Dvisahasri of Tembesvami (Summary and Study)
by Upadhyay Mihirkumar Sudhirbhai | 2012 | 54,976 words
This page relates ‘Biography of H. H. Tembesvami� of the study of the Dvisahasri by Tembesvami:—a Sanskrit epic poem (mahakavya) narrating the legend and activities of Lord Dattatreya, including details on his divine sports and incarnations. Also known as Datta, he is considered one of the Holy Masters in the Natha cult imparting spiritual knowledge and adequate practice to the aspirant.
Go directly to: Footnotes.
Biography of H. H. Ṭembesvāmī
Here below the life sketch of H.H. Ṭembesvāmī is given:[1]
H. H. Ṭembesvāmī was born in the village of Māṇagāon near Sāvantavādī, a princely state in ṅkṇa of southern Maharashtra, in a traditional family of Mahārāṣṭīyan Brahmin of the clan belonging to branch of the ṻ岹,[2] devoted to Lord Dāttatreya. His grandfather Haribhataji used to recite Śrī Gurucaritra regularly.
His father Gaṇeśabhataji[3] Ṭembe was a devotee of Dattatreya, spending long periods, sometimes many years, in the village of Gaṇagāpur at the temple of the Lord ٲٳٰⲹ in the state Karnataka. His mother 鲹bāi also used to spend her time in religious performances like recitation, reading holy books, hospitality, etc.
After a particularly long stay in Gāṇagāpura, Lord Dattatreya appeared in a dream and instructed Shri Ganesh Bhataji to return to Managaon and attend to the duties of a householder, promising to incarnate as their son. After his return from Gaṇagapur ܻ𱹲 was born on the 5th day of the dark fortnight of the month of Ś屹ṇa of VS 1910 (i.e. 13/08/1854 AD) at 04:45pm.[4]
He is not any other but Lord ٲٳٰⲹ Himself.[5]
His childhood:
In those days modern civilization had not touched the coast of India. Life was simple, easy, pretty and calm. ܻ𱹲. At the age 5 His grandfather starts to teach Him the science of pronunciation (Śṣ�), grammar (ṣṭī of ṇiԾ), astrology, prosody, etymology (Nirukta). ܻ𱹲 learns it by heart by hearing once only. ܻ𱹲 was initiated with the scared thread at the age of 08. ܻ𱹲 strictly follows the rules of celibacy from the day when he was initiated. He starts daily rituals ordained by the scriptures like bathing and performing twilight rite thrice day. He begs alms and takes only begged food. He learns the study of Ṛgveda from Viṣṇubhaṭṭa Ukiḍave. He was an Ekpāṭhī (means whatever he hears or read once, memorized it). He has leant 10 scriptures (Grantha) at the age of 12 so becomes a Daśagranthī. He learns only 15 verses and starts lecture on ʳܰṇa so people were astonished. He always used to read the holy book of Datta Cult named Śrī Gurucaritra in Ѳṻī. He follows strictly the rules ordained in Śrī Gurucaritra so he receives the occult power of the formulas. He saves the people by his occult power.
At the age of 15 He starts to teach the sciences to those who come to Him to leant. Some of them learn Vedas and others learn the scriptures. At that time he was entitled with the name � �(a Vedic scholar).
He never used any vehicle during his travelling. He has left the shoes as well as the Umbrella. Lord ٲٳٰⲹ shows his form when Śٰībuvā visited Narsobāvādī on the confluence of the river Kṛṣ� and ձṇ�. first time. Śٰībuvā has completed his study of 貹Ծṣa at that time Lord ٲٳٰⲹ instruct Him to lean the Eightfold Yoga. He gets disturb and feeling unwell because he try to practice the yoga as per Dhore Śٰī’s advice. So Lord ٲٳٰⲹ instructs him to go to the ḍ�. Though he was not feeling well He goes there because of the Lord’s order.
ܻ𱹲 has obtained the position of the sustainer of the people as well as erudite scholar of the time (śٰīܱ). He always ready to help righteous and giving lesson to the wicked. He has removed the misery, diseases as well as social problems of the people.
