"Idat TAi IrAmAnusan"

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Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

 

 

 

"Idat TAi IrAmAnusan"

 

 

 

Sri Ramanuja is reputed to have authored nine works- Sri Bhashyam, Sri

Gita Bhashyam, VedArttha Sangraham, Vedanta Deepam, Vedanta Saram, Sharanagati

Gadyam, Sri Vaikunta Gadyam, Sriranga Gadyam and Nityam. Sri Bhashyam, Vedartha

Sangraham, Deepam and Saram are aimed at elucidating the purport of the Brahma

Sutras and select Veda Vedanta passages, and are, as such, polemical works aimed

at establishment of the VisishtAdvaita Darsanam on a sound pedestal after

demolishing the faulty structures put up by other schools of philosophy. The

three Gadyas are outpourings of pure devotion, with none of the intricate debate

into the nuances of the Shruti characterising the other works. The Gita Bhashya

is an elaborate but beautiful commentary on the Universal Guidebook, the

Bhagavat Gita-it is a labour of love for Sri Ramanuja, affording full play to

his basic nature of innate spirituality and devotion and bringing out the true

purport of the Lord's dicta. Its elegant style, finely-turned phraseology, depth

of meaning, majesty of composition and the ever-present thread of overwhelming

love and devotion-all these make the Gita Bhashya a magnificent work. The Nitya

Grantham is a manual of worship, setting out the procedure of Bhagavat

ArAdhanam.

 

 

 

In the works enumerated above, discerning readers would find a surprising

omission, in an area which the Bhashyakara would have been expected to

contribute, but has not.

 

 

 

After his soul left for its divine abode, the great Acharya Sri

Alavandar's mortal coils were found by his disciples to sport a strange

feature-three fingers of his palm were bent, as if listing out something. None

of the disciples, despite their life-long closeness and kainkaryam to the

Master, was able to divine what exactly the bent fingers signified. However, Sri

Ramanuja, who had come running to Srirangam from Kancheepuram for the express

purpose of paying obeisance to Sri Yamuna Muni, instantly recognised that the

bent fingers of the palm signified three unsatisfied desires in the great

Acharya's mind-the compilation of commentaries, according to the VisishtAdvaitic

tenets, on three major areas which were considered to be pramANAs of very high

order-the Brahma Sutras, the Bhagavat Gita and the Tiruvaimozhi of Sri

Nammazhwar. The moment Sri Ramanuja took a pledge to fulfil the unfinished

agenda of Sri Alavandar, the Acharya's fingers unfolded themselves and the palm

came to a normal position.

 

 

 

Sri Ramanuja partially redeemed his pledge to his paramAchArya by composing

magnificent Bhashyas on the Brahma Sutras and the Bhagavat Gita, which, despite

the passage of almost a thousand years, continue to inspire the learned and

unlettered alike and lay down the path to liberty and emancipation.

 

 

 

However, he did not accomplish the third item on the agenda, viz., commenting on

the Tiruvaimozhi. Not only did Emperumanar not compose a commentary on Sri

Nammazhwar's magnum opus, but he also left no trace of the Divya Prabandas in

his entire nine works-not a single quote from the Prabandas, not even a solitary

reference to the vast body of 4000 and odd pasurams. This is really surprising,

considering that both the Sri Bhashya and the Gita Bhashya would have afforded

him ample opportunity to buttress his arguments with appropriate references from

the Tiruvaimozhi and other compositions of Azhwars, or at least to quote them in

passing. However, Sri Ramanuja did not do this, much to the wonderment of

everyone. Prima facie, it was as if the Divya Prabandas and the Azhwars did not

exist for him. This, we know, could not be the position, because of the

innumerable references in the works of the Bhashyakara's sishyas to their Master

being well versed in the Aruliccheyal and more, contributing to its protection,

preservation and propagation.

 

 

 

Paying a tribute to Sri Nammazhwar for having blessed us with the Tiruvaimozhi,

Sri Bhattar values the contribution of Sri Ramanuja more than that of the

Azhwar-

 

"Tamizh maraigaL Ayiramum eendra mudal tAi Satakopan, moimbAl vaLarttha idattAi

irAmAnusan". Sri Bhattar says that the Azhwar might have done us a great favour

by composing the Tiruvaimozhi, but it is Sri Ramanuja to whom must go the credit

for preserving the once-lost Prabandas from extinction. It was Emperumanar who

made Tiruvaimozhi not merely a book of verses, but a way of life. It was he who

arrived at and disseminated the true purports of many a pasuram, in accordance

with the true intent of the author. Just as the role of a foster parent is more

important in making a man of an abandoned child by bestowing him with good

education, timely food, protective clothes and man-making discipline, Sri

Ramanuja's contribution as aforesaid ranks a step ahead of Sri Nammazhwar's,

avers Sri Bhattar.

