MADHVAS DISCIPLES - SRI 1008 NARAHARI TIRTHA

Sri Narahari Tirtha was a remarkable personality, whose achievements are unparalleled in the
history of Madhva ascetics. Understanding his life and works is critical in getting the correct picture of
the development of Tatvavada after Madhva. His total contribution is usually not fully understood, due
to excessive emphasis on the story of his bringing the Moola Rama Idols, from Kalinga and giving them
to Acharya Madhva. Though there is no Vijaya type of composition or even an authentic life history
giving personal details, I have made an attempt to put together all available material in this note.
Perhaps an intensive effort in finding out documentary evidence from the modern state of Orissa, where
the age old Kalinga kingdom was based may provide more details in future. The historic records of his
stay there was crucial in the determination of the actual period of Acharya Madhva in a visible form in
this earth.
Sri Narahari Tirtha was a Philosopher-Ruler-saint of variegated achievements associated with the
Kalinga kingdom (Modern Orissa) and also closely associated with Acharya Madhva himself in his own
life time, which should have been sung in Kavya or Vijaya type composition (One still hopes that some
additional documented material would be discovered, perhaps in Oriya language) and have
unfortunately been veiled by the mists of time unlike the two hundred year later Sri Vyasaraja whose
contributions were well recorded by contemporary persons as well as by the Dasa Parampare which he
re-established. He is reported to have converted the Puranic Mathsya rulers of Oddavadi into
Vaishnavas his contemporary king Arjuna becoming Narasimha 1 and others - Annamaraja becoming
Gopalavardhana and Munjadithya became Srirangavardhana, according to a quote by B N K Sharma.
Sharma opines that he belonged to Andhra or Orissa. However, there are many Devaranamas and
Suladis in Kannada attributed to him from the earliest times and he has been traditionally considered as
the very first pontiff who composed such compositions in Kannada. The fact that he chose the heart of
the Uttara Karnataka area (Hampi) as his last resting place even at the time, when the Vijayanagara
empire was still to come is also significant. Dr Sharma estimates that his initiation by Madhva may have
taken place when he was around 22 years of age, his being three years younger than Madhva. This
initiation into ascetic order must have taken place before 1264 AD, as he was already referred as
Sripada in the very first Shasana dated then. His contribution to the glorious Jagannatha Puri, a great
Vaishnava kshethra has not been recorded as no interest seems to have been taken about his long
stay in Orissa, by his successors, who were mostly from Karnataka. The importance of this Kshethra
even in his time is also indicated by the fact that the following ascetics have entered into their Samadhi
there, as per records reproduced by Sri Prabhanjanacharya.
Srinidhi Tirtha 1390 AD (Palimaru Matha)
Vishvadhiraja Tirtha 1497 (Krishnapura Matha)
Besides these Sri Vidyadhiraja Tirtha, (1402 AD), the direct disciple of Sri Teekacharya has
also been mentioned as having had his demise there, by current Uttaradi matha records.
In addition, several cases of Swamijis being shown as leaving behind their mortal coils in
Godavari river bank, may be a loose indication of their visiting Puri. Even the Bengal Vaishnavism of
Navadvipa had its spiritual center at Jagannatha Puri, as is evident from the life story of Sri Krishna
Chaithanya. The later visits of Sri Rajendra and Sri Jayadhwaja Tirtha of the lineage later named after
Sri Vyasaraja may also have started off from the nucleus left behind by Sri Narahari Tirtha, a century
earlier. Unfortunately, none of the Madhva Peethas have maintained the initial contacts and impetus
and even the location of many vrindavanas are unknown. The Vigour with which Madhva shishyas from
several provinces (Bahudeshajah in Sumadhvavijaya) spread out trying to convey the message to the
people all over India in the initial stages, gradually weakened and the efforts were limited only to parts
of South India the four states of Karnataka, Andhra, Tamilnadu and Maharshtra. Even today, this
tendency restricts the activity only to Karnataka and in the case of some Mathas, to a couple of towns
and villages around their center. No worthwhile efforts are made to either train suitable scholars with
multilingual abilities or to publish compositions with translations in major Indian languages.

