Sri Vidyaranya’s Greatness

 Sri Vidyaranya then resumed his pilgrimage to Varanasi. While he was there, Sri Bharati Krishna Tirtha at Sringeri had already started construction of the magnificent Vidyashankara temple over the tomb into which his guru Sri Vidya Tirtha had entered into Lambika Yoga Samadhi.

Bukka and Harihara who were sharing the responsibilities of ruling their empire and were marching from victory to victory, went to Sringeri in 1346 for the blessings of Sri Bharati Krishna Tirtha. They celebrated the occasion with a land grant to the senior Sripada.

Bukkaraya communicated all the details to Sri Vidyaranya in Kashi, forwarding to him Sri Bharati Krishna Tirtha’s srimukha. It desired his early return to Sringeri, which Sri Vidyaranya complied with, reaching Sringeri via Hampi, accompanied by Bukkaraya. At Hampi, Sri Vidyaranya had built a Mutt near the Virupaksha temple, for his use. After Sri Bharati Krishna Tirtha attained videha mukti, Sri Vidyaranya assumed charge of the Sringeri Mutt and reigned as Jagadguru for six years from 1380 to 1386. The Acharya initiated the emperor into the mysteries of Advaitic meditation, and in 1386 attained videha mukti. Shortly after this event, Harihara visited Sringeri and founded the agrahara of Vidyaranyapura in memory of the guru.

Sri Vidyaranya was indeed a unique personality, scholar and sage, rightly regarded as a great thinker in the post-Shankara period. No wonder he was extolled and virtually raised to divinity by kings Bukka and Harihara when making royal grants:

Sri Vidyaranya’s powers of exposition are more wonderful than those of Brahma; he can make (by his dialectics) the eloquent dumb and (by his teaching) the dumb eloquent (Copper Plate May 1384)
Can he be Brahma? We do not see four faces; can he be Vishnu? He does not have four hands; can he be Shiva? No oddness of the eyes is observed. Having thus argued for a long time, the learned have come to the conclusion that Vidyaranya is verily the Supreme Light Incarnate. (Sringeri Plate of Harihara II May 1386)

Source - Sri Sringeri Sharada Peetham