SRI RAGHAVENDRA SWAMY MUTTS WITH SIGNIFICANCE

Bhuvanagiri- birth place of raghavendra

Sri Ragavendra swami's birth place is Bhuvanagiri. Bhuvanagiri is located 7 kms from the temple town Chidambaram, Tamil nadu. It is also close to a great Saint Sri Ramalinga adigalar's birth place Maruthur town. The word Bhuvanagiri is a combination of two Tamil - sanskrit words Bhuvanam and Giri. Most of us know that Bhuvanam means world and Giri means mountain and unmovable. Hence place unmovable.

Saint lived here until thy marriage and left to Kumbakonam for higher studies. The house, were swami born and brought up had changed as temple in thy remembrance. This temple is situated at 4th patti street in bhuvanagiri. Fifteen minutes walk from the Bhuvanagiri bus terminus.

Temple is kept opened up to 11.00 clocks in the morning in ordinary days and up to 12 - 12.30 in special occasions. Again opens at 4.00 clock in the evening and closed around 8 -9 .00 clock in ordinary days and up to 1.00 clock in New Year day. While presenting garland makes sure that there are no green leaves in the garland. 

During swami's days, swami use to bath at Vellaaru river, nearby the temple and worshiped Anjaneyar temple, which, swami himself build (prathishtai}, is situated on the way from river to temple. These two are sacred spot to be seen and worshiped after the temple worship and can be reached, within 5 – 10 minutes walk from the temple. 

Vadavuru Raghavendra mutt, Tanjore

Vijayendrar, who was the Guru of Venkatanathar(Our Guru Raghavendrar) decided that among all of his disciples

only our swami had all eligibility for “Madhva Peetathipathi” after him.

At this time, Venkatanathar came to Tanjore and selected a place (Place where Guru`s mutt at Thanjavur is located) to do ‘thapas’ and daily poojas, which was in the midst of deep forest and on the bank of one of the branches of cauvery which is now called as ‘Vadavaru’.

Guru Rayaru Pattabhishekam was celebrated in Vadavuru.

Swami spent 12 years in this place and later, Swami was entitled as ‘Raghavendrar’ by the great gatherings of people,the ruler and Guru Vijayendrar. After that, Guru Started his way by walk throughout the South India.Later, he chose Manthralayam as the place for Jeevasamathi.

The King of Tanjore Raghunatha was worried as there were big drought throughout his kingdom once Swamigal left Tanjore. And he offered Ragavendra swamigal to come to his kingdom back to make prosperity all over.At one fine night, Guru had come in the dream of the Ruler and asked him to build a mutt for him to bless people.But Ruler didn’t know where to build the temple, then Guru told him that ” I would come in the form of Sarpam(Snake) and I will show you the spot to establish the temple”. As Guru informed the next day Snake showed him the way and took him to the spot and at once its changed to small statue which can witness even today beneath the Swamigal .As guru Ordered,the Ruler built a mutt to Guru Ragavendrar.

There is no top roof to Guru.Either  the rain or Sun light are directly fall on Guru.Most of the Guru Mutts in our country have been establishing as” Mrithika Brindhavanam”. But this mutt and Andhra Manthralayamhad been established by Guru`s Order. And only in these two mutts, we can get Guru’s Mrithigai(The Holy sand).

So Guru Raghavendrar in the Tanjore mutt is a form of Sarpam.It has once again proved by the photo which was taken on the day of Guru’sAradhanai(8-7-2009 7.49a.m.).

Yes, you can see the Sarpam (snake)form in the ‘DHEEPA AARATHI’.

Srimushnam Sri Raghavendramutt and mane

Raghavendra Swamy is by far one of the most popular Madhwa saints. He is also perhaps the most well-known Madhwa seer but also the world over.

Over the years, there has been growing interest in Raghavendra Swamy his works, life and times and the many mathas or temples dedicated to Raghavendra Swamy. Almost every aspect of the life and times of Raghavendra Swamy has been so well documented that there is very little left of him that we do not know.

Yet, Rayaru is such a magnanimous person and the depth of his knowledge and  philosophy is so deep that we get nee facts about the seer of Mantralaya and each passing day seems to bring in a new facet of his personality.

