Place · Madhva birthplace village · India
Pājaka
The village 9 kilometres from Udupi in coastal Karnataka where Madhvacharya — the 13th-century founder of the Dvaita school of Vedanta — was born as Vasudeva in 1238 to a Tulu Brahmin family. The Pajaka Kshetra temple, the Vasudeva Tirtha pond and a small cave used for Madhva's early meditation are preserved on the site. Pajaka anchors the Dvaita end of the Vedanta triangle (Advaita at Kalady, Vishishtadvaita at Shriperumbudur, Dvaita at Pajaka) that between them produced the three main South Indian philosophical traditions. All eight Udupi matha heads trace their lineage back through Madhva to this village.
- Function
- Sacred site & pilgrimage
- Tradition
- Madhva/Dvaita tradition
- Confidence
- Mixed / layered — The place is documented; its associated historical or cultural record and its named tradition are distinct layers.
- Location
- 13.265, 74.790
Connections (1)
- Life routeMadhvāchārya
Pājaka near Udupi is Madhva's birthplace, some twelve kilometres from the maṭha he founded. The Dvaita school therefore begins and centres inside one small stretch of the Tulu coast, from which its maṭha heads have toured the whole peninsula for seven centuries. His birth name was Vāsudeva and he is said to have been a formidable wrestler and swimmer before ordination, which the Dvaita hagiographies dwell on more than his opponents expect.
Sources
Madhvacharya — Udupi Ashta Matha sources
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