Aksobhya Tirtha
Birth
Akshobhya Tirtha (Akshobhya means “the undisturbed”) is part of an important group of little known spiritual masters in the vaisnava lineage.
The acaryas from Sripad Madhvacarya to Madhavendra Puri were a mystery for most of us. Fortunately, there are documents that exist on the lives and teachings of these great souls, and we will make a humble attempt to search them out and publish as much detail as possible for the benefit of humanity at large. Sri Aksobhya Tirtha is a logical beginning point because he is the Guru of one of the most important personalities of our line, Sri Jayatirtha.
From Sankaracarya to Madhvacarya
Aksobhya Tirtha was born in Karnataka, South India on 1238 DC. The documents in India are often given according to the Saka calendar, according to which the year of birth was 1159. Sakabda begins in 78 DC, so at the birthday of Aksobhya we must add 78 years. His birth name was Govinda Sastri.
Govinda was an intelligent young man and particularly attracted to philosophy. He began to study the popular monistic doctrine called Advaita-vada. Propounded by the great philosopher Sankaracarya, this doctrine based on the Upanishads concludes that there is no individuality on the spiritual platform and everything is one homogeneous consciousness which is the ultimate reality of existence.
When Govinda met Sripada Madhvacarya at Udupi, he could understand the superiority of the principles of Dvaita-vada, according to which there is a qualitative difference between the Supreme Soul and the individual soul. This understanding directly opposed Sankaracarya’s monistic viewpoint. Govinda renounced materialistic life and was initiated by one of Madhvacarya’s disciples, Madhava Tirtha.
Who gave initiation to Aksobhya?
Some documents claim that Aksobhya was initiated directly by Madhvacarya. The Vyasa-raja Matha claims that Padmanabha, Nrhari, Madhava and Aksobhya were all direct disciples of Madhvacarya.
However, the three previous Acaryas of our line (Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati and Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura) dispute this claim and state that Aksobhya was a disciple of Madhava Tirtha (not to be confused with Madhva).
Srila Bhaktivinode Thakura says:
aksobhyas tasya sisyo
‘bhut tac-chisyo jayatirthakah
“Sri Madhava Vipra was a disciple of Sri Narahari, and Sri Aksobhya became the disciple of Madhava Vipra. Aksobhya’s disciple was Sri Jayatirtha .
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati says:
nhara madhava-bamse, aksobhya paramahamse, sisya boli ‘angikara kore aksobhyera sisya jaya-tirtha name paricaya, tara dasye jnanasindhu tore
“The other two main disciples of Madhva were Nrihari Tirtha and Madhava Tirtha. Madhava Tirtha accepted the great paramahamsa Aksobhya Tirtha as a disciple. The principal student of Aksobhya Tirtha was known as Jayatirtha, serving whom was the main purpose of Jnanasindhu’s life .
Sri Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada writes:
“Padmanabha Acarya is the disciple of Madhvacarya, and Narahari is the disciple of Padmanabha Acarya. Madhava is the disciple of Narahari, Aksobhya is the direct disciple of Madhava, and Jayatirtha is the disciple of Aksobhya .
Pejavara Math
Over the course of time, Aksobhya was appointed head of the Math of Pejavara and received from Madhvacarya the Deity of Aja-Vitthala. This form is Krishna standing with his hands on his hips, accompanied by Shri Devi and Bhudevi. It is also stated elsewhere that this Krishna Deity is accompanied by Rukmini and Satyabhama.
Aksobhya defeats Vidyaranya
Aksobhya Tirtha was a contemporary of the great advaitin philosopher Vidyaranya and the great exponent of Visistha-advaita, Vedanta Desika. Desika was the respected founder of the Vadakalai Movement. The name Desika means Master.
In 1336, Akshobhya Tirtha had a heated debate with Vidyaranya on the interpretation of the Upanishad mantra tattvam asi (“You’re the same” or “I am that”). This event took place in Mulbagal near Kolar, Karnataka.
If this date is accurate it would mean that Aksobhya Tirtha engaged in this debate at the age of 99.
The referee of the discussion was Vedanta Desika himself. Some say that he was personally present at the debate, while others say that Desika wanted all the arguments to be transcribed and then sent to him for consideration. What is certain is that the verdict was favorable to Akshobhya Tirtha.
The epigraphic evidence of this historic victory is engraved on a memorial pillar on a hill near Mulubagal, which can still be seen today.
This victory of the personalistic philosophy against the impersonalistic was a turning point for the Madhvacarya Movement. Even today, no advaitavadi can defeat the Dvaita (dualism) philosophy of the great master.
Akshobhya initiates Jayatirtha
After this event, Aksobhya Tirtha went to Pandharapur, on the banks of the Bhima-rathi River, where he met his future disciple Jaya Tirtha.
