shrI jayathIrtha padhyamala

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hari saRvOththamma, vAyu jIvOththamma

 

shri gurubhyo namaha, paramagurubhyo namaha

shrimanandhathirtha bhaghavatpAdhacharya namaha

 

pramAdhathO nirOdhAdhvA hare: pUjA bhavenna chEth

paTanAth padhyamAlAyA: nara: pUjAphalam labhEth

 

Occupying a pre-eminent position in the galaxy of stars in the firmament of

madhwa philosophy, shrI jayathIrtha shines as the Pole star, guiding mAdhwas

in their philosophic pursuits. shri jayathIrtha was the disciple of shrI

Akshobhya thIrtha, who in turn was the direct disciple of Srimad Acharya

Bhagwadpada. His contributions to Dvaita Vedanta is indeed immense. His

pure diction, majesty of flow & incisive criticism are the admiration of

great scholars throughout our country. He had in all composed 21 granthas

out of which eighteen are the commentaries on the work of our Jagadguru

Srimad Acharya, by which he earned the name of Teekacharya. His Nyaya Sudha

is a well known commentary on AnuvyAkhana of Sri Ananda Thirtha. It is the

last word in Philosophy.

 

Padhyamala consists of 126 shlokas & describes the mode of worship, or, Puja

vidhi of Sri Vishnu. In this, he has elaborated the manner & method in

which mAdhwas should worship Hari SarvOththamma & gives pointed instruction

from collecting flowers upto Prarthana in the last shloka. A study of this

important work of this great saint will undoubtedly enlighten our mAdhwas

in their daily worship of Sri Hari, & lead to their material & spritual

upliftment.

 

Introduction

 

Sri Jayathirtha is popularly known as Tikakara as he is the formost

commentator of Sri Madhwacharya's works. He has also written some

independaent works like Pramana Padhati & vadavali. These two are

philosophical treaties. Though these are apparently independent, their

matter & method are called from Sri Madhwa's original works.

 

Sri Jayathirtha has also composed Padhyamala describing the method of

worship. This is also an abbrevation & elucidation of the ideas propounded

in Tantrasara of Sri Madhwacharya. Besides the method of worship,

TantrasAra describes the procedure for installin a Deity in a temple & also

a number of Mantras with their special efficacies.

 

Worshipping the God is the daily duty of every mAdhwa. It is of two types.

Idol (prathima) worship & simple Shaligrama worship. The first requires

greater sancitity & more elaborate procedure. It is done dailly by a few

only. The second type is common & obligatory to all. Whatever the type,

the worship has got to be done daily by a few only. The second type is

common & obligatory to all. Whatever the type, the worship has got to be

done strictly according to Shastra, so that it leads to our welfare through

the pleasure of God. Otherwise, the so called worship though apparently

grand & elaborate may even cause untold harm through the displeasure of God.

The main thing about the worship is to imagine that the God is in front of

us. He is supreme, perfect & flawless. We should pay Him the highest

respects in all possible ways & request Him to kindly accept our humble

services. The other Deities like Laxmi, VAyu & others are to be worshipped

strictly according to their decided gradation.

 

Padhyamala describes not only the common shaligrama worship but gives the

mode of Idol or the Prathima worship.

 

Sri Jayathirtha, the author of Padhyamala has stated at the end of the work

that due to some outward difficulty or any cause whatsoever, if one did not

perform the God's worship on anyday, he would get the full benefit & merit

of performing the worship, by reading WITH DEVOTION this padhyamala.

 

Some verses & hymns are to be translated during the course of worship.

Their full text & translations are quite beyond the scope of this postings.

 

Sri PadyamAla composed by Shri Jayathirtha

English translation & Introduction by M. S. Katti,

Shriman MAdhwa Sidhdhantonnahini Sabha (SMSS)

Chitanur (Near Tirupati)

 

sri krishnArpanamasthu