Madhavacharya

Vidyaranya (IAST: Vidyāraṇya), was the jagadguru of the Sringeri Sharada Peetham from ca. 1374–1380 until 1386. Vidyāraṇya, who is thought to have been named Madhava before taking ordination as a sannyasin, is usually identified with Mādhavācārya (not to be confused with Madhvāchārya (13th c.)), the supposed author of the Sarvadarśanasaṅgraha, a compendium of different philosophical schools of Hindu philosophy. According to tradition, after ordination at an old age, Madhava took the name of Vidyaranya, became the Jagadguru of the matha at Sringeri, and wrote the Pañcadaśī, an important text for Advaita Vedanta.

According to tradition, Vidyaranya helped establish the Vijayanagara Empire sometime in 1336, and served as a mentor and guide to three generations of kings who ruled over it. The historical accuracy of this account is doubtful, and may have originated as late as 200 years after the events, as a "political foundation myth, an ideological attempt to represent the authority of the Vijayanagara state as deriving directly from that of the Sultanate."