Chaturmasya jnAnArjane saraNi - Madhwa Vijaya (a Gist in English) by sixteen Eminent scholars - Sarga 4, part 1 of 2.

The shining Vasudeva returned home after Guru Kula Vasa. He knew his mission. He knew that he was not born to marry, multiply & make an exit. He realized that his duty to God, to himself & to his fellowmen, summoned him to the battle with false knowledge, overthrow the sovereignty of ignorance & re establish truth on its throne. He was convinced that the best mode of achieving this end was by an early renunciation of worldly life & family ties, & by adopting the austere penance of a sanyasin (verse 1-4).

Without apprising his father of his resolution lest he should meet with stout opposition before his plans were matured, Vasudeva set out in search of a Guru who could initiate him into Sanyasa. He had not far to seek, before he found one at Udupi, in the person of a Sanyasin achyuta Preksha alias Purushothama Theertha ( verse 5, 6)

This Achyuta Preksha was a sincere, genuine man, of great piety & that in a previous birth, he had been a Brahmin & had the merit of being honored as a guest in the house of Pandavas at the hands of the Chaste Queen Droupathi. This was sufficient stamp of piety & purity for any man. In the cycle of Metempsychosis (rebirth), it was his good fortune that led him to become a Sanyasi & future Guru of Sri Madhva (verse 7).

This Guru was certainly a learned man who had faithfully studied Advaita under his guru who in turn, belonged to the line of Advaita. It is said that his (Achyuta Prekshaâ€™s) Guru had left, on the eve of his death, a parting injuction to Achyuta Preksha that the identity of God & soul insisted on by Advaita had not been realized by anybody & was unrealizable.

Achyuta Preksha was staggered by this confession & had felt puzzled ever since. He was disconsolate & repaired to Udupi in his tours & spent a long time in the temple of Ananteswara, praying & meditating with a view to light, on the vexed question (verse 9-12). It was in this circumstance that Vasudeva bent his steps to Achyutha Preksha in his camp at Udupi.

Vasudeva was at once accepted as a secular novice to undergo a term of probation preliminary to enrolment in the sacred order. Achyuta Preksha had a sort of pre-sentiment that God would confer a boon upon him in the shape of an eminent disciple. To this effect, it is said, there had been an inspired pronouncement through the lips of a worshipper in the temple at Udupi.

bhaviShyataH shiShya varAddhi viddhi mAm.h |

iti praviShTaH puruShaM tamabhyadhAt.h || 13 ||

On meeting Vasudeva, the Guru instinctively felt a flutter & thought that he might be the chosen disciple (verse 14)

Meanwhile, Madhyageha was alarmed at the continued absence of his son & started with a heavy heart to find him out. He came to Udupi & found him in Achyuta Prekshaâ€™s Mutt (verse 15). On discovering the ladâ€™s intentions, the poor father was almost heart broken. He was not prepared to lose his gem of a son. He felt such a tightening at the heart that he lost balance of mind. He begged, implored & entreated in vain. Cajolery, entreaty & arguments fell flat on Vasudeva who had made up his mind. Madhyageha driven thus to desperation, fell at his sonâ€™s feet in prostration, fell at his sonâ€™s feet in prostration & begged him to change his mind.

This was an unfortunate illusioned move. Vasudeva retored him saying

natirna shushrUShujanAya shasyate nataM bhavad.hbhyAM sphuTamatra sAMpratam.h |

aho vidhAtrA svayameva dApitA tadabhyanuj~neti jagAda sa prabhuH || 17 ||

This prostration spontaneously resorted to by one so senior in age, a position admissible only if the younger person was a Sanyasi, simply confirmed his resolve by being an ominous prediction of what was to be. (verse 17)

Madhyageha was silenced by this repartee, as his wits had deserted him. He retraced his steps to his home with the thought that his dear son whose separation he could not brook for an hour, the ideal of his dreams & hopes, was to be virtually lost to him.

