Lakshminarayana Tirtha | |
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| Personal life | |
| Born | Abbur,Channapatna, India |
| Honors | Śrīpādarāja |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Hinduism |
| Order | Vedanta |
| Philosophy | Dvaita, Vaishnavism |
| Religious career | |
| Guru | Svarnavarna Tirtha |
Disciples | |
| Part ofa series on |
| Dvaita |
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Sripadaraja (Sanskrit:श्रीपादराज;Śrīpādarāja) orSripadaraya, also known by his pontifical nameLakshminarayana Tirtha, was a HinduDvaita philosopher, scholar and composer and the pontiff of theMadhvacharyamutt atMulbagal. He is widely considered the founder ofHaridasa movement along withNarahari Tirtha. He has influenced bothCarnatic music andHindustani music through his compositions. His songs and hymns, written under themudra ofRanga Vitthala, contain the distillation of Dvaita principles infused with mysticism and humanism.[1] He is also credited with the invention of thesuladi musical structure and composed 133 of them along with severalkirtanas.[1] He was the advisor ofSaluva Narasimha Deva Raya and mentored the youngVyasatirtha.[2] He also authored a commentary onJayatirtha'sNyaya Sudha calledNyayasudhopanyasa-Vagvajra.[3] Sripadaraja is believed to be the incarnation ofDhruva.
Sripadaraja was born in aMadhva Brahmin family[4] in Abbur, a village in Channapatna taluk, Karnataka. His father, Sheshagiriappa, served as an accountant while young Sripadaraja looked after the cattle, studyingSanskrit texts in his spare time. His mother was Giryamma.[5] Tradition asserts that Sripadaraja was the cousin of Brahmanya Tirtha, who served as the pontiff of theMadhvacharya mutt atAbbur and the guru ofVyasatirtha. Legends speak of Svarnavarna Tirtha encountering young Sripadaraja on his way to Abbur and after a brief rapport, being amazed by the youth's innate intelligence. He would later tutor the youth and ordain him as a monk with the nameLakshminarayana Tirtha. Lakshminarayana Tirtha eventually succeeded Svarnavarna Tirtha as the pontiff of the mutt atMulbagal. Sripadaraja was a contemporary of Vibhudendra Tirtha,[6] the progenitor of theRaghavendra Math who conferred upon him the titleSripadaraja orSripadaraya.[7][6] Sripadaraja was considered the guru ofSaluva Narasimha Deva Raya and educatedVyasatirtha in the Shastras.[1] His songs and hymns were sung during the nighttimeBhajans at his mutt.
Continuing the tradition ofVedanta, he authored a commentary onNyaya Sudha of Jayatirtha calledVagvajra which, according to Sharma, "is a lucid and attractive commentary in 3500 granthas".[2] He also adds that despite the exhaustive exposition and the graceful style, his role as aHaridasa eclipsed his scholarly work. He is often considered as the pioneer ofDasa Sahitya with his simple worded and spiritual hymns synchronised to music. Jackson conjectures that the simple and rural beginnings of Sripadaraya coupled with an intimate connection with his vernacular language influenced his poetry.[8] He composed 13,000suladis, which are songs containing a medley of differentragas andtalas often employed to set the mood of the narrative. Sharma notes "His songs are more sublime than those of any others, and possess a happy blending of rhythm and meaning".[9] Vyasatirtha, who succeeded him as the pontiff, furthered the musical legacy of Sripada by giving further impetus to theHaridasa movement, initiating bards likePurandara andKanaka and composing severalkirtanas himself.
{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)Madhva religious figures | ||
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