Sripadaraya or Lakshminarayana
Tirtha (c.1422 - c.1480) was a Dvaita scholar, composer and the pontiff of the
Madhvacharya mutt at Mulbagal. He is widely considered as the founder of
Haridasa movement along with Narahari Tirtha. His songs and hymns, contain the
distillation of Dvaita principles infused with mysticism and humanism. He is
also credited with the invention of the suladi
musical structure and composed 133 of them along with several kirtanas. He was
the advisor of Saluva Narasimha Deva Raya and mentored the young Vyasatirtha.
He has also authored a commentary on Jayatirtha's Nyaya Sudha called Nyayasudhopanyasa-Vagvajra.
Life
Sripadaraya was born in a Deshastha
Madhva Brahmin family in Abbur, a village in Channapatna taluk, Karnataka. His
father, Sheshagiriappa, served as an accountant while young Sripadaraya looked
after the cattle, studying Sanskrit texts in his spare time. His mother was
Giryamma. Tradition asserts that Sripadaraya was the cousin of Brahmanya
Tirtha, who served as the pontiff of the Madhvacharya mutt at Abbur and the
guru of Vyasatirtha.
Legends speak of Svarnavarna
Tirtha encountering young Sripadaraya 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 name Lakshminarayana Tirtha.
Lakshminarayana Tirtha eventually
succeeded Svarnavarna Tirtha as the pontiff of the mutt at Mulbagal.
Sripadaraja was a contemporary of Vibhudendra Tirtha, the progenitor of the
Raghavendra Mutt and Raghunatha Tirtha of Uttaradi Mutt, who conferred upon him
the title Sripadaraja or Sripadaraya. Sripadaraja was considered the guru of
Saluva Narasimha Deva Raya and educated Vyasatirtha in the Shastras. His songs
and hymns were sung during the nighttime Bhajans at his mutt.
Works and Legacy