Narahari Tirtha | |
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| Personal life | |
| Born | Śyama Śastri[1] 1243 (1243) |
| Died | 1333 (aged 89–90) |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Hinduism |
| Order | Vedanta |
| Philosophy | Dvaita |
| Religious career | |
| Guru | Madhvacharya |
Disciples | |
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Narahari Tirtha (c. 1243[3][4] -c. 1333[5]) was aDvaita philosopher, scholar, statesman and one of the disciples ofMadhvacharya. He is considered to be the progenitor of theHaridasa movement along withSripadaraja.[6] Though only two of his scholarly works are extant, they are characterised by their verbosity and lack of digressions.[7] A few songs of his survive under thepen nameRaghukulatilaka. As a minister of considerable influence to theEastern Ganga rulers and later as the pontiff of the Madhvacharyamatha, Narahari converted theSimhachalam temple into an educational establishment of renown and a religious centre forVaishnavism.[8]
Nothing is known about his early life except that he served as a minister in theEastern Ganga Kingdom in Kalinga (modern dayNorth Andhra andOdisha) and later as a regent in the stead of Narasimha Deva II before his ordination as a monk. Information about his life is derived from ahagiography calledNarahariyatistotra, Narayana Pandita'sMadhva Vijaya and inscriptions from theSrikurmam andSimhachalam temples, all of which attest to his regency. The inscriptions also allude to his expertise in scriptures and swordsmanship.[9] Sharma conjectures from the presence and contents of the inscriptions that post 1281 C.E., he was "the virtual overlord of the country".[10] At the height of his power, he built the Yogananda Narasimha Temple inSrikurmam and defended the city from attacks of vandals.[11] There is also evidence that he was patronised by Bhanudeva I and his ward Narasimha Deva II and also that he disseminated the philosophy ofMadhva throughout Kalinga.[12] His mortal remains rest at Charkratirtha nearHampi.
Narahari's treatise on theGita Bhashya ofMadhva calledBhavaprakashika is considered to be an important work in theDvaita canon, being referenced byJayatirtha andRaghavendra Tirtha. Sharma notes that Narahari expands upon the obscure passages in the source text and directs polemical barbs against the commentaries bySankara andRamanuja.[7] Though presumably not of Kannada origin, many of his works were in that language although only three of his compositions inKannada survive.[1] Narahari andSripadaraja are considered to be the forerunners of theHaridasa movement by penning songs and hymns, mostly containing the teachings of Madhva in simplified terms and set to music in the vernacularKannada language. Traditionally, Narahari is also considered to be the founder of Atao which was played inTulu in Udupi later it was known asYakshagana andBayalaata, a dance form which still flourishes inTulu Nadu, in other parts of Karnataka andTulu Nadu-Kasargod in present-dayKerala.[citation needed]
It was Naraharitirtha who hailed from Bijapur district in the 12th century and Madhavatirtha who laid firm foundation for the Haridasa movement and literature.
Sri Narahari tirtha is known to have died in 1333 A.D, at the ripe old age of ninety. Obviously, he was born in 1243 A.D.
He is said to have died at the ripe age of ninety.
Madhva religious figures | ||
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