Thursday, July 25, 2024

Sri Jayatirtha ( Teekakritpaada) ( 1365- 1388)

 

Anyone desirous of keeping thoughts of Madhvacharya intact, will have to be highly grateful to his second generation successor Sri Jayatirtha. He is the Master Commentator on 18 works of Acharya Madhva which are the only source now to us to understand the cryptic style of Madhvacharya, unlike other Acharyas.

We have only some stories about the great Saint’s life. Though we have 3 Vijaya Granthas, two by Vyasatirtha, his disciple(?) and another by Chalari Sankarshan Acharya have more fiction than facts. Even his place of birth is not properly recorded, Mangalvedhe, near Pandharpur or  as Vrishtiketha instead of Manyakheta! He is believed as son of a local ruler, and himself a horse rider. He is said to have got married at about 17 to two girls from rich families. We have to believe it as a story and move on!

Sri Jayatirtha is author of 22 books, out of which 18 are commentaries on Madhva texts. Nyayasudha,  Vadavali and Padyamala are his independent works. He is a master logician, grammarian and presenter of Madhva thought of all times, honoured rightly as Teekacharya. He is remembered with utmost respect by Sri Vyasaraja as:

चित्रैः पादैस्च गंभीरैः वाक्यैः मानामखन्दितैः  

 गुरु भावं व्यञ्जयन्ती भाति श्री जयतीर्थवाक् |

( Nyayamritam)

 

 

 

 

 

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