Madhvacharya - Visit To Badari

Visit To Badari

In course of time, the Acharya desired to tour North India and to spread the message of vedic religion far and wide. The holy center of Badari beckoned him irresistibly. Fired by the wish to visit holy places like Vyasa's hermitage, the penance-grove of Nara-Narayana etc., and to present his commentary on the Gita as a tribute to sage Vyasa, the Acharya moved straight to Badari. There he observed a vow of strict silence for 48 days, bathing in the holy Ganga. And then he set out alone towards Vyasa-Badari, his cherished destination.

After his return from there, the task of writing a commentary on the Brahma Sutras came to be undertaken by the Acharya. The Acharya never wrote any work of his by hand. It was his practice to dictate continuously to his disciples who would take them down. His composition of works was as facile as his discourse. A disciple of the Acharya, Satya-tirtha by name, reduced to writing in palmleaves, what ever was dictated by the Acharya.

In the meantime, the Acharya's influence had spread far and wide throughout the country. Scholars all over India were stunned by his extraordinary genius, never seen or heard of before. The circle of his disciples grew bigger and bigger. Some ascetics got initiation from him and were admitted into the order of samnyasa.

Once, while returning from Badari, the Acharya was camping en-route in a holy place on the banks of the Godavari. Here he was accosted by an eminent pundit, Sobhana-bhatta by name. This person was well known in that region as a peerless scholar. This visit changed the entire career of the man. Seeing the extraordinary personality of the Acharya, and listening to his wonderful discourses, he was so much overwhelmed that he became the Acharya's disciple and joined his retinue.

Achyuta Prajna's cup of happiness was full on seeing Acharya Madhva back home after his resounding victory in all parts of the country and on his rich retinue of disciples hailing from different places. Though in the beginning he too had his own doubts about the Acharya's view of ultimate reality (Tattvavada), now he became a whole-hearted adherent of the Acharya's new philosophy.