Madhvacharya | |
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 Shri Madhvacharya's idol at his birthplace Pajaka, Udupi | |
| Personal life | |
| Born | Vāsudeva c. 1199 (or 1238)[1] |
| Died | c. 1278 (or 1317) |
| Honors | Pūrṇa-prajña Jagadguru |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Hinduism |
| Order | Vedanta |
| Founder of | Udupi Sri Krishna Matha |
| Philosophy | Tattvavada(Which later popularly came be known asDvaita Vedanta) |
| Religious career | |
| Guru | Achyuta-preksha[3] |
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Reality is twofold: independent and dependent things. The LordVishnu is the only independent thing.[4]
Madhvacharya (IAST:Madhvācārya;pronounced[mɐdʱʋaːˈtɕaːrjɐ]; 1199–1278 CE[5] or 1238–1317 CE[6]), also known asPurna Prajna (IAST:Pūrṇa-Prajña) andĀnanda Tīrtha, was an Indian philosopher, theologian and the chief proponent of theDvaita (dualism) school ofVedanta.[1][7] Madhva called his philosophyTattvavāda meaning "arguments from a realist viewpoint".[7]
Madhvacharya was born atPajaka nearUdupi on the west coast ofKarnataka state in 13th-century India.[8] As a teenager, he became aSanyasi (monk) joining Brahma-sampradayaguru Achyutapreksha, of the Ekadandi order.[1][3] Madhva studied the classics ofHindu philosophy, and wrote commentaries on thePrincipal Upanishads, theBhagavad Gita and theBrahma Sutras (Prasthanatrayi),[1] and is credited with thirty seven works inSanskrit.[9] His writing style was of extreme brevity and condensed expression. His greatest work is considered to be theAnuvyakhyana, a philosophical supplement to hisbhasya on theBrahma Sutras composed with a poetic structure.[8] In some of his works, he proclaimed himself to be an avatar ofVayu, the son of godVishnu.[10][11]
Madhvacharya was a critic ofAdi Shankara'sAdvaita Vedanta andRamanuja'sVishishtadvaita Vedanta teachings.[7][8] He toured India several times, visiting places such as Badrinath, Bengal, Varanasi, Dwaraka, Goa and Kanyakumari, engaging in philosophical debates and visiting Hindu centres of learning.[9] Madhva established theKrishna Mutt at Udupi with amurti secured fromDwarka Gujarat in 1285 CE.[8]
Madhvacharya's teachings are built on the premise that there is a fundamental difference betweenAtman (individual soul, self) and theBrahman (ultimate reality, God Vishnu), these are two different unchanging realities, with individual soul dependent on Brahman, never identical.[7] His school's theistic dualism teachings disagreed with themonist[12] teachings of the other two most influential schools of Vedanta based on Advaita's nondualism and Vishishtadvaita's qualified nondualism.[7][13] Liberation, asserted Madhva, is achievable only through the grace of God.[7]The Dvaita school founded by Madhva influencedVaishnavism, theBhakti movement in medieval India, and has been one of the three influentialVedānta philosophies, along with Advaita Vedanta and Vishishtadvaita Vedanta.[8][14][15] Madhva's historical influence in Hinduism, state Kulandran and Kraemer: "has been salutary, but not extensive.“
The biography of Madhvacharya is unclear about his year of birth.[16] Many sources date him to 1238–1317 period,[14][17] but some place him about the 1199–1278 period.[16][18]
Madhvācārya was born inPajaka nearUdupi, a coastal district in the present-day Indian state ofKarnataka.[19] Traditionally it is believed that his father's name is Naduillaya (Sanskrit: Madhyageha, Madhyamandira) and the name of his mother is unclear, although many sources variously claim it as Satyavati and Vedavati.[19] Born in a TuluBrahmin household, he was named Vāsudeva.[19] Later he became famous by the names Purnaprajna, Anandatirtha and Madhvacharya (or just Madhva).[8] Pūrnaprajña was the name given to him at the time of his initiation intosannyasa (renunciation), as a teenager.[19] The name conferred on him when he became the head of his monastery was "Ānanda Tīrtha".[19] All three of his later names are found in his works.[1] Madhvācārya or Madhva are names most commonly found in modern literature on him, or Dvaita Vedanta related literature.[8][7]
Madhva began his school after hisUpanayana at age seven, and became amonk orSannyasi in his teens,[19] although his father was initially opposed to this.[20] He joined anAdvaita Vedanta monastery in Udupi (Karnataka),[3] accepted hisguru to be Achyutrapreksha,[16] who is also referred to as Achyutraprajna in some sources.[1] Madhva studied the Upanishads and the Advaita literature, but was unconvinced by its nondualism philosophy of oneness of human soul and god, had frequent disagreements with his guru,[19] left the monastery, and began his owntattvavada movement based on dualism premises ofDvi – asserting that human soul and god (as Vishnu) are two different things.[16] Madhva never acknowledged Achyutrapreksha as his guru or his monastic lineage in his writings.[3] Madhva is said to have been clever in philosophy, and also to have been tall and strongly built.[21]
