Sripad Madhvacarya

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According to the Sri Kurma inscriptions of Narahari

Tirtha, his direct disciple, Sripad Madhvacarya was

born between 1238 and lived for 79 years, until 1317

A.D. This is confirmed in the Anu-Madhva-Carita.

According to the authorized biographies compiled by

his disciples shortly after his passing away, Sripad

Madhva was born in the village of Tulunada, which is

located about 8 miles to the southeast of the city of

Udipi in Karnataka. He came from a family of

sivalli-brahmanas and was the son of Madhyageha Bhatta

and Mother Vedavati devi.

 

In his Caitanya Caritamrta commentary (CC Madhya

9.245), Sripad Bhaktivendanta Swami Prabhupada

Comments as follows: "Çrépäda Madhväcärya took his

birth near Uòupé, which is situated in the South

Kanara district of South India, just west of Sahyädri.

This is the chief city of the South Kanara province

and is near the city of Mangalore, which is situated

to the south of Uòupé. Near the city of Uòupé is a

place called Päjakä-kñetra, where Madhväcärya took his

birth in a Çivällé-brähmaëa dynasty as the son of

Madhyageha Bhaööa, in the year 1040 Çakäbda (A.D.

1118). According to some, he was born in the year 1160

Çakäbda (A.D. 1238).

In his childhood Madhväcärya was known as Väsudeva,

and there are some wonderful stories surrounding him.

It is said that once when his father had piled up many

debts, Madhväcärya converted tamarind seeds into

actual coins to pay them off. When he was five years

old, he was offered the sacred thread. A demon named

Maëimän lived near his abode in the form of a snake,

and at the age of five Madhväcärya killed that snake

with the toe of his left foot. When his mother was

very much disturbed, he would appear before her in one

jump. He was a great scholar even in childhood, and

although his father did not agree, he accepted

sannyäsa at the age of twelve. Upon receiving sannyäsa

from Acyuta Prekña, he received the name Pürëaprajïa

Tértha. After traveling all over India, he finally

discussed scriptures with Vidyäçaìkara, the exalted

leader of Çåìgeri-maöha. Vidyäçaìkara was actually

diminished in the presence of Madhväcärya. Accompanied

by Satya Tértha, Madhväcärya went to Badarikäçrama. It

was there that he met Vyäsadeva and explained his

commentary on the Bhagavad-gétä before him. Thus he

became a great scholar by studying before Vyäsadeva.

By the time he came to the Änanda-maöha from

Badarikäçrama, Madhväcärya had finished his commentary

on the Bhagavad-gétä. His companion Satya Tértha wrote

down the entire commentary. When Madhväcärya returned

from Badarikäçrama, he went to Gaïjäma, which is on

the bank of the river Godävaré. There he met with two

learned scholars named Çobhana Bhaööa and Svämé

Çästré. Later these scholars became known in the

disciplic succession of Madhväcärya as Padmanäbha

Tértha and Narahari Tértha. When he returned to Uòupé,

he would sometimes bathe in the ocean. On such an

occasion he composed a prayer in five chapters. Once,

while sitting beside the sea engrossed in meditation

upon Lord Çré Kåñëa, he saw that a large boat

containing goods for Dvärakä was in danger. He gave

some signs by which the boat could approach the shore,

and it was saved. The owners of the boat wanted to

give him a present, and at the time Madhväcärya agreed

to take some gopé-candana. He received a big lump of

gopé-candana, and as it was being brought to him, it

broke apart and revealed a large Deity of Lord Kåñëa.

The Deity had a stick in one hand and a lump of food

in the other. As soon as Madhväcärya received the

Deity of Kåñëa in this way, he composed a prayer. The

Deity was so heavy that not even thirty people could

lift it. Yet Madhväcärya personally brought this Deity

to Uòupé. Eight of Madhväcärya’s sannyäsa disciples

became directors of his eight monasteries. Worship of

the Lord Kåñëa Deity is still going on at Uòupé

according to the plans Madhväcärya established.

