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DECEMBER, 1914.)
SKETCH OF THE HISTORY OF THE MADHVA ACHARYAS
265
23 days as the length of the pontificate of Narahari Tirtha. That is, the last year of Narahari must be the last year of Madhvacharya's life plus the periods of the pontificates of Padmanabha Tirtha and Narahari Tîrtha, which comes to nearly the Saka year 1214-5. If fact, the latest date we got from the inscriptions for Narahari was S. 1215. The records engraved between Saka 1186 to 1197 might have been written at his own command, whereas those found after S. 1197 and till s. 1215 must have been caused to be written by the command of the prince Narasimha, for the merit of his late regent. The striking coincidence of the dates with the facts given in the stara make it more than probable that s. 1197 might be the last year of Madhvacharya. This Saka year corresponds to the cycle year Yuva.
According to the traditional lists Madhvacharya was born in the Cyclic year Pingala and lived for 80 years (until Yuva), the year of birth of Madhvacharya, must therefore correspond with the Saka year 1117 or 1118. We find from the tables that 1118 is Pingala. Hence the date of birth of Madhvacharya must be 8. 1118.
The year arrived at by this process of reasoning is in close agreement with the dates given in the Bharata-tátparya-nirnaya and Chhalári-smriti. The first gives Kali 4300 (S. 1120) as the date of birth of the Acharya, 20 where as the second states that Madhvaguru was born in S. 1128.37 The first is almost the date that we have arrived at from a study of the epigraphical records. The second perhaps refers to the date of assumption of sa inyâsa by Vásudêva,---for, tradition says that he became a sa inyâsin in his eighth year, hence both might be correct, referring each to an incident in the life of the teacher. When a person takes the salinyasásrama he is believed to have entered a new life and the rebirth of Vâsudêva as Ânanda Tirtha might therefore have been recorded by Chhalâri. The words-vipra-tanu and Madhva-guru-used to denote the individual are very suggestive. The former signifies physical birth and the latter the spiritual birth.
It now remains to explain how the date of the Acharya came to be recorded as the year S. 1040, corresponding to the cyclic year Viļambin, in the malha lists. The date of the death of each acharya is observed as a holy day among the Madhvas and these days are known as punya-divasas. But in the case of Madhvacharya, who is believed to have never died at all, there cannot be & punya-divasa and consequently perhaps his day of birth was taken as the punya-divasa. In later times, when the lists of the mathas were written, the punya-divasa of Madhvacharya must have been taken, as in all other cases, as the date of death of the Acharya (i e., his departure to Badari) and knowing from tradition 20 चनुस्सहने त्रिशतोत्तरे गते संवत्सराणां तु कलौ प्रथिम्याम् ।
जातःपुनर्विप्रतनुस्स भीमो दैत्यैनिगूढ़ हरितत्वमाहुः॥
It appears improbable that the verse belongs to the original work, and is more likely to be an interpolation. For, it is quite unlikely that the Acharya would boast of himself as the incarnation of Bhima, taken to destroy the daityas. Besides there is no need, in the present instance, for him to give the date of his birth. It must be that the interpolation was made by some pious hand with a desire of recording the date of the birth of the Guru, in his work itself.
ar कलो प्रवते बीजादिमतं रामानुज सथा। शाके कोनपंचाधिकाब्दसहस्रके। निराकर्तुं मुख्यवायु सन्मतस्थापनाब च । एकादशशते शाके विशस्वष्टयुगे गते ॥
TO TUTTE E AUTTT 11 (There is s other dato Baka 1049 mentioned herein the relevenny of which is not clear. Can it be that it refers to the advent of Ramanuja 1)