Madhvacharya never established amatha (monastery) dedicated to Dvaita philosophy, however his lineage of students became the sanctuary for a series of Dvaita scholars such asJayatirtha,Sripadaraja,Vyasatirtha,Vadiraja Tirtha,Raghuttama Tirtha,Raghavendra Tirtha andSatyanatha Tirtha who followed in the footsteps of Madhva.[16][22]
A number of hagiographies have been written by Madhva's disciples and followers. Of these, the most referred to and most authentic is the sixteen cantos Sanskrit biographyMadhvavijaya byNarayana Panditacharya – son of Trivikrama Pandita, who himself was a disciple of Madhva.[8]
In several of his texts, Sarma and other scholars state, "Madhvacharya proclaims himself to be the thirdavatar or incarnation ofVayu, wind god, the son ofVishnu".[10][23] He, thus, asserted himself to beHanuman – the first avatar of Vayu, andBhima – a Pandava in theMahabharata and the second avatar of Vayu.[10] In one of hisbhasya on the Brahma Sutras, he asserts that the authority of the text is from his personal encounter with Vishnu.[24] Madhva, states Sarma, believed himself to be an intermediary between Vishnu and Dvaita devotees, guiding the latter in their journey towards Vishnu.[10][11]
Madhva is said to have performed several miracles during his lifetime, including transformingtamarind seeds into gold coins, consuming 4,000 bananas and thirty big pots of milk in one sitting, fighting and winning against robbers and wild animals, crossing theGanges without getting his clothes wet, and giving light to his students through the nails of his big toes after the lamp went out while they were interpreting a text at night.[25]
Madhvacharya is said to have quoted some verses from his unique revisions of scriptures. Also, he is said to have quoted many unique books likeKamatha Sruti. The interpretation of Balittha Sukta by Madhvacharya and his followers to prove that Madhvacharya was an incarnation of Vayu is considered highly unique by standard commentaries on them likeSayana andHorace Hayman Wilson.[26]
Thirty sevenDvaita texts are attributed to Madhvacharya.[27] Of these, thirteen arebhasya (review and commentary) on earliest Principal Upanishads,[18] aMadhva-bhasya on the foundational text of Vedanta school of Hinduism –Brahma Sutras,[18] anotherGita-bhasya onBhagavad Gita,[18][27] a commentary on forty hymns of theRigveda, a review of theMahabharata in poetic style, a commentary calledBhagavata-tatparya-nirnaya onBhagavata Purana.[27] Apart from these, Madhva is also attributed for authoring manystotras, poems and texts onbhakti of Vishnu and hisavatars.[7][28][29] TheAnu-Vyakhyana, a supplement to Madhvacharya's commentary on Brahma Sutras, is his masterpiece, states Sharma.[28]
While being a profusely productive writer, Madhvacharya restricted the access to and distribution of his works to outsiders who were not part of Dvaita school, according to Sarma.[note 1] However, Bartley disagrees and states that this is inconsistent with the known history of extensive medieval Vedantic debates on religious ideas in India which included Dvaita school's ideas.[30]
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The premises and foundations ofDvaita Vedanta, also known asDvaitavada andTattvavada, are credited to Madhvacharya. His philosophy championed unqualified dualism.[27] Madhva's work is classically placed in contrast with monist[31] ideas ofShankara'sAdvaita Vedanta andRamanuja'sVishishtadvaita Vedanta.[27]
Madhva callsepistemologyAnu pramana.[32] It accepts threepramānas, that is three facts or three correct means of knowledge, in contrast to one ofCharvaka and six of Advaita schools of Hindu philosophies:[33][34]
Madhva and his followers introducedkevala-pramaana as the "knowledge of an object as it is", separate fromanu-pramana described above.[42]
Madhva's Dvaita school holds that Vishnu as a God, who is alsoHari,Krishna,Vasudeva andNarayana, can only be known through the propersamanvaya (connection) andpramana of the Vedic scriptural teachings.[43][44] Vishnu, according to Madhvacharya, is not the creator of the Vedas, but the teacher of the Vedas.[43] Madhva's school of thought assert that knowledge is intrinsically valid, and the knower and the known are independently real.[43] Madhvacharya asserted that both the ritual part (karma-kanda, Mimamsa) and the knowledge part (jnana-kanda, Upanishadic Vedanta) in the Vedas, are equally valid and an interconnected whole.[43] As asserted by theMimamsa school of Hindu philosophy, Madhvacharya held that theVedas are author-less, and that their truth is in all of its parts (i.e. thesaṃhitas,brāhmaņas,āraņyakās andupanișads)...[43]
