Srimad Andavan Poundarikapuram Swamy Thirunakshathram (155st) Adi Pooraadam)

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SrI:

SrImathE Goapladesika mahadesikaya namah:

SrImathE Srinivasadesika Mahadesikaya namah:

SrImathE Ranganathadesika Mahadesikaya namah:

SrImathE Srinivasadesika Mahadesikaya namah:

SrImathE Gopalarya Mahadesikaya Namah:

 

 

Sri Narayana Yogindra Varadaarya Kripaasrayam /

Rangesa Paada Vinatham Srinivaasa Munim Bhaje //

 

(meaning)

I hail Srinivasa Muni who obtained the full grace of Sri Narayana

Yogindra Varadaarya, who always bowed at the feet of Lord Ranganatha.

 

About this Great mahaan, there are two slokas composed by Sri RV

Krishnamachariar:

I am giving only the translation (Please forgive my translation as well):

 

For those who take to sanyaas (renunciation), there could be many reasons.

Poverty, disinterest in samsaaric afflictions, mental worries,

non-cooperation from spouse etc. For this Swamy (Sri Poundarikapuram Andavan

Swamy), lot of wealth (inherited), extremely cooperative Pathivratha dEvigaL

(spouse),; a great vidwAn of the first kind. Simply due to his vairAgyam

alone, he took to sanyaasaasramam.

 

What kind of vidvathvam he has!

He is PaNinI in vyAkaraNam.

GaNAdhar in mImAmsA.

Vedantha Desikan in Vedantha!

 

Those vidwAns and scholars who acknowledge the above whole heartedly also do

not speak in front of Him (with respect and fear- bhayam kalandha

mariyAdhai)

 

May He reside (as alwayts) forever in the hearts of such Great scholars and

vidwAns! (in order to bless them as he does always!)

 

This day about one hundred and fifty five years ago, our land witnessed the

holy birth of a mahaan in Poundarikapuram; truly it was an avtaar of Sriman

Narayanan Himself, who out of His benevolence, and sincere determination,

Dhrida vratha, to save all human beings comes into this world. And the Lord

also chooses the time, the place and the parents to take birth from ? it is

all preordained by Him.

 

It was the day of days- Adi PoorAdam- Sowmya year, August 1847, a

child-prodigy was born in Poundarikapuram village. This village with its

sylvan surroundings is very near to the famous Oppiliappan Koil Divya

Desam, whose praise has been sung by Peyazhwar, Nammazhwar and Thirumangai

Azhwar. Enjoying, so to say, the Divya kataaksha of the Lord, this cozy

village has been the birth of many great personages. Among them were the

couple- Sri Singaperumal Ayyangar, an effulgent scholar and a man of

unswerving principles of personal practice and conduct and Smt Senkamalam

Ammal, his wife. No wonder that Sriman Narayanan chose to take His birth

from this noble couple as their seventh son and was named after Lord

Srinivasan. How so true this about Srimad Andavan Poundarikapuram Srinivasa

Mahadesikan needs no elucidation to the Srivaishnava world, more so to

those unnumbered beneficiaries. This multifaceted genius was a repository

of erudite scholarship endowed with an uncommon acumen, which helped not

only of acquisition of knowledge of Kaavyarthas, Saasthras, Vedanthaarthas,

Granthachathushtayam, besides the Vedas and the Divya prabandhas but also in

the exposition of these to an never ending chain of disciples who flocked to

him all the year around and down the years.

 

A quick review of his biographical details will inform us how great

personages (in our Acharya parampara) are born great and tower far above the

commonality!

 

Young Srinivasan was given in adoption to his father’s younger brother.

After his upanayanam at 7, he promptly sought to learn Sanskrit from

illustrious Sri Rangachariar Swami, father of reputed Tharka scholar Sri

Narasimhachariar. Soon followed his higher education from mahavidwans like

Ghattam Varadachariar Swamy, Sogathur Vijayaraghavachariar Swami, Perumal

koil Thirupputkuzhi Swami, Kuricchi Rangachariar Swami at Mannargudi, and in

matter of time, he became an accomplished scholar, a mahaa vidwaan himself.,

having mastered Alankaara saasthra, Tharkaam, vyAkaraNam, and mImAmsa

besides the Vedas and Prabandhams. He had his Pancha samskaaram from Sri

Ghattam Varadachariar Swami and Vedantha Grantha kaalakshepam and

BharasamapraNam at the feet of Srimad Andavan VeliyanallUr Narayana

Mahadesikan Swamy, an act indicating possibly things to come, as later he

succeeded Sri Narayana Desika Mahadesikan Swamy. He undertook pilgrimages to

all divya desas from Tirupathi to Thiruvananthapuram. In due time, he

married Smt Komalavilli Ammal hailing from Vagarai, a nearby village and led

his grihasthAsramam at Poundarikapuram in a manner that was remarkable for

its simplicity and austerity in spite of belonging to a family as affluent

materially as erudite in scholarship.