Madhväcärya then for the second time visited

Badarikäçrama. While he was passing through

Maharashtra, the local king was digging a big lake for

the public benefit. As Madhväcärya passed through that

area with his disciples, he was also obliged to help

in the excavation. After some time, when Madhväcärya

visited the king, he engaged the king in that work and

departed with his disciples.

Often in the province of Gäìga-pradeça there were

fights between Hindus and Muslims. The Hindus were on

one bank of the river, and the Muslims on the other.

Due to the community tension, no boat was available

for crossing the river. The Muslim soldiers were

always stopping passengers on the other side, but

Madhväcärya did not care for these soldiers. He

crossed the river anyway, and when he met the soldiers

on the other side, he was brought before the king. The

Muslim king was so pleased with him that he wanted to

give him a kingdom and some money, but Madhväcärya

refused. While walking on the road, he was attacked by

some dacoits, but by his bodily strength he killed

them all. When his companion Satya Tértha was attacked

by a tiger, Madhväcärya separated them by virtue of

his great strength. When he met Vyäsadeva, he received

from him the çälagräma-çilä known as Añöamürti. After

this, he summarized the Mahäbhärata.

Madhväcärya’s devotion to the Lord and his erudite

scholarship became known throughout India.

Consequently the owners of the Çåìgeri-maöha,

established by Çaìkaräcärya, became a little

perturbed. At that time the followers of Çaìkaräcärya

were afraid of Madhväcärya’s rising power, and they

began to tease Madhväcärya’s disciples in many ways.

There was even an attempt to prove that the disciplic

succession of Madhväcärya was not in line with Vedic

principles. A person named Puëòaréka Puré, a follower

of the Mäyäväda philosophy of Çaìkaräcärya, came

before Madhväcärya to discuss the çästras. It is said

that all of Madhväcärya’s books were taken away, but

later they were found with the help of King Jayasiàha,

ruler of Kumla. In discussion, Puëòaréka Puré was

defeated by Madhväcärya. A great personality named

Trivikramäcärya, who was a resident of Viñëumaìgala,

became Madhväcärya’s disciple, and his son later

became Näräyaëäcärya, the composer of Çré

Madhva-vijaya. After the death of Trivikramäcärya, the

younger brother of Näräyaëäcärya took sannyäsa and

later became known as Viñëu Tértha.

It was reputed that there was no limit to the bodily

strength of Pürëaprajïa, Madhväcärya. There was a

person named Kaòaïjari who was famed for possessing

the strength of thirty men. Madhväcärya placed the big

toe of his foot upon the ground and asked the man to

separate it from the ground, but the great strong man

could not do so even after great effort. Çréla

Madhväcärya passed from this material world at the age

of eighty while writing a commentary on the Aitareya

Upaniñad. For further information about Madhväcärya,

one should read Madhva-vijaya, by Näräyaëäcärya.

The äcäryas of the Madhva-sampradäya established Uòupé

as the chief center, and the monastery there was known

as Uttararäòhé-maöha. A list of the different centers

of the Madhväcärya-sampradäya can be found at Uòupé,

and their maöha commanders are (1) Viñëu Tértha

(Çoda-maöha), (2) Janärdana Tértha (Kåñëapura-maöha),

(3) Vämana Tértha (Kanura-maöha), (4) Narasiàha Tértha

(Adamara-maöha), (5) Upendra Tértha (Puttugé-maöha),

(6) Räma Tértha (Çirura-maöha), (7) Håñékeça Tértha

(Palimara-maöha), and (8) Akñobhya Tértha

(Pejävara-maöha). The disciplic succession of the

Madhväcärya-sampradäya is as follows (the dates are

those of birth in the Çakäbda Era; for Christian era

dates, add seventy-eight years.): (1) Haàsa Paramätmä;

(2) Caturmukha Brahmä; (3) Sanakädi; (4) Durväsä; (5)

Jïänanidhi; (6) Garuòa-vähana; (7) Kaivalya Tértha;

(8) Jïäneça Tértha; (9) Para Tértha; (10) Satyaprajïa

Tértha; (11) Präjïa Tértha; (12) Acyuta Prekñäcärya

Tértha; (13) Çré Madhväcärya, 1040 Çaka; (14)