Themetaphysical reality is plural, stated Madhvacharya.[7] There are primarily twotattvas or categories of reality –svatantra tattva (independent reality) andasvatantra tattva (dependent reality).[44]Ishvara (as God Vishnu or Krishna) is the cause of the universe and the only independent reality, in Madhvacharya's view.[44] The created universe is the dependent reality, consisting ofJīva (individual souls) andJada (matter, material things).[7] Individual souls are plural, different and distinct realities.Jīvas are sentient and matter is non-sentient, according to Madhvacharya.[7][45]
Madhva further enumerates the difference between dependent and independent reality as a fivefold division (pancha-bheda) between God, souls and material things.[27] These differences are:[7][46](1) Between material things;(2) Between material thing and soul;(3) Between material thing and God;(4) Between souls; and(5) Between soul and God.
This difference is neither temporary nor merely practical; it is an invariable and natural property of everything. Madhva calls itTaratamya (gradation in pluralism).[44] There is no object like another, according to Madhvacharya. There is no soul like another. All souls are unique, reflected in individual personalities. The sea is full; the tank is full; a pot is full; everything is full, yet each fullness is different, asserted Madhvacharya.[44][47]
Taratamya is based on inherent differences amongst all beings. These differences determine whether souls are eligible for liberation, rebirth, or darkness.[48]
According to Madhvacharya, even in liberation (moksha), the bliss is different for each person based on each one's degree of knowledge and spiritual perfection.[47][45] This liberation according to him, is only achievable with grace of God Vishnu.[18]
Madhva conceptualisedBrahman as a being who enjoys His own bliss, while the entire universe evolves through a nebulous chaos.[49] He manifests, every now and then, to help the evolution process. The four primary manifestation of Him as the Brahman are, according to Madhva,Vasudeva,Pradyumna,Aniruddha and Sankarasana, which are respectively responsible for the redemptive, creative, sustaining and destructive aspects in the universe.[49] His secondary manifestations are many, and all manifestations are at par with each other, it is the same infinite no matter how He manifests.[50] Brahman is the creator of the universe, perfect in knowledge, perfect in knowing, perfect in its power, and distinct from souls, distinct from matter.[50] For liberation, mere intellectual conceptualization of Brahman as creator is not enough, the individual soul must feel attraction, love, attachment and devotional surrender to Him, and only His grace leads to redemption and liberation, according to Madhva.[18][51][52]
The Vishnu as Brahman concept of Madhvacharya is a concept similar to God in major world religions.[53][54] His writings led some early colonial-eraIndologists such asGeorge Abraham Grierson to suggest the 13th-century Madhva was influenced byChristianity,[11] but later scholarship has rejected this theory.[18][55]
Madhvacharya consideredJnana Yoga andKarma Yoga to be insufficient to the path of liberation withoutBhakti.[56][57]Vishnu was the supreme God to Madhva, who can only be reached throughVayu; he further states, faith leads to the grace of God, and grace leads to the liberation of soul.[56]
The knowledge of God, for Madhvacharya, is not a matter of intellectual acceptance of the concept, but an attraction, affection, constant attachment, loving devotion and complete surrender to the grace of God.[58] He rejects monist theories believing that knowledge liberates, asserting instead that it is Divine grace through Bhakti that liberates.[59] To Madhva, God obscures reality by creatingMaya andPrakriti, which causes bondage and suffering; and only God can be the source of soul's release.[60] Liberation occurs when, with the grace of God, one knows the true nature of self and the true nature of God.[61]
Evil and suffering in the world, according to Madhvacharya, originates in man, and not God.[62] EveryJiva (individual soul) is the agent of actions, notJada (matter), and notIshvara (God).[63] While Madhva asserts each individual self is theKartritva (real agency), the self is not an absolutely independent agent to him.[64] This is because, states Madhva, the soul is influenced by sensory organs, one's physical body and such material things which he calls as gifts of God.[64] Man has free will, but is influenced by his innate nature, inclinations and pastkarma.[64]
