Nava Brindavana
Navabrundaavana (also known as Navavrundhaavana and Navabrindavan) (Kannada:ನವ ಬೃಂದಾವನ) is located at Anegundi, near Hampi, Karnataka, India. It contains the Brundaavanas of nine Hindu Madhva saints, who belong to the Sri Uttaradi Math,[1][2] Sri Raghavendra Math, Sri Vyasaraja Math and the Sri SriPadaraja mutt and Other Various Prominent Madhwa Mutts. It is located on an island in the Tungabhadra River.[3][4] The nine saints are
- Shri Padmanabha Tirtha, direct disciple of Jagadguru Shri Madhvacharya
- Shri Kavindra Tirtha
- Shri Vagisha Tirtha
- Shri Raghuvarya Tirtha
- Shri Vyasatirtha
- Shri Sudhindra Tirtha,Guru of Mantralaya Shri Raghavendra Tirtha
- Shri Srinivaasa Tirtha
- Shri Raama Tirtha
- Shri Govinda Vodeyaru
There are also shrines to Lord Ranganatha and Lord Hanuman inside the premises.
Avathaarathraya Hanuman
This idol of Hanuman installed here by Sri Vyasaraja is indeed unique.
It depicts the three avatars - Hanuma, Bheema, Madhva in one form. The face is like Hanuman, the arms and shoulders well - rounded and muscular with the Gadhayudha symbolises Bheema, the avatar of Hanuman in the next yuga and the manuscripts in his hand symbolises Madhvacharya.
The Nine saints of Navabrindavana and their holy background
Nava Brindavana is a small island in the Tungabhadra river near Hampi or Vijayanagar.
Hampi is in Bellary district and it is approachable from Bangalore by rail or road. The nearest airport is Bellary. The nearest train stop is Hospet. There are direct buses from Bangalore and other places in Karnataka to Hospet and even Hampi apart from Bellary.
This is one of the most holy spots for Madhwas as it contains the Brindavanas (final resting place of nine Madhwa saints).
The Brindavana of Vyasa Theerta is at the centre while the Brindavana of other eight saints are in a rough circle. There is a yellow line drawn around the periphery of the Brindavanas.
Do not cross this line.
You have to go in a boat or Theppa from Hampi to visit Nava Brindavana. It is located east of Anegundi, which was the earlier capital of the Vijayanagar dynasty before it was shifted to Hampi.
You can catch a ferry either from Gangavathi side or Hampi side (Talagarighatta Gate).
There are shrines dedicated to Ranganatha and Hanuman here.
Poojas commence around 10-30 a.m., Devotees and visitors are advised not to do pradakshina of the Brindavanas in wet clothes. Try to time your visit in the morning.
It is on this island that Vyasa Raja in his earlier avatar as Prahalada had meditated to get rid of his dosha of getting his father, Hiranyakashapyu, killed by Lord Narasimha.
Some of the saints who have visited Nava Brindavana are Raghavendra Swamy and Raghuttama Tirtha among others and Purandara Dasa and Kanaka Dasa.
Padmanabha Theertha
He is the first Madhwa saint to enter Brindavana at Nava Brindavana .
Padmanabha Theertha was the first disciple of the Madhwacharya. He also ascended the Dwaitha throne after Madhwacharya.
His original name was Shobana Bhatta. He was a well-known logician of his times and he lost a marathon debate to Madhwacharya after which he converted to Dwaitaism.
He was regarded highly by the fifth head of the Dwaitha Samrajya.
Kavindra Theertha
The second Brindavana here is that of Kavindra Theertha. He is believed to be the brother of Rajendra Theertha, the founder of Vyasaraja Matha. He was earlier known as Vasudeva Shastry.
The first bifurcation of the Padmanabha Theertha paramapara or Peetha took place when Vidyadhiraja handed over the reins to Kavindra Theertha.
Vidhyadhiraja Theertha had appointed Rajendra Theertha as his successor. Vidhyadhiraja fell ill and he could not get in touch with Rajendra Theertha as he was away on Sanchara. He then appointed Kavindra Theertha as the successor and passed away. When Rajendra Theertha came back he found what had happened and he travelled further south towards Mysore and founded the Vyasa Raja Matha.
Kavindra Theertha is supposed to have entered Brindavana in 1398. Kavindra teertha continued to reign in the Peetha of the already established Matha/Peetha by Shri Madhvacharya through Shri Padmanabha Tirtha which is known as Shri Uttaradi Matha which comes in the same lineage as that of Shri Madhvacharya, Padmanabha tirtha, Jaya Tirtha, Kaveendra teertha & Vageesha teertha and so on.... )
His Aradhane Thithi is Chaitra Shudha Navami (April–May)
Vageesha Theertha
His Poorvashrama name was Raghunathacharya. He was one of the greatest scholars of his time. He was the third Madhwa saint to enter Brindavana at Nava Brindavana.
He was the successor of Kavindra Theertha. He entered Brindavana sometime in 1406. His Aradhane Thithi is Chaitra Krishna Tritiya (April–May).
