Dashaharaa vrat

Dashaharaa Vrat (ದಶಹರಾ ವ್ರತ)

This vrat start from first day of jyeshtha maasa and ends on the tenth day of same maasa, and the tenth day, i.e, jyeshtha shukla dashami, is Gangavatarana, the descent of Ganga.

If Adhika maasa falls in the month of jyeshtha (which then is known as 'mala-maasa' ), then this vrat needs to be celebrated in mala-maasa itself. If dashami falls on the day of hasta nakshatra, this vrat gains special importance as it is beleived to wash one of ten different sins, which are : 

1. Taking away things, which do not belong to you, forcefully from others
2. To torment others for no reason
3. Behaving inappropriately with other women
4. hurting others with your speech
5. Lying
6. Gossiping harmfully
7. Howling indecently
8.  Scheming to rob others off their wealth
9. Wishing ill of others
10. False-fully blowing one's own trumpet

One can redeem themselves of these sins if one takes a holy dip in Ganga on jyeshtha shukla dashami day. If it is not possible, then one can invoke Ganga in the water they bathe at their homes. Or if they have collected water from Ganga whenever they had visited, that water can be added to water used to bathe. (As a madhva, Madhva-sarovara, Narasimha teertha at Mulabagilu comes  to my mind as we believe there is Ganga sannidhi (presence) at these places. Or taking a holy dip at Kaveri is also be considered auspicious as this river is known as ardh-janhavi.

Taking a holy dip at Dasha-ashwamedha ghat in Kashi, on this day is considered very auspicious. Also many people light lamps with ghee and allow them to float in Ganga.

Chromolithograph, "Indian woman floating lamps on the Ganges," by William Simpson, 1867.
Courtesy : Wikipedia

  

Ganga Pooja : Invoke Ganga in a kalasha or Ganga-gindi. Offer gejje-vastra, arashina(haldi), kumkum, gandha (sandalwood paste) and flowers. Give arghya, by chanting the following mantra (this mantra is from Uttaradi mutt panchanga for 2012) :

ಬ್ರಹ್ಮದಂಡಸಮುದ್ಭೂತೇ ಗಂಗೇ ತ್ರಿಪಥಗಾಮಿನೀ |

ತ್ರೈಲೋಕ್ಯವಂದಿತೇ ದೇವಿ ಗೃಹಾಣಾರ್ಘ್ಯo ನಮೋಸ್ತುತೇ ||  

Ganga pooja should be done with due shodashopachara (ಷೋಡೋಪಚಾರ) pooja.

Throughout dashami, we should chant the following mantra (From Uttaradi mutt panchanga for the year, 2012) :

ನಮಃ ಶಿವಾಯೈ ನಾರಾಯಣ್ಯ್ಯೇ ದಶಹರಾಯ್ಯೆ ಗಂಗಯ್ಯ್ಯೇ ನಮೋ ನಮಃ 

Importance of number 10 on this day : Because Ganga descended onto earth on dashami, i.e, 10th day, the number ten occupies significance on this day, in the following form :

• Offer 10 different flowers during pooja
• Offer 10 varieties of fruits during pooja
• Offer 10 types of naivedya (offering of food)
• Light 10 lamps (ದೀಪ)
• Do 10 pradakshina
• Invite 10 couples for partaking food 

|| Shreekrishnaarpanamastu ||

 

Gangavatarana - The descent of Ganga

Gangavatarana (ಗಂಗಾವತರಣ)

Ganga Devi (Picture Courtsey : iskcondesiretree.net)

From jyeshtha pratipat to jyeshtha dashami (i.e, from 1st day to 10th day), devout people celebrate these days as 'dashahara vrat'(ದಶಹರಾ ವ್ರತ). Dasha = 10, hara = destroy, means a vrat which destroys ten sins.On the tenth day, Ganga, the divine river of heaven, descended to earth.It is believed that Ganga washed the feet of Lord Narayana in the course of her descent to earth, hence she is capable of washing away sins of people.

 

Puranic story of why Ganga came down to earth : There lived a king by name Trishanku, in Solar lineage(suryavamsha). He had a son by name, Harishchandra, who was the personification of honesty. His son was Rohita. Rohita had a son by name Harita. Champa was Harita's son. Sudeva was Harita's son. Sudeva had a son, Vijaya, who in turn had a son by name, Bharuka. Vruka was Bharuka's son and Baahuka was Vruka's son.

