B. N. K. Sharma's academic history says plainly that Akshobhya Tirtha was "not distinguished as a writer." One work, the Madhva-tattva-sara-samgraha, is credited to him by a single source, but no manuscript of it has ever been found. Judging from the title alone, Sharma thinks it was probably a short handbook of Dvaita teaching, not a major work of philosophy. Independent records tell us what Akshobhya Tirtha did, not what he wrote. That record is found in the institutions and consecrated deities that survive from his time as pontiff.
| Detail | Description |
|---|---|
| Matha founded | Sri Kudli Akshobhya Tirtha Matha, at the confluence of the Tunga and Bhadra rivers near Shivamogga |
| Successor at Kudli | His disciple Trailokya Bhushana Tirtha |
| Deity consecrated at Kudli | Chintamani Narasimha |
| Deity consecrated at Mulbagal | Angara Narasimha, traditionally said to have been sketched in charcoal that transformed into an idol |
| Deity consecrated near Shivamogga | Mukhyaprana (Hanuman), at Pillangiri |
| Dated inscription | A Kannada copper-plate grant of 1337 CE recording a purificatory rite he performed at Malkhed |
A Matha at the Meeting of Two Rivers #
At Kudli, where the Tunga and Bhadra rivers meet near present-day Shivamogga, Akshobhya Tirtha is credited with consecrating a Deity of Chintamani Narasimha. He is also credited with founding a matha there. It continues in an unbroken line to this day and is now known as the Sri Kudli Akshobhya Tirtha Matha. Sri Vyasaraja Matha's own succession record states that Akshobhya Tirtha trained Jayatirtha as his eventual successor on the Madhva Peetha itself. Separately, he also ordained another disciple, Trailokya Bhushana Tirtha, to carry on this matha at Kudli. So a second line of succession began alongside the first, separate from the main seat of the pontiffs that passed to Jayatirtha. That Kudli line, under various names, still continues on its own today.
Deities at Mulbagal and Pillangiri #
Two further consecrations are recorded from Akshobhya Tirtha's travels through the region around Kolar and Shivamogga. At Mulbagal, the same town where his debate with Vidyaranya took place, tradition credits him with consecrating a Deity of Narasimha. It is called Angara Narasimha, "the charcoal Narasimha." He is said to have first sketched the form on a hillock in charcoal, and the sketch then took shape as an idol. Near Shivamogga, at a site called Pillangiri, he is also credited with consecrating a Deity of Mukhyaprana. This is the name the Madhva-sampradaya tradition uses for Hanuman as the incarnation of Vayu. These accounts come from Dvaita-tradition sources. They are not confirmed by independent archaeology or by academic historians, so we present them as tradition, not as verified historical fact.
One Firmly Dated Act #
Most of the material about Akshobhya Tirtha is traditional and undated. But one specific act of his is supported by truly independent evidence with a clear date. B. N. K. Sharma's academic history cites a Kannada copper-plate grant, dated Sarvajit era 1337 CE. The researcher Kapatral Krishnarao first brought it to the notice of scholars. It records a purification rite (prayashchitta) that Akshobhya Tirtha personally performed at Malkhed for two men, Ranganna and Damanna, described as Patils (village headmen). The rite restored their lost standing as Brahmins. This is a small act next to a philosophical debate or a temple consecration. But for a historian it is rarer and more valuable, because it survives on a dated, physical inscription, not in a later devotional retelling. It is direct evidence that in 1337 CE Akshobhya Tirtha was active as a religious authority at Malkhed, the same town where his own samadhi would later be established.
