Chaturmasya jnAnArjane saraNi - Madhwa Vijaya (a Gist in English) by Eminent scholars - Sarga 14 Part 1 of 3

October 9, 2009

|| Sri Rama Krishna VedavyAsAya namaha ||

|| Sri Hanuma Bheema Madhwa MunibhyO namaha ||

namaste all,

Please find a brief on sarga #14, 1st Part today.

You can refer to previous sarga at:

Sarga 13 - MadhwaYuvaParishat/message/11691

|| shrI hari vAyu gurubhyO namaH ||

Madhwa Vijaya (a Gist in English) by sixteen Eminent scholars

Sarga 14, Part 1 by Sri C.K. Vasantharama Rao, Delhi

Book edited by Srimushnam V Nagaraja Rao

SRI MADHVA A PRACTICAL PHILOSOPHER AND A WORLD TEACHER

(Foreword: - The substance of the 14th chapter of Sri Sumadhva Vijaya closely follows the ideas expressed in â€œPadartha Dipikaâ€ of Sri Viswapathi Theertha of Sri Pejawar Math, Udupi & Manodopakariniâ€ of Sri Chalari Acharya. In some places, â€œBhavaprakashikaâ€ of Sri Narayana Panditacharya is also utilized by me. A few quotations from â€œSadachara Smrithiâ€ & Krishnamritha Maharnavaâ€ of Sri Madhva & from â€œSrimad Bhagavad Gitaâ€ & other sacred texts may also be traced in explanation of the implied Bhava of the Kavya. The kavya itself is of a very high order & in the limited space, it will not be possible to do justice to the versatility & poetic genius of Sri Narayana Panditacharya. It is, therefore,

proposed to give the essence of the chapter highlighting the facts of Sri Madhvaâ€™s personality in preference to a verbatim translation).

King Jaya Simhaâ€™s conferring royal reception & honors to Sri Madhva was a significant event which recognized his greatness as a teacher & his growing influence on the people in the areas which were till then the strongholds of his philosophical opponents. Sri Trivikrama Panditacharya, the royal poet & a scholar of repute, was also attracted by the thrilling & refreshingly brilliant discourses of Sri Madhva. Natural enough, Sri Padmapadacharya & his followers were jealous of the advent of Sri Madhva & his teachings & felt that if his source books were taken away, he could no longer draw shafts from his arsenal to hurl & vanquish them. In desperation, therefore, they robbed the personal library of Sri

Madhva, which was left in the care of Sri Shankara, the younger brother of the royal poet Sri Trivikrama. Sri Madhva, hearing this news, quickly came to the place where Sri Padmapada was living & defeated him in challenge & through his trusted & pious disciple, Sri Shankara, appealed to the king for recovery of the lost library.

The king considered the theft was a foolish act of an immature person & was indignant. Who could lightly treat the order of the king who had taken up the matter seriously? The person responsible for the theft fled overnight & the people of the locality thereafter brought back the library for handing over but Sri Madhva did not accept the same without formalities. It was only proper for him, as a law abiding person, to get them through the king to whom he had already appealed. He, therefore, left the precious books in the hands of mediators & proceeded to Vishnu mangala, a nearby village on the Sahyadri ranges. The chieftains of the two villages & the king himself entreated & urged Sri Shankara to excuse the miscreants of the foolish act & to

accept the library, which he did after seeking the approval of Sri Madhva.

The King later on came to Vishnumangala with his ministers, dignitaries & chieftains & with knees bent in profound humility, entreated Sri Madhva with honors & received spontaneously the rare blessings showered on him by the all compassionate Sri Madhva. The scene was so touching & solemn that the royal poet Sri Trivikrama while being happy at the turn of events extolled the king as the recipient of the grace of Sri Madhva which is difficult for any but those fit to aspire for the kingdom of Lord Indra & blessed with the words:

AnaMdatIrtha bhagavatpada padmareNuH, svAnaMdado bhavatu te jasiMha bhUpa- (bhAva prakAshikA)

(May the sacred dust of the lotus feet of Sri Ananda Theertha Bhagavatpada give the Swarupananda to you. Oh Lord Jayasimha).

The poet Trivikrama although not quite familiar with Sri Madhva & being himself a versatile genius, was only too quick to recognize the hidden greatness of Sri Madhva as easily as a bee could find honey in an unfamiliar flower (verse 3 to 5).

