Raghuttama Tirtha
Raghuttama Tirtha, was an Indian philosopher, scholar, theologian and saint. He was also known as Bhavabodhacharya. His oeuvre include commentaries on the works of Madhvacharya and Jayatirtha. He served as the fourteenth pontiff of Madhvacharya Peetha - Uttaradi Math from 1535 to 1596. He is considered to be one of the important seers in the history of Dvaita school of thought. His shrine at Manampoondi attracts thousands of visitors every year.
Born in an pious Brahmin family, but was brought up in matha under the direction of Raghuvarya Tirtha. He composed 10 works, consisting of commentaries on the works of Madhvacharya, Padmanabha Tirtha and Jayatirtha elaborating upon the Dvaita thought.
Biography
Most of the information about Raghuttama Tirtha's life is derived from various hagiographies. He was born as Ramachandra into a pious family in Malkheda in the present-day Kalaburagi district in the state of Karnataka belonging to Kannada-speaking Deshastha Brahmin family to Subba Bhatta and Gangabai. Gangabai is purvashrama sister of Raghuvarya Tirtha of Uttaradi Math.Birth & Sannyasa
According to traditional accounts, Madhvacharya appeared in Raghuvarya Tirtha's dream and instructed Raghuvarya Tirtha to visit Svarnavata and bless Ganga Bai and Subba Bhatta with a offspring. Madhvacharya assured Raghuvarya Tirtha that this child would grow up to spread the teachings of Madhva philosophy. Awaking from this sacred vision, Shri Raghuvarya Tirtha was deeply moved with gratitude. In due course, he visited the village. After that the childless couple approached saint Raghuvarya Tirtha, who granted them boon of children with the condition that their first child, would in turn be handed over to him. These words brought a mixture of happiness and sorrow to the childless couple but they accepted the decree of the divinity. Soon after this incident, Gangabai conceived. Raghuvarya Tirtha was informed accordingly. He returned to the village expecting the birth of the child. A big gold plate was sent to Subba Bhatta's house from the Matha with a direction to receive the child on the golden plate without allowing the child to touch the earth.Accordingly, the child was received on a golden plate. The personality and the face of the child were beautiful. He was named after Lord Rama as Ramachandra by Raghuvarya Tirtha. Raghuvarya Tirtha made arrangements to feed the child every day with the abhishekha milk of the Vyasa Kurma Saligram of the Matha. He had his Upanayana at the age of five and immediately after Upanayana was ordained as a Sannyasa. Raghuttama Tirtha is said to have studied for sometime after his ordinance, under a learned Pandit Adya Varadarajacharya of Manur under the direction of Raghuvarya Tirtha.
Reign as Pontiff
Raghuttama Tirtha was the nephew of Raghuvarya Tirtha the thirteenth pontiff and succeeded his uncle in the pontificate of Uttaradi Math in 1535. Raghuttama Tirtha was also a contemporary of Vyasatirtha, Vijayindra Tirtha and Vadiraja Tirtha.Entering Brindavana
Having adorned the sacred pontifical seat of the revered Uttaradi Matha, the venerable Raghuttama Tirtha, as per the divine will, desired to enter the Brindavana. He then appeared in a dream to the Zamindar of Vettavalam and instructed him to construct a Brindavana at Manampoondi, a village near Tirukoilur, on the bank of the South Pennar. Manampoondi is a holy place where Shri Galava Rishi once resided. The site is also described in the scriptures as the ‘Pancha Krishnaranya Kshetra’. Raghuttama Tirtha entered Brindavana on 11 January 1596 on the auspicious day of Vaikuntha Ekadashi. He was succeeded by his disciple Vedavyasa Tirtha.Works
There have been 10 works accredited to Raghuttama Tirtha, 9 of which are commentaries on the works of Madhvacharya, Padmanabha Tirtha and Jayatirtha, out of which five are published so far. Bhavabodha is the general title of a majority of his works and Raghuttama is usually called "Bhavabodhakara" or "Bhavabodhacharya". Raghuttama Tirtha composed these Bhavabhodas to reveal the essence and deeper meanings of Shri Madhvacharya's and Sri Jayatirtha's works. His work Brihadaranyaka Bhavabodha is a commentary on Madhva's Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Bhashya, is considered to be his magnum opus. Running up to 9,000 granthas, it discusses Khandana and Bhashyartha of the Upanishad. His work Tattvaprakasika Bhavabodha is a commentary on Jayatirtha's Tattvaprakāśikā. It runs nearly 8100 granthas. It is quoted by Jagannatha Tirtha in his Bhashyadipika four times and by Raghavendra Tirtha once in his Tatparya Chandrika Prakasha.| Name | Description | References |
| Viṣṇutattvanirṇaya Bhavabodha | Gloss on Viṣṇutattvanirṇayaṭikā of Jayatirtha | |
| Tattvaprakasika Bhavabodha | Super-commentary on Tattvaprakāśikā of Jayatirtha | |
| Nyāyavivarana Bhavabodha | Direct commentary on Nyāya Vivarana of Madhvacharya, in continuation to Jayatirtha work to Nyāyavivaranaṭikā | |
| Nyāyaratna-Sambandhadipikā | Commentary on Anu Vyakhyana, showing at the same time the inter-connection between the words of Madhva and Sutras of Badarayana. | |
| Brihadaranyaka Bhavabodha | Commentary on Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Bhashya of Madhvacharya | |
| Vivaraṇoddharā | Gloss on the passages of Nyāya Vivarana which was commented by Jayatirtha in his Tattvaprakāśikā | |
| Gītābhāṣya Bhavabodha | Gloss on Jayatirtha's Gītābhāṣya Prameyadīpikā | |
| Sanyayavivruthi | Commentary on Sanyaya Ratnavali of Padmanabha Tirtha | |
| Tāratamya Stotram | Prayer explaining the hierarchy of gods | |
| Taittirīyavinirṇaya | Commentary on Taittiriya Upanishad Bhashya of Madhvacharya |