"Tirutthi PaNi KoLvAn"

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Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

 

"Tirutthi PaNi KoLvAn"

 

Who is the most merciful person in the whole world? Some may say it is

one's mother, because she puts up with quite a lot of trouble with the child,

even before it is born. The physical inconveniences, which a mother undergoes

before, during and after childbirth, are beyond description and only those who

have experienced motherhood would be able to appreciate their magnitude. Even if

the son is totally impervious to the mother and her needs, she never ceases to

care for him till the end.

 

Others may ascribe maximum mercifulness to the Lord, for He patiently forgives

all our transgressions and strives constantly to emancipate us through various

strategies.

 

However, the fact remains that the most merciful of all is the Acharya. More

than the mother, who cares for our physical and material welfare (which does not

save us from the eternal and vicious cycle of births and deaths), more than the

Lord (who liberates us because He selfishly craves our company -"Sa EkAkI na

ramatE"- to relieve the tedium of loneliness in Sri Vaikuntam), it is the

Acharya, who yearns for our spiritual well-being and liberation from samsara,

who displays the maximum mercy. The mother may put up with us because we are

from her own body, the Lord may forgive us because we are an inseparable part of

Him, but to the Acharya, we are complete strangers, and whatever he does for our

upliftment is absolutely without any expectation of a quid pro quo. Our Acharyas

are "KripA mAtra prasanna Acharyas", driven solely by the motive of mercy

towards misguided mankind. They scrupulously adhere to the dictum "KripayA

nisspruhO vadEt" (The Acharya should impart instruction to the disciple without

expecting anything in return).

 

What makes the Acharyas more merciful than any other category, is their

propensity to seek out souls in need of succour and to provide them appropriate

relief, instead of waiting for the needy individual to seek their assistance.

They do not stand on prestige and think nothing of taking deliverance to the

sishya's doorstep. While the normal procedure is for the intending disciple to

search for an Acharya, satisfy him through sincere personal services and obtain

the desired instruction ("tat viddhi praNipAtEna priprasnEna sEvayA"), there

have been numerous instances of the Guru himself going after the prospective

sishya, driven by concerns for the latter's spiritual welfare and the need for

diverting the disciple before he travels too far on the path to nowhere. One

such instance involves Sri Parasara Bhattar, the illustrious adopted son of Lord

Ranganatha Himself, which is recounted below.

 

When Sri Bhattar was engaged in the Lord's service at Srirangam, a Srivaishnava

from Thirunarayanapuram visiting Srirangam sought him out for paying obeisance,

and in the course of the ensuing conversation, disclosed that an erudite,

generous and extremely wealthy advaiti, endowed with sterling qualities, was

holding court near Melkote, with an enviable strength of disciples. He was also

in the practice of feeding a battalion of the hungry every day, putting his

considerable wealth to good use.

 

When Sri Bhattar heard this, perhaps due to the Lord's will, it occurred to him

as to what an acquisition the VedAnthi(the gentleman of Melkote) would be to the

Sampradaya. Though Sri Bhattar realized that this would be a difficult task in

view of VedAnthi belonging to a diametrically opposite philosophical camp and

his apparent invincibility in debate, yet the Acharya decided to go after him,

driven solely by boundless mercy for the unseen stranger.

 

Sri Bhattar, who had not known physical discomfort since birth, journeyed to

Thirunarayanapuram traveling on foot over hill and dale, braving inhospitable

terrain. En route, when he reached the banks of Cauvery, Sri AnanthAzhwan came

running to him, having heard of the Acharya's journey and its purpose. Despite

Anantazhwan's remonstrations in regard to the Acharya going after a prospective

disciple, Sri Bhattar continued till he reached Thirunarayanapuram, where he

performed mangalasasanam of Sri Yadugiri Nacchiar, Sri Selvapillai and Sri

Yoganrisimha , with a prayer for the successful completion of his task.

 

Thereafter, the Acharya proceeded to GangOthri, the village where Vedanthi was

put up. Hearing that the Vedanthi could not be accessed so easily due to a bevy

of sishyas restricting entry to his quarters, Sri Bhattar went to the Vedanti's

house in the garb of a poor Brahmin in search of food. When others who had come

for a similar purpose made a beeline for the dining hall, Sri Bhattar strayed

from the line and found Vedanthi ensconced on a high pedestal, imparting his

erudition to admiring acolytes. When the disciples espied the presence of an

unbecomingly-clad stranger in their midst, they sought to direct him to the

dining hall, where, they were sure, he belonged. When Sri Bhattar refused to

move, Vedanthi asked him what he wanted ("KA bhikshA?"). Seizing the

opportunity, the newcomer replied that he wanted a debate ("Tharka bhikshA").

