Om Sri Guru Raghavendraya Namaha
When Sir Thomas Munro was the Collector of Bellary in 1800, the Madras Government ordered him to procure the entire income from the Raghavendra Swamy Matha and the village of Mantralaya.
When the revenue officials were unable to comply with this order, Sir Thomas Munro visited the Matha for investigation. He removed his hat and shoes and entered the sacred precincts. Sri Raghavendra Swamigal who had entered Jeevasamadhi in 1671 (embracing death by sitting in a meditative posture in an enclosure and getting it closed by a concrete block canopy permanently) emerged from the Vrindavana and conversed with him for some time, about the resumption of the endowment.
The Saint was visible and audible only to Munro, who received Manthrakshate (god’s blessing). The Collector went back and wrote an order in favor of the Math and the village.
This notification was published in the Madras Government Gazette in Chapter XI, page 213, with the caption “Manchali Adoni Taluka”. This order is still preserved in Fort St. George and Mantralaya. How fortunate was Munro to be blessed by Rayaru himself?
218 years later, the fifth generation of Munro’s family visited Mantralaya in July 2018 and obtained the blessings of Rayaru.
Om Sri Guru Raghavendraya Namaha