No No !! Number One Divya dEsam - Srirangam

[Guest guest]

Dear Venkat,

 

One cannot summarily dismiss the Daya Shatakam as a composition when

of Swami Desikan having in mind only Lord Srinivasa. A careful reading

of this work will reveal that other forms of Our Lord are glorified in

this majestic Stotram. As our friend Sri Krishnaswami pointed out, this

work is a Stotram, Vedam, Poem, and Painting (all in one). If Swami

Desikan (an Avataram of Lord Srinivasa) had not safely transported the

idol of Ranganatha to Satyamangalam, there would be nothing left of our

Sampradayam in Srirangam to talk about. This service alone confers the

number one spot to Tiruvenkatan.

 

Furthermore, as followers of Sri Ramanujacharya we are required

to follow his five commandments. Let us see what his first

commandment is:

 

Read the Sri Bhashyam.

 

Let us see where this was delivered and where it received the

title Sri Bhashyam

 

Answer: Tiruvenkatan again.

 

These provide compelling arguments in favor of Tiruvenkatan as the

number one DD. We already have one floor crosser today-a

most reputed Bhagavata at that. This only lends credence to

Tiruvenkatan being fundamental to our Sampradayam and therefore

occupying the most prominent place among the 108 DD. As long as

these rock-solid arguments involving Sri Ramanujacharya, Swami Desikan,

and the KalyanA GuNam of Daya being unique to Tiruvenkatan can be

conclusively debunked, any other attempt is only an exercise

in futility.

 

Namo Narayana,

 

Muralidhar Rangaswamy

 

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>TV.Venkat

>No No !! Number One Divya dEsam - Srirangam

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> Srimathe Narayanaya Namaha

>

> Dear Bhagavathas,

>

> Sri Anbil swamy in his article has brought vividly the SarNAgathi

to

> SrinivAsan and did try to make us change our mind to vote for

> Thirumalai as the best divya dEsam.

>

> It may be true that NammAzhwAr did SaraNAgathi at the lotus feet

of

> SrinivAsan. But this action is specific to the AzhwAr, i.e.,

> NAMMMAZHWAE DID IT.

>

> Now read the beautiful pAsuram of AmalanAthipirAn where

> ThiruppANAzhwAr, may start off with ThiruvEngadamudaiyAn, but ends

> saying "...andarkOn aNi arangan, en amudhinaik kaNda kaNgaL

> maRRonRnaik kANAvE".

>

> Here ThiruppANAzhwAr does not say "en amudhinaik kaNda EN kaNgaL".

If

> he had said so it would have been specific to this AzhwAr. But he

> refers to as just kaNgaL. This means the eyes, of anybody, which

sees

> Arangan will not see anyone else. By this he brings out the beauty

of

> Arangan.

>

> Also we can interpret this pAsuram in this way (This may sound too

> much, but it is only my thought about the pAsuram). The AzhwAr

says

> ".. kaNda kaNgaL maRRonRinaik kANAvE". Which means, though the

input

> terminal, the "eyes", are connected with the CPU, the "brain" and

> should act as per the instructions from brain , here they will

> dissociate themselves from the CPU as they - have seen (or) are

> receiving- the most beautiful and vivid input, which is the beauty

of

> Arangan, if the brain instructs them to look at someone else.

>

> Let us get back to our dear Thondar-adi-podi-AzhwAr and ofcourse

to

> his ThirumAlai. In the 18th pAsuram the AzhwAr says

>

> "inithirai thivalai mOdha eRiyum thaN paRavai meedhE

> thanikidanthu arasu seyyum thAmaraik kaNNan emmAn

> kaniyirundhanaya sevvAi, kaNNanaik kaNda kaNgaL

> paniyarumbu uthirumAlo, en seigEn pAviyEnE"

>

> Here the AzhwAr says that, his eyes, when seeing RangaNathan,

fills

> with tears of joy. Well everybody will like this. But the AzhwAr

> curses himself as a sinner because the tears of joy, blocks his

eyes

> and prevents him from seeing Arangan.

>

> Well this action may be specific to the AzhwAr, but note that he

> curses himself as a Sinner just because he cannot see Arangan

anymore.

