Foreword: Part 2

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THE EARLY YEARS OF SRI MANAVAALA MAAMUNIGAL

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Thizhak-kidanthAn ThirunaavIRduaya pirAn

ThAthar aNNan and Sriranga NaacchiyAr were

blessed with a beautiful son in the year 1370 AD.

This was an year after Swami Desikan ascended to

Srivaikuntam . Seven years later , Sri AdhivaNN

SatakOpan was going to be born at Melkote ,

who will initiate this child into utthamAsramam

few years later at Srirangam .

 

The delighted parents gave the name of Azhagiya-

MaNavALan , the name of Lord RanganAthA to their

child . ThaatharaNNan was a great Sri VaishNavite Scholar

himself and initiated his son in to VedAs , VedAngAs and

Dhivya prabhandhams . The gifted son took on grahasthAsramam

at a young age and moved on to AzhwAr Thirunagari

to be a disciple under a great dhivya prabhandham

Scholar revered as ThiruvAimozhippiLLai(1307-1410 AD);

latter was a disciple of Koora kulOtthama DaasA( 1265-1365 AD),

who in turn was a dirct disciple of the renowned Sri PiLLai

LOkAcchAr ( 1205-1311 AD), a contemproary of Swamy Desikan .

 

ThiruvAimozhi PiLLai (TVP) was also known as Sri SailEsar or

Thirumalai AaLvAn because of his connection to Thirumalai.

TVP had settled down at AzhwAr Thirunagari and that is where

Azhagiya MaNavALan studied under him ThiruvAimozhi and

rahasyArthams .TVP was moved by the Bhakthi of MM

for AchArya RaamAnujA and appointed MM as the AarAdhakar /

administrator for a special temple he had constructed for

Bhagavath RaamAnujA . TVP also asked MM to compose a sthuthi

on AchAryA RaamAnujA . Thus arose YathirAja Vimsathi ,

a moving tribute by MM to Bhagavath RaamAnujA .

 

Soon a son was born to MM and he named the child RaamAnujappiLLai.

MM continued his studies under TVP , performed AarAdhanam to

AchArya RaamAnujA , worshipped AdhippirAN and Swamy

NammAzhwAr at AzhwAr Thirunagari until his own Acharyan

attained the Lord's feet in the year 1410 AD. MM was Fourty

years old at that time. Soon he left with his family

for Srirangam along with his fellow sishyA , RaamAnuja

Jeeyar , who later became his own key sishyan under the name of

VaanamAmalai Jeeyar . At Srirangam , MM did extensive research

on the granthams of PoorvAchAryaas and conducted kaalakshEpam

classes. Seven more sishyAs sought his feet as their Achaaryan.

Together , they are known as Ashta Dhig Gajams or the mighty

elephants guarding the eight directions of earth .

These 8 sishyAs of MM are:

 

(1) VaanamAmalai Jeeyar (2) BhattarpirAn Jeeyar

(3) ThiruvEnkata RaamAnuja Jeeyar (4)Koil aNNan

(5)PrathivAdhi Bhayankaram aNNan (6) YeRumpiappA

(7) aAppiLLai (8) AppiLLAr .

 

MM adopted SanyAsramam out of virakthi and the desire

to perform kaimkaryam to Sri RanganAthA without any

theettu interrupting such kaimkaryams .The prEksha manthram was

given to MM by Sri Adhi VaNN satakOpa MahA Desikan . MM

exceleld in his pravachanams and was given the honorific titles of

Visatha Vaak SikhAmaNI and SarvaJ~na Saarvabhoumar by

the scholars of his time for his felicity in intrepreting

the Sri Sookthis of AzhwArs and AchAryAs . We referred

earlier to Sri RanganAthA's honoring MM with a famous Taniyan

used by the sampradhAyins of ThennaacchArya paramparai

to this day .

 

During his blessed life , MM wrote commentaries for

the three of the 18 rahasyams of Sri PiLLai LokAcchAr

( Srivachana BhUshaNam , Tattva thrayam and Mumukshuppadi),

since they are the most prominent . He gave us a vyAkhyAnam

for Azhagiya maNavALa PerumAL NaayanAr's "AchArya Hrudhayam ".

by then , PeriyavAcchAn PiLLai's commentary for PeriyAzhwAr's

Thirumozhi had been eaten up by white ants .MM recreated

this commentary for the benefit of future generations.

He blessed us with commentaries on AruLALap PerumAL

EmperumAn's Sri Sookthis known as Jn~Ana saaram and

PramEya Saaram .He wrote a commentary on RaamAnuja

NooRRanthAdhi of Thiruvarangatthu amudhanAr . Taathparya

DhIpam arose from MM as a commentary on Bhagavath GitA .

PramANatthirattukaL, ThiruvArAdhana PrayOgam ,IyalcchARRu,

YathirAja Vimsathi , DevarAja MangaLam ,UpadEsa Rathna

Maalai , ThiruvAimozhi NooRRanthAdhi were also created

by MM.

 

After these kaimkaryaqms , towards the end of his life ,

MM had such an intense longing (Aarthi) to join

the lotus feet of AchArya RaamAnujA

out of his deep virakthi from the life on this earth .,

He composed at this time , his famous Aarthi prabhandham

one paasuram a day and begged RaamAnujA to call him(MM)

to his (RaamAnujA's ) sacred feet at Sri Vaikuntam .These

are great and moving expressions of MM's

NaicchAnusandhANams , which became our

" NithyAnusandhAnam " for developing VairAgyam and

ruchi for Bhagavath-Bhaagavatha Kaimkaryams .

AchArya RaamAnujA responded to the intense prayer of

MM and called MM to his feet in the year 1443 AD.

 

Summary of his own Life by Sri MaNavALa Maamunigal

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In one of the paasurams of Aarthi Prabhandham ,

MM expressed his own satisfaction with the blessings that

came his way due to the blessings of AzhwArs, AchAryALs

and the Lord in a moving way and gave thanks in a

mind frame similar to Swamy NammAzhwAr in his

" uNNUm sOr paruhu neer" and

"ThuvaLil MaamaNI Maadam Pathikams :

 

Tennarangar seer arulukkilahaahap peRROm

Thiruvarangam ThiruppathiyE iruppaaha peRROm

manniya seer MaRan kalai uNavaahap peRROm

Madhura kavi soRRppadiyE nilayiaahap PeRROm

munaavarAm nanguravar mozhikaL uLLappeRROm

pinnai onRu tanil nenju pErAmal peRROm

piRar minukkam poRAmaillA perumayaum peRROmE

 

Here MM reflects with happiness over the amazing grace

of the Lord of Srirangam ,his days spent joyously

at His KshEthram , his blessings to have

the Sri Sookthis of NammAzhwAr as his nourishment ,

his obedient pursuit of the path shown by

Madhurakavi AzhwAr with respect to the revenerence

for his AchAryan, his treasuring of the upadEsams

of poorvAcchAryALs , his reflecting on their

deep meanings as the way to spend his time and discarding

all other distracting thoughts and living out his life

with out generating the asooyai of others .

 

What a splendid and self-effacing summary of

his life by this great AchAryan !

 

SeerArum YethirAsar ThiruvadigaL Vaazhi

Maaran Malar Paadham Thaan Vaazhi

Yenthai Thiruvarangan poRRppAdham Thaan Vaazhi

 

NaarAyaNa , NaarAyaNa , NaarAyaNa

 

Daasan Oppilaippan Koil VaradAchAri Sadagopan

Pramaathi Iyppasi Sukla Paksha ThrayOdasi

October 23, 1999 .