Gurucharitra - Shri Kamalanath Thirtha Sripad Vader Swamiji - Part 1

(This is a 2 part series about the life of Shri Kamalanath Thirtha Sripad Vader Swamiji, 21st pontiff of Gokarna Partagali Jeevottam Math. This is written by Shri Vishnu Shanbhag of Kumta.) 

श्रीमद हनुम-भीम-मध्व-अंतर्गत राम-कृष्ण-वेदव्यासात्मक लक्ष्मी हयग्रीवाभिन्न श्री सीतारामचंद्र वीरविठ्ठला: प्रसीदंतु।।

श्रीमत्कमलानाथ तीर्थ श्रीपाद वडेर स्वामीजी |

Part 1

The pages of history the samsthaan Gokarna Partagali math have recorded glorious life periods of the Swamijis adorning it and leading the Gaud Saraswat Brahman society in the path of dhrma as laid down in the vedic parampara. The GSB society has periodically faced many harassment from the other sections of the society and hostile political rulings. With the guidance and active role of the peethadhipatis GSB society has come out of it and has reasserted its moral and social strength. We have seen the extreme stress under which the gurupeetha fought to regain its authority under a very hostile and cruel foreign rulers.

Shree Padmanabh teerth swamiji was able to face it and establish the base. Under the young yet enlightened scholar ,Sri Indirakanth teerth swamiji, the math climbed to its peak of dharmic activity. Sri Indirakanth teerth swamiji”s time was yet another period where the problems that cropped up were of different kind. Under the rule of british in Karnataka and portugese in Goa the style of life lead by the society was slowly yet perceptibly changing. And to adjust to the new kind of challenges the rules of dharmashastra had to be constantly tweaked to suit the newer generation without compromising the core dharmic and karmic corpus. Sri Indirakant teerth swamiji was highly sensitive to these needed changes and was very much successful in diplomatically solving the problems faced by the GSB samaj. For example, responding to the demands of new family structure that was coming into the fore, the rule that women should be married off by the age of 12 years was scrapped. Such far sightedness of Swamiji is an example of the anticipation of new order of family and social life that was being shaped up as a result of modernization. The issue of foreign travel was also one of the most vexed one.

As Sri Indirakant teerth Swamiji was responding nicely to the needs of society swamiji thought of appointing an able shishya. A very capable disciple by the name of Sri Vyasa Rao Acharya was chosen. The disciple was from a very learned archak family of chikkankod village of north canara. The disciple was initiated and given the good name, Shree Narahari teerth. The Shishya turned out to be a very good pupil and was being trained under Guru swamiji. Unfortunately within a year of initiation the shishya swamiji left His mortal body due to a short term of illness, in the month of Margashirsha, shrishaka 1819.

This incidence had its own effect on everybody. The accounts of its effect on Guru Sri Indirakant teerth are a bit different in the two books . The Marathi book describes Swamiji was grief stricken and was very much withdrawn for next few years and stopped having meals. But guruparampara , where the last chapters are written by Sri Kumta Narayana Acharya notes down that a mahajnaani like Sri Indirakant teerth swamiji will not be affected by the demise like a common person. Sri Indirakant teerth swamiji has written a beautiful Marathi commentary on bhagavad geetaa and would not have been affected like an ajnaani and left eating meals in grief. As Sri Kumatha Narayanacharya studied under swamiji and was personally close, his account as recorded in Gurparamparamruta book are more authoritative. So the reason for the anna tyaaga must be for a different reason and we can only make a guess about it. It must be a strong kind of penance, an ugra tapas, for the betterment of the society. If it was due to grief there was no reason to stick to the vrata and not eat anna lifelong and subsist on minimal food like fruits. Sri Indirakant teerth swamiji never had anna for the rest of life. And Swamiji turned more and more inwards though He looked after the well being of the math and followers. The bright spark was missing and to find the necessary drive to rekindle the fire in the samaj Sri Indirakant teerth swamiji was readying for a long teerthayaatra of aasetu himaachala. When this wish was placed before the members of samaj, majority of the people wanted Swamiji to appoint a disciple as the shishya before leaving for teertha yatra. It was already ten years from the demise of the earlier one. When the request for a disciple was put forth to Sri Swamiji , He gave permission to find the right vatu. A committee was formed and a wide search was made which turned futile. They could not find and select any fit person.
After a reasonable time, Sri Indiranant teerth swamiji arranged for a mahasabha and invited all members of the matha’s disciples. In the sabha Swamiji Himself declared that appointing a shishya before going on for the teertha yaatra will be completed and told the people that Swamiji already had a fit person to receive the deeksha. Everybody was surprised when Swamiji declared the name of the vatu. He was none other than son of an archaka , Sri Vaikunth Narayan Acharya , who was working in the partagali matha itself. People were surprised that they could miss such a person who was so near. But Sri Indirakanth teerth Swamiji had already noticed the brilliant young dedicated personality who was a student in the matha itself. The horoscope was immediately demanded and the scholars of the math present in the sabha and swamiji examined it and found it fit. Permission from the parents was sought which was readily given and Swamiji asked the kaul from Ramadev , Veeravitthal which was also granted by Lord. And in the same mahasabha the name of future shishya was declared.

The sanyasa deeksha muhurta was later decided to be on vaishaakha Krishna panchami, shri saka 1829. And the name given to the shishya by the guru was Sri Kamalanatha teerth.
In next instalment we shall see the history of these divine Guru Shisyas.

गुरु चरणाम्बुज दास। विष्णु वेंकटदास शानभाग

Part 2: https://krishnavishnuhari.blogspot.com/2017/03/gurucharitra-shri-kamalanath-thirtha.html