Household life:
Lord ٲٳٰⲹ instructed Śٰībuvā to merry with the girl of Bābājī Pant Gauḍe of Sāvantavāḍ�. She is suitable to become his wife and with good virtues. Lord ٲٳٰⲹ adds that when Bābājī comes to him to give her daughter in marriage, he is not allowed to refuse the proposal of Bābājī. But Śٰībuvā tries to convince the Lord as he does not want to marry. Lord ٲٳٰⲹ strictly instruct him to start the household life. Śٰībuvā who is always ready to follow Lord’s statement becomes ready to marry.
Śٰībuvā marries to the daughter of Bābājī named ԲԲūṇ�. She is like a mother ī and with all the good qualities as her name indicates. She serves Him as a Lord. She never avoids the guests. Normally the women are happy with the ornaments but ԲԲūṇ� has only an ornament to serving her husband. Śٰībuvā (ܻ𱹲) used to take meal without salt she too, never take the salt. Lord ٲٳٰⲹ observes her best behavior like mother Բū and instruct her in dream to avoid the stay at her father’s place more than one day. She follows always His advice. Once she asks Śٰībuvā to instruct the duties of the women. He describes her the duties of a women, a pregnant, the rites of purification of newly borne baby, the rules of the steps of the beginning of study, the different types of marriages, the rules of begging alms for a monk, the conduct of the chaste wife, etc. ԲԲūṇ� becomes idle for the women by following the path of the best of the chaste women and by following His instruction.
At the age of 24 He starts for ḍ� Lord ٲٳٰⲹ reveals His Original Form in front of ܻ𱹲. He eulogizes the Lord. Lord addresses him as the best of the devotees and instructs him to stay at Māṇagāon for seven years. He add that in His returning someone will give Him ٲٳٰⲹ’s Idol and other one will give the money to pay the first one. On the way it is happened as Lord has said. He established the temple in Māṇagāon and installed the idol in it. He always worship there.
Once ٲٳٰⲹ reveals in his front and asks the promise to remove the misery, agony, diseases, social problems, etc. of those who comes to ܻ𱹲. Lord Dāttatreya shake-hand and asks the promise. ܻ𱹲 bows down to Him with eight limbs. Many people come there to visit Lord ٲٳٰⲹ daily esp. on every Saturday more than five thousand people come there. ܻ𱹲 removes all the problems of the village people as well as the visitors. Once he offers him the flake rice. Lord gets angry on him so he eulogizes Him with the hymn of forgiving the faults. Here Lord gets angry to give the lesson to the devotee that one should offer the food as he or she eats.
Śٰībuvā gets up before sunrise. Then after bath, he used to perform twilight rite and then perform the worship of the temple idol. In the afternoon, some students used to come to take lessons in scriptures, grammar, poetry, etc. Some distressed persons seeking relief or some seeking fulfilment of desires or a few true seekers of Absolute used to come to Him. In the evening He performs worship Āī, etc.
At that time, Lord Dāttreya instructs Śٰībuvā to render the Marathi Gurucaritra in Sanskrit. It is said that Śٰībuvā composed it within two weeks. After the completion Lord informs Him that this book has two thousand verses (i.e. ٱī, the problem of the present thesis). Śٰībuvā calculates the verses which are less than After deep thinking he recalculates the verses in the method of ٲśī , (calculates the half-verses and 峦 formulas). There are 2008. This is the first major work of Śٰībuvā. He confesses that he is just a medium to convey Lord’s words.
Once a gold smith come there and performs worship according to the Vedic precept. ܻ𱹲 stops him because only Brahmin is allowed to perform such veneration. But he continues and after some time he becomes miserable. Then he remembers the incident and made an idol of Lord ٲٳٰⲹ and gifts it to ܻ𱹲 but He ignores him. Lord ٲٳٰⲹ orders him to accept the idol and adds that he can keep this idol with him during the travelling.
