Sri Jayatirtha (), ''also known as'' Teekacharya () (1345 - 1388), was a

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

philosopher, dialectician, polemicist and the sixth pontiff of

Madhvacharya Madhvacharya (; ; CE 1199-1278 or CE 1238–1317), sometimes anglicised as Madhva Acharya, and also known as Purna Prajna () and Ānanda Tīrtha, was an Indian philosopher, theologian and the chief proponent of the '' Dvaita'' (dualism) sch ...

Peetha from (1365 – 1388). He is considered to be one of the most important seers in the history of

Dvaita Dvaita Vedanta (); (originally known as Tattvavada; IAST:Tattvavāda), is a sub-school in the Vedanta tradition of Hindu philosophy. The term Tattvavada literally means "arguments from a realist viewpoint". The Tattvavada (Dvaita) Vedanta ...

school of thought on account of his sound elucidations of the works of

. He is credited with structuring the philosophical aspects of

and through his polemical works, elevating it to an equal footing with the contemporary schools of thought. Along with

Madhva Madhvacharya (; ; CE 1199-1278 or CE 1238–1317), sometimes anglicised as Madhva Acharya, and also known as Purna Prajna () and Ānanda Tīrtha, was an Indian philosopher, theologian and the chief proponent of the ''Dvaita'' (dualism) schoo ...

and

Vyasatirtha Vyāsatīrtha (. 1460 – 1539), also called ''Vyasaraja'' or ''Chandrikacharya'', was a Hindu philosopher, scholar, polemicist, commentator and poet belonging to the Madhwacharya's Dvaita order of Vedanta. As the patron saint of the Vija ...

, he is venerated as one of the three great spiritual sages, or ''munitraya'' of

. Jayatirtha is an incarnation of

Indra Indra (; Sanskrit: इन्द्र) is the king of the devas (god-like deities) and Svarga (heaven) in Hindu mythology. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war. volumes/ref> I ...

(lord of gods) with amsha of

Adi Sesha Shesha (Sanskrit: शेष; ) , also known as Sheshanaga (Sanskrit: शेषनाग; ) or Adishesha (), is a serpentine demigod (Naga) and Nagaraja (King of all serpents), as well as a primordial being of creation in Hinduism. In the Pura ...

. Born into an aristocratic

Deshastha Brahmin Deshastha Brahmin is a Hindu Brahmin subcaste mainly from the Indian state of Maharashtra and northern area of the state of Karnataka. Other than these states, according to authors K. S. Singh, Gregory Naik and Pran Nath Chopra, Deshastha Bra ...

family, he later adopted the cause of

after an encounter with the Madhva saint, Akshobhya Tirtha (d. 1365 ). He composed 22 works, consisting of commentaries on the works of

and several independent treatises criticizing the tenets of contemporary schools, especially

Advaita ''Advaita Vedanta'' (; sa, अद्वैत वेदान्त, ) is a Hindu sādhanā, a path of spiritual discipline and experience, and the oldest extant tradition of the orthodox Hindu school Vedānta. The term ''Advaita'' ( ...

, while simultaneously elaborating upon the Dvaita thought. His dialectical skill and logical acumen earned him the distinction of ' or ''commentator par excellence''.

Biography

Historical sources on Jayatirtha's life is scant. Most of the information about his life is derived from two

hagiographies A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian hagiographies might ...

: ''Aṇu Jayatīrtha Vijaya'' and ''Bṛhad Jayatīrtha Vijaya'' from his disciple, Vyāsatirtha (not to be confused with

) and a compilation by Chalāri Saṁkarṣaṇacārya (c. 1700). According to legendary accounts and the hagiographies, Jayatirtha is an incarnation of

, the lord of gods with amsha of

and have been miraculously favoured by the Goddess

Durga Durga ( sa, दुर्गा, ) is a major Hindu goddess, worshipped as a principal aspect of the mother goddess Mahadevi. She is associated with protection, strength, motherhood, destruction, and wars. Durga's legend centres around c ...

(

Mahalakshmi 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"). Al ...

). In the previous birth, Indra incarnated as

Arjuna Arjuna (Sanskrit: अर्जुन, ), also known as Partha and Dhananjaya, is a character in several ancient Hindu texts, and specifically one of the major characters of the Indian epic Mahabharata. In the epic, he is the third among Panda ...

and in next life he incarnated as a Bull and carried the load of the library of

throughout the Madhva's wanderings between

Udupi Udupi (alternate spelling Udipi; also known as Odipu) is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. Udupi is situated about north of the educational, commercial and industrial hub of Mangalore and about west of state capital Bangalore by road. ...

and

Badrinath Badrinath is a town and nagar panchayat in Chamoli district in the state of Uttarakhand, India. A Hindu holy place, it is one of the four sites in India's Char Dham pilgrimage and is also part of India's Chota Char Dham pilgrimage circuit. ...