 

When his (adopted) mother Srirangammal passed away, he migrated to Srirangam

and settled down there. He led his life strictly as ordained by the elders,

performing Pancha kaala kriyas, the observance of which gives no room for

accepting any material gift whatsoever it be nor aspire of ill-gotten

wealth. His scholarship and mastery in Sahithya, Alankara, Tharkka, mImAmsA,

Sri Bhsahya and vyAkaraNa was legendary and little wonder that those who

aspired to gain knowledge of these sought after him and learnt at his Feet.

 

In good time, he heard the call, the divine call for taking up sanyaasa

Ashramam and to become a “light house:, guiding the parched souls tossed

about the samsaara saagara. It was a definite call and he went and

prostrated repeatedly at the feet of Srimad Andavan Veliyanalloor Narayana

Mahadesikan who after thorough scrutiny of his disciple’s genuineness,

offered him upadesa of Preksha mantra and Prapatti Prayoga and admitted him

to Sanyaasa Asramam, more fittingly called ThurIya Asramam (the fourth

stage). Thereafter he went to live in the Srimad Andavan Asramam at

Srirangam hallowed by the footprints of Srimad PeriyANdavan and spent years

there offering Samasrayanam, BharaNyAsam, and daily kaalskhepa Goshtis to

the innumerable disciples thirsting spiritually. But as there were

hindrances to the peaceful functioning of Asramam, he decided to move out of

Srirangam itself so as to more effectively carry on with his spiritual

mission. When the disciples came to know of this, they prevailed upon

him to continue his stay at Srirangam. Through their efforts, a separate

Asrama was set up and it came to be known as the "Sri Poundarikapuram

Andavan Asramam”, in the same line of Srimad Periyandavan Guruparampara,

verily because Sriman Narayana willed it so there shall be another

illustrious seat of munithraya Sampradayam, to cater to the spiritual needs

of the ever growing Sishyavarga, ever seeking new nuances and creeping in to

the crevices of the Sampradaya. And so from this center this great Acharya

traveled on foot across South India at the request of countless disciples

who considered that their places became sanctified by the very touch of the

Acharya’s feet. Eventually he stayed at Srirangam itself following the

footsteps of Emeprumaanaar Sri Ramanujacharya.

 

Thus started a great era, a Saga of monumental service to the Lord. Not a

day passed without a Kaalakshepa Goshti in the Asramam. It became the

confluence of great minds seeking more and more scholarship in Sribhashyam,

Bhagavath vishayam, and all else with a thirst and enthusiasm as witnessed

never before.

 

Sri Poundarikapuram Swami had a large stock of affluence in his

grahasthAsramam. He left off all in his supreme self-denial and became an

ascetic by almost compelling his preceptor to grant him the saffron robe.

He swayed, as spiritual king, the Srirangam town for almost five decades.

He was no ordinary scholar, nor an ordinary ascetic, nor even an ordinary

pontiff at that. He taught many; taught Sri Bhashya every day; believed

that it was his chief goal and inaugurated the present headquarters of the

Asramam on the banks of the Coleroon river, a few yards west of Sri

Dasavatharam Sannidhi (of Sri Ahobila Mutt).

 

A special kind of link between the Ahobila Mutt and Sri Poundarikapuram

Andavan Asramam deserves mention in this connection. Down from 1750 to this

day the Acharya hierarchy is unbroken, uniquely continuous in this Asramam.

The Acharyas are also native to the school; inbred and brought up by

Kalakshapam / invitation by earlier Pontiffs at some time. Once a gap

occurred in the Ahobila Mutt; for some five years (1900-1905). The

Poundarikapuram Andavan of this Asramam had proudly helped in securing a

deserving candidate and giving him Sannyasa order and installing him as

the Pontiff (the 38th). This happened in 1905.

 

Thus, from Srirangam, he continued his mission. The Asramam under Sri

Srinivasa Maha Desikan was a center of religious activities and

philosophical discussions. The Acharya was an erudite scholar in Vedaanta

Sastras; he possessed an extraordinary power of mind by which he could

accurately recall any passage, sloka or Sutra with ease.

Many learned scholars came to study Adhyatma Sastras under his feet.

Apart from the saamaanya sishyas and countless extraordinary sishyas,

mention must be made of a few outstanding sishyas who distinguished

themselves by their startling mastery of the sampradaya granthas in all

their facets and left an indelible mark in the form of permanent

contributions to the growth and spread of the Munithraya sampradayam. And

thus the three Acahrays who succeeded him after, Srimad Ranganatha

Mahadesikan, Srimad ViNNaRRankarai Srinivasa Mahadesikan and Sri

Gopaladesika Mahadesikan are manifestations of the Great AchArya Himself as

they follow his footprints in the sands of time, offering spiritual succour

to the ever growing disciples. In their succession lies the clue to great

Acharya’s prophetic gift, the Visionary that he was.

 

In 1934, in the month of Vaikasi on Pornami day, the AchArya's look finally

fell kindly on the great scholar disciple from Mannaargudi as he had decided

that he should succeed him and carry forward the intellectual and spiritual

service that he had so deftly given a new dimension to. Thus Sri Mannargudi

Anadavan, (followed then by sri ViNNaaRRankarai Andavan) succeeded Sri

Srinivasa Mahadesikan (Poundarikapuram Anadavan). And Prakritham Andavan is

Srimad Andavan ParavaakkOttai Gopaladesika Mahadesikan, whose 81st

Thirunakshathram is being celebrated.

