Adisesha /LakshnaNa /Ramanuja

[Guest guest]

Well at a lecture last week somebody brought the same topic up (Ramanujacharya

) being the incarination of Lakshmana and hence Adisesha too because of the

same reason that Mr.Srinivasan mentioned, and the person who was delivering said

that in all the avatarams Narayana always went with the whole parivaram that

is Adisesha, Lakshmi etc. He just quoted Ramayana, but now I would like to

know if anyone can say something of the same for all the other avatarams

because as far as my small memory base can stretch I cannot think of anything

for say in Vamana avataram. Can somebody dispel my ignorance in this>

--Sriram

[Guest guest]

In this discussion, Mani wrote:

 

"The earliest biographies, though, do not mention

Ramanuja as an incarnation of anyone. Neither

Vedanta Desika nor Manavaala Maamunigal mention

the Adisesha = Ramanuja equation in their poems

in praise of Ramanuja, so it is likely that this

story gained currency only later."

 

to which KS replied:

 

"According Guruparapara prabhavam, (written by piLLaan

ar the time of Ramanuja's death), Peria thimulalai nambi,

uncle of Ramanuja is the one who names the child as

Ramanuja, Lakshmana, Ilyaazhvaar etc. all after Adisesha.

Lakshmana is also considered incarnation of Adisesha in

Ramavataram. So the idea is much older, even though

Vedanta Desikar does not mention it."

 

--

 

I am not certain of that. I haven't read the Guruparampara

prabhavam but if that really mentions this, I am sure both

manavaaLa maamuni as well as dEsikar would have elaborated on

this.

 

Patricia Y. Mumme speculates in her book, "The Srivaisnava

Theological Dispute: Manavalamamuni and Vedanta Desika", that

the above theory must have became popular after the period of

Manavala Mamuni, as late as the middle of the 17th century,

when the then/vada kalai split occured. Works were written to

show Manavala Mamuni as an avatar of Adisesha and to make

Manavala Mamuni, the "rightful" heir to Sri Ramanuja,

Ramanuja was also talked of as an avatar of Adisesha.

 

The theory does sound believable.

 

It seems to me that rather than understanding and following

Sri Ramanuja's principles, his "followers" are more

interested in making him an incarnation of x or y, make a

statue out of him and pour milk and honey on that statue.

So, whose incarnation is Desikar?

 

--badri

 

-----------------

S.Badrinarayanan

Graduate Student

Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Cornell University

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[Guest guest]

Desikar is an incarnation of the ghanta (bell) of thirupathi

venkateshvara perumaal. Or, some say he is an incarnation of

thiru vengadam udayaan himself. I am willing to accept the

former; the latter I cannot.

 

Mani