SRI MADHVA- A TRUE GUIDE

Sri Madhva was a person of deep understanding, endowed with a penetrating intellect to judge easily & minutely the inner recesses of the people & dispense his influence & grace in the appreciate manner. In the Satvik souls, he infused the spirit of true Bhakti, pure love & dedicates to the Lord, in the Rajasic, he excited by his super human feats, a curiosity & awareness of the existence of the Supreme whom they could not ignore and in the Tamasic, the feelings of extreme hatred towards himself & his Lord, which ultimately took them to the eternal & inescapable hell (verse 6). Lord Krishna says of the triple character of the souls & of their destiny in a simple tone: -

tri-vidha bhavati shraddha dehinam sa svabhava-ja|sattviki rajasi caiva tamasi ceti tam shrinu|| 17-2||

sattvanurupa sarvasya shraddha bhavati bharata|shraddha-mayo â€™yam purusho yo yac-chraddhah sa eva sah||17-3 ||

daivi sampad vimokshaya nibandhayasuri mata |ma sucah sampadam daivim abhijato â€™si pandava || 16-5 ||

tan aham dvisatah kruran samsaresu naradhaman |ksipamy ajasram asubhan asurisv eva yonisu|| 16-19 ||

asurim yonim apanna mudha janmani janmani |mam aprapyaiva kaunteya tato yanty adhamam gatim || 16-20 ||

Sri Raghavendra Theertharu here explains:

satvAnurUpa = sarvasya jantoH shraddhA satvAnurUpA

jIvasvarUpAnurUpA bhavati â€“ (gItAvivR^itiH )

The author of the Kavya indeed appears to suggest here that Sri Madhva as the incarnation of Sri Mukhyaprana, was discharging his duties as the foremost & true servant & chief lieutenant of the Lord (verse 6). Sri Madhva says in MBTN:

tasyA~NgaM prathamo vAyuH prAdurbhAvatrayAnvitaH |

prathamo hanUmAnnAma dvitIyo bhIma eva cha |

pUrNapraj~nastR^itIyastu bhagavatkAryasAdhakaH ||

bhUbhAraharaNe viShNoH pradhAnA~NgaM hi mArutiH || (MBTN)

SRI MADHVA, A PRACTICAL TEACHER OF MANKIND

Sri Madhva possessed an impressive personality endowed with beauty & health & all the qualities of a great teacher, & an intellect unsurpassed in brilliance & mastery over all the arts & sciences- secular & adhyatmic to crown this, he was a receptacle of extremely humane qualities which won the hearts of the people.

He was not a mere dialectician of the highest order but was a practical teacher & knew that he should practice what he ardently preached. A highly disciplined life was essential according to him & hence his daily routine was also well planned & regulated.

Sri Madhva, as a great Bhaktha, preached Karmasanyasa â€“ dispassionate dedication of service to the Supreme Lord & by his own example illustrated how ill conceived it is to say that Karmic discipline is an impediment to Atmagnyana. In the Sadachara Smriti, Sri Madhva clearly states the essence of Karmasanyasa or Satvik living as taught by the Lord Vedavyasa â€“

yasmin.h sarvANi karmANi sannayasyA dhyAtma chetasA |

nirAshIrnirmamo yAti paraM jayati so.achyutaH || (sadachara smriti)

The right Karma, in fact, enhances the right knowledge and according to him the performance of nivR^itikarma & its samarpaNa adds to the excellence of Ananda even after liberation.

SRI MADHVAâ€™S DAILY ROUTINE

Sri Madhvaâ€™s daily routine, therefore, served as a model to the Grihasthas & to the Sanyasis in so far as they were applicable in their respective stages of life.

udayati vinatAyA nandane shlAdhyakAle sa kR^ita sakala kR^ityaH kR^itya vedi pravekaH |

aruNa yavanikAntar brahma nArAyaNAkhyaM guru guNamabhidadhyau yogya yogAsanasthaH || 7 ||

He was rising in the early hours before sunrise & finishing his ablution & bath & Sandhya & sitting in a convenient seat & posture, would enter into deep meditation of the Lord Narayana of infinite qualities. (While the Guru is in meditation, a curtain is put up to leave him undisturbed by others & this curtain is known as yavanikA).

Varaha Purana states the rules of conduct:

uShaHkAle samuttiShThet.h sarvadA vaiShNavo naraH |

praxAlya pANI pAdau cha tata Achamya bhaktitaH |

sukhAsInaH smaren nityaM madIyA miShTa devatAm.h |

The other ascetics would likewise act as taught by their respective Gurus. The group of ardent disciples waiting in readiness for rendering service from the moment he was awake, the lurking feeling of some who kept late hours in discussion on intricate subjects & hence overpowered by sleep & therefore feeling sad for not being able to serve the Acharya & therefore quietly standing aloof in an air of uneasiness of being noticed & leaving way to him to pass by & such details in Shloka 8 to 11 make the reader feel vividly the reverberating life of those days. The disciples were avid to serve Sri Madhva in profound reverence for seeking true knowledge & grace so easily available to them (verse 8- 11).

