In addition to leaving behind the sublime truth of dvaita or duality through his sārvamūla or the compendium of his various works, āchārya Madhwa has bestowed great munificence on mankind by bequeathing, among others, a galaxy of seers and venerable, erudite scholars. He ordained eight young ascetics, tasked them with the twin missions of offering worship to Sri Krishna at Udupi and propagating the dvaita philosophy across the country. Foremost among the ascetics so ordained by āchārya Madhwa was śrī hriṣīkēśa tīrtha – the first seer of the palimāru maṭha.
Sri Madhwa Vijaya (SMV) mentions śrī hriṣīkēśa tīrtha as a favourite disciple of Achārya Madhwa who used to read out from the śrīmad bhāgavata.
Verse 40 of Canto XIII of SMV reads as follows: ‘hriṣīkēśa tīrtha, one of Madhwa’s great disciples was endowed with a voice conveying dignity, clarity, volume etc. suitable for accompanying (Madhwa in his discourses) with his recitation. He recited bhāgavata shlokas melodiously. Madhwa explained the story of Lord Kriṣhna, which redeems from worldly bondage and gives liberation to the reverent listeners.’
śrī hriṣīkēśa tīrtha was inducted by āchārya Madhwa at Kanvateertha (Manjeshwar). In token of his premier position among the disciples of ācharya Madhwa, he earned the sobriquet, ashtōtkrṣṭa. śrī hriṣīkēśa tīrtha is credited with having written sampradāya paddhati comprising 26 verses, dealing with the early life, career and works of āchārya Madhwa. Sampradāya paddhati complements and supplements the SMV. The following are noteworthy:
There are some stories about vāsudēva (the pre-ascetic name of āchārya Madhwa) not given in SMV, but given in sampradāya paddhathi of śrī hriṣīkēśa tīrtha – such as the making of vāsudēva tīrtha, a dry stick growing into a tree in Pajaka kshēthra, jumping from vimāna giri to his house, leaving behind a foot mark et al.
Sampradāya paddhathi specifies that Manimaṇta had come to kill vāsudēva in the form of a snake and how the former was vanquished by a young vāsudēva. Sampradāya paddhathi describes that Viṣṇu tīrtha, who will be engaged in austerities on Kumara mountain will come down at that time in Kaliyuga, when tatvavāda is almost completely lost and will reestablish it with the help of the compositions presently buried in the form of copper plates in a well at Katthatila – 18 Kms from Kanva teertha and 25 Kms from Mangalore.
It is pertinent to note that śrī hriṣīkēśa tīrtha makes a reference to śrī padmanābha tīrtha and addresses him as the ‘Guru of Karnatakas and other good men’. A complete set of palm leaf manuscripts of the sarvamūla of āchārya Madhwa in the Tulu script transcribed in his own hand by śrī hriṣīkēśa tīrtha is carefully preserved in the palimāru maṭha.
Having undertaken several meritorious deeds during his lifetime, in virōdhi samvatsara, māgha śuddha saptami (Rathasaptami) meditating upon mādhava at Prayāga, śrī hriṣīkēśa tīrtha completed his worldly journey.
Ever engaged in the sadhana of Srimadvaishnava Siddhanta of our Guru, Acharya Madhwa and all the Yatis and Dasas who have blazed this noble path. May HVG bless us all