Raghavendra Swami

Raghavendra Swami was a renowned Madhwa saint, philosopher and a supporter of Dvaita philosophy that was established by Swami Madhvacharya. He served as the head of the monastery in Kumbakonam from 1621 to 1671 and established Brindavan in present Mantralayam in Andhra Pradesh, India. It is currently an important pilgrimage site.

Raghavendra was born in the town of Bhuvanagiri in Tamil Nadu, India in a Kannada Madhva Brahmin family. His real name is Venkatanatha. Venkatanatha studied under Sudheendra Theertha and emerged as a talented scholar and consistently won debates over scholars older than him. He was also known as a teacher of Sanskrit and the ancient Vedic texts. In 1614, he took sannyasa or became a sanyasi and adopted the name Raghavendra. In 1621, Raghavendra succeeded his guru Sudheendra Theertha as the head of the Kumbakonam monestry which was called Sri Mutt and served from 1621 to 1671. He traveled all over South India explained Madhvacharya's Dvaita philosophy and attributed with a number of miracles. In 1671, after assuring his disciples in a speech that he will be in spirit with them for the next seven hundred years, Raghavendra attained Samadhi at Mantralayam.