svAmi mudali-ANDAN (Part 3)

[Guest guest]

========================================================

~~~~~~~~~~~~~svAmi mudali-ANDAN (Part 3)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~written by tirumanjanam Sundara Rajan~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

========================================================

 

Towards mElkOTE.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

uDaiyavar's exile from Srirangam, and eventual refuge in

mElkOTE-tirunArAyaNapuram, constitutes a poignant episode

in SrIvaishNava history. The occasion once again

demonstrated the precious loyalty of ANDAn and AzhvAn

to uDaiyavar. ANDAn simply went with uDaiyavar on the

virtually uncharted emergency evacuation from Srirangam,

and AzhvAn (together with periya nambi) substituted

for uDaiyavar to answer the vicious summons of the

bigoted chOzha ruler; AzhvAn won the debate but the eyes

of AzhvAn and periya-nambi were nevertheless gouged out

by the mean loser.

 

The trudging journey of the exiles plotting through

woods, rivers and over the hills, must have been very

demanding. Before reaching mElkOTE, the party had

halted at the place known as SaligrAmam ('SAlaigrAmam'?)

where they were baited and harassed by a cynical group

of people. uDaiyavar, it is said, directed ANDAn just

to step into the waters of the local pool and come out.

The villagers are said to have unknowingly been

converted to gentle ways by imbibing the pool-water

sanctified as the washing of ANDAn's feet

(SrIpAda-tIrtham). This was the place where

vaDuka-nambi (Andhra-pUrNa) had met uDaiyavar and

been accepted into discipleship.

 

The creative genius that he was, uDaiyavar turned even

the adversity into a creative programme. The conversion

of the great hoySaLa king bittidEva\vishNu-vardhana to

SrIvaishNavam was providential, but uDaiyavar availed of

the royal patronage to sponsor the admirable cause of

getting him to build five temples. The temples are:-

 

~~ nambi-nArAyaNa at toNDanUr;

~~ tiru-nArAyaNa at mElkOTE\tirunArAyaNapuram;

~~ kIrti-nArAyaNa at talakADu;

~~ vijaya-nArAyaNA at bElUr;

~~ vIra-nArAyaNa at gaDag.

 

The 'pancha-nArAyaNa-pratishThA', as it came to be known,

was not only the glory of vaishNava religion per se, but

the temples figure in the nation's cultural history as

so many marvels of architecture and stone-crafting. This

comprehensive project was got executed under the supervision

of svAmi mudali-ANDAn and these temples stand, especially,

as monuments to uDaiyavar's trust in the skills and

integrity of ANDAn.

 

ANDAn's modesty

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ANDAn was instinctively self-effacing and left

no written works as such, and the reason was obvious,

that his hands were full in administering the

Great Temple and in coordinating and executing the

numerous and continuing assignments of uDaiyavar. ANDAn

is remembered through numerous references in our

extensive 'vyAkhyA' (exegetic) literature, and in the

temple chronicle 'kOyil ozhugu' and hagiological works.

 

The ANDAn-AzhvAn pair was renowned for

devotion and great concern for namperumAL.

Every time namperumAL returned to the AsthAnam (sanctum)

after sojourning in the holy streets, the two would,

in the spirit of periAzhvAr, sigh and hold each other's hands

in thanksgiving that the Lord returned to safety after

His festive wandering right in the sight of cynical men.

 

On the other hand, AzhvAn, if judged by his

five grand hymns (pancha-stavam) alone, would rank as an

intellectual par excellence in the SrIvaishNava

'sampradAyam'. He was, of course, the companion of uDaiyavar

when the latter undertook the arduous journey to the

kAshmIra-SAradA-pITham (located in a place now included

in 'pak'-occupied Kashmir) in search of 'bOdhAyana-vrtti'

as source material for writing SrIbhAshyam. AzhvAn's

extraordinary mnemonic skills and philosophic comprehension

were utilised by uDaiyavar in writing his magnum opus,

and Azhvan also served as the amenuensis. This joyful

and precious activity was interrupted by uDaiyavar's exile

to mElkOTE, and eventually SrIvishNuchitta enkaLAzhvAn of

tiruveLLaRai took the place of AzhvAn to help uDaiyavar

complete the work.

 

AzhvAn's unique intellectual powers were acknowledged

by all, but he himself thought that being one of the many

devoted disciples of uDaiyavar was the real thing to cherish.

Accordingly, he once exclaimed that he valued ANDAn's

natural birth-kinship with uDaiyavar as much more

precious than his own works.

 

ANDAn's pedigree

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ANDAn is the mUla-purusha of the vAdhUla-gOtra clan

renowned as 'koyil-kandADai'(a Tamil-Sanskrit hybrid),

for being honoured with perumAL's fragrant robe. The

clan is famous to the extent that a whole street

[north mADa street] in SrIvilli-puttUr bears the name

'kandADaiyAr vIthi', perhaps ever since the name was

established in the 'sampradAyam' itself.

 

