Just like his life, the birth of Sri Vadiraja Swamy was also miraculous. His parents were from a village called Kumbhasi near Udupi. They did not have any children for a long time and therefore were longing for one. Once they visited the nearby Kumbhasi matha (the name that Sode Vadiraja Matha used to known by then). When they stood in front of the Swamiji (Sri Vageesha Tirtha) for prasad, they asked the Swamiji to bless them so they could have a child. The Swamiji declared that they would have a boy soon but the child must be handed over to the matha (so he could become a Sanyasi). The parents were not too keen on doing this. Sensing their discomfort, and to prove that there were divine plans in place, the Swamiji modified the condition that if the child would be born inside the house, the parents could keep it. Else, the child would come to the matha. Confident that the child would be delivered inside their house, the parents agreed.
About nine months later, one day when the entire family except for the pregnant Gauri (mother of Sri Vadiraja) were having food, a cow entered the paddy field in front of their house and started grazing. Instinctively, Gauri came out of the house and started to chase the cow away. The cow ran away but Gauri sat down as she wanted to catch a breath. The next moment, she was in labor and before other members of the house could reach her, Gauri had already delivered a baby! The baby was named Bhuvaraha and went on to become the great Dvaita saint Sri Vadiraja Swamy.
Even today, in remembrance of this episode, during the annual festival in Sode, rice from the same paddy field (known as “Gauri Gadde” or “Gauri’s field” ) in Kumbhasi is offered to Sri Vadiraja Swamy.
Anandatirtha Prathishtana 