Guest guest Posted March 7, 2001 Report Share Posted March 7, 2001 hari sarvottamma, vaayu jiivottamma shrii hayagriivaaya namaha shrii kR^iShNa parabrahmane namaha shrI gurubhyo namaha shrI sathyabodha theertha (1710- 1784) 25th PeethAdhipathi of Uttradhi Mutta (1744 - 1784) shrIsatyabodho nijakAmadhenurmAyAtamaH khaNDanachaNDabhAnuH | durantapApapradahe kR^ishAnurdeyAnmameShTaM gururAjasUnuH || On Friday, Phalguna Krishna Prathima, March 10, 2001 is Sri Sathyabotha Theertha of Uttatradhi Mutta. Tradition accords that Sri Sathyabodha Theertha was the incarnation of Markandeya. Sri Sathyabodha Theertha had as his contemporaries Sri Vishnu Theertha, the author of BhAghavatasarodhAra, Hardasas like Sri VijayadAsaru, Sri GopaladAsaru, Sri JagannathadAsaru. Sri JagannathadAsaru has composed several songs in praise of Sri Sathyabodha Theertha. He composed several sandhis of his HarikathAmruthasara at Savanur in the holy presence of Sri Sathyabodha Theertha. After completing HarikathAmruthasAra, Sri Jagannatha dAsaru placed it in a brass vessel & with all reverence offered it to Swamigalavaru with this great work offered it to Sri Moola Rama together with the day's neivedya. Sri Jagannatha dAsaru with a heart overflowing with happiness sang, " nAdhanyanAdenindu sathyabodharAyara divya pAda padumava kandu " ....The brass vessel given by Sri JagannathadAsaru is still being used in the mutta at Savanur to give mantrakshata. Sri Sathyabodha Theertha gave Sri JagannathadAsaru the wooden plank which he would use to rest his back while teaching. This plank is preserved at Manavi. EXCERPTS AND BRIEF SKETCH & LIFE OF SAINT OF SAVANUR, ======================================================= SRI SATHYABODHA THEERTHA ============================ In the small town of Raichur in north Karnataka lived a pious & noble brahmin called Sri Raghunathacharya. He was ever engaged in teaching & propagating Sri Madhwacharya philosophy. He had a son named Hariacharya who was well versed in the shastras & he too had noble qualities of his father. Sri Hariachar had 4 children but wanting a son who would become great. The couple prayed to Sri Ahobala Narasimha. Their prayers were answered. They named him Ramacharya. They performed all the samskaras at the appropriate time & Ramacharya became a brahmachari at the age of seven. Ramacharya was very bright boy & he made excellent progress in Kavya, vyakarna, nyaya, tarka etc... While at Tirupathi, Sri Hariacharya met Sri Sathyapriya Theertharu, junior swamigalavaru of Sri Uttradhi Mutta. At this time, Sri Sathyavijaya Theertha was the senior swamigalavaru. After staying for more than 10 days, Hariacharya wished to take leave of swamigalavaru. But His Holiness was most reluctant to let go Ramacharya. Swamigalavaru called aside Sri Hariacharya & said " Hariacharya, I request you to let Ramacharya be under my care. I will teach him all the shastras & make him into a brilliant scholar who will be second to none. He will be blessed with long life & he will reach the pinnacle of glory. " Hearing this, the young Ramacharya said to his father " Appaji, I will remain in the mutta with His Holiness. I will serve swamiji & learn Srimadacharya's philosophy. Have no worries about me " Sri Sathyapriya Theertha looked after Ramacharya with loving care. He started teaching him the shastras, began with Sri Teekacharya's Pramanapaddati, vyakhyana to improve his language. His vast knowledge of the shastras was outstanding & very soon under the guidance of his master, Ramacharya performed " Sudha mangala " . After his studies, Ramacharya married Girijadevi coming from a well to do brahmin family & had a son. Sri Sathyapriya theertha was himself a great scholar & had composed several works on tarka & vyakarana. He took great pleasure in explaining & teaching his works to his favourite disciple Ramacharya. Ramacharya himself had several disciples & taught them texts like Brahmasutrabhasya with Tatwaprakashika & Chandrika & performed the mangala of these texts in the holy presence of his master. Sri Sathyapriya Theertha travelled south & held several vidwat abha & debates with Advaita & visistadvaita scholors. The king of Srirangam gifted two elephants. Ramacharya