In this way He passes seven years in His own village Māṇagāon. So Lord ٲٳٰⲹ advices Him to go for the pilgrimage and adds that the people who comes to him during His travelling should be freed from their problems. One becomes free from ego by this type of benevolence. He replies he will definitely go. He thinks about the responsibly of the temple just then a person named ⲹṇa Ukiḍave comes there and request Him that whatsoever He orders he definitely follows. ܻ𱹲 entrusts him the responsibility of the temple.
He goes to His mother 鲹 to get permission for pilgrimage. The mother becomes unconscious by hearing this. ܻ𱹲 convince her that this is not the matter of grieving. Then He tells the narration of Śܰ峦ⲹ. He educates His mother the philosophy of the ձԳٲ interwoven in the narration of the 24 holy masters of Lord ٲٳٰⲹ. He again asks the permission and adds that His two brothers will take care of her. The mother gives the permission. Now He approaches to ԲԲūṇ� to inform her about His pilgrimage. She requests Him to accompany Him in the pilgrimage and reminds him the statement of the scripture that a wife should live with her husband during the pilgrimage.
Śٰībuvā (ܻ𱹲) instruct His brothers to serve the mother. He goes to the temple and eulogizing that he is going as per His command. He starts for Narasobāvāḍ� (as per the command of the Lord). When He was there in Māṇagāon, it shines like the heaven but now it looks like the funeral place. They come to Sāvantavāḍ� where hundreds of people come to meet Him. One of them gets injured due to the crowd. Now He decides not to go in the town where the people know him. They comes Narasobāvāḍ� where he meets ⲹṇa 峾ī and Govinda Yatīśvara. He lives there for a year. ԲԲūṇ� begets aillusion son but he dies after some time. ԲԲūṇ� asks the means for not recalling the misery because of the death of the son. He narrates the dialogue between the Ga ṅgā and the Preceptor. The narration cuts off ԲԲūṇā’s illusion for the Existence. She realised the Highest Bliss. They arrive at Ҳṅgkheḍa. ԲԲūṇ� dies there.
Renunciation:
The death of His wife ԲԲūṇ� naturally opens His way to renunciation. He is now free to go ahead with the spiritual plans. He is frequently encouraged and privately helped by the Lord in this direction by bringing Him into contact with saintly soul who confirms his faith and zeal in the monastic ideas. Lord ٲٳٰⲹ even in the lifetime of His wife has already encouraged Him with these ideals and has directed him as were to go Narasobāvāḍ�.
Lord ٲٳٰⲹ Himself in the form of Govinda 峾ī comes near him at the bank of the River Ҵǻ屹ī. ܻ𱹲 requests Him to initiate. Govinda 峾ī initiates Him to renunciation. After the initiation to Monkhood He was rename as Vāsudevānanda ī. Govinda 峾ī instructs Him to receive Staff from ⲹṇa 峾ī of Ujjain.
Then He walks for Vāsīm village from Ҳṅgkheḍa and then goes to Mahūragaḍha, the birth place of Lord ٲٳٰⲹ. He worships and eulogizes Lord as well as His Parents Sage Atri and Mother Ansūyā. And then goes to pilgrimage of Mother Reṇkā. He eulogize Her with self made Hymn[6].
Then He goes to Ujjain, approaches to ⲹṇa 峾ī, bows down and explains all the things. But He ⲹṇa 峾ī avoids his requests and says that His can not initiate any one without getting permission of his Holy Master Aniruddha 峾ī. Then ܻ𱹲 approaches to Aniruddha 峾ī in no time bows down to Him with 08 limbs and expressed the all. He instruct ⲹṇa 峾ī to initiate Him to Monkhood. ⲹṇa 峾ī initiates him at the age of 37 and then Vāsudev becomes famous by the name Vāsudevānanda ī. Though he is initiated to monkhood and renamed but he is very famous by His surname Ṭembe or
He then goes to Sārangpura. His fame spreads all around the town. He established a temple and install an Idol of Lord of Lord ٲٳٰⲹ in Sārangpura. Then He thinks to start for śī. On the way He crossed a dense forest which is difficult to pass within two days He passes it within few minute. He arrives at Jalavaṇa and teaches Vedas, Prosody, etc. to those come to Him.
