Origin of SriVishnavisam - clarifications

[Guest guest]

Sri:

Some clarifications.

 

If we look into Ramanuja's life history, we will find that

srivaishnavism is not what the acharya coined as such.

It was Thirukkottoyur Nambi, who on being greatly moved by Ramanuja

declaring the Thirumanthram for the sake of all, embraced him and

said that this dharshanam which until then was known as " parama

vaidiha siddhantham" would from thenceforth be known as

"Emperumaanaar dharshanam."

This information + the justification for why vaishnava matham is

anaadhi can be found in the book " Deva-p-perumaaLum Ramanuja

dharshanamum" written by Thiruvallikkeni adhyaapaka, Sri Thirumalai

Nallan Chakravarthi Srinivasa varadhan.

 

This Emperumaanaar dharshnam later came to be known as Sri vaishnava

siddhantham, perhaps due to the reason that it is the same as

Vaishnava siddhantham which you consider as different from

Emperumaanaar dharshanam.

 

The information on Brahma being the first Sri vaishnavite or

Vaishnavite as you may think, is told by Brahma himslef to Narada

(Brahma puranam I guess, for I read this information in the above

mentioned book which explains in detail every step involved in

anointing Brahma as Sri vaishnavite.) I deliberately add sri, because

this narration by Brahma includes the Sri choornam too on his

forehead. Brahma also says that it was Lord Hayagreeva who narrated

him the relevance of Ashtaakshara after he received the upadesa from

Sri Vishnu. This is followed by Brahma receiving the upadesa from Sri

Vishnu on how to begin creation.

 

 

My opinion in my small undersatnding - It is not correct to think that

Bhagavad Ramanuja 'invented' the concept of Sri and included it in

his dharshanam. He could not and would not have done unless it had

existed in traditional texts. The above narration by Brahma had been

in vogue before Emperumaanaar dharshanam.

 

Please pardon me for mistakes if any.

 

jayasree saranathan.

 

-

honganour krishna

Oppiliappan

Cc: jayasree_saranathan (AT) sancharnet (DOT) in

Sunday, September 04, 2005 11:27 PM

Re: Re: Origin of SriVishnavisam

Sri:

I agree that vishnavisam existed before Ramanuja but not Sri

Vishnavisam. I would like to know the name of scripture in which Sri

Vishnu applied urhdwa Pundara to Brhma. Applying urdhwa Pundara means

a Vishnavite mark and not SriVishnavite Mark.

 

Your inference on quote 5(Para) is totally wrong. In this para it is

clearly mentioned that Krishna said "Teh Vaishnava" and not "Teh

SriVishnava". This is because Srivishnavism did not exist then.

 

Adiyen Krishna Ramanuja Dasanjayasartn <jayasree_saranathan (AT) sancharnet (DOT) in> wrote:

SrI:Some instances to show that vaishanvism existed before Ramanuja's

period.(1) In the very early times, that is, soon after

creation,it has been told in scriptures, that Vishnu, afterdoing

Jatha karma and naama karma to His first everuthpaththi(child)

Brahma, proceeded to mark theShanku-chakra in his shoulders and then

appliedoordhwa pundaram that culminated in pancha samskaram.Brahma is

perhaps the FIRST Srivaishnavan of theuniverse.This episode also

clarifies thatSrivaishnavism does not come as a birth right and as

old as creation itself.(2) When Thirumangai Alwar wanted to

marry Kumuda valli, she saidthat she could not marry unless the

person hadundergone pancha samskaram and the Alwar rushed

toThirunaraiyoor (naachiyar koil) and had thesamashrayan done by God

Himself. This is prior to Ramanuja's period. (3) You will find

in Thirunagai (nagapattinam ) sannidhi, the 18 vaarthaigal advised

byThirukkottiyoor nambigal to Ramanuja written onthe

wall.Vaishnavattwam is said to come at the 10th levelonly.Prior to

coming to attain it, the following must beremoved.1. removal of

desire in samsaram2. this leads to removal of ahankaara, mamakaaram3.

this leads to removal of deha abhimaanam4. this leads to birth of

athma gyanam5. this leads to hatred towards aeishwarya moham6. this

leads to onset of prema on bhagwan.7. this leads to shedding of

interest invishayantharangal8. this leads to bhara thanthruva

gyanam9. this leads to removal of artha-kaama ragadwesham(ref: BG

4-10- Madhbhavam)10. this leads to onset of srivaishanttwam!(4)

It happened in Kulashekara alwar's life.When the ministers of the

alwar blamed srivaishnavites,for thedisappearance of the navarathna

maalai in thethiruaaparana petti, the alwar refused to believe.He was

steadfast in his belief that srivaishnavites are pure ontri-kaaran -

they are pure in mind, vaak and body.He even put his hand in a pot

that had a serpentinside and pledged that he would not be bitten by

theserpent, because no srivaishnavite can do such a crime. And he was

unhurt. This shows how deep-rooted the ethos which a srivaishnavite is

identified with. Unless a strong code culture for vaishnavites had

existed for long, the alwar could not have gone to such extremes.(5)

A quote on the dialogue between Yama dharma raja and Sri Krishna.

I think this comes in Mahabharataha.Yamadjharman instructed his

messengers to prostrate before thesrivaishnavites. A srivaishnavite

can be identified in the following way." Ye baahu moola parichinha

shanka-chakra:Yeva lalaada palakelasa oordhwa pundra:Ye kanda lagna

thulasi nalinaaksha mala:Teh vaishnava: bhuvana maashubha

vidhrayanthi" The srivaishnavite can be identified by the

shanku-chkra chinnam,oordhwa pundaram and the thulasi maala.(6)

Sri Krishna was said to have instructed his dwaara-paalagas, before

leaving the fort of Dwaaraka, toallow sv-s inside, who can be

identified by theshanku-chakra dhaaranam and the oordhwa pundaram."

chakraangitha: praveshtavyaa:Yaavadaagamanam mama,Naamudhritha:

praveshtavyaa:Yaavadaagamanam mama"Inference:-Srivaishnavism with the

significatory marks and practices had existed for very long. But it

was Ramanuja who had arranged or codified them into a body of dos

and donts for easy following and hence came to be identified as

founder of srivaishnavism.Jayasree saranathan.--- In

Oppiliappan, honganour krishna <hokrishna>

wrote:> Dear Bhakthas,> Followers of Vishnu are called as Vishnavas.

And a vishnava could be a brahmin, Kshtarya, or Vysya. To my

knowledge nowhere in Ramayana, Mahabharatha, or in Vishnu Purana a

single mention of Srivishnava is mentioned. These being the great

epics and running in volumes has no mention of Srivishnava brahmin

but one will come across mention of mearly vishnava brahmin. Lord

Rama and Lord Krishna who were Vishnavas never had Srivishnava Namam

on their fore-head. If Srivishnavism existed in the days of Rama then

atleast single mention of it would have been made in the Ramayana. We

all know Rama had come across so many different catagories of people

existing at that time in his journey from north to extreme south. It

is very clear that Srivishnavism was not there during Rama and

Krishna Days. Srivishnavism must have been started some time later.

In Hindu culture most of the great people are very modest that they

do not claim there authorship or finding and Srivishnavism is one of

them.> > Adiyen Krishna Ramanuja dasan >it your home page

Honganour Srinivasarangachar Krishna

E-Mail: hokrishna

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