The intimacy between the Guru & Shishya was so close that the impress of the personality of the Guru was of a lasting nature & moulded the life & character of the Shishya who had to live likewise. The acts of the Guru, Sri Madhva, were significant & illustrated the truth of things not normally open to all to see. Once an ascetic by the side of Sri Madhva removed the nirmalya of flowers. It is said, there was surprise among the disciples when they noticed & were told that the thick white ghee like matter stuck in the flowers offered by Sri Madhva to the Lord Krishna was nothing other than the nectar. Verily this was the Lordâ€™s grace which Sri Madhva had and was also open to all the Ekanta bhakthas & like him (verse 12-13).

THE BEAUTIFUL SUNRISE

The next few stanzas are marks of poetic beauty & excellence which the readers should enjoy themselves by reading the original & the commentaries thereon. The subtle description of sunrise dispelling darkness around in stages, the sweet & joyous singing of the birds, the sweet & joyous singing of the birds, the fresh morning dew the blossoming of lotus buds & the refreshing look of the cool & early hours, the quick & enthusiastic men worshipping the sun & their dust besmeared bodies, the ascetics sitting in meditation as if reminded by peeping sun rays that the time for sastra sravana was near, is so vivid & realistic to make one feel the experience himself.

The disciples after their early morning duties & meditation would congregate in an orderly manner, neither too crowded nor too dispersed, around the Acharya seated on a platform, to hear his discourses which were a feast for the Devatas, & seen through the manuscript text written in small & big letters neatly arranged as the horses & elephants in a parade would be. All the students were not of the same caliber, some quick grasping & others somewhat slow & they would after hearing the discourses gradually retire bowing at the reddish glowing feet of Sri Madhva, who would be shining in the assembly with scintillating knowledge like the morning sun with a thousand rays (verse 14-22).

Sri Madhva was particular of the observance of Sampradaya of the wise in conducting the classes. He with his Sishyas, at the start of Veda Pravachana would offer felicitations to the Supreme Lord by spelling in a low tone the sacred symbol â€œOMâ€ the essence of the three Vedas (R^ig, yajur, sAma) & the three Vyahritis (bhUH, bhuvaH, svaH) for the sake of a faultless & clear exposition of the Upanishads by his inimitable Bhashyas thereon (verse 23, 24).

It would appear that the author Narayana Panditacharya is reminding us here of the voice of Sri MukhyapraNa himself in Sri Madhva, which is symbolic of the creative energy of the universe & of the energy cutting the mystic knot of ignorance which is to be found in the Upanishadic texts. The ever energetic & untiring Sri Madhva would give satisfactory answers to questions of the ardent & the wise as easily as Karna gave away wealth freely for the asking. To the jealous opponents, itching for a victory over him, he gave a decisive, unchallengeable & cutting reply as Arjuna would fire the shafts on those seeking a rub with him. (verse 25).

dhanamiva sadhanAyebhyo.arkasUnuH prasanna shara shatamiva pArthaH saMyugArthibhya ugraH |

arati virahitaH so.anArataM nodishanno prati vachanamadInaM chodakebhyo.akhilebhyaH || 25 ||

A little after mid day the learned Sri Madhva would halt Pravachana & proceed with disciples to the tank full of clear & unruffled waters where the presiding deities of Ganga & other sacred rivers eagerly awaited his holy touch (verse 26). Sri Madhva seeing the reflection of the people around, waiting for his Darshan & himself seeing his own image awhile, would in meditation of the Vasana rupa of the Lord, take a dip verily seeing the Lord Himself in his Manasa sarovara. (verse 27).

ghana rasa nikaro.asau anta ratyanta shuddho munigaNa iva bhUyaH snehavAn.h prAgdadhAnaH |

prati kR^itimakhilaj~nasyAparoxeNa tAvat.h sphuTamalabhata rUpaM majjane sajjaneShTam.h || 27

ondu bAri smaraNe sAladE

Ananda theerthara, poorna prajnara sarvajna rAyara madhwa rAyara

ondu bAri smaraNe sAladE ||

prakruthi bandhadalli siluki sakala vishayagaLali nondu

akaLanka charita hariya pAda bhakuthi bEkeMbuvarige,

ondu bAri smaraNe sAladE ||

-Sri Vadirajaru

bhAratIramaNa mukhyapraNAntargata shrI kR^iShNArpanamastu

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