abhinava desika -SrI UttamUr Swamy Divya Charitham-4

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SrI:

Sri Padmavathi Sametha Srinivasa Parabrahmane Namaha.

Sri Perundhevi Sametha Devadhiraja Parabrahmane Namaha.

Sri Bhagavad Ramanujaya Namaha.

Srimate Rangaramanuja Maha Desikaya Namaha.

Srimate Abhinava Desika Vatsya Satchakravarti Uttamur SRI

VIRARAGHAVARYA MAHA DESIKAYA NAMAHA

 

SrImAn venkatanAthAryaH kavitArkika kesarI |

vedAntAcArya-varyome sannidhattAm sadA hRdi ||

 

Thanian (Invocatory verse on Sri UttamUr swamy written by

Swamy's AchAryan Sri Kozhiyalam Swamy himself)

 

adbhutam yasya vikrAntam vEda vIthI ViSOdhanE |

aparam nigamAntAryam prapadyE vIrarAghavam ||

 

Let us continue with the divya charitham of Sri UttamUr Swamy.

 

[Article in Tamil by SrI PayyampADi VEnkatavaradAchArya SwAmi ; English

write up (based on Tamil) by SrI R.VenkatAchAri (SohattUr- Vankipuram

-Oppiliappan Sannidhi), a disciple of SrI UtthamUr SwAmi. Appeared in the

souvenir

released during the SatAbhishEkam (80th birth anniversary) of SrI UtthamUr

swAmi on 10th Feb, 1977]

 

At Tiruvaiyaru college, as it was the middle of the academic year, Our

 

Swami could not join the regular course. He was permitted to sit along

with the students in one class lower to Siromani. Our Swami studied MIMAMSA

NYAYA PRAKASAM, MUKTAVALI, DINAKAREEYAM, VYAKARANA MANORAMA, AND MANY

Kavyas, Nataka and Alankara granthas, Side by Side he also studied the

first half year portions he missed and in the final examination, he got a

very high rank which helped him to get admission to the Siromani class next

year without any difficulty.

 

Apart from the Tarka Granthas prescribed for Siromani examination, Our Swami

studied other Tarka granthas privately under his Guru, Sri Swachandam Swami.

