Temple at Bhuvanagiri

Written by London Swaminathan

Post No. 15,475

Date uploaded in Sydney, Australia –  8 March 2026

Contact – swami_48@yahoo.com

Pictures are taken from various sources for spreading knowledge.

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Pujyaya Raghavendraya Sathya Dharma Rathayacha
Bajatham Kalpa Vrukshaya Namatham Kamadehnave

Picture of London Swaminathan on the banks of River Tungabhadra in Mantralaya.

Shri  Raghavendra Swami (1595–1671) 

Bhuvanagiri is the birthplace of the saint of South India, Raghavendra Swami.  The town is also close to the famous Siva / Nataraja temple at Chidambaram. it is just 12 kilometres from the holy city.

I visited Bhuvanagiri on 4^th March 2026. The temple of Sri Raghavendra Swami in Bhuvanagiri  is a small and beautiful temple. One needs just 10 minutes to go round the temple. But one can spend more time praying to the great saint. Behind the figure of Swamiji is the divine wish fulfilling cow Kamadhenu symbolizing his grace. One’s prayers are answered and receive whatever one prayed for.

About 30 years ago, I was lucky to visit Mantralaya, where Swami’s Samadhi is located. Mantralayam (or Mantralaya) is a well-known pilgrimage town located on the banks of the Tungabhadra River in the Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh,  near the Karnataka border. It is famous for the Jeeva Samadhi (holy tomb) of the saint Sri Raghavendra Swami.

( Situated on the border of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, roughly 74 km from Kurnool and 43 km from Raichur).

Every time I passed Chidambaram in the past, I thought of visiting Bhuvanagiri, but missed the golden opportunities. So, this time I planned to go to Bhuvanagiri only and reached it in five and half hours from Chennai. I spent half hour praying and talking to the priest. There were not many devotees. The priest gives mantra Akshata (red coloured rice) which one puts on head. And Teertham (holy water) to drink.

It is a wonder that a person born in a small village became famous and worshipful and travelled all the way to a remote place in Andhra via Karnataka. He followed and preached Dvaita philosophy of Madhva. Born as Venkatanathan 400 years ago to Thimmanna and Gopikambal, he studied Shastras in Madurai and Kumbakonam.  He taught them to the students in Kumbakonam.

He married a woman by name Sarasvathi and had a son named Letchuminarayanan. He advocated Vaishnavism and Shri Madhvacharya’s Dvaita philosophy. He ascended Brindavana at Mantralayam in present day Andhra Pradesh in 1671.

Venkatanathan took Sanyasa from Sumatheendra Tirtha and received the name Sri Raghavendra.

He wrote many books in Kannada , on Rig Veda, Brahmasutra, Bhagavad Gita and Upanishads. He interpreted them based on Dvaita of Madhvacharya.

Swamiji performed several miracles during his lifetime and even after his death/Samadhi.

Known as an avatar of Prahlada, he spent 50 years leading Mathas and performing miracles, famously entering jeeva samadhi (living entombment) at Mantralayam on the Tungabhadra river. 

He was a staunch follower and propagator of Sri Madhvacharya’s Dvaita (dualism) philosophy. He was highly proficient in Logic, Mimamsa, Music, Yoga, and Shastras, and mastered many arts. He was also a prolific author who simplified complex philosophies.

Miracles

Once Thanjavur area was under a great drought. Raghavendra Swami made the ruler perform appropriate rituals and fire ceremonies. Soon afterwards, rain fell upon the lands. The king, to show his gratitude offered Raghavendra Swami a priceless necklace, which Raghavendra Swami in turn put into the Yajna fire as an offering to Lord Vishnu. The king grew angry at what he thought was an insult. Raghavendra Swami immediately brought back the necklace intact from the fire.

Raghavendra Swami visited Bijapur, where the scorching heat was unbearable. One Brahmin was overcome by the heat and fell down, unable to get up. Raghavendra Swami recited a mantra, and water sprung up from the scorching sands, which saved the Brahmin’s life. In another instance, a child was traveling with an entourage, through a desert. The heat was so unbearable that the child started to cry. Raghavendra Swami threw his upper cloth towards the child. Flying over his head, it gave shade to the child for the rest of the journey.

Incident in Mantralaya

When Sir Thomas Munroe was the Collector of Bellary in 1800, the Madras Government ordered him to procure the entire income from the Math and Manthralaya village. When the Revenue officials were unable to comply with this order, Sir Thomas Munroe visited the Math for investigation. Someone appeared before him near the Samadhi and spoke to him in English explaining the stand of the Mutt in this issue. Later Munroe cancelled the order and Mantralaya remained exempt from any tax collections.

This notification was published in the Madras Government Gazette in Chapter XI and page 213, with the caption “Manchali Adoni Taluka. This order is still preserved in Fort St. George and Manthralayam.

Once while he was touring Kumbakonam along with his wife, Shri Venkatanatha and his family were invited to attend a function. Unfortunately, the hosts did not treat him well .He was asked  to make some sandalwood paste for all the invitees. When the guests applied this paste, it gave a burning sensation all over their bodies. When the hosts asked the reason for it, he replied that the burning sensation was due to the Agni Suktam hymn for the worship of Agni, God of Fire that he was chanting while preparing it. Upon realizing his power, the host apologized profusely to Shri Venkatanatha.

On a hot summer day, Shri Raghavendra Swami was on his way home from a pilgrimage. And he saw the Nawab (Muslim king) walking towards him, with a sad face. He stated that his young son had died from a poisonous snakebite and been buried in a tomb close by. He asked the king to take the body out of the tomb. When the puzzled Nawab did as he was asked, Swami sprinkled holy water from his kamandala and the young boy woke up as though he was getting up from sleep.

Shri Raghavendra Swami got an opportunity to meet the Nawab of Adoni face-to-face. Nawab decided to test his spiritual skills and placed before the Swamiji, a plate of non-vegetarian delicacies completely covered with a piece of cloth.

Swamiji took some water from his Kamandala, meditated and sprinkled it on the covered plate, as part of his regular practice of purifying any food before consumption. He then opened the plate. It contained fresh fruits. The Nawab immediately became remorseful and then became an ardent devotee of  Swamiji. When he was ready to offer any gift, Swamiji asked that the land where Mantralayam is located now.

Raghavendra openly announced on such and such day he is going to enter Jeeva Samadhi. A lot of crowd came there to watch it. On Dwitiya Day of Sravana Krishna Paksha in 1671, Raghavendra Swami gave a soul-stirring speech to hundreds of devotees who had gathered to watch the event. Some quotes from that speech are as follows –

1. Without right living, right thinking will never come.

2. Social work done for the good of worthy people should also be considered as the Lord’s worship.

3. Always keep away from people who merely perform miracles.

4. Right knowledge is greater than any miracle.

5. Have devotion to the Lord. This devotion should never be blind faith.

Shri Raghavendra Swami attained Jeeva samadhi after delivering his final sermon.. Mantralaya housing his Samadhi  is visited by thousands of devotees every month.

—Subham—

Tags– Raghavendra Swami, Mantralaya, Bhuvanagiri, Miracles, Samadhi, birth place, Sir Thomas Munroe, last speech, pictures