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{{Short description|Hindu saint and philosopher}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}}
{{Use Indian English|date=January 2020}}

{{Infobox Hindu leader
 | name           = Lakshminarayana Tirtha
 | image          =  
 | religion = [[Hinduism]]
 | birth_place    = [[Abbur, Bangalore Rural|Abbur]], [[Channapatna]], India
 | honors         = {{IAST|Śrīpādarāja}}
 | order          = [[Vedanta]]
 | guru           = Svarnavarna Tirtha
 | disciples      = [[Vyasatirtha]] 
 | philosophy     = [[Dvaita]],<br>[[Vaishnavism]]
 | literary_works = ''Vagvajra''
}}
{{Vaishnavism}}
{{DvaitaInfobox}}
'''Sripadaraja''' ({{langx|sa|श्रीपादराज}}; {{IAST|Śrīpādarāja}}) or '''Sripadaraya''', also known by his pontifical name '''Lakshminarayana Tirtha''', was a Hindu [[Dvaita Vedanta|Dvaita]] philosopher, scholar and composer and the pontiff of the [[Madhvacharya]] [[matha|mutt]] at [[Mulbagal]]. He is widely considered the founder of [[Haridasa]] movement along with [[Narahari Tirtha]]. He has influenced both [[Carnatic music]] and [[Hindustani music]] through his compositions. His songs and hymns, written under the ''[[Mudra (music)|mudra]]'' of '''''Ranga Vitthala''''', contain the distillation of Dvaita principles infused with mysticism and humanism.{{sfn| Jackson|2000|p=802}} He is also credited with the invention of  the ''suladi'' musical structure and composed 133 of them along with several ''[[kirtan|kirtanas]]''.{{sfn|Jackson|2000|p=802}} He was the advisor of [[Saluva Narasimha Deva Raya]] and mentored the young [[Vyasatirtha]].{{sfn|Sharma|2000|p=251}} He  also authored a commentary on [[Jayatirtha]]'s ''Nyaya Sudha'' called ''Nyayasudhopanyasa-Vagvajra''.{{Sfn|Sharma|2000|p=462}} Sripadaraja is believed to be the incarnation of [[Dhruva]].

==Life==
Sripadaraja was born in a [[Madhva Brahmin]] family{{Sfn|Hebbar|2005|p=205}} in Abbur, a village in Channapatna taluk, Karnataka. His father, Sheshagiriappa, served as an accountant while young Sripadaraja looked after the cattle, studying [[Sanskrit]] texts in his spare time. His mother was Giryamma.{{sfn|Jackson|2016|p=}} Tradition asserts that Sripadaraja was the cousin of Brahmanya Tirtha, who served as the pontiff of the [[Madhvacharya]] mutt at [[Abbur, Bangalore Rural|Abbur]] and the guru of [[Vyasatirtha]]. Legends speak of Svarnavarna Tirtha encountering young Sripadaraja on his way to Abbur and after a brief rapport, being amazed by the youth's innate intelligence. He would later tutor the youth and ordain him as a monk with the name ''Lakshminarayana Tirtha''. Lakshminarayana Tirtha eventually succeeded Svarnavarna Tirtha as the pontiff of the mutt at [[Mulbagal]]. Sripadaraja was a contemporary of Vibhudendra Tirtha,{{Sfn|Sharma|2000|p=461}} the progenitor of the [[Raghavendra Math]] who conferred upon him the title ''Sripadaraja'' or ''Sripadaraya''.{{Sfn|Devadevan|2016|pp=108-109}}{{Sfn|Sharma|2000|p=461}} Sripadaraja was considered the guru of [[Saluva Narasimha Deva Raya]] and educated [[Vyasatirtha]] in the Shastras.{{sfn|Jackson|2000|p=802}} His songs and hymns were sung during the nighttime [[Bhajans]] at his mutt.

==Works and legacy==
Continuing the tradition of [[Vedanta]], he authored a commentary on ''Nyaya Sudha'' of Jayatirtha called ''Vagvajra'' which, according to Sharma, "is a lucid and attractive commentary in 3500 granthas".{{sfn|Sharma|2000|p=251}} He also adds that despite the exhaustive exposition and the graceful style, his role as a [[Haridasa]] eclipsed his scholarly work. He is often considered as the pioneer of [[Dasa Sahitya]] with his simple worded and spiritual hymns synchronised to music. Jackson conjectures that the simple and rural beginnings of Sripadaraya coupled with an intimate connection with his vernacular language influenced his poetry.{{sfn|Jackson|2000|p=801}} He composed 13,000 ''suladis'', which are songs containing a medley of different [[ragas]] and [[Tala (music)|talas]] often employed to set the mood of the narrative. Sharma notes "His songs are more sublime than those of any others, and possess a happy blending of rhythm and meaning".{{sfn|Sharma|1937|p=352}} Vyasatirtha, who succeeded him as the pontiff, furthered the musical legacy of Sripada by giving further impetus to the [[Haridasa]] movement, initiating bards like [[Purandara Dasa|Purandara]] and [[Kanaka Dasa|Kanaka]] and composing several ''kirtanas'' himself.

==References==
{{reflist|30 em}}

==Bibliography==
*{{Cite book|title=A Prehistory of Hinduism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0ZJdDwAAQBAJ|first=Manu V.|last=Devadevan|publisher=Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG|year=2016|isbn=978-3110517378}}
*{{cite book|title= The Sri-Krsna Temple at Udupi: The History and Spiritual Center of the Madhvite Sect of Hinduism|url=https://archive.org/details/SriKrsnaTempleAtUdupi|first=B.N|last=Hebbar|publisher=Bharatiya Granth Nikethan|year=2005|isbn=81-89211-04-8}}
*{{cite book |last= Jackson|first= William|title=  Holy People of the World: A Cross-cultural Encyclopaedia|year=2000|publisher= ABC-CLIO|isbn= 9781576073551}}
*{{cite book |last= Jackson|first= William|title=  Vijayanagara Voices: Exploring South Indian History and Hindu Literature|chapter=5 |year= 2016 |publisher= Routledge |isbn= 9781317001928}}
*{{cite book |last= Sharma|first=B.N.K|title=  The Cultural Heritage Of Indian Vol 4|year= 1937 |publisher= RK Institute of Culture |isbn=978-8187332053}}
*{{cite book |last= Sharma|first= B.N.K|title=  History of Dvaita school of Vedanta and its Literature, Vol 2 |orig-year=1961|year=2000|publisher= Motilal Banarasidass|edition=3rd|location= Bombay|isbn= 81-208-1575-0}}

==External links==
*[http://www.sripadarajamutt.org/ Sri Sripadaraja Mutt Official Web Site]

{{Madhva Religious Figures}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1404 births]]
[[Category:1502 deaths]]
[[Category:Dvaita Vedanta]]
[[Category:Dvaitin philosophers]]
[[Category:Haridasa]]
[[Category:Madhva religious leaders]]
[[Category:People from Ramanagara district]]
[[Category:Bhakti movement]]
[[Category:Scholars from Karnataka]]
[[Category:15th-century Indian scholars]]
[[Category:Indian Hindu monks]]
[[Category:Scholars from the Vijayanagara Empire]]
[[Category:15th-century Indian philosophers]]