The Dwitheeya and Trutheeya Mantralaya

This small town in recent years had achieved fame as Dwithieya Mantralaya. The town has an interesting history. During the period of the Vijayanagar Emperors, this town was famous for selling gold and gold coins on its streets, Hence, its name Honalli.

Honalli today is a small town, 50 kms from Shimoga. It is located in Davangere district. The town has many religious institutions and maths but the most famous is the Raghavendra Swamy Matha.

The matha is set amongst picturesque surroundings on the banks of the Tungabhadra. Incidentally, Mantralaya too is on the banks of the Tungabhadra.

The matha has given Honalli the name Dwitheya Mantralaya as it is believed that Raghavendra Swamy himself came and did the pratisthapane of the Brindavana.

The Brindavana here is believed to be more than 300 years old.

The people who wanted to construct a Raghavendra Matha were coming in a procession from Mantralaya, carrying the Mrithike from the Moola Brindavana. The people saw an aged person in holy robes going into the matha and never returning. He is believed to be Raghavendra Swamy.

Even today, you can see the Thate (plate), Hanuman idol and other paraphernila that Rayaru himself brought to Honnali. All these things can be seen before 9 a.m., every morning.       

The contact mobile telephone number for Honnali matta  is 9880917328 (Sri Raghavendra). He is very helpful.

The matha has seven rooms and also a Kalyana Mantapa for performing functions. It is advisable to call up the matha if you want Theertha Prasada and accommodation. The matha will take care of all your pooja and seve arrangements.

Apart from the Raghavendra Swamy temple, Honnali has several religious structures. The Tuggalahalli Temple and Thirtha Rameshwar temple of Shiva are worth a visit.
The moola Brindavana of Bidarahalli Sreenivasa Theertha (1590-1640), a sanyasi of the Uttaradhi Matha, is also located here.  Bidarahalli Srinivasa Theertha was a contemporary of Rayaru and he was a noted Madhwa scholar. Raghavendra Swamy met Bidarahalli Srinivasacharya in Bidarahalli near here and appreciated his works. It is from the time of Srinivasacharya that the Rayaru Matha uses mustard during Chaturmasa. This story is too well-known to bear any repetition here.

It is believed that in his later avatar he became Jagannatha Dasaru, the author of  Sri Harikathaamrutasara.

Some of the important works of Srinivasacharya are Srimanyaayasudha, Tatvaprakashika,  Dashaprakaranateeka, Pramanapaddati, Bhagavatha and  Rugbhashya.

Honnali is noted for its holiness and its temples even before the establishment of the Rayaru temple. One of the Madhwa saints, Vadiraja Theertha, in his Theertha Prabanda says, “
  Maa yaahi pushkara mahee mathavaa
Prayaagam Kaasheem Gayaam
Badharikaashramamapya saadhyam
Sethu cha Raaghavakrutham
vara Thunga Bhadhraa Theera
Sthapippaalaham harimehi sidhdhai”.

What Vadiraja means is that instead of going with difficulty to places like Kashi, Gaya, Prayag (Ahallabad) and Badari, you can come to the Tungabhadra and it will give you the same sanctity and holiness.

The Tungabhadra flows right in front of the Matha. You can take bath there and perform seve or pooje at the matha. Kooldi is near Honnali. This is the place where the Tunga meets the Bhadra.  

By the way, the Udugani Sri Raghavendra Swami Mutt, which is considered to be the Trutheeya Mantralaya is near Shikaripura in Shimoga district. Shikarapura is near to Honalli.

People will tell you that after Rayaru disappeared into the Garba Gudi at the Honnali Rayara Matha, he came next to Udugani with the same set of articles and once again disappeared into the Garba Gudi, never to be seen again.    

Udugani is also the birthplace of Akka Mahadevi, the famous Vachana poetess and a woman saint. The temple town of Balligavi is nearby.

It is just seven kms from Shikaripura.

There are Rayara Muthas at Shimoga, Bhadravathi, Hosanagara, Teerthahalli and Davangere ofcourse.

Honnali is taluk headquarters and reaching the town is easy. If you are going by road, go first to Shimoga and from there Hobnnali is nearby.

You can also take the railway route.Peole from Bangalore and Mysor will have to get down at Harihar and take a bus from there to Hoinnali. The bus stand at Harihar is adjacent t the Railway station and there are plenty of buses leaving for Shimoga via Honnali.

The distance from Harihar to Honnali can be covered in 45 minutes. The Janashatabdi Express and several other trains stop at Harihar.

 

The saint who vanished into a tree

The aradhane of one of the most important seers of the Raghavendra Swamy Matha just concluded. The second seer to occupy the post of the Sri Matha after its founder Vibhudendra Theertha, he did not enter the Brindavana alive or dead. He vanished into thin air after the swirling waters of the Krishna covered him.

Known as Jitamitra, he was the head of the Sri Matha for a short time-from 1490 to 1493. However, this duration was enough to place the fledgling Sri Matha on a firm footing. 

