Ragavendra Swami

Rāghavēndra Tirtha
Raghavendra Swami
Religion	Hinduism
Philosophy	Dvaita
Personal
Born	Venkata Natha 1595 or 1598 or 1601 CE Bhuvanagiri (now in Tamil Nadu)
Spouse	Sarasvati
Children	Lakshminarayanacharya
Religious career
Successor	Sri Yogendra Tirtha
Guru	Sudhindra Tirtha
Honors	Parimalacharya, Jagadguru

Rāghavēndra (c.1595–c.1671) was a Hindu scholar, theologian and saint. His diverse oeuvre include commentaries on the works of Madhva, Jayatirtha and Vyasatirtha, interpretation of the Principal Upanishads from the standpoint of Dvaita and a treatise on Purva Mimamsa. He served as the pontiff of the Madhvacharya Mutt at Kumbakonam from 1624 to 1671. Raghavendra was also an accomplished player of the Veena and he composed several songs under the name of Venu Gopala. His tomb at Mantralayam (Brindavana) attracts thousands of visitors every year.

Raghavendra was born as Venkatanathan in the town of Bhuvanagiri, Tamil Nadu into a family of musicians and scholars. His great-grandfather Krishnabhattar was a tutor to Vijayanagara king Krishnadeva Raya and his father Timmanacharya was an accomplished scholar and musician. After the fall of Vijayanagara empire, Timmanacharya migrated to Kanchi with his wife Gopikamba. Venkatanatha had two siblings: Gururaja and Venkatamba. Venkatanatha's education was undertaken by his brother-in-law Lakshminarasimhacharya, after the early demise of his father and he was subsequently married.

According to Raghavendra Vijaya, his triumph in debates at Thanjavur attracted the attention of Sudhindra Tirtha, the erstwhile pontiff of Kumbakonam mutt. Though initially uncertain about the prospect of renunciation, Venkatanatha relented to Sudhindra's demands and was ordained as a monk in 1621. After the passing away of Sudhindra Tirtha in 1623, Venkatanatha succeeded him as the pontiff the mutt and took on the name Raghavendra Tirtha. He undertook a pilgrimage visiting places including Udupi, Kolhapur and Bijapur. He received grants from Dodda Kempadevaraja and settled down in the village of Mantralayam, which was presented to him by the Governor of Adoni. In 1801, while serving as the Collector of Bellary, Thomas Munro is believed to have come across an apparition of Raghavendra. He died in 1671 and his mortal remains are enshrined in Mantralayam. He was succeeded by his sishya Sri Yogeendra Tirtha.