> He is not cursing himself for not doing SarNAgathi, but just for

not

> being able to see.

>

> Also Swami Desikan may have done SaraNAgathi to SrinivAsan with

his

> DayA sathakam, but note that when he composed dayA sathakam he had

> only Srinivasan in mind and hence the SlOkam was on SrinivAsan.

But

> ThiruppANAzhwAr started off with SrinivAsan and ended up with

saying

> what I have quoted above.

>

> Taking Swami Desikan's case itself, if he was so entralled by

> SrinivAsan why did he not prefer to stay at Thirumalai but stayed

at

> Srirangam. Even during the period of the Muslims attack on

Srirangam,

> Swami Desikan prefered to stay in Thirunarayanapuram instead of

> Thirumalai. Actually Thirumalai was more safer to reside, at that

time

> than compared to Thirunarayanapuram. Account for this can be found

in

> the beautiful story "Thiruvarangan Ula" by SriVenugopalan.

>

> Forget not that our AchArya peetam starting from NAthamunigaL to

> RAmAnujar and down to Desikar and ManavALa mAmunigaL was always at

> Srirangam and not Thirupathi.

>

> So now I believe you will all agree that Thiruvarangam is the best

> Divya dEsam as none of the AzhwArs have brought the beauty or the

> Soundharyam and the KalyAna gunas of any other PerumAL so vividly

as

> was done for Arangan.

>

> Sri RanganAyaki thAyAr samEtha Sri RanganAtha swAminE namaha

>

> adiyEn RAmAnuja dAsan

>

> Thirumalai Vinjamoor Venkatesh

>

 

 

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[Guest guest]

Srimathe Narayanaya Namaha

 

Dear Bhagavathas,

 

Sri Anbil swamy in his article has brought vividly the SarNAgathi to

SrinivAsan and did try to make us change our mind to vote for

Thirumalai as the best divya dEsam.

 

It may be true that NammAzhwAr did SaraNAgathi at the lotus feet of

SrinivAsan. But this action is specific to the AzhwAr, i.e.,

NAMMMAZHWAE DID IT.

 

Now read the beautiful pAsuram of AmalanAthipirAn where

ThiruppANAzhwAr, may start off with ThiruvEngadamudaiyAn, but ends

saying "...andarkOn aNi arangan, en amudhinaik kaNda kaNgaL

maRRonRnaik kANAvE".

 

Here ThiruppANAzhwAr does not say "en amudhinaik kaNda EN kaNgaL". If

he had said so it would have been specific to this AzhwAr. But he

refers to as just kaNgaL. This means the eyes, of anybody, which sees

Arangan will not see anyone else. By this he brings out the beauty of

Arangan.

 

Also we can interpret this pAsuram in this way (This may sound too

much, but it is only my thought about the pAsuram). The AzhwAr says

".. kaNda kaNgaL maRRonRinaik kANAvE". Which means, though the input

terminal, the "eyes", are connected with the CPU, the "brain" and

should act as per the instructions from brain , here they will

dissociate themselves from the CPU as they - have seen (or) are

receiving- the most beautiful and vivid input, which is the beauty of

Arangan, if the brain instructs them to look at someone else.

 

Let us get back to our dear Thondar-adi-podi-AzhwAr and ofcourse to

his ThirumAlai. In the 18th pAsuram the AzhwAr says

 

"inithirai thivalai mOdha eRiyum thaN paRavai meedhE

thanikidanthu arasu seyyum thAmaraik kaNNan emmAn

kaniyirundhanaya sevvAi, kaNNanaik kaNda kaNgaL

paniyarumbu uthirumAlo, en seigEn pAviyEnE"

 

Here the AzhwAr says that, his eyes, when seeing RangaNathan, fills

with tears of joy. Well everybody will like this. But the AzhwAr

curses himself as a sinner because the tears of joy, blocks his eyes

and prevents him from seeing Arangan.

 

Well this action may be specific to the AzhwAr, but note that he

curses himself as a Sinner just because he cannot see Arangan anymore.

He is not cursing himself for not doing SarNAgathi, but just for not

being able to see.