The casting of the beautiful life-like icons of

svAmi emperumAnAr and consecration at SrIperumpudUr

(during his life time), as well as at Srirangam

(on his passing away), constitute the signal service

of ANDAn's son, SrI kandADai ANDAn, to the SrIvaishNava

sampradAyam.

 

The proper recognition accorded to nampUr varadAcharya

in Srirangam for his extraordinary discourses on

tiru-vAi-mozhi (later transcribed as the thirty-six

thousand) was the remarkable service rendered by

a later descendant of ANDAn, namely, kandADai tOzhappar.

It was he who lauded Sri-varada as 'nampiLLai'.

 

Branches of the family tree

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The mudali-ANDAn tirumALikai is situated on the

East Chitra street of SRIRANGAM, and Sri azhakiya-Singar

is worshipped here. There are sub-tirumALikai in

kAnchIpuram, tirunArAyaNapuram and SingapperumAL kOyil.

The periya-tirumozhi decad 'ankaN n~Alam anja'

is the tiru-mAlikai pASuram.

 

[[A substantive hagiography of svAmi mudali-ANDAn

remains to be written, though our eminent contemporary

savant, Dr Sri V.V. Ramanujam, has already put together

much source material in the souvenirs brought out

on the occasion of the 'shashTi-abdam' of

svAmi mudali-ANDAn SrISailAcharya, and his younger

brother and successor kumAra-vEnkaTAchArya (whose son

SrIrAmAnujAchArya is the present incumbent).

The 'dASarathi su-prabhAtam' composed by (kIrti-mUrti)

tirumalai nallAn chakravarti rAmakrishna AiyangAr svAmi,

and the booklet on 'mudali-ANDAn' by 'SrIvaishNavaSri'

A. Krishnamachari svAmi of Srirangam are valuable

supplementary material.

 

[[Dr Ramanujam is exceptionally equipped to undertake

the writing since he has single-handedly and unfailingly

been publishing the mudali-ANDAn tirumALikai monthly

journal 'yatirAja-pAdukA' over long years now, and besides

has authored very perceptive works like 'sahasranAma-

bhAshyam' in Tamil, drawing upon both the 'bhagavad-guNa-

darpaNam' commentary of SrI-bhaTTar and the vast treasure

of our 'aruLic-cheyal-vyAkhyA' literature.

 

[[His address: Dr V.V. Ramanujam,

Editor, 'Yatiraja Paduka' monthly,

68 T.P. Koil Street, Tiruvallikkeni,

Chennai - 600005.

[[His residential 'phone No. may be ascertained from

Prof. M.A. Venkatakrishnan: Ph No.044-8570048.]]

 

ANDAn Family Tree

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The following are the well-known branches\'tiru-mALikai'

of the ANDAn family tree surviving to-day:-

 

(*) aNNAvilappan, sannidhi street, kAnchIpuram.

(*) kOyil kandADai vAdhUla-dESika aNNan svAmi,

East uttara Street, SrIrangam.

[The svAmi-s of this tirumALikai are called out

~~ aruLap-pADu ~~ as 'vAdhUla-dESikar', for

honours as the sthalAchArya in the periya-kOyil.

Sri varada-nArAyaNa-guru was a distinguished

scholar of this branch, and was among the

ashTa-dik-gaja disciples of maNavALa-mAmuni.]

(*) SrIrangAchArya, East Chitra St., Srirangam.

(*) SOLingapuram doDDAchArya / mahAchArya

famed for authorship of the 'chanDamArutam'

gloss on svAmi-dESikan's 'Sata-dUshaNI'.

His services are briefly dramatised when

dEvap-perumAL grandly sets out on garuDa-

vAhanam during the "vAiyam kaNDa vAikASi utsavam".

Besides his well-known gloss, he enlisted the

support of panchamata-bhanjanam tAtAchArya

to revive worship of SrIgOvindarAja perumAL

in tillai-tiruc-chitra-kUTam.

(*) tirumaNi appan svAmi.

The present incumbent is SrI-dASarathi-svAmi

whose father Sri KKA Venkatacharya (living

in tiruvallikkENi in retirement) had,

in collaboration with Mr Daniel Smith of Harvard,

broken fresh ground in modern pAncharAtra studies,

and rendered valuable service as the first

director of the Anantacharya Institute of

Indological Studies, Cuffe Parade, Mumbai.

(*) SrI-bhAvanAchArya, South Chitra St., Srirangam.

-------------------

The second 'taniyan' of svAmi mudaliANDAn sparkles

with the 'SrI' benediction occurring in each

pAda (quarter) of the SlOkam:-

 

SrI-vAishNava-SirO-bhUshA

SrI-rAmAnuja-pAdukA

SrI-vAdhUla-kulOttamsO

Sri-dASarathi: EratAm.

 

May this benediction protect the sanctified House

of svAmi mudali-ANDAn, as indeed of every one of

our AchArya-purusha community, for they are the

custodians and disseminators of

'rAmAnujArya-divyAjnA'.

 

"SrIranganAthO jayatu, SrIrangaSrI-Scha vardhatAm!"

------------------

NOTE:

 

This is a modest outline sketch of the

famed personality of svAmi mudaliANDAn and,

going only by the limitations of the writer,

would fall short of the real eminence of

this great AchArya.

 

I beseech forgiveness for crucial omissions as may be.

 

aDiyEn rAmAnuja-dAsan, tirumanjanam Sundara Rajan.

 

'anRu ivvulakam aLandAi', pramAthi.

[Guest guest]

Dear Sriman Sundrarajan Swamy :

 

What a great good fortune it has been to

read about and learn from the most informative

and scholarly postings that you have blessed us

with .Simply brilliant . AdiyEn will forever

be grateful for devarIr's response to adiyEn's