Before the discovery of the SriKurmam Shasanas established by Sri Narahari Tirtha there was
considerable confusion about the actual period of Acharya Madhva himself. The present generally
accepted dates 1238-1317 AD were first proposed by Sri C M Padmanabhacharya in his well known
book on Acharya Madhva, based on the Shasanas which mention his name as Ananda Tirtha along
with that of Sri Narahari Tirtha, the second of his successors in the lineage. This date has also been
endorsed strongly by Dr. B N K Sharma in his Magnum-opus History of the Dvaita school of Vedanta
and his further research papers. The validity of any of these dates, is dependent on satisfactorily
explaining the existence of several Shasanas for gifts given to or by successors of Madhva like
Padmanabha Tirtha, Narahari Tirtha etc. Out of all these, the 9 shasanas of Narahari Tirtha in
SriKurmam temple etc are well validated along with the history of the Kalinga kingdom of Gajapathi
kings who ruled the area during the Twelfth to Sixteenth centuries.
The following is a quote from The Delhi Sultanate of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 2006 edition (pg. 361):
With the death of Narasimha I in AD 1264, the great days of the Ganga dynasty came to an end.
Narasimha I was succeeded by his son Bhanudeva I, who died after an uneventful reign of 15 years,
leaving an infant son, Narasimha II. For the first twelve years of the reign of Narasimha II, the famous
Vaishnava scholar, Narahari Tirtha, acted as the regent; he was a disciple of Ananda Tirtha, the
founder of the Dvaita or Madhva school of philosophy. After Naraharis retirement from office,
Narasimha took the management in his own hand (A D 1290). Narasimha II had a long but uneventful
reign of 27 years (A D 1279 1306) ..
Sri Narahari Tirthas period of continuous stay in Kalinga/Orissa and his subsequent return to Madhvas
camp is thus firmly established by historical research as 1279 1291 AD, when he ruled as regent on
behalf of the King and was in total control. The Nine SriKurmam shasanas in Chicacole and
Simhachalam in Vizagpatanam describing Sri Narahari Tirtha as a disciple of Acharya Madhva cover a
longer period of nearly 30 years (1264 1293 AD). The translation of the one dated March 1281 AD
(when he was a regent) is quoted by C M Padmanabhacharya in his well known book on Madhva. It
mentions that he fought the Sabaras in battle and protected the SriKurmam temple and on that day, he
consecrated Yoganarasimha Idol in the temple. Dr. BNK Sharma also opines that as per tradition,
Narahari Tirtha was no stranger to the Kalinga court as his father seems to have held a high position,
as a minister. This proposition is supported by his being a commander, who had taken part in wars as
mentioned. Both the threats from Shabaras as well as his taking a prominent position in the war,
mentioned in the 1281 AD Shasana should be seen in the context of the death of the ruling King
Bhanudeva 1 in 1279 AD, mentioned in the history quote above and will be seen to support his being
elevated to the role of a Regent.
As the earliest inscription of 1264 AD calls him as Sripada, he was already an ascetic disciple of
Madhva, and thus most of his service to the kingdom till 1293 AD (the last known shasana) was
performed after his taking the vows as an ascetic. This one, as well as one more, are dated before
1281 AD, indicating, that in those 17 years till 1981, he may have been gradually rising in the hierarchy
to the status of a Minister. The profusion of 7 Shasanas in 13 years (1281 and afterwards) also
supports the position that he was in a crucial administrative position (Regent) in the capital of the state,
under King Narasimha II till 1293. He is also reported to have converted a large number of people in the
coastal Andhra and Orissa areas. Unless more records are discovered in future, it would appear based
on the present data, that he could come back to Madhva finally only some time after 1293. The very
long period 1264 (or slightly earlier) to 1293 (or slightly later) of thirty years or more, is almost the usual
working life of most people, during which this disciple of Madhva was engaged in the affairs of the state
far removed from the normal duties of an ascetic such as study, contemplation etc, which could only
have been possible with the approval of his master, for whom he was obviously a favoured disciple,
similar to Sri Padmanabha Tirtha, whom he succeeded in the peetha. During this period, he was
undertaking physically strenuous activity and thus would correspond to his youth and middle age. He
became Sri Padmanabhas successor only in 1324 AD, and lived on for 9 more years, till 1333 AD, thus
surviving Madhvas visible manifestation by more than 16 years. He must have therefore lived close to

his Guru during 1293+ to 1317 AD and was designated by him as the next successor to Sri
Padmanabha. His total life would have to be more than 96 years (assumed age in 1964, the year of the
fist Shasana 25 years and demise 1333 AD) out of which, all except the first 20 years or so would be
as an ascetic. He was perhaps only slightly younger than Madhva. B N K Sharma estimates his period
as 1234 to 1333AD about 99 years). The traditional date of his Aradhana in Pushya bahula Sapthami
based on the demise in Srimukha Samvatsara seems to fit in with 1333 AD, though the traditional
accounts in Sathkatha etc show the date as 1166 AD.
