Bramhatantra Swatantra Parakala Matha, commonly known as Parakala Matha, is a

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

founded during the Hoysala Empire in 1268 at

Mysore Mysore ( ), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of Mysore district and Mysore division. As the traditional seat of the Wadiyar dynasty, the city functioned as the capital of the ...

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

, primarily worshipping

Vishnu Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation ( ...

and Lakshmi as Hayagriva and Vageesha. It is the first mediaeval era monastery of the Vadakalai denomination within Vaishnavism in the Hindu society and is the ''gurupeeta'', the seat of the royal ''guru'', of the maharajas of Mysore. Originally founded in Mysore where its headquarters has been based, the matha has branches across southern India and as well as one abroad.

Etymology

''Parakala'' is a

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

adjective meaning "beyond time". It is an epithet of Vishnu's incarnation as

Narasimha Narasimha (, , or , ), is the fourth avatara of the Hindu god Vishnu in the Satya Yuga. He incarnated as a part-lion, part-man and killed Hiranyakashipu, ended religious persecution and calamity on earth, and restored dharma. Narasimha has th ...

, and by derivation means "he who is beyond time". Alvar Tirumangai, an influential figure in the monastery's history, earned ''parakala'' as an honorary style for his scholarship, after whom the monastic came to be known as Parakala Matha.

History

Parakala Matha was first founded by Brahmatantra Swatantra Jeeyar, a disciple of '' Swami'' Vedanta Desika, during the reign of the Hoysala emperor Narasimha III. It is among the monasteries that view Vedanta Desika as the torchbearer of ''Āchārya'' Ramanuja's Vishishtadvaita teachings, the others being Ahobila Matha at Ahobilam, Andavan Ashramam at Srirangam, and Andavan Ashramam at Poundarikapuram. The Hayagriva idol worshipped at the hermitage is said to have been handed down from Vedanta Desika himself. Sri Lakshmi Hayagreeva Swami

Āchārya tradition

There have been a total of thirty-six āchāryas (pontiffs or principal seers) so far. The head of the matha is also the hereditary ''raja guru'' of the Mysore Royal Family. The matha has thus had connections with the monarchs of Mysore Kingdom since 1399, one of the reasons for the proximity of Jaganmohana Palace and Mysore Palace to it. Most of the royal ceremonies are officiated by seers of the hermitage.

List of ''āchāryas''

References

{{coord, 12.307438, 76.650846, display=title Sri Vaishnavism Hindu monasteries in India

Etymology

History

Āchārya tradition

List of ''āchāryas''

See also

References