. Jayatirtha was born Dhondopant (or Dhondorao) Raghunath into a

Deshpande Deshpande is a surname native to the Indian states of Maharashtra, Goa and Karnataka. The surname can be also found in some parts of Andhra Pradesh. Deshpande surname is found among the Deshastha Brahmins, Gaud Saraswat Brahmins (GSB) and the Ch ...

family of nobles belonging to Marathi-speaking

community in Mangalwedha near

Pandarpur Pandharpur (Pronunciation: əɳɖʱəɾpuːɾ is a well known pilgrimage town, on the banks of Candrabhagā River, near Solapur city in Solapur District, Maharashtra, India. Its administrative area is one of eleven tehsils in the Dist ...

present-day in

Solapur district Solapur District (Marathi pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, olaːpuːɾ is a List of districts of Maharashtra, district in Maharashtra state of India. The city of Solapur is the district headquarters. It is located on the south east edge of th ...

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the second-most populous state in India and the second-most populous country subdi ...

. His father name is Raghunath Pant Deshpande and his mother name is Sakubai. His father was a nobleman of military rank and importance. Dhoṇḍo Pant grew up in affluence, with a certain predilection towards sports, especially horse riding. At the age of twenty, after a chance encounter with the ascetic Akshobhya Tīrtha on the bank of river Bhima, he underwent a transformation which led him to renounce his former life, but not without resistance from his family. After much deliberation, his family relented and he was subsequently initiated into the

fold by Akshobhya Tirtha, who named him '. Jayatirtha succeeded Akshobhya as the pontiff in 1365. He composed several commentaries and treatises in the brief span of 23 years between his initiation and death in 1388.

Works

There have been 22 works accredited to Jayatirtha, 18 of which are commentaries on the works of Madhvacharya. ''Nyaya Sudha'', which is a commentary on Madhva's ''Anu Vyakhyana'', is considered to be his magnum opus. Running up to 24,000 verses, it discusses and critiques a variety of philosophers and their philosophies, ranging from the orthodox schools of Hinduism like Mimamsa and

Nyaya (Sanskrit: न्याय, ''nyā-yá''), literally meaning "justice", "rules", "method" or "judgment",Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

and

Jainism Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle bein ...

, arguing in favour of Dvaita. Apart from commentaries, he has authored 4 original treatises of which ''Pramana Paddhati'' and ''Vadavali'' stand apart. ''Pramana Paddhati'' is a short monograph on the epistemology of

dealing with the

pramanas ''Pramana'' (Sanskrit: प्रमाण, ) literally means "proof" and "means of knowledge".Dvaita Literature. The lucidity and measured style of his writing coupled with his keen dialectical ability has allowed his works to percolate through time, reinforced by the commentaries of later philosophers like

Vijayindra Tirtha Vijayīndra Tīrtha ''(also known as Vijayendra Tīrtha)'' (1514 - 1595) was a Dvaita philosopher and dialectician. A prolific writer and an unrelenting polemicist, he is said to have authored 104 treatises expounding the principles of Dvaita a ...

Raghuttama Tirtha Raghuttama Tirtha (Sanskrit:रघूत्तम तीर्थ); IAST:Śrī Raghūttama Tīrtha) ( 1548 - 1596), was an Indian philosopher, scholar, theologian and saint. He was also known as Bhavabodhacharya (). His diverse oeuvre incl ...

, Raghavendra Tirtha,

Satyanatha Tirtha Satyanatha Tirtha (also known as Satyanatha Yati) ( Sanskrit:सत्यनाथा तीर्थ); IAST:Śrī Satyanātha Tīrtha) (1648 – 1674), also called ''Abhinava Vyasaraja'', was a Hindu philosopher, scholar, theologian, lo ...

and

Vadiraja Tirtha Sri Vadiraja Teertharu (1480 – 1600) was a Dvaita philosopher, poet, traveller and mystic. A polymath of his time, he authored many works, often polemical, on Madhva theology and metaphysics. Additionally, he composed numerous poems and as ...

. His masterpiece, ''Nyaya Sudha'' or ''Nectar of Logic'', deals with refuting an encyclopaedic range of philosophies that were in vogue at the time. Pereira notes "His monumental ''Nectar of Logic'' is one of the pinnacles of Indic theological achievement". Dasgupta remarks "Jayatirtha and

present the highest dialectical skill in Indian thought".

Brindavan

Jayatirtha took brindavana by going into the state of

samadhi ''Samadhi'' ( Pali and sa, समाधि), in Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism and yogic schools, is a state of meditative consciousness. In Buddhism, it is the last of the eight elements of the Noble Eightfold Path. In the Ashtanga Yo ...

in 1388 on the bank of the

holy river Sacred waters are sacred natural sites characterized by tangible topographical land formations such as rivers, lakes, springs, reservoirs, and oceans, as opposed to holy water which is water elevated with the sacramental blessing of a cler ...

Kagini in

Malkhed Malkhed originally known as Manyakheta (IAST: Mānyakheṭa, Prakrit: "Mannakheḍa"), and also known as Malkhed,Village code= 311400 Malkhed (J), Gulbarga, Karnataka is a town in Karnataka, India. It is located on the banks of Kagina river i ...

. Jayatirtha's brindavana (tomb) lies between the brindavanas of Akshobhya Tirtha, and Raghunatha Tirtha. Every year thousands of people attend the aradhana festival from different states of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * *

External links

Jayatirtha on Dvaita.org
*https://www.uttaradimath.org/parampara/sri-jayateertha {{Authority control Madhva religious leaders Dvaita Vedanta Uttaradi Math Scholars from Karnataka Dvaitin philosophers History of Karnataka History of Maharashtra Scholars from Maharashtra 14th-century Indian philosophers 1345 births