Though there is growing interest about Rayaru, there are still many things that are yet to become popular. One such aspect is the places where Rayaru spent time. Though we are all familiar with Bhuvanagiri, where he was born: Bichale where he spent thirteen years in the house of  his close devotee Appanacharya and Mantralaya where he entered Brindavana in 1671, there are many other places which are not as popular among visitors and pilgrims as these three places.

One such place is Srimushnam, one of the ten most holy Vaishnava shrines in the world. If Ayodhya is known as the birth place of Lord Rama and Mathura is associated with Krishna, Srimushnam is the revered Varaha Kshetra or the abode of Lord Vishnu or Hari.

Apart from being home to the Varaha Swamy temple, Srimushnam has another distinction which many are not aware of. It is here that Raghavendra Swamy is supposed to have spent close to twelve years.

A staunch Madhwa, Raghavendra worshipped the Varaha diety here and stayed in a house. This was much before he entered Bichale in Karnataka sometime in 1658.

Rayaru was born in Bhuvanagiri which is just a few kilometers from Chidambaram in Tamil Nadu. Srimushnam too is near Chidambaram and Rayaru spent much of his formative years in the Mudarai- Kumbakonam-Thanjavur, Srirangam-Srimushnam belt for several years.

If he learnt Vedas, Shastras and other religious texts at Madurai, he took Deekshe at Thanjavur, joined the Sri Matha of Vijendra Theerta at Kumbakonam and spent years meditating at Srimushnam and worshipping Hari.   

Rayaru stayed for years at a house in Srimushnam and this house can still be seen. The Nanjangud Mantralaya Matha, or the Sri Raghavenmdra Matha, took over the house in 2010 and constructed a temple dedicated to Raghavendra Swamy here.

The Nanjangud Raghavendra Swamy Matha is the official matha of Raghavendra Swamy and its name stems from the holy city of Nanjangud near Mysore which  has a Rayaru temple where there is an exquisite idol of Raghavendra Swamy. Since many seers of the Matha spent time here, the samshtahan came to be called as Nanjangud Mantralaya Matha.

The then seer of the Raghavendra Swamy Matha, Sushameendra Theertha, had wanted to develop a Raghavendra Swamy Matha at Srimushnam so that devotees and pilgrims can get accommodation and Theertha Prasada. He wanted to provide overnight accommodation to people.

He also wanted to renovate the house where Rayaru had lived.

His successor, Suyateendra Teertha Swamy, brought this idea into action. On November 24, 2010, he performed the Pratishtapana of Sri Rayaru and Sri Mukhyaprana in the premises of the old Rayara Mane or the home of Rayaru.

Incidentally, the stone for constructing the Brindavana was taken from the same segment in Madhavara, where the stone for the Moola Brindavana at Mantralaya was brought. It was Rayaru himself who had asked Dewan Venkanna to construct his Brindavana from the rock at Madhavara, which is near Mantralaya.

This brindavana is a replica of moola brindava in Mantralaya. It is 400 old mutt.

This makes the Brindavana of Raghavendra Swamy at Srimushnam the only other Brindavana apart from Mantralaya to be sculpted from the same stone.

Today, the house of Rayaru in Srimushnam has been transformed into a temple of Rayaru. The Mantralaya Matha maintains the home and matha and provides several facilities for pilgrims and devotees.  

We are allowed to enter the house and we feel sacred to worship where Sri Raghavendra worshipped.

Another interesting fact about Srimushnam  for Madhwas is that Madhwacharya spent time during a Chaturmasa here and he gave some excellent discourses on Vishnu Purana, Bhagavath Geetha and other topics.

Srimushnam is today one of the foremost pilgrim centres for Vaishnavas. It is among the few places where we can see Varaha with his consort Bhoo Devi. It is also the place sanctified by Madhwacharya and Raghavendra Swamy.   

This is also the place where Vyasa Raja or Vyasa Theertha and his guru, Sripadaraja, spent time as did Raghuttoma Theerta of Tirukoilur.

Incidentally, the Nanjangud Mantralaya matha has drawn up ambitious plans to develop the matha into a centre of learning. It wants to expand the matha activities further so as to spread the Dwaitha tenet. It also plans to start a VedicSchool and a research centre.