Baahuka lost his kingdom and wealth to his enemies. He was forced to live in exile in forest with his wives. There in forest, Baahuka breathed his last. And his wives were about to enter his pyre, as was the norm in those days, but a sage by name, Ourva (ಔರ್ವ), stopped them when he realised that one of Baahuka's wives was carrying his child. Realising the sage's compassion towards this pregnant wife, the other wives of Baahuka grew jealous of her and tried to poison her. As destiny would have it, she remained unaffected by the poison and gave birth to a son by name Sagara(ಸಗರ). Sa = with, gara = poison, hence he who is born with poison is known as Sagara.

By the grace of sage Ourva, Sagara claimed his father's kingdom back and became a chakravarti. He ahd two wives, Sumati and Keshi and sixty thousand sons. On the advise of his guru, sage Ourva, he undertook, Ashwamedha yaaga and let the  horse to roam about freely on earth, only to captured by any king who dared to oppose Sagara, and thus refusing his supremacy. Indra, king of gods, stole the horse and hid in sage Kapila's ashram in patala. Then the sixty thousand sons of Sagara set out to find the horse. Not findng it anywhere on earth, they suspected it to be in patala and went there. And there they did indeed spot it. And in a fit of rage, they tried to attack sage Kapila with a battle cry. This commotion disturbed the sage from his penance and he opened his eyes. Lo and Behold ! The sixty thousand sons of Ssgara were simply reduced to ashes by the light (ತೇಜಸ) emanating from the sage's eyes.

 Meanwhile, Sagara had a son by name, Asamanjas (ಅಸಮಂಜಸ), from his other wife, Keshi. Asamanjas had a son, Amshumaan. Though Asamanjas was born to a king, royalty did not interest him as he an ascetic in his previous life. To escape from his royal environment, he started indulging in a very peculiar, but disturbing act. He would throw his friends into the cean and kill them. Sagara then, banished him from his kingdom. Asamanjas went to forest, did penance, and with his yogic power, bought back to life all the people he had drowned. Then Sagara sent Amshumaan to search for the yagnic horse.

He finds the horse in the ashram of sage Kapila. With all humility, he prays to sage Kapila, earns his benovalance, and then asks him to return the horse. The sage return the horse, narrate the tragic incident involving his ancestors, and tells him his ancestors acn only be absolved from hell only if Ganga, the celetial river flows over them.

Sage Kapila blessing Amshumaan(Photo Courtesy : http://www.sanatansociety.com/)

Amshumaan recieves sage Kapila's blessings, returns the horse to Sagara, who then completes Ashwamedha yagna. Amshumaan then begins to pray to Ganga to flow down to earth. But his penance did not fructify. Then his son, Dileepa, too did similar penance, but with no result. Dileepa had a son by name, Bhageeratha, who followed in his father's and grandfather's footsteps. And Ganga, finally pleased with his penence, yeilds to him.  



Ganga yeilds to Bhageeratha (Photo Courtesy : Pramukh Deviyan)


Ganga, appeared before Bhageerath and told him that she was pleased with his penance, and she is willing to descent to earth, but wondered, how will he manage to keep the earth from breaking into halves when she colloides earth with her velocity.

Bhageeratha assures her that he will pray to Lord Shiva to controGanga's velocity when she hits the earth. Lord Shiva agrees, and binds Ganga with his long matted hair.

Thus Lord Shiva came to be known as Ganga-dhara, the one who holds Ganga. Then Ganga, gingerly, starting trickling from Lord Shiva's locks of hair onto the earth. Bhageeratha then started to go in the direction of patala, with Ganga following him like a little girl. 

Ganga following Bhageeratha (Photo Courtesy : haveultimatefun.blogspot.com)

There in patala, Ganga flows over the ashes of Bhageeraths's ancestors, washing away their sins and enabling them to attain salvation(moksha). 

Bhageeratha's ancestors obtaining moksha through Ganga (Photo courtsey : http://www.sanatansociety.com/)

Thus Ganga, who was made to descent to earth by Bhageeratha to grant salvation to his ancestors, continues to absolve all our sins and help attain moksha.

|| ShreeKrishnaarpanamastu ||

Jyeshtha maasa (Month of Jyeshtha)

ಜ್ಯೇಷ್ಠ  ಮಾಸ (Month of Jyeshtha)

When moon enters 'jyeshtha' nakshatra, the month of jyeshtha begins, third month in the Hindu calendar. And the patron deity of this month is "Sri Ramaatrivikrama" (ಶ್ರೀ ರಮಾತ್ರಿವಿಕ್ರಮ ). 'Jyeshtha' means significant. Almost each day in this month are significant in one way or other, therefore the name Jyeshtha. 