Madhyageha recounted the occurrences to his wife, & both felt a void which was impossible to fill. He tried to endure for a time, but this was impossible. He set out again to try another chance & make one more desperate effort (verse 18-19). In the meantime, the Guru had left Udupi, touring in the south. Vasudeva was with him in the circuit camp. Madhyageha followed in their wake & had to cross the Netravati river to overtake them. This river is about 38 miles (or 58 km) to the south of Udupi & runs south of Mangalore. He crossed the river & found his son & the Guru Achyuta Preksha in the village Karyaooru. Very animated was the conversation that ensued between the unhappy father & the resolute son. Madhyageha

became furious at one stage & (à¤¸à¥à¤¤à¤¸à¥à¤¯ à¤•à¥Œà¤ªà¥€à¤¨à¤§à¥ƒà¤¤à¥Œ à¤¹à¤¿ à¤¸à¤¾à¤¹à¤¸à¤ªà¥à¤°à¤¤à¤¿à¤¶à¥à¤°à¤µà¥‹ à¤®à¥‡ à¤¦à¥ƒà¤¢ à¤‡à¤¤à¥à¤¯à¤à¤¾à¤·à¤¤à¥â€Œà¥¤) (20) threatened to put an end to his life if his son should have his own way to become a â€œKoupeena & challenged his father to carry out his treat.

xaNena kaupInadharo nijaM paTaM

vidArya he tAta kuruShva sAhasaM || 21 ||

Temper cooled a bit on both sides. Vasudeva begged of his father not to stand in the way of a meritorious action.

yadA viraktaH puruShaH prajAyate tadaiva sannayAsa vidhiH shrutau shrutaH || 23 ||

Madhyageha then appealed to the emotion impulses of the youth & asked him how he had the heart to forsake his old parents, circumstanced as they were, without any other filial support to rest upon. (verse 22). Vasudeva was evidently moved. He promised that he would not enter the Sacred Order until a younger brother was born.

na sa~Nga- hInopi parivrajAmi vAm.h ahaM tu shushrUShumakalpayanniti || 23 ||

Even this did not satisfy the father. Not seeing any other way out of the difficulty, he told his son that if his (Vasudevaâ€™s) mother agreed, he might please himself. (Verse 24). Vasudeva agreed to this and Madhyageha left for his village & narrated the whole affair to his wife (verse 25). Then followed a period of suspense with mingled feelings of grief & pleasure.

Madhyageha watched the progress of events when he learned that his wife would in due course present him with further issue. At last, a son was born (Verse 26) who was to become the famous Vishnu Theertha.

On hearing of this, Vasudeva paid a flying visit to his village Pajakashetra to speak to his mother. He told her that he must have her permission to enter the holy order, and that if it was refused, she might be sure that she could never look at his face again for he would disappear altogether & become lost to the world (Verse 28). Ths proved a home thrust. The maternal love reconciled itself to the situation, arguing that it was better to have her son before his eyes, Sanyasin as he might be, than to lose him out of sight for ever. She therefore yielded with reluctance. Vasudeva had thus the permission of parents to carry out his resolution (Verse 29).

It may be presumed that the Ananteswara temple put on a festive appearance on the auspicious day when Vasudeva made the entry into Sanyasa, initiated by Sri Achyutapreksha. The eager crowd thronged at the entrance in order to occupy every inch of available space whence a view could be obtained. There was a flutter & a general consciousness that this was a memorable occasion.

VASUDEVA BECOMES â€œPOORNABODHAâ€

The young sanyasi parted with his silken tresses, donned the reddish robes of an ascetic & took up the knotted wand (Danda) of the Order. But the bald head & the rude garments hardly diminished or affected the glorious luster of his golden limbs & features. When he went round the shrine, with his bowl & Danda entered the sanctum of Ananteswara, & prostrated before the idol of Narayana, there was not a single eye which was not full of tears nor was there a single throat not choked by emotion. Achyutapreksha felt it is proudest moment of his life when he placed his hands on the glorious Vasudeva & blessed him in his new name of POORNA BODHA.

guNAnurUponnati 'pUrNabodha ityamuShya nAma dvijavR^inda vanditaH || 33 ||

The reader will pause for a moment to reflect on the circumstances of Sri Madhvaâ€™s entry into the Holy Order. The boy was not yet of an age to have become tired of life or such of its monotony & its wickedness. He possessed all that is prized by the worldly wise, everything that could make life worth living.

It was not the silver & gold of Achyuta Preksha that had dazzled his vision, for, of that, the Mutt could not boast much. It was not the pressure of parents, as is too often the case in similar instances, for instead of tolerating him, they offered a stout & vigorous protest & opposed his wish. Nor was it a case of young fancy tickled by the glamour of riches, rank or paraphernalia.

Hence, Vasudevaâ€™s resolution, looked at in its true light, brings home the conviction that no vanity or imposture was at the bottom of it. There was no personal consideration whatsoever.

