thirunakshatram of Sri Pillai Lokacharya

[Guest guest]

Today is the thirunakshatram (birth anniversary) of Sri

Pillai Lokacharya (c. 13th-14th centuries A.D.), a great

acharya of Sri Vaishnavism and senior contemporary of Sri

Vedanta Desika. He was reknowned for his catholicity of

spirit and lucidity of exposition. Many of his works were

written with the expressed purpose of explaining the higher

doctrines of Sri Vaishnavism to the less literate members

of the community.

 

Pillai Lokacharya was born in a family known for its

erudition and devotion. His father was Vadakku Thiruveedhi

Pillai, the author of the Eedu Vyaakhyaanam, the famed

commentary on Nammaazhvaar's Thiruvaaymozhi written at the

dictation of his teacher, Nampillai (Lokacharya). Since

Vadakku Thiruveedhi Pillai's wife gave birth to a son

through the blessings of Nampillai, the baby was named

Lokacharya Pillai, later transposed to Pillai Lokacharya. A

second son, Azhagiya MaNavaaLa PerumaaL Naayanaar, was born

to the couple at the blessing of Azhagiya MaNavaaLan, Sri

Ranganaatha PerumaaL Himself. This acharya died at an early

age, but not before producing a very deep treatise on the

teachings of Nammaazhvaar, the Achaarya Hridayam.

 

Both Pillai Lokacharya and his brother remained lifelong

brahmacharis, and indeed, the works of both the acharyas

seem to favor such a life. Both spent most of their time in

Srirangam, with Sri Lokacharya attracting a large number of

disciples, both male and female, from all sections of

society. Late in life Sri Lokacharya was forced to flee

Srirangam due to the invasion of Malik Kafur. He carried

the utsava moorthi of Ranganatha away with him to prevent

its destruction by the invaders. Exhausted by the frantic

journey, he died a short time later at the village of

Jyotishkudi.

 

Sri Lokacharya produced 18 treatises, later known

collectively as the AshtaadaSa Rahasya or ``Eighteen

Esoteric Teachings.'' Of these, the most important are the

 

(1) Tattva Trayam, a Sanskrit work summarizing the

Visishtadvaita conception of reality;

(2) the Mumukshuppadi, a MaNipravaaLa (Sanskritized Tamil)

work on the three supreme mysteries of the Sri

Vaishnava religion (ashtaaksharam -- "om namo naraayaNaaya",

dvaya mantram, and the charama slokam -- Gita verse 18.66);

(3) and Sri Vachana BhushaNam, a collection of

``ornaments of sayings'' of the Azhvaars and

Acharyas, explaining the nature of God, the self, bhakti,

and prapatti.

 

Together with the Achaarya Hridayam and the works of Vedanta

Desika, these are the most important doctrinal texts of Sri

Vaishnavism.

 

Pillai Lokacharya was an exemplary representative of

``Ubhaya Vedanta'', the tradition based upon both the

Sanskrit Upanishads and the Azhvars' Divya Prabandham.

Utilizing the Vedanta as expounded by Sri Ramanuja, the

background of the Ramayana and Mahabharata, the doctrines of

the Paancaraatra, and the sayings of the Azhvaars, he wrote

several independent works propounding the philosophy of

self-surrender and explaining the conduct of a true

prapanna. The style and content of his writings show a man

especially concerned with communicating Vaishnavism to the

uninitiated masses of South India. He was the first to

write independent rahasya granthas that presented the deeper

meaning of Vedanta in the vernacular. Given this and his

liberal views on caste, he was a true successor to the

social tradition of Nammaazhvaar and Ramanuja.

 

It is recorded that some prominent Sri Vaishnavas once

objected to Sri Lokacharya's teachings concerning the status

of Bhagavatas. Sri Lokacharya writes in the Sri Vachana

Bhushana that the Bhagavata status transcends caste -- even

though one may be born from the lowest caste, such a one is

to be given the highest honor and service. The story goes

that the complaint was taken up by Azhagiya MaNavaaLa

PerumaaL Naayanaar in the presence of Sri Ranganaatha

Himself, and that the Lord through the priest vindicated Sri

Lokacharya before the Sri Vaishnava community.

 

The works of Pillai Lokacharya and his brother have come to

us due to the great efforts of Sri MaNavaaLa MaamunigaL, who

wrote lucid commentaries explaining the difficult portions

of the texts in simple Tamil. I have had very little

exposure to these granthas, but even from my limited

experience, I can safely say that they deserve to be studied

by all.

 

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lokaachaaryaaya gurave kRshNapaadasya sUnave |

samsaara bhogasandashTa jIvajIvaatave namaH ||

 

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[Life story based on the introduction to "Sri Vachana

Bhushana of Pillai Lokacharya", by Robert C. Lester.]

 

Mani