Doubtful episode in Ramanuja's Life

[Guest guest]

Parthasarati Dileepan <MFPD

Tue, 23 Apr 96 09:33:14 EDT

kaRRavar kaamuRu seelan

 

Parthasarati Dileepan writes:

>Sri Raamaanujar Thirunakshathram:

>While on a trip to Thiruvaali/Thirunagari, Sri Ramanuja

>and his entourage came across an "untouchable" lady.

>Sri Ramanuja requested her to move away (odhungu)

>from the way so that he and his companions can pass.

>The lady replied, "ulagam muzhudhum ulagaLandhaan

>sannithiyaaga irukka, engE odhunguvadhu?" (all the

>world is Thiru Vikraman's shrine, where can I move

>away?) Sri Ramanuja immediately apologized to the

>lady and offered the Vaishnava insignias to her saying,

>"These should be yours, I am undeserving of them."

 

I looked up and did not find this episode in "Guruparampara prabhavam",

"Acharya Vaibhava Manjari" and "Raamaanusa nootrandhaadhi".

 

Personally I think this is an unlikely episode for the following reasons:

 

1. As a child in Sriperumbudoor, he already played with untouchable

children, antogonized the elders of the city.

 

2. At mElkOttai, and on trips moved very much in the company of the tribals.

In his rescue from being murdered in Kasi he serves the tribal couple,

who turn out to be perumaaL and thaayaar.

 

3. Later, it is mentioned that he would give uRangaavilli dhaasan (of

fourth/fifth caste) the honour of helping him out of kaavEri, after his bath.

 

Such a person and his entourage need not be enlightened once again by an

untouchable lady. I think the episode is demeaning enberumaanaar.

 

I think the episode you mentioned appears in the movie of

Sri Sankara and not Sri Ramanuja.

 

Anyway, many English books on Life of Ramanuja contain distorstions.

If the episode is not in the above three books, it should not be

considered authentic. If the additions were for dramatization or whatever,

as in the play that I translated, it should still not contradict the above

books.

 

That is my personal opinion.

 

K. Srinivasan

[Guest guest]

Sri K. Srinivasan writes:

 

* Anyway, many English books on Life of Ramanuja contain distorstions.

* If the episode is not in the above three books, it should not be

* considered authentic.

*

 

You are right that many English books contain distortions.

However, there is one more set of sources that provides

biographical details about Ramanuja. This are the commentaries

on the Divya Prabandham, particularly the 24000 on the

thiruvaaymozhi by Periya Vaachaan Pillai and the 36000

(eedu vyaakhyaanam) by Vadakku Thiruveedhi Pillai. Each

contain some episodes about Ramanuja not found in other

works.

 

Perhaps, time permitting, Prof. Vasudha Narayanan can

enlighten us on some of these, as she has studied them in

some detail.

 

Mani