Madhvacharya asserts,Yathecchasi tatha kuru, which Sharma translates and explains as "one has the right to choose between right and wrong, a choice each individual makes out of his own responsibility and his own risk".[64] Madhva does not address theproblem of evil, that is how can evil exist with that of a God who is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent.[65][66] According to Sharma, "Madhva's tripartite classification of souls makes it unnecessary to answer the problem of evil".[67] According to David Buchta, this does not address the problem of evil, because the omnipotent God "could change the system, but chooses not to" and thus sustains the evil in the world.[65] This view of self's agency of Madhvacharya was, states Buchta, an outlier in Vedanta school and Indian philosophies in general.[65]
This observation from David Buchta is countered and explained by the understanding that the tripartite characteristic is intrinsic to the souls. That is to say, those specific characteristics define each soul individually, and any attempt to change these would mean changing the souls themselves and subsequently the identity of each individual. Therefore, changing these tripartite characteristics would cause that particular individual to no longer exist, and each individual exists for a particular reason. Nonetheless, an omnipotent being would be still able to prevent evil without changing the intrinsic nature of the soul since the omnipotent being is not bound by any limitations, especially those within the dependent reality. Therefore, the final explanation is that the omnipotent being is not purposefully allowing evil to occur but rather allows an independent operation of the dependent reality to encourage free will in each individual. It is therefore the individual's choice whether to seek out the omnipotent being through faith, which allows the individual guidance on how to lead a life of virtue. Thus, evil is a failure to live life with virtue and a natural consequence of free will.
Moral laws and ethics exist, according to Madhva, and are necessary for the grace of God and for liberation.[68]
Madhvacharya was a fierce critic of competing Vedanta schools,[69] and other schools of Indian philosophies such asBuddhism andJainism.[70][71][72] He wrote up arguments against twenty one ancient and medieval era Indian scholars to help establish the foundations of his own school of thought.[18]
Madhvacharya was most ardent critic ofAdvaita Vedanta, accusing Shankara and the Advaitins of teaching Buddhism under the cover of Vedanta.[27] Advaita's nondualism asserts that Atman (soul) and Brahman are blissful and identical, unchanging transcendent Reality, there is interconnected oneness of all souls and Brahman, with no pluralities.[7][15] Madhva, in contrast asserts that Atman (soul) and Brahman are different, onlyVishnu is the Lord (Brahman), individual souls are also distinct and depend on Vishnu, and there are pluralities.[7][15] Of all schools, Madhva directed his critique at Advaita most, penning four major texts, includingUpadhikhandana andTattvadyota, primarily dedicated to scrutinizing Advaita.[73]
Madhvacharya disagreed with aspects ofRamanuja's Vishishtadvaita.[69] Vishishtadvaita school, a realist system of thought like Madhvacharya's Dvaita school, also asserts that Jiva (human souls) and Brahman (as Vishnu) are different, a difference that is never transcended.[15][74] God Vishnu alone is independent, all other gods and beings are dependent on Him, according to both Madhvacharya and Ramanuja.[52] However, in contrast to Madhvacharya's views, Vishishtadvaita school asserts "qualified non-dualism",[7] that souls share the same essential nature of Brahman,[7] and that there is a universal sameness in the quality and degree of bliss possible for human souls, and every soul can reach the bliss state of God Himself.[15][75] While the older school of Vishishtadvaita asserted "qualitative monism and quantitative pluralism of souls", states Sharma, Madhvacharya asserted both "qualitative and quantitative pluralism of souls".[76]
Shankara's Advaita school and Ramanuja's Vishishtadvaita school are premised on the assumption that all souls can hope for and achieve the state of blissful liberation; in contrast, Madhvacharya posited that some souls enjoy spreading chaos and irreligion, and even enjoy being eternally doomed and damned as such.[77][78][79]