 

Also Swami Desikan may have done SaraNAgathi to SrinivAsan with his

DayA sathakam, but note that when he composed dayA sathakam he had

only Srinivasan in mind and hence the SlOkam was on SrinivAsan. But

ThiruppANAzhwAr started off with SrinivAsan and ended up with saying

what I have quoted above.

 

Taking Swami Desikan's case itself, if he was so entralled by

SrinivAsan why did he not prefer to stay at Thirumalai but stayed at

Srirangam. Even during the period of the Muslims attack on Srirangam,

Swami Desikan prefered to stay in Thirunarayanapuram instead of

Thirumalai. Actually Thirumalai was more safer to reside, at that time

than compared to Thirunarayanapuram. Account for this can be found in

the beautiful story "Thiruvarangan Ula" by SriVenugopalan.

 

Forget not that our AchArya peetam starting from NAthamunigaL to

RAmAnujar and down to Desikar and ManavALa mAmunigaL was always at

Srirangam and not Thirupathi.

 

So now I believe you will all agree that Thiruvarangam is the best

Divya dEsam as none of the AzhwArs have brought the beauty or the

Soundharyam and the KalyAna gunas of any other PerumAL so vividly as

was done for Arangan.

 

Sri RanganAyaki thAyAr samEtha Sri RanganAtha swAminE namaha

 

adiyEn RAmAnuja dAsan

 

Thirumalai Vinjamoor Venkatesh

[Guest guest]

On 8/21/98 3:42 PM

 

Sri Muralidhar wrote:

_________________________Quote_______________________________

 

If Swami Desikan (an Avataram of Lord Srinivasa) had not safely

transported the idol of Ranganatha to Satyamangalam, there would be

nothing left of our Sampradayam in Srirangam to talk about. This service

alone confers the number one spot to Tiruvenkatan

 

________________________Unquote______________________________

 

Agreed, So we can very well say that Lord SrinivAsan came down in human

form as Swami Desikan to serve Arangan. Also note that it was not

actually Swami Desikan alone who brought Arangan to Satyamangalam.

Pillai Lokacharyar was also involved in this. Actually he played a major

role in transporting Arangan to Satyamangalam. Account for this, once

again, can be found in the story 'Thiruvarangan Ula'. Actually Swami

Desikan was associated with the Arangan Oorvalam, that left Srirangam in

fear of the Muslim invaders, only for a brief period of time.

 

____________________________Quote____________________________

 

Furthermore, as followers of Sri Ramanujacharya we are required

to follow his five commandments. Let us see what his first

commandment is:

 

Read the Sri Bhashyam.

 

Let us see where this was delivered and where it received the

title Sri Bhashyam

 

Answer: Tiruvenkatan again.

______________________________Unquote_______________________________

 

 

Agreed. While he may have delivered the Sri BhAshyam in front of

ThiruvEngadamudaiyAn, note that his most prolific work of all, the

"Gadyatrayam" was delivered in front of Arangan and RanganAyaki on the

most auspicious day of Panguni Utthiram. Also note that RAmAnujar made

his SaraNAgathi to Arangan thro' his SaraNAgathi Gadyam in the

Gadyatrayam.

 

If one can claim credit to Thirumalai on the basis of NammAzhwAr's

SaraNAgathi, why not Srirangam on the basis of RAmAnujar's

SaraNAgathi.

 

So I can still say that all these points out to Srirangam again as the

number one divya dEsam.

 

adiyEn RAmAnuja dAsan

 

Thirumalai Vinjamoor Venkatesh

[Guest guest]

> If Swami

> Desikan (an Avataram of Lord Srinivasa) had not safely transported the

> idol of Ranganatha to Satyamangalam, there would be nothing left of our

> Sampradayam in Srirangam to talk about.

 

Dear Murali,

 

Is there a historical reference for this? Sri Vedanta Desika

is known to have left Srirangam during the Muslim invasion

with Sudarsana Suri's two sons and the manuscript of Suri's

"SrutaprakASika". It was Pillai Lokacharya who fled with

namperumaaL, the Srirangam utsava mUrti. With a small party

of kinkara-s, Sri Lokacharya traveled with namperumaaL until

a village called jyOtishkudi, where due to old age and

exhaustion he died and permanently attained the Lord's feet.