Another general circumstantial evidence is that taking note of Sri Narahari Tirthas actual life story, it is
likely that he had spent little time together with Madhva till 1294 AD due to his full preoccupation with
Kalinga kingdom. It is perhaps the last few years of Madhvas stay in Udupi, that he had a chance to
live and study with the master. His being nominated by Madhva himself for the Peetha after the senior
and well endowed Sri Padmanabha, would also be reasonable only after he had undergone the
necessary study requirements as he was going to sit in the seat of the master himself.
According to B N K Sharma, he is credited with the authorship of no less than 15 works out of which
only two are available in MSS form. His Geetha Bhashya commentary called as Bhavaprakashika is
commented on by Sri Jayatirtha and Raghavendra Swamin. There is a Yamaka Bharata Teeka also
which is available. He is also the most revered ancestor of Dasa Sahithya with some devaranamas and
a few suladis still available after 7 centuries attributable to him, All these points show that he had spent
considerable time with Madhva towards the end of the latters stay in Kannada country and must have
also composed some of his works at that time.
The data enclosed in the Annexure from the current portal of Orissa state and other Orissan records ,
show that Sri Narahari Tirtha was active in state administration even in the time of Narasimha deva I,
considered as a great king of the Eastern Ganga dynasty in those days even prior to 1264 AD, as he
won many wars and constructed the famous Konarak Temple. Sri Narahari Tirtha had even been
appointed the Governor of Kalinga, a part of the extended kingdom. During his regency, he constructed
the famous SriKurmam temple himself. All these facts along with his great influence in the Kingdom,
show that he must have been in Local administrative service (as belonging to a noble family) rather
than being deputed by Acharya Madhva, for a limited purpose from Udupi/Karnataka
As the earliest inscription of 1264 AD calls Narahari Tirtha as Sripada, he was already a disciple of
Madhva, and thus most of his service to the kingdom till 1293 AD (the last known shasana) was
performed after his taking the vows as an ascetic. This one, as well as one more, are dated before
1281 AD, indicate, that in those 17 years till 1981, he was having great influence in Kalinga under
Bhanudeva I, finally being appointed as Governor of the province. He may have also helped in the
construction of the Anantha Basudeva temple in Bhubaneswar. The profusion of 7 Shasanas in 13
years (1281 and afterwards) also shows that he was in a crucial administrative position (Regent) in the
capital of the state, under the nominal rule of King Narasimha II during 1278 - 1290 AD. He is also
reported to have converted a large number of people in the coastal Andhra and Orissa areas. Unless
more records are discovered in future, it would appear based on the present data, that he could come
back to Madhva finally only some time after 1293, the date of his last Shasana. The very long period
1264 (or earlier) to 1293 (or slightly later) of thirty years or more, during which he stayed in Orissa as
shown in the record, is almost the usual working life of most people, during which this disciple of
Madhva was engaged in the affairs of the state far removed from the normal duties of an ascetic such
as study, contemplation etc, which could only have been possible with the approval of his master, for
whom he was obviously a favoured disciple, similar to Sri Padmanabha Tirtha. During this period, he
was undertaking physically strenuous activity and thus would correspond to his youth and middle age.