The Aradhane of  Jitamitra Theertha was celebrated on December 24. It is believed that in his next avavtar Jitamitra Theertha became Sudhindra Theertha-the Guru of Raghavendra Theertha or Raghavendra Swamy, while his Guru-Vibhudendra Theertha took avatara as Vijendra Theertha.

Jitendra Theertha had visited Bichale during one of his visits and he planted the Gum tree or Gona (in Kannada Gone means Gum) which in later years Appancharya made use of to cook rice. Though the tree was destroyed by the floods of the Tungabhadra river in 2009, a sapling of the original tree still exists.

Once Jitamitra Theertha was teaching his students in December 1493 at a place now known as Jitamitra Gadde, 32 kms from Raichur Krishna-Bheema river basin in Shivapura of Shahapur Taluk in Gulbarga district.

The Krishna was then in floods and the water level suddenly rose, inundating several areas. The students and others ran away, leaving Jitamitra Theertha behind. Soon, the seer was engulfed by the flood waters and for a week the waters never receded.

On the seventh day, when the waters receded, the disciples, students and others were astounded to see Jitamitra Theertah still sitting under the tree. When they went near, they found the seer was not wet and that his body remained bone dry.   

He subsequently disappeared from the very place into the Gum tree and today there is a memorial at the spot denoting the place. There is, however, no brindavana for Jitamitra Theertha.

He is the fourth Madhwa saint after Madhwacharya and his brother Visnhu Theertha of Sode and Subramanya Matha and Brahamnye Theertha of Vyasaraja Matha to disappear.

Today the tree still stands and it is worshipped. The area around it is called Jitamitra Gadde, as small island which is approachable from Raichur and Gulbarga. 

Jitamitra Theertha’s Poorvashrama name was Ananthappa.

He had lost his father at a very young age and the responsibility of bringing him up fell on his sister who had become a widow. The upanayana of Ananthappa was conducted when he was eight.

He assisted his sister in grazing cattle, ploughing the fields and sowing seeds in Shivapura, a small village in Gulbarga district.

They both together worked in their fields to make ends meet.

Every morning, Anantappa performed  sandhyavandana and other poojas. He then joined his sister in the fields.  Since he had to work, he took out the sacred thread-Janavara- and hung it on a tree.

Once Vibhudendra Theertha happened to pass by and he noticed Ananthappa. When told the boy was a Brahmin, the seer asked Anantappa where his sacred thread was.

Ananthappa replied that he had hung the thread back home as he had to plough the field.  Vibudendra Theertha then taught the boy the importance of never removing the sacred thread.

He then visited the house of Ananthappa and spent time there. He performed the pooje of Moola Rama and gave daily discourses.

After some time, he gave a Narasimha saligrama to Ananthappa and asked him to worship it.

By then, Vibhudendra Theertha realised that Ananthappa was none other than an avatar of  Rudra. After Vibhudendra Theertha left his house, Ananthappa regularly performed Saligrama pooje.

When he performed the Saligrama pooje the first time, he offered Naivedya to the Saligrama. When the Saligrama did not take the Naivedya, an angry Ananthappa decided to hit himself with the Saligrama.

When there was no response, he began hitting his head with the Saligrama. The Saligrama then opened its mouth and ate the Naiveidya. Soon this became a regular routine.

Ananthappa first offered food to the Saligrama. Only then would Ananthappa and his sister eat  

Meanwhile, Vibudendra Theertha who had gone on sanchara to  north India came back to Shivapura. When the seer was told about the Saligrama accepting food, he decided that he had found the right disciple to hand over the ashrama.

Vibudendra Theertha then gave sanyasashrama and the Samstana box to Anantappa and named him as Jitamitra Theertha. He then entered Brindavana at Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu.

There are many miracles associated with Jitamitra Theertha.

If you are coming from Raichur, get down at the railway station and Jitamitra Gadde is 50 kms away. You can either take a bus or rail. The Intercity Express leaves Raichur at 7 a.m. Get down at Saidapur station (Narayanapet Road) and take an auto or vehicle from here. Take the Mungal - Sangwar -Kondapur -Joladagi barrage/ bridge - Gwanal –Shivapur route and you will stop at  Jitamitra Gadde. The distance from Saidapur station is  approximately 30 km.

For bus route from Raichur take the Gabbur- Googal Bridge / Barrage- Bendegambli- Shivapur route which ends at  Jitamitra Gadde. The distance is approximately 80 km.

The underground temple of Rayaru

There is only one underground temple dedicated to Raghavendra Swamy and that is more than eighty years old. This temple was built in the heartland of the Deccan and the capital of the Adil Shahis.

The temple is in Bijapur and this year it celebrated its 82nd year of Prathistapane. The Brindavana was conceived by Raghuprema Theertha  as per the shastras laid out by Madhwacharya.