He leaves Jalavaṇa and arrives at Gokul-Mathura on the bank of river ۲ܲ. He goes ܰܰṣeٰ. He arrives at Haridwar. There He meets Rājrājeśvara ѲᲹ -Śa ṅkarācārya of Śīṻ of that time. He forces Ṭembesāmī to pass the monsoon-stay over there. He passes his monsoon-stay at Haridwar. Then He goes to Badarinātha. He arrives Brahmavarta.
At that time there was a conference on the Sriptures of the king of Āryāvrta. There Sakharam Ṭilu won and establishes that the Vedas are yielded from Lord under the guidance of Vāsudevānanda ī. He then goes to ś, Omkāreśvara, Cikhaladā and then to Բū Āś. Then He visits all the places Of ܰṣṭ. After visiting Dakor (Gujarat) he goes to Mahatpura (Madhya Pradesh). He teaches Khecarī Mudrā to an elite disciple ۴DzԲԻ岹 ī (Gāndā ѲᲹ), and ordered him to go to the city of Braruch (Gujarat) for pracising the Yoga.
He goes to ḍ� and then to Gāṇagāpura on the bank of river Amarajā. He meditates upon Lord. Lord reveals Himself and instructs Vāsudevānanda ī not to live there. So He Goes to Narasī village. The Idol of the Lord falls from the palanquin. He eulogizes Him with the ṇāt貹ī Which become well-known as a prayer later on.
Then He goes to 屹ٲ and composes, the Śīܰܲṃh , a verse wise translation in Sanskrit of Gurucaritm (Marathi). Then he goes to ʰ岵 and then to śī where he meets Svayamprakāśa 峾ī in the 첹 Ѳṻ. He goes for Pañcakośī ٰ.
He comes to Baḍvāyā in Gujarat on the bank of river . He stays there during monsoon stay there. There He performs many miracles so people believe Him none but Lord Dttātreya Himself.
He obeys the order of the Lord and goes to Nṛsiṃhavāḍ�. Then He goes Karnataka, Kis kindhā, ʲ Lake and then to 峾ś. On the way He stays at Mt. Śaiṣācala for 03 days and composes Kumāraśikṣ�. Then he visits Śṛṅī where Śa ṅkarācārya felicities Him. Then he comes to Neror and then to the river ṛṣṇ�. He eulogizes river ṛṣṇ� with his own composition.
Then he stays at Pavani for His monsoon stays. During that time lord ٲٳٰⲹ instruct ⲹṇa Ukiḍve (at Nṛsiṃhavāḍ�) to perform ٲٳٲ岵 by recieting the Gurucaritra (i.e. ٱī).[7]
Then He comes Pandhalpur. Then he travels to Hāvnūra, Ҵǰ첹ṇa, Kuravapura, Nāganā and Calisgāv. He travells all over India and spread the paths of Knowledge, Action and Devotion interwoven with devotion in Lord ٲٳٰⲹ. He has given ample literature not only to the Dutt cult but to all.
After His initiation H. H. Ṭembesvāmī has travelled all over India but during Monsoon stay (ٳܰ). He stays at a place.
Here below the places of His Monsoon are mentioned:
- At Ujjain on the bank of river ṣi in 1891 AD.
- At 屹ٲ on the bank of river Ҳṅg in 1892 AD.
- At Haridwar on the bank of river Ҳṅg in 1893AD.
- Unknown place in Mt. Himalaya 1894AD.
- Unknown place in Mt. Himalaya 1895AD.
- At Haridwar on the bank of river Ҳṅg in 1896AD.
- At Petlad on the bank of river Mahi in 1897AD.
- At Tilakwada on the bank of river in 1898AD.
- At Dwarika on the western sea-shore in 1899AD.
- At Cikhaladā on the bank of river in 1900AD.