request to help us recognize and salute the the far

reaching nature of SvAmi Mudali-ANDAn's

Kaimkaryams .

 

adiyEn entered into the Melkote SatAri

Kaimkaryam at AchArya RaamAnujA Sannidhi

without a full awareness of the parama pavithra

charitham of SvAmi Mudali-ANDAn .The material

that you have assembled is hard to come by .

Your tracing of the AchArya Paramparai of

this VaadhUla gOthra Desikars makes me feel

very happy that by some divine prodding

this tribute to SvAmi Mudali ANDAn SatAri

is taking place especially after the completion of

the AchArya RaamAnujA CD ROM .

 

DevarIr will be pleased to know that Sri Venakata -

KrishnamAcchAr Swamy , who recently completed

the noble gold SatAri Kaimkaryam for

Sri Venkata KrishNa PerumAL of ThiruvallikkENi

is helping us with the creation of the Navarathna

SatAri for Svamy MUDali-ANDAn . On January 3,

when Swamy Naathamuni's nakshathram ( anusham )

was in ascendance , Sriman VenkatakrishNan and

adiyEn's sister commissioned the Kaimkaryam with

Ummidi Jewelers of Chennai , who created

the SatAri for Sri ParthasArathy.

 

AdiyEn will make sure that KandAdai AchAryaaLs

at Melkote take the primary part in the samarpaNam

of this SatAri with the help of Sriman Lakshmi

TatachAr Swamy of Melkote and his son Sriman

M.A. Alwar . It has been a pleasure for adiyEn

to work with Sriman Alwar as a co-producer of

this CD ROM on AchArya RaamAnujA .

Yesterday , adiyEn learnt that Both

Dr. Lakshmi Tatachar Swamy and his son,

Dr.M.A. Alwar took part in the Sanskrit

movie produced by Sri G.V.Iyer on

the life of AchArya RaamAnujA as

the elder and younger RaamAnujA .

Mysterious indeed are the ways of

our NamperumAL and Udayavar to bring us

all together and initiate these Kaimkaryams

and have Bhagavatha Sathsangam .

 

AdiyEn's deep salutations for DevarIr 's

most welcome and timely postings on

the self-effacing SvAmi MuDali-ANDAn

to remind us about the great debt of

gratitude that every Sri VaishNavA

owes to Him in AchArya RaamAnuja santhathi.

 

DaasOham ,

Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri SadagOpan

 

At 12:55 PM 1/9/00 EST, you wrote:

>========================================================

>~~~~~~~~~~~~~svAmi mudali-ANDAN (Part 3)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

>~~~~~~~~~~written by tirumanjanam Sundara Rajan~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

>========================================================

>

>Towards mElkOTE.

>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 1/9/00 1:10:57 PM Eastern Standard Time,

Tssundararajan writes:

 

<< AzhvAn (together with periya nambi) substituted

for uDaiyavar to answer the vicious summons of the

bigoted chOzha ruler; AzhvAn won the debate but the eyes

of AzhvAn and periya-nambi were nevertheless gouged out

by the mean loser. >>

 

Dear Sri Sundararajan

May I add a few words to your brilliant write up on Andan and Azhwan?

The following is from the Introduction for the "Panchasthavam"

by Prof. Srivatsankachariar Swami

Dasoham

Anbil Ramaswamy

====================================

"When Nalooran was deputed to gouge the eyes of Azhwan,

the latter addressed Nalooran -

" I do not need these physical eyes that had the durbhaghyam

of seeing such a Bhagavad Dveshi like you".

So saying, he gouged his own eyes with his

"EzhuthANi" - a stylus used for writing on palm leaf.

Here was the mahAn who lost his 'darsanam' for the sake

of our 'Darsanam" as can be seen from Guruparampara Sara etc."

===========================================

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 1/9/00 1:10:57 PM Eastern Standard Time,

Tssundararajan writes:

 

<< Judged by his five grand hymns (pancha-stavam) alone, would rank as an

intellectual par excellence in the SrIvaishNava 'sampradAyam'. >>

 

Dear Bhagavatas

I have had occasion to listen to Srivatsankachariar's discourses on these

grand sthavams. In fact, based on these inputs, I spoke on one of these

called "AthimAnusha Stavam" during the second SDDS Conference at Pomona in

1997.

 

"Pancha Sthavams"- are marvelous in poetry, faithful in bringing out the

basic esoteric tenets of our Siddhanta, and especially in the "AthimAnusha

Sthavam" dexterous in challenging the claim of the Lord to be human (AthmAnam

mAnusham manyE etc) while performing superhuman tasks !.

 

The inimitable commentaries of Sri Srivatsankachariar throw new light on

several aspects which most of us would not have come across and therefore are

as interesting as they are revealing.

 

If there is a good demand from Bhagavatas, I would like to summarize all the

five

Sthavams with these commentaries in a new series. I already have a few

requests in this regard.

Dasoham

Anbil Ramaswamy

Tssundararajan

svAmi mudali-ANDAN (Part 3)

Sun, 9 Jan 2000 12:55:03 EST

BestServHost: lists.best.com

Sender: bhakti-errors

Errors-bhakti-errors

bhakti

========================================================

