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S.Balasubramani B+ve
My Blog
http://balubpos.blogspot.com/
எம்பெருமானார் அங்கும் இராமானுஜ தரிசனத்தை, பாஞ்சராத்ர ஆகம விதிகளை நிலை
நாட்ட ஆசைப்பட்டார். ஆனால் அங்குள்ள பண்டாக்கள் விடவில்லை. அவர் எப்படி
தப்பித்து தமிழகம் வந்து சேர்ந்தார் எனும் கதையை பாலு சார் சொல்ல
வேண்டும்!
ஜெகதோதாரண.....
வைணவம் என்றால் என்ன விலை? என்று இருந்த காலம். பூரி போயிருந்தேன்.
கொனாரக்கும், பூரி கடற்கரையும் மிகவும் பிடித்தது :-) தென்னகத்தில்
பிறந்து வளர்ந்த எவருக்கும் மரப்பாச்சி பொம்மை போல் இருக்கும் ஜெகந்நாத்,
பாலபத்ரா, சுபத்ரா முதலில் அவ்வளவாக இம்ப்ரஸ் பண்ணாது. பூரி ஜெகந்நாத்
கோயில் தேர் பிரம்மாண்டம். கோயில் அழகு. அங்கு எம்பெருமானாரும், கிருஷ்ண
சைதன்யரும் நெக்குருகி வழிபாடு செய்திருக்கின்றனர் என்று இன்று அறியும்
போது அங்கு செல்ல மனம் விழைகிறது. நீராய் கரைந்துருக்க வல்ல நெடுமால்
குள்ளனாய், ஆமையாய், பன்றியாய் தோற்றமுற்றிருக்கும் போது ஒரு மரப்பாச்சி
பொம்மையாய் ஏன் அவதாரம் செய்யக்கூடாது?
a
எம்பெருமானார் அங்கும் இராமானுஜ தரிசனத்தை, பாஞ்சராத்ர ஆகம விதிகளை நிலை
நாட்ட ஆசைப்பட்டார். ஆனால் அங்குள்ள பண்டாக்கள் விடவில்லை. அவர் எப்படி
தப்பித்து தமிழகம் வந்து சேர்ந்தார் எனும் கதையை பாலு சார் சொல்ல
வேண்டும்!
ஜெகதோதாரண.....
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One night, unknown to anyone, Princess Bibi Lachimar slipped away from her attendants into the darkness of the forest. Only Kuvera noticed her absence, and he also left the party and went with her as she continued on farther towards the south. Thinking only of her beloved Lord, the princess journeyed on, while Kuvera acted as a servant, bringing fruits from the forest to keep her alive.After travelling for several weeks, the couple ar¬rived at the town of Yasaavadri. As if by divine inspi¬ration, Bibi Lachimar was certain that their long quest would end at this place. Being guided by the townspeople, she came to the temple of SrT Yasavadripati. There she fell at the feet of the
Vaisnavas and begged them to allow her to see her beloved Ramapriya once more. When Yatiraja came there, he saw at once that the girl's heart was filled with pure devotion. Thus, although she was a Muslim by birth, he ordered that she be admitted to the temple to behold the beautiful form of SrT Ramapriya.From that time on Bibi Lachimar remained at YSdavadri, engaging in the service of the Lord and constantly singing His glories. After a short time she gave up her body. Being immersed in continual thoughts of SrT Ramapriya, she returned to His eternal abode.அப்பாடி முதல் தலைப்பு
திரு பாலு
உடையவருக்கும், ஜகந்நாத புரிக்குமான தொடர்பு குறித்து
நீங்கள் விரிவாக எழுத இருப்பது மகிழ்ச்சி தருகிறது.
அதற்குமுன் ஒரு வேண்டுகோள்.
'முதுசொம்’ இழையில் திருமழிசை பற்றிய
பேச்சில் அதன் புரி தொடர்பு குறித்து நீங்கள்
வினவியது நினைவில் உள்ளது -
From: "s.bala subramani B+ve" <sunkenl...@gmail.com>
Date: Feb 7, 10:23 am
Subject: முதுசொம் பயணம்
please brief about Puri- orissa connection with the temple
புரியில் இருப்பதுபோல் திருமழிசை, திருப்புல்லாணி (திருவணை) திவ்ய
தேசங்களிலும் பெருமாளுக்கு ‘ஜகந்நாதன்’ என்றே பெயர்; வேறு ஏதேனும்
தொடர்பு இருக்குமாயின்
தெரிவிக்க வேண்டுகிறேன். ஒருகால் உடையவர் காலத்துக்கு முன்பிருந்தே
ஆழ்வார்கள் நெறிக்கும் கலிங்கத்துக்கும் தொடர்பிருந்திருக்கலாம்
எனும் ஊகம். குறுக்கீடாயின் மன்னிக்க வேண்டும்
தேவ்
On Feb 14, 9:06 am, "s.bala subramani B+ve" <sunkenl...@gmail.com>
wrote:
> உங்களை பேச வைத்ததே இந்த இழையின் வெற்றி
>
> புராண கதைகளின் மீது தான் தற்போதைய வரலாறே எழுத பாட்டு இருக்கிறது
> இங்கு எழுதியது எல்லாம் 2009 வரை நான் அலைந்த விஷயம்
>
> நான் புராணத்தை சொல்லி விட்டு தொல்லியல் மூலங்கள்
> பக்தர்களின் நம்பிக்கை
> நிறைய நெட்டில் வந்து உள்ளது
>
> நான் சொல்ல போவது இது வரை நீங்கள் கேள்வி படாதது
>
> ஒரிசா நண்பர்களே என்னை அங்கு வர சொல்லி தொந்தரவு செய்கிறார்கள்
> நாங்கள் நிறைய பயணம் செய்து இருக்கிறோம்
>
> என் பார்வையில் வெளிவரும் தகவல்கள் வித்தியாசமாக தான் வரும்
>
> மாங்கு மாங்குன்னு எழுதினேன்
>
> ஒருத்தர் கிட்டேயும் இருந்து பதில் வரவில்லை
>
> இன்னாம்பரம் அவர்கள் மட்டும் வந்தார்
>
> *என்னடா இந்த பாலுவிற்கு வந்த சோதனை *
>
> யாரவது ஒரிசா தமிழ்நாடு தொடர்புகளை பற்றி பேச கூப்பிடுவார்கள் என்று ஏங்கி
> கொண்டு இருக்கிறேன்
>
> வந்த புதிதில் பேசினேன்
>
> 2012/2/14 Nagarajan Vadivel <radius.consulta...@gmail.com>
>
>
>
> > ஹல்லோ
> > கொஞ்சம் ரூம் போட்டு யோசீங்க பாலு சார். நீங்களோ கால்ல சக்கரத்தைக்
> > கட்டிட்டு ஓடறீங்க. அரைச்சமாவை அரைக்காமல் புதிய கோணத்தில் வழங்குங்கள்
> > நீங்கள் சுட்டிக்காட்டிய துலுக்க நாச்சியாரின் காதலன் கதையை அவர் டெல்லியில்
> > இருந்து கிளம்பி பூரியில் முக்தி அடைந்ததுவரை விளக்கினால் ஏழாம் அறிவுபோல்
> > தமிழ் சினிமாவுக்கு ஒரு கதை கிடைக்கும்
> > போகாத ஊருக்குப் பொய்யான வழி என்பதுபோல் இணையத்தில் ஏசுவின் சீடர் தாமஸ்
> > இந்தியா வந்த பாதையைப் பார்க்கலாம். தவத்திரு ராமானுஜர் அவர்கள்
> > திருவரங்கிலிருந்து கர்நாடகா பின்னர் அங்கிருந்து டெல்லி மீண்டும் கர்நாடகா
> > என்று பயணப்பட்ட பாதையை ஜிஐஎஸ் மென்பொருள் மூலம் நீங்கள் தயாரிக்கலாம்
> > ஆதி சங்கரர் சென்ற பாதையைத் தீர்மானிக்க காஞ்சி மஹாப்பெரியவர் ஒருவரைக்
> > கால்நடையாகச் சென்று அவர் தங்கிய ஒவ்விரு ஊரிலிருந்தும் போஸ்ட் கார்டு
> > அணுப்பியது காஞ்சி மடத்தில் உள்ளது. அதுபோல் துலுக்க நாச்சியாரின் காதலன்
> > நடந்தபாதை பற்றிய தகவல் உண்டா?