Most of the days, Our Swami used to sit in the mandapam on the banks of

river Kaveri under the feet of his guru and study for two hours in the

morning, after both completing their morning Anushtana, and before coming

home. Such was the trouble taken by the guru to instruct the sishya. This

helped Our Swami to pass the

UTHANA PARVA at Pudukottai Samasthanam examination with distinction. Along

with Tarka, Our Swami studied, in addition to MIMAMSA BHATTA DEEPIKA as a

portion for Siromani, other Mimamsa granthas also privately under the famous

Mimamsa authority. Brahmasri Venkata Subramania Sastri (also known as

Chinnaswami Sastri). The genious of our Swami impressed Sri Sastri so much

that he even gave to Our Swami, the manuscripts of Sriman Sastri’s yet

unpublished MIMAMSA KAUSTUBHA

and other original owrks of his, for taking notes. One day Brahmasri Sastri

called all the students and told them that Our Swami would one day become

the undisputed authority on all the four Shastras and also will be claimed

as the “Acharya Par Excellence” amongst the Visishtadvaitins. It is only a

genius who can spot another budding genius. It was Brahmasri Sastri who did

that then and just as he was saying that, a Garuda Bird was circling the

assembled people in a clockwise direction. Sriman Sastri pointed out this

to others and said that no less than Vedatma vihageswara himself has come

there to confirm what he said and aslo to bless Our Swami. At Tiruvaiyyaru

College, it used to be a regular feature, that Our Swami will pass all the

examination always in FIRST RANK and snatch away all the prizes. Very soon,

Our Swami was elected to the Sanskrit Debating Club at the campus and he

spent his spare time in ably managing the affairs of the club. Students of

the lower classes used to come to him almost every day to clear their doubts

and Our Swami became very popular. At the time of his final examination,

Our Swami fell sick and he was forced to return to Madurantakam and stayed

there for about two months to recoup his health. The illustrious father of

Our Swami got worried and prayed to Lord Ramachandra Moorti at the

Madurantakam temple for the speedy recovery of his son, and finally Our

Swami recovered his normal health and came back to Tiruvaiyyaru in time for

the final examination. The Prinicipal of the college, Sri Vedantacharya

Swami predicted that Our Swami will pass his examination so creditably that

the college authorities will automatically take him in the college as a

staff member. His prediction came true and Our Swami passed the Siromani

examination, and stood FIRST IN THE PRESIDENCY. This got him the post of a

Research Scholar in the same college in the same year.

 

Thus, one can see very easily from Our Swami’s with an illustrious son, but

prepared and kept ready a galaxy of Pandits and Vidwans on all Shastras, who

were all experts in their branches of learning and provided chances to Our

Swami to come into contact with them at appropriate times. Is there any

other proof necessary to prove that Lord Viraraghava Perumal blessed Our

Swami to become

known as Abhinava Desika at the end, when he blessed Our Swami’s parents

with a son!

 

During this period Sri Swachandam Swami used to attend the Sadas at

Tiruchandur conducted by the then Head of the Utharadi Mutt, Sri Satya

Dhyana Teertha, the famous authority in Nyaya Shastra. Our Swami also used

to accompany his Tarka ACHARYA, and there, our Swami used to answer all the

questions raised in the Sadas,in a very creditable manner. Still the Sadas

wanted to test him on all other Granthas before giving the full Sambhavana

and Our Swami did this to the entire satisfation of all those present. On

the final day of the Sadas,

Mysore Maha Vidvan Sri Krishnamurthiachar, raised some doubts in “Samanya

Mirukti”. Permitted by Sri Swachandam Swami, Our Swami presented a

different angle to the subject and proved that the objections raised were

not valid. The presiding Madadhipathi proclaimed as “Uttheenosi” and

presented full Sambhavana to Our Swami, to the approval of all. This visit

to Mysore became a regular

yearly feature. During one such trip, on their way back, The Guru and

 

Sishya stayed overnight at Tirupathi. Sir Kapistalam Swami made an offer to

our Swami, the post of a professor in Tirupathi college of Vedanta. He also

promised to get permission to Our Swami to conduct classes in Sri Bhashyam

in his house if he feels that such Sampradaya granthas could not be taught

in open classes and that it is enough if he taches other granthas in the

regular class hours. Our Swami consulted his Revered Achary, Sri Koliyalam

Swami and with his aproval

gave his formal application form. But after coming back to Tiruvaiyaru he

found that his commitments at Tiruvaiyaru prevented him from going to

Tirupathi at that time. Then Our Swami stayed in Tiruvaiyaru for FIVE more

years and wrote two books called, VAISESIKA DARSANA VIMARSAM, PRACHYA

PARCHADYA DARSANA VIRMARSAM”. In the meanwhile he had already started

writing the grantha “MIMAMSA

SUDHASVADAM”, a commentary for Mimamsa Nyaya Prakasa. The college

authorities and other pandits felt that this new commentary will help

students to understand the tough granthas like Tarka Shastra Sarani.

 

Mahamahopadyaya Sri Kuppuswami Sastri also praised this book and also felt

that Sri Swami should write a commentary on Bhatta Deepika itself.

 

But the real turning point in Our Swami's career was the accidental and

God-sent chance he got to start his VEDANTA SHASTRA ADHYAYANA. It is a

wonder that according to Our Swami’s horoscope the `Guru Dasa’, which

started in his eight year when he had his Brahmopadesa, saw towards the

later half of the Guru Dasa itself, his initiation into the learning of

Vedanta Shastras and was completed in a few years. It is a wonder that even

the Stars seemed to have co-operated in the

final making of the Abhinava Desika as a full fledged Acharya. What else

can the Star do when it is the wish and blessing of Lord Viraraghava Perumal

of Tiruvellore.

 

Let us read further in the next part.

AchAryan ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam

Regards

Namo Narayana

aDiyEn dAsan

 

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