Swami Vāmanāshram (

Devanagari Devanagari ( ; , , Sanskrit pronunciation: ), also called Nagari (),Kathleen Kuiper (2010), The Culture of India, New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, , page 83 is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental Writing systems#Segmental syste ...

: वामनाश्रम्, '), also called ''Swamiji'', was the sixth

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

Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmin Chitrapur Saraswats are a small Konkani-speaking community of Hindu Brahmins in India. They are traditionally found along the Kanara coast and call themselves ''Bhanaps'' in the Konkani language. This is a small community from India spread th ...

community (6th in the '' Guru Parampara''). He reigned for 16 years from 1823 to 1839. He was considered a ''Bramha-jñāni'' (All knowing one).

Life

Swami Vāmanāshram was from the ''Shukla Bhat'' family from Mangalore. He was ordained as the successor to Swami Keshavāshram in 1804 and was under the tutelage of his guru Swami Keshavāshram for a period of 19 years. During this time he gained mastery over the

Vedas upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the ...

Upanishads The Upanishads (; sa, उपनिषद् ) are late Vedic Sanskrit texts that supplied the basis of later Hindu philosophy.Wendy Doniger (1990), ''Textual Sources for the Study of Hinduism'', 1st Edition, University of Chicago Press, , ...

and other

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

scriptures. Swamiji was formally ordained as the Guru of the community after Swami ''Keshavāshram'' died on the 9th day of '' Mārgha'' month in 1823.

Shishya Sweekar

Upon the insistence of his devotees to accept a disciple to help him with the affairs of the community, Swamiji consented in accepting a '' shishya'' (disciple). His successor, Parameshwar Nagar, was found in the hamlet of ''Vitthal'' in

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

when Swamiji visited. The priest of the Shri ''Vishweshwar Vitthal'' temple had told Swamiji about Nagar, telling him the young boy radiated with energy and potential. In the month of '' Jyēshta'' in 1836, Swamiji formally ordained his ''shishya'' as ''Krishnāshram''.

Tyāga Tyāga (Sanskrit: त्याग) is a Sanskrit word that means "sacrifice, giving up in generosity, forsaking, resigning" anything of value, as well as "renunciation" depending on the context. It is an ethical concept in Hinduism, Buddhism and ...
: The Sacrifice

Swamiji was a man who was deeply involved in spiritual pursuits, but the administration of the ''matha'' and its treasury was materialistic pleasures that the Swamiji denounced. Since he could not concentrate on both the administration affairs of the ''matha'' and the affairs of the community in general, he gave total responsibility of the administration to his ''shishya'' and the ''Shukla Bhat'' managers.

Death

Swamiji went to visit his devotees in

Mangalore Mangalore (), officially known as Mangaluru, is a major port city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats about west of Bangalore, the state capital, 20 km north of Karnataka–Ker ...

in 1839. It was during this visit that he became seriously ill. His health was rapidly deteriorating. Swami Vāmanāshram died on the 9th day of the month of '' Kārtik'' in 1839. He was succeeded by his ''shishya''

Krishnashram Swami Krishnashram (Devanagari: कृष्णाश्रम्, ') was the seventh ''mathadhipati'' (head of the community or guru) of the Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmin community from 1839 to 1863. Krishnashram was considered to be the patron s ...

. The devotees of Swamiji constructed his ''samādhi'' (shrine) in the ''matha'' at Mangalore. Devotees offer ''seva'' (service) as ''Shiyala Abhisheka''. Tender coconut water is poured on the shrine as

abhisheka Abhisheka () means "bathing of the divinity to whom worship is offered." It is a religious rite or method of prayer in which a devotee pours a liquid offering on an image or murti of a God or Goddess. Abhisheka is common to Indian religions su ...

References

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Notes