Chapter 1 – Sri Madhwacharya – Life and Works
Sri Madhwacharya was born in the year 1238 A.D. on the Vijayadashami day of the month of Ashwayuja in a village about three miles from Udupi in coastal Karnataka, India. His father was a pious brahmin belonging to the Bhagavata Sampradaya and a pauranic by profession. Sri Madhwacharya was born at a late period in his father’s life after constant prayer and dedication of vows to Ananteshwara in Udupi. Madhyageha Bhatta, the father, was therefore happy and proud in no ordinary degree in his son whom he christened Vaasudeva. Boy Vaasudeva was very precocious, and his father taught him the three R’s in the privacy of his house. Vaasudeva’s upanayanam was performed at an appropriate age and therefore he underwent training at Gurukulam. Not even had the boy attained his teens, when he felt an inner urge he could not resist, to taking to the holy orders and took sanyasa under Achyutaprekshacharya in Udupi.
Achyutaprekshacharya had been brought up in the then current Advaita school of thought but the philosophy of that school did not appeal to the new sanyasi. Achyutaprekshacharya was somewhat displeased with his new disciple but he was however very much impressed with the earnestness, and scholarship of his disciple whom he christened Purnaprajna. Purnaprajna thereupon began to preach his own philosophy according to which the world is real, the individual souls are different from Brahman, and Vishnu is the Highest Entity in the universe. Many a pundit and scholar of other schools came to him for debate and went back defeated by his keen and irrefutable logic. Purnaprajna, in order to propagate his faith undertook a pilgrimage to the various shrines in South India and the pilgrimage was also an opportunity to meet opponents of other schools in different places. Immediately after he returned from the pilgrimage Purnaprajna wrote the commentary on Bhagavadgita. The Gita Bhashya (commentary on the Gita) is the first work of the Acharya.
Seven years after he took to holy orders. Purnaprajna commenced a pilgrimage to the North where he touched Benares, Allahabad. Dwaraka. Delhi and other places and reached the famous Badarikshetra. He went further North alone all by himself, to the depths of Himalayas where Sri Vedavyasa Is said to have His Abode. He composed the Brahmasutra-Bhashya at this place. On his return journey Purnaprajna came to the banks of the Godavari and had debates with two eminent and scholarly pundits Sobhana Bhatta and Shamashastry belonging to the Adwaita school. The pundits were defeated in the debate and with the conviction of truth of the school of philosophy expounded by Purnaprajna, both of them became his disciples taking up sanyasa. Sobhana Bhatta became the famous Padmanabha Thirtha who succeeded to the pontifical seat of Purnaprajnacharya. Shamashastry became Narahari Thirtha and at the behest of the Acharya stayed behind in his own country for some time In order to obtain the images of Mula Rama and Sita from the treasury of the local prince. Padmanabha Thirtha followed his master and was greatly devoted to him.
After his return to Udupi. Purnaprajna began to write various works establishing the new system of philosophy, which has come to be called Dwaitasiddhanta. The cardinal point which distinguishes his system from others Is the essential difference between Brahman who is Swatantra (independent) and all else which are Aswatantra (dependent). This system has therefore come to be called Dwaitasiddhanta (the philosophy of Basic difference). Purnaprajnacharya declares himself at the end of many of his works to be an avatar of the Wind God Vayu and says that his avatar as Purnaprajna has been foretold in the shrutis where he has been called Madhwa. Purnaprajnacharya is therefore popularly known as Sri Madhwacharya. The Acharya founded the Sri Krishna temple at Udupi and established eight mutts, the sanyasis of which had to worship the image by rotation. The system of rotation has continued until the present day at Udupi. Sri Madhwacharya wrote commentaries on the ten principal Upanishads, the special treatises called Prakaranas ten in number, the Gita Tatparya, and other works during this period.
Sri Madhwacharya undertook a second tour to the North again. He met Jalaluddin Khilji at Delhi and seems to have conversed with him in Parsi. After returning from North, he spent the rest of his time in Udupi occasionally visiting a place called Vishnumangala near Udupi. During one of his visits to Vishnumangala he had to meet a reputed champion of the Adwaita school by name Trivikrama panditacharya. The debate between them seems to have extended to fifteen days and covered all the different systems of philosophy like the Bauddha. Sankhya, Nyaya and Adwaita. In the end Trivikrama panditacharya had to admit defeat. He was very much impressed with the Acharya and became his disciple having renounced Adwaita and accepting the Dwaitasiddhanta. The conversion of Pundit Trivikrama was a great moral victory for the Acharya and many were the new adherents to his system. Trivikrama panditacharya became so devoted to the Acharya that his admiration for the Acharya became a byword. He wrote the commentary known as Tatvapradipa on the Brahmasutra Bhashya of Sri Madhwacharya. At his request Sri Madhwacharya wrote a metrical commentary on the Brahmasutras which is famous as Anuvyakhyana.
Sri Madhwacharya had many disciples belonging to the sanyasa asrama and many disciples who were householders. He vanished from the sight of men in his eightieth year in the month of Magha on the 9th day of the bright fortnight while he was teaching the Aitareya Upanishad Bhashya to his disciples. A shower of flowers is said to have rained on him and he vanished from the sight of men in the shower of flowers.
Sri Madhwacharya has written in all thirty-seven works and they are collectively called Sarvamula. Four of his works are on the Brahmasutras, two on Bhagavadgita, ten are the Bhashyas on the ten Upanishads, one on the Mahabharata and one on the Bhagavata In order to determine their Import, and ten are the prakaranas. The Rig bhasya is a commentary on the Rigveda (for a few typical Riks). Seven of his works are of the Stotra type. Nobody can fail to be impressed by his works. His method is very brief and simple. His logic is infallible and energetic. The depth of his knowledge is seen in the profuseness, range, and variety of quotations from various religious texts. His familiarity with the Upanishadic. puranic, tantric and other literature is in ample evidence In all his works. He is singularly free from the use of alankaraprayoga and he is very matter of fact in all his arguments.
The Brahmasutra Bhashya of the Acharya possesses in full measure the characteristics a Bhasya should possess (sutratho vamyate yatra padaiah sutranukarbhihi: swapadanichavarnyate bhashyam bhashyavido viduh - A work on which the meaning of the sutras is explained by the words similar to those in the sutras and in which the author explains his own works is called a Bhashya). Accordingly, the Brahmasutra Bhashya of Sri Madhwacharya is a very brief and precise composition in contrast with the Bhashyas of the Acharyas of other systems. Sri Madhwacharya however reserves polemical treatment of the Brahmasutras to be effected in Anuvyakhyana. The commentaries on the Upanishads are peculiar and philosophical hosts in themselves. Sri Madhwacharya invariably quotes appropriate puranic and Vedic literature and the samhitas which purport to explain the Upanishadic passages.
The direct disciples of Sri Madhwacharya. viz. Padmanabha Thirtha. Narahari Thirtha, Trivikrama panditacharya and others have written commentaries on his works. These are called Prachina tikas. They were followed by the brilliant commentaries of Jayatirtha who is famous as Tikacharya. Jayatirtha has written commentaries called tikas on almost all of the works of Sri Madhwacharya. In particular, the commentary on Anuvyakhyana called ‘Nyayasudha’ is famous as a commentary of the highest merit. The works of Jayatirtha have been commented upon by many later scholars of whom Vyasaraja and Raghavendra Tirtha are well known.