Padmanäbha, 1120; Narahari, 1127; Mädhava, 1136; and

Akñobhya 1159; (15) Jaya Tértha, 1167; (16)

Vidyädhiräja, 1190; (17) Kavéndra, 1255; (18) Vägéça,

1261; (19) Rämacandra, 1269; (20) Vidyänidhi, 1298;

(21) Çré Raghunätha, 1366; (22) Rayuvarya (who spoke

with Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu), 1424; (23) Raghüttama,

1471; (24) Vedavyäsa, 1517; (25) Vidyädhéça, 1541;

(26) Vedanidhi, 1553; (27) Satyavrata, 1557; (28)

Satyanidhi, 1560; (29) Satyanätha, 1582; (30)

Satyäbhinava, 1595; (31) Satyapürëa, 1628; (32)

Satyavijaya, 1648; (33) Satyapriya, 1659; (34)

Satyabodha, 1666; (35) Satyasandha, 1705; (36)

Satyavara, 1716; (37) Satyadharma, 1719; (38)

Satyasaìkalpa, 1752; (39) Satyasantuñöa, 1763; (40)

Satyaparäyaëa, 1763; (41) Satyakäma, 1785; (42)

Satyeñöa, 1793; (43) Satyaparäkrama, 1794; (44)

Satyadhéra, 1801; (45) Satyadhéra Tértha, 1808.

After the sixteenth äcärya (Vidyädhiräja Tértha),

there was another disciplic succession, including

Räjendra Tértha, 1254; Vijayadhvaja; Puruñottama;

Subrahmaëya; and Vyäsa Räya, 1470–1520. The nineteenth

äcärya, Rämacandra Tértha, had another disciplic

succession, including Vibudhendra, 1218; Jitämitra,

1348; Raghunandana; Surendra; Vijendra; Sudhéndra; and

Räghavendra Tértha, 1545.

To date, in the Uòupé monastery there are another

fourteen Madhva-tértha sannyäsés. As stated, Uòupé is

situated beside the sea in South Kanara, about

thirty-six miles north of Mangalore.

Most of the information in this purport is available

from the South Känäòä Manual and the Bombay Gazette."

>From Bhaktivedanta Vedabase

 

There are literally hundreds of incidences, stories,

to be relished, but here we have just placed a few to

give a taste of the nectar to be had in “The Life and

Legacy of Sripad Ananda Tirtha – Madhwacarya” by Jaya

Tirtha Charan dasa – that is waiting to be published.

 

Lamenting, and in separation from such detailed

pastimes, let us continue on..

When he was only 12 years old, Madhvacarya left home

but his mother insisted that she would leave her body

if their only son left. So Madhva then blessed them to

have another son, he was born and then after taking

his parents permission went off to the ashram of

Acyutapreksa, his sannyasa-guru. Madhva's sannyasa

name was Purnaprajna Tirtha. His deep study of the

scriptures was unparalleled, and had convinced him of

the uselessness of the Advaita interpretation of

Vedanta. He was inspired to revive the original and

pure interpretation of Vedanta which promotes personal

theism. He was to do this on the basis of a profound

and innovative interpretation of the scriptures, for

which he was to become famous. This interpretation is

known as Dvaita-dvaita-vada, or pure dualism.

 

After his initiation, Purnaprajna spent some time in

the asrama of Acyutapreksa where he carefully studied

the Vedanta commentaries of different acaryas,

beginning with the Istasiddhi of Vimuktatman. But

soon, Purnaprajna's expertise in scriptural argument

and his determination to establish personal theism as

the conclusion of Vedanta grew to the point there he

could defeat Acyutapreksa in argument. Recognizing

Purnaprajna's superior scholarship, Acyutapreksa made

him the head of his asrama. Purnaprajna was also

awarded the title Ananda Tirtha, by which he is often

referred to in various scriptural literatures.

 

After he became the temple authority in the asrama of

Acyutapreksa, Purnaprajna began training disciples,

preaching his interpretation of Vedanta and defeating

many scholars from different schools of philosophy,

including Buddhists, Jains, Advaitins, and various

impersonalists, agnostics, logicians, and the

practitioners of materialistic religion. His success

in defeating all opposing scholars inspired him to

tour South India in an attempt to preach the

philosophy of personal theism and devotion to Visnu

far and wide. At this time, he had completely

formulated all the details of his philosophical

system, but had not yet committed his system to

writing.