Sri Poornabodha turned a new page in his life & took to his new duties with enthusiasm. It took him hardly any time to master the routine of the new order & faithfully pass through the proper observances. All the boyish mischief of which he had been capable, was gone at a sweep & there he was, a veritable sage, sober & sedate, pursuing a career of study & mediation & well nigh commencing his campaign of crusade against faulty systems of philosophy & religion.

GANGA COMING TO UDUPI

Shortly afte becoming a Sanyasin, Poorna pragnya sought permission of his Guru to perform a pilgrimage to the Ganges. Achyutaprekshawas unwilling to accord permission, because he could not brook a separation from his Sishya, so soon after the initiation. (Verse 40). The anecdote goes on to say that an oracle prophesied a spiritual visit of the Goddess Ganga to a tank at Udupi in three days & said that Poornapragnya need not undertake the journey just then. (verse 41). The announcement was that this visit of Ganga would be repeated once in twelve years (Verse 42).

tataH paraM dvAdasha-vatsarAntare sadA.a.avrajetsA tadanugrahA~NkinI || 42 ||

Forty days afte Achyutapreksha took Poornapragnya into his fold, a great celebrity known as Vasudeva, chanced to meet this young disciple at Udupi & challenged him for a philosophical disputation. The noted scholar went on for three days in thunderous exposition of his stand.

Young Poorna Pragnya set out to reply. It was maiden entry into the arena of dialectical contest & though he was only a young junior in appearance, in practice he handled the issue with ease like an able veteran & succeeded in smashing all the arguments of the boastful opponent (Verse 43).

This marvelous feat of the young hero furnished to Sri Achyuta Preksha an ocular proof of his pupilâ€™s attainments. He was enthusiastic to give him good training in Vedantic literature. The Guru was convinced that elementary lessons might be dispensed with in his case & that serious study might be commenced straight away. The pupil obeyed the Guruâ€™s behests with cheerfulness. The work known as â€œIshta-Siddhiâ€ was chosen for instruction (verse 44 ).

After preliminaries were gone through, the first verse was read, & Achyutapreksha expatiated on its beauties & explained the express & implied import of the stanza. The pupil listened with attention to the very end. When the lecture was over, Poornapragna begged leave to make a few observations. He said that there were numerous flaws in the text & enumerated as many as 32 mistakes & fallacies.

The Guru was staggered by what he heard. His scholarship was not equal to the Herculean task of defending the ancient positions. Poornapragnya was such a close reasoned that there was no resisting the force of his logic. Intellectual honesty brought home the conviction that the fallacies & faults were there, such as could not be overthrown by any amout of hair- splitting or quibbling. Thus, the pupil succeeded in sowing the first seeds of his great Protestantism. Objections & difficulties cropped up at every stage & the course was seriously impeded by the inability of the teacher to meet them (verse 45-48).

DailyParayana of Bhagavata being a time honored usage in the mutt, Poornapragnya used to sit amongst five or six readers & compare the various readings with care & scrutiny. Amidst serious variations & divergences, he used to pitch upon the correct reading & give excellent reasons. It looked as if intuition or previous knowledge guided his decision with unerring accuracy. But his critics subjected him to severe cross examination & he stood the test & satisfied them that his conclusion was impregnable. (Verse 49,50).

Among the audience, some people expressed their misgivings & one of them asked him to repeat the prose passages of Fifth Skandha of the great work. This was evidently considered a crucial test to find out the depth of his knowledge. (verse 51).

Without a momentâ€™s delay or hesitation, Poornapragnya reeled off page after page of the chapter in question with perfect accuracy. Nor did he desist until the eager listener begged his pardon & expressed perfect satisfaction. (Verse 51,52). Everbody was puzzled as to how this prodigy of a boy had time or scope to master all that he seemed to know. Unable to solve the riddle, they asked him point blank:

atra janmani na yat.h paThitaM te jaitra bhAti kathamityamunokte

â€œO! Jayasheela ! how had you managed to acquire so much of proficiency within so short a span of life?â€

The reply was promptly given

pUrva janmasu hi veda puredaM sarvamityamitabuddhiruvAcha ||

All this knowledge had been acquired by me in my previous births. (53)

The poet concludes this Sarga stating that in this way, the name & fame of Sri Poornapragna rapidly spread throughout the country. (54).

bharatIramaNA mukhyapraNAntargata shrI kR^iShNArpanamastu