पञ्च-मत-भञ्जन-ताताचार्यः

202

SOURCES OF VIJAYANAGAR HISTORY

60 PRAPANNĀMRTAM.
[By Anantāchārya.]

At the close of this work the author gives a short account of his own preceptor and his family.
In the family of the famous Śrīsailapūrṇa,
the maternal uncle of Ramanuja, was born Tätacharya
who was a great scholar.
He was the son of Srinivasa Guru
and was learned in all Śastras.
He was the acharya (preceptor) of Rama Raya, emperor of Vijayanagar,
who ruled after Krishna Raya.
On one occasion Rama Raya took his preceptor along with him to Chandragiri.

At that time there was a scholar,
born in the Vadhula Gotra,
called Mahacharya (Dodḍayacharya).
He lived at the sacred town of Ghațikachala (Sholighur).
He had defeated all the Saiva scholars of Chitrakūta (Chidambaram) among whom there was the famous scholar Appaya Dikshita.
After the victory he wanted to establish the worship of Govindaraja
once more in the temple of Chidambaram from where his idols had been removed by the Chōla king Krimikantha.
This he was able to accomplish with the assistance of the emperor Rama Raya and his Guru Tätächarya. (Chapter XII, Ancient India by S. K. Aiyangar about the temple of Govinda Rija and Vol. X, Purchus, His Pilgrines, Chapter VII, Jesuit Observations of India.)

Appayya Dikshita had also written a work on Advaita called Advaita Dipika. In refutation of the work Mahacharya wrote the Chandamārutam, and Tātācharya, Panchamata Bhanjanam.

Chapter 126.

श्रीनिवासगुरोः पुत्रस्
तातार्यो लोकविश्रुतः ।
तात-देशिकश् श्रीमान्
महात्मा शास्त्रवित्तमः ॥
ग्रन्थं विधाय विख्यातं
यः पञ्चमतभञ्जनम् ।
विख्यातस् सर्वलोकेषु
महात्मा विबुधाग्रणीः ॥