Jayatirtha, whose name before initiation was Dhondo Pantraya Raghunatha, was the son of Dhonduraya Raghunath, part of Visvamitra’s gotra. Gotra means descent. Others say that he was part of Bharadvaja’s line.
His father was a high-ranking military official and had two wives. Dhondho Pant (himself a valiant officer) was known to be always in military dress.
One evening he stopped his patrol near a river desiring to drink some flowing water. Seated atop his horse he entered the river and drank in an unusual way, with the water coming into his mouth, just as the animals do.
On the other side of the river there was Sri Akshobhya Tirtha who looked at the young man and said,
“kim pashuh purva-dehe”, “you drink just like an animal”.
These few words were heard by the rider and immediately put him in a state of mystical revelation. The transcendental power of the words of the saint opened a window in the mind of Dhondo Pant. At that point he remembered his previous life as the ox of Madhvacarya.
When traveling to teach philosophy, the great Acarya used an ox to carry his books. But this was not an ordinary animal because every time Madhvacarya spoke, the ox raised his ears to hear. He never missed a word and although in the body of an animal drank the essence of those words as if they were divine nectar.
Sripada Madhvacarya often glorified this ox by saying to the assembly that he was listening better and more deeply than his own sannyasis. Due to his attentive hearing of hari katha from the mouth of a mahabhagavat the ox made rapid spiritual advancement.
Madhvacarya’s accolade caused envy in the heart of some of his disciples and as a result they cursed the ox to die by the bite of a snake.
Madhvacarya learned of this curse and countered the curse with the blessing of being immune to the serpent venom. To the amazement of all present, when the serpent bit the ox, it was the snake that died instead.
Due to the kindness and power of Madhva, which was recognized by all his disciples, he felt obliged to repay the ox in this way for a lifetime of devoted service
After several years the ox died of natural causes and reincarnated as Dhondo Pant. In this new birth as Dhondo Pant, this jiva was blessed with the ability to remember everything he heard from Madhvacarya, so much so that in his mind he heard the sound of Madhvacarya’s voice explaining the Vedic mantras.
Conversation between Aksobhya and Jayatirtha
Recalling all this, Dhondho Pant realized that it was the potency of Aksobhya’s words which gave him the opportunity to remember who he was in his previous birth, much like Yada Bharat. Dhondho Pant asked Aksobhya to accept him as a disciple and to guide him on the path of spiritual fulfillment.
Over time, he was initiated with the name of Jayatirtha.
Aksobhya’s teachings to Jayatirtha
Sri Akshobhya Tirtha carefully taught the complex dualistic philosophy to his new disciple. Jayatirtha was a brilliant and dynamic intellectual so the time spent educating him was well invested.
Over time, Jayatirtha himself became a respected Acarya, so much so that he was designated “the second moon of Madhva” and “Tikacarya” for his numerous writings.
Akshobhya Tirtha taught him how to find the hidden meanings in Madhva’s words which evaded others grasp and how to write these concepts in a way that would soundly defeat impersonalist philosophy
Vyasa Tirtha, the 18th Acarya of the Guru’s descent who started from Visnu, wrote Jaya Tirtha Vijaya, where Akshobhya Tirtha’s victory over Vidyaranya was told.
He was the Acarya of Sri Madhva’s Movement for 15 years, from 1350 to 1365.
The Writings
Some historians argue that Akshobhya Tirtha wrote very little. It is said the only book he penned was called Madhva-tattva-sara-sangraha, which was lost over time. Even if that was true, Aksobhya remains an important character in Vaisnava history .
Samadhi
Sripada Akshobhya Tirtha’s samadhi lies on the banks of the Kagini River in a place called Malkeda in Karnataka. Malkheda is situated 40 km from the Gulbarga district. From Gulbarga, one can take a bus to Malkhed. It is located between Gulbarga and Sedam, 12 km from Sedam.
Parampara
1. Krsna
2. Brahma
3. Narada
4. Vyasa
5. Madhva
6. Padmanabha
7. Nrhari
8. Madhava
9. Aksobhya
10. Jaya Tirtha
11. Jnanasindhu
12. Dayanidhi
13. Vidyanidhi
14. Rajendra
15. Jayadharma
16. Purusottama
17. Brahmanya Tirtha
18. Vyasa Tirtha
19. Laksmipati
20. Madhavendra Puri
21. Isvara Puri, (Nityananda, Advaita)
22. Sri Caitanya
23. Rupa, (Svarupa, Sanatana)
24. Raghunatha, Jiva
25. Krsnadasa
26. Narottama
27. Visvanatha
28. (Baladeva) Jagannatha
29. Bhaktivinoda
30. Gaurakisora
31. Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati
32. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
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