~~~~~~~~~~~~~svAmi mudali-ANDAN (Part 3)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~written by tirumanjanam Sundara Rajan~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

========================================================

 

Towards mElkOTE.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

uDaiyavar's exile from Srirangam, and eventual refuge in

mElkOTE-tirunArAyaNapuram, constitutes a poignant episode

in SrIvaishNava history. The occasion once again

demonstrated the precious loyalty of ANDAn and AzhvAn

to uDaiyavar. ANDAn simply went with uDaiyavar on the

virtually uncharted emergency evacuation from Srirangam,

and AzhvAn (together with periya nambi) substituted

for uDaiyavar to answer the vicious summons of the

bigoted chOzha ruler; AzhvAn won the debate but the eyes

of AzhvAn and periya-nambi were nevertheless gouged out

by the mean loser.

 

The trudging journey of the exiles plotting through

woods, rivers and over the hills, must have been very

demanding. Before reaching mElkOTE, the party had

halted at the place known as SaligrAmam ('SAlaigrAmam'?)

where they were baited and harassed by a cynical group

of people. uDaiyavar, it is said, directed ANDAn just

to step into the waters of the local pool and come out.

The villagers are said to have unknowingly been

converted to gentle ways by imbibing the pool-water

sanctified as the washing of ANDAn's feet

(SrIpAda-tIrtham). This was the place where

vaDuka-nambi (Andhra-pUrNa) had met uDaiyavar and

been accepted into discipleship.