- At Mahatpura on the bank of river ṣi in 1901AD.
- At 屹ٲ on the bank of river Ҳṅg in 1902 AD.
- At 屹ٲ on the bank of river Ҳṅg in 1903 AD.
- At 屹ٲ on the bank of river Ҳṅg in 1904 AD.
- At Narasi on the bank of river ū in 1905 AD.
- At Badavāyā on the bank of river in 1906 D.
- At Tañjāvara on the bank of river 屹ī in 1907 AD.
- At Muktyālā on the bank of river ṛṣṇ� in 1908 AD.
- At Pavani on the bank of river Vaingaṅgā in 19089 AD.
- At Hāvnura on the bank of river ճṅg in 1910 AD.
- At Kuravpura on the bank of river ṛṣṇ� in 1911 AD.
- At Cikhaladā on the bank of river in 1912 AD.
- Garuḍeśvara on the bank of river in 1913 AD.
H. H. Ṭembesvāmī arrives at Garuḍeśvara. Garuḍeśvara is a mythological place. Ҳḍa performed penance at this place to obtain Ś’s grace.
He lives there pleasantly up to His ṇa. Many people comes to meet Him daily. Even many saints also visit Him. 峾ī ԲԻ岹, Adhipati of Sṛngerī Ѳṻ has came to visit him specially from Nelur.
Within a month of his arrival, he declared to he would not be going anywhere hereafter. The isolated temple soon grew into a place of pilgrimage as hundred of devotees of He started pouring in from all over India. The devotees constructe some shelters with kitchen and other bare amenities and organized daily activities. On any day, there would be hundreds of persons to be fed. The things proceeded smoothly. Many a time He used to order preparation of a particular cuisine in anticipation of the guests who usually arrived at noon. Each day some miracle or the other was witnessed. People of all religions and castes came to seek relief from their problems. He helped everyone without disturbing his faith.
One of His devotees brings beautiful idol of Lord ٲٳٰⲹ to give Him. After observing that idol Lord ٲٳٰⲹ orders H. H. Ṭembesvāmī to install the idol. He, the follower of the instruction of Lord ٲٳٰⲹ installs the idol. He instructs the steps of Veneration to all. The veneration is perfrmed daily hundreds of people come to visit the temple and to meet him. The atmosphere of the place is like a heaven on the earth. Unfortunately His became ill and calls his elite disciple Yogānand ī (ṇḍ ѲᲹ) and says there is no confidence in the body. He asks ṇḍ ѲᲹ to send the idol to ḍ�. But at that time Lord ٲٳٰⲹ instruct Him to instruct the people to built the temple because Lord Himself wants to live there.
His becomes one with the Supreme Reality on the Dark fortnight of the Jyeṣṭa, Ś첹 1836 (i.e. 23rd June 1914 AD). From that day He is living there in the form of Lord ٲٳٰⲹ
Footnotes and references:
[1]:
[3]:
tevu� māṇagrāma ā nā emā� ṃd|
ātriṛṣisamā tyā� vase gaṇeśabhaṭṭa sudeha|| [Śrīgurulīlāmṛta] 106/41||
[4]:
Dzṇīs 岹ś nakī śrāvaṇa māsottama|
kṛṣṇapakṣa ravivāra ne pañjamī tithi sattama||
jatā� ghaḍ� chavvīsa tyā� sūryodathī tema |
ramāmāte dedipyamāna prasave suputra ema|| [Śrīgurulīlāmṛta] 106/79-80||
[5]:
evā puṇyagrāmamā ṭe�be kulamā� tema|
dvijasadane aṃśāvatāra levā trimūrti ema|| [Śrīgurulīlāmṛta] 106/39||
[6]:
He follows the tradition established by Ādi Śa� karācārya to compose his own eulogies and prayers in honour of the gods and goddesses, holy places and the holy rivers he visited during his journey to all over India.
[7]:
Even in present time this tradition is followed by the followers of the devotees of the ٲٳٰⲹ.