Sri Vijayeendra Swamiji

Sri VijayIndra tIrtha is one of the most prolific writers from the Dvaita School of Vedanta. He was a star pupil of Sri Vyasa tIrtha and the Parama-Guru of Sri Raghavendra tIrtha (Rayaru). He was also the foremost defender of Dvaita in the post-Vyasa tIrtha period, especially in the southern parts of India. If there are adherents of dvaita in Tamilnadu today, then a big part of the credit should go to him.

 He was the one who defended it strongly against the combined onslaughts of powerful Advaitic, Visistadvaitic and Saiva schools. He also laid the groundwork for the advent and flourishing of Rayaru. In total, the Madhva community owes him a huge  gratitude for his yeoman service. In spite of this, he is not as well known to the common Madhva as he ought to be.

 PARAMAPARA

Sri Vibudhendra tIrtha was a very well regarded scholar and saint who strove very hard to propagate the philosophy of Acharya Madhva. One of his many disciples was Sri SripAdarAjA. Sri vibhudEndra tIrtha was followed by Sri jitamitra tIrtha, Sri Raghunandana tIrtha Sri Surendra tIrtha & Sri VijayIndra tIrtha.

Date of Sri Vijayeendra Swamiji.

There are two schools of thought about the period in which Sri vijayIndra tIrtha existed. The traditional school, based on the SRS Records  and outlined in Guru-charitre by Dr. H.K. Vedavyasacharya,  puts this as 1575 – 1614. The other scholars like  Dr. B.N.K Sharma, puts his Date as 1514 – 1595.

Childhood & Sanyyasa  

There is no unanimity about the circumstances under which he came under the care of Sri Vyasaraja. One version says that he was Swamiji’s   close relative. Another says that Sri Vyasa tIrtha blessed a poor, childless couple to have 2 sons with the provision that the first born would be given to him, and that is how he got the baby.However, everybody agrees that the boy was named as Sri Vittalacharya and Sri Vyasa tIrtha personally oversaw the upbringing and education of the child. He had mentally resolved to make the boy his successor and so ensured that he had all the necessary pre-requisites. At a suitable time, the boy was initiated into SanyAsa with the name Sri Vishnu tIrtha. Sri Vyasaraja personally taught the 64 arts to him and was waiting for a suitable time to hand over the reins of the Mutt  to him, but the Lord had other plans!

Vishnu Tirtha becomes Sri Vijayeendra Tirtha  

Sri Surendra tIrtha was the pontiff of the Sri Kaveendra Teertha Parampara at that time. He was aged and looking for a good successor. By divine will he happened to pass by Vijayanagar and decided to visit Sri Vyasa tIrtha. Sri Vyasa tIrtha received him with  due honors and respect and pressed him to stay in Vijayanagar for a while. One DvAdashi day before pAraNe, Sri surEndra tIrtha refused to continue with the pAraNe unless Sri Vyasasa tIrtha granted him a wish. Sri Vyasa tIrtha replied that he could ask for anything except his beloved disciple , Sri Vishnu tIrtha. Sri Surendra tIrtha replied that that was precisely what he had intended to ask and that he did not desire anything else.

Sri Vyasa tIrtha was shocked  for a few moments. He then contemplated on the Lord for a few seconds and realized that this was what the Lord wanted. He immediately set aside his grief and agreed to Sri Surendra tIrtha’s request Sri Surendra tIrtha was overjoyed to receive Sri Vishnu tIrtha as his successor and renamed him Sri Vijayeendra tIrtha.

Sri VyasatIrtha spent some time with Sri VijayIndra tIrtha, giving him his blessings and very valuable parting advice, before sending him off with Sri Surendra tIrtha.

Tour & Victory  

Sri VijayIndra tIrtha visited Kumbhakonam  as directed by his guru. Kumbhakona was then a part of the province of Tanjore, under the Vijayanagar empire. A Veerashaiva ascetic called Yemme Basava had the town under him and was harassing all Vaishnavas. Hence Sri VijayIndra tIrtha’s entry into the town was welcomed by them. In due course, a Debate was held between Sri Vijayeendra tIrtha & Shaiva Scholar. The Shaiva ascetic was a very strong pundit, with knowledge of Shruti &  Smriti.

He used the entire depth of his knowledge to prove his point and defeat Sri VijayIndra tIrtha, but nothing prevailed in front of the ocean of erudition called Sri VijayIndra tIrtha. The debate lasted for 11 days after which the Shaiva ascetic accepted defeat. According to the terms of the debate he was supposed to embrace dvaita and become a disciple of Sri Vijayeendra tIrtha, but unwilling to do this, he fled the scene overnight. The shaiva maTha and all its possessions became the property of Sri VijayIndra tIrtha. By achieving this victory, Sri Vijayeendra tIrtha created a bastion for dvaita in Tamilnadu and became the inspiration for other Madhva ascetics in the southern part of the country.