 

His tour of South India was quite extensive: it took

him from Udipi to the southernmost tip of India,

(Kanyakumari) and from there to Ramesvaram, Sri

Rangam, and many other important holy places of

pilgrimage. Wherever he went he debated the prominent

scholars of the impersonal school, smashing their

interpretations of Vedanta with his brilliant advocacy

of dualistic theism. His scathing criticisms of

Sankaracarya's impersonal Vedanta met with stiff

opposition, but no one could overcome him in

scriptural argument or logical debate. It is said that

when Madhva was at Kanyakumari he was challenged by a

great impersonalist scholar of the Sankara school to

write his own commentary on Vedanta if he disagreed

with the teachings of the master. At that time, it is

said that Madhva promised to write his own Vedanta

commentary, fully elaborating the proper conclusions

of personal theism. At Sri Rangam he also expressed a

certain degree of dissatisfaction with the conclusions

of Ramanuja's visistadvaita-vada, in that he felt it

did not go far enough to refute the dangerous

speculative philosophy of Sankaracarya. This further

added to the young Madhva's firm determination to

someday compose his own commentary incorporating his

own unique interpretation.

 

After completing his South Indian tour, Madhva decided

to tour North India as well. With his resolve to

complete his own Vedanta commentary growing day by

day, he was eager to begin the work. But Madhva wanted

to have the blessings of the author of Vedanta,

Vedavyasa himself, before beginning such an ambitious

project. He set out for North India and the Himalayas,

then, in order to achieve the benedictions of

Vedavyasa, for it was said the Vyasa, being immortal,

still resided in his asrama at Badarainatha, although

he never made himself visible to mortal eyes.

 

After a long journey by foot, Sripad Madhva finally

arrived at the Anantamatha at Badarinatha. There he

remained for seven weeks, absorbed in fasting, prayer,

and devotional meditation. Inspired from within, he

hiked further up into the, to Badarikasrama, in upper

Badari, where Vyasadeva has his hermitage. There he

met Vedavyasa and explained his commentary on

Bhagavad-gita to Vyasa himself, who approved. When he

met Vyasa, he was given eight Shalagrama-silas which

are known as Astamurti. After discussing the

scriptures with Vyasadeva, Sripad Madhvacarya's

understanding of their inner meaning became even more

profound. He remained at Badarikasrama for some months

until he finished composing his commentary of

Bhagavad-gita, whereupon he returned to the

Anantamatha. At that time Madhva's companion Satya

Tirtha wrote down the entire commentary. At this time,

Madhva also wrote his commentary on Vedanta.

 

Bidding farewell to Badarinatha, Madhva began the long

journey home. On the way, he again met with and

defeated many scholars of various philosophical

schools. He traveled through Bihar, Bengal, Orissa,

and Andhradesa. Bhavishya Purana and Navadwip Dham

mahatmya depict how he went to Navadwip and mystically

met and discussed with Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, who

residing in His eternal abode was due to appear some

250 years later to preach a similar message to Madhva,

and so he, the Supreme Lord discussed with Madhva to

prepare for His own divine appearance in due course.

 

The Madhva-vijaya describes how when Madhva reached

Ganjama, on the banks of the river Godavari, he met

two prominent scholars, who were well-versed in all

the important scriptures: Sobhana Bhatta, and Swami

Sastri. After converting them to his school, these

scholars became renowned as important followers of

Sripad Madhva. They became famous at Padmanabha Tirtha

and Narahari Tirtha and are regarded as the principle

acaryas of the Madhva school after Madhva himself.

Narahari Tirtha is famous for his commentaries on

Madhva's Gita-bhasya and Karma-nirnaya. He was the

Prime Minister of Kalinga between 1271 and 1293.

Padmanabha Tirtha wrote commentaries on many of

Madhva's works, including Madhva'sBrahma-sutra-bhasya,

his Anuvyakhyana, and his Dasa-prakaranas. He was the

first commentator on many of the major works of

Madhvacarya.