The significant days of this month, during shukla paksha and krishna paksha are as follows :

Shukla Paksha (the first 15 days) : 

• Dashaharaa vrat (ದಶಹರಾ ವ್ರತ)
• Mohana dasa aradhane (ಮೋಹನ ದಾಸರ ಆರಾಧನೆ) 
• Karaveera vrat / pooja (ಕರವೀರ  ವ್ರತ / ಪೂಜಾ  ) : This pooja is observed on jyeshtha shuddha pratipat(the first ay of this month). Karaveera means kanagale flower. This paticular flower is verydear to Sun and goddes durga.
  
  Pooja procedure : On this day, in the morning, a thread, having three or seven strands, made red by immersing in kumkum water, should be tied around Karaveera plant. Then invoke the Sun for his presence in this plant. For naivedya, seven different types if sprouts, coconut, oranges should be offered. Offer three pradakshinas, chanting the following mantra:
  
           ಕರವೀರ ವೃಷಾವಾಸ ನಮಸ್ಟೇ ಭಾನುವಲ್ಲಭ |
            ಮೌಲಿಮಂಡನ ದುರ್ಗಾದಿದೇವಾನಾಮ್ ಸತತಂ ಪ್ರಿಯ ||
  
  This pooja is done by married women for longevity of their husbands, to quell any trouble in their husband's life and for peace, joy and prosperity. The celestial women who performed this pooja are Savitri, Satyabhama, Damayanti, Saraswati, Gayatri, Ganga.

• Bhaskar pooja (ಭಾಸ್ಕರ ಪೂಜಾ ) : It falls on jyeshtha dwitiya, the second day of this month. On this day, the Sun is worshiped. Various festival dishes are prepared and brahmins are honored by inviting them to partake this festival food. On tis day, one must chant Aditya-hridaya stotra as many times as possible. This pooja is to ward off any ill health and pray for a continuous good health.

• Trivikrama vrat / pooja (ತ್ರಿವಿಕ್ರಮ ವ್ರತ  / ಪೂಜಾ ) :On this day, Sri Trivikrama is worshiped. Invite brahmin for food and especilly serve milk, honey and sugar in their food. But the host should not eat these. This vrat has to be observed for 3 months and at the end of third year, a three year calf has to be given in charity. This vrat is done to gain beautiful bodily features. 

• Rambha vrat / pooja ( ರಂಭಾ ವ್ರತ / ಪೂಜಾ ) : Rambha means a banana tree. Once goddess Saraswati, left her husband, Brahma, due to her vanity about her beauty. At which point of time, Brahma cursed her to turn into a banana tree, a seedless plant. For five years, Saraswati stayed at her father's house and by this time her pride had vanished. Brahma accepted her back on jyeshtha tritiya, third day of this month. And as Saraswati was in the form of a banana tree during the time period of her curse, Lord Brahma blessed the banana tree by saying that any married women who performs pooja under a banana tree on jyeshtha tritiya will be blessed with good marital life and children. Brahmin couple should be invited for food.

• Uma Pooja  (ಉಮಾ ಪೂಜಾ ) : This falls on jyeshtha chaturthi, fourth day of this month. It was on this day that goddess Uma or Parvati was born to Himalaya and Menaka. Married women pray to Parvati for longevity of their husbands.

• Pitra Pooja (ಪಿತ್ರ ಪೂಜಾ ): This is on jyeshtha panchami, fifth day of this month. Men, on this day, give tila(sesame seeds) tarpana for elders in the family who are departed. This is done to ensure good children are begotten in the family.

• Jyeshtha Lakshmi Pooja (ಜ್ಯೇಷ್ಠಲಕ್ಷ್ಮೀ ಪೂಜಾ): This is on jyeshtha saptami, seventh day. On this day, goddess Lakshmi is worshiped to shower wealth and prosperity. By doing so, it is believed that goddess Lakshmi will reside in ones home permanently. 

