Satyanatha Tirtha
17th-century Indian philosopher
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Born into a family of scholars, Satyanatha Tirtha studied the six orthodox schools of Hinduism and subsequently, the philosophy of Dvaita under Satyanidhi Tirtha of Uttaradi Math, eventually succeeding him as the pontiff. B.N.K.Sharma wrote, "Satyanatha Tirtha made a bold pronouncement that women and Shudras are eligible for Aparokshajnana exclusively through shravana of Tantra". Sharma also wrote, "Satyanatha holds the memory of Vyasatirtha in warm admiration and refers him reverentially as Vyāsatīrthasrimaccaranah". He composed 12 works, consisting of commentaries on the works of Madhva, Jayatirtha and Vyasatirtha, and several independent treatises criticizing the tenets of contemporary schools, especially Advaita, while simultaneously elaborating upon the Dvaita thought. His dialectical skill and logical acumen is often compared with that of Vyasatirtha.
Historical sources
Information about Satyanatha Tirtha is derived from hagiographies: Satyanāthabhyudaya by Chalāri Saṁkarṣaṇacārya (a disciple of Satyabhinava Tirtha); Konkanabyudaya of Sagara Ramacharya and Sri Satyanatha Tirtharu (a biography in Kannada) by S.K. Badrinath. Indologist B.N.K.Sharma wrote, "His victorious career formed the subject of a eulogy by Chalāri Saṁkarṣaṇacārya, in his Satyanatha Mahatmya Ratnakara". Satyanatha Abhyudaya consists of eleven cantos and two manuscripts of this work are noticed by German Indologist Theodor Aufrecht which he quoted in his book Catalogus Catalogorum. B.N.K. Sharma opined the Satyanatha Abhyudaya is same as Satyanatha Mahatmya Ratnakara that was quoted in the Konkanabyudaya of Sagara Ramacharya. In Konkanabyudaya the author cited numerous Smritis and letters patent and bulls issued by Keladi rulers and pontiffs of some of the mutts at Udupi and of Satyabhinava Tirtha, Satyanatha Tirtha and others. The Alaṅkāramauktikamālā of Kṛṣṇa is another work which eulogises Satyanatha Tirtha.
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Biography
B.N.K. Sharma says, Satyanatha Tirtha was originally named Narasimhacharya. He was born into a Deshastha Brahmin family of scholars in 1648 in Miraj, now in the southern part of Maharashtra. His father's name was Krishnacharya Avadhani and his mother's name was Rukmini Bai. Before becoming pontiff of the monastic institution Uttaradi Math, he was known by three names after taking Sannyasa. He was first ordained Sannyasa as an ordinary ascetic with the name Vidyanatha Tirtha by Krishnadwaipayana Tirtha (the disciple of Vedavyasa Tirtha), for second time he was named Ranganatha Tirtha by Dandaparivritti of Vedanidhi Tirtha and finally for the third time by Satyanidhi Tirtha, with the name Satyanatha Tirtha. In 1660 he took the seat of Uttaradi Math as the peetadhipathi, taking the name Satyanatha Tirtha.
According to the account in Sagara Ramacharya's Koñkanasthabhyudaya, Satyanatha Tirtha visited Benares at a time when Mughal emperor Aurangazeb was harassing the Hindus there. The same work says that he was a contemporary of Keladi Chennamma (queen of Keladi) and Aurangazeb. According to Sharma, it was presumably during this time that he visited Gaya and strengthened the hold of his mutt among the Gayapalas, who had been converted to Madhvism by his predecessor Vidyadhisha Tirtha. Satyanatha ordained sannyasa to Keshavacharya (the Purvashrama name of Satyabhinava Tirtha) in 1673. In the same year Satyabhinava Tirtha succeeded Satyanatha Tirtha as the pontiff of Uttaradi Math. After Satyanatha Tirtha died in 1674, his mortal remains were enshrined in the mutt at Veeracholapuram, a village in Tamil Nadu.
Legacy
Satyanatha Tirtha is considered to be one of the foremost stalwarts of Dvaita thought. He is revered for his philosophical and dialectical thought, and his role in spreading the school of Dvaita across the subcontinent, especially in Bihar. B.N.K. Sharma wrote: "A memorable personality in many ways, a fierce, very ambitious and prolific writer". Satyanatha Tirtha has been eulogised by Chalāri Saṁkarṣaṇacārya in his biographical works Satyanatha Abhyudaya and Satyanatha Mahatmya Ratnakara. Indologist and professor Dr. R. Nagaraja Sarma considered Satyanatha Tirtha, along with Trivikrama Panditacharya and Keshavacharya, prominent scholars who wrote expository and controversial works unrivalled for their brilliance and systematic treatment. Historian Ramesh Chandra Majumdar wrote that Satyanatha Tirtha, Vadiraja Tirtha and Raghavendra Tirtha were the great scholars who enriched the literature of Dvaita considerably by their numerous contributions. Valerie Stoker considered Satyanatha Tirtha along with Vijayendra Tirtha, Vadiraja Tirtha, Raghavendra Tirtha and Narayanacharya as prominent Dvaita intellectuals, who responded to their rivals critiques throughout sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
Spread of Dvaita
B.N.K. Sharma credited Satyanatha Tirtha with converting remaining Gayapalas and strengthening the hold of Madhva Siddhanta among the Gayawala Pandas of Gaya, who had been converted to Madhvism by his predecessor Vidyadhisha Tirtha.
Scholarly influence
Satyanatha Tirtha was significantly influenced by Vyasatirtha, Jayatirtha, Padmanabha Tirtha and Madhva, in that he borrowed from their style and method of enquiry. He exerted considerable influence on his successors. Satyadhyana Tirtha's Chandrikamandana derives some of its aspects from Abhinava Chandrika. Satyabhinava Tirtha's Durghata Bhavadipa, an exhaustive commentary on the Madhva's Bhagvata Tatparya Nirnaya, borrows some of its aspects from Satyanatha Tirtha's oeuvre.