News of Sri VijayIndra tIrtha’s victory in Kumbhakonam spread far and wide. RAma rAya the ruler of Vijayanagar sent a message to Sri VijayIndra tIrtha inviting him to Vijayanagar. Sri VijayIndra tIrtha gladly accepted because he wanted to visit the BrindAvana of his guru Sri Vyasa tIrtha. Accordingly, Sri VijayIndra tIrtha proceeded to Vijayanagar where he was received with royal honors. Excellent arrangements were made for the stay of Sri Vijayeendra tIrtha, under the personal supervision of the king. In due course of time, the king invited Sri Vijayeendra tIrtha to the royal court and showed his reverence by performing Ratnabhisheka. Sri VijayIndra tIrtha was made to sit on a specially consecrated seat of gold and showered with precious stones. All the scholars and chieftains in the court watched this glorious event with reverence. Everybody prostrated before Sri Vijayeendra tIrtha with utmost devotion. Sri VijayIndra tIrtha submitted their adoration and prostrations to Lord Moola Rama and blessed them.

Sri Vijayeendra tIrtha visited Sri Vyasa TIrtha’s Brindavana in Anegondi and spent some time there in honor of his guru. He returned back to Vijayanagar and spent some time there. Being a great ascetic he foresaw the fall of the empire and warned the king about it. He gave the king a lot of valuable advice. Finally, after some time, he embarked on a tour of India. He traveled a lot, spreading the teachings of Acharya Madhva and debating with opponents. He returned to Kumbhakonam.  

DEBATE  

Sri Appayya Dikshita was an extraordinary scholar with profound mastery over shruti and smruti. He had been profusely honored by the ruler of Tanjore and was considered an Scholar of the king’s court. He was propagating the doctrine of Shaiva-advaita, which added the concept of Shiva’s Superiority over Srihari.

Sri VijayIndra tIrtha invited him to the Mutt,  and discussed several doctrinal issues. This was the beginning of a long and cordial interaction between Sri VijayIndra tIrtha and Sri Appayya Dikshita. But Sri VijayIndra tIrtha answered every one of his attacks with successful counter attacks and made Sri Appayya Dikshita accept defeat every single time. In spite of the lively discussions and debates, the atmosphere remained very cordial and scholarly in nature. One such incident is outlined below as an illustration.

Using the word ‘Narayana’ as an example. inspired by this event, Sri VijayIndra tIrtha immediately composed a beautiful work called “Narayanashabdhartha nirvachanam” outlining more than a hundred meaning for the word ‘Narayana’.

Incidentally, Appayya Dikshita was an evil person  who cast a lot of aspersions on Acharya Madhva, accusing him of quoting imaginary or non-existent references. One shudders to think of the havoc that he would have caused if a great savant like Vijayeendra tIrtha had not been there to counter him and defeat him at every turn.

Master of 64 Arts 

It was very widely known that Sri VijayIndra tIrtha had learnt the 64 arts from Sri Vyasaraja and mastered them. This  acted as a magnet to people from different walks of life like painters, sculptors, musicians, dancers, weavers, potters,  and so on. Some came to show their expertise to Sri VijayIndra tIrtha and earn his blessings and patronage. Others came to challenge him in their respective arts and prove their superiority. No matter what the original intention was, people always returned with awe and wonder in their heart after personally witnessing his mastery over their specific area of expertise. The reference book “Ajaya VijayIndraru” provides many illustrations of such contests.

Once, some vile magician tried to harm Sri VijayIndra tIrtha, him by poisoning the naivedya offered to Sri Mula rAma devaru. How can poison affect the Lord who is responsible for the creation, sustenance, maintenance and destruction of this entire universe? How could it affect such a great devotee like Sri VijayIndra tIrtha? Obviously not, but Sri VijayIndra tIrtha saw this as an opportunity to demonstrate to the world the power and potency of the Narasimha mantra. Accordingly, he composed a unique stotra to Lord Narasimha consisting of several bIjAksharas (primordial syllables) and offered that with devotion to the Lord. The nectar that issued out from his devotion-soaked lips is the Sri ShoDashabAhu nrusimhAsTaka.

Any eligible person who chants this mantra daily with devotion and a clean and chaste body and mind will be free from the effects of all poisons, and in addition, will attain all his desires. This icon is worshipped in the Raghavendra maTha even to this day.

