Sri Vara Vara Muni-1

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Sri Parthasarathi thunai

Srimathe ramanujaya Namaha

Sri Vara Vara MunayE Namaha

Sri vAnAchala mahA munayE namaha

 

Dear bhagavatas,

 

On this auspicious day, mAsi dwAdasi, “The thiruvadhyayana dhinam” of

our dear acharya, Sri Vara Vara muni let us all remember that great

soul and revered acharya and show our obeisance to that great mahAn

by meditating on his greatness and divine athma gunas. Erumbiappa,

one of the astadiggajas of Periya Jeeyer, swamy manavAla mAmunikal

sang 100 slokas adorning the divine qualities of Jeeyer. In our

sampradayam, when we say Azhvar it indicates to only nammAzhvar, the

term swamy refers only to emperumAnAr and Jeeyer is a special term

indicating Periya Jeeyer, Sri Vara Vara Muni. The slokas of

erumbiappa are called as “Vara Vara Muni sathakam”. In the very same

name one another ashtadiggaja Sri prathivAdi bayankaram anna swamy has

also done 100 slokas on the divine qualities of Sri Vara Vara Muni.

Each one of these slokas is no exaggeration and exactly portrays the

greatness of our dear acharya, mAmunikal. Jeeyer’s greatness cannot

be fully told with just these slokas. Even the greatness of

emperuman can be enjoyed to an extent but the greatness of our dear

acharya is totally beyond words. But still to show their bhakthi

towards the great acharya the prime disciples of Swamy sang the

slokas adorning swamy. Moreover these are great gifts given to

mandhabhuddis (dull-headed people) like us by the great disciples so

as to make us cherish the divine qualities of Jeeyer that are totally

beyond our level of perseverance.

 

To just enjoy a drop from the ocean of divinity (dheebhakthyAdhi

gunArnavam) here is one such sloka. This sloka is from erumbiappa’s

vara vara muni sathakam. In those days, if a child cries in the

midnight and if the reason behind the same is unpredictable then the

mother used to recite this sloka that immediately gave relief to the

child and the child will sleep in peace the rest of the night.

 

“Srimad rangam jayatu paramam dhAma tEjOnidhAnam bhoomA

tasmin bhavatu kushalee kOpibhoomA sahAya I

divyam tasmai dhishatu vibhavam dEsikO dEsikAnAm kAlE kAlE

vara vara muni: kalpayan mangalAni II”

 

Srimad - What is the Sri (wealth) for Srivaishnavas? The kainkarya

Sri. Valmiki did not call Lakshmana Sriman when he was in ayodhya as

the prince but he called him “Sriman” when he started with Sri rama

piran to the forest. While he is been sent out of the kingdom

wearing a saffron cloth (maravuri) without anything in hand why is

valmiki calling him like that? Is he teasing lakshmana? No.

Lakshmana got the actual Sri, Rama kainkaryam only while he went with

chakravarthi thirumagan to the forest. He says, “aham sarvam

karishyAmi jAgrudha svapadaschathE” (I will do all sorts of

kainkaryams to you while you are awake or asleep). So only that

kainkarya Sri is the actual Vaishnava Sri. Similarly valmiki calls

vibheeshana as Sriman when he left all the treasures in lanka rAjyam

and came with folded hands to join in the ghosti of rama piran. So

only the bhagavat/bhAgavata kainkaryam is our wealth (Sri). Swamy

mAmunikal in his Arthi prabhandam says, “nAttrAdhai som pudhalvar

thammadhanrO dhAyamurai thAn” Here he refers to the wealth of his

jnana pithA, father who granted him knowledge (swamy emperumAnAr).

What is the wealth emperumAnAr has left to him? Sriranga Kainkaryam.

“mad” indicates “nithya yOgE mathupu” that is ‘mad’ is used to show

the permanent nature. That is the kainkaryam is not just for

sometime but it is forever (“ozhivil kAlamellAm vudanAi manni

vazhivilA adimai”).

 

rangam jayatu – the stage/place where the lord resides with happiness.

Due to his ultimate wish to stay amidst all of us emperuman descended

from the divine abode and stays in-between the ubhaya kaveri in

Srirangam to uplift each one of us. This is the place where all our

poorvAcharyas cherished doing kainkaryam. Only to grant us all the

opportunity to enjoy the divine kainkaryam of emperuman in this very

leela vibhoothi, emperuman descended down ignoring even the great

pleasures in the nithya soori mandalam. According to Swamy parasara

bhattar, emperuman in paramapadam didn’t descend to Srirangam but

only the emperuman in Srirangam stays in paramapadam. Such was the

regard our acharyas had towards this divine abode (Srirangam) of

emperuman. Each day in whichever place/divya desam we are, all of us

pray for the welfare of Srirangam. “adiyArgal vAzha aranganagar

vAzha”. Since Srirangam is the head quarters of our divine ramanuja

sampradayam if it lives then it is sure for all our divya desams to

live with prosperity. The Srirangam soil has its special divinity as

it talks the greatness of each one of our acharyas whose divine feet

has touched that holy soil. So first of all swamy erumbiappa, does

mangalasasanams to that divine soil on which the great acharya lived

long and spread the fragrance of emperumAnAr darisanam throughout the

world. Even when he was sick and unable to write swamy continued his

kainkaryam by doing the vyakhyanam to acharya hrudhayam. He used to

ask his shisyas to write down whatever he said. While asked why

swamy took such pain he replied, “This is the wealth that I am

preserving for the generations to come. If I see my pain today then

all these divine words of Swamy azhagiya manavala perumal nayanar

will go without being understood by the next generations and hence

they will all loose the divine treasures and remain as paupers born

in a rich family”. Such was the karunai (grace) of Sri Vara Vara

muni on all of us. Surely if there was no mAmunikal’s commentary

then even a single word in acharya hrudhayam will not be understood

by us. That absolute treasure would have been lost forever.

 

What can we do in return to the great help swamy has bestowed on us?

Nothing other than saying “saTakOpan tan thamizh nool vAzha manavAla

mAmuniyE ennum oru nootrAndu erum” How much ever time we repeat these

words it is not enough. Let the glory of that great acharya glitter

in our minds always.

 

Let us enjoy the rest of the sloka in the next posting.

 

Alwar emperumAnAr Jeeyer thiruvadigalE sharaNam

Adiyen ramanuja dAsee

Sumithra Varadarajan