Vadiraja swamy

Vadiraja Tirtha
Religion	Hinduism
Philosophy	Dvaita
Personal
Born	Varahacharya 1480 CE Huvinakere in present day Kundapura district, Karnataka
Died	1600 CE Sodhe
Guru	Vagisha Tirtha
Literary works	Yuktimalika,Rukminisha Vijaya

Sri Vadiraja Tirtha (c.1480-c.1600 ) was a Dvaita philosopher, poet and mystic. A polymath of his time, he authored many works, often polemical, on Madhva theology and metaphysics, he composed numerous poems and as the pontiff of Sodhe Mutt, renovated the temple complex at Udupi and established the Paryaya system of worship. He is also credited with enriching the Kannada literature of the time by translating Madhva's works to Kannada, giving impetus and contributing to the Haridasa movement. His works are characterised by their poetic flourishes, incisive wit and humour.

Vadiraja was born as Varahacharya in Huvinakere, a village in the Kundapura district. He was ordained as a monk at the age of 8 and placed into the care of Vidyanidhi Tirtha and later Vagisha Tirtha, who oversaw his education. Works of contemporary Haridasas and oral traditions point to Vadiraja being a student of Vyasatirtha along with Vijayendra Tirtha though he never acknowledges Vyasatirtha as his mentor in his works. A life of 120 years is traditionally ascribed to him. Though the veracity of this claim may be questioned, Sharma notes "there is no doubt he (Vadiraja) enjoyed a long life presiding over the mutt at Sodhe, established by him, for a number of years". His mortal remains (Brindavana) rest at Sodhe.

A prolific writer, Vadiraja is credited with more than sixty works. They consist mainly of hymns, poems, commentaries on the works of his predecessors and a few original works. He also gave impetus and contributed to Dasa Sahitya. Yuktimalika is widely considered to be his magnum opus. Sharma notes "The work is brimming with freshness and originality of approach and ideas". He also composed several poems, notable of which is an epic poem of 90 cantos titled Rukminisha Vijaya.

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