Lakshmi Kumara Tatacharya (), (1571–1643) was a prominent saint and

guru Guru ( sa, गुरु, IAST: ''guru;'' Pali'': garu'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: traditionally, the guru is a reverentia ...

of the

Sri Vaishnava Sri Vaishnavism, or the Sri Vaishnava Sampradaya, is a denomination within the Vaishnavism tradition of Hinduism. The name refers to goddess Lakshmi (also known as Sri), as well as a prefix that means "sacred, revered", and the god Vishnu, who ...

tradition of

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

. He was the preceptor of

Vedanta Desika Vedanta Desikan (1268–1369), also rendered Vedanta Desikar, Swami Vedanta Desikan, and Thoopul Nigamaantha Desikan, was an Indian polymath who wrote philosophical as well as religious and poetical works in several languages, including Sans ...

. He served as the ''rajaguru'' (royal preceptor) for a ruler of the

Vijayanagara Empire The Vijayanagara Empire, also called the Karnata Kingdom, was a Hinduism, Hindu empire based in the region of South India, which consisted the modern states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Goa and some parts of Telangana an ...

Venkatapati Raya Venkatapati Raya (or Venkata II, r. 1585–1614 CE) was the younger brother of Sriranga Deva Raya (also the youngest son of Tirumala Deva Raya ) and the ruler of Vijayanagara Empire with bases in Penukonda, Chandragiri and Vellore. His reign ...

. He was also the overseer of a number of sacred temples known as the

Divya Desams A Divya Desam or Vaishnava Divya Desam is one of the 108 Vishnu and Lakshmi temples that is mentioned in the Nalayira Divya Prabandham, works of the Alvars, the poet-saints of the Sri Vaishnavism, Sri Vaishnava tradition. Of the 108 temples, 10 ...

, including

Srirangam Srirangam, is a neighbourhood in the city of Tiruchirappalli in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. A river island, Srirangam is bounded by the Kaveri River on one side and its distributary Kollidam on the other side. Considered as the first amon ...

Kanchipuram Kanchipuram ('; ) also known as ''Conjeevaram,'' is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu in the Tondaimandalam region, from Chennaithe capital of Tamil Nadu. Known as the ''City of Thousand Temples'', Kanchipuram is known for its temple ...

Tirumala Tirumala is a spiritual town in Tirupati district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is one of the suburbs of the Tirupati, Tirupati urban agglomeration. The town is a part of Tirupati Urban Development Authority and located in Tirupa ...

Melkote Melukote in Pandavapura taluk of Mandya district, Karnataka, in southern India, is one of the sacred places in Karnataka.It is built on rocky hills, known as Yadugiri, Yaadavagiri and Yadushailadeepa, overlooking the Cauvery valley. Melukote i ...

, and

Srivilliputtur Srivilliputhur (), is a Municipality in Virudhunagar district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. As of 2011, the town had a population of 75,396. The most important landmark of Srivilliputhur is 11-tiered tower structure dedicated to the Vatapat ...

Biography

According to Sri Vaishnava tradition, Lakshmi Kumara Tatacharya is regarded to trace his descent from various

acharyas In Indian religions and society, an ''acharya'' (Sanskrit: आचार्य, IAST: ; Pali: ''ācariya'') is a preceptor and expert instructor in matters such as religion, or any other subject. An acharya is a highly learned person with a tit ...

of Sri Vaishnava philosophy such as

Nathamuni Nathamuni, also known as Sri Ranganathamuni, (823 CE – 951 CE), was a Vaishnava theologian who collected and compiled the Naalayira Divya Prabandham. Srinivasa Chari, S. M. (1994). Vaiṣṇavism, p.22-24. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers./ref ...

Ramanuja Ramanuja (Middle Tamil: Rāmāṉujam; Classical Sanskrit: Rāmanuja; 1017 CE – 1137 CE; ; ), also known as Ramanujacharya, was an Indian Hindu philosopher, guru and a social reformer. He is noted to be one of the most important exponents o ...