Madhvacharya's style of criticism of other schools of Indian philosophy was part of the ancient and medieval Indian tradition. He was part of theVedanta school, which emerged in post-Vedic period as the most influential of the six schools ofHindu philosophy, and his targeting of Advaita tradition, states Bryant, reflects it being the most influential of Vedanta schools.[80]
Madhvacharya extended an independent, original philosophy in the inference ofVaishnavism.[47]
The Madhva Sampradaya fostered Bhakti and search of Knowledge. Madhvacharya and his ascetic followers propagated the Dvaita Siddhanta through their commentaries and critical lectures. Such literature and works for critical thinking were written majorly in Sanskrit and not readily accessible to common people. An alternate avenue evolved organically by Sishyas or Bhaktas of the Madhva Philosophy who studied these core books, read philosophy, practised asceticism though living a householder's life, dedicated themselves to the service of God. This set of followers undertook the mission of carrying Madhva's teaching to the four comers of the country using Kannada or the local language as a vehicle of communication. These spirited missionaries were known as theHari-Dasas. The HariDasas pioneered in breaking the shackles of caste, creed and regionalism – they practiced devotion in its purest form and were instrumental in delivering the marvels of Madhva Siddhantha to the common man by way of songs, suladees andBhakti Dasa Sahitya. These Haridasas came to be known as the Dasa Section orDasa-Kuta of the Madhva Sampradaya in contrast with the Vyaasa-Kuta who were Scholars, Pandits or teachers of literature & critical thought.[citation needed]
There is no difference between the Vyasa-kuta and Dasa-Kuta in their learning, training, or approach to philosophy. While Vyasa-Kuta being scholars, Acharyas or Pandits strongly believed in acquiring Jnaana/Knowledge traditionally, the Dasa-Kuta simplified the acquired knowledge into Bhakti or devotion. The terms 'Dasaru' and 'Vyasaru' first came into vogue at the time of Purandaradasa and his religious preceptor, Vyasaraya. Over time, 'Vyasakuta' meant the branch of devotees who were well-versed in Sanskrit and who knew the philosophy in the original, and 'Dasakuta' orDasa Dasapantha,[81] meant that branch of devotees who conveyed the meassage of Dvaita philosophy through simplified vernacularBhakti movement.[82]
Other influential subschools of Vaishnavism competed with the ideas of Madhvacharya, such as theChaitanya subschool, whoseJiva Gosvami asserts that only Krishna is "Svayam Bhagavan" (the supreme form of God), in contrast to Madhva who asserts that all Vishnu avatars are equal and identical, with both sharing the belief that emotional devotion to God is the means to spiritual liberation.[83]Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1496–1534) is said to be a disciple of Isvara Puri who was a disciple of Madhavendra Puri who was a disciple of Lakshmipati Tirtha who was a disciple ofVyasatirtha (1469–1539) of Madhvacharya's Sampradaya.[84] According to Sharma, the influence of Madhva's Dvaita ideas have been most prominent on the Chaitanya school ofBengal Vaishnavism,[85] and inAssam.[81]
A subsect ofGaudiya Vaishnavas from Orissa and West Bengal claim to be followers of Madhvacharya. Madhva established inUdupi Krishna Matha attached to a god Krishna temple. Gaudiya Vaishnavas also worship Krishna, who is in the mode of Vrindavana.[86]
Madhvacharya was misperceived and misrepresented by both Christian missionaries and Hindu writers during the colonial era scholarship.[87][88] The similarities in the primacy of one God, dualism and distinction between man and God, devotion to God, the son of God as the intermediary, predestination, the role of grace in salvation, as well as the similarities in the legends of miracles inChristianity and Madhvacharya's Dvaita tradition fed these stories.[87][88] Among Christian writers, GA Grierson creatively asserted that Madhva's ideas evidently were "borrowed from Christianity, quite possibly promulgated as a rival to the central doctrine of that faith".[89] Among Hindu writers, according to Sarma, SC Vasu creatively translated Madhvacharya's works to identify Madhvacharya with Christ, rather than compare their ideas.[90]
Modern scholarship rules out the influence of Christianity on Madhvacharya,[11][18] as there is no evidence that there ever was a Christian settlement where Madhvacharya grew up and lived, or that there was a sharing or discussion of ideas between someone with knowledge of the Bible and Christian legends, and him.[88][91]
