The Life of Kuresan-6

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Dear friends,

 

By the time SriRamanuja was a septuagenarian, his

stature as a giant of an "AchAryA" in the Vedantic

galaxy of India became secure. Sri Vaishnavam had

reached its pinnacle of development around that time.

 

While the followers of Ramanuja were multiplying by

the day, he also began to make a few enemies. The

growing influence of SriVaishnavism once again stoked

the malevolent fires of religious bigotry in the land.

Amongst some sections of the Saivite population which

at that time was concentrated around Gangai-konda-

sozha-puram... near Chidambaram ... hatred of

SriVaishnavaism and of Sri.Ramanuja began to flare up.

 

 

The King of ChozhanAd at that time was a tyrant who

was also a Saivite fanatic. His name was Krimikantha

Chola of the clan of the Kollutunga kings. This tyrant

was hell-bent on rooting out Vaishnavism in his

kingdom and the best way to do that, he thought, was

to destroy Ramanuja.

 

He issued royal summons to Ramanuja to appear in his

court for the ostensible purpose of engaging him in

scholarly debate with his own royal pundits. The real

intention however was to coerce Ramanuja to recant

from SriVaishnavism and if he refused ... to have him

murdered in cold blood.

 

Ramanuja's followers got wind of the king's evil

designs and promptly dissuaded Ramanuja from going to

Gangai-konda-sozha-puram. Fearing for their Master's

safety, the disciples of Ramanuja persuaded him to

flee from the land of the Cholas.

 

Kuresan then volunteered to go as Ramanuja's proxy and

respond to the royal summons.

 

With great reluctance Ramanuja thus left Srirangam

with a small band of acolytes and fled to the distant

but salubrious land of Melkote or Tirunarayanapuram.

 

Ramanuja lived in exile there for 12 long years... a

difficult period in life for the aged AchArya.

 

In Melkote Ramanuja however once again re-built his

pontifice from scratch. He consecrated a temple of

Lord SampathkumAran. He developed a colony of devout

SriVaishnavas from amongst the local residents. In

good time, Melkote became a thriving centre of Sri

vaishnavism second only in glory to Srirangam when

Ramanuja had lived there.

 

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One day a Vaishnava member who had travelled very far,

and for many days, from Srirangam arrived in Melkote

and sought audience with Ramanuja.

 

The "AchAryA" rushed to meet the visitor from

Srirangam, eager to know tidings from his beloved city

of Lord Ranga from where he had been so abruptly and

violently uprooted by medieval bigotry.

 

"Pray tell me quickly how fare my beloved SriRangam,

my beloved mentors and my dearest disciples?", asked

Ramanuja.

 

The visitor replied,"All fare well in the city of

Srirangam, Sire, except that you are sorely missed by

everyone."

 

After a few more inquiries and a pregnant pause

Ramanuja asked,"And how is my disciple Kuresan?".

 

It was then that the visitor, in a voice choked with

pent-up emotion, began to narrate to Ramanuja details

of the grim fate that had befallen Kuresan at the

hands of the Chola tyrant, Krimikanta Chozhan.

 

(contd)

 

dAsan,

Sampathkumaran

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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