> > ஏதாவது முயற்சி நடந்துள்ளதா?
> > நாகராசன்
>
> > 2012/2/14 s.bala subramani B+ve <sunkenl...@gmail.com>
>
> >> let me give exsisting sources and start my theory from orissa references
>
> >> On 14/02/2012, Mohanarangan V Srirangam <ranganvm...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >> > aahaa ஆரம்பிச்சாச்சா....வொண்டர்ஃபுல்
>
> >> > இது நெடுந்தொடராக உங்கள் கைவண்ணத்திலும் மற்றவர்களின் உதவியோடும் தொடர
> >> > ஜகந்நாதனின் பூரண அருள் பொலியட்டும்.
>
> >> > நான் முதல் வரிசையில் வந்து எப்பொழுதோ உட்கார்ந்துவிட்டேன்.
>
> >> > சுய புராணம் விஷயத்தில் அவ்வளவு கட்டுப்பாடாக இருக்க வேண்டாம்.
> >> தன்னிச்சையாக
> >> > வரும் எந்த விஷயத்தையும் தடையிலாமல் சொல்லுங்கள் கேட்கக் காத்திருக்கிறோம்.
> >> > நான் சொன்னது விஷ்யம் எங்காவது விலகிப் போய் விடாமல் இருக்கவே. மற்றபடி
> >> > எனக்குப் பிடித்த விஷயம் இந்த சுய புராணங்களும்தான்.
>
> >> > ***
>
> >> > 2012/2/14 s.bala subramani B+ve <sunkenl...@gmail.com>
>
> >> >> ‘ஜய் ஜகந்நாத் ‘
>
> >> >>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jagannath_Temple,_Puri
>
> >> >>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jagannath
>
> >> >>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rath_Yatra
>
> >> >>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indradyumna
>
> >> >> --
> >> >> "Tamil in Digital Media" group is an activity of Tamil Heritage
> >> >> Foundation. Visit our website:http://www.tamilheritage.org;you may
> >> like
> >> >> to visit our Muthusom Blogs at:
> >> >>http://www.tamilheritage.org/how2contribute.htmlTo post to this
> >>http://www.tamilheritage.org/how2contribute.htmlTo post to this group,
> >> send email to minT...@googlegroups.com
> >> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
> >> minTamil-u...@googlegroups.com
> >> For more options, visit this group at
> >>http://groups.google.com/group/minTamil
>
> > --
> > "Tamil in Digital Media" group is an activity of Tamil Heritage
> > Foundation. Visit our website:http://www.tamilheritage.org;you may like
> > to visit our Muthusom Blogs at:
> >http://www.tamilheritage.org/how2contribute.htmlTo post to this group,
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"Tamil in Digital Media" group is an activity of Tamil Heritage Foundation. Visit our website: http://www.tamilheritage.org; you may like to visit our Muthusom Blogs at: http://www.tamilheritage.org/how2contribute.html To post to this group, send email to minT...@googlegroups.com
written by Haripriya rangarajan
she did exstensive study on puri
when she was a lady governor of orissa we discuss lot with her
puri nearest port also called as mannicka pattinam
ther is a plety about orissa connections through sea
even raamanujar was htrowned by the pandas and got escaped through
the help of NULAIYA a fisherman group fro manicka pattinam up to
palur then srikurmam
we got lot of archaeological support on this connections,
even nearest hamet let is called as thamilikudi
records are at puri temple
not thrown by the garuda because of his systems as mentioned in the
puranic accounts
let my internet get speed will write more
thanks
balu
Ramanuja
caitradram sambhavam visnor darsana-sthapanotsukam
tundira-mandale sesa-murtim ramanujam bhaje
“I worship Sripad Ramanuja, the incarnation of Ananta, who took
birth in the month of Caitra (April-May) under the sixth lunar mansion
in the Tundirades, and who came upon this earth to establish the
philosophy of Sri Visnu.”
Four major schools or sampradayas of Vaisnavism are considered
authorized by Vaisnavas everywhere:
the Brahma,
Sri, Rudra,
and Kumara Sampradayas.
While Gaudiya Vaisnavas follow the disciplic line of Visnu worship
originating with Brahma,
Sripad Ramanujacarya is the founder-acarya of the Sri Sampradaya, the
school of Vaisnavism or Visnu worship descending from the eternal
consort of Visnu known as Laksmidevi or Sri.
His commentaries on Vedanta rival those of Sankaracarya, especially
in Tamil-speaking South India, where Sri Vaisnavism is prominent to
this day.
He propounded the Vedantic philosophy known as Visistadvaita-vada, or
qualified monism. The most famous among his numerous writings are his
commentary on Vedanta (Sri Bhasya), his commentary on Bhagavad-gita,
his Vedanta-Sara, and the Vedartha-Sangraha.
Many biographies of Ramanuja were compiled shortly after his
passing, including the Sanskrit Prappanamrtam of Anantacarya and
various Tamil works.
These authorized sources provide quite a detailed portrait of
Ramanuja's life and teachings. Before we consider Ramanuja's
importance in the development of Vaisnava philosophy and practice,
however,
we must first consider the South Indian Vaisnava traditions from which
Ramanuja came and which influenced him.
THE PREVIOUS ACHARYAS -
NATHAMUNI
The first prominent acarya of the Sri Vaisnava school to
formulate a systematic theology of devotion was Sri Nathamuni who
appeared as the son of a scholarly South Indian brahmana in the year
908 A.D.
Nathamuni was the first important teacher to bring together the
teachings of the Vedic Sanskrit texts and the ancient Tamil hymns of
the Alwars, (South Indian saints who are famous as incarnations of the
divine paraphernalia of Visnu, such as his disc, conch, lotus, wheel,
garland and so on). Nathamuni was responsible for compiling the
“Tamil Vedas.” These were a collection of prayers, devotional songs,
and hymns to Visnu written by the Alwars in the Tamil language. These
hymns, known as the Prabandha, are sung to this day before the deity
of Visnu in the templeat Sri Rangam, the traditional headquarters of
the Sri Vaisnavas and the most famous temple in South India. At the
end of his life, Nathamuni was the temple commander at the Sri Rangam
temple.
Nathamuni's son, Isvaramuni, died at an early age while his wife
was still pregnant. Her child, Nathamuni's grandson later became
famous as Yamunacarya, the direct spiritual precursor of Ramanuja
himself.
After the death of his own son, Nathamuni took sannyasa.
Because of his vast learning, he was given the name “Muni” and
because of his development in yogic perfection, he was famous as
“Yogindra.” His systematic philosophy of Sri Vaisnavism is formulated
in his treatise on logic, nyaya-tattva, and his views on the
relationship between bhakti and mystic yoga are given in his book
Yoga-rahasya.
YAMUNACARYA
After Nathamuni, Sri Yamunacarya was the foremost exponent of Sri
Vaisnavism before Ramanuja. Born about 953 A.D.
in Madura, the capital of the kingdom of Pandura, Yamuna was raised
by his mother and grandmother, as his father had passed away and his
grandfather, Nathamuni had taken sannyasa. Although he was an orphan,
he did well in his studies and soon surpassed all his fellow students
in scholarship. The academic genius of the young Yamuna amazed
everyone. His attention to his studies and proficiency in the
scriptures endeared him to his teacher, Sri Bhasyacarya and his sweet
and beautiful nature made him the darling of his classmates.
When Yamuna was only twelve, he won a kingdom through the power
of his wits. At that time, the royal pandita of the Pandya king of
Cola had succeeded in making all the other panditas in his country
look like fools. He was famous as “Vidvajjanakolahala” which means
“One who throws scholars into an uproar.” The royal pandita was very
dear to the king who patronized him lavishly. Vidvajjanakolahala used
to extract an annual tax from all the panditas in the land. Those who
didn't pay had to face the royal pandita in argument and be humiliated
and subsuquently punished. For fear of losing their reputation as
scholars, everyone used to regularly pay this tax without argument.
One day a disciple of the royal pandita arrived at the asrama of
Yamuna's guru demanding the tax. Yamuna's guru was away at the time
and Yamuna himself refused to pay the tax, considering it to be an
insult to his gurudeva. He sent the disciple back with the message
that an insignificant follower of Bhasyacarya would challenge the
world-conquering royal pandita, Vidvajjanakolahala in open debate.
