Raghottama Teertharu.Part 1.

[Guest guest]

Namaskara to all Haribhaktaas.

The Aradhana of Sri Raghottama Sripadaru falls on 17-1-2000 . I attempt

to present a small write up on one of the greatest saints of Madhva

tradition.

The philosophy of Srimadaachaarya had started to spread far and wide in

the 16th century due to the incessant zeal of great saints like

Sripaadaraajaru,Vadirajaru,Vyaasaraayaru,Viyayeendraaru and a host of

Haridaasaas like Purandaradaasaa,Kanakadaasaa and others. But

the battle of Talikota of 1565 ravaged the whole of the Vijayanagar and

also to some extent the whole of south india which had a terrible impact

on the Madhva community since the Vijayanagar empire which had collapsed

like a pack of cards after the battle . The Vijayanagar emperors were

great patrons of literature and held the Madhva saints and Haridaasaaas

in great esteem and encouraged their progress within and outside their

domain. The greatest king of Vijayanagar,Krishnadevaraayaa had been

saved by Sri Vyaasarajaru during the Kuhu yoga. Vijayeendra the worthy

shishya of Sri Vyaasarajaru also commanded great respect in the

Vijayanagar kingdom. But unfortunately Raamaraaya did not heed the

advice of Sri Vijayeendraru on certain aspects and this eventually led

to the downfall of the empire. The architectural splendour of Hampi was

reduced to a vanished reality. Many Madhva families migrated south to

Thanjavur and other places. Fortunately, because of the patronage of the

Marathas and the Nayaks the Madhvas were able to sustain themselves in

the south. Vijayeendraru when he heard about the downfall of the

Vijayanagar empire was emotionally moved but after meditating on the

Lord he comforted himself that nothing happens without the will of the

Lord. The followers of Sanatana dharma regardless of what sect or

religion were put to untold hardships. Especially for the Madhva

community there was an urgent need for a lighthouse to guide the

rudderless boat in a stormy sea. The Lord decieded that none other than

Nirutti the guardian of the South West direction of Vaikuntha was the

correct person who could act as a perfect guide to the sorrow stricken

bhaktaas. According to the taratamya Stotra of the sister of

Srimadaachaarya ,Nirutti occupies the 17th position in the taratamya.

Like Srimadaachaaryaru ,Nirutti had served in His first two avataraas of

Sri Ramachandra and Sri Krishna Paramatmaa as Durmukha Vaanaraa and

Ghatotkacha respectively.

In the kali yuga Niruttti Devatha who is on equal taratamya as that of

Pravaahi,mithra,taara and others came to the earth as Sri Raghotthama

teertharu.

Sri Raghunatha Teertha of Uttaradhi Mutt had attained the lotus feet of

the Lord and His sucessor Sri Raghuvarya teertha had upon His mantle the

problem of resurrecting the trouble stricken Madhvaas.

He was at crossroads when he contemplated the plight of the literature

of Srimadaachaarya and his followers. He came tothe conclusion that the

feet of Vaayu Bhagavan was the apt place to seek refuge and hence

ardently prayed to Srimadaachaaryaa. His fervent prayers were answered

and Anandateertha sprinkled aanandhaaa on this great devotee by

appearing in His dream and instructing him to go to Svarnavrate where

His purvashrama sister Gangambe was living with her husband

Subbhabhatt. The couple were child less and Srimadaachaarya ordered the

saint to bless them with a child. He also assured that the child born

to them would blossom in the garden of Madhva philosophy and spread the

fragrance to all the devout souls. After allieviating the sorrow of the

saint Poornaprajnaru disappeared. in the morning Raghuvarayaru woke up

rubbing His eyes in disbelief and tears poured from His eyes on the

kindness of Srimadaachaaryaru and also the fortune of having beholded

Him. He went to Svarnavrata to carry out the divine designs.

Meanwhile, Subbhabhatt was the personification of munificence and He was

responsible of feeding the stomach and minds of the village. He ran a

school that advocated Madhva philosophy to knowledge thirsty students.

The wife Gangambe was the epitome of pathi bhakthi and served Her

husband with selfless dedication. Both were stung by the pangs of the

desire of a worthy issue.

The arrival of the saint to this village was announced and the whole

village wore a festive look to receive His Holiness. The couple

naturally thought that the saint would grace them by staying in their

house. But to their disappoihtement the swamiji preferred to stay at a

nearby Hanumaan tem,pl.e. The couple went to the saint and asked Him to

come to their humble residence for a day atleast. But even this request

was turned down stating that they were childless. Gangambe was totally

broke and inconsolable. Then the Saint acceded to their request stating

that the child that was to be born to them was to be handed over to the

Mutt. The couple accepted for 2reasons:

1. They were atlast to be blessed by a child.

2.SEcondly the saint was to come to their house atlast.

Soon the couple expected that arrival of the baby which was to be a

harbinger of happiness to all deserving souls and eventually in 1557 the

baby was born without bhoo sparsha and fed with the milk that had been

performed abhisheka to the Lord. The child was named Ramachandra.

to be continued.

Shri Raghoottamaaantargata Sri Digvijayaraamapreetyartam.

Yours in the service of Sri Harih,

Dr. B.Basker.