Namah Sripadmarajayai Namaste Vyasayogine |
Namah Purandararyayai Vijayarajaya te Namah ||
Sripadaraja regarded, as the earliest Haridasa is the earliest promoter of Haridasa Sahitya (Dasakoota Pitamaha, Adyapravarthaka). He is believed to have born around 1404 at a place called Abbur in Bangalore district to a poor Brahmin couple Seshargiri and Giriamma who named the child as Lakshminaryana. He came under the tutelage and spiritual guidence of Sri Suvarnatheertha an ascetic, 8th in the lineage who took him into Srirangam in Tamilnadu and gave him the religious initiation to sainthood (Sanyasadeeksha). Sripadaraja became an ascetic and also an erudite scholar. Though Sripadaraja completely renounced the material life (Sarvasanga Parithyaga) and became an ascetic, he still lived a life of royal pomp which prompted Sri Raghunathatheertha, a seer of Uttaradi Mutt to shower encomiums on him and declare him as Sripada. (Sri Rangatheertha said like this : Naavu Sri Padangaladare neevu Sripadaraja)
Sripadaraja established the Padmanabhateertha mutt at Mulubagilu in Karnataka and made it a center for higher learning in Sanskrit. Sripadraja enriched the Kannada literature with a profuse of compositions. He is the pioneer (Adyapravarthaka) in introducing for the first time type of rhythm oriented compositions set to seven talas called Suladis. Apart from this, with his pen name ‘Ranga Vittala’, Sripadaraja also composed various other types of compositions like Ugabhogas, Devaranamas, special compositions for serving the almighty through dance called Narthana Sevakritis, Bhramara geetha, Virahageethe, Gopigeethe, Sri Lakshminarasimha Pradubhava Dandaka and a magnum opus, Vagvajra, a
philosophical book in sanskrit with his elegant lyrics combined with melodious music in proper contribution. Sripadaraja through his compositions opened up a new horizon for the sensible and the
virtuous minds. He proclaimed to the common man in simple lucid kannada language the meaning and significance of great Sanskrit verses, poems, Vedas and Upanishads which remained concealed for ages and hence out of reach for the common man. With his prowess, artistry and supernatural strength he could compress in a small composition, the gracefulness of sound, literary dignity and variety of meaning. So by applying Bhakti rasa to the divine music, he spread its sandal like aroma to every nook and corner thereby attracting both the wicked and the layman alike and taught them the profound philosophy of the scriptures, values of life and religious awareness.
Hence Sripadaraja can be regarded as the first and the foremost revolutionary Haridasa and a social reformer in the history of Karnataka. Sripadaraja with his wonderful personality spiritual power, musical genius scholarship in poetics, composing and pioneering works in both kannada literature and social reformations and also as a pioneer in establishing a new kannada culture, tradition and virtuous lineage, is remembered for ever in the history of Dasakoota. One can have the glimpse of Sripadaraja’s prowess and greatness in the words of his disciple Sri Vyasaraya who said ‘Vedashastrapuranadali Adisheshana polva Muni’ and
similarly in another composition also ‘Vadigaja masthakankusha’ which is given in this book with meaning and notation.
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