Monday, October 6, 2025

M. Yamunacharya: Brief Biographical Sketch

Biography of M. Yamunacharya
Melukote Yamunacharya (M. Yamunacharya) was born on 30 September 1899 to parents Narayana Iyengar and Manikyamma. Manikyamma’s father, Alkondavalli Govindacharya Swamy, was an Executive Engineer in the Mysore Government under Diwan Seshadri Iyer. In this capacity, Govindacharya was instrumental in building various sections of the Bangalore Mysore Railway line, including bridges near Maddur and across the Kapila River near Nanjanagud. He was a staunch proponent of Sri Vaishnavism and was a contemporary of A. R. Wadia at the University of Mysore. Yamunacharya’s ancestors hailed from Metupatti, Salem. Govindacharya’s father, Sreenivasa Iyengar, had taught English grammar lessons to HH Nalwadi Krishna Raja Wodeyar IV and was popularly known as ‘Angrezi Sreenivasa Iyengar’ for this reason! Sreenivasa Iyengar’s first son and Govindacharya’s elder brother, Sreenivasa Raghavacharya, was Assistant Commissioner of Mysore for a brief period as well. 


EARLY YEARS & EDUCATION
Yamunacharya had his schooling at Marimallappa High School, Mysore, under the tutelage of ‘Mysore Thathiah’ (Sri Venkatakrishnaiah). Most remember Yamunacharya as being an introvert who resented competition, disliked Mathematics and wasn’t particularly academically driven, in any sense of the word. Subsequently, in 1923, he enrolled into Maharaja College, Mysore to.....

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Tuesday, March 25, 2025

Tirumalai Krishnamacharya - A Brief Biography

Tirumalai Krishnamacharya - A Brief Biography
Tirumalai Krishnamacharya (TK) was born on 18 November 1888 in Muchukundapuram village, Chitradurga district to T. Sreenivasa Thathacharya and Ranganayakamma. They were orthodox brahmins hailing from Tirupati (Tirumalai) and were descendants of Yogi Nathamuni – a famed 9th century Sri Vaishnava saint. Krishnamacharya’s father was a great exponent of the Vedas. An ancestor in the family line had been a chief pontiff of the Parakala Matha. Krishnamacharya was the eldest of six children. He had two younger brothers – Narayana and Appalacharya & three younger sisters – Alamelu, Tangamma and Chudamani. The family spoke in Telugu at home and were fluent in Sanskrit also.


Early Years & Education
Tirumalai Krishnamacharya’s circle of friends included Rallapalli Ananta Krishna Sharma, Bagepalli Sreenivasacharya, Laxmipuram Sreenivasacharya and Tirukulagundam Sudarshanacharya – all renowned exponents of music, Sanskrit and Vedanta in their own right! His father taught him Sanskrit at home. Among the precious few things handed down to Krishnamacharya was a treasured volume of Valmiki’s Ramayana (in Sanskrit). This was held in reverence by his grandfather and would remain by Krishnamacharya’s side till his very end.

Krishnamacharya’s family moved to Mysore when he was 12 years of age. He joined Parakala Matha for his studies. Here, he spent time between 1909 and 1914 learning Logic (Tarka) and Vedanta among other things. During these years, he also learnt Veena from Vidwan Veena Seshanna.

In 1914, he set out to Benaras, where he continued further studies in Sanskrit & Tarka (logic) from Brahmasri Shivakumar Sastry. He attended classes at Queen’s college under......

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