(Not to be confused with the Vageesha Theertha of Sode Mutt who was the deeksha guru of Shree Vadhiraja, and revered respectfully by the latter in his Theertha Prabandha)
Vyasa Theertha
A renowned scholar, Vyasa Theertha or Vyasa Raja was the Raja Guru of six Vijayanagar Emperors, including Krishnadevaraya. He had a large number of disciples including Vadiraja Tirtha.
He encouraged Purandara Dasa and Kanaka Dasa in penning Haridasa Sahitya. He was the Chancellor of the Vijayanagar University which had 11,000 students.
He consecrated 732 idols of Hanuman in India. His guru was Brahamanya Theertha of Abbur, while his Vidya Guru was Sripadaraja of Mulabagal.
Vyasa Raja was the earlier avatar of Raghavendra Swamy. His works are considered to be among the most significant in Madhwa literature.
Some of his works include Nyayamritam Tarkatandava Tatparya Chandrika.
He entered Brindavana in 1539 when Achyuta Deva Raya was the Emperor of Vijayanagar.
Srinivasa Theertha
He succeeded Vyasa Theertha to the Vyasaraja Matha. He was also the Raja Guru of Achuta Deve Raya. He has written a book on Vyasa Theertha. This book along with accounts of Portuguese travelers to Vijayanagar and a biography by Somanatha, a Smartha Brahmin during the period of Krishna Deve Raya, give us a lot of information about Vyasa Raja.
Rama Theertha
He followed Srinivasa Theertha to the Peetha of Vyasaraja Matha.
It was during the period of Rama Theertha that the first split of the Vyasa Raja Matha took place. Both Lakshmikantha Theertha and Sridhara Theertha took Sanyas from Rama Teertha.
Thus the Abbur Matha or Kundapur Matha and Sosale Matha came into existence. In Bangalore, the Abbur Matha has its premises in Hanumanthnagar and the Sosale Matha at Gandhi Bazar.
Sudheendra Theertha
He was the Guru of Shri Raghavendra Swamy. He was also the “Shishya” given to Vijayeendra Theertha by Vyasa Raja himself. He was an unmatched scholar and he shared a close relationship with Vijayeendra Theertha. Some of the books written by him are: Sadukthi Rathnakara (Tarkathandava Vyakhya), Apastamba Shulbasootrapradepa,
Commentary on second and 11th Skandas of Bhagavatha Literary Books, Subhadra Parinaya, Vyasarajabhyudaya,
Amruthaharana, Dayalu Shathaka,
Vairagyatharanga, Alankara Manjaree,
Alankaranishaka and Sahitya Samrajya.
He was the Raja Guru of Raghunatha Bhoopala of Tanjore.
Raghavendra Swamy himself made arrangements for the Brindavana Pravesha of Sudhindra Theertha. His Aradhana Thithi is Phalguna Krishna Dvithiya (Feb-March).
Govinda Odeyar
He was a disciple of Vyasa Theertha. He was an Advaitha scholar and he entered into a debate with Vyasa Theertha and lost. He accepted the Dwaitha way of life and joined the large number of disciples of Vyasa Theertha.
He entered Brindavana at Nava Brindavana much earlier than Vyasa Theertha. He did not belong to any Matha but he was a Bidi (Independent) Sanyasi.
Apart from these Brindavanas, the final resting place of Narahari Theertha, the second pontiff of the Dwaitha Samrajya after Padmanabha Theertha is at Chakra Theertha in Hampi.
Credits: Samyuktha Harshitha
General Instructions
- Avoid throwing plastics, carry bags or dusts inside island-always keep the place clean and if you find any carry bags or plastics, please take them to put in a dustbin at anegundi village
- Gents are advised to remove shirts and vests before entering to island and highly suggested to wear ಪಂಚೆ (dhoti)
- Please maintain silence inside shrine
Temple Administration
Nava Brindavanam is an island. Priests will not be available. Priests stay at Sri Raghavendra mutt at anegundi. Daily early morning at 7am, boat from anegundi ferries to nava brindavanam. The priests perform the abishegam and return immediately before noon. Hence people who wish to perform poojas or wish to have abishega darshan, have to plan accordingly. It will be a good planning to arrive anegundi during evening and stay at Sri Raghavendra mutt(Need to call and inform them to book rooms) and also pay for abishegam. Early morning devotees can leave along with the priests and take a holy dip at brindavanam and do pradhakshana. Nearest railway station is munirabad railway station and one can easily find plenty of buses plying for anegundi.
Another major aspect of anegundi is important events of ramayana took place here.
Sankalpa Parihaara (Prayer)
As a remedy for the people's trouble in child birth (also called barrenness), A. M. Rajagopalan, the famous astrologer, suggests that they visit the Navabrundhaavana and perform Sankalpa Parihaara (a kind of Prayer) while walking around the nine tombs (without crossing the yellow line) twelve times and light a lamp using pure cow ghee at the Shreenivaasa Shrine within the Navabrundhaavana. This will resolve the astrological barrier (Dosha) on child birth.
