial

of aparOxa gyAnis and has never been questioned.

ShrI vijaEndra tIrtha and sudhIndra tIrtha:

shrI vyAsa tIrtha had many illustrious disciples, but shri vijayIndra tIrtha

was his favorite. VyAsarAyaru was grooming him to be his successor, but

destiny willed otherwise. vijayIndraru was handed over to shrI surEndra

tIrtharu of vibhudEndra maTha (as it was known then).

Birth and childhood

The fall of the vijayanagar kingdom had an adverse effect on many scholars who

depended on royal patronage. Most of them moved south with their families,

finding refuge with southern kings and chieftains. One such scholar was

Thimmanna Bhatta, grandson of Krishnabhatta, who had tutored King

Krishnadevaraya in the veena. Thimmanna belonged to the gautama gOtra and was

married to GopikAmba. Initially, this couple had 2 children – GururAja and

VenkATamba. Later in 1595, by the grace of Lord Venkateshwara, a third son was

born to this couple. They named him VenkaTanAtha (some books refer to him as

Venkanna bhatta).

Education

VenkaTanAtha proved to be a very brilliant scholar. This greatness was visible

even he was a child. For example, he is supposed to have questioned his father

as to how a small object like ‘Om’ could capture the infinite greatness of god.

However, his father did not live long enough to see the greatness of his son, he

passed away when VenkaTanAtha was still at a very young age.

VenkaTanAtha’s brother took care of his upbringing. The initial portion of his

education was under his brother-in-law LakshmInarasimhAchArya of Madurai.

Married life along with continued education

Upon returning from Madurai, VenkaTanAtha was married to Saraswati, who was

from a noble family. The Shastras say that for one who has control of his

senses, wedded life does not hamper learning. For VenkaTanAtha, most of his

learning occurred after marrying Saraswati, through the blessings of Goddess

Saraswati. So VenkaTanAtha went to Kumbhakonam, the seat of learning at the

time. There he studied dvaita vEdanta, advanced works on grammer and other

sastras under sudhIndra tIrtha. He used to stay awake past midnight to write

his own comments and notes on the lessons that had been done. He engaged in

debate and defeated several scholars of opposing doctrines; one of them was

Venkatesvara dIkshita, a famous scholar of the Tanjore court in 1620. Though

his victory was not unexpected sudhIndra tIrtha was surprised at his

scholarship in grammar, profound knowledge and rare debating skill, and called

him "MahAbhAshya VenkaTanAthAchArya". Similarly he

explained the significance of taptamudra dhAraNa quoting several smR^iti-s that

the opponents had to accept his arguments were irrefutable.

Married Life - utter, dire poverty haunts venkaTanAtha

VenkaTanAtha’s brother arranged for his marriage with saraswathi, a lady from a

good family. Saraswathi proved to be an ideal wife to VenkaTanAtha, and the

couple had a son whom they named lakshmInArAyaNa.

VenkaTanAtha was a skilled musician and a great scholar, but he never demanded

any money for his services and accepted whatever was offered to him. Since this

happened very rarely, he had little or no means to support his family and had to

endure a life of utter, dire poverty. A description of the hardhips faced by him

will melt anybody’s heart. If other families observed EkAdashi twice a month,

VenkaTanAtha’s family did that several times in a week. His poverty was so

stark that he could not afford a drop of oil to take an oil-bath on a festival

day like dIpAvali. His family did not see new clothes for years. Inspite of all

this, he never lost his equanimity or wavered in his faith towards the Lord. He

continued his self-study, and free teachings, determined to live by whatever

came to him unsought and unasked.

Playing with fire - disrespecting a true hari bhakta

VenkaTanAtha once attended a wedding. Since he was poor and not well dressed,

the hosts did not treat him well. They thought that he had come for the free

food and wanted him to earn his meal. To this end, they asked him to grind

sandalwood and generate the paste, to which he readily agreed. Out of habit, he

started reciting vedic sUktas while grinding. Soon, the task was done and the

paste was handed over to the Brahmins attending the function. When they applied

the paste to their bodies, they experienced a strong burning sensation. On

further enquiry it was found that unknowingly VenkaTanAtha had recited agni

sUkta while grinding the paste. The Brahmins immediately understood that the

VenkaTanAtha was a divine personality and his recitation of agni sUkta had

invoked the presence of agni in the paste. The host begged VenkaTanAtha for

forgiveness and asked him to generate some paste while reciting varuna sUkta.

