Vidyaranya (IAST: Vidyāraṇya), usually identified with Mādhavācharya, was the jagadguru of the Sringeri Sharada Peetham from ca. 1374–1380 until 1386 - according to tradition, after ordination at an old age, he took the name of Vidyaranya, and became the Jagadguru of this Matha at Sringeri.
Madhavacharya is known as the author of the Sarvadarśanasaṅgraha, a compendium of different philosophical schools of Hindu philosophy and Pañcadaśī, an important text for Advaita Vedanta.
According to tradition, Vidyaranya helped establish the Vijayanagara Empire sometime in 1336, and served as a mentor and guide to three generations of kings who ruled over it. The historical accuracy of this account is doubtful, and may have originated as late as 200 years after the events, as a "political foundation myth, an ideological attempt to represent the authority of the Vijayanagara state as deriving directly from that of the Sultanate."
The Vidyashankara temple in Sringeri is the samadhi of Vidya shankara, the guru of Vidyaranya which was built over the former's grave by his disciple Harihara. It is maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India.
Biography
Dating
The dating of Vidyaranya is unclear. According to Jackson, Vidyaranya was born between 1280 and 1285. According to the records of the Sringeri Sharada Peetham, Vidyaranya was born in c. 1296 CE in Ekasila Nagara (present-day Warangal).
According to Sringeri matha, Vidyaranya was ordained as a sannyasin in 1331. According to Goodding, Vidyaranya ordained at old age; Rosen Dalal mentions the year 1377.
He was the jagadguru (spiritual head) of the Sringeri Sharada Peetham (Sringeri matha) from ca. 1374–1380 until 1386 CE. According to Slaje, "[t]here is positive epigraphical evidence that he must have been in charge as the head of Sringeri from at least 1374/75 - as the successor to Bharatitirtha who died in 1374 - until 1386, the year of his own death."
According to Clark, "The first genuine epigraphic mention of Vidyaranya is dated October 25, 1375."
Identification with Madhava
Vidyaranya, who is thought to have been named Madhava before taking ordination as a sannyasin, is usually identified with Madhavacharya, the author of the Sarvadarśanasaṅgraha and the Shankara Digvijaya.
According to the Sringeri accounts, Vidyaranya was the elder brother of Bharati Tirtha, who preceded him as the acharya of Sringeri. Vidyaranya composed, or contributed to, a number of texts. The Panchadashi may have been finished by Bharati Tirtha, and some sources argue that Vidyaranya and Bharati Tirtha were the same person. Yet the Sringeri records clearly identify them as two different persons.
Some accounts identify Madhavacharya or Vidyaranya with Madhava, the brother of Sayana, a Mimamsa scholar. In his attempt to clarify the identification of Madhava with Vidyaranya, Narasimhachar (1916, 1917) named this Madhava [B], distinguishing him from Madhava [A], a device also followed by Rama Rao (1930; 1931; 1934), and Kulke (1985). Mid 14th century, Madhava [B] served as a minister in the Vijayanagara Empire, and wrote several works, including, according to Rama Rao, the Jivanmuktiviveka, a work usually attributed to Vidyaranya, due to his identification with Madhava [B].
According to the Sringeri account, the brothers Madhava and Sayana came to Vidyaranya to receive his blessings, and completed his unfinished Veda bhashyas.
Role in the Vijayanagara Empire
The role of Vidyaranya in the founding of the Vijayanagara Empire is not certain. According to tradition, Vidyaranya played an important role in the establishment of the Hindu Vijayanagara Empire (1336–1646) of South India, which emerged as a culmination of attempts by the southern powers to ward off Islamic invasions by the end of the 13th century, as a successor to the Hindu kingdoms of the Hoysalas, the Kakatiyas, and the Yadavas. According to tradition, Vidyaranya supported and inspired the empire's founders Harihara Raya I and Bukka Raya I to fight the Muslim invasion of South India, and served as a prime minister to Harihara Raya I, the first king of the Vijayanagara Empire and named after Harihara, the fused sattvika characterisation of Vishnu (Hari) and Shiva (Hara), and then to Bukka Raya I and Harihara II.