Mantralayam is a quiet village on the banks of river Tungabhadra. It is the seat of Guru Raghavendra`s Brindavanam, where he attained Jeevan Samadhi in 1671 AD. He was one of the greatest pontiffs of Advaita philosophy as enunciated by Sri Madhwacharya.

The nearest railway station is at Mantralayam Road on the Chennai-Mumbai rail route. From this station, Mantralayam is 15 km. Buses are available from Kurnool, Adoni and Hyderabad.

Venkanna was Sri Raghavendra`s pre-monastic name. He was a child prodigy, who learned all four Vedas in his early days. He joined the Kumbakonam Mutt to study under Guru Sudhindra Teertha and earned several titles like Parimalacharya, Mahabhashyacharya and others.

While expounding the philosophy of his gurus, Sri Raghavendra performed several miracles. Once when he was in Adoni, the then Nawab presented him with a plateful of non-vegetarian food covered with silk cloth. Before taking it, the Guru sprinkled holy water on it, and to the surprise of all, the food turned into flowers and fruits. Realizing the greatness of the Guru, the Nawab begged his pardon and offered him several villages as gift. But the Guru accepted only Mantralayam for his Brindavanam.

A unique feature about Brindavanam is that the Swamiji himself selected the spot and even the stone slab for his Samadhi. The holy spot is believed to be the place where Prahlada, the child devotee of Lord Vishnu, performed yagna. The stone slab is believed to have been used by Sri Rama when he was wandering in Dandakaranya during his exile.

Today thousands of devotees throng Mantralayam to seek the blessings of their Guru, who is Kalpakavriksha and Kamadhenu for them. He entered the Brindavanam with a veena in his hand, singing the praise of Lord Hari. The Brindavanam contains 700 Saligramams signifying that the Guru will live there for another 700 years.

Every year in the month of Sravan, Shukla Paksha Thrithiya (August-September), devotees of Guru Raghavendra all over the world celebrate the Aaraadhana Day.