, and Tirumala Nambi. His father, Sundara Desika, and paternal uncle, Panchamada Bhandanam Tatacharya, served as the royal preceptors of the emperor before he inherited their role. During his role as the royal preceptor, he brought a large army from Vijayanagara and drove away unrighteous people from the Divya Desams of Srirangam, Kanchipuram,

, Alagar Koyil, Kumbakonam and many other places and restored the ritual traditions of Ramanuja, as well as appointing overseers and offering grants to these sites. He is described to have gilded the ''mulavar vimanam'' (the pyramidal structure over the

sanctum sanctorum The Latin phrase ''sanctum sanctorum'' is a translation of the Hebrew term ''קֹדֶשׁ הַקֳּדָשִׁים'' (Qṓḏeš HaQŏḏāšîm), literally meaning Holy of Holies, which generally refers in Latin texts to the holiest place of th ...

) of

Tirupati Tirupati () is a city in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of the Tirupati district. The city is home to the important Hindu shrine of Tirumala Venkateswara Temple and other historic temples and is refe ...

, Kanchipuram, and renovated the parts of the Srirangam Temple. He constructed the hundred-pillared

mandapa A mandapa or mantapa () is a pillared hall or pavilion for public rituals in Indian architecture, especially featured in Hindu temple architecture. Mandapas are described as "open" or "closed" depending on whether they have walls. In temples, ...

of the Varadharaja Perumal Temple and renovated its shrines of the said temple, which records his work in its stone tablets. Lakshmi Kumara Tatacharya offered his guidance to the rulers of the

regarding matters of

righteousness Righteousness is the quality or state of being morally correct and justifiable. It can be considered synonymous with "rightness" or being "upright". It can be found in Indian religions and Abrahamic traditions, among other religions, as a theologi ...

. He was the only person to hold the twin positions of ''rajaguru'' and

chief minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union terri ...

of the state. He travelled all around the country for the purpose of educating people from various sections of society to follow the path of righteousness.

Tata Samudram

Lakshmi Kumara Tatacharya constructed a temple named Sri Sanjiviraya Temple in Ayyankar Kulam, a small village near Kanchipuram, venerating the deity

Hanuman Hanuman (; sa, हनुमान, ), also called Anjaneya (), is a Hindu god and a divine '' vanara'' companion of the god Rama. Hanuman is one of the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. He is an ardent devotee of Rama and on ...

with a temple tank measuring more than 150 acres. This temple is more commonly known as Tata Samudram, literally meaning, 'the sea of Tata'. As part of a temple procession, the processional idol of the Varadharaja Perumal temple is brought to visit this temple once in a year during the festival named "Natabhavi Utsavam". According to regional legend, Lakshmi Kumara Tatacharya was a pious devotee of

Rama Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular '' avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Bein ...

. Once, he was travelling to Kanchipuram with all the wealth he had acquired as a reward for his knowledge from various kings, with the intention of offering all of it to Varadharaja Perumal. On reaching the outskirts of the town, since it was late in the light, he decided to stay with his disciples, intending to resume his journey after sunrise. While his disciples and he slept, a group of thieves arrived to steal his riches. While they were doing so, a troop of monkeys, led by their leader, started to attack the thieves, after which they started to guard the riches. In a divine dream, Lakshmi Kumara Tatacharya was offered a vision of the incident and received a

darshana In Indian religions, ''Darshana'', also spelt ''Darshan'', (Sanskrit: दर्शन, , ) or ''Darshanam'' (darśanam) is the auspicious sight of a deity or a holy person. The term also refers to six traditional schools of Hindu philosophy ...

(divine sight) from

. The preceptor realised that it had been the deity himself who had averted the robbery. Overwhelmed by devotion, he decided to spend a part of his wealth to build a temple for

along with

Sita Sita (; ) also called as Janaki and Vaidehi is a Hindu goddess and the female protagonist of the Hindu epic, ''Ramayana''. She is the consort of Rama, the avatar of the god Vishnu, and is regarded as a form of Vishnu's consort, Lakshmi. She ...

, and

Lakshmana Lakshmana ( sa, लक्ष्मण, lit=the fortunate one, translit=Lakṣmaṇa), also spelled as Laxmana, is the younger brother of Rama and his loyalist in the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. He bears the epithets of Saumitra () and Ramanuja (). ...