When this paste was applied, the

burning subsided. Such was the potency of mantras recited by VenkaTanAtha.

The point to note is that he did not deliberately do this out of anger or sorrow

at the host’s disgusting behavior. He took everything with equanimity and did

what came naturally to him – pray to the Lord through vedic hymns. It was

Divine will that the world at large should learn about the greatness of

VenkaTanAtha, and that’s why he ended up reciting agni sUkta.

Return to sudhIndra tIrtha’s care

To add insult to injury, thieves raided VenkaTanAtha’s house one day and looted

whatever little he had in terms of vessels, clothes. After this, he decided to

seek refuge in shrI sudhIndra tIrtha as there was absolutely no way of

maintaining his family.

Entry into asceticism

shrI sudhIndra tIrtha was on the lookout for a suitable successor to carry on

the glorious tradition of his maTha. The more he saw of VenkaTanAtha, the

greater was his conviction that he was the right successor. One day, he

received an indication in his dream that VenkaTanAtha would be the most ideal

successor he could get. He was overjoyed and immediately acted upon this

suggestion. He communicated his desire to VenkaTanAtha. VenkaTanAtha was on the

horns of a dilemma since he was torn between 2 powerful forces – his respect for

sudhIndra tIrtha’s words and his responsibilities as a householder. Finally,

after great deliberation, he told sudhIndra tIrtha that he could not take up

this responsibility as he had a young wife and a son who was yet to undergo

upanayanam. sudhIndra tIrtha was disappointed but not disheartened as he knew

ultimately Divine will would prevail and VenkaTanAtha would accede to his

request.

Becomes sanyAsi after vidyA lakshmi requests him

That night VenkaTanAtha had a very strange dream. Vidya Lakshmi Herself

appeared before him and told him, “After feasting on the intellectual treats

provided by ShrI MadhvAchArya, jaya tIrtha, vyAsa tIrtha, vAdirAja and others,

I am once again starving. The light of tattvavAda created by your beloved

shrImadAchArya will be extinguished by the darkness of other philosophies. To

prevent this from happening, noble souls like you should shed their material

bondage and dedicate themselves to the cause of hari and vAyu. This is both

your duty and your destiny. You are a great soul, destined to provide solace

and succor to millions of needy people. Accept sudhIndra tIrtha’s request and

take up sanyAsa. You are shrI hari’s beloved devotee and this is what He

expects from you”. VenkaTanAtha woke up with a start. His dilemmas were

resolved and he was sure where his responsibilities lay.

He convinced his wife and communicated his assent to sudhIndra tIrtha. Within a

short time, his son LakshmInArAyaNa’s upanayana was performed and everything was

set for his entry into asceticism.

Wife becomes ghost, obtains liberation:

The Sanyasa ordination was arranged to take place on the second day of the

bright half of PAlguNa mAsa in the year durmati corresponding to the year 1621.

The spot chosen was Tanjore, in order to avoid hurting the feelings of

VenkaTanAtha’s young wife Saraswati. Finally, the grand day when VenkaTanAtha

would relinquish his life as a householder and become a sanyAsi arrived.

Saraswathi was required to stay home. However, at the last minute she was

seized by a desire to see her husband’s face for the last time before he became

totally inaccessible to her. With this feeling, she ran towards the maTha

throwing caution to the winds. Unfortunately, she did not see an old and unused

well on the way, and fell into it. She died instantly, but because her death was

an untimely one, she became a ghost. Even as a ghost, her only desire was to see

her husband and so she went to the maTha. By the time she arrived, the function

was over and venkaTanAtha had become

a sanyAsi with the AshramanAma of rAghavEndra tIrtha, the only solace for the

downtrodden, the last resort for those without hope, the only court where every

petitioner is guaranteed to get a patient and understanding hearing, the ocean

of mercy that will never deny a deserving plea for help.

With his divine perception, rAyaru sensed saraswati’s presence, even though she

was a ghost not visible to human eyes. His heart full of mercy, he sprinkled

water from his kamanDala on her. The power of his penance was such that she was

immediately granted moksha or liberation from the cycle of births and deaths.

This was her reward for a lifetime of dedicated and selfless service to a noble

soul.