 

 

 

In another tanian to the Peria Tirumozhi, Sri Ramanuja is adulated as "Sankai

kedutthu Anda tavarAsA!", with the inference that it was he who clarified the

innumerable doubts that arose in the interpretation of Divya Prabandas and laid

down authoritative and acceptable positions on various concepts enunciated by

Azhwars.

 

 

 

Sri Tiruvarangattu Amudanar, in his irAmAnusa noottrandAdi, pays eloquent

tribute to Emperumanar. He individually mentions each Azhwar by name and

indicates how Sri Ramanuja had boundless devotion to that Azhwar and to his

outpouring. And the immeasurable love and esteem the Yatiraja had for

Tiruvaimozhi, his attaching greater importance to it than to his own father,

mother, worldly possessions and even the Lord Himself, are brought out by the

following lines-

 

"uru perum selvamum tandayum tAyum-uyar guruvum

 

veri taru PoomagaL nAthanum-MAran viLangia seer

 

neri tarum sentamizh AraNamE endru in neeNilattOr

 

aritara nindra-irAmAnusan enakku AramudhE"

 

 

 

Another Acharya declares that the best way to keep the mind steady on the

uplifting purport of Tiruvaimozhi is to pay obeisance to the holy feet of Sri

Ramanuja-

 

"Eynda perum keerti irAmAnusa muni tan

 

VAynda malar pAdam vaNangugindrEn-Aynda perum

 

SeerAr Satakopan sentamizh Vedam tarikkum

 

PErAda uLLam pera"

 

 

 

All these and other tributes indicate in no uncertain terms the conclusion of

post-Ramanuja Acharyas as to the immeasurable contribution of the Yatiraja to

the cause of the DrAvida VEdam.

 

 

 

How is this possible, especially in view of not a single written word of Sri

Ramanuja's monumental and copious works containing even an isolated reference to

the Aruliccheyal?

 

 

 

We must conclude that Sri Ramanuja, for some reason, left it to his illustrious

disciples to compose worthy commentaries on the Tiruvaimozhi, rather than

appropriate the honour for himself. There is however no doubt that the works of

Azhwars and that of Sri Nammazhwar in particular, influenced Emperumanar's

writings much, be it the Sri Bhashya or the Gita Bhashya or the Gadyas. And

there is absolutely no question in anyone's mind that the first and foremost

commentary on the Tiruvaimozhi by the Bhashyakara's principal disciple and

'GnAna putra" Sri Tirukkurugai Piran Pillan, incorporates the essence of Sri

Ramanuja's own lectures on the subject, delivered to the kAlakshEpa ghOshti.

 

Just as Sri Nanjeeyar's onpathinAyirappadi is the sAram of Sri Bhattar's oral

commentaries, just as the Eedu MuppatthArAyirappadi of Sri Vadakku

Tiruveedipillai is but a recording of Sri Nampillai's oral instructions on

Tiruvaimozhi, just as the ShrutaprakAsika is but a written version of the

lectures delivered by Sri NadAdUr ammAL on Sribhashya, so too the ArAyirappadi

of Sri Pillan is a faithful rendering in writing of what the Yatiraja conveyed

during his numerous lectures on the subject, addressed to attentive and

illustrious disciples.

 

 

 

The language, narrative style and majesty of expression found in the

ArAyirappadi commentary of Sri Pillan bear considerable similarity to Sri

Ramanuja's own, though the latter are in Sanskrit. The same economy with words,

employment of the mot juste with telling effect, repeated use of key phrases

etc. are found in the works of the Master and the Disciple, leaving us in no

doubt as to Sri Ramanuja having inspired the principal commentary on the

Tiruvaimozhi, though he himself did not put it to paper.