As of now, the newly established Matha  provides transit accommodation, Teertha Prasada (lunch) and other basic amenities for pilgrims.

For more details contact Nanjangud Sri Raghavendra Swamy Matha

No 1, North Car Street,

Srimushnam

ph 8098180166

The Dakshina Mantralaya

There are hundreds of temples in India dedicated to Raghavendra Swamy and almost each temple has its own tale to tell of the munificence and miracle of the Mantralaya seer.

Of all the cities, Bangalore perhaps boasts of the highest number of temples dedicated to Raghavendra Swamy. Bangalore also has three Raghavendra Swamy temples that are under the direct control and management of  the Nanjangud Sri Raghavendra Swamy Temple or Mantralaya Matha.

All the Rayara mathas are holy places as the miracles and Mahime of Rayaru can be felt everywhere. However, some temples are sanctified and are holy by the very presence of Raghavendra. There are temples where Rayaru himself came to the aid of the bhaktas or devotees who wanted to construct a temple for him.

One such temple is in Papparapatti in Tamil Nadu, which today is known as Dakshnina Mantralaya.

Papparapatti is a small village about 15 kms west of Dharmapuri in Dharmapuri district of Tamil Nadu. The village is surrounded by lush green forests. It is on National Highway No. 7.

The Brindavana here is a Mrithika and Saligrama structure. It means that the mrithika and saligramas from Mantralaya were brought here and installed in the Brindavana.

Apart from Brindavana, you can also see Mukhyaprana temple on  the Matha premises.
The Matha has been described as Dakshina Mantralaya by none other than the then Swamiji of Mantralaya Matha, Sushemendra Theertha.

It was February 21, 1996 and  Sushemendra Theertha was to arrive at Dharmapuri for the consecration of a Brindavana of Raghavendra Swamiji there. The Aasthika Samaja requested him to come to Papparapatti also. The Swamiji agreed but said he would be able to spend only a short time at Papparapatti. He also made it clear that he should not be persuaded to extend his stay.

He then came to Papparapatti the same day. He performed pooja and stayed at the Matha for two days.

During his discourse, Sushemendra Theertha declared that the Matha would develop into Dakshina Mantralaya. Since then, this name has struck to this temple of Raghavendra Swamy.

The matha provides accommodation and Theertha prasada. It is near Hogenkal which is 35 kms away. Palakkodu is about nine kms away. There is an Agrahara of Madhwa community near the RaghavendraSwamyTemple.

On the National Highway No 7, near Krishnagiri is the temple of Pranadevaru consecrated by Vyasaraja. It is called Kad Anjaneya.

Papparapatti is on the Bangalore-Salem route. The village is about 100 kms from Bangalore. 

 Sri Raghavendra Swamy Mutt, Nanjangud

Sri Sugnanendra Theertharu had aspirations to attain brindavana in the proximity of Brindavana of Sri Raghavendra Swamy at Mantralaya and Sri Raayaru himself came in the dreams of Sri Sugnanendra Theertharu and revealed that he wound come to the place of Sri Sugnanendra Theertharu (Nanjangud) and instructed to receive his idol from a brahman and install it at Nanjangud. In same time, Raayaru appeared in the dream of a brahman in Srirangapatna and instructed to collect his idol from the washerman near the Cauvery River and give it to Sri Sugnanendra Theertharu. 

A washerman at the River Cauvery in Srirangapatna once started to here the sound "Om" when he was beating the clothes on the stone slab which he was using regularly and got astonished and stopped using that stone for washing the clothes. Sri Raayaru appeared in dream of the washerman the same night and instructed him to give this stone to the brahman who will come to you for it and revealed that his idol was in that stone slab. 

Sri Raghavendra Swamy also appeared in the dream of Mummadi Krishna Raja Wodeyar, the then Maharaja of Mysore and ordered the king to provide the support to Sri Sugnanendra Theertharu for the installation of the idol at Nanjangud. Sri Raayaru came in the dreams of the above 4 persons at the same time and the next day the idol was given to Sri Sugnanendra Theertharu at Nanjangud and the idol of Sri Raghavenfra Swamy was installed in the Moola Matha at Nanjangud.

Behind the Mutt at a short distance is the Pancha Brindavanas (5 Brindavanas) of the sacred 5 pontiffs of the Mutt.