continued his shastriac studies under the current pontiff, Sri Sathyapriya Theertha. From Srirangam, He proceeded to Kannanore. There He realised that his earthly sojourn was nearing its end & called for his beloved disciple Ramacharya & felt that he was the fit person to take over the worship of Sri Moola Rama. Ramacharya was humble as he was learned & he was filled with devotion & dispassion. Sri Sathyabodha Theertha called Ramacharya & said, " you are the right person to perform the puja of Sri Moola Rama. You will bring fame & glory to our mutta & under your rule, our mutta will scale great heights. Look after the affairs of the mutta & establish our mutta in all important places. Make improvements to the existing buildings. Fame & glory will seek you. Have no fear. You have all My blessings " Ramacharya who was only 28 years old had a son of 4 years & his wife was expecting the second child. With his wife's consent, he agreed to become a sanyasi. Thus Ramacharya was initiated into sanyasa on March 22, 1743, (Rudirodgari chaitra shuddha dwitiya). Sri Sathyapriya theertha gave him the holy mantrakshata, placed the vyasamushti, on his head performed the abhisheka & named him Sri Sathyabodha Theertha & Sri Sathyapriya theertha breathed his last in 1743 at Kannanore. Sri Sathyabodha Theertha perfomed the mahasamaradhana of His master & the erected the beautiful brindavana on the banks of river Kruthamala. Sri Sathyabodha Theertha gave gifts of silver, gold, generous dakshina, brocade shawls & jari dhothis to the hundreds of scholars who gathered there. Sri Sathyabodha Theertha then proceeded to Rameshwara & remained for 40 days & taught Brahmasuthrabhasya to his disciples & performed mangala there. A householder by name Gururajacharya was the diwan during the reign of Sri Sathyapriya Theertha. He was jealous of Sri Sathyabodha theertha & conveted the wealth of the mutta. Swamigalavaru entrusted him with half the wealth of the mutta & asked him to erect a mutta building around the brindavana of Sri Sathyapriya theertha & also a agraharam for brahmins. Gururajacharya's main aim is to bring down the swamigalavaru. He told the king of Ramanthpuram that Sri Sathyapriya theertha had no intentions of giving the mutta to the Sri Sathyabodha theertha & this swamigalavaru is misusing the vast wealth of Sri Uttaradhi Mutta. The king believed him & asked the swamigalavaru to stop crossing the river Pavaru who just finished pilgrimage. When the swamigalavaru & His disciples were about the cross the river, hundreds of soldiers encircled them. All the disciples were terrified. Swamigalavaru started the puje of Sri Moola Rama on the river bank. While performing the puje, the head of the army started suffering from severe stomachache & it was unbearable. He knew the swamigalavaru was not an ordinary person & had asked for His forgiveness. Swamigalavaru blessed him & very soon he was relieved. In Trichinapalli, there was an evil minded brahmin called Ramayya. The fort of Trichinapalli was captured by Murari Rao Ghorpade from the nawab of Arcot. He approached the nawab & told him that one of the saradars (governors) called Janoji Nambalkar was also a disciple of the Swamigalavaru & asked him not to trust him. He also added that the swamigalavaru had wealth of Sri Uttaradi Mutta under his control & Gorpade had entrusted the swamigalavaru with all his gold & money. In order to vacate & capture the fort from Murari Rao, get the vast riches of Uttaradhi Mutta, Ramayya had asked the nawab to capture the swamigalavaru & endanger his life. Once Murari Rao sees swamigalavaru in the battlefield, he will beg to release the swamigavaru. Accordingly, the nawab of Arcot made arrangements. Except Sri Sathyabodha Theertha, others were perturbed. The nawab surrounded by hundreds of his soldiers. The army chief ordered the disciples to make an inventory of all the silver, gold vessels, jewellery & other valuables in their possession & hand them over. Sri Sathyabodha Theertha told his disciples to quitely shift the idols of Sri Moola Sita Rama, Vedavyasa, Vamsha Rama & Prasanna Vittala to the palace of Bhima Raja. His senior disciples quitely carred these precious idols in five puja box while