Ascension as pIThAdhipati (throne of Asecitic)

Around 1623 sudhIndra tIrtha shed his mortal coils at AnEgondi. His brindavan

was consecrated there and rAyaru became the Head of the maTha. Yadavendra, a

senior disciple of sudhIndra tIrtha disputed this, but his claims were set

aside by the Ruler of Tanjore, in favor of rAyaru.

RAyaru started his services by teaching all the works of shrImadAchArya to his

disciples. He propagated right knowledge and vanquished several opponents.

Apart from imparting knowledge and guiding his disciples,he composed works for

the benefit of future generations

Pilgrimages

Soon after becoming the pIThAdipati, he began a series of piligrimages that

took him to several places. Throughout his life, he kept visiting different

centers of learning and religion inspite of the difficulties involved. Consider

some of the odds he faced – lack of roads, lack of transportation means (other

than palanquins), political problems (since there were so many different kings,

some of the muslims, inimical to hinduism), hot weather, lack of maps etc.

Inspite of all these difficulties, he covered a vast area geographically. Some

of the places he visited are Rameshvaram, Madurai, Srirangam, Vishnumangala

(where Trivikrama PanditAchArya had debated MadhvAchArya for fifteen days),

Subramanya, Udupi, Bidarahalli, Pandarapur, Kohlapur, Bijapur, Malkhed,

Tirupati, Srisailam, Kumbakonam, and Kanchi.

Wherever he went, his agenda was simple – spreading the message of

shrImadAchArya, defeating scholars of opposing doctrines, converting deserving

people to dvaita, continuing to write commentaries and notes, teaching shAstras

to enthusiastic students, and encouraging local scholars. Examples of such

events are provided.

He visited Rameshvaram and Madurai. Madurai was the seat of learning in those

days, and one of the experts there was Neelakanta Dikshit. After seeing the

lucid yet powerful style with which rAyaru debated, he was convinced that

rAyaru’s master was really pUrNaprajna. When Neelakanta tried testing him on

various sutras, rAyaru showed him the work he had just finished-Bhatta

Sangraha. Neelakanta was so thrilled by the depth of this work and how well it

propounded shrImadAchArya's philosophy, that he had it placed on an elephant

and taken on a ceremonial procession.

At Bidarahalli he met ShrInivasAchArya who was a unique householder. The glosses

that he had written were already well known. RAyaru examined his works and was

filled with admiration for ShrInivasAchArya, who, though being a householder,

dedicated himself completely to the spreading of knowledge and learning.

RAyaru bestowed upon him the name shrInivAsa tIrtha, as a mark of his high

learning.

He took a vow to write Tippanis for all the Tikas of shrI jayatIrtha. When he

had completed tippanis for 17 of the 18 Tikas of ShrI JayatIrtha, his disciple

LakshmInArAyaNAchArya showed him his work on Rig Bhashya. The great saint felt

that his disciple's teaching should be shown to the rest of the world, so

instead of writing a Tippani, he wrote a Rigartha Manjari, a vivritti, which

gives the meaning of the first 40 suktas Even though he undertook extensive

tours, he did not stop teaching his devotees or stop writing books.

Power to revive the dead

On a hot summer day, rAyaru was on his way home from a pilgrimage. He decided

to rest in the shade of a tree at Krishnapuram (near Hubli). While there, he

saw the Nawab (Muslim king) of the are walking towards him, with a sad

demeanor. The Nawab had heard of his miracles and had come to him as a last

resort. He stated that his young son had died from a poisonous snakebite and

been buried in a tomb close by. After hearing this, rAyaru contemplated

silently for a few moments and then asked the king to take the body out of the

tomb. When the puzzled Nawab did as he was asked, rAyaru sprinkled holy water

from his kamanDala and prayed to his ArAdhya mUrthy (favorite form of the

Lord). Lo behold, the young boy woke up as though he was getting up from sleep.

The Nawab was beside himself with joy.

(Editor’s note: There are some very important points to note in this episode.

Our shAstras talk about the concept of "Ayushya", defined as the total amount

of time that a being is allowed to live on earth, in a particular body. Any

death that happens before this time is untimely and is called "apamRutyu". Our

shAstras say that once "Ayushya" is over death cannot be prevented, since that

is Divine Will. However, "apamRutyu" is a different aspect altogether.