He became Sri Padmanabhas successor only in 1324 AD, and lived on for 9 more years, till 1333 AD,
thus surviving Madhvas visible manifestation by more than 16 years.
Another important question appears to be Did Acharya Madhva visit Jagnnatha Puri, in Orissa, during
his first visit? The lack of mention in Sumadhavijaya is no proof that he did NOT visit. Considering that
one of his direct disciples was playing such a great part in that area and also considering the mention of

The Godavari river, where Acharya Madhva met his great first disciple Sri Padmnabha Tirtha in an
assembly of scholars, it appears that he might have well visited the sacred Vaishnava kshethra of
Jagnnatha puri, whose temple had been completely reconstructed a few decades back by the King
Ananga Bhima I. It is not ulikely that he spent considerable time there like a Chathurmasya and had a
profound effect on promoting staunch Vaishnava creed in orissa, which persists even today. This looks
more plausible than that Sri Narahari Tirtha, came to some other location for taking the vows of
asceticism at the feet of the Master. Unfortunately there are no records of his visit, though the presence
of ascetics tracing their lineage from Madhva parampare have been there.
One wishes that some more efforts are made to look at old records in the local languages to try to get
more information on this subject. A simple Google scan cannot solve such problems.
ANNEXURE
Life of Sri Narahari Tirtha (ORISSAN RECORDS):
I would like to share with you the results of Google search to verify the points mentioned
above. In particular, the sources from Orissa end would be likely to free from errors, as
they will be relatively unbiased and have a greater sense of perspective and they were not
hear-say being direcly ground-based. The following is only a brief study sitting in front of
a Computer with Broadband with no direct knowledge of the local language, customs,
personal visits etc. I am happy to conclude that almost all of what has been stated eralier is
valid and true. The following are reproduced from various sources obtained in the Google
search.
I. The history of the Gangas is a landmark in the history of Orissa. The dynasty reached the height of
glory for its political achievements, temple building activities, economic prosperity and religious
movements. The advent of the imperial Ganga marked a great revival of the Vaishnava cult in Orissa.
Under the royal patronage of the Ganga rulers the fame of Purushottama Jagannatha reached the
pinnacle of glory. The cult of Vaishnavism took an important form with the construction of a temple for
Lord Purushottama (Jagannatha) at the sea-shore of Puri.
Anantavarman Chodagangadeva, the founder of the Ganga dynasty, occupied Utkala and shifted his
capital from Kalinganagara to Kataka (the modern Cuttack). Anantavarman, like his predecessor, was a
great devotee of Siva and assumed the title Parama Mahesvara. But in the Korni copper plate grant [1]
dated 1112 A.D., he changed his attitude and appeared to demonstrate religious universality by
applying to himself titles such as Parama-Mahesvara, Parama-Vaishnava and Parama-Brahmanya. In
the Narasimha and Markanda temple inscriptions of Chodaganga the name of Purushottama [2] is
found to have been mentioned. Many scholars have spoken of a conversion of Chodagangadeva from
Saivism to Vaishnavism and they think that due to the influence of Ramanuja, this conversion took
place. It was during Chodagangadeva's reign that Ramanuja [3] visited his kingdom and stayed at Puri.
The effect of his visit was the change of the religious faith of Chodaganga, who became a Parama
Vaishnava. Secondly, the influence of his queens should not be ignored. His chief queen, Jayamgonda
Chodadevi, was the daughter of Virochoda and grand-daughter of the great Kullotunga Choda.
