Parasara Bhattar and his AchAryan, EmpAr :Sri ViashNava LakshaNam

[Guest guest]

Dear BhakthAs :

 

A dear friend of mine introduced me last February

to a parama Bhakthai from India by the name of Srimathi

Ranganayaki KaLLappirAn.Latter is a great Tamil scholar

and Sri RaamAnuja Bhakthai .She asked me to write

a forward to her monograph at the suggestion of my friend .

I was kind of embarassed , but she insisted that I should.

I read a few pages of the incomplete manuscript and got

an excellent feeling for the items that this Bhakthai had

assembled .She was returning home and she had to complete

the rest of the manuscript in India .She wanted to take my forward

ahead of time .On return to India , the Thirumalai Thiruppathi

dEvasthAnam gave her a grant to complete the manuscript

and publish it.I got a copy of the monograph last week

and I was so happy to read it and find gems of information

about AchAryAs that are not commonly known .In retrospection ,

I am proud to have had the bhAgyam of writing the forward

along with H.H. Sri Kaliyan VaanamAmalai RaamAnuja Jeeyar .

I thought It is all ThiruviNNagarappan's leelAs .

 

I want to share with you a wonderful piece of a

conversation between EmpAr and his disciple ,

the precocious Parasara Bhatar as recorded in

one of the GuruparamparA prabhAvam manuscripts .

This is the first time that I have come across it

and I thought number of our members , who may not be

familiar with this conversation would like to

read about it .During future occasions , I will

summarize and share with you additonal gems of

information assembled there about our great

AchAryAs and their exemplary lives .

 

As background , EmpAr was born nine years later

than AchArya RaamAnujA in the year 1026 A.D at

a small village near Sri PermpUthUr . Empaar's

mother was the sister of AchArya RaamAnujA's

mother . Therefore , EmpAr was the cousin brother

of AchArya RaamAnujA .He was named Govindhan

by his parents at birth .After a few dramatic

twists in Govindhan's life , he became

" the shadow and foot rest " of his AchAryA ,

Sri RaamAnujA .He entered into SanyAsAsramam

and was given the daasya naamam of EmperumAnAr

by Udayavar himself. Govindan refused to accept that

exalted title and begged his AchAryA to give him

a new daasya nAmam befitting his status

as the shadow and foot rest of his AchAryA .

Sri RaamAnujaa playfully renamed his sishyan ,

EmpAr ( EMPerumaanaar iLaippARumidam =EMPAR )or

the place where EmperumAnAr (Acharyan) rests .

That is the name by which we revere him today

in AchArya paramparai.

 

AchArya RaamAnujA assigned EmpAr to become

the AchAryan of Paraasara Bhattar , the son

of KuratthAzhwAn , one of the prime disciples of

Acharya RaamAnujA .Parasara Bhattar was raised

by Sri RanganAthA and Sri RanganAyaki as thier

own son . When he was a child , there was a cradle

for him near the ThirumaNat thUNN at Sri RanganAthA's

sannidhi and the divine couple played with the child

and raised him . Parasara Bhattar later became

the purOhithA for the divya dampathis and was

entrusted with Koil Kaimkaryam by Empaar , his

AchAryan .

 

One day ParAsara Bhattar asked his AchAryan about

Sri VaishNava lakshaNam and EmpAr revealed to his

sishyan the ten definitions that fit the name of

a Sri VishNavan as the distilled essence of

VedAs and Divya Prabhandhams that he had learnt

from his own AchAryan , Sri RaamAnujaa .What EmpAr

revealed to Bhattar is known as the ten words

(VaarthaikaL). They are very deep in meaning and are

worthy of our daily reflections for chittha Suddhi .

Srimathi RanganAyaki KaLLappirAn summarizes them .

I will elaborate on them with the Divya Prabhandha

paasurams assoicated with them in future postings .

 

For now , I will end this posting with the reflection

on the Vaazhit ThirunAmam of this great AchAryA , EmpAr :

 

poo VaLarum ThirumahaLAr polivuRROn VaazhiyE

Poygai mudhal pathinmar kalaip poruL uraippOn VaazhiyE

maa VaLarum PoothUrAn malarp pathatthAn VaazhiyE

MakaratthiR Punarppoosam vandhuthitthOn vAzhiyE

tEvu mepporuLum padaikkat thirunthinAn VaazhiyE

Thirumalai napikkadimai seyyumavan VaazhiyE

paavayarkaL kalviruL pahalenrAn VaazhiyE

Bhattar thozhum EmpAr PoRrpAthamirandum VaazhiyE

 

AzhwAr EmperumAnAr EmpAr ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam

Oppilaippan Koil VaradAchAri SadagOpan