There are also assumptions Madhva was influenced byIslam.[92] TheMadhvavijaya[92] tells about Madhva meeting theSultan of Delhi and saying to him in fluent Persian that both worship the same one God of the universe, and that he spreads the faith in God.[93][dubious –discuss] The sultan is said to have been so impressed by this that he wanted give half of the empire to Madhva, which he refused.[94][dubious –discuss] However, the indologist and religious scholarHelmuth von Glasenapp assumes thatmonotheism can also be derived from the Indian intellectual world,[92] and that there is no reason supporting the theory that Madhva's views on afterlife were influenced by Muslim or Christian impulses.[95]
Madhvacharya establishedeightmathas (monasteries) in Udupi with his eight disciples as its head along with Padmanabha Tirtha Matha. The Udupi Ashta Mathas arePalimaru matha,Adamaru matha,Krishnapura matha,Puttige matha,Shirur matha,Sodhe matha,Kaniyooru matha andPejavara matha.[96] These eight surround theAnantheswara KrishnaHindu temple.[96] The matha are laid out in a rectangle, the temples on a square grid pattern.[96] The monks in the matha aresannyasis, and the tradition of their studies and succession (Paryaya system) were established by Madhvacharya.[96] The monastery has a pontiff system, that rotates after a fixed period of time. The pontiff is calledSwamiji, and he leads daily Krishna prayers according to Madhva tradition,[97] as well as annual festivals.[98] The process and Vedic mantra rituals for Krishna worship in Dvaita monasteries follow the procedure written by Madhvacharya inTantrasara.[98] The Krishna worship neither involvesbali (sacrifice) nor any fire rituals.[98] The succession ceremony in Dvaita school involves the outgoing Swamiji welcoming the incoming one, then walking together to the icon of Madhvacharya at the entrance of Krishna temple in Udupi, offering water to him, expressing reverence then handing over the same vessel with water that Madhvacharya used when he handed over the leadership of the monastery he founded.[97] The monastery include kitchens,bhojan-shala, run by monks and volunteers.[99] These serve food daily to nearly 15,000 to 20,000 monks, students and visiting pilgrims without social discrimination.[99] During succession ceremonies, over 80,000 people are served a vegetarian meal by Udupibhojan-shalas.[99]
Madhvacharya established a matha with his disciplePadmanabha Tirtha as its head to spreadTattvavada (Dvaita) outsideTulunadu region with the instructions that his disciplesNarahari Tirtha,Madhava Tirtha andAkshobhya Tirtha should, in turn, become the successors of this matha.[100][101][102][103][104] According toSurendranath Dasgupta,Uttaradi Math is the main matha of Padmanabha Tirtha and it was divided twice, and so we end up with three mathas, the other two beingVyasaraja Math andRaghavendra Math.[105]Uttaradi Math, along withVyasaraja Math andRaghavendra Math, is considered to be the three premier apostolic institutions ofDvaita Vedanta and are jointly referred asMathatraya.[106][105][107] It is the pontiffs and pandits of theMathatraya that have been the principle architects of post-MadhvaDvaita Vedanta through the centuries.[108] Among the mathas outside ofTulu Nadu region, Uttaradi Matha is the largest.[109] All the mathas outside of the Tulu region are one way or the other descended fromPadmanabha Tirtha. Including mathas in Udupi, there are twenty-four Madhva mathas in India.[97] The main center of Madhva's tradition is inKarnataka.[97]
Professor Kiyokazu Okita and IndologistB. N. K. Sharma says, Sannyasis in the lineage ofDvaita school of Vedanta belongs to Ēkadaṇḍi tradition just like the Sanyasi's ofAdvaita ofAdi Shankara.[110]
A film directed byG. V. Iyer titledMadhvacharya premiered in 1986. It is entirely in theKannada language.[111][112]
In addition to the eight Mathas at Udupi, Acharya Madhwa had also founded the Uttaradi Matha with Padmanabha and Jayateertha being its Peethadhipatis in succession.
Saint Padmanabha Tirtha was given deeksha by Madhvacharya himself to spread the Dwaita school of thought in northern Karnataka region. Since the Swamiji spread the Dwaita philosophy in the northern parts of Karnataka, the Mutt established there gained the name Uttaradi Mutt.
Madhvacharya was the historical founder and the supreme head of the Uttaradimath – the fountain head of the Dwaita philosophy.
The Acārya himself started Matha for the propagation of his system and it became famous as the Uttarādi Matha.
Uttarādimatha, the largest single matha, to which most of the Mādhvas in Maharashtra and in eastern and northern Karnataka adhere.
The Desastha or Kannada- Marathi Madhvas have a few mathas, of which the Uttaradimatha is the largest;
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