the soldiers suspected nothing. Meanwhile, the saradar confiscated the gold & silver vessels, jewellry & other valuables of the mutta. But swamigalavaru was unperturbed by all the developments. He offered his obeisance to Sri Moola Rama & His master Sri Sathyapriya Theertha & started worshipping the Narasimha Salagrama with Manya sukta, stothra etc.. He remained on a fast taking only theertha. As his fast progressed to the 3rd day, the soldiers in the nawab's army started dying. Janobi Nimbalkar who had been sent on a different assignment started rapidly losing his health. Nawab was perturbed. Swamigalavaru was on a fast for the 9th day. Nimbalkar lost no time in advising the Nawab to immediately set free the Swamigalavaru & ask for pardon. He said that he was no ordinary ascetic but a trikalajnAni with divine powers. The nawab begged his pardon & requested to break his fast. He made all arrangements to supply of fruit, milk, jaggery, sugar etc.... He returned all the valuables that he had confiscated & saw to the welfare of the swamigalavaru. Miraculously & with the blessings of the Swamigalavaru, Nimbalkar had improvement in health. Sri Sathyabodha Theertha visited Thanjavur on the invitation of Pratapsingh Bhonsale. He conducted many debates & discussion in vedantha. Bhonsale, in all humility offered several gifts of gold & silver to Sri Uttaradhi Mutta. He presented huge gold & silver vessels, strings of pearls & rubies, exquisite pendant & other precious jewellery. Swamigalavaru stayed there for 3 months & His Holiness would teach in the morning & discourse in the evening. From Tanjavor, Swamigalavaru visited Kumbakonam, He taught Brahmasutrabhasya & conducted several discussions on vedanta. He offered worship at the famous Srinivasa temple & at the Moola brindavana of Sri Sri Satyabhinava theertha. From there, he visited Mannargudi, Kamalalaya, Srimushnam etc... At Srimushnam, as is the custom, His Holiness was given the utsava murth of Sri Varahaswamy to be worshipped along with Sri Moola Rama. It is here, that he made the holy sankalpa of offering laksha pushpa, laksha tulasi. It is said that dried up jasmine creepers started flowering again in order to provide the laksha pushpa for the puja. Swamigalavaru travelled to Kumbakonam & other places to establish Sri Uttaradhi Mutta. He travelled to Vellure, Ghatikachala & from there to Tirupathi. His Holiness recited the entire AnuvyAkhyana while climbing the sacred Tirumala hills. At Tirumala, He was given temple honors & allowed to worship Sri Venkatesha. The nawab of Cudapah invited Him to stay & bless him & his subjects. Sri Sathyabodha Theertha stayed there for 2 months. From Cudapah, His Holiness travelled to Ahobala & worshipped Sri Lakshminarasimha . As the temple is situated on the peak of a mountain & amidst thick forest. Swamigalavaru got several grass huts built in the middle of the forest. Over there, Swamigalavaru taught Gitabhashya & Gita tatparya to his disciples & performed the mangala of these two texts. Sri Sathyabodha Theertha visited many holy places, & then visited the town of Harihar. Khanderaya, who was then the nawab of Savanur, on coming to know of Sri Sathyabodha Theertha's stay at Harihar sent his son to personally invite the Swamigalavaru to Savanur. On the way to Savanur, Swamigalavaru blessed a poor scholar called Narasimhacharya by staying in his house for 3 days & accepting his bhikshe. After reaching Savanur, Khanderaya requested in all humility the Swamigalavaru to make Savanur His headquarters & remain in Savanur for a long time. As it was pratama ekadashi, Sri Sathyabodha Theertha gave tapta mudra for almost 20,000 devotees. He observed chaturmasya at Savanur. Soon word spread that Swamigalavaru will not travel but would remain in Savanur. So scholars from all over came to Savanur to learn Madhwa shastra from His Holiness. While residing at Savanur, Sri Sathyabodha would go to a huge well situated on the outskirts amidst lush greenery, for his daily bath. He very much desired to travel north to have a dip in the holy Ganga. While He was contemplating thus, a brahmin came to Sri Sathyabodha Theertha & told him that he had a dream. A suvasini bedecked with