 

After converting Sobhana Bhatta and Swami Sastri,

Sripad Madhvacarya journeyed through Andhrapradesa,

Maharastra and Karnataka arrived at last in Udipi.

Upon his return to Udipi from North India, Madhva

confronted Acyutapreksa, who had refused to accept his

ideas previously. Note the roles were reversed guru

became disciple and disciple became guru. Some say

that Madhva converted Acyutapreksa from Sankara's

Vedanta to the cause of Vaisnavism and accepted him as

a follower, but they do not know the full picture

behind the gurus who remained in hiding in which

Acyutapreksha came in the line of for fear of attacks

by the mayavadis. There were over four hundred years

of gurus and disciples who couldn’t dress as

Vaishnavas, but instead had to go undercover as

impersonalists. (full documentation is in Jaya Tirtha

Charan dasa’s “The Life and Legacy of Sripad Ananda

Tirtha – Madhwacarya”)

 

As a result of Madhva's success in defeating opposing

scholars and gurus, his reputation spread, and

enthusiasm grew for his new system of Vedanta

philosophy. As his commentaries on Bhagavad-gita and

Vedanta gained wider and wider acceptance, followers

and new converts began to join his camp from all over

India, attracted by his charismatic personality,

invincible logic and scriptural knowledge, and his

inspired faith.

 

While he stayed in Udipi, it was Madhva's regular

habit to bathe in the ocean. One day, he was sitting

on the beach absorbed in contemplation upon Sri Krsna.

At that time, he spotted a ship, bound for Dvaraka,

that was about to founder on a sand bar. He signaled

the ship to safety, and it was able to safely approach

the shore. The captain of the ship wanted to bestow

some present upon Sri Madhvacarya , and he accepted a

large chunk of gopi-candana-tilaka. As it was being

presented to the acarya, the large chunk of Tilak

broke in half, revealing a huge deity of Balaram. This

deity was installed in the temple on the beach at

Malpe, and Madhva carried the rest to the temple tank

and submerged it there where it was revealed that

there was also a beautiful deity of Lord Krsna. (these

deities were originally carved by Vishvakarma and

given to Rukmini Devi Krishna’s consort in Dwaraka to

worship prior to His leaving this world) Everyone was

astonished to find a Krsna deity within the block of

Tilak, but Madhvacarya was not unaccustomed to

miracles and accepted it as the Lord's grace. At that

time he composed some beautiful prayers glorifying Sri

Krsna, and soon after that the Deity was installed at

the temple in Udipi where it remains today. The Deity

weighed so much that even thirty men had difficulty

moving it. Madhva, however, was superhumanly

powerful--it is said that he was an incarnation of

Vayu, and managed to personally carry the Deity to

Udipi.

 

After installing the Deity of Krsna in Udipi, he

revised the system of Deity worship, establishing a

strict regimen of ceremonial ritual and proper conduct

among his followers, imposing among other things the

rigorous observance of fasting on Ekadasis.

 

Having achieved such great success at home, it was

time for Madhva to one more travel afar. He began a

second pilgrimage to North India, where he once again

visited Badarikasrama. The Madhva-vijaya, written by

the son of one of Madhva's disciples describes how

Madhva used his sharp wits, his knowledge of many

languages such as Turkish and Persian, and his courage

to overcome great obstacles in his preaching. While on

his North Indian tour, Madhva and his disciples

arrived at a place in the province of Ganga Pradesh

where political tensions between Hindus and Muslims

prevented them from crossing the river. The Hindus

were on one side of the river and the Muslims on the

other side. No one dared cross, and no boat was

available. Madhva and his followers, without regard

for the Muslim soldiers who guarded the crossing, swam

across the river. The entire camp was placed under

arrest. Madhva himself was taken before the Muslim

King, Sultan Jalal-uddin-Khilji, who demanded an

explanation. When Madhva was finally allowed to speak

on his own behalf, he spoke in high class “chaste

Persian”, addressing the king at length on devotional

theism. Seeing the intensity and saintly purity of

Sripad Madhvacarya, the Sultan's heart was softened.