Life-histories of oursaints and other great souls are replete with instances

where they warded off untimely death in deserving cases. In this case, since

the child had suffered apamRutyu, rAyaru used his divine powers to revive it.)

He did a similar thing in another instance. He was visiting the house of a

village chieftain (called Desai). Hundreds of people had assembled for the

occasion. As part of the food served to the guests, seekaraNe (a thick form of

mango juice) was being prepared in a huge vessel. Unfortunately, when nobody

was watching him, the Desai’s son fell into this vessel and drowned. When the

Desai and his wife came to know about it, they were totally devastated.

However, they wanted to hide the news because they did not want to

inconvenience everybody who had assembled there. Being an aparOxa gyani, RAyaru

sensed the tragedy and asked the grief stricken couple to bring the dead boy

before him. When this was done, he sprinkled water from his kamanDala and

revived the boy. The joy of the ecstatic parents knew no bounds.

Those who came to humiliate end up being humiliated

There were some evil people who were jealous of the greatness of rAyaru and

were always looking for opportunities to humiliate him. When some of them heard

of the above incidents, they conspired to come up with a plan to humble rAyaru.

They chose a location that was very close to rAyaru’s location that day and

asked a person to pretend to be dead. They covered his face and sat by his side

wailing as if he was really dead. When rAyaru passed by, some of them approached

him and entreated him to revive this “dead” man. RAyaru looked at the body and

said “I cannot revive him since his Ayushya is over”. This was what the evil

persons wanted to hear. They immediately started condemning him and trumpeted

to the world at large “Look at this charltan. He does not know the difference

between a living and a dead person. Our friend is pretending to be dead. He is

now going to get up and denounce this fraud”. Nothing happened. Then they tried

to wake him up,

thinking that he was asleep. None of their efforts were successful as the person

was truly dead! They realized their mistake and begged rAyaru to revive the

person, but he pleaded his helplessness since the person’s Ayushya was really

over. The men who came to humble rAyaru were themselves humbled and his

greatness became even more enhanced.

A point to note is that rAyaru did not curse the man to die or punish the

evildoers. It was again Divine will that the conspirators chose a person whose

Ayushya was really over and the timing was perfect to humiliate them. The Lord

well and truly protects His beloved devotees.

Three forecasts for the one who took three avatAras

Three famous astrologers, known for their ability to predict the future with

unerring accuracy, once came to cast the horoscope of rAyaru. They did it

separately and came with 3 totally startingly different numbers – 100, 300 and

700! Each was positive about his calculation, but could not explain the

difference. When rAyaru heard about this, he laughed and said “They are

predicting 3 different entities. One is predicting the lifespan of my body,

another my tenure in the brindAvana and the third the influence of my granthAs

(literary works).

Personality that influences even inanimate objects

Once some famous scholars came to meet with rAyaru. One the way they got lost

and wanted to ask for directions. They noticed a washerman walking with his

load on his head, but before asking him a question, they debated amongst

themselves in Sanskrit if it was worthwhile asking somebody who looked like an

ignoramus. Imagine their surprise, when the washerman interrupted their

discussion by saying in chaste sanskrit “If all that you want to know is

directions to meet rAyaru then I should be able to help you”. He then gave

directions in chaste sanskrit to the embrassed scholars, and proceeded on his

way. The scholars rested for a while and then proceeded to the river for their

afternoon sandhya. They saw the washerman sitting on the bank. They politely

asked him in sanskrit if it was okay to perform sandhyAvandana there. He gave

them a blank look and told them rather crudely in the local language “Look, if

you want to speak with me, then use a language

I can understand”. Even from his tone and grammar it was obvious that he was an

illiterate with little or no command over any language. The scholars were

surprised since he had spoken to them in Sanskrit a few moments ago! They

dismissed him as a madman and proceeded with their task. The washerman left

with his load and started walking back slowly. After a while, the scholars

passed him again on the road. This time, he politely asked them in chaste

sanskrit if they had had any difficulty in locating the road and if they needed

any help. The scholars were totally baffled and practically ran away from there.

When they reached the maTha, they spoke to a knowledgeable person and explained

the curious phenomenon they had observed. The person laughed and said “Did the

washerman have his load on his head when he spoke to you?” When the scholars

nodded in reply, he continued “It was not the washerman talking to you. It was

the clothes. He was carrying the clothes that our rAyaru had discarded. As long

as he had the load on his head, he was a totally different person. Once the load

was discarded he became his normal self”. Such was the power of rAyaru’s

personality that even the clothes that he had discarded carried mystical

powers.

