Life history of Guru Raghavendra

There is nobody who would not have known about Guru Raghavendra. He is believed to be the reincarnation of Prahlada, Bahleeka and Vyasaraya. Venkanna (Later Raghavendra Swami) was born around 1595 at Bhuvanagiri, a small town near Kanchipuram in South India (now Tamil Nadu). His fore-fathers were all renowned musicians and he too became a good player of the veena.

He married a gentle, good-natured woman called Saraswathi and had a son called Lakshminarayan. He spent his life in utter and dire poverty, but kept his mind focused on the Lord. Later, circumstances forced him to seek refuge with Sri Sudheendra tiirtha, the pontiff of what was then called as the Vijayeendra muTa (now known as Raghavendra swamy muTa). When Sudheendra tiirtha wanted him to become the next pontiff he refused because his wife was young and his son's upanayana had not yet been performed. Later, when the goddess of learning appeared in a dream and urged him to take up the responsibility, he agreed. When his ascension to the pontificate was being celebrated his wife accidentally fell into a well and died, becoming a ghost. His first act after becoming the pontiff was to provide salvation to his wife.