Works :

Sri Vijayindra tIrtha is said to have written 104 works, of which very few are available. The Raghavendra Vijaya stipulates that only one who has studied the works of Sri Vijayindra tIrtha can be considered a great scholar! The guru-guNa stavana by Sri VadIndra tIrtha says that the tree of dvaita vedanta flowered under Sri Vijayindra tIrtha (“puShpitoyamjayIndrA dadya”).

Incidentally, the Raghavendra stotra says that Rayaru used Sri Vijayindra tIrtha’s work called Vaag Vaikhari to defeat a formidable opponent called Sesha (“Vaag Vaikhari nirjita bhavya sEshah”). Rayaru makes deferential references to the works of Sri VijayIndra tIrtha in his own works.

Sri VijayIndra tIrtha was well-versed in several branches of learning such as Kavya (Poetry), Nataka (Drama) and Rhetorics. He has several dramas to his credit, a rarity for a Madhva Yati.

Enters Brindavana:

Sri Surendra tIrtha, the guru of Sri VijayIndra tIrtha, had prompted him to grant sanyAsa to Sri SudhIndra tIrtha. Sri VijayIndra tIrtha personally supervised the education of Sri SudhIndra tIrtha and chose him as his successor. After handing over the reigns of the maTha to his successor, Sri VijayIndra tIrtha entered his brindavana in Kumbhakonam (Tamilnadu) on Jyeshta Krishna Trayodashi.

MS Subbulakshmi - Music woman

 MS. Subbulakshmi is a very popular name of Indian Music.. Bharata Ratna Subbulakshmi (Kunjamma to her family) was born in Madurai, Madras Presidency, India to veena player Shanmukavadiver Ammal and Subramania Iyer. Her grandmother Akkammal was a violinist.
She started learning Carnatic music at an early age and trained in Carnatic music under the tutelage of Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer and subsequently in Hindustani music under Pandit Narayanrao Vyas. She also learned Sanskrit and Telugu under Dr. Nedunuri Krishnamurthy.
Her mother, from the devadasi community, was a music exponent and a regular stage performer, and Subbulakshmi grew up in an environment very conducive to musical learning. Her musical interests were also shaped by regular interactions with Karaikudi Sambasiva Iyer, Mazhavarayanendal Subbarama Bhavathar and Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar.
 F. G. Natesa Iyer, an Indian National Congress leader from Tiruchirappalli during the Indian independence movement, organised the first ever public concert of M.S. Subbulakshmi.This was apparently in 1927, when Subbulaxmi was eleven years old. The performance was arranged in the 100 pillar hall inside theRockfort Temple, Tiruchirappalli; with Mysore Chowdiah on the violin and Dakshinamurthy Pillai on the mridangam.
 Subbulakshmi gave her first performance in 1929, at the prestigious Madras Music Academy when she was 13 years old . The performance consisted of singing bhajans (Hindu hymns)
The academy was known for its discriminating selection process, and they broke tradition by inviting a young girl as a key performer. Her performance was described as spellbinding and earned her many admirers and the moniker of musical genius from critics. Soon after her début performances, Subbulakshmi became one the leading Carnatic vocalists. In 1936 Subbulakshmi moved to Madras (now Chennai).[9] She also made her film debut in Sevasadan in 1938.

She began her Carnatic classical music training under her mother Shanmugavadivu; and later in Hindustani classical training under Pandit Narayan Rao Vyas. Subbulakshmi first recording was released when she was 10 years old. She gave her first public performance, at the age of eleven, in the 100 pillar hall inside the Rockfort Temple, Tiruchirappalli; with Mysore Chowdiah on the violin and Dakshinamurthy Pillai on the mriganga.
By the age of 17, Subbulakshmi was giving concerts on her own, including major performances at the Madras Music Academy, a prestigious centre for the study and promotion of Carnatic music. Performance in Carnatic music concerts, was until then, a domain, traditionally reserved for men. She performed a vast variety of devotional musical forms in different languages including Tamil, Kannada, Sanskrit, Panjabi, Hindi, Malayalam, Telugu, Bengali, Gujarati and Marathi.
When the governor of Madras wanted the famous spiritual leader, Mata Sri Anandamayi Ma, to reside in his residence, Anandamayi Ma replied, "I will stay in the house of Subbulakshmi. She is Meera to me." Within two days, Sadasivam had special quarters built in their garden for Mata to give darshan and arranged for a new well to be dug nearby for fresh drinking water. Every evening thousands of people gathered there.
She travelled to London, New York, Canada, the Far East, and other places as India's cultural ambassador. Her concerts at Edinburgh International Festival of Music and Drama in 1963,Carnegie Hall, New York; the UN General Assembly on UN day in 1966, Royal Albert Hall, London in 1982. Festival of India in Moscow in 1987. were significant landmarks in her career.[