ornaments, flowers & tilaka had appeared & said, " O vipra, I will accompany you when you go with swamigalavaru for the morning bath. Please donot leave me behind when you go the well. " Hearing this, Sri Sathybodha Theertha understood that Ganga would make her appearance at the well. On Vijayadasami in the year 1774, Sri Sathyabodha Theertha with all the people of Savanur behind him reached the well. There was a large fig tree next to the well. Just as His Holiness was about o begin his bath, large drops of water could be seen pouring from the tree. Very soon, the trickle became a large stream. Ganga devi had kept her word & had made her appearance. The well was now sanctified with Ganga's holy presence. All the people rejoiced seeing this miracle & they all bathed in the holy waters. His Holiness offered puje to Ganga & declared that henceforth, the well would be known as Vishnu Theertha. The nawab of Savanur, on hearing this gifted the well & several acresof land adjoining it to Sri Sathyabodha Theertha. Sri Sathyabodha Theertha remained in Savanur & his fame & glory spread far & wide. But, there were few of them who was jealous of Sri Sathyabodha Theertharu. They hatched a treacherous plan to kill the Swamigalavaru by poisoning His food. They approached the cook who prepared the " chikka naivedhya " & asked him to add poison to the dishes by bribing the cook 200 gold coins. That day, he placed before Sri Moola Rama all the poisoned dishes that he had prepared. Sri Sathyabodha Theertha as was his custom, did the neivedhya with sanctified water. As soon as the food had been offered, His Holiness observed the effect of the neivedya on Sri Moola Rama. Sri Rama's neck had turned blue! Swamigalavaru called the cook & demanded an explaination. The terrified cook who was now filled with fear & remorse admitted that he had been bribed & that he had added poison to the food. All the people were alarmed & pleaded with Swamigalavaru not to partake the food. But Swamigalavaru was unperturbed & calmly insisted that He would partake only that which had been offered to His beloved Sri Rama. That day, Sri Sathyabodha Theertharu with a heart filled with pure devotion & all thoughts anchored at the lotus feet of the Lord, partook the poisoned meal with no fear or hesitation. The poison started working & Swamigalavaru developed indigestion & loss of appetite. The disciples, in fear & anxiety immediately sent for a vaidya & asked him to suggest a remedy. The vaidya's advice was that Srigalavaru should always be awake for the poison would work only when he slept. Accordingly, to please the disciples, Srigalavaru spent the entire day teaching & preaching. He would conduct the day's puje from late in the evening upto day break the next day. His Holiness followed the routine for several days thus overcoming sleep. The poison had no effect on His Holiness & by the grace of Sri Moola Rama, Sri Sathyabodha Theertha enjoyed good health. But some arrogant people in the mutta made derisive comments that Srigalavaru was no ascetic as he was having his meal in the night. These comments reached the Srigalavaru. That night, Srigalavaru, as usual, performed the puja of Sri Moola Rama. It was in the middle of the night & pitch dark as it was Ammavasya. After performing the mangalarathi to Sri Moola Rama, Sri Sathyabodha Theertha called one of the disciples & gave Him the mangalarathi. He asked to lead all those pandits & householders outside into the darkness & show them the night sky. Lo & bhold! They saw the blazing noonday sun. Bairam Khan, officer of the nawab of Savanur, was a wealthy man & had built a palatial house. But he could not even enter the house as a huge serpent had made itshome in this building. He approached Srigalavaru for help. Sri Sathyabodha Theertharu said that he would perform Sri Moola Rama's puje in his new house for three days & with the grace of Sri Rama his problem would be solved. So, the next day, His Holiness performed the puje in Bairam Khan 's mansion. During the first two days, the huge serpent sat nearby watching the puje. On the 3rd day, after the puje was over, the serpent spoke through the medium of a brahmin. He said, " There are seven jars of gold buried