When the news of the twelve-year old boy's challenge came to the
royal pandita, he simply laughed. “All right,” he said. “Summon
this scholar here and let us match wits.” By the king's own order a
day was set for the debate, and at the appointed time the boy scholar
was brought before the royal court on a lavish palanquin. Seeing the
boy's beauty, the queen was charmed. She instantly took his side,
while the king favored his own pandita. A wager was settled on by the
king and queen. If the king's pandita won the debate, the queen was to
submit to the king's every whim. If the queen's favorite, the
beautiful boy pandita, won the debate, the king was to award
Yamunacarya half the kingdom.
First the royal pandita examined the child, asking him many
obscure questions about Sanskrit grammar which Yamuna answered
perfectly. Then it was Yamuna's turn to examine the scholar. He
said, “I will state three maxims. If you can refute them, I shall
admit defeat. The first is this: your mother is not barren.”
The royal pandita was dumbfounded. To refute this maxim would be
do deny his own birth. Unable to answer, he stood silent.
Yamunacarya continued: “My second proposal is this: The king is
righteous. Refute this if you dare.”
Again the pandita was silenced. How could he argue that his own
king was impious?
Finally the boy said: “My third proposal is this: The queen is
chaste. Refute this and I am defeated.”
Unable to refute these propositions, the pandita fought back.
“You are proposing things which are irrefutable. By asking me to
challenge the piety of the king and the chastity of the queen you are
committing treason and blasphemy. How dare you ask this of me! This
is an outrage. If you think these propositions can be refuted then
refute them yourself and be damned as an offender to the throne.
Otherwise admit your insolence and hang your head in shame.”
The panditas followers filled the arena with applause, and the
king felt confident that his champion had successfully turned back the
challenge of this impudent boy. But Yamunacarya was not finished. “As
you wish,” he said. “I shall refute these propositions myself. First
I asked to to refute the proposal that your mother is not barren.
Since you have failed to do so, I must cite the Manu Smrti on this
matter. According to the Laws of Manu, “If a woman has no more than
one child, she may be considered barren.” (eka-putro hy aputrena
lokavadat, Manu-Samhita, 9.61, Medhatithi Bhashya). Since your mother
had only one son, the proposal that she is not barren is refuted.
“Now the second proposal: the king is pious. I asked you to
refute this, but you were unable to do so. The Laws of Manu also state
that since he is responsible for their protection, the king assumes
one sixth of the results of the pious or impious deeds of his
subjects. (sarvato dharmasad bhago rajo bhavati raksatah, adharmadapi
sad bhago bhavatyasya hyaraksatah, Manu-Samhita, 8.304, Medhatithi
Bhashya) Since this is Kali-yuga, the people in general are naturally
impious, and so the king must assume a heavy burden of impiety. This
refutes the second thesis: the king is pious.
“As for my refutation to the third proposal—the queen is chaste.”
With this the crowd became quiet. The queen herself blushed.
Yamunacarya's supporters wondered, how the boy could refute this
proposition and conquer the pandita without embarrassing the queen.
Yamunacarya continued, “The Laws of Manu state that a great king is
the representative of the gods. The gods—Agni the fire-god, Vayu the
wind-god, Surya the sung-god, Chandra the moon-god, Yama the lord of
death, Varuna, Kuvera, and Indra—are all present in the body of the
king. The queen, therefore is wedded to more than just one man. When
a woman is married to more than one man how then can she be chaste?
Thus the third proposition is refuted.”
The crowd was astonished. The boy scholar had certainly defeated
the royal pandita. The queen was jubilant and embraced Yamunacarya,
saying, “Alabandaru,” meaning “one who conquers.” The court pandita
was disgraced. The king, who had been defeated in his wager with the
queen, arose and said, “My boy, Alabandaru, child-scholar that you are
you have defeated my royal pandita, the terror of
scholars—Vidvajjanakolahola himself. His pitiful life is now yours to
do with as you see fit. I commend him into your hands. As for
yourself, I promised the queen to give you half my kingdom upon your
victory here. Now that you have won, I humbly request you to accept
half my kingdom as your reward.” The king awarded to Yamunacarya the
place which is now called alavandara-medu.
Yamunacarya, who had won the title of “conqueror” now became
famous as Alabandaru, the boy-king. As the years passed, he became
involved more and more in the affairs of state, practically
forgetting the legacy of his grandfather, Nathamuni. Surrounded by
kingly opulence and royal power, he gradually became entrenched in the
position of a king. Absorbed in politics, he had little time for
spiritual affairs.
About this time, Alabandaru's grandfather, Nathamuni, had passed
away, but before he left this world, he called his most confidential
disciple Nambi to his side and entrusted him with a sacred task: to
inspire Yamunacarya to renounce his kingdom and champion the cause of
Sri Vaisnavism. Yamunacarya was uniquely qualified to propogate Sri
Vaisnavism. No one else could take the place of Nathamuni.
Years passed. Finally the time came to spur Yamunacarya to
action. Nambi, remembering the order of his gurudeva set out to
confront Yamunacarya and convince him of the need to renounce the
world and preach. When he arrived at the palace gates, however, he was
turned away. It was not easy for a humble mendicant to get an
interview with the great King Alabandaru. Through inquiry, Nambi came
to know who the royal cook was. One day, while the cook was returning
from the marketplace with fresh produce, Nambi stopped him and gave
him some vegetable greens called tuduvalai, which are supposed to
promote mental purity and increase one's tendency towards
contemplation and spiritual life. He asked to cook to please prepare
these greens regularly for the welfare of the king. The pious cook
understood the rarity and purity of these greens and was pleased to
cook them for the king. From that day on, he began regularly
preparing them for the king's lunch. The king very much enjoyed the
greens, and Nambi would regularly supply the cook with them.
One day, Nambi held back. The king missed his greens and asked
the cook why they had not been prepared. When the cook explained
about the mysterious mendicant who supplied these greens, the king's
interest was piqued. “The next time this sadhu comes,” the king
ordered his royal cook, “bring him before me.”
The next day, when Nambi returned with the greens, the cook
brought him before the king and introduced him. “What do you want of
me?” the king asked. “Why do you bring these greens every day for no
payment?” Nambi requested a private audience. The king ordered all
his attendants to leave them alone, and when everyone had gone he
offered Nambi a seat. “Please speak,” he said.
Nambi then told Alabandaru of his grandfather's passing. He told
him of Sri Nathamuni's anxiety that the sampradaya of Sri Vaisnavism
needed a champion, a great scholar who could defeat opposing schools
of philosophy and establish the religious principles of their
tradition. Only Yamunacarya was qualified enough to do this, but he
had now become King Alabandaru, a ruler of men attached to royal
luxury and power. Gradually Nambi awoke in Yamunacarya's heart a
desire to renounce the throne and lead the Sri Sampradaya. After
deeply considering the message of Bhagavad-gita in Nambi's company he
visited the temple of Sri Rangam, where he accepted the mantra from
Nambi and committed himself to giving up the opulence of royalty and
taking up the mission of his grandfather.
After surrendering himself fully to a life of spiritual
discipline, contemplation and devotion, Sri Yamunacarya went on to
become a great teacher. He quickly became the intellectual and
spiritual leader of the Sri Vaisnavas, highly regarded for his
realization, his scholarship, and his synthesis of Nathamuni's system
of philosophy with the system of Pancaratra worship ordained by the
Vedas. Yamunacarya's unquestioned status as a brahmana helped him to
establish his Pancaratrik version of Vedanta above the protests of the
followers of Sankaracarya. Thus he increased the prestige of
Vaisnavism and Krsna-bhakti by demonstrating both its scriptural
basis and its spiritual superiority to mundane casteism. Among his
writings are the famous devotional prayers to Visnu known as the
Stotra-ratnam, the Jewel of Prayers. His writings also include
various philosophical and theological works: the Gita-sangraha, an
explanation of his views on Bhagavad-gita; his Agama-pramanya,
expounding the synthesis of the Pancaratra tradition with his version
of Vaisnava Vedanta; and other important doctrinal works, such as the
Siddhitraya or Threefold Perfection (of which only fragments survived
him) and the Atma-siddhi, or Treatise on Self-realization.