Pilgrims visiting Navabrindhavana Shrine have experienced Miracles here [5]
Kindly avoid crossing the yellow line around the nine shrines
In order to maintain peace and politeness around the Jeevasamaadhi of the nine shrines, a yellow circle is painted on the ground in front of the shrines. The pilgrims are requested to offer their prayers, in front of this line, to the Madhwa Saints. Please avoid crossing this line to avoid disturbing the meditation of the holy saints.
Raama showed the Navabrundhaavana Island to Lakshmana
When Raama and Lakshmana were in search of Seeta, Raama pointed out an island (called 'Navabrundhaavana' now) to Lakshmana and suggested to him to perform Namaskaara to the island, as it would be a sacred place in the future, when nine powerful saints born on different occasions would come down to stay there to perform their holy meditation.
Taara visits the Navabrundhaavana off and on
Even now, it is believed, Taara (wife of Sugreeva) visits - as a star - the Navabrundhaavana - from the sky; and makes a circle in the sky before disappearing. Many of the villagers say that they see a star travelling towards the Navabrundhaavana from the Taara Parvata (the mountain next to Anegundi)
Vandalism Incident
Miscreants vandalized the Vyasaraja thirtha brindavana in 18 July 2019.[6] Quick reconstruction efforts were carried out by hundreds of volunteers of the madhva community and state of karnataka. Later, police arrested inter state thieves within 3 days who accepted their fault of vandalizing[7]
Travel
- Travel to Gangavati City which is located in Karnataka:
- Regular buses are available from Bangalore to Gangavati
- Trains are available from Bengaluru and Chennai to reach Hospet and it is easy to commute to Gangavati through bus or car
- Nearby Airport is Hubli and there are few flights from Bangalore to Hubli and it is flexible to commute to Gangavati/Anegundi using Cars or Bus services
- Reach Anegundi village from Gangavati in a 25-minute journey using auto, car or bus from Gangavati bus stand and walk towards the river shore (refer to the Anegundi Map location 19)
- Take a boat from Anegundi to reach Navabrindhavana
Routes:
Train route:
From Bengaluru to Hosapete:
Bengaluru - Hubballi Hampi express passes through Hosapete daily.
From Chennai to Hosapete by train :
Option 1:
Chennai to Guntakal (Mumbai trains are passing through this station) and Guntakal to Hosapete trains are available by daily.
Option 2:
Chennai to Renigunta (Minimum 4 trains are available daily) and Renigunta to Hosapete train (Haripriya Express) is available by Daily.
Bus route:
Bangalore -Tumkur – Sira -Chitradurga – (moved from NH-4 to NH-13) – Hospet – Anegundi. Distance: approximately 365 km
An Alternate route from Chennai is:
Chennai – Tirupati – Anantapur (all along NH205); Anantapur – Gooty (on NH7); Gooty – Bellary – Hospet (on NH63) – Anegundi
Direction to visit from Mantralaya to Navabrindhavana:
The direction of travel by road is as follows,
By KSRTC bus, you can travel to Raichur from Mantralayam( 1.5 hrs travel). From Raichur, board KSRTC bus to Ganagvathi (3 hrs travel). From there you can reach Anaegundhi (20 mins travel) by local bus.
References
- Karnataka State Gazetteer: Dharwad District (including Gadag and Haveri Districts). Office of the Chief Editor, Karnataka Gazetteer. 1993.
Saint Padmanabha Tirtha was given deeksha by Madhvacharya himself to spread the Dwaita school of thought in northern Karnataka region. Since the swamiji spread the Dwaita philosophy in the northern parts of Karnataka, the Mutt established there gained the name Uttaradi Mutt.
- Giri S. Dikshit; Saklespur Srikantaya; Bi. Eṃ. Śrī. Smāraka Pratiṣṭhāna (1988). Early Vijayanagara: studies in its history & culture : proceedings of S. Srikantaya Centenary Seminar. B.M.S. Memorial Foundation. p. 62.
The Vrindavanas of the three later saints of Uttaradimath viz., Kavindra tirtha, Vagishatirtha and Raghuvaryatirtha are also found in Navavrindavana. This indicates the continuation of contacts of Madhva saints with Vijayanagara all along.
- "Navabrindavanam 1". Navabrindavanam_dot_com. 2011. Archived from the original on 2009-02-01.
- "uttaradi mutt". Uttardi mutt.
- https://www.kumudam.com/magazine/Jothidam/2017-01-20/index.php
- https://www.deccanherald.com/state/top-karnataka-stories/nava-brindavana-religious-site-vandalised-in-koppal-747900.html. Retrieved 21 July 2019. Missing or empty
|title=(help) - Jul 20, TNN | Updated; 2019; Ist, 14:03. "Over 1,000 volunteers reconstruct saint Sri Vyasaraja Tirtha's vandalised tomb in Koppal | Bengaluru News - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 2019-07-21.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)