>From here, namperumaaL was taken eventually to Tirumalai

and was installed in the "ranga maNTapa", which is on the left

side near the dhvaja-stambha as one proceeds for sEvai of

Lord Srinivasa. namperumaaL's presence here is what

transformed Tirumalai fully into an authentic Sri Vaishnava

kOyil -- only after He graced the malai was there regular

recitation of the Divya Prabandham and performance of

grand utsavams in the Pancaratra style. Previously, the

priests of Tirumalai, who follow the Vaikhanasa Agama for

their temple rituals, did not encourage or engage in

pArAyaNa of the Divya Prabandham.

 

Sri Desika traveled with the two sons of Sudarsana Suri

to satyamangaLam. After spending some time here, it is

recorded that he went to tirunArAyaNapuram and was there

[please correct me if I am wrong] until he received news

that a Vijayanagara general had defeated the Muslims and

that Srirangam had been liberated. This was at least 30 to

40 years later, and I am sure Desika traveled around in

the intervening years, visiting other Divya Desams. It is

said that he also visited North Indian kshetras.

 

Upon receiving word of Srirangam's liberation, Desika returned

to see his beloved Ranganatha restored to His rightful spot.

There is a sloka composed by Desikar that is inscribed on the

walls of the Srirangam temple commemorating the reconsecration

of Srirangam after its liberation.

 

So, Desika played a vital role in protecting the sampradAya

during these terrible times, and was present for Ranganatha's

return. But it was Sri Lokacharya, from what I have read, who

personally whisked away namperumaaL to safety. Yet again a

wonderful division of labor by our ancient acharyas!

 

Mani

[Guest guest]

Arangan is winning.

 

On 8/21/98 9:03 PM

 

Sri Mani Wrote :

---------------------------Quote------

>From here, namperumaaL was taken eventually to Tirumalai

and was installed in the "ranga maNTapa", which is on the left

side near the dhvaja-stambha as one proceeds for sEvai of

Lord Srinivasa. namperumaaL's presence here is what

transformed Tirumalai fully into an authentic Sri Vaishnava

kOyil -- only after He graced the malai was there regular

recitation of the Divya Prabandham and performance of

grand utsavams in the Pancaratra style. Previously, the

priests of Tirumalai, who follow the Vaikhanasa Agama for

their temple rituals, did not encourage or engage in

pArAyaNa of the Divya Prabandham.

-----------------------------Unquote---------------------

 

Great, this is what I was referring to as, one can read

from the story 'Thiruvarangan Ula'. All the points said by

Sri Mani can be found in this story. In fact Sri Mani was

right in that Swami Desikan first came to Satyamangalam

and then stayed on at Thirunarayanapuram. But note that

Swami Desikan arrived at Satyamangalam, even before

Arangan reached there. In fact Arangan reached there after

going to many places like Jyotishkudi where He is said to

have met NammAzhwAr from AzhwAr Thirunagari who was also

on an exile due to the Muslim invasion. They travelled

together for some time, but due to the differences between

the Goshtis of the two, they had to part at some place on

the way to Satyamangalam.

 

Also from what has been notified, by Sri Mani, as above,

it is clearly evident that Thirumalai turned into an

authentic Sri Vaishnava divya dEsam just because of our

Arangan.

 

So........ (Here I leave it to all the bhaktas to 'Fill in

the Blanks. 100 marks for correct answer!!!!!).

 

Please take my last two lines particularly the ones in the

brackets in a lighter vein.

 

vAsakha dOsham kshandavyaha

 

adiyEn RAmAnuja dAsan

 

Thirumalai Vinjamoor Venkatesh

 

 

P.S : But, Sri Mani, as per what I heard, in Thirumalai they still

follow VaikhAnasa AgamA. Please correct me if I am wrong. I am sure at

this because one of the Archaka at Thirumalai has a kainkaryam in

ThiruvallikkENi also. Since ThiruvallikkENi is following VaikhAnsa

AgamA I believe, Thirumalai is also following the same. Not because of

any link between ThiruvallikkENi and Thirumalai but because of the

Archaka who is doing the kainkaryam in both the kshEtrams as I think

an Archaka who is doing kainkaryam as per one AgamA cannot do the

kainkaryam at a place where the other AgamA is followed.