Village bumpkin becomes prime minister!

Venkanna was a brahmin boy in a small village under the sovereignty of the

Nawab of Adoni. Due to family problems, he was not tutored or taught any useful

skills. He was assigned to the task of tending the family’s herd of cows, and

thus used to spend his entire days in the countryside watching over the cows.

He had heard of the greatness of rAyaru and was eager to meet him and seek his

blessings. His prayers were heard because one day the retinue of rAyaru passed

close by. He immediately ran to the palanquin that rAyaru was travelling in and

prostrated before it. RAyaru looked at him and inquired about his antecedents.

Venkanna explained his plight and stood with outstretched palms. RAyaru took

pity on the boy and gave him some (mantrAkshate) consecrated rice and told him

“When you are in real distress and need my help, put this on your head and

think of me”. The palanquin moved on. Venkanna tied the precious rice into a

bundle and always carried

it with him.

One day, Venkanna was relaxing under the shade of a tree when he saw a noble

man get down from a horse and rest under the shade of another tree close by.

Curious, he watched him closely and immediately realized that the noble man was

none other than the Nawab himself! Even as this realization dawned on him, he

saw another man on horseback approaching the Nawab. The new person got down

from the horse, prostrated in front of the Nawab and handed him a written

scroll. Now, both the Nawab and the rider were illiterate and needed somebody

to help them. When the Nawab looked around, he saw Venkanna. He also saw

Venkanna’s tuft and his sacred thread and concluded that this was a brahmin.

Since brahmins are usually literate, he felt that his problem was solved. He

beckoned Venkanna and handing him the scroll, commanded him to read. Poor

Venkanna was in a dilemma since he was also illiterate. He could not refuse a

direct order of the Nawab since that would

mean immediate death, nor could he tell the truth that he was illiterate because

the Nawab would not believe him and would think that Venkanna was trying fool

him. Caught in this deadly trap, he suddenly remembered the kind guru who had

promised to help him in his hour of need. He took the consecrated rice and put

it on his head. With this mind full of devotion towards rAyaru and his lips

secretly muttering “rAghavEndra, rAghavEndra”, he boldly opened the scroll. Lo

behold, the characters on the scroll began to make sense and he could read! It

was actually a piece of good news, informing the Nawab that his wife had

delivered a baby boy, thus making him a father, something that he was

passionately yearning for. When he heard the news, he was overjoyed and

immediately took out a pearl necklace from his neck and gave it to Venkanna.

However, rAyaru sitting in Venkanna’s mind did not allow him to be satisfied

with this. He boldly prostrated before the Nawab and told him “If your

Highness is really happy with me, then please give me a good job in your

administration. I will serve you faithfully and honestly to the best of my

ability”. The Nawab was pleased with this answer and accordingly gave him a

good job. Through hard work and diligence, Venkanna worked his way up the ranks

and in a short time became the Nawab’s trusted divan. Thus a chance encounter

with rAyaru transformed Venkanna’s entire life into a bed of roses!

Nawab tests rAyaru and loses

Once rAyaru visited Adoni and accepted Venkanna’s invitation to stay with him.

Venkanna waxed eloquent about rAyaru’s prowess to his Nawab and forced him to

visit rAyaru to pay his respects. Now the Nawab was skeptical about rAyaru and

did not accept any authority other than Allah and his devotees. He wanted to

expose rAyaru and score a point on Venkanna. He secretly ordered for three

silver plates, full of meat, but totally covered with silken cloth to be

prepared. He took this with him and accompanied Venkanna to the pUja. Along

with the offering brought by Venkanna, he also offered his covered plates as

naivedya for mUla rAma. RAyaru saw through his guile and sprinkled water from

his kamanDala on the plates. Later, he ordered the clothes to be removed. The

Nawab was waiting for this moment with bated breath. He was licking his lips in

anticipation of unmasking this brahmin swAmiji. When the clothes were removed,

they revealed 3 plates full of

fresh fruits and flowers! The Nawab was astounded and instantly realized the

greatness of rAyaru, and the great sin he had committed by testing this man of

god. He immediately prostrated before rAyaru and with tears in his eyes begged

his forgiveness. The kind and ever merciful rAyaru forgave him gladly. However,

the Nawab was not satisfied, he begged rAyaru to accept some offering from him.

rAyaru initially refused saying that he was a sanyAsi who had no desire for

worldly things, but the Nawab kept on begging him, so finally he had to agree.

