Tunga Sringeri MathaIn the Sankarite institution at Sringeri, on the bank of the Tunga (in Chickmagalur District, Karnataka), Srigin i.e. Malayala Brahman has a temple. According to available information he is propitiated before all festivals. On page 143 of the English Section of the Sringeri Souvenir-Smriti Kusumanjali of February 1963, the following information is given : “The Brahmarakshas, locally called Malayala Brahman. who is said to have accompanied Vidyaranya, has a shrine. He carries a mace. He is usually propitiated before the commencement of feasts in Sringeri”.The same piece of information is also found in the ‘Transcendental Throne of Wisdom’ (1953, Page 55.) by K. R. Venkataramier. The Annual Report of the (Archaeological) Survey of Mysore of 1916 has the following account (page 16) :-“On the site of the first and second houses in front of the new Matha (at Sringeri) are now containing figures of Rama, Lakshmana, Sita and Hanuman and built two small temples, one the other a figure known as Malayala Brahma. Though the temples are new, the figures in them are old There is however a curious story about the figure in the other temple. It is fairly a stout figure, about 4-1/2 feet high, wearing sandals and holding a mace in the right hand, the other hanging by the side. Malayala Brahma was a Brahmarakshasa .. .. whom Vidyaranya brought with him, with a promise that he would feed him to his heart’s content. Without propitiating him no entertainment or feast could be organised or successfully carried out at Sringeri even the oil or ghee intended for preparing eatables will refuse to boil. It appears that till recently there was a family at Sringeri, one of the members of which used to be possessed by this spirit every year In these unpropitious times however the spirit has become perfectly harmless but he is being worshipped all the same.”(Sri Vidyaranya, The Vidyaranya Vidya Pitha Trust, Hampi, Publication no.3, 1983)
Tag: Vidyaranya
Tradition of Sringin : Malayala Brahma Worship in the Mathas of Shri Vidyaranya Swami’s Lineage … III
Pushpagiri Matha
The Pushpagiri Matha also has a traditional connection with Malayala Brahman. The following is the relevant information about this connection :-
1. Every year on the day of Bahula Dvadasi in the month of Phalguna, there will be an Aradhana of Sri Malayala Brahmendra-Swami in the Pushpagiri Matha. This will be performed on the same linės as aradhana to the preceptor of the Acharya of the Matha, with special attention of bhakti and sraddha. This is said to be a ‘parampara acharam’. Thus there will be two aradhanas, one for the guru of the presiding acharya of the Matha and the other for Sri Malayala Brahmendra.
2. As per the records of this matha, this Malayala Brahmendra Swamivaru has got another name Sringara Bhatta. The records show that the aradhana is written as ‘Sringara Bhatta Aradhana’.
3. During the course of daily puja there will be no mention of Sringara Bhatta. But on every Friday mention of Sri Malayala Brahmendra Swami is made as shown below :-
Sankalpam:-
“Sri Malayala Brahmendra, Mahakali, Maha-sarasvati, Chandi Navakshari, Sri Sarada Chandramaulisvara devatapujam karishye.”
Mantrapushpam:-
During the offering of mantrapushpam the names of the same deities as aforesaid are uttered.
At the end of the puja also the names of Malayala Brahmendra, Mahakali etc., are repeated.
The above information is the translation of the Telugu version of manual of rituals found in the Pushpagiri Matha.
(Sri Vidyaranya, The Vidyaranya Vidya Pitha Trust, Hampi, Publication no.3, 1983)
Tradition of Sringin : Malayala Brahma Worship in the Mathas of Shri Vidyaranya Swami’s Lineage … II
Virupaksha Matha, Hampi According to available information about Malayala Brahman, at the Advaita Matha at Virupaksha (very near Hampi, in Karnataka State), there is a separate temple, within the precincts of this matha, where the deity of Malayala Brahmana is installed. Worship is being performed to the deity daily. During the daily puja, the mantras for sankalpa are:- “Malayala Brahmana pujam karishye … “. Every year aradhana is performed for Malayala Brahman on Vaisakha Suddha Chaturthi with sixteen Alankara Brahmins.(Sri Vidyaranya, The Vidyaranya Vidya Pitha Trust, Hampi, Publication no.3, 1983)
Tradition of Sringin : Malayala Brahma Worship in the Mathas of Shri Vidyaranya Swami’s Lineage … I
“The deity of Sringin, Malayala Brahman is also worshipped in most of the Advaitic institutions with which Sri Vidyaranya Swami has been associated in some way or other-as founder or restorer.Shri Vidyaranya’s meeting the Brahmarakshas, Sringin, in the Vindhya forest has been narrated in ‘Vidyaranya-kṛti’ (the opening part of ‘Vidyaranya Kālajñāna’), the ‘Guruvamsa Kavya’ and in the ‘Renukatantra. Srigin is also given the name ‘Malayala Brahman.’ According to available authentic information, there is a ‘Brahma Devaru’, deity in the Kudali Sringeri Matha, located on the bank of the Tungabhadra (in Shimoga district, Karnataka state) where it is understood that Shri Shankaracharya founded an institution owing to unexpected accidental circumstances. The deity of Brahma Devaru is installed in a small mantapa near Sri Vidyashankara Temple. Nitya-puja is being performed to this deity only in the morning. The sankalpa made is as follows: “Sringara Bhatta pujam karishye”. Once in a year Aradana (annual special worship) is being done to this Sringara Bhatta (Brahma Devaru or Malayala Brahman) with sixteen Alankara Brahmins sitting.”(Sri Vidyaranya, The Vidyaranya Vidya Pitha Trust, Hampi, Publication no.3, 1983)
Vidyaranya and Kailasanatha Temple
Q: Why do the preceptors of the Advaita mathas established by Shri Vidyaranya Swami in Karnataka also regard Shri Kailasanatha Swamy Temple, situated near Mandana Mishra Agraharam in Kanchipuram as important?
A: The Acharyas of some of the mathas established by Shri Vidyaranya Swami also regard this temple in Kanchipuram very important, as their original Guruparampara texts evidence that the founder of these mathas, Shri Vidyaranya Swami, finally attained Samadhi here.