Yamunacarya's principle writings are in Sanskrit. Writing in
Sanskrit was for Yamunacarya somewhat of a strategic departure from
the tradition of the South Indian Alwars, who wrote in Tamil. By
writing his scriptural commentaries in Sanskrit, however, Yamunacarya
hoped to establish the South Indian tradition within a more classic
framework of exposition acceptable to a wider range of Vedic scholars.
In this way, he laid the groundwork for Ramanuja to establish Sri
Vaisnavism as an orthodox sampradaya, or major school of theology.
The general outline of Sri Vaisnavism, as well as many of its
details were chalked out by Yamunacarya in his writings.
It remained for Ramanuja to fill in that outline, to etch out its
finer details, to establish a more orthodox Sri Vaisnavism in the
collective consciousness of South India, and to build a place in
history for the Sri Vaisnava sampradaya.
Yamunacarya attracted many followers and disciples; history
records the names of only twenty of them. Although they were sincere
and devoted to their beloved gurudeva, none of them were blessed with
the deep scholarship or determined energy required to carry on his
great work in a significant way. It was left to Sri Ramanujacarya to
fulfill Yamunacarya's hopes for the future of Sri Vaisnavism.
Periya Tirumalai Nambi, who is also called Sri Saila Purna in
some accounts, was Yamunacarya's favorite follower. Under the guidance
of Yamunacarya, he accepted the renounced order of life and lived with
his guru, serving him to the very end. Nambi had two sisters, named
Bhudevi and Sridevi, after the two consorts of Lord Sri Venkatesvara.
Bhudevi married a pious brahmana named Asuri Kesavacarya. Kesavacarya
lived in Sri Perumudura, about twenty-six miles from Madras. After
some time, a child was born to them. He was named Laksmana by Nambi,
after Laksmana, the brother of Sri Ramacandra. According to Sri
Vaisnavas, Ramanuja was an incarnation of Laksmana himself. Since
Laksman had been a great devotee of Rama the boy soon became known as
Rama-anuja, or “follower of Rama.”
According to Sri Vaisnava tradition, Ramanuja was born on the fifth
day of the full moon in the month of Caitra in 1017 A.D.
Ramanuja's family belonged to the caste of Vadama smarta-brahmanas,
who were formal Vedic scholars.
Ramanuja's father Kesavacarya was very much attached to the
performance of Vedic sacrifices or yajnas.
For this reason he became famous as Sarvakratu or the performer of all
kinds of sacrifices. When the boy came of age, Kesavacarya immersed
him in Sanskrit education, teaching him grammar, logic, and the Vedas.
Although Ramanuja was well-schooled in brahminical learning, however,
he had not yet been exposed to the deeply devotional Tamil hymns
glorifying Sri Visnu.
Still, his natural devotion had already been awakened by association
with a non-brahmana disciple of Sri Yamunacarya named Kancipurna, and
Ramanuja demonstrated a saintly nature even from his early childhood.
As time passed he underwent all the purificatory rites of a pious
Hindu, including the sacred thread ceremony and was married, at the
age of sixteen.
Only a month after the wedding, Ramanuja's father became gravely
ill and passed away. After the passing of his father, Ramanuja moved
along with his family to Kancipuram, where he entered the academy of
Yadava Prakasa, a Vedantist of the impersonalist Sankarite school.
According to some commentators, the decision to enroll Ramanuja in the
school of a non-Vaisnava is evidence that his family was not strictly
devoted to Visnu but were merely caste brahmanas interested in
insuring that their son would become a good scholar. Others are
convinced that this was merely Ramanuja's strategy to become
well-versed in the arguments of Sankaracarya before thoroughly
refuting them in his own commentaries.
Ramanuja soon excelled among the students of Yadava Prakasa and
become his teacher's favorite student. Yadava Prakasa preached the
theory of nondualism, and stressed the illusion of all form, including
the form of Sri Visnu. As Ramanuja's devotion to Visnu blossomed, his
disgust with this philosophy grew. Still, out of respect for his
teacher he avoided conflict.
Soon, however, the day arrived when he could no longer tolerate
the impersonalism of Yadava Prakasa.
One day Ramanuja was massaging his guru's back as Yadava Prakasa
explained a verse from the Candogya Upanisad. The verse contained the
words kapyasam pundarikam evam aksini. Following the interpretation
of Sankaracarya, Yadava Prakasa explained that kapy means “monkey”
and asanam means “ass.” The verse therefore, as interpreted by Yadava
Prakasa was translated to mean, “Lord Visnu's lotus eyes are as red as
a monkey's ass.”
Ramanuja was enraged at this blasphemy, and the hot tears flowed
which from his eyes in anguish fell upon his guru's back. Yadava
Prakasa could understand that his disciple was disturbed, and inquired
as to what the problem was.
When Ramanuja took issue with his guru's interpretation, Yadava
Prakasa was astonished. He demanded Ramanuja's interpretation.
Ramanauja explained that kapyasam means “that which sits upon the
water and flourishes by drinking,”—in other words, a lotus.
So the meaning of the verse is that the lotus eyes of Visnu are as
beautiful as the red lotus which blossoms in the water.”
When Yadava Prakasa saw his disciple's expertise in defeating his
argument, he knew that he had a powerful rival in his midst. From
that day on, he began plotting Ramanuja's murder. He conspired with
his disciples to go on pilgrimage to the Ganges and kill Ramanuja in a
secluded place. After killing Ramanuja, they would bathe in the
Ganges to expiate the sin. Fortunately, Ramanuja's cousin learned of
the murder plot and warned Ramanuja, who managed to escape unharmed.
After some time Yadava Prakasa returned to Kancipurnam, and Ramanuja
continued going to his lectures, although inwardly he was looking for
another path.
At Yamunacarya himself went to vist Ramanuja, but when he came to
Kanci he saw that Ramanuja was still a follower of Yadava Prakasa and
so Yamunacarya did not approach him. It is said that Yamunacarya
watched him from a distance and prayed for Ramanuja to become the
darsana-pravartaka, or philosophical preceptor of the Sri Vaisnava
Sampradaya.
About this time, the king of Kancipuram called for Yadava
Prakasa. His daughter was possessed by a brahma-raksasa, a brahmana
ghost. Yadava Prakasa was called as an exorcist, and when he arrived
with his disciples, he was brought before the king's daughter and
asked to relieve her of the influence of the ghost. Speaking through
the girl's mouth, the ghost insulted Yadava Prakasa and laughed at
him. Ramanuja was asked to try, and when he came before the girl, the
brahmana ghost said, “If Ramanuja blesses me with the dust of his
lotus feet, I shall leave this girl.” Ramanuja did so upon which the
girl was cured, and the king was deeply indebted to him.
After this humiliation before Ramanuja, it was not long before
Yadava Prakasa told Ramanuja to leave his asrama. The final split
between them came when Yadava Prakasa was discussing the meaning of
two Upanisadic texts: saravam khalv idam brahma (Candogya Upanisad
3.1, “everything is Brahman”) and neha nanasti kincana (Katha Upanisad
4.11, “there is no distintion”). Yadava Prakasa discussed these
verses at length while explaining the theory of oneness promoted by
Sankaracarya with great eloquence. After Yadava Prakasa was finished
speaking, Ramanuja gave his own interpretation.
Ramanuja explained that sarvam khalv idam brahman would mean
“the whole universe is Brahman, if it were not for the word tajjalan
in the next part of the verse, which qualifies the meaning.
Ramanujacarya held that the means not that the universe is Brahman,
but that it is pervaded by Brahman. From Brahman the universe comes,
by Brahman it is sustained, and into Brahman it ultimately enters,
just as a fish is born in water, lives in water, and is ultimately
dissolved into water. Still a fish is not water, but a separate
entity entirely. In the same way the universe, although existing
within Brahman is different from Brahman. Just as a fish can never be
water, so the universe can never be Brahman. As to the second verse,
neha nanasti kincana, according to Ramanuja it does not mean “No
distinction exists,” but rather that things are not distinct in that
they are are all interconnected, just as pearls are strung on a
thread. Since all things are inter-related and inter-connected, in a
certain sense it may be said that there is no distinction to be made
between them. All things are related to Brahman and as such do not
have any existence which is distinct from Brahman. Still, while a
certain unity can be seen in the inter-relatedness of all things,
everything within the universe has its own distinct reality. Pearls
strung on a thread have unity; collectively they form an organic
whole, a necklace. Still, each individual pearl has its own unique
qualities. While spirit, matter, and God may be seen as one organic
whole, still all of them have their unique qualities. Therefore,
Ramanuja argued, the principle of absolute oneness as argued by
Sankaracarya cannot stand; rather the principle of unity characterized
by different qualities must be accepted.