 

The creative genius that he was, uDaiyavar turned even

the adversity into a creative programme. The conversion

of the great hoySaLa king bittidEva\vishNu-vardhana to

SrIvaishNavam was providential, but uDaiyavar availed of

the royal patronage to sponsor the admirable cause of

getting him to build five temples. The temples are:-

 

~~ nambi-nArAyaNa at toNDanUr;

~~ tiru-nArAyaNa at mElkOTE\tirunArAyaNapuram;

~~ kIrti-nArAyaNa at talakADu;

~~ vijaya-nArAyaNA at bElUr;

~~ vIra-nArAyaNa at gaDag.

 

The 'pancha-nArAyaNa-pratishThA', as it came to be known,

was not only the glory of vaishNava religion per se, but

the temples figure in the nation's cultural history as

so many marvels of architecture and stone-crafting. This

comprehensive project was got executed under the supervision

of svAmi mudali-ANDAn and these temples stand, especially,

as monuments to uDaiyavar's trust in the skills and

integrity of ANDAn.

 

ANDAn's modesty

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ANDAn was instinctively self-effacing and left

no written works as such, and the reason was obvious,

that his hands were full in administering the

Great Temple and in coordinating and executing the

numerous and continuing assignments of uDaiyavar. ANDAn

is remembered through numerous references in our

extensive 'vyAkhyA' (exegetic) literature, and in the

temple chronicle 'kOyil ozhugu' and hagiological works.

 

The ANDAn-AzhvAn pair was renowned for

devotion and great concern for namperumAL.

Every time namperumAL returned to the AsthAnam (sanctum)

after sojourning in the holy streets, the two would,

in the spirit of periAzhvAr, sigh and hold each other's hands

in thanksgiving that the Lord returned to safety after

His festive wandering right in the sight of cynical men.

 

On the other hand, AzhvAn, if judged by his

five grand hymns (pancha-stavam) alone, would rank as an

intellectual par excellence in the SrIvaishNava

'sampradAyam'. He was, of course, the companion of uDaiyavar

when the latter undertook the arduous journey to the

kAshmIra-SAradA-pITham (located in a place now included

in 'pak'-occupied Kashmir) in search of 'bOdhAyana-vrtti'

as source material for writing SrIbhAshyam. AzhvAn's

extraordinary mnemonic skills and philosophic comprehension

were utilised by uDaiyavar in writing his magnum opus,

and Azhvan also served as the amenuensis. This joyful

and precious activity was interrupted by uDaiyavar's exile

to mElkOTE, and eventually SrIvishNuchitta enkaLAzhvAn of

tiruveLLaRai took the place of AzhvAn to help uDaiyavar

complete the work.

 

AzhvAn's unique intellectual powers were acknowledged

by all, but he himself thought that being one of the many

devoted disciples of uDaiyavar was the real thing to cherish.

Accordingly, he once exclaimed that he valued ANDAn's

natural birth-kinship with uDaiyavar as much more

precious than his own works.

 

ANDAn's pedigree

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ANDAn is the mUla-purusha of the vAdhUla-gOtra clan

renowned as 'koyil-kandADai'(a Tamil-Sanskrit hybrid),

for being honoured with perumAL's fragrant robe. The

clan is famous to the extent that a whole street

[north mADa street] in SrIvilli-puttUr bears the name

'kandADaiyAr vIthi', perhaps ever since the name was

established in the 'sampradAyam' itself.

 

The casting of the beautiful life-like icons of

svAmi emperumAnAr and consecration at SrIperumpudUr

(during his life time), as well as at Srirangam

(on his passing away), constitute the signal service

of ANDAn's son, SrI kandADai ANDAn, to the SrIvaishNava

sampradAyam.

 

The proper recognition accorded to nampUr varadAcharya

in Srirangam for his extraordinary discourses on

tiru-vAi-mozhi (later transcribed as the thirty-six

thousand) was the remarkable service rendered by

a later descendant of ANDAn, namely, kandADai tOzhappar.

It was he who lauded Sri-varada as 'nampiLLai'.

 

Branches of the family tree

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The mudali-ANDAn tirumALikai is situated on the

East Chitra street of SRIRANGAM, and Sri azhakiya-Singar

is worshipped here. There are sub-tirumALikai in

kAnchIpuram, tirunArAyaNapuram and SingapperumAL kOyil.

The periya-tirumozhi decad 'ankaN n~Alam anja'

is the tiru-mAlikai pASuram.

