Swami Vidyaranya Jayanti

Dakshinapatha Studies conducted Swami Vidyaranya Jayanti in the AS Rao Nagar office premises on the evening of 26th May 2025; Dakshinapatha Studies commemorates and celebrates the great seer’s work in establishing the Vijayanagara empire which stood as a bulwark against the islamic onslaught in the south.

Sri Kudumulakunta Ravindranath from Jathiya Sahitya Parishad was the keynote speaker of the event. He spoke eloquently  explaining the trajectory of events, which led the ministers Harihara Raya and Bukka Raya to approach Sri Madhavacharya ( the earlier name of Sri Vidyaranya before he became the sringeri mutt’s pontiff), the brothers were forcibly converted to islam and sent to Kampili. The Islamic onslaught was extremely brutal and had reached Dakshin by the 14th century. Delhi sultan Mohd bin Tughlak’s marauding army reached the Kakatiyas in Warangal and vanquished the great Hindu kingdom. When brothers Harihara and Bukka met Sri Vidyaranya, he not only reconverted them to Sanathana Dharma, he also chose an auspicious place, the Hampi, to lay the foundation for the kingdom, and made Harihara Raya the king. With the blessings of Sri Vidyaranya, this foundation led to the building of one of the greatest empires, the Vijayanagara empire, which became the hallmark for a flourishing Hindu culture.  It reached the pinnacle of arts, architecture and literature. As a tribute to Swami Vidyaranya, the capital city was named Vidya Nagaram, which truly became the city of learning and knowledge. The empire lasted for more than two centuries.

Swami Vidyaranya who was Madhavacharya, was born in a simple family near Warangal on Vaisakha Sukla Saptami. Before he took the deeksha from Sringeri peethadhipati, he was a great vedic scholar and it is said that Bhagwan Veda Vyasa himself blessed him in Varanasi. Swami Vidyaranya’s many bhashyas ( commentaries) on Vedas and other great scriptures became standard texts of  Sanathana Dharma.

The speaker Sri Ravindranath especially mentioned the great text written by Swami Vidyaranya – Parashara Madhaveeyam, a commentary on Parasara Smriti. The work explores Dharma, legal, social and ethical matters and can be an important guidance in our present day national affairs. The speaker eloquently interspersed his talk with various Slokas, songs and padyas enlivening the evening.

The event was well-attended by a large number of people including senior scholars like Sri Mavuduri Suryanarayana.

The event was presided by P. Shailaja, Senior associate, Dakshinapatha Studies, she described the work of Dakshinapatha Studies, and invited researchers and writers who are interested in the domain of socio economic cultural histories of the south to get associated with the organisation. She said that our collective enterprise is required to bring out the forgotten, ignored or suppressed histories to the fore. She said that the centre commemorates a few events in a year as national importance days including Sri Vidyaranya Jayanti. She invited the audience to check the Dakshinapatha.com website.

Sri Kalyan Chakravarthy, Coordinator, Dakshinapatha Studies explained the various initiatives and activities of the centre and the ongoing collaborations with other organizations and the current projects. He invited researchers and writers to get associated with Dakshinapatha Studies.