under this room. Let half of this be given to the mutta. Of the remaining treasure, half of it should be given to biram Khan & the rest to be distributed amongst worthy brahmins. Saying this the serpent breathed its last. Thus Sathyabodha Theertha blessed Bairam Khan & freed him from the clutches of the serpent. During the reign of Sri Sathyabodha Theertha, the coffers of Sri Uttaradhi Mutta overflowed with gold & silver coins. Sri Sathyabodha Theertha had gold coins minted & these coins were given as dakshina to scholors & brahmins. These coins can still be seen in Uttaradhi Mutta & at Savanur mutta. One side of the coin bears the figure of His Holiness with the inscription Sathyabodha gururaja'. The other side has the lotus with 8 petals & 'gururaja vijayate' inscribed on it. Sri Dhirendra Theertha & Sri Varadendra Theertha of Sri Rayar mutta were the contemporaries of Sri Sathyabodha Theertha. Sri Dhirendra Theertha was on very friendly terms with Sri Sathyabodha Theertharu & the two would meet quite often to discuss the intricacies of Madhwa philosophy. Sri Varendra Theertha spent most of his time in the north & in Poona. So, the disciples of Sri Rayaru mutta recoginised Sri Dhirendra Theertha as their guru though Sri Varadendra Theertha was the real successor to the Rayaru mutta. Sri Varadendra Theertha resented this treatment & so there was a rift between Sri Varadendra theertha & Sri Dhirendra theertha. Sri Varadendra Theertha knew that his problems would be solved if he approached the large hearted & noble Sri Sathyabodha Theertharu. So, Sri Varadendra Theertha came to Uttaradhi Mutta in Savanur in the year 1774 & met Sri Sathyabodha Theertharu & requested Him to establish cordial relationship between Himself & Sri Dhirendra Theertha. Sri Sathyabodha Theertha known for His statementship brought about a rapproachment between these two ascetics. The disciples of Sri Rayaru mutta began to recognise Sri Varadendra Theertha as their pontiff. They of course, continued to honor Sri Dhirendra Theertha for his learning & spiritual powers. Sri Sathyabodha Theertha was respected & loved not only by the disciples of his own mutta but by the disciples of all other Vaishnava mutta. Sri Sathyabodha Theertha had the welfare of all people at heart. He had the welfare of all people at heart. He spread friendship & goodwill where he went. Sri Sathyabodha Theertharu in spite of his deep involvement in the political affairs of the state never compromised his religious duties. He taught & preached the glorious philosophy of Sri Madhwacharya & trained hundreds of disciples who became erudite scholars. It is to the great credit of Sri Sathyabodha Theertha that 4 of his disciples became the peethadhipatis of Sri Uttaradhi Mutta after Him. They are Sri Sathyasandha Theertha, Sri Sathyavara Theertha, Sri Sathyadharma Theertha, Sri Sathyasankalpa Theertha. Even today, Savanur mutta shines with the holy presence of three ascetics. Sri Sathyabodha theertha, Sri Sathyasandha Theertha & Sri Sathyadharma theertha. That is why, in Savanur Mutta, devotees are given theertha & mantrakshata thrice. Sri Sathyabodha Theertha realised that his early sojourn was nearing its end. So, he annoited Sri Sathyasandha Theertha on Phalguna Shuddha trithiya during the shobhana samvatsara. Sri Sathyabodha Theertha with his " jnAnadrishti " realised that his disciple Sri Sathyasandha Theertha had a short life span. So, he gave him twelve cups filled with kheer & asked him to drink it. But Sri Sathyasandha Theertha could drink only ten cups. Thus, the compassinate Sri Sathyabodha Theertha increased His life by 10 years. Sri Sathyabodha Theertha has installed idols of Sri Lakshminarashimha, Vittala, Pranadevaru & a Siva Linga. Sri Sathyabodha Theertha gave up His mortal body on Phalguna Krishna pratime of the year Shobhana samvathsara, shaka 1705. Reference: The Saint of Savanur (Life of Sri Satyabodha Theertha) By Smt Jyothi Raghavendra Rao Published by Sriman Madhwa Siddhantonnahini Sabha Tiruchanur- 517 503 SMSO Sabha Publication # 70 bhAratIramaNamukhyaprANA.ntargata shri kR^iShNArpanamasthu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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