 

[[A substantive hagiography of svAmi mudali-ANDAn

remains to be written, though our eminent contemporary

savant, Dr Sri V.V. Ramanujam, has already put together

much source material in the souvenirs brought out

on the occasion of the 'shashTi-abdam' of

svAmi mudali-ANDAn SrISailAcharya, and his younger

brother and successor kumAra-vEnkaTAchArya (whose son

SrIrAmAnujAchArya is the present incumbent).

The 'dASarathi su-prabhAtam' composed by (kIrti-mUrti)

tirumalai nallAn chakravarti rAmakrishna AiyangAr svAmi,

and the booklet on 'mudali-ANDAn' by 'SrIvaishNavaSri'

A. Krishnamachari svAmi of Srirangam are valuable

supplementary material.

 

[[Dr Ramanujam is exceptionally equipped to undertake

the writing since he has single-handedly and unfailingly

been publishing the mudali-ANDAn tirumALikai monthly

journal 'yatirAja-pAdukA' over long years now, and besides

has authored very perceptive works like 'sahasranAma-

bhAshyam' in Tamil, drawing upon both the 'bhagavad-guNa-

darpaNam' commentary of SrI-bhaTTar and the vast treasure

of our 'aruLic-cheyal-vyAkhyA' literature.

 

[[His address: Dr V.V. Ramanujam,

Editor, 'Yatiraja Paduka' monthly,

68 T.P. Koil Street, Tiruvallikkeni,

Chennai - 600005.

[[His residential 'phone No. may be ascertained from

Prof. M.A. Venkatakrishnan: Ph No.044-8570048.]]

 

ANDAn Family Tree

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The following are the well-known branches\'tiru-mALikai'

of the ANDAn family tree surviving to-day:-

 

(*) aNNAvilappan, sannidhi street, kAnchIpuram.

(*) kOyil kandADai vAdhUla-dESika aNNan svAmi,

East uttara Street, SrIrangam.

[The svAmi-s of this tirumALikai are called out

~~ aruLap-pADu ~~ as 'vAdhUla-dESikar', for

honours as the sthalAchArya in the periya-kOyil.

Sri varada-nArAyaNa-guru was a distinguished

scholar of this branch, and was among the

ashTa-dik-gaja disciples of maNavALa-mAmuni.]

(*) SrIrangAchArya, East Chitra St., Srirangam.

(*) SOLingapuram doDDAchArya / mahAchArya

famed for authorship of the 'chanDamArutam'

gloss on svAmi-dESikan's 'Sata-dUshaNI'.

His services are briefly dramatised when

dEvap-perumAL grandly sets out on garuDa-

vAhanam during the "vAiyam kaNDa vAikASi utsavam".

Besides his well-known gloss, he enlisted the

support of panchamata-bhanjanam tAtAchArya

to revive worship of SrIgOvindarAja perumAL

in tillai-tiruc-chitra-kUTam.

(*) tirumaNi appan svAmi.

The present incumbent is SrI-dASarathi-svAmi

whose father Sri KKA Venkatacharya (living

in tiruvallikkENi in retirement) had,

in collaboration with Mr Daniel Smith of Harvard,

broken fresh ground in modern pAncharAtra studies,

and rendered valuable service as the first

director of the Anantacharya Institute of

Indological Studies, Cuffe Parade, Mumbai.

(*) SrI-bhAvanAchArya, South Chitra St., Srirangam.

-------------------

The second 'taniyan' of svAmi mudaliANDAn sparkles

with the 'SrI' benediction occurring in each

pAda (quarter) of the SlOkam:-

 

SrI-vAishNava-SirO-bhUshA

SrI-rAmAnuja-pAdukA

SrI-vAdhUla-kulOttamsO

Sri-dASarathi: EratAm.

 

May this benediction protect the sanctified House

of svAmi mudali-ANDAn, as indeed of every one of

our AchArya-purusha community, for they are the

custodians and disseminators of

'rAmAnujArya-divyAjnA'.

 

"SrIranganAthO jayatu, SrIrangaSrI-Scha vardhatAm!"

------------------

NOTE:

 

This is a modest outline sketch of the

famed personality of svAmi mudaliANDAn and,

going only by the limitations of the writer,

would fall short of the real eminence of

this great AchArya.

 

I beseech forgiveness for crucial omissions as may be.

 

aDiyEn rAmAnuja-dAsan, tirumanjanam Sundara Rajan.

 

'anRu ivvulakam aLandAi', pramAthi.