He asked for the Nawab to give him the village of manchAle on the banks of the

tungabhadra. The Nawab was surprised since that was barren land, yielding no

crops or revenue. He tried to talk rAyaru into accepting more fertile land, but

rAyaru would not accept anything other than manchAle. The Nawab immediately

gifted that village to rAyaru.

Two – two – two to enter brindAvana

RAyaru summoned his closest disciples and divan Venkanna and told them of his

intention to enter a brindAvana live. The devotees were devastated but they

could not change his decision since it was Divine will. They wanted to know

when he would do so, but he told them that they would find out at the

appropriate time.

One day, rAyaru was sitting outside under a tree, conducting a shAstra pATha

for this disciples. He suddenly stood up, looked up at the sky and folded his

hands in reverence. His disciples were surprised by this, but they also stood

up and did exactly as he was doing. Within a moment, a fragrant tulsi garland

fell around rAyaru’s neck. When they pressed him for an explanation, he told

them “I just saw Krishna Dvaipayana going in a heavenly chariot to vaikunTha. I

asked him when my turn would come and he held up his Index and middle finger

three times. He finally blessed me by throwing this mAla on me”. The disciples

were greatly intrigued by this and wanted to know the significance of this

two-two-two. Rayaru smiled and told them “It means that I have 2 years, 2

months and 2 days left before entering the brindAvana!” The disciples

calculated the date and concluded that it would be Virodhikruth Samvatsara,

Shravana krishna paksha dwitiya (second day

in the dark half of the moon, in the Hindu year Virodhikruth).

RAyaru select manchAle for his brindAvana

RAyaru summoned his closest disciples and announced his choice of manchAle as

the spot for his brindAvana live in mantrAlaya. They wanted to know what was

special about that spot. RAyaru explained the spiritual significance of

manchAle as follows:

In one of his earlier incarnation, rAyaru as prahlAda had performed a large

yagna in that spot, sanctifying it forever. When arjuna was on his victorious

journey in connection with the rAjasUya yAga being conducted by dharmarAja he

fought with a local king at this spot. Since the king’s chariot was positioned

over that spot, he was invincible. In panic, Arjuna prayed to Krishna for

guidance. Krishna appeared before him and told him to move his chariot a little

backwards. The local king also foolishly moved his chariot forward and lost the

battle immediately. Such was the power of the spot on which prahlAda had

performed his yAga.

Venkanna had a beautiful brindAvana be built for rAyaru. But rAyaru did not

want to use that and asked him to reserve it for a future personality. He then

took Venkanna to a remote spot and showed a black rock. He wanted his

brindAvana to be built using the rock. When venkanna wanted to know what was

special about that rock, rAyaru explained “While searching for sIta, Lord rama

came here. He rested on this rock for a while. Since it has been sanctified by

His touch, this rock is the one I want”. The brindAvana built under Venkanna’s

guidance was used for shrI vAdIndara tIrtha at a later date.

Visits manchAlAmma and obtains permission

Before entering the brindAvana in manchAle, RAyaru decided to seek the

persmission of manchAlamma, the presiding deity of manchAle. Accordingly, he

went to her temple and prayed to her. She immediately appeared before him in

person and encouraged him to ask her for a boon. RAyaru stated his desire. The

dEvi replied “Once your brindAvana is established here, millions will visit

manchAle to seek your blessings. I will be totally forgotten and nobody will

associate this place with me! My temple will fall destitute without anybody to

care for it”. Rayaru replied “I will not let this happen. Here is my promise.

If my devotees visit my brindAvana directly, without going to your temple

first, then I will not help them. So, if they need my grace, they have to visit

your temple first”. When manchAlamma heard this, she was pleased and immediately

granted him permission to enter the brindAvAna in manchAle.

ShrAvana bahula bidige

On the day chosen (Virodhikruth Samvatsara Shravana krishna paksha dwitiya -

1671 A.D.), thousands of people had congregated in manchAle to see this rare

event of a person entering a brindAvana alive. It had been done before only

once – by vAdirAja tIrtha.