After leaving Yadava Prakasa, Ramanuja was advised by his mother
to take guidance from Kancipurna, the non-brahmana Vaisnava whose
devotion Ramanuja greatly revered. Kancipurna advised him to serve the
Visnu diety in the temple of Lord Varada by carrying water every day
to the temple. He began serving Kancipurna with great devotion, and
soon was accepted as his disciple. Although Kancipurna was by birth a
member of the sudra caste and Ramanujacarya was a brahmana, this
never influenced Ramanujacarya's devotion for him. He accepted
Kancipurna as his guru without reservation. Ramanujacarya's wife,
however, could not tolerate her husband's acceptance of a sudra as a
guru, and did her best to discourage Ramanujacarya from remaining in
his company.
Yamunacarya by this time was very old. Wracked by illness, he
was on the verge of passing from this world when he heard that
Ramanujacarya had left the school of Yadava Prakasa and had begun
serving the humble Kancipurna, who was famous as a great devotee of
Visnu. He sent some disciples to bring Ramanujacarya. When
Ramanujacarya heard the news, he immediately set out for Sri Rangam,
the headquarters of the Sri Vaisnavas, where Yamunacarya lay dying.
But by the time he arrived at the side of Yamunacarya it was too late.
The master had passed from this world, entering Vaikuntha and the
eternal service of Sri Visnu.
At that time, Ramanujacarya noticed that three fingers on the
right hand of the master were closed. He asked the disciples of
Yamunacarya if he had been accustomed to hold his hand in such a way,
and they replied that it was highly unusual. Sripad Ramanuja could
understand that this unusual gesture of the three clenched fingers
represented the three unfulfilled wishes of Yamunacarya. He then vowed
to fulfill these three wishes. He promised to teach the people in
general the religion of surrender to Visnu, training them in the five
samskaras, or purificatory processes. As he did so, one of
Yamunacarya's fingers relaxed. Ramanujacarya then vowed to comment
on the hymns of the Alvars, the South Indian saints, and with this the
second finger relaxed. Finally Ramanujacarya promised to write a
scholarly commentary on the Vedanta-sutras expounding the principles
of Sri Vaisnavism as the ultimate truth of the Vedas. With this the
last clenched finger was relaxed. A look of spiritual peace came over
the lotus face of Ramanujacarya's divine master, Sri Yamunacarya, as
if to say that he could now depart peacefully, knowing that his
mission was in good hands.
Upon his return to Kancipurna, Ramanujacarya gradually became
completely disinterested in his family life, his beautiful wife and
home, and absorbed himself deeply in the service of his guru
Kancipurna with whom he began spending most of his time. As
Ramanujacarya spent more time at the temple, his wife became unhappy
that her husband was ignoring her. She was further humiliated by the
fact that he was neglecting her to serve a low-born sudra.
One day, Ramanujacarya invited Kancipurna for dinner, thinking
that by so doing he would be able to take the remnants of his guru's
prasada, and so become blessed. Kancipurna, being very humble arived
early, before Ramanuja returned home. Kanipurna explained to
Ramanuja's wife Kambalaksa that he had service to do in the temple
and could not stay for long. With this, Kambalaksa quickly fed him
and sent him away. After Kancipurna had left, she took a long stick
and carefully picked up the banana leaf upon which he had dined, so as
not to soil her hands with what she thought to be the contaminated
remnants of an untouchable. After ordering her maidservant to clean
the room carefully, she bathed in order to purify herself. When
Ramanuja returned and heard of the insult to his guru, he was enraged.
One day, while drawing water from a well, Ramanujacarya's wife
met the wife of his guru, Kancipurna. When the water from their
waterpots accidentally became mixed, Ramanujacarya's wife cursed
Kancipurna's wife, thinking that her waterpot had become contaminated
by the water of an outcaste. Whend Ramanujacarya came to know of this
insult, he was furious. He sent his wife home to her parents and left
to take sannyasa.
After leaving home, he went to the temple of Varadraja to see the
beloved deity of Visnu whome he had served for so long. After
obtaining saffron cloth and all the necessary paraphernalia of the
renounced order, he accepted the triple staff, (tridanda) of the
Vaisnava sannyasi, symbolizing the complete surrender of mind, body,
and words to Visnu. With this, he became known as Yatiraja, “the king
of the renounced order.”
Soon after taking sannyasa, Ramanujacarya established his own
monastery or asrama, where he began training disciples in his
systematic Vaisnava interpretation of Vedanta as well as in the path
of devotion to Visnu. His asrama was established near the temple in
Kanci. His first disciple was his older sister's son, his nephew
Mudali andan, also known as Dasarathi. His second disciple was a
learned and wealthy brahmana named Kurattalvan, also known as Kuresa,
who was renowned for his photographic memory.
One day the mother of Yadava Prakasa saw Ramanujacarya teaching
his disciples and was impressed by his saintly qualities. She was a
great devotee of Visnu and was somewhat unhappy that her son, Yadava
Prakasa had become a follower of Sankaracarya's impersonal monism. She
encouraged Yadava Prakasa to visit Ramanujacarya. That night Yadava
Prakasa had a dream in which a divine voice instructed him to become
Ramanujacarya's disciple. The next day, upon visiting Ramanujacarya,
Yadava Prakasa found him wearing the dress of a Vaisnava. He asked
him, “Why have you rejected the school of Sankaracarya? Why have you
adopted this Vaisnava dress? Where is this sanctioned in the
scriptures? Can you show any scriptural evidence supporting your
behavior?”
With this, Ramanujacarya instructed his foremost disciple,
Kuresa, to enlighten Yadava Prakasa with the scriptural evidence in
support of Vaisnava dress. He quoted extensively from the Sruti,
saying, “Sruti is the best evidence. Therefore I shall cite some
references from the Sruti.[1]
In the Sruti it is said:
sa te visnorabja-cakre pavitre[2]
janmambodhim tartave carnaninra
mule bahvordadhate'nye purana
linganyamge tavakanyarpayanti
“To free themselves from the ocean of repeated birth and death, the
best of men decorate their bodies with the symbols of the lotus and
cakra of Visnu.
aibhirbayamurukramasya cihnai rahnkita loke subhaga bhavamah
tad visno paramam padam ye'dhigaccanti lacchata[3]
“Just as those who go to the holy abode of Visnu are decorated with
the conch, lotus, disc, and club, so shall we also wear these marks
and thus attain that divine abode.
upavit-adi-baddharyah sanka-cakradayas tatha[4]
brahmanasya visesena vaisnavasya visesatah
“Brahmanas should not only wear the sacred thread, but they should
also decorate their bodies with the conch, lotus, cakra, and club of
Visnu,thus identifying themselves as Vaisnavas.
hare padakrtim atmano hitaya madhye cchidram-urdhva-purndram[5]
yo dharayati sa parasya priyo bhavati sa punyavan bhavati sa muktiman bhavati.
“One who decorates himself with the tilaka markings resembling the
lotus feet of Visnu with a space in the middle becomes dear to the
Paramatma, becomes pious, and attains liberation.”
After hearing Kuresa expound so perfectly the scriptural evidence
for adopting the dress of a Vaisnava, Yadava Prakasa asked him, “Why
do you say that Brahman has qualities ? This view
(visistadvaita-vada) is not supported by Sankaracarya. Where is the
scriptural evidence for your position?