 

 

 

The Tiruvaimozhi commentaries are replete with alternate interpretations for

various pasurams, advanced by Sri Ramanuja, bearing the sobriquet "EmperumAnAr

nirvAham". These versions display considerable originality of thought, of course

within the boundaries of tradition, and provide valuable clues to the Azhwar's

line of thinking. That Sri Ramanuja was not averse to incurring the wrath of his

guru by putting forward interpretations differing from the accepted ones is

learnt from the Acharya's averments being termed "VisvAmitra Shrishti" by Sri

TirumAlai AndAn, at whose feet Sri Ramanuja learnt the purport of Tiruvaimozhi.

However, Sri AndAn came around later and fell in line with Sri Ramanuja,

attesting to the fact that original thinking has always been encouraged in our

Sampradaya, provided it is reasonable, logical, acceptable and within the broad

parameters of tradition.

 

 

 

Another oft-mentioned matter is the Bhashyakara's enchantment with Tiruppavai.

The Acharya was not merely well versed with this Prabanda and its purport, but

adopted its teachings as a way of life. This resulted in the fitting sobriquet

"Tiruppavai Jeeyar". Having commented on the Brahma Sutras and on significant

passages from the Upanishads, Sri Ramanuja found that all of it was but a

reiteration of the basic truths embedded in the short but sweet Tiruppavai and

became so enamoured with the thirty pasurams as to be honoured with the

aforesaid title.

 

 

 

The apparent contradiction of Sri Ramanuja not having employed Prabanda vAkyAs

in his voluminous works is resolved by the following sloka attributed to Sri

EmbAr. To protect the innumerable Upanishadic texts from misinterpretation, Sri

Vyasa composed the Brahma Sutras, laying down the true purport of the Shruti.

Finding this too subjected to arguments and counter arguments by undiscerning

pseudo-philosophers intent on bending the Shruti to suit their own viewpoints,

Vyasa Bhagavan took another avatara as Sri Nammazhwar and restated his tenets in

the form of easily comprehensible pasurams in sweet verses of Tiruvaimozhi,

incapable of misinterpretation. However, people can always be found to

misunderstand and misguide, and to save the two earlier works (the Brahma Sutras

and the Tiruvaimozhi) from such a fate, Sage Vyasa took yet another avatara,

this time as Sri Ramanuja, to reconcile the two works and restate their

essential features, by authoring the Sri Bhashya and by inspiring commentaries

on the Tiruvaimozhi. Here is the beautiful sloka-

 

 

 

"PurA sootrai: VyAsa: Shruti sata shirOrttham grathitavAn

 

vivavrE tat shrAvyam VakuLataratAm Etya sa puna:

 

ubhou Etou granthou ghatayitum alam yuktibhi: asou

 

puna: jagnyE RAmAvaraja iti sa Brahma mukura:"

 

 

 

Swami Desikan claims with pride that all his youth was spent enjoying the

delightful Sreesooktis of the Bhashyakara, and his hair grown grey with

maturity, both physical and mental, the latter afforded by the constant imbibing

and propagation of the Yatiraja's majestic works. If we analyse Tooppul Pillai's

words, it would be evident that the enumeration of Yatiraja's works includes the

Bhagavat Vishayam as handed down by him to Sri Pillan and others-

 

 

 

"Yati pravara bhAratI rasa bharENa neetam vaya:

 

prapulla phalitam sira:"

 

 

 

The words "rasa bharENa" obviously refer to Sri Ramanuja sreesooktis (albeit

unstated in writing) concerning Tiruvaimozhi, for what could be more filled with

"rasa" than the Azhwar's outpourings and Emperumanar's own inimitable

interpretations of the same? And what better way to spend one's life than to

keep oneself constantly immersed in the unfathomably deep and majestic works of

the Master Philosopher and to come up every time with new and more precious gems

from the DrAvida VEda sAgaram? It was as a result of this beneficial obsession

with Sri Bhashyakara's works that Swami Desikan was able to come up with

classical works on Tiruvaimozhi, viz., Nigama ParimaLam, DramidOpanishat Saram

and the DramidOpanishat TAtparya RatnAvaLi.

 

 

 

Would you not agree with Sri Bhattar now, that the Bhashyakara was indeed the

"idat tAi", responsible for the Prabanda sisu (child) blossoming into an

enchanting young woman of impeccable character and conduct, with innumerable

suitors (commentators) vying with one another for her favours?

 

 

 

Srimate Sri LakshmINrsimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana

Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

 

Dasan, sadagopan