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No. 34.]
CONJEEVERAM INSCR. OF BRAHMA-TANTRA-SVATANTRA-JIYAR:
SAKA 1282.
323
Vēdānta-Dēsika, because of the fact that the investiture of this unique title of Brahma-tantrasvatantra', herein attributed to the god himself, had been made more than a decade prior to the demise of Dēsika and that this ächärya'name figures in three important pontifical lists'.
The matha which was thus started at Kāñchipuram under the pontificate of this Brahma-tantrasvatantra-Jiyar in A.D. 1360 grew in importance and appears to have latterly removed its headquarters to Mélköte in the Mysore State, where it became popular under the name of the Parakāla-matha. There were several scholars among the subsequent heads of this matha, and & short sketch of its history has been given in the granth-opasamhāra of the Alankāra-manihāra, a work on rhetoric composed recently by one of its pontiffs also called Brahma-tantrasvatantra-Jiyar.
At about this time in Saka 1300 there was in the Varadarāja temple at Kāñchipuram, a minor matha called the Vēda-matha, which was presided over by a certain Vēdēndrasagara-sripada and which probably specialised in the teaching of the Vēdas. Another important Vaishnava matha which came into existence in this period was the Ahõbalam-matha, whose founder Srinivasa, son of Kidāmbi Kēšavāchārya of Tirunārāyanapuram, is, according to orthodox tradition, believed to have assumed the Samnyäsäsrama in Saka 1320 (A.D. 1398) under the name of Adivan Sathakopa-Jiyar and to have been its first pontiff for a period of sixty years till A.D. 1458.
Vēdānta-Dēsika is stated in the Guruparamparā-prabhāram to have been the contemporary of & certain Telugu chief named Sarvajña-Singabhūpāla and to have composed the Subhāshitanivi for his delectation. The san.e chief is said to have honoured Nayiņārāchārya, the son and disciple of Desika, with the gift of a palanquin and other paraphernalia, when this acharya went to the northern parts in his religious tours. It follows therefore that Brahma-tantra-svatantra was also a contemporary of this Singa. According to the Velugöțivāri-van sävali' dealing with the history of the Rēcherla chiefs, there were three chiefs of the name of Singa. Of these, Singa III who came to power in A.D. 1425 had the title of Sarvajña. The author of the work on rhetoric called the Rasärnava-sudhakara was a Singa, son of an Annavõta; and he has been identified with Singa II and has been assigned to about A.D. 1380.10 There was anotber earlier Singa I who flourished about this time and was killed by a certain Tammala-Bommayya in A.D. 1360. It is no
1 In this connection the following orthodox three-fold lists' may be noted : (a) Manträrtha-guruparampara-Emberuminar, Kidámbi-Acheban. Kidāmbi Ramanujs Appollän. Sri
rangarajar, Appullar, Defikar and Brahma-tantra-svatantrar. (b) Gribhashya-guruparampard-Emberumaņár, Tirukkurugаippiran-Pillan, Engaļā]ván, Nadadur-Ammal,
Appullar, Dēsikar and Brahma-tantra-svatantrar. (c) Bhagavad-vishaya-yuruparampara-Same as in (b), Dēsikar, Nayiņáracharyar and Brahma-tantra-sva
tantrar. * See Palanadaivilakkam, Part II, p. 28. • Published in the Mysore Sanskrit Series.
No. 32 of the Madras Epigraphical collection for 1890-8. 1. I., Vol. IV, No. 355.
• Vide Tirupati Devasthanam Report (1930), p. 214, where these traditional dates are questioned and are postdated by & cycle of sixty years.
Guruparampara-prabhavam, pp. 120 and 139. Two other works named the T'atvanandēda and the Rahasyasandila are also stated to have been composed for the same purpose. . Dr. N. Venkataramanayya, Velugötivari-am duali, Introduction.
• Vasantariya, brother of the latter Singa III, made a gift of four dudrapalaka images to the Varadarija temple at Kanchipuram (No. 683 of 1919) in Saka 1359.
• श्रीमदधमण्डलाधीश्वर-प्रतिगसभैरव-श्रीयन्त्रवीतनरेन्द्रनन्दन-भुजबलभीम-श्रौशिकभूपाल-विरचितं रसाणवसुधाकर10 His date has been discussed in Sringära-Srināthamut (Telugu) by Prabhākara Sastri, p. 179, 6to