Virochoda erected a Vishnu temple at Sarvavaram, and nine inscriptions [4] of this temple record's
grants by Anantavarman Chodagangadeva's younger brother, Paramadideva, and his wives and refers
to the God as Purushottama. Lastly, the construction of a temple for God Purushottama at Puri by
Chodaganga proves his inclination towards Vaishnavism. Line 17 of the Nagari plates [5] of
Anangabhima III states that Chodaganga built a temple for the great God Purushottama at Puri on the
sea-shore of the Bay of Bengal. The plate further describes that Lord Purushottama had been in
worship at Puri for many years before the conquest of that region by Chodaganga, but that Saivite
Somavamsi kings, who were supplanted from Utkala by the Gangas, had neglected the erection of a

temple for the Vaishnavite deity. Purushottama-Jagannath of Puri was originally worshipped by the
aboriginal Savara people in an inaccessible forest on the Nilachala and the priest of king Indradyumna
of Avanti, who popularized the god, received information regarding the Deity and His worship from a
Savara named Viswavasu. So the identification of this Deity with the Brahmanical God Vishnu,
apparently earlier than the beginning of the 12th century when Chodaganga conquered Utkala country,
and the construction of the great temple of Purushottama Jagannath at Puri by Chodagangadeva has
reflected his great devotion to and popularization of the Vaishnava cult in Orissa. In the Chattesvara
temple inscription [6] of Vishnu, the victorious general of Anangabhima III, King Chodaganga, has been
praised as a king in whom the glory of the "Narasimha avatara of Vishnu manifest itself." As we know
from other records, Chodaganga ancestors were all staunch devotees of the god Siva and Chodaganga
himself was one such in the earlier part of his life, but later on a devotee of Vishnu alone for the abovesaid reason.
The next important ruler of Ganga dynasty who patronized the Vaishnava cult was Anangabhima III. In
many of his records he has described himself as a deputy of the Lord Purushottama. In the Nagari plate
[7], he assumed the title Anankabhima-rautta-deva, and by assuming this title he considered himself a
mere deputy of the God Purushottama Jagannath of Puri, whom he regarded as the real Lord of the
kingdom. He is the first imperial Ganga monarch who is so far known to have assumed the subordinate
title Rautta and claimed, theoretically at least, to have been a feudatory of the God Purushottama
Jagannath. In the Draksharama temple inscription [8] he stated himself as Parama Vaishnava
and Parama Mahesvara as well as Purushottama Putra, Rudra Putra and Durga Putra. In this context
we think that the formation of a Jagannath Triad by Ananagabhima during his early years proves his
ritual relationship with the three dominant deities of Orissa, Purushottama at Puri, Lingaraj Siva at
Bhubaneswar, and Durga or Viraja at Jajpur. It was only under the king Anangabhima III that the god
Purushottama at Puri became the official state deity of the Ganga empire. In the Bhubaneswar
Inscription [9] which is dated 1230 A.D., he has been declared as a son and deputy of Lord
Purushottama and similarly pronounced his dominions as Purushottama Samrajya, and he was the
servant of the god Purushottama. In the same year, his wife Somaladevi made a valuable donation to
the God Vishnu- Allalanatha at Kanchipuram. The inscription [10] records the gift of the village named
Udaiyakamam in Antarudra Vishaya by Somaladevi, for offering and worship to the God Allalanatha
while she was at Abhinava Varanasi Kataka. The inscription is dated in the 19th regnal year of
Anangabhima. He is described as the son of Lord Purushottama and a Parama Vaishnava who
regularly observed Ekadasi-vrata and constantly meditated at the feet of his Lord, and the grant was
made by the command (adesa) of Lord Purushottama. During the same year, Anangabhima had
consecrated a temple for Purushottama in his newly founded capital Abhinava Varanasi-Kataka [11]
and donated land to several Brahmanas. It is therefore quite logical that in one of his last inscriptions
dated 1238 A.D. he declared his regnal year or Anka as the regnal year of Lord Purushottama. The
sources leave no doubt that Anangabhima acknowledged Jagannatha as the overlord of Orissa and
remained as His deputy. According to the temple chronicle [l2], King Anangabhima had even renounced
his royal consecration ( abhiseka) because he considered himself only as the deputy of Purushottama
Jagannatha."
