An Appeal

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Please accept adiyen's pranamams.

During my visit to India, and following my Samashrayanam, i had gone to enquire

about some books at the Vedanta Desikar Vidya Bhavanam, Mylapore. At that time i

was given this note, requesting for donations towards the publication of a

commentary on SriBhashya.

Having been in the field of chemistry for an eternity, a publication is

something one really looks forward to. Also, it is a method of being evaluated

by ur peers and spreading the knowledge that has been inculcated. I have

personally seen this text (sanskrit) and was all admiration and awe, and is

disheartening to know that something called "lack of money" is keeping it from

being published. Hence, i urge fellow bhagavathas to contribute what little

towards this noble cause. (I have no clue regarding the tax-exemption status for

these contributions.)

Checks can be mailed directly or i will be more than happy to forward the same.

My address is : K.R. Srinivasan, 740 Bluegrass Drive, Longmont, CO-80503-7669. U

may also reach me at (303) 774-8705, if u so desire.

 

The appeal reads as follows:

 

An Appeal

 

The philosophy of the Upanishads has been given in a nut-shell by sage Veda

Vyasa in his treatise called Brahmasutra-s. Sri Ramanuja wrote a brilliant gloss

(bhashya) on it. Pleased by the grand work, goddess Saraswati conferred the

title Bhashyakara on Sri Ramanuja and christened his work as Sribhashya,

according to guruparampara records. The will of the bhashyakara is that the

Sribhashya be studied and propogated by his followers.

 

The Sribhashya has been commented upon by Sri. Sudarsana Suri, who came in the

lineage of the great Kurattalvan, the first and foremost disciple of Sri

Ramanuja. The commentary is named Srutaprakasika and its greatness lies in the

fact that, though many commentaries did exist before its time, all of them were

eclipsed by it. But it is a matter of great regret that no edition of the

Sribhashya along with the Srutaprakasika is available now, to cater to the needs

of the interested people.

 

The Sribhashya has also been recently commented by a great scholar of our times,

Sri U. Ve. P. M. Chakravarty Acharya Swamy. He is a prominent disciple of H.H

the 42nd pontiff of the Ahobila Mutt, fondly known as the Injimettu

Azhagiyasingar, a scholar par excellence and a rigorous sanyasin. Our Swami has

written several works in tamil and sanskrit and is a specialist in SriBhagavata

and Sri Ramayana and also Thirupavvai, for which, his commentary is just being

published.

 

His commentary on the SriBhashya is named Sribhashyacandrika, which is very

simple in style and clarifies many knotty passages in the bhashya with lucidity

and felicity. In fact, just like Srutaprakasika, this commentary, also was

written by our Swamy, while learning it at the feet of His Holiness Sri

Injimettu Azhagiyasingar, in the form of traditional kalakshepam. After due

completion, it was shown to His Holiness, who, extremely pleased with the great

scholarship of our Swamy, bestowed his blessings, after fully going through the

same. But, it has not been published so far, for want of funds.

 

Hence, it has now been decided to bring out an edition of the Sribhashya and

commentaries Srutaprakasika and Candrika, which will be a great service to Sri

Ramanuja and to the world of scholars. The estimated cost of the project is

around four lakhs (~$10000), to print a thousand copies.

 

We look forward to the generous help of the devotees of Sri Ramanuja, the world

over, and request them to contribute liberally for this noble cause.

Contributions may please be sent to The Sribhashyam Trust, c/o Sri U. Ve. P. M.

Chakravarty Acharya Swamy, Desika Vidya Bhavanam, 27, Venkatesa Agraharam,

Mylapore, Madras-600 004. Contributions to this trust will be entitled for

exemption under Section 80G of the Income Tax Act.

---End of appeal---

 

Bhashyakarar Thiruvadigale Saranam

adiyen, Ramanuja Dasan

(srinivasan)