• Nirjala Ekadashi (ನಿರ್ಜಲ ಏಕಾದಶಿ)
• Dourbhaagyashamana vrat (ದೌರ್ಭಾಗ್ಯಶಮನ ವ್ರತಾ ) : It falls on jyeshtha trayodashi, 13th day.
• Sri Sripadaraja Aradhane (ಶ್ರೀ ಶ್ರೀಪಾದರಾಜ ಆರಾಧನೆ )
• Vat Savitri vrat / pooja(ವಟ ಸಾವಿತ್ರಿ ವ್ರತ /ಪೂಜಾ)  

Krishna Paksha (the last 15 days)

• Apara ekadashi and Trivikrama dwadhashi (ಅಪರಾ ಏಕಾದಶಿ ಮತ್ತು ತ್ರಿವಿಕ್ರಮ ದ್ವಾದಶೀ)
• Sri Vijayeendra teerthara aradhane (ಶ್ರೀ ವೀಜಯೀಂದ್ರ ತೀರ್ಥರು)   

As per the Gregorian calendar, this month falls in May-June. And as the season is summer, the shastras mandates the following to be given away in charity to the deserving, to help cope with hot weather. While giving the daana, we should bear in mind that we are offering the charity to please Lord Sri Ramaatrivikrama and thus seek his blessings.

• Udaka-kumbha daana (ಉದಕಕುಂಭ ದಾನ ) : Offering a picture full of water or making drinking water available at public places ranks first in the list of offering. Even giving water to animals which happen to stray in front of one's home is considered important.Watering holy trees like Ashwath, Vat (Bamboo) and plants like Tulasi, Kanakambara is also considered meritorious.
  
• Hand fan (ಬೀಸಣಿಗೆ ದಾನ). 
• Gandha(sandalwood) daana (ಗಂಧ ದಾನ )
• Slippers (ಚಪ್ಪಲಿ ದಾನ)
• Umbrella (ಛತ್ರಿ ದಾನ)  
• Offering Curd Rice (ಮೊಸರನ್ನ ದಾನ) : Offering curd rice in this hot month pleases Lord Vamana.

• Having cold water bath (ಶೀತಲಜಲ ಸ್ನಾನ)  

To sum up the above list, one should bathe in cold water in a river, preferably in the holy Ganga. If this is not possible, one can bathe in any river or a nearby well (river Ganga came down to earth in this month, hence it is believed that water in all rivers and wells have the presence of Ganga).

Then if a brahmin visits your home, wash his feet with cold water(a diety by name yagya varaha resides in right foot of a brahmin), offer him cold water to drink, honor him with sandalwood paste and an umbrella and offer him curd rice as daana, as a part of his food. Fan him with a hand fan while he is partaking his food and later offer that hand fan as well as daana.  

Jyeshtha Shukla Ekadashi - Nirjala Ekadashi / Pandava-Dwadashi

|| shree ||

Ekadashi (fasting) vow is an easy way to please Lord Vishnu in kali Yuga, which requires little money, little efforts but gives great fruit.One should not eat on ekadashi day and worship Lord Vishnu, which makes him free from all sins. Worship may be in the form of japa or singing devotional hymns or reading or listening to Vishnu mahima. Ekadashi is also know as upavasa (upa = near, vasa = to be ), which means be near Lord Vishnu. It is a day to get spiritually charged up with more chanting, listening, remembering, glorifying and serving Lord Vishnu.

  

 The Ekadashi which occurs in jyeshtha masa (month of jyeshtha), shukla paksha (before poornima),

is known as Nirjala (nir = without, jala=water) Ekadashi. This ekadashi must be observed with such asturuty, from the morning of ekadashi to the morning of dwadashi, that drinking water is prohibited, let alone eating ekadashi phalahara. But the 'nirjala' concept should not be extended to not taking a sip of water during achamana. Those who perform this ekadashi which such devotion will acquire the punya of having observed 12 ekadashis.

According to puranic belief, a king by name, Pracheenabarhi, made sure that nobody had access to water on this day. Thus the name "Nirjala" got prefixed with this ekadashi. The day after ekadashi is known as dwadashi and here it is known as Pandava Dwadashi.

