“Teertha
Prabandha” is an exemplary lyrical extravaganza penned by one of the most
revered saint philosophers of Dwaita School Sri Vadirajaru, who belonged to the
lineage of seers headed by Sri Vishnu Tritharu, a pre-sainthood brother of Sri
Madhwacharyaru. The most striking aspect of this work of Sri Vadirajaru is that
it is perhaps the first-of-its-kind type of work in Sanskrit dedicated to some
of the most important pilgrim destinations of the country. Sri Vadirajaru has
mentioned the names of all holy places he had visited and thereby provided a
cryptic referendum of sacred places. It must be noted here that Sri Vadirajaru
visited all the place by foot and recorded the details pertaining to every
place in poetic form. In all the stanzas, Sri Vadirajaru has mentioned names of
places, presiding deity, their historical significance and he has also
described in his own inimitable style Lord of Lords, Sri Maha Vishnu.
The
pilgrimage of Sri Vadirajaru began from his native precincts of Tulu Nadu or
Taulava Kshetra, as it is respectfully known. Commencing from Rajatapeethapura,
the erstwhile name of present Udupi, Sri Vadirajaru touched Pushkara in the
west; beginning from Krishna River, he touched the northern most point of
Badari; in the eastern side, Sri Vadiraja launched his entourage from
Jagannatha Puri and went on to travel up to Kumbhakona in south-west. He
started from Sri Rangam in the south and touched Anantashayana. It is beyond
the imagination of the present generation to even think of travelling in all
directions by any means of conveyance, leave alone by walk. Only divine persons
like Vadirajaru can undertake such arduous tasks.
What
is significant from modern perspective about Teertha Prabandha is that Sri
Vadirajaru has provided mythological and historical importance of each place
and deity he visited. It should be noted that Sri Vadirajaru did not have or
did not employ any of the modern technology to explore the history of the
places visited by him. He could do so only because of his mystic, divine power.
He has liberally provided links that every place has with Ramayana, Mahabharat,
eighteen Puranas, Vedas, Upanishats and so on. After Canterbury Tales by
William Chaucer, Teertha Prabandha is perhaps the most authentic, extraordinary,
brilliant and outstanding travelogue to date.
More
about Teertha Prabandha and Sri Vadirajaru will be following. Subsequently, an
attempt will be made to substantiate the information provided in each stanza of
Teertha Prabandha with the grace of Sri Hari, Sri Vayu and Sri Vadirajaru.
GurubhyO Namaha. SDN
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