Again Kuresa replied, citing the Sruti: yah sarvajnah sarvavit[6]
“‘[The qualities of the Supreme Absolute Truth are that] He is
all-wise and omniscient.’ His qualities are further described in the
Upanisads as follows:
na tasya karyam karanans ca vidyate[7]
na tat samas cabhyadhikas ca drsyateæ
parasya saktir-vividhaive-sruyate
svabhaviki jnana-bala-kriya ca
“He does not possess bodily form like that of an ordinary living
entity: He has a transcendental form of bliss and knowledge, and thus
there is no difference between His body and His soul. All His senses
are transcendentally divine. He is absolute substance. Any one of His
senses can perform the action of any other sense. Nothing is greater
than Him or equal to Him. His potencies are multifarious, and thus His
deeds are automatically performed as a natural consequence of His
divine will. In other words , whatever He wills immediately becomes
reality. His divine energies are threefold: His knowledge
(jnana-sakti) energy (also known as cit-sakti or samvit-sakti), His
strength energy (bala-sakti, also known as the Lord's existence
energy, sat, or sandhini-sakti), and his pastime (kriya-sakti) energy
(also known as his ecstasy energy, ananda or hladini-sakti).
narayanah param brahma tattvam narayanah parah[8]: “Narayana is the
Supreme Absolute Truth, Brahman. He is the Ultimate Reality.
harih parayanam param harih parayanam param[9]
punah punarvadamyaham harih parayanam param
“The Supreme Personality of Godhead is Sri Hari. He alone is the
ultimate shelter, the supreme refuge, the final resting place. Again
and again I proclaim this fact: Sri Hari is the Supreme Personality of
Godhead.“
In this way, Kuresa went on and on, citing one scriptural
evidence after the next to establish the principles of Sri Vaisnavism.
Yadava Prakasa was astounded at the profound scholarship of this
disciple of Ramanujacarya. Remembering his mother's advice to take
shelter of Ramanuja, remembering the divine voice in the dream that
told him to surrender to Ramanuja, and remembering all the offenses
he had committed at the holy feet of that great saint, Yadava Prakasa
could contain himself no longer. He fell at the feet of
Ramanujacarya and prayed for his blessings. He submitted himself as a
disciple of Ramanuja, who immediately accepted him, giving him the
name Govinda Jiyar.
Yadava Prakasa later became a famous disciple of Ramanujacarya.
He freed himself from his attachment to the impersonal monism of
Sankaracarya. After taking sannyasa, he used his great powers of
scholarship to promote the cause of Ramanujacarya and Sri Vaisnavism.
He was no longer a proud scholar; now he was a humble devotee. In his
final years, he was ordered by Ramanuja to write a book on the proper
religious conduct to be followed by Vaisnava sannyasis of the Sri
Vaisnava line. This book is called Yati-dharma-sammuccaya, and is
still studied and followed by the sannyasis of the Sri sampradaya.
As Ramanuja's fame spread, the disciples of Yamunacarya in Sri
Rangam begged Ramanuja to come and lead them. Finally, after taking
permission from his beloved deity Lord Varada, Ramanuja left
Kancipuram for Sri Rangam, to begin his new life.
After arriving in Sri Rangam, Ramanujacarya immersed himself in
studying the scriptures under the guidance of Mahapurna, a prominent
disciple of Yamunacarya. With the help of Mahapurna, Ramanujacarya
became expert in many scriptures, including the Nyasatattva, the
Gitartha-sangraha, the Siddhitraya, the Brahma-Sutra, and the
Pancaratras. After some time Mahapurna advised Ramanujacarya to go to
the great Goshtipurna and accept initiation in the Vaisnava mantra
from him.
At the behest of Mahapurna, Ramanuja approached Goshtipurna for
the mantra, but was refused, for Goshtipurna was reluctant to give
such a confidential mantra to a relative newcomer. Ramanujacarya
approached Goshtipurna 18 times with great humility, finally breaking
into tears and pleading for his mercy. At last Goshtipurna gave him
the mantra, after first swearing him to absolute secrecy. When
Ramanuja had vowed never to repeat the mantra to anyone else,
Goshtipurna whispered the mantra in his ear saying, “This mantra is
most powerful. Whoever chants it will attain liberation; he will
return to the spiritual Vaikuntha planets where he will achieve the
personal service of the Lord.”
As he left the temple and proceeded towards Sri Rangam, a crowd
gathered around Ramanujacarya. They had heard that he was to receive
the mantra from Goshtipurna, and begged to know its secret. Inspired
to distribute the magic of the mantra that could free anyone who
chants it from material existence, Ramanuja announced to the crowd:
“Please chant this mantra: Om namo narayanaya.”
The crowd was overjoyed, and felt that they had been truly
blessed, but when the news reached Goshtipurna, he called for
Ramanuja. Outraged that his new disciple would disobey his order so
quickly, he demanded an explanation. “I told you to keep this mantra
a secret. Why have you so quickly revealed it to the masses? Do you
know the penalty for such behavior?”
Ramanuja replied, “Yes, gurudeva, I may go to hell for
disobeying your order.“
“Then why have you done such a thing?”
“ My beloved teacher, I realized that the power of the mantra
given by you could deliver everyone who hears it. When I saw the
earnest desire of these people to be saved from material life, I could
not contain myself. I felt some divine inspiration to distribute your
mercy to all of them. If this is a great sin, then I must be punished
by your holiness. Condemn me to hell, then, if my sin warrants it. But
please do not show your wrath to these simple people who begged me for
the mantra.”
When Goshtipurna saw the earnest sincerity of his disciple, his
heart was moved. After all, what greater principle can there be than
the distribution of the Lord's mercy. Although Ramanuja had disobeyed
the letter of his instructions about the mantra, he had understood
the real spirit of the mantra itself. He would make a great preacher
of the Sri sampradaya, and had shown that he had the capacity to
instill devotion in the hearts of the people in general. How could he
then be condemned?
Goshtipurna fell at Ramanuja's feet, saying, “Forgive me, my
child. It is you who are my master, and I the disciple. Who am I to
take the role of your guru? How could I know your greatness? Accept me
as your disciple.”
After this incident, Ramanujacarya's reputation spread far and
wide. He was regarded as an incarnation of Laksmana himself. He began
training more and more disciples, and his camp grew. He engaged many
scholars in debate and defeated them by propounded his sytematic view
of Vedanta, known as Visistadvaita-vada, or qualified monism. One
such scholar was Yajnamurti.
Yajnamurti was a famous pandita who had defeated many scholars in
argument and had written many commentaries on the scriptures. He
challenged Ramanuja to a debate saying that if he lost, he would carry
Ramanuja's shoes and become his disicple. Ramanuja, for his part,
declared that if he was defeated, he would give up books and arguments
forever. The debate began and went on for 17 days. Ramanuja was
discouraged. He prayed fervently to Lord Varada, his beloved Deity,
for help. That night he had a dream in which the Deity assured him of
victory, advising him to follow the line of reasoning given by
Yamunacarya. Uplifted by his divine vision, Ramanuja appeared in the
arena of debate with renewed confidence. Before the debate began,
however, Yajnamurti surrendered himself to the holy feet of
Ramanujacarya, saying, “You are my master. You are glowing with the
confidence of one who is in connection with divinity. I realize now
that it is futile to argue with you. Please accept me.”
From that day on, Ramanuja's reputation increased. During this
time, he toured India with his disciples, traveling as far north as
Kashmir, where he consulted the commentary of Bodhayana on the Vedanta
Sutras. Ramanuja was also a great advocate of proper Deity worship
and had a habit of reforming the system of worship wherever he went.
In this way, he standardized the system of worship throughout the
Vaisnava temples of India, eliminating many of the practices of
nonVaisnavas that had become traditional. His system was not,
however, greeted with much enthusisam in Jagannatha Puri, where
worship is performed according to the system of raga-marga, or
spontaneous devotion. It is said that after he attempted to reform the
system of Deity worship there, Lord Jagannatha became disturbed. One
night, as Ramanuja slept, he was transported by the power of
Jagannatha to Kurmasthan. When he awoke, he thought he had committed
a great offense to Visnu. Mistaking the deity of Kurma for a
Siva-lingam, he thought that Visnu had thrown him into a Siva temple.
When at last he realized that it was a temple of Lord Kurma, Ramanuja
set about reforming the deity worship there.