Legend behind Pandava dwadashi : According to Padma Purana verse 51, Sri Vedavyasa maharshi, advised Pandavas to observe ekadashi in both the pakshas(i.e shukla paksha and krishna paksha). But Bhimsena, the second of the pandavas, said it is not possible for him to be without eating, because hunger was unbearable to him, as he had agni (fire) in his stomach by name vruka. He asked for a solution so that he could derive the same punya (merit) of having observed ekadashis of both pakshas.

Sri Vedavyasa then told Bhimsena to at least observe Nirjala ekadashi, which would earn him punya equivalent to having observed 12 ekadashis. Bhimsena begins to observe this ekadashi and on next day, i.e on dwadashi, gives away daana (charity) and breaks the fast. Hence this dwadashi is known as Pandava dwadasi.

Was Bhimsena really not able to observe other ekadashis ?

We madhvas believe Bhimsena to be the incarnation of Sri Vayu, who in the form of a tortoise, holds the entire universe on his head, as if it was a mere mustard seed. And Sri Vayu ranks foremost among devotees of Lord Vishnu. The idea that such a person is not capable of observing ekadashis to earn benevolence of Lord Vishnu is incomprehensible to any madhva.Bhimsena showed the world the importance of observing this one ekadashi through Sri Vedavyasa by enacting this incident. He underlined the importance of this ekadashi by demonstrating that no matter who you are, you have to conform to the shastras (the rules) and observe this ekadashi.

Stotra to be recited on the morning of ekadashi, after bath: 

 devadeva hrisheekesha sansaara arnavataaraka |

  udakumbha pradanena naya maam paramaam gatim ||
   

Dana (charity) to be given on Pandava dwadashi : 

•  Jaladhenudaana : A pot, with pictures of a cow and her calf, full of water is to be given away.This pot of water should first be offered to Lord Narayana (the one who lives in water) to seek his blessings. Then it is be given away as daana along with dakshina.
• Ghritadhenudaana : Ghrita = ghee and dhenu = cow. In a copper vessel, set the ghee. Worship Lord Vishnu with this ghee, draw a cow and a calf on the top layer of ghee (for this reason the set ghee should be very thick and firm), cover this copper vessel with a cloth and give it away as daana, along with flowers and dakshina.     

 

In the year, 2012, Nirjala ekaashi is on June 1st. May Sri Hari and Vayu bless us with strength and determination to observe this ekadashi.

|| Shree Krishnarpanamastu ||

Sri Sripadaraja teertharu

namah sripadarajaya namaste vyasa yogine
namah purandararyaya vijayaryaya te namaha

(photo from salagram.net)

Sri Sripadaraja(1404 - 1502) is believed to be the incarnation of Dhruva. He first started saint in madhva parampara to have started composing and singing songs in kannada, for easy understanding of layman. That is the reason, he is invoked, before Sri Purandara dasa, before commencing devaranama. Very rightly, he is referred to as "Dasa Pitamah ". He was guru of Sri Vyasarajaru, who in turn was the raja-guru of Vijayanagara empire and also to Sri Purandara daasa.

Sripadarajaru comes in the parampara of Padmanabhatheertha Mutt. Sri Padamanabha teertharu was the direct disciple of Shri Madhwacharya. This mutt was called as Padmanabhatheertha mutt before Sripadarajaru, and after him, because of divinity of Sripadarajaru it became famous as Sripadarja mutt. It is situated near Mulbagilu.

 Childhood : 

Sri Sripadaraja was born in Abbur, a village in Chennapatna taluk, Bangalore district to a pious brahmin couple, Sheshagiri and Giriyamma, as Lakshminarayana. Growing up, his task was to take cattle for grazing and return home before sunset. Once while in the midst of cattle grazing, he was approached by Sri Swarnavarnathirtha belonging to Sri. Padmanabha Teertha samsthana. Abbur was the seat of Sri Brahmanya Teertharu.Sri Swarnavarnathirtha was on his way to Abbur from  Srirangapattana, and asked young Lakshminarayana, as to how far Abbur is. Young Lakshminarayana demonstrated his gift of gab saying, "look at me, see my herds and gaze at the sky and realize the distance". No wonder then that this young boy who was so clever with words, would compose devotional hymns in kannada and thus lay the foundation for dasa sahitya. Sri Brahmanya teertharu and Lakshminarayana were cousins and roughly of same age.

Studies : 

Sri Swarnavara teertharu was impressed with young Lakshminarayana's intellect and expressed desire to conduct his upanayana(the sacre thread ceremony which enebles initiation into studies of veda) and take him as his pupil. 

