INTRODUCTION :-
Sri Jayateertha or Jayateertharu, also known as Teekacharya (1365-1388 ) was a holy Hindu madhwa saint and the sixth pontiff of Madhvacharya Peetha. He is considered to be one of the most important saint in the Madhwa tradition. He is given credit to his works on the philosophical aspects of Dvaita. Along with Madhva and Vyasatirtha, he is regarded as one of the three great spiritual sages.
Birth and Sanyasa
Dhondupant was his original name before attaining sanyasa. He was born into an orthodox Brahmin family, and he later adopted to Dvaita after an encounter with the Madhva saint, Akshobhya Tirtha . He has made 22 works, related to the works of Madhva and also made several independent works criticizing the Advaita philosophy.
His grand skill and wisdom has earned him the name ‘TEEKACHARYA’.
The place of his birth is assigned to either Mangalwedha or Manyakheta. According to the history, his father was a nobleman of military rank and importance. At the age of twenty, after having a discussion with Sree Akshobhya Tirtha on the banks of river Kagini, he underwent into a transformation. Sri Akshobhya Teertha then initiated him in to Sanyasa. When Dhondupant’s father came to know about this, he was very angry with Sri Akshobhya Teertha, and arranged for a marriage to his son to a beautiful and good natured girl. Dhondupant who was against the marriage, took the form of a snake, and his father and his wife were realized that he was not an ordinary human being, but a divine human who was born to achieve great deeds. Both of them were accepted to Dhondupant’s wishes, and Dhondupant attained sainthood and became Sri Jayateertharu. And by his grace, his parents had another son. 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 his death in 1388.
Miracles
During the time of his sainthood, he has done many miracles and showered his grace on to the life of his devotees. He has washed out the sins of his devotees, cured various diseases and spread the holy nama of HARI among the people. He took adequate care and attention on to the life of his devotees.
Devotional Works
There have been 22 works accredited to Jayatirtha, 18 of which are commentaries on the works of Madhvacharya. Apart from commentaries, he has authored 4 original treatises of which are Pramana Paddhati and Vadavali.
Importance
Jayatirtha occupies a special place in the history of Dvaita Literature. The style of his writing has made his works to remain for ever. His masterpiece, Nyaya Sudha or Nectar of Logic, deals with a range of madhwa philosophies that were very popular during the time of his period.
Brindavana
Various opinions are divided on to the location of Sree Jayatirtha's tomb. Some considers Malkhed as the legitimate location of Jayatirtha's mortal remains, while some other claim that historical evidence was found at the Nava Brindavana,Karnataka and they consider it to be the actual location.
CONCLUSION
Sri Jaya Teertha is a great madhwa saint who has possessed various spiritual powers and he still heals his devotees. He is the one who provides us the true knowledge in HARI BHAKTI and spreading the awareness of Hindu Religion. Still he is doing a lot of miracles in the life of his devotees from his brindavan. Let us praise Guru Sree Jaya Teertha and chant his holy nama ‘OM SREE JAYATHEERTHARUVE NAMAHA’.
R.HARISHANKAR