As usual, rAyaru got up before dawn, meditating on ShrI Hari and finished his

bath during the early hours itself. After his japa and dhyana he gave a

discourse on ShrIimadAchArya’s works to his fortunate disciples for the last

time. His disciples were grief stricken at the thought that this was going to

be their master's last discourse. The master was filled with an overwhelming

desire to teach as much as possible and the disciples were anxious and eager to

absorb everything. The subject matter was as usual ShrImadAchArya's Bhashya and

ShrI JayatIrtha's commentary for it. That day's discourse was the culmination

of his life's mission. For the thousands that had gathered there the

realisation that they would not see such a treasure house of knowledge

hereafter filled them with pain and agony. The discourse came to an end.

After bathing once again he started the puja of ShrI Rama and other icons of

the samsthan. After going through all the details of the puja he blessed the

entire gathering with tIrtha, prasad and phalamantrakshata. As the appointed

time was nearing he went to the spot that was already chosen and sat in

padmAsana. He had his japa mala in his right hand and in front of him were all

the moola granthas, sarva moola, tikas and tippanis on the vyasa peetha. For a

while he was lost in contemplation; then he started his soul-stirring speech.

The last speech of rAyaru

Please check the following Link

<http://www.gururaghavendra.org/lastspeech.htm>

RAyaru enters brindAvana

RAyaru then took up his veena and started to sing in Bhairavi raaga the famous

song,"Indu Enege Govinda" where he extols the Lord as His only Saviour and that

he should be pardoned for having led an irreligious life without singing his

glories. He ends the song with His mudrika "Dheera Venugopaala Bhaara Kaaniso

Hariye". Just as in His previous avatAra as VyAsaraja in this avatara also the

blue darling of brindAvan in the form of an icon danced to the melodious of his

darling who was going to enter the brindAvan.

After this rAyaru began reciting the pranava mantra. In a very short time he

was lost in meditation. He reached the highest point in mediation. His face was

serene. He was shining with a rare brilliance.

At one stage the japamala in the master's hand became still. Venkanna and other

disciples who understood this sign started arranging the slabs around him. They

arranged the slabs upto his head and then as per his earlier instructions they

placed a copper box containing one thousand two hundred LakshmInArAyaNa

shaligramas that had been specially brought from Gandaki river. Then they

placed the covering slab over it and filled it with earth. They poured twelve

thousand varahas (abhisheka) over the brindavan that they had built. A grand

feast was hosted to commemorate this glorious event.

SAkshI haya syOtra hi

AppanAchArya was rAyaru’s beloved disciple. Most of the sanskrit hymns that we

chant today in honor of rAyaru – rAghavEndra stOtra, mangaLAshTaka, danDaka etc

– are his compositions. On the day rAyaru was entering the brindAvana, he was on

the other side of the tungabhadra river since he had forgotten about the event.

When he was reminded of it, he was aghast at his mistake and ran towards

manchAle. As he was running, he was composing the famous rAghavEndra stotra

(“shrI pUrNabOdha guru tIrtha payobdhi pAra …”). When he reached the river it

was in full spate but he did not care and rushed headlong. The power of his

devotion was so great that the river parted for him and he reached manchAle

quickly. But even this was too late. Just as he came in front of the

brindAvana, the last slab had been laid and his beloved guru had vanished from

his sight forever. Tears started to gush from his eyes and his voice choked.

The stotra had reached its final stanza

“ kirtir divijita vibhutiratula ..” but he could not continue further. Suddenly,

a voice rang out from the brindAvana "sAkshi haya syOtra hI" (meaning that Lord

hayagrIva is the witness to the statements made by appanAchArya in his stOtra,

and that He would make them all come true). Even today, anybody reciting this

stotra with full faith and devotion gets all the grace of rAyaru.

Last shloka of RaghavendraVijayam.

