Shriman Madhwacharya initiated Sanyasa to Shri Vishnu Theertharu (his poorvashrama Brother) and made him the head of a Matha. Shri Vishnu Teertharu initiated two of his able disciples Shri Vedavyasa Teertharu and Shri Aniruddha Teertharu. The lineage of Shri Vedavyasa Teertharu came to be known as the Sode Matha and the lineage of Shri Aniruddha Teertharu came to be known as the Subrahmanya Matha. Shri Vishnu Teertharu initially stayed in Udupi after he was initiated by Shriman Madhwacharyaru and after handing over the Matha to Shri Vedavyasa Teertharu, he moved on to Subrahmanya. After initiating the lineage of Kukke Subrahmanya Matha through Shri Aniruddha Teertharu, Shri Vishnu Teertharu went to Kumaraparvata to do tapas and disappeared from public eyes.
When Jagadguru Sri Madhwacharya had gone to the Himalayas to write commentaries on the Hindu Scripture under the guidance of the great Sri Ved Vyas, Ved Vyas had given him 8 Vyasa Mushti Saligrams. Sri Madhwacharya took 5 of these along with 144 Lakshmi Narayana Saligrams and 1 Lakshmi Narasimha Saligram and put them inside a Samputa. It is this Samputa that eventually became known as the Narasimha Samputa. It is said that Sri Madhwacharya adored this Samputa so much so that the scriptures called this Samputa as Sri Madhwacharya's heart.
Sri Vishnu Theertharu left behind the Samputa Narasimha, Vyaasa Mushti, Vithala and Rukmini and Satyabhama, and a smiling Lakshmi Narasimha to the Matha. It is also said that initially, Sri Vishnu Theertharu had carried the Samputa with him, but ended up sending it back to the Matha via the Kumara Dhaara River at the request of Sri Aniruddha Theertharu.
When Sri Aniruddha Theertharu was serving as the first pontiff of this Matha, the then king (of the local area) Ballalraaya tried to break open the Samputa by placing it under an elephant's feet. Instead of the Samputa breaking open, the elephant died on the spot. The apologetic and regretful King realized his mistake and donated his monetary possessions to the Matha.
Many people believe that Sri Vishnu Theertharu is still performing prayers and penance in the Siddha Parvatha since no one has been successful in finding his brindavana.
More about the History of the Matha can be found in the matha’s website http://www.subrahmanyamatha.com
Head Quarters
Sri Subrahmanya Matha
(Sri Samputa Narasimhaswami Matha )
Kukke Subrahmanya - 574 238
Dakshina Kannada
Tel.: 08257- 281221 / 281211
eMail: sri.subrahmanyamatha@gmail.com