After this, Ramanuja wrote the Sri-Bhasya, his commentary on
Vedanta, and his fame spread still further. The king of Cola, who was
a great follower of Siva, sent a petition to all the famous scholars
of South India, demanding their signature. The petition declared Siva
to be the supreme. Many scholars signed, but Ramanuja refused. When
this came to the king's attention, he arranged to abduct Ramanuja, who
managed to escape with the help of his devoted follower, Kuresa. They
exchanged garments, and Ramanuja, disguised as a householder, slipped
through the guards that surrounded his camp. Meanwhile the king's
soldiers arrested Kuresa, who had put on the sannyasa dress of
Ramanuja. This king was the same king whose daughter was saved from a
ghost by Ramanuja. When Kuresa was dragged before the king in the
dress of Ramanuja, the king demanded that he glorify Siva as the
supreme. Kuresa refused. Because Ramanuja had helped the king's
daughter, the king decided to be lenient. He told his servants not
to kill their prisoner, but merely to put his eyes out for refusing to
see the superior position of Siva. After Kuresa was released, his
eyesight was restored by a miracle. The king however, did not fare so
well. He developed a black boil on his neck and died. Henceforth that
king became famous as “Krmi-kantha,” or worm-throat, because of the
infection that killed him.
Meanwhile, Ramanuja delivered many thousands of people to the
cause of Sri Vaisnavism and established many temples.
He traveled through what is now Madurai and Mysore, converting many
Jains on his way.
At one point he defeated one thousand Jains in argument, after which
they committed suicide rather than become Vaisnavas.
Ramanuja was merciful not only to those in the renounced order,
but also to those surrendered grhasthas who had given their lives to
his mission.
One such grhastha was Dhanurdasa. When he met Ramanuja, Dhanurdasa was
very much attached to his beautiful wife.
One day, Ramanuja asked him if he wanted to see a real beauty, and out
of curiosity, Dharnurdasa agreed. Ramanuja took him to the temple of
Narayana and made him behold the beauty of the deity. Upon realizing
that the Lord's beauty eclipses all beauties of this world, Dhanurdasa
became a great devotee and follower of Ramanuja.
Dhanurdasa was an example of detachment. To teach detachment to
one of his disciples, Ramanuja once staged the following
demonstration. He had one of his disciples go to the place where the
sannyasis bathed to switch their clothes, so that after bathing there
would be some confusion. When the sannyasis, who were all renowned
scholars and renunciants, were finished bathing, they found that their
clothes had been exchanged. One swami was wearing the cloth of
another, and so an argument ensued. As one after another finished his
bath and went to find his clothes, the argument grew more heated. In
this way, these great scholars of renunciation were seen to be
attached to some simple pieces of cloth.
Then Ramanuja sent his disciple to the home of Dhanurdasa, after
first arranging for Dhanurdasa to serve in the temple, thus making
sure that he would not be at home. The disciple went to the home of
Dhanurdasa in the evening, and, following Ramanuja's orders began
stealing the jewelry from the body of Dhanurdasa's wife. After
stripping the ornaments from one side of her body, the disicple was
about to go when suddenly she turned over in her sleep. The disciple
was shocked and left through the window immediately. Ramanuja had
instructed him to wait outside the window for the return of
Dhanurdasa, to record his reaction. After some time, Dhanurdasa
returned home. At that time, Dhanurdasa wife asked him, “Dhanurdasa,
is there something wrong at the temple?”
“No, my dear. Why?”
“I am worried that they are in need of money, but ashamed to ask
for it. We must do something to help them.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Because one of the devotees from the temple snuck in through the
window and began taking the jewelry from my body. I think those poor
saints must desperately need our help to do something like that.”
“What did you do?”
“I turned over, but he fled through the window.”
“Why did you do that? You scared him away! Now what will we do?”
“I didn't mean to scare him. I only turned over so that he could
take the ornaments from the other side of my body as well.”
Dhanurdasa chastised her saying, “If you were not so affected by
false ego, you would have given him all your jewels. Now what will we
do? We have failed miserably!”
With this, his wife began to lament saying, “You are right. It is
only my pride that kept me from surrendering everything. How will we
ever make any advancement?”
From his hiding place Ramanuja's disciple was astonished at the
humility and surrender of Dhanurdasa and his chaste wife. When the
disciple returned to his guru, he reported everything that had taken
place. Ramanuja then explained to him the meaning of both these
events—the garments of the sannyasis and the jewels of Dhanurdasa's
wife: in this case, the sannyasis were so attached to some ragged
bits of cloth that they were fighting over them, whereas Dhanurdasa
and his wife, although grhasthas, were so free from attachment to
material things that they were ready to have their jewels stolen by
the devotees if they were needed for the service of the Lord.
In this way, Ramanuja continued to instructed his disciples both
by example and by precept. His influence on Vaisnavism is powerfully
felt to this day.
His commentary on Vedanta, the Sri Bhasya is still considered to be
the most formidable challenge to the commentary of Sankaracarya. It
is the most famous of the Vaisnava commentaries.
Apart from the Sri Bhasya, the most important of Ramanujacarya's
works are his commentary on Bhagavad-gita and his Vedartha-samgraha,
which summarizes the essential Vedic principles. According to
tradition, Sripad Ramanujacarya lived to be 100 years old.
His disciplic succession continues to this day in maintaining the
traditions of Sri Vaisnava practice, deity worship and philosophy that
he systemized in his lifetime.
Ramanujacarya passed away on the tenth day of the waning moon in the
month of Phalguna, which corresponds to the month of January February
on the Christian calendar.
[1] The following verses from ßruti are quoted by VedÅnta DeÍika, the
next important acÅrya after RÅmanuja in his biography called
Sac-caritra-rak›a.
[2] From the ®k-Ba›kala-sakha
[3] From Atharva-Veda
[4] From the Vayavya Upa-purÅna, a section of the BrahmaˆÎa-sa˜hita.
[5] From the Atharva-Veda.
[6] MuˆÎaka Upani›ad
[7] ßvetÅÍvatara Upani›ad 6.8
[8] Taittiriya NÅrÅyaˆopani›ad 93.
[9] Hari-bhakti-sudhodaya 3.52
[Available from: www.stephen-knapp.com]
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Excellent Resource, Nagarajan. Yes, Balu, I remember taking Haripriya Rangarajan aroun, in Ahmedabad. We are family friends.
On Feb 17, 11:08 am, "s.bala subramani B+ve" <sunkenl...@gmail.com>
wrote:
>>> கடலில் நீல வடிவத்தில் மிதந்து வந்தவர் என்றும் ....<<<
அருமறையிலேயே சொல்லப் படுகிறது ;
ரிக் வேதம் பத்தாம் மண்டலத்தில் -
अदो यद् दारु प्लवते सिन्धोः पारे अपूरुषम् ।
तदारभस्व दुर्हणो तेन गच्छ परस्तरम् ॥ ( १0/१५५/३)
அதோ³ யத்³ தா³ரு ப்லவதே ஸிந்தோ⁴: பாரே அபூருஷம் |
ததா³ரபஸ்வ து³ர்ஹணோ தேந க³ச்ச² பரஸ்தரம் || ( 10/155/3)
சைவரும்,பவுத்தரும், சமணரும், பழங்குடியினரும் உரிமை கோரலாம்;
எந்தத் தவறுமில்லை . நர ஸமூஹம் முழுவதும் சேருமிடம் (நர அயந)
அதுதானே !
தேவ்
On Feb 17, 11:08 am, "s.bala subramani B+ve" <sunkenl...@gmail.com>
wrote:


’அதிவாதீ³ ப⁴வ’ எனும் ஆணை என்றும் உண்டு:
‘தூது நடந்தானை ஏத்தாத நா என்ன நாவே ?’ என
இளங்கோ அடிகளாரும் இடித்துரைத்துள்ளார்.
‘கூடல் திணை’ என்று முனைவர் கண்ணன் முன்பெல்லாம்
சொல்லிக்கொண்டிருப்பார்; அவரும் எழுத வேண்டும்.
நீங்களும் கூட எழுதுவதில் பாலு அவர்கள்
தடை சொல்லவா போகிறார் ?
இன்னம்பர் அடிகளாருக்கு இல்லாத சலுகையா ?
தேவ்
On Feb 17, 12:05 pm, Innamburan Innamburan <innambu...@gmail.com>
wrote:
> 'தா³ரு ப்லவதே...' என்று எழுதி விட்டால், 'தாரு பிரஹ்மணை' பற்றி எழுதுடா என்று
> என்னை ஆணையிடுவது போல் இருக்கு. என்ன் பண்றது? சுயபுராணக்கலப்பு இருக்கே[?]
