Early Years
Vijaya Dasa was born in a poor Brahmin family in Cheekalaparvi in Manvi taluk of Raichur district, Karnataka state. His parents were Sri Srinivasappa and Kusamma. He left home at a young age and studied Sanskrit in Varanasi for four years. Later when his marriage was troubled by poverty, he went back to Varanasi where he became a scholar. One night, he had a dream in which the 16th century Carnatic composer and wandering saint Purandara Dasa initiated him into the Haridasa tradition and gave him the nom de plume (ankita nama) Vijaya Vittala. From that day he was called Vijaya Dasa (dasa lit, slave to God), and dedicated his life to spreading Dvaita teachings.
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