Tirtha Prabandha

Summary

The Tirtha Prabandha (Sanskrit: तीर्थप्रबन्धम्, romanizedTīrthaprabandhaṃ) is one of the main Sanskrit works by Vadiraja Tirtha,[1] the 16th century Dvaita philosopher and saint. The document is written in the form of a travelogue and contains descriptions of pilgrim centers throughout India.[2]

Description edit

The work comprises 235 shlokas[3] and is divided into 4 chapters, one for each direction. Vadiraja Tirtha composed this document during his extensive pilgrimage throughout India. The shlokas, in addition to describing the places, also provides information on the sacredness of the places and praises the deities.

The chapter covering North India mentions important places such as Pandarapur, Prayag, Kashi, Gaya, Mathura and Ayodhya. The chapter on South India covers Rameshwaram, Kanyakumari and Trivandrum. The chapter on West India covers Pajaka, Udupi, Gokarna and Kolhapur. The chapter on the east covers Puri, Ahobila and Hampi. A total of about 100 places are covered in the document. In addition to holy places, a lot of rivers, including Ganges, Yamuna, Kaveri and Godavari are mentioned.

The Tirtha Prabandha is held in high esteem amongst practising Madhvas and a recitation of all the shlokas is considered equal to an actual pilgrimage covering all the mentioned places. Some of the holy places mentioned in Tirtha Prabandha are:

West:

East:

South:

North :

Parishista:

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Dalal, Roshen (2010). Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide. Penguin Books India. p. 436. ISBN 978-0-14-341421-6.
  2. ^ Sharma, B. N. Krishnamurti (2000). History of the Dvaita School of Vedānta and Its Literature: From the Earliest Beginnings to Our Own Times. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. p. 430. ISBN 978-81-208-1575-9.
  3. ^ Vādirāja (1990). Tīrthaprabandhaḥ (in Sanskrit). Śrīmanmādhvarāddhantasaṃvardhanī Sabhā. p. 10.