> இன்னம்பூரான்
>
> 2012/2/17 DEV RAJ <rde...@gmail.com>
>
> > நெகிழ வைக்கும் முன்னுரை !
> > ஜகந்நாதர் பற்றி மேலும் எழுத வேண்டும்.
>
> > On Feb 17, 11:08 am, "s.bala subramani B+ve" <sunkenl...@gmail.com>
> > wrote:
> > >>> கடலில் நீல வடிவத்தில் மிதந்து வந்தவர் என்றும் ....<<<
>
> > அருமறையிலேயே சொல்லப் படுகிறது ;
> > ரிக் வேதம் பத்தாம் மண்டலத்தில் -
>
> > अदो यद् दारु प्लवते सिन्धोः पारे अपूरुषम् ।
> > तदारभस्व दुर्हणो तेन गच्छ परस्तरम् ॥ ( १0/१५५/३)
>
>
>
> 4F2.gif
> < 1KViewDownload
நீங்களும் கூட எழுதுவதில் பாலு அவர்கள்
தடை சொல்லவா போகிறார் ?
இந்த தொடருக்கான குறிப்பு நூல்கள்
ஸ்ரீ ராமானுஜர் வாழ்க்கை வரலாறுஎழுதியவர் ; சுவாமி ராமகிரிஷ்ணாந்தHistory of Orissa by k.c.PaanikaraiOrissa and her links with south by S.sunderrajan IASRavenshaw historical journel 2004 and 2005Utkal historical Research Journels 2003.2004,2005 and 2006Proceedings of the Orissa History congress 2003, 2004,2005The orissa historical Research journels all volumesThe insccriptions of orissa by sathyanarayan rajaguru all volumesInscriptions of orissa snigda tripaathyand some more
Referencepage no 44 Orissa and her Links with south by S.sunderrajan IAS published by Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeethaபுராண கதைகள் சொல்வதுஅவர் கோயிலில் செய்த செய்கையை பொறுக்காமல் கருடன் அவரை தூக்கி ஸ்ரீ குருமத்தில் போட்டு விட்டார் என்று அங்கு இருந்து அவர் சிம்மாசலம் வழியாக அகோபிலம் சென்றார் என்று
ஆனால் வாழ்வியல் செய்திகள் சொல்வதுபண்டாக்கள் அவர் செய்த மாற்றங்களை மக்களுக்கும் அரசருக்கும் பிடித்தமானவரை பிடிக்காமல்அவர் தூங்கும் போதுமாணிக்க பட்டின கடற்கரையில் போட்டு விட்டதாகவும் மீனவர்கள் அவரை காப்பற்றி சில்கா ஏரி வழியாக பாலூர் வரை கொண்டு விட்டதாகவும்சில செய்திகள் சொல்கிறது
--
Sri Jagannath Suprabhatam An Evaluation
Tarakanta Mohanty The book Sri Jagannath Suprabhatam and other stotras
written in Sanskrit with English commentary has been authored by a
retired I.A.S officer of Orissa cadre Shri S.Sundarrajan, twentynine
years back at Sambalpur on 2.9.80.
Many seers and saints of India as well as poets of Orissa have
eulogised Lord Jagannath, the Lord of the Universe in their thought
provoking stotras and lyrics.
Among them prominent are Shankaracharya 9th century A.D.
Kavi Jayadev of Orissa of thirteenth century,
Kabi Samrat Upendra Bhanja (1670 to 1720)
Dinakrushna Das (1666 to 1713)
Kabisurya Baladev Rath (1789 to 1845)
poet Salbeg (seventeeth century).
After Shankaracharya's (Kadachit Kalindi Tata Bipine,
Mudavirinari Bandana Kamala Swada Madhupa--Jagannath Swami Nayana
Pathagami Bhabatu eulogizing Lord Jagannath in his slokam and poet
Jagadeva's Dasavtar stotram "Pralaya Payodhi Jale Dhrutabanas
Bedam--Jaya Jagannatha Hare.
Shri Sundarrajan's eulogizing of Jagannath,
Shri Purosottama Hare Achyuta Suprabhatam is a very popular sloka
written in the twentieth century.
This booklet has four parts-(1) Shri Jagannatha Suprabhatam with 29
slokas. (2) Shri Jagannatha stotram having 11 slokas, Shri Jagannatha
Saranagati Stotram having 108 slokas and Shri Jagannath Mangala
Sasanak having 14 slokas with English Commentaries.
--
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அன்பின் பாலு,தைரியமாக எழுதுங்கள். தமிழர்களின் சாபமே முட்டுக்கட்டை போடுபவர்களின் முனகல் தான்! அதை நீங்கள் பொருட்படுத்த வேண்டியதில்லை. எழுதுங்கள்! எழுதிக்கொண்டே இருங்கள். இங்கும் உங்களுக்கு உதவிக்கு நாங்களும் வருகிறோம்.ஒரு சிறு குறியீடு:நான் பிறந்தது ஒரிஸ்ஸாவின் பர்ஹாம்பூரில். எனக்கு அங்குள்ளவர்கள் ஜகன்னாத் என்று பெயரே வைத்துவிட்டார்கள். ஆனால் எமது அன்னையார், என்னைத் தமது புண்ணிய வயிற்றில் சுமந்த காலை, சிம்மாசலம் சென்றிருந்திருக்கிறார். அங்குள்ள அப்பலநரசிம்ஹரிடம் வேண்டிக்கொண்டுவிட்டதால் எனக்கு அப்பலநரசிம்ஹம் என்று பெயரிட்டு மகிழ்ந்தார். அது நாளடைவில் அப்பலந்ரசய்யா ஆகிவிட்டது! வீட்டில் என்னை அழைக்கும் பெயர் அப்ப்ண்ணா என்பதே!
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ஆனாலும் அந்த தித்திப்பு உருண்டை பிரசாதம் நன்றாகவே இருக்கும்.. கோயில் உள்ளேயே எத்தனை கடைகள்.. சமீபத்தில் சென்றபோது கோயில் அருகே கார் பார்க்கிங் கிடையாது. ஒண்ணறை பர்லாங் நடக்கவேண்டும் என்றார்கள். ஆனால் ரிக்ஷா அல்லவ்ட்.. ஜாலியாக உட்கார்ந்து நிதானமாக உள்ளே சென்று அவரைப் பக்கத்தில் போய் பண்டாவையும் மீறிபார்த்து விட்டு ஹெல்லோ சொல்லி வந்தேன் கூடவே 'பொலிக பொலிக' பாடலுடன்..
பொலிக பொலிக பொலிக
போயிற்று வல்லுயிர்ச் சாபம்…
கண்டோம் கண்டோம் கண்டோம்
கண்ணுக்கு இனியன கண்டோம்…
திரியும் கலியுகம் நீங்கி
தேவர்கள் தாமும் புகுந்து
பெரிய கிருதயுகம் பற்றிப்
பேரின்ப வெள்ளம் பெருக!நம்மாழ்வார்
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"Tamil in Digital Media" group is an activity of Tamil Heritage Foundation. Visit our website: http://www.tamilheritage.org; you may like to visit our Muthusom Blogs at: http://www.tamilheritage.org/how2contribute.html To post to this group, send email to minT...@googlegroups.com
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அழுவன் தொழுவன் ஆடிக் காண்பன் பாடி அலற்றுவன்,
தழுவல் வினையால் பக்கம் நோக்கி நாணிக் கவிழ்ந்திருப்பன்,
செழுவொண் பழனக் குடந்தைக் கிடந்தாய்! செந்தா மரைக்கண்ணா!
தொழுவன் னேனை யுன்தாள் சேரும் வகையே சூழ்கண்டாய்.
திருவாய்மொழி
ஆழ்வார்கள் கண்டெடுத்த முத்து, நம் நெஞ்சை ஈரமாக என்றும்
வைத்திருக்கிறது. கிருஷ்ண சைதன்யர் எனும் கார்முகில் இராதா-கிருஷ்ண
பாவத்தில் நம்மை என்றும் நனைத்து வைத்திருக்கிறது. அது இல்லையெனில் கலி
எனும் கோடையில் நம் ஜீவன் வாடி வதங்கிவிடும்!
போலோ! ஜெய் ஜெகந்நாத்!
நா.கண்ணன்