The next ruler, Narasimha I, the son and successor of Anangabhima III, followed the deputy ideology of
his father, and like him he also declared himself as a son and deputy of Purushottama, the Lord of the
Universe. In one of his inscriptions [13] at Kapilas he stated that the king succeeded in subduing by the
power of his arms, enemies in numerous battles at the command of the God Purushottama. The God is
none other than Lord Purushottama Jagannath, who is worshipped in the temple of Puri, to whom
Anangabhima dedicated his empire. Further it describes him as Parama Mahesvara, Durga
Putra and Purushottama Putra, who built a temple for Lord Siva at Kapilas Hill. But it is not surprising in
view of the fact that his father Anangabhima himself is also called both Parama Vaishnava and Parama

Mahesvara as well as Purushottama Putra, Rudra Putra and Durga Putra in one of his inscriptions [14]
in the Siva temple at Draksharama. The Kapilas Inscription compares Narasimha I with the great Boar
(Vishnu in his Varaha incarnation) that raised the Vedas and world from the ocean. He was the first king
of Orissa who used the title Gajapati or the Lord of the Elephants. This title became the most popular
royal title in Orissa under the later Gangas, and especially under the Suryavamsis.
The next important ruler of imperial Ganga dynasty who considered himself as the mere deputy of Lord
Purushottama was Bhanudeva II. In his Puri Inscription [15] he called himself as Bhanudeva Rautta and
declared his own regnal year as the prosperous and victorious reign of Sri Purushottamadeva. He
considered himself as a deputy of the God in the matter of ruling the Ganga dominion. The epithet
' Visvambhara-bhara-vahanamahaniya ' which is applied to God Purushottama in our record points to
his identification with Vishnu, who is believed to carry the burden of the earth in the form of the tortoise.
He describes Lord Purushottama as the Lord of the Ganga dominion. Further, for the first time in one of
his inscriptions at Srikurmam [16], the God of Puri is called Jagannatha.
2. Extracts from the book The history of medieval vaishnavism in Orissa
The incarnations of Vishnu had their due share in royal devotion. In Ganagavamshacharitha of
Vasudeva Rath, who flourished about 400 years ago, King Narasimha I had been described as the
incarnation of Man-Lion (Narasimhavathara). The evidence of Narasimha I s devotion to Man-lion is
borne by an inscription in the Nrisimha temple at Simhachalam. The king built the dancing hall and
another mandapa of the temple. In 1267-68 AD, Narahari Tirtha, the regent of Narasimha II in Kalinga,
reared the temple of Yogananda- Nrisimha at Sri-Kurmam. One of his inscriptions is incised on the
temple-wall of Laskhmi- Nrisimha at Simhachalam. The temple of Kurma at Sri_Kurmam gradually
became the chief Vaishnavite shrine in Kalinga. Narahari Tirtha was a patron of this temple. Several
inscriptions in that temple record gifts by him. Vishvanatha, a feudatory of Bhanudeva II, gave forty
coins to Vishnu in Kurmakshethra. The temple also enjoyed the royal beneficence, as has been
attested by several votive records. Bhanudeva III presented the image of his father Narasimha III and of
his step-mother to the Kurma temple.
Narahari Tirtha, the regent of Narasimha II, obtained the images of Rama and Sita from the
treasury of Kalinga and sent them to his Guru, Ananda Tirtha better known as Maddhacharya
the founder of the Maddhs sect of Vaishnavism. A temple of Rama-Chandi has been unearthed
near the Konarka temple. Leegnds of Rama worship are present in Orissa, as else where. (Note
the misspelling of the name of Acharya Madhva).
3. From Orissa Government Portal History:
In 1264 AD, Narasimha deva 1 was succeeded by his son Bhanudeva 1 born from Queen Seetha
Devi. During his time, Narahari Tirtha, disciple of Ananda Tirtha (Madhvacharya) had great
influence in Orissa. He was even appointed as Governor of Kalinga. During the rule of Bhanu
deva, Chandrika Devi, the daughter of Anangabhima deva 1 constructed a temple of Anantha
Vasudeva temple in Bhuvaneswar in 1278 AD. That year Bhanudeva 1 died and his son
Narasimha deva II was an infant. Narahari Tirtha worked as a regent for 12 long years.
Narasimha deva II is known to have fought against the Muslims in Bengal the results of which
were indecisive. His long reign from 1278 1306 AD was peaceful and event less. He was
succeeded by his son Bhanudeva II.