About shrI jayatIrtha (ಶ್ರೀ ಜಯತೀರ್ಥ)

Born: 1340
maThAdhipathi: 1365 To 1388
Preceptor: shrI akshObhya tIrtha (ಶ್ರೀ ಅಕ್ಶೋಭ್ಯ ತೀರ್ಥ)
Aradhane: AshADa bahuLa panchami (ಆಶಾಡ ಬಹುಳ ಪನ್ಚಮಿ)
brindAvana at: on the banks of kAbini at malakhEDa, Karnataka
maTha: uttarAdhi maTha
pUrvAshrama name: dhOnDUrao dEshpAnDe

Introduction
Adherents of tattvavAda or dvaita owe shrI jayatIrtharu a huge debt. Like hanumanta communicating the thoughts of Lord rAma to sIta mAta, jayatIrtharu is the messenger who brings us the message of shrI madhvAchArya. He has delved deep into shrI madhvAchArya's works and brought us innumerable pearls of wisdom and insight. Indeed, it is impossible to study madhvA shAstra without his help.

All the luminaries who have graced dvaita – shrIpadarAjaru, vyAsarAyaru, vAdirAjaru, vijayIndraru, raghOttamaru, raghavEndraru, to name a few – have only built on the foundation laid by shrI jayatIrtharu, and have not deviated from the line laid by him. Such is his profound mastery over tattvavAda or dvaita.

To put it symbolically, one may consider the sarvamUla granthas (shrI madhvAchArya's works) as the temple that shrI madhvAchArya built to his favorite deity, nArAyaNa or viShNu. Like jaya guarding the portals of vAikunTha, jayatIrtha regulates entrance to this shrine. One has to obtain his blessings in order to enter and obtain the grace of the deity eshrined within.


brindAvana of shrI jayatIrtha

छित्रै पदैश्च् गम्भीरैह् वाकैर्मानैह् अकन्डितैह् ।
गुरुभावम् व्यन्जयन्ति भाति श्रीजवतीर्थ वाक् ॥

In a short span of 23 years, jayatIrtha established tattvavAda as one of the premier schools of vedAnta. After ensuring that there was a strong foundation that would stand future adherents of tattvavAda in good stead, he decided that time had come to relinquish his mortal coils. He chose an able successor, shrI kriShNa bhatta, and introduced him into asceticism with the AshramanAma of vidhyAdhjirAja tIrtha, and handed over the reigns of the maTha to him. On AshAda bahuLa panchami in 1388 he ended his sojourn on earth. As desired by him, his brindavana was consecrated in malakhEDa, next to the brindAvana of his guru shrI akshObhya tIrtha.