[Guest guest]

Dear Bhaktas,

 

Sri Mani is absolutely correct in pointing out that it is Pillai

Lokacharya who transported the Utsava Murthy of Lord Ranganatha

to Satyamangalam. Sri Mani also rightly noted that Swami Desikan was

entrusted with the task of protecting Srutaprakashika (a commentary

on the Sri Bhashya) and taking care of the sons of Sri Sudarshana

Suri, who met a tragic end during the Muslim invasion.

Thanks to Sri Mani for catching the error in my note.

 

Namo Narayana,

 

Muralidhar Rangaswamy

 

 

 

>From mani Fri Aug 21 18:41:25 1998

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> Fri, 21 Aug 1998 18:41:06 -0700 (PDT)

>Fri, 21 Aug 1998 18:41:06 -0700 (PDT)

>Mani Varadarajan <mani

>Message-Id: <199808220141.SAA29693

>bhakti, rangaswamy_m

>Re: No No !! Number One Divya dEsam - Srirangam

>In-<199808212057.NAA17445

>

>> If Swami

>> Desikan (an Avataram of Lord Srinivasa) had not safely transported

the

>> idol of Ranganatha to Satyamangalam, there would be nothing left of

our

>> Sampradayam in Srirangam to talk about.

>

>Dear Murali,

>

>Is there a historical reference for this? Sri Vedanta Desika

>is known to have left Srirangam during the Muslim invasion

>with Sudarsana Suri's two sons and the manuscript of Suri's

>"SrutaprakASika". It was Pillai Lokacharya who fled with

>namperumaaL, the Srirangam utsava mUrti. With a small party

>of kinkara-s, Sri Lokacharya traveled with namperumaaL until

>a village called jyOtishkudi, where due to old age and

>exhaustion he died and permanently attained the Lord's feet.

>

>From here, namperumaaL was taken eventually to Tirumalai

>and was installed in the "ranga maNTapa", which is on the left

>side near the dhvaja-stambha as one proceeds for sEvai of

>Lord Srinivasa. namperumaaL's presence here is what

>transformed Tirumalai fully into an authentic Sri Vaishnava

>kOyil -- only after He graced the malai was there regular

>recitation of the Divya Prabandham and performance of

>grand utsavams in the Pancaratra style. Previously, the

>priests of Tirumalai, who follow the Vaikhanasa Agama for

>their temple rituals, did not encourage or engage in

>pArAyaNa of the Divya Prabandham.

>

>Sri Desika traveled with the two sons of Sudarsana Suri

>to satyamangaLam. After spending some time here, it is

>recorded that he went to tirunArAyaNapuram and was there

>[please correct me if I am wrong] until he received news

>that a Vijayanagara general had defeated the Muslims and

>that Srirangam had been liberated. This was at least 30 to

>40 years later, and I am sure Desika traveled around in

>the intervening years, visiting other Divya Desams. It is

>said that he also visited North Indian kshetras.

>

>Upon receiving word of Srirangam's liberation, Desika returned

>to see his beloved Ranganatha restored to His rightful spot.

>There is a sloka composed by Desikar that is inscribed on the

>walls of the Srirangam temple commemorating the reconsecration

>of Srirangam after its liberation.

>

>So, Desika played a vital role in protecting the sampradAya

>during these terrible times, and was present for Ranganatha's

>return. But it was Sri Lokacharya, from what I have read, who

>personally whisked away namperumaaL to safety. Yet again a

>wonderful division of labor by our ancient acharyas!

>

>Mani

>

>

>

>

>

>

 

 

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[Guest guest]

Dear Bhaktas,

 

Sri Mani is absolutely correct in pointing out that it is Pillai

Lokacharya who transported the Utsava Murthy of Lord Ranganatha

to Satyamangalam. Sri Mani also rightly noted that Swami Desikan was

entrusted with the task of protecting Srutaprakashika (a commentary

on the Sri Bhashya) and taking care of the sons of Sri Sudarshana

Suri, who met a tragic end during the Muslim invasion.

Thanks to Sri Mani for catching the error in my note.

 

Namo Narayana,

 

Muralidhar Rangaswamy

 

[edited to remove unnecessary included text only --mani]