So impressed was he with Madhva that he wanted to

offer him land and money, but Madhva set the example

of renunciation by humbly declining the Sultan's

offer.

 

Where wit would not help, Madhva would sometimes use

his superhuman strength to save a situation. Once his

traveling companion and sannyasi disciple Satya Tirtha

was attacked by a fierce Bengal tiger. Fearless,

Madhava went to the rescue. After wrestling the tiger

away from Satya Tirtha, he sent it away with its tail

between its legs. Another time, while walking on

pilgrimage through a dangerous part of India, we was

attacked by murderous dacoits, but he easily held them

off.

 

Madhva was a multi-faceted personality who lived a

long and healthy life. He was a natural leader who

believed in physical culture as well as intellectual,

moral, and spiritual culture. He took part in many

athletic activities, such as wrestling, swimming, and

mountain-climbing, which served him well in the

Himalayas. As he came from a family of brahmanas that

had descended from the warrior brahmana and

incarnation of Godhead, Parasurama, he was tall,

strong, and robust. It was reputed that there was no

limit to his bodily strength. The Madhva-vijaya

records how a strongman named Kadanjari who was said

to have the strength of thirty men once challenged

Madhvacarya to a contest of strength. Madhvacarya

placed the big toe of his foot firmly upon the ground

and asked Kadanjari, the famous strongman, to see if

he could lift it. Straining with all his brawn again

and again, the mighty Kadanjari was unable to move

even the big toe of Madhvacarya. According to

Trivikrama Pandita, Madhvacarya was endowed with all

the thirty-two bodily symptoms of a great personality.

He had a deep, sonorous, and melodic voice and was an

expert singer. His recitation of the verses of

Srimad-Bhagavatam was regarded as being especially

sweet.

 

In this way, Madhva traveled extensively throughout

the whole of India. He returned to South India after

having visited Badarinatha, Delhi, Kuruksetra,

Benares, and Goa. After this, his travels were mostly

limited to those provinces of South India near Udipi.

After Sankaracarya, who had also traveled extensively,

He was the second important Vedanta acarya to travel

throughout India, and his broad preaching campaign had

a lasting effect. Gradually, his following grew, as

great personalities from all parts of India accepted

him as guru. The Madhva-vijaya mentions that he had

disciples from many lands, and his present day

followers still include the speakers of eight

different languages-Tulu, Kannada, Konkani, Maratha,

Telugu, Southern Saurastri, Bengali, and Hindi.

 

After returning to Udipi, Madhva once again immersed

himself in prolific literary activity. He wrote

commentaries on the ten major Upanisads. He wrote ten

major philosophical treatises, the Dasa-Prakaranas, as

well as what many consider his most important work,

the Anu-Vyakhyana. He wrote a summary of Mahabharata

called the Moksa-dharma, and he also commented on

Srimad-Bhagavatam.

 

Madhvacarya's dedication to the Lord and his deep

scholarship made him a feared and hated enemy of the

followers of Sankaracarya, who had a vested interest

in maintaining their position as the only bona fide

Vedantists. It has been said, "Of all the plagues with

which mankind is cursed, ecclesiastical tyranny's the

worst." The tyranny of the acaryas of the

Srngeri-matha founded by Sankaracarya led them to

attack Sripad Madhva with every means at their

disposal. They employed various means to harass the

followers of Madhva. They tried to prove that Madhva

did not come from any authorized disciplic succession.

Finally they challenged Madhva to a debate.

 

The Sankarites chose as their champion pandita a

highly learned scholar named Pundarika Puri, who was

famed for his erudition and expertise in argument. In

the debate with Madhva he was humiliated. In arguing

with Madhva Pundarika was like a schoolboy facing a

professor. Aching for vengeance, the defeated pandita

arranged for one of his cohorts, a sannyasi named

Padma Tirtha, to steal a priceless collection of

ancient Sanskrit scriptures from the library of Sripad

Madhvacarya. The books were later recovered with the

help of King Jayasimha of Kumla.