After upanayana, Sri Swarnavara teertharu and Lakshminarayana went to Sriramgam, as Sri Swarnavara teertharu was based there. In 1411, Lakshminarayana was initiated into ascetic life and given the name, Sri Lakshminarayana teertharu. He was sent to study under Sri Vibhudhendra teertharu of Sri Raghavendra mutt. It must have been around this time that the young yati, Sri Lashminarayana muni, came in contact with Sri Raghunatha therrtharu of Sri Uttaradi mutt.Sri Svarnavara teertharu was observing chaturmasya at Koppar, and young Sri Lakshminarayana teertharu was learning Sri-Sudha. It so happened that Sri Ranganatha teertharu observed the young yati explain a difficult verse from Sri-Sudha. Sri Ranganatha teertharu, in admiration, said "we are just sripadaru (pontiffs), but you are Sripadaraja" (raja of all pontiffs). From then on, Sri Lakshminarayana teertharu became to be known as Sripadarajaru.

Mahima (Greatness) of Sripadaraja :

• It is believed that Sripadaraja used to offer 64 types of dishes as naivedya(offering to Lord). Once in forest and not having enough supplies to prepare 64 dishes, Sripadaraja decided to have bhakri(jower roti).
  The "suka prarabdhaa" (destined to happy always) of Sripadaraja followed him to the forest as well. It so happened that a merchant was passing through the same forest with supplies to be delivered to Tirupati. He was advised (by the Lord) to deliver the supplies to Sripadaraja !! Thus even in forest, Sripadaraja had 'mrushtanna bhojana'. My father told me that if we remember Sripadaraja in the morning, we will be guaranteed of some special dishes. I am fortunate to say that I have experienced it.
• In A.D. 1471, King Chaluva Narasimhan of Chandragiri took refuge under Sri Sripadarajaru
  to get rid of the dosha due to his wrong deeds. Sri Sripadarajaru saved him through his tapas
  sakthi. In gratitude he seated him on his simhasana and conducted kanakabishekha.(On that
  occasion Sri Vyasaraja teertharu composed and sang the famous devarunama
  “Mahime Saladhe”). The king of Vijayanagara,Hakka, requested Sripadaraja to become
  his Raja-Guru. Sripadaraja declined to do so due to old age, but instead sent his,Shri Vyasaraja.Thus Shri Vyasaraja became the Raja-Guru of the Vijayanagara empire.
•  Sri Sripadaraja teertharu returned to Mulabagilu from Srirangam when Sri Swarnavara teertharu entered brindavana. Sri Sripadaraja made Mulabagilu, which was under Vijayanagar empire, his center of activities (for daily pooja, discourses, propogating acharya madhva's teaching etc). Once Sri Sripada wished to for a holy dip in river ganga, but was unable to make the journey due to his advanced age. It is believed that goddess Ganga appeared in his dream and said that she will be at Narasimha teertha, a holy pond at Mulabagilu and that he can have a holy dip there itself.

Brindavana Pravesha :

In 1504, Sri Sripadaraja selected one of his disciples as his heir and named him Sri Hayagreeva teertha. He entered brindavan on Jeshta shudha chaturdashi near Sri Narasimha Teertha near Mulabagal when he was alive. The devout and faithful still feel his presence at the brindavana.

Sri Sripadaraja Moola Brindavana, Mulabagilu

kale phalati surudrumah chintnmanir api yachane daataa |
vararthi sakalam abhiishtaM darshana matrat shripadarajo munih||

(Chintamani, Kalpavruksha, etc. are celestial treasures, would give
whatever one wants, when prayed near these. But, Sri Sripadaraja, fulfills all our wishes by mere darshan of his brindavan or even by mere rememberence of his name.)

Contribution of Sripadaraja to Madhva society: My knowledge about works of Sri Sripadaja is limited to the following. I am collecting details and will try to post them at the earliest.

• Vagvajra, his only work n Sanskrit.
• Bhramarageeta, Gopi geeta, Venugeeta

Devotional songs composed by Sri Sripadaraja :

Sri Sripadaraja is believed to be the pioneer of Dasa Sahitya ( a form of devotion towards the Lord by singing his praises). Sri Sripadaraja composed the songs using 'ranga vithala' as his ankita naam(pen nema).