Mission

“AALOKAYE SRI BALAKRISHNAM”

The name of Sri Narayana Teertha stikes the mind of every one as a melodious composer of ‘Tarangam’ in the realm of music. He breathed life into ‘Sree Krishna Leela Tarangani’, an opera, in which each Taranga is replete with devotion and the work is a meeting ground for the three great arts of literature, music, and dance.  His literature gives delight to both the scholar and the common man.  People of all ages sing his Tarangas with rapture.

He sought salvation through devotion and also showed the world the way to salvation.  Verily he is a true guru.  Sri Sonthi Venkata Subbayya, a great grand teacher of Sri Tyagaraja Swami, and Sri Siddhendra Yogi, a great exponent of “Kuchipudi” dance are among the distinguished disciples of Sri Narayana Teertha. 

This unique minstrel was born on Aashadha Suddha Ekadasi in 1675 A.D., at a small village called ‘KAZA’, near Acharya Nagarjuna University in Guntur district in Andhra Pradesh.  He renounced everything, traveled the whole breadth and width of India, and en route visited all the divine places.  He taught his disciples devotion, knowledge and renunciation and radiated their minds with his divine wisdom.  He attained Jeeva Samadhi in 1745 A.D., at a village called ‘Thirupoonthuruthi’ near Thanjavur in  Tamil Nadu.

Sri Narayana Teertha’s Jayanthi and Aradhanotsavam are being celebrated in his memory through out India on a grand scale, but his birth place has been a silent spectator to such celebrations for a long time.  A great many devotees have been cherishing the desire to build a memorial for Sri Narayana Teertha at Kaza and make it a place of pilgrimage.  That has been only a dream for long and now it has taken shape by Divine grace in the form of a foundation named ‘Sathguru Sri Narayana Teertha Trust’ to fulfill the great dream.  As a first step the foundation celebrated the birth anniversary of Sri Narayana Teertha on July 24, 1999 at Kaza Village.  It was a grand success and the genesis for building a memorial was firmly laid on that day as indicated by the rejuvenated zeal and spontaneous generosity of many great lovers and admirers of music. 

Few compositions have had such an impact on the tradition of (South) Indian Classical Music and Dance as Sri Krishna Leela Tarangini by Narayana Theertha, acclaimed universally as the work of comparable status among the several of the genre of Jayadeva’s Gita Govindam.  The Tarangini has been composed by Narayana Teertha in chaste Sanskrit and set to melodious music (including solkattus meant for dance), in the form of a Yakshagana (dance-drama) on Lord SriKrishna – the Jagatguru based on the gripping story from his birth to his wedding with Rukmini, as related in Book Ten of Srimad Bhagavatham.  The composition comprises 155 gitam’s (Songs) in 39 ragas, short daruvus, 348 slokas.  Gadyams and vachanas (link-passages in prose), and is divided into twelve Tarangams or ‘waves’ making up the ‘River of the sport of Lord Krishna’.   Sri Narayana Teerthas’ mastery over music, philosophy and Sanskrit are equally brought into play and invest the Tarangini its distinctive flavour.  It reflects with rare felicity the Bhagavannama Sankeertana Tradition – repeated adoration of the Lord in song and dance – of which the Teertha is a distinguished exponent.  While the Geetha Govindam is a Srungara Mahakavya set to Bharata’s Natya Sastra, the ascetic in the Teertha elevates the Bhagavata theme to lofty philosophical heights (expounding the Advaitha Philosophy) and to the level of Brahmananda as propounded in the Upanishads. 

Besides Sri Krishna Leela Tarangams, Sathguru Sri Narayana Teertha authored following books, available at various places including Banaras Hindu University

• Parijatapaharanam – Yakshaganam in Telugu

• Hari Bhakti Sudharnavam – Cream of Srimad Bhagavatham

• Sandilya Bhakti Suthra Vyakhya

• Bhaktyathikaranamala – Path of Devotion

• Sankhyakarika Vyakhya

• Sankhya Tatva Koumudi Vyakhya – Sankhya Yoga

• Nyaya Kusumanjali Teeka

• Nyaya Muktavali Teeka – Tarka

• Bhatta Bhasha Prakasam – Poorva Meemamsa Grandham

• Yoga Sutra Vyakhya – Yoga

•  Sidhanta Bindu

• Laghu Chandrika

• Vedastava Teeka

• Vedanta Vibhava Natika – Vedanta

• Vivarana Deepika – Explanation on Sureswara Charyula vari Panchikarana Vartikam

Sathguru Sri Narayana Teertha Trust has started Research and Development center to unearth the Literary works of Sri Narayana Teertha.  The Trust is taking assistance of Nagarjuna University and many other institutions/organizations/followers of Sri Narayana Teertha.

The Trust aims to propagate Tarangams in chaste Andhra-Bhajan style as was sung by Sathguru Sri Narayana Teertha.  The Trust is going to publish shortly the revised edition of SriKrishna Leela Tarangini by Sri Gundlapalli Adinarayana (97) of Ongole.  Just like Tyagaraja Keerthanas and Annamacharya Keerthanas, the Trust wants to preserve, protect, and propagate Sri Krishna Leela Tarangams for the sake of younger generations as a glory of rich Indian cultural heritage. 

The Trust is planning Unique Structures in memory of Sathguru Sri Narayana Teertha, a temple for Lord SriKrishna, a center for meditation and a center for research on Narayana Teertha’s works at a site with an extent of 5,000 square yards near Acharya Nagarjuna University within the boundaries of Kaza village.  Bhoomi Pooja was performed for Sri Krishna Mandiram on 22nd Feb-2007 with the blessings of Sri Sri Sri Kali Krishna Maharaj Adishakti Peetadhipathi, Vejendra, Guntur Dt., A.P. 

Sri Sri Sri Tridandi China Jiyyar Swamiji and Sri Sri Sri Siddhendra Bharathi Swamy, Kurtalam Peetadhipathi have been guiding this Trust in this endeavor.  Coming to know of this project, Sri Narayana Teertha Swamigal Trust, Thirupoonthurthy, joined in celebrating the Jayanthi Utsavam at Kaza(v) in the year 2006, while doing Aradhana at his Tiruppoonthuruthi Samadhi.  Thus there is a fusion of Musical ‘Culture between Andhra and Tamilnadu since Teertha was guru for both.  This is a remarkable feature as from then onwards, devotees of Narayana Teertha from Tamilnadu and Karnataka made a beeline to Kaza. Notable devotees are likes of Illayaraaja etc…

Padma Vibhushan Dr. Mangalampalli Bala Murali Krishna inaugurated the 332™ Narayana Teerthas Jayanthi celebrations on July 25, 2007.  The primary objective of this trust is to spread the contribution of Sri Narayana Teertha to music and literature among all people  and thereby inspire them with his teachings of soul –realization, cultural enlightenment and sense of brotherhood.   The trust hopes to preserve his great works for the benefit of posterity.   

The birth place of sathguru Sri Narayana Teertha would be on the International map holding a beacon light of Indian Tradition and culture and Indians all over the world would be part of the activities of the Trust always.