Sri Vijayadhvaja Tirtha (1450)

Srimad Bhagavatam is regarded with reverence by all Vaishnavas, even of Bengali Goudiya tradition. While Shankaracharya did not consider Puranas seriously, Ramanuja to some extent, Sri Madhvacharya to a large extent, has regarded at least 18 Puranas, if not minor ones as authentic texts on Indian philosophy via theology. Srimad Bhagavatam is called Puranaraja-King of Puranas, more trustworthy to understand Vedas. 

A few commentaries on this great Epic are written by Sridharaswamy, Chitsukhacharya of Advaitik tradition and Sri Vijayadhvaja Tirtha of Pejawar Matha, Udupi. It is Padaratnavalee, popularly called ' Vijayadhvajeeyam' a word by word commentary on Srimad Bhagavatam, very eloquent and poetic in nature, revealing the esoteric meaning of some verses in Bhagavatam, which is treated by many only as Krishna Katha- Story of Sri Krishna! It is more than this. 

As usual with even great scholars, we have fanciful stories on Saints of Madhva School of thought, which is wrongly construed as ' Bhakti Pantha', a school dedicated to just devotion than philosophy, which is a great irony. We have all stories on the lives of our Swamis or Saints, with least importance given to Historical records or chronology. 

Similarly, Sri Vijayadhvaja tirtha is made a contemporary of Sri Jayatirtha, the great Tikacharya, supreme commentator on Madhva's works, 18 available now. But Vijayadhvaja is 7th in succession to Madhva in Udupi Adhokshaja Matha line, who is junior to Sri Jayatirtha by chronological evidence than just stories. Some go to the extent of making Sri Vijayadhvaja being outlawed as Sanyasi, since he travelled by ship to Dwaraka, by Sri Raghunatha tirtha of Uttaradi Matha and astonishingly Sri Sripadarajaru of Padmanabha Tirtha line, who remained non-controversial saint helping common folk to know more of Madhva thought by way of his Kannada Kirtanas.  Both saints reportedly asked Vijayadhvaja to make propitiation for this sin, by writing a commentary on Bhagavatam. Dr BNK Sharma calls this as 'malicious' story. 

Sri Vijayadhvaja's personal information remains unknown, like most of Madhva saints, only his writing this great commentary at Kanva Tirtha, near Kasaragod, Kerala where his Brindavanam lies now.