1. A few people have asked the reason behind many pictures of Sri Vadiraja Tirtha depicted along with the horse. Here is a thread on the reason behind this.

2. The upasana roopa of Sri Vadiraja Tirtha was Hayagriva. After worshipping the samsthana (matha) murthys at the Sode Matha (Sirsi, Uttara Kannada dist, Karnataka), Sri Vadiraja Tirtha would every day go to the banks of the Shalmali river (1-2kms from matha).
3. At the banks of the river, he would sit down and meditate on Lord Hayagriva. At the same time, he would hold a plate full of a sweet dish made from bengal gram, jaggery and other items. The dish is now very famously known as 'Hayagriva Maddi'.
4. Every day, when Sri Vadiraja Tirtha started his meditation with the plate full of maddi on his head, a horse (Lord Hayagriva) would appear there and put its two feet on his shoulders and eat the sweet offering. The horse would leave behind a small quantity in the plate.
5. This ucchishta (left-over) of the Lord was maha-prasada of course and Sri Vadiraja Tirtha would then partake it as prasada. This was a routine for Sri Vadirajaru.
6. Just like today's times, there were enemies of Dharma back then in the 16th century as well. Therefore, believe it or not, there were people who carried intense hatred for Sri Vadiraja Tirtha and Sanatana Dharma. One day, they mixed poison to the 'maddi' prepared.
7. Sri Vadiraja Tirtha carried the poisoned maddi to the Shalmali river bank and sat down in meditation just as every other day. The horse appeared as usual and started consuming the offering. However unlike other days it finished the whole dish and wiped it clean with its tongue
8. When he got up from his meditation of the Lord, Sri Vadiraja Tirtha noticed the anomaly. He meditated again and realized what had happened. The Lord expressed his anger at the attempt to destroy his bhakta. The Hayagriva idol being worshipped in the matha turned green!!!
9. In order to remove the color, Sri Vadiraja Tirtha was instructed (by Sri Hayagriva) to offer 'mattu gulla' - a special brinjal grown in the mattu village near Udupi. Over a period of time, the green tinge vanished from the idol except for a small region around the neck.
10. It was the Lord's wish that the tinge of green would remain in order to remind devotees and haters alike about the incident.
11. This incident is the reason most pictures of Sri Vadiraja Tirtha is shown with the horse (Hayagriva) standing behind him and consuming naivedya from a plate.
12. The location on the banks of river Shalmali where he would meditate and offer this dish and still preserved to this day and can be seen by anyone who visits Sode. It is a most picturesque spot and a great place for meditation.

Sri Krishnarpanamastu

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