Protest condemning spreading of misinformation about Sri Jayatirtha organised in Malkhed

Condemning the misinformation being spread on the place of Brindavan (grave) of Sri Jayatirtha, a Hindu saint and philosopher of the Madhwa tradition, hundreds of Brahmins and the followers of the seer staged a protest outside the district administrative complex in Kalaburagi on Monday.

Condemning the misinformation being spread on the place of Brindavan (grave) of Sri Jayatirtha, a Hindu saint and philosopher of the Madhwa tradition, hundreds of Brahmins and the followers of the seer staged a protest outside the district administrative complex in Kalaburagi on Monday.

“The seer was buried on the bank of Kagina river near Malkhed and the place was known as the Brindavan of Sri Jayatirtha for the last 630 years. However, some of people are spreading false information by wrongly projecting the Brindavan of Raghuvarya Tirtha located in the Koppal district as that of Sri Jayatirtha. The miscreants have even decided to perform Sri Jayatirtha Aradhana at Raghuvarya Tirtha’s Brindavan on July 6, 7 and 8. This would create confusion among the lakhs of devotees. The government should take action against such miscreants,” they said during the protest.

“Aradhana of Sri Jayatirtha is being conducted at his Brindavan in Malkhed for many centuries as he is believed to be buried there. Thousands of people from across the country visit the place and show their respect to the departed seer. All the Dasa poets, including Purandara Dasa, mentioned Malkhed as the place of Sri Jayatirtha. There is enough evidence to show that Malkhed had the Brindavan of Sri Jayatirtha. Yet, some miscreants, despite having no evidence, were trying to spread misinformation and create confusion among the devotees by arguing that the Brindavan of Sri Jayatirtha is in Koppal district,” Ramacharya Ghanti, one of the leaders of Brahmin community, said.

Gurumadhwacharya Navali held that it was not the question of the Brahmin community alone but that of the district as the attempt to show the Brindavan of Raghuvarya Tirtha located in Koppal district as that of Sri Jayatirtha amounted to distortion of history. “Some are going to distort history for meeting their vested ends. People of the entire district need to raise their voices against it,” he said.

A memorandum, addressed to Chief Minister, was later submitted to the office of the Deputy Commissioner.