Madhvacharya taught complete devotion to the Hindu god Vishnu , emphasising Jnanamarga or the " path of knowledge " , and insisted that the path of devotion " can help a soul to attain elevation " ( Athmonathi ) . He was however willing to accept devotion to other Hindu deities as well . He wrote 37 works in Sanskrit including Dwadasha Sutra ( in which his devotion to the god Vishnu found full expression ) , Gita Bhashya , Gita Tatparya Nirnaya , Mahabharata Tatparya Nirnaya , Bhagavata Tatparya Nirnaya , Mayavada Khandana and Vishnu Tattwa Nirnaya . To propagate his teachings he established eight monasteries near Udupi , the Uttaradhi monastery , and the Raghavendra monastery in Mantralayam ( in modern Andhra Pradesh ) and Nanjanagud ( near modern Mysore ) .