. He also built a large lake near the constructed temple and named it Sri Lakshmi Saras, in honour of the goddess

Lakshmi Lakshmi (; , sometimes spelled Laxmi, ), also known as Shri (, ), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism. She is the goddess of wealth, fortune, power, beauty, fertility and prosperity, and associated with ''Maya'' ("Illusion"). Alo ...

. Lakshmi Kumara Tatacharya also composed a famous literary work called Srimat Hanumat Vimshati in praise of

, which are inscribed on stone tablets and are kept in the ''

prakarams A prakaram (प्राकारः in Sanskrit), also spelled pragaram or pragaaram) in Indian architecture is an outer part around the Hindu temple sanctum. They may be enclosed or open and are typically enclosed for the innermost prakaram. As ...

'' (the circle enclosure surrounding the main temple) by the then ruler of the Vijayanagara Empire.

Works

Lakshmi Kumara Tatacharya has composed a lot of literary works including Srimat Hanumat Vimshati, Nikama Parimalam, Sri Panduranga Mahatmyam, Sri Desika Prabandha Itu, and others in the languages of Sanskrit Prakrit, and Tamil. These works are preserved in the libraries of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams. The work Sri Tata Vimshati composed on the greatness of Lakshmi Kumara Tatacharya records his various acts and deeds. Lakshmi Kumara Tatacharya has also composed various literary works to substantiate various philosophical truths of Sri

Vaishnavism Vaishnavism ( sa, वैष्णवसम्प्रदायः, Vaiṣṇavasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu denominations along with Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism. It is also called Vishnuism since it considers Vishnu as the ...

. His devotion towards

and Vedanta Desika could be ascertained from his works. The Sri Desika Prabandha Itu serves as a guide to the

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nati ...

works of Vedanta Desika.

Philosophy

Lakshmi Kumara Tatacharya followed the Vadakalai sect of Sri Vaishnavism and his thoughts were deeply rooted his works. He was a follower of Vedanta Desika. He was revered as an ''acharya mahanubhava'', or virtuous instructor. The key concepts of Ramanuja's Vishistadvaita: tattva, hita, and purushartha; upaya and upeya; chit, achit, and ishvara; karya and karana, are explored in most of the works of Lakshmi Kumara Tatacharya, such as Nikama Parimalam, Lakshmi Niyudam, Panchagranthi Nipaharam, Saptagranthi Nipaharam, and Sattvika Brahmana Vidya Vilasa.

Legacy

Lakshmi Kumara Tatacharya has influenced the philosophers and saints of various Hindu traditions. The great contemporary writer and philosopher Appaya Dikshitar of Adayapalam praised Lakshmi Kumara Tatacharya in many of his works. He considered the guru to be of divine birth. Lakshmi Kumara Tatacharya is extolled in the following verse:

In the city of Kanchipuram, the Varadharaja Perumal Temple's Sri Vedanta Desikan Sannidhi houses a six-feet idol of Lakshmi Kumara Tatacharya along with his consort, Kamala Ammangar, depicted as paying homage to Vedanta Desika. Whenever the processional image of Varadharaja Perumal is taken for a temple procession,
/ref> the images of Lakshmi Kumara Tatacharya and Vedanta Desika are offered the ''satari'', a crown that represents the feet of Vishnu. The temple also houses the processional deity of the preceptor.

References

Sources

* "Sri Tata Vimsadhi" by Sri Venkata Varadha Kavi – TTD library * "guru paramparai prabhavam 6000 padi – Part 2 Aacharyargal Vaibhavam" Sri Parakala Mutt * "Sri Lakshmi Kumarodhayam" a fifteenth-century work of Vijayanagara Kingdom * "Sadamarshana Gothra Prabhavam" by Seva Srinivasa Raghavan * The inscriptions found in various Temples of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh

External links

*
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Vijayanagara Empire

Fw: Brahmotsavam of Navalpakkam Temple & Desika Stothram MP3 CD]
www.lakshmihayagriva.orgSri Sanjeevi Rayar Temple – Ayyangar Kulam, Kanchipuram Where Was It Shot
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thathachariar, Lakshmi Kumara 16th-century Indian philosophers Indian Hindu saints Vaishnavism Sri Vaishnavism People from Thanjavur district Scholars from Tamil Nadu Sri Vaishnava religious leaders