Birth of Yatiraja
Sri Vyasaraja Tirtha, follower of Sri Madwa's Dvaita School of philosophy, was born around the year 1460 A.D. With the blessings of Sri Brahmanya Tirtha, the pontiff of Sri Purvadi, he was born at Bannur, a village north of Sosale in Mysore. The couples Sri Rallanna Sumati of Strotriya, Kashyapa Gothra family, and Akkamma were his parents. The father gave him the name Yatiraja.
The young Yatiraja was left under the care of Sri Brahmanya Tirtha. After Upanayana at the age of seven, he was taught all aspects of Vedanta at the Purvadi mutt. Impressed by Sri Yatiraja's attainments, Sri Brahmanya Tirtha was contemplating initiating him into sanyasa. At the same time, Sri Yatiraja had a divine direction to take up the life of an ascetic. Thereafter Sri Brahmanya Tirtha gave him sanyasa and named him Vyasa Tirtha. Sri Vyasa Tirtha was of around sixteen years of age then.
Yatiraja becomes Vyasa Tirtha.
After Sri Brahmanaya Tirtha, Sri Vyasa Tirtha became the head of the Sri Purvadi mutt in the year 1476. Sri Vyasa Tirtha had his further studies in philosophy at Kanchi and also under Sri Sripadaraja Tirtha at Mulabagal. Under the direction of Sri Sripadaraja Tirtha, the Saluva king Narasimha honoured Sri Vyasa Tirtha and made him Rajaguru.
Vyasaraya Tirtha becomes Vyasaraja Tirtha.
He went to Tirupathi in 1486, after being requested by the king Sri Saluva Narasimha to become the custodian of the temple. He had performed puja to Lord Venkateshwara for about twelve years. There was a change of guard in the Vijanagara Samrajya, but he remained the Rajaguru. Sri Krishnadevaja ascended the Vijayanagara throne in 1509.
Sri Krishnadevaraya came under the Kuhu Yoga, a combination of planets as per the astrology, which can kill the king. The Rajaguru had then taken over the reign of the Vijayanagara. On a particular day, a serpent entered the court, and Sri Vyasaraja Tirtha threw his saffron upper garment on it, which got burnt to ashes. Thereby the king was saved from the clutches of death. Thus, after warding off the evil effect of the planets, he returned the reign back to Sri Krishnadevraja. Thereafter he came to be known as Sri Vyasaraja Tirtha.
He had given us illustrious saints like Sri Vijayindra Tirtha and great saint composers like Sri Purandaradasa, Sri Kanakadasa, and Sri Haridasa.
Works of Sri Vayasaraja Tirtha
Sri Vayasaraja Tirtha had left behind a rich treasure of works on Sri Madhva Siddhantha. He had not only done scholarly works but also left many compositions, which are revered and rendered by the common people today. He is one of the eight saint-composers. The eight saints are Sri Sri Padharaja [Rangavittala], Sri Vyasaraja [Krishna Vittala], Sri Vathiraja [Hayavadana], Sri Purandaradasa, Sri Kanakadasa, Sri Nelayathi [Kasava], Sri Vijayadasa [Vijaya Vittala], Sri Gopaladasa, and Sri Jaganathadasa. Through his divine compositions, which are full of love for the SriHari, he spread SriHari Bhakthi. Sri Purandaradasa and Sri Kanakadasa are disciples of Sri Vyasaraja Tirtha.
Followers of Sri Vayasaraja Tirtha
Sri Vyasaraja Tirtha had not only left behind the treasure of his work; he had given us illustrious saints like Sri Vijayindra Tirtha and great saint composers like Sri Purandaradasa, Sri Kanakadasa, and Sri Haridasa. Sri Vyasaraja Tirtha had also constructed several temples, including 732 Hanuman temples spreading all over the south.
Sri Vyasaraja Tirtha, regarded as the incarnation of Baktha Prahlada, the honoured scholar, Rajaguru, saint composer, Bhakta of SriHari, and Dasa of Mukhya prana (Sri Hanuman), shed his mortal coils on 8th of March 1539 and left for the heavenly abode only to re-incarnate as Sri Raghavendra Swamy.
His Brindavana is at Navavrindavana on the river Tungabhadra, very close to Hampi.
|| Hari sarvothamaha Vayu jeevothmaha ||
||Mukhya Praanantargata Sitapati Sri Ramachandra preeyataam||
Ed [8th February 2002]