Though not clad in finery, Sri Bhattar's face betrayed his scholarship and

spirituality, which impressed the Vedanthi, apart from the stranger's bold

request for a debate, knowing full well that no one had yet scored over the host

in debate. Though the Vedanthi was not in the habit of taking on debaters

personally, as he had an abundance of capable students who could make mincemeat

of most would-be debaters, something in Sri Bhattar's manner, bearing, radiance

of the face and bewitching eyes, and above all, the will of the Lord who wanted

the new convert as badly as Sri Bhattar, made Vedanthi agree to the challenge.

 

Sri Bhattar and Vedanthi argued back and forth for nine days in defence of their

respective tenets with neither yielding an inch of ground. The entire population

of scholars from near and afar was witness to the marathon debate, with

scintillating arguments from both sides. It was an unseen and unheard-of

spectacle, the likes of which had not been chronicled before. Sri Valmiki,

trying and failing to find similes for the valiant battle between Sri Rama and

Ravana, ends up lamely with "Rama RavanayO: yuddham Rama RavaNayO: iva" (the

encounter between Chakkravartthi Thirumagan and Ravana had no parallels-it could

be compared only with itself). Such was the case with the confrontation between

the son of Sri Ranganatha and the erudite Vedanti. The seesaw battle showed no

signs of tilting in either side's favour, and Sri Bhattar, despite his

indomitable spirit, began to feel disheartened due to his lack of progress. At

the end of the ninth day of verbal battle, Sri Bhattar performed tiruvArAdhanam

and went to sleep without partaking of the prasadam, with his mind fixed on the

lotus feet of Sri Ramanuja and Peria Perumal.

 

That night, Aranganagarappan appeared in Sri Bhattar's dream and told him, "We

waited so long only to exhibit your scholarship to the world. You will score

over the Vedanthi tomorrow. Just keep in mind the essence of Sri Kalian's

ThirunedumthAndakam and the sreesooktis of Sri Alavandar and you will sail

through."

 

Buoyed up beyond measure by Peria Perumal's assurance, Sri Bhattar appeared at

the opponent's palace with his countenance radiant with joy at the impending

victory. The moment Vedanthi looked at the face of the youthful challenger, he

sensed that Sri Bhattar had come to draw blood that day, and without further

ado, admitted defeat despite Sri Bhattar's protestations. The vanquished

Vedanthi prayed to the victorious Bhattar to accept him as a disciple and to

purify him with pancha samskArAm, and Sri Bhattar readily obliged.

 

Mission accomplished, Sri Bhattar returned to Srirangam with the satisfaction of

having saved a worthy soul from waywardness. The Vedanthi too, unable to bear

separation from his new-found Acharya, followed him to Srirangam some time

later, having assumed sanyAsam, with his riches laden on a camel, which he

surrendered at Sri Bhattar's feet. This wealth was used for putting up a

beautiful garden of flowers for the Lord's adornment and for feeding bhAgavatAs.

Pleased at the new disciple's devotion to the Lord and His votaries and his

scant regard for worldly possessions despite a lifetime of princely pleasures,

Sri Bhattar embraced Vedanthi, calling him affectionately, "nam Jeeyar". This

sobriquet stuck to the sanyasi and he came to be known as "Nanjeeyar"

thenceforth. Nanjeeyar was his master's constant companion and imbibed all

esoteric concepts of the Sampradaya, along with Sri Bhashya, Aruliccheyal and

its unfathomed depths of blissful experience.

 

Applying his existing scholarship and Sri Bhattar's nectarine kAlakshEpams on

ThiruvAimozhi, Sri Nanjeeyar authored the second commentary on Sri Nammazhwar's

magnum opus, titled "onpadinAyirappadi", incorporating and expanding the short,

sweet and succinct "Thiru ArAyirappadi" of Sri Thirukkurugai PirAn PiLLAn. The

"onpadinayirappadi" was the precursor and forerunner to the subsequent

IrupatthunAlAyirappadi of Sri PeriavAcchAn PiLlai and the "eedu" of Sri Vadakku

Tiruveedipillai. We find the later vyAkhyAnams quoting Sri Nanjeer verbatim in

the commentary for many of the pasurams and incorporating his ideas too for the

most part.

 

He also authored a bhAshyam for the SriSUktham, emphasizing the glory of PirAtti

and dispelling many misconceptions in that regard.

 

Swami Desikan quotes Sri Nanjeeyar with reverence at several places in Srimad

Rahasyatrayasaam, attesting to the erudition, depth of devotion and Acharya

bhakti of this Preceptor par excellence.

 

This is the tale of how an Acharya, driven by boundless mercy, traversed

hundreds of miles on foot to win over and emancipate a single sishya, who proved

worthy of his Acharya's efforts.

 

Srimate Sri LakshmINrsimha divya paduka sevaka Srivan Satakopa Sri Narayana

Yatindra Mahadesikaya Nama:

 

Dasan, sadagopan.