Sumatindra Tirtha (c. 1692c. 1725) was a Dvaita scholar and the 20th pontiff of the Madhva matha at Kumbakonam (also known as

Raghavendra Matha Shri Raghavendra Math, better known as Rayara Math (popularly known as Shri Raghavendra Swamy Mutt, formerly known as Kumbakonam Math, Vibhudendra Math, Dakshinadi Mutt or Vijayendra Math) is one of the Dvaita Vedanta monasteries (matha) descen ...

). Succeeding Surindra Tirtha in 1692, Sumatindra extended the reach of the matha from Kumbakonam to

Thanjavur Thanjavur (), also Tanjore, Pletcher 2010, p. 195 is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is the 11th biggest city in Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is an important center of South Indian religion, art, and architecture. Most of the Gr ...

Madurai Madurai ( , also , ) is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District. As of the 2011 census, it was the third largest Urban agglomeration in ...

and

Srirangam Srirangam, is a neighbourhood in the city of Tiruchirappalli in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. A river island, Srirangam is bounded by the Kaveri River on one side and its distributary Kollidam on the other side. Considered as the first among ...

. Through his travels and a close association with the royalty, Sumatindra was able to proliferate the principles of Dvaita in the Tamil region. An accomplished scholar and poet, he has authored numerous works on poetics, drama and music as well as commentaries on ''

Vedanta ''Vedanta'' (; sa, वेदान्त, ), also ''Uttara Mīmāṃsā'', is one of the six (''āstika'') schools of Hindu philosophy. Literally meaning "end of the Vedas", Vedanta reflects ideas that emerged from, or were aligned with, t ...

''.

Life

Born as Muddu Krishnacharya, he seems to have studied '' tarka'' (Logic), '' vyakarana'' (grammar) and '' mimamsa'' (scriptural injunctions) under the guidance of

Raghavendra Raghavendra Tirtha () (1595 – 1671) was a Hindu scholar, theologian and saint. He was also known as Sudha Parimalacharya (). His diverse oeuvre include commentaries on the works of Madhva, Jayatirtha and Vyasatirtha, interpretation of the ...

though he considers his father, Venkatanarayana, as his teacher. His two brothers Yogindra and Surindra served as pontiffs of the ''matha'' before him. He took on the name of Sumatindra after his initiation into

sannyasa ''Sannyasa'' (Sanskrit: संन्यास; IAST: ), sometimes spelled Sanyasa (सन्न्यास) or Sanyasi (for the person), is life of renunciation and the fourth stage within the Hindu system of four life stages known as '' A ...

. Through his travels in the present day Karnataka and

Telangana Telangana (; , ) is a state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the eleventh-largest state and the twelfth-most populated state in India with a geographical area of and 3 ...

, he engaged in debates and discussions with

Advaita ''Advaita Vedanta'' (; sa, अद्वैत वेदान्त, ) is a Hindu sādhanā, a path of spiritual discipline and experience, and the oldest extant tradition of the orthodox Hindu school Vedānta. The term ''Advaita'' (l ...

and Dvaita scholars alike. He maintained cordial relationship with the Madurai Nayaks and the

Thanjavur Marathas The Thanjavur Maratha kingdom ruled by the Bhonsle dynasty was a principality of Tamil Nadu between the 17th and 19th centuries. Their native language was Marathi. Venkoji was the founder of the dynasty. Maratha conquest of Thanjavur Follow ...

as evidenced by grants made in his name. Queen Mangamma of Madurai granted him the hamlet of Ayirdharma and lands in the town of Srirangam where he built his matha. Under his aegis, the matha also received a part of the tithes from Payaranipalyam and other neighboring villages. His panegyric on the Thanjavur ruler Sahaji I indicates familiarity with the ruler. Succeeded by Upendra Tirtha, he is entombed in Srirangam.

Works

Sumatindra's works span a wide range of subjects, from '' alankara'' (poetics) to ''

vedanta ''Vedanta'' (; sa, वेदान्त, ), also ''Uttara Mīmāṃsā'', is one of the six (''āstika'') schools of Hindu philosophy. Literally meaning "end of the Vedas", Vedanta reflects ideas that emerged from, or were aligned with, t ...

''. He has authored commentaries on the works of Jayatirtha and

Vyasatirtha Vyāsatīrtha (. 1460 – 1539), also called ''Vyasaraja'' or ''Chandrikacharya'', was a Hindu philosopher, scholar, polemicist, commentator and poet belonging to the Madhwacharya's Dvaita order of Vedanta. As the patron saint of the Vija ...

, while quoting from a variety of sources including Puranas and obscure works from pontiffs of the yore, Padmanabha and Narahari. In the realm of poetics, he has authored a commentary on the works of

Sudhindra Tirtha Sudhindra Tirtha (1596 - 1623) was a Dvaita philosopher of aesthetics, dramatist and the pontiff of the matha at Kumbakonam. Unlike his predecessors who mainly dealt with polemics and theology, most of his written works deal with Kavya (''poet ...

and Trivikrama Pandita, an early disciple of

Madhva Madhvacharya (; ; CE 1199-1278 or CE 1238–1317), sometimes anglicised as Madhva Acharya, and also known as Purna Prajna () and Ānanda Tīrtha, was an Indian philosopher, theologian and the chief proponent of the ''Dvaita'' (dualism) schoo ...

. His ''Shahavilasa'' is a treatise on music while his ''Abhinavakadambari'' is a poetic work.

Works on the Brahmasutra

Works on the Alamkara and Kavya

Short metrical verse

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * {{Authority control Madhva religious leaders Dvaitin philosophers Dvaita Vedanta Scholars from Karnataka History of Karnataka