 

After Jayasimha Raja recovered the books of

Madhvacarya, an audience was arranged between the

Jayasimha and Madhva. The pandita, Trivikrama Pandita,

a resident of Visnumangala, was the foremost authority

on impersonal Vedanta in the land of Kumla and an

expert poet. They met in the temple of Kudil. At the

end of the day's discourse, Trivikrama Pandita had

failed to defeat Madhva, but he refused to surrender.

The debate was continued on the following day. The

next day, Trivikrama Pandita used all of his learning,

his wit, and his power of argument in an attempt to

embarrass Madhva, but after exhausting himself was

again unable to defeat him. This went on for fifteen

days, when Trivikrama Pandita, his intellect spent,

his doubts destroyed, recognized Sri Madhva as his

guru. He surrendered to the lotus feet of Sripad

Madhvacarya and was accepted by him as a disciple.

Madhva ordered him to write a commentary on Vedanta.

Trivikrama Pandita's commentary is called the

Tattva-pradipa. His conversion was a turning point in

Madhva's preaching mission. After his conversion,

Trivikrama Pandita's own brother and seven other

important scholars took sannyasa from Madhva and

became the first directors of the eight Madvhaite

monasteries in Udipi. Trivikrama Pandita's son,

Narayanacarya who later wrote the Madhva-vijaya.

 

In the final years of Madhva's life, he wrote further

commentaries on the scriptures, including the

Nyaya-vivarana, the Karma-nirnaya, the

Krsnamrta-Maharnava, and others. By this time,

Madhvacarya was growing old. He had completed what he

set out to do. He had preached his message far and

wide, elaborated his philosophical system in numerous

commentaries, and had many trained missionaries who

could carry on his work with great energy. He had

written original works of such a profound character

that they would continue to influence devotional

theism well into the 20th century. He had established

the worship of Krsna in Udipi and had given sannyasa

to expert scholars and veteran preachers such as

Padmanabha Tirtha, Narahari Tirtha, Madhava Tirtha,

and Aksobhya Tirtha, who would succeed him in

promoting the philosophical ideals of pure dualistic

theism. As he finished his commentary on the Aitereya

Upanisad, on the verge of his eightieth birthday,

Sripad Madhvacarya passed away from this world and

entered the eternal Vaikuntha realm with Srila

Vyasadeva at Uttara Bhadri on the ninth day of the

full moon in the month of Magh (corresponding to

January-February) in the year 1317.

 

The essential principles of Sri Madhvacarya's

teachings-where they run parallel to the teachings of

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu-have been summarized by

Baladeva Vidyabhusana in his Prameya-Ratnavali. These

points are as follows:

 

shri madvhah praha vishnum paratamam akhilamnaya

vedyam ca

cisvam satyam bhedam ca jivam hari carana jusas

tartamyam ca

tesham moksham vishnv-anghri-labham tad-amala-bhajanam

 

tasya hetum pramanam pratyaksadi trayam cety upadisati

hari

krsna-caitanya chandra

 

Shri Madvacaharya taught that:

 

1.Krishna, who is known as Hari is

the Supreme Lord,

the Absolute.

2.That Supreme Lord may be known

through the

Vedas.

3.The material world is real.

4.The jivas, or souls, are

different from the Supreme

Lord.

5.The jivas are by nature servants

of the Supreme

Lord.

6.There are two categories of

jivas: liberated and

illusioned.

7.Liberation means attaining the

lotus feet of

Krishna, that is, entering into

an eternal

relationship of service to the

Supreme Lord.

8.Pure devotional service is the

cause of this

relationship.

9.The truth may be known through

direct

perception, inference, and

Vedic authority.

 

In his Caitanya Caritamrta commentary, Srila A.C.

Bhakdivedanta Swami Prabhupada comments, "For further

information about Madhvacarya, one should read

Madhva-vijaya by Narayana Acarya."

 

We obviously do not have time or space to include all

of Madhwa's wonderful pastimes on this page, what to

speak of go into each pastime in detail as I have in

my manuscript. Then that would only be a part of

Madhwa's pastimes, as he appeared as the Triple

incanation of Vayudev called Mukhyapran; first as

Hanuman; then as Bhima; then as Madhwa.

 

 

 

 

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