Santam shrIramaNa priyam yativaram vyAsasya bhAvebrishan

DurvArAmitamAyi bhikshutimire paryasya chandram bhuvi/

Satsandasthutamishta dakshitiruham vandAruvi prAshrayam

Tam NatvA sakalo durUhasudrasham samyAti vidyAdikam//

Those people who bow to Shri Raghavendra, the beloved of the Lord of Lakshmi,

who is a venerable yati (saint), who meticulously follows the words of VEda VyAsa,

who dispels the unbearable, boundless darkness of ignorance caused by

illusionist sanyasis just as the moon dispels the darkness,

who is always praised by the noble people, who is verily the wishing tree which

satiates all our wishes and

who is always with devout brahmins will their material wants satisfied be

endowed with spiritual wisdom, and ultimately get aparoksha JnAna. (Supreme

Knowledge)

RAyaru’s literary works

There is a hidden side to the moon that most humans never see or know about. We

have a similar side to rAyaru. Most of us know him only as the kind, merciful

guru who is always forthcoming in our times of need. There are very, very few

people who have not benefitted from his benevolence. One haridAsa says

“dhareyoLu gurugaLa more iDalAgada narEre pApigaLella! (those who cannot or do

not seek refuge in guru are truly sinners)”. This is the side that is well

known. However, there is another side known only to scholars – the writer par

excellence who gave us literary gems that would dazzle with their scholastic

brilliance. Like the legendary bhagIrtatha maharAja who brought the holy ganga

down to earth, rAyaru has made it possible, with his commentaries and notes,

for ordinary people to partake of the ambrosia called madhva shAstra. That is

why knowledgeable people call him as the “madhva matAmbOdhi chandra” (Moon of

the ocean called madhva

shAstra).

Over 40 works have been attributed to rAyaru. Most of these are commentaries on

the works of shrI MadhvAchArya, jayatIrtha and vyAsatIrtha. The rest include a

couple of original works and direct commentaries on the Upanisads and other

works. Most of the works are available today, but some are not, and we know of

them only through oral tradition i.e., some work or some stOtra mentions a work

by rAyaru that is otherwise unknown.

ShrI Rayaru s works are characterized by remarkable clarity of thought,

simplicity of expression and compactness. He has brought even very abstruse

works of dvaita within the understanding of an average student of the shAstras.

This is where the greatness of his success and fame and the universal popularity

of his works lies.

The volume of his output is greater. And he brings to bear on the exposition

of these texts a profound learning in different shAstras, a clear and simple

style and a very lucid way of presenting even the most technical points. It may

be no exaggeration to consider him as the foremost among the major nonpolemical

writers of the Post vyAsa tIrtha period.

VISIT MANTRALAYAM TODAY

A View of Mantralayam SRS Mutt

Map of Mantralayam

Mantralayam is situated in Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh,in India.

Various Buses ply from Madras, Mumbai,Banglore,Hyderabadetc. It is 595 Km from

Madras and 690 km from Mumbai and around 360 Km from Hyderabad. It has many

tourist facilities for pilgrims to stay. It is situated on the banks of river

Thungabadhra. It can also be reached by train. It is on the train route

between Mumbai-Madras , Delhi-Banglore , Hyderbad-Tirupathi. The station name

is "Mantralayam Road", it is 16 Kms from Mantralayam. You can travel to

Mantralayam from Mantralayam Road station by private Jeeps, taxis,

autorickshaws or public bus. Approximate cost of travel per person is Rs.50 for

private transport and Rs.4 for Public Bus. Genrally,the temple is open

between 06:00 and 14:00 and 16:00 to 21:00 (IST). Few years back the golden

chariot was added and is an splendour to watch it come round the prahara.

Silver and Ordinary Chariots are also there and is a divine feeling to watch it

roll round the temple's prahara.

The Mutt also has accomadation available at low costs kindly contact the mutt

Manager for reservations and check out the Room Rates Links too. The Mutt also

serves one meal between 11-3 pm (as Prasadam) free everyday (except Ekadasi).

However if you would prefer luxurious stay with Cable Tv and other facilities

kindly check out the links page for other hotels. We wish you the best, for

your visit to Mantralayam! For any queries contact the webmaster about

suggested travel plans.

Please remember that Mobile phones dont work in mantralayam and mantralayam

is also well connected by phones, however you cannot make direct international

calls through IDD, you can make international calls only by trunk call booking

for an additional charge. There is also an internet parlour started recently

near Hotel Guru Brindavan, which could be used to check personal emails(however

remember the connection speed is very very slow). Most People in Mantralayam

speak Kannada, Telugu, and Hindi , but English and Tamil are spoken very

rarely by people.

CONTACT:-

Shri Raghavendra Swamy Mutt, Mantralayam, Kurnool District,

Andhra Pradesh - 518345, INDIA.

Phone- (91)-(8512)-279429, 279459

Email-info (AT) srsmutt (DOT) org

Mantralaya History