Raghuprema Theertha belonged to the Kudli Akshoba Theertha Matha. He was born in Ayachoti village in Kadapa district to Tungabai and  Swamirayacharya in 1860 A.D. He entered Brindavana in 1943.

According to Pavamanachar, the priest of the Raghavendra Swamy Temple of Bijapur, Raghuprema Theertha, had decided to enter Brindavana at this very place. He, however, changed his mind after Rarayu came in his dreams. The then Tahsildar Gundu Rao decided to go ahead with the construction of the temple and consecrate the Brindavana of Rayaru here.

Some old timers and contemporaray texts on the life and times of Raghu Prema Theertha have a slightly different account of the events leading to the establishment of the temple.  They say two residents of Bijapur, Perur Gundu Rao and Dr. Govinda Rao along with others came to Adoni where Raghu Prema Theertha was staying and sought his help to tide over their problems.

The Seer decided to visit Bijapur and personally look into the problems of the people there. He suggested that all the families would benefit if a Brindavana of Raghavendra Swamy were to be constructed.

Both Mr, Gundu Rao and Dr. Govinda Rao agreed to the suggestion and Raghu Prema Theertha himself suggested that the Brindavana be installed underground and steps be provided to reach it.

Raghu Prema Theertha himself designed the plan and structure of the temple as per Madhwacharya’s  Tantrasara Sangraha Grantha. This granta deals with aspects such as architecture of temple construction, the rituals to be performed and the steps needed to invest the place with holiness and sanctity.

The Brindavana came up in a record time of 6 months and it was inaugurated in 1930.

This temple is in a locality called Jorapur Peth which is on Bableshwar road. There are a flight of 23 steps that lead underground to the Brindavana dedicated to Rayaru. Almost all but the last step is one foot in height.

There is a small well behind the Brindavana. The wall of the Garba Gudi housing the Brindavana and the well share the same wall. Water for the Pooje, abhisheka is taken from the well. The well is at a lower level than the Brindavana too and it has never run dry despite Bijapur being one of the driest places in the country.

Mr. Pavamanachar says the Brindavana is at least 23 feet below ground level. He says only the pooje is performed underground. The hall for partaking Theertha Prasada, rest rooms and a small hall are built overground.

He says the underground chamber is so cool that flowers such as Mallige and rose will not wither for two to three days. He says the present owners of the matha, who are the descendents of Gundu Rao,  have undertaken several developmental works.

He says the owners even tried to get the roof of the underground chamber housing the Brindavana repaired. However, almost all the engineers who inspected the roof said nothing could be done as it is an engineering marvel and it is better not to tamper with it.

He says the Brindavana has been constructed in such a manner that it is completely visible from the top of the stairs.    

The temple here is known for many miracles. Mr. Pavamanachar has a list of almost all the miracles that Rayaru performed here from the Brindavana.

There are three other Rayara mathas in Bijapur but this is the oldest. However, the oldest Madhwa matha is at Mahipathi Galli which is about two kms from this place. It has the Samadhi or Brindavana of one of the seers belonging to the Uttaradhi Matha. There is also an Uttaradhi Matha here.              

 The other Rayara mathas in Bijapur are at Divatageri Galli near Station Road (Ph No: 08352-220300) and at the Sri Raghavendra Swamy Matha on Bagalkot Road (08352-277322). However, this Rayaru Matha at Jorapur Peth is the only underground matha in India.

Interestingly, this is among the two underground temples in Bijapur. The other underground temple is in Torvi and it is dedicated to Narasimha. This deity is called Torvi Narasimha. This is the exact place where Kumara Valmiki wrote the Torvi Ramayana.

Torvi is on the outskirts of Bijapur. It is near to Navaraspur, the city of music which was planned by Ibrahim Adil Shah and left unfinished. The 63 graves of the wives of the Bijaour General Afzal Khan are also near Torvi.

I have personally visited the Rayara Matha at Jorapur Peth and the Narasimha Temple in Torvi. I can vouch for the sanctity and holiness of both the temples.

Bijapur is a city with history. It is the home of Gol Gumbaz and Ibrahim Rouza. You can take a train or bus from Bangalore. The Basava express leaves Bangalore in the evening and reaches Bijapur the next morning. Buses leave in the night and reach Bijaour in the morning. There are many lodges in Bijapur which offer a reasonable level of accommodation.

Stay back at Bijapur and Kolhapur (Maha Lakshmi Temple), Pandhrapur (Panduranga Vittala) and Tulzapur (Amba Bhavani) from here. Take in a visit to Badami, Aihole, Pattadakal and Banashankari-which has temples by the Chalukyas and Yelgur which has a beautiful temple of Anjeneya. The small town of Talikota is near Bijapur. It is here that the decisive battle between the Muslim kings and Vijayanagar was fought in 1565. Almatti dam is one of the biggest in Karnataka. Its twin town Seethimani is associated with Seetha and Ramayana.