 

While this was the Great Acharya’s work to keep the line of succession

continuous, he did not rest content there; he knew the coming days would

demand more than this. While this was the Great Acharya Srimad

Poundarikapuram Andavan Sri Srinivasadesika mahadesikan's work to keep the

line of succession continuous, he did not rest content there; he knew the

coming days would demand more than this, that the future upkeep of our

sampradaya would need not merely "ships" and "light houses", but also,

pillars and foundation Structures. Among the many hundreds of

Ashthikas/Sishyas, mention should be made of Sri A.V Gopalacharyar of Anbil,

of Sri Krishna thathachariar Swamy of Bangalore, and of Sri C.M

Vijayaraghavachariar Swamy also of Bangalore,

not because others were less equal, but because these scholar disciples

carved for themselves a unique position.

 

Sri A.V Gopalacharyar was at the feet of this great Acharya for 42 years of

his life, practically everyday learning the nuances of our sampradayam. A

man of shrewd intellect, a lawyer matchless in his profession at Tiruchi and

affluent, learned in Poorvapaksham forms of Advaita found full enlightenment

from Acharya's responses and answers to his full load of doubts and

questions. Srimad Andavan well versed in the intricacies of Advaita

completely and fully satisfied the disciple's lurking doubts so well that

Sri Anbil Gopalcharyar Swami was enabled to author many books in elucidation

of Advaitha philosophy, - a contribution of very crucial importance for the

very understanding of Greatness of unparalleled and unambiguous

Visishtadvaita; he also brought out a few other granthas. He perpetuated the

memory of this great mahan thus, in the form of granthas and idealized it by

instituting the "Srinivasa Mahadesikan Vidhwath Sadhas", munificently

endowing for its conduct. It is an annual feature since then, in this

ashramam that brings in congregation scholars of repute for intellectual and

philosophical discussion, disputation and authoritative assertion of our

sampradaya Gnana.

 

What Sri AV Gopalchariar had done – the Granthas he brought out and the

vidwath sadhas he instituted standing “concretized” in the form of an

elegant front mandapa named after the great Savant, reverberating with the

sonorous voices of the great scholars who congregate there- will for ages

speak of the glory of his master – Srimad Andavan Poundarikapuram Swamy.

 

So was the great scholar from Bangalore, Sri Krishna Thathachariar who sat

at the feet of the great Acharya for several years and in turn in

multiplication of those years, imbibed with a sense of purpose and mission,

he enthusiastically undertook the propagation of our Munithraya Sampradaya

by teaching many disciples in and around Bangalore- a contrbution of great

value requiring Bhashanthara Gnana to cater to the Spiritual well being of

the Kannasa Desa sishyavarga so dear to Srimath Bhashyakarar and Swamy

Desikan.

 

Equally great was the life of Sri CM Vijayaraghavachariar of Bangalore. Itw

as all a divine dispensation; how else could a retired police circle

inspector who had casually gone to prostrate at the feet of this Acharya,

get transformed, metamorphosed, so to say into an erudite scholar with such

depth, thorughness and accuracy of knowledge as to be able to write and

publish many of our sampradaya granthas in Kannada language for the

invaluable benefit of the disciples in kannada desa.

 

And you will be wonderstruck when known how did it happen. This Swami, after

ten interesting and enlightening years of Gurukulavasam, at Srirangam

Poundarikapuram Ashramam and gratified at the Acharya’s commitment with

which he taught him all these years right from Sanskrit alphabet to

Vedanthas and Saathras in great depths, offered even in those days, an

enticing Rs 10,000 as Guru dhakshiNa. Srimad Andavan looked up and asked

him, “Is this what you have learnt and understood me?”. The disciple

persisited in offering it as a token of his gratitude. The Acharya

consolingly told him, “If I accepted this from you, great harm will follow-

in future, our disciples may stop coming to mearn from me unable to make a

GurudhakshiNa; also this may incite me an expectation of the same too”. The

disciple knew that the Acharya was sincere but still he persisted. Now the

Acharya spoke- “Think what one in my state can do with this money; with you

perhaps, it may find immense use in making our Sampradayam Granthas so much

needed for the future”. This was the divine spark that impregnated in the

mind of Sri CM Vijayaraghavachariar the passion and the spirit for writing

many books in kannada language which are available even today as source

books for reference and research in Karnataka – something which Bhagawan

Ramanuja would have approved of. Words do not suffice to extol the

importance of this service to Srivaishnava community. Srimad Andavan was

noted for his vairAgya – inassailable spirit of total renunciation of

worldly, material things. It was Bhagawath Sankalpa, that in this manner a

whole range of our Samparadya Granthas should be born in Kannada language.

 

It is pertinent to mention here of just two sweet anecdotes illustrating

Srimad Andavan Poundarikapuram Swamy’s depth of knowledge and a wealth of

interpretations whether it be Swamy Desikan’s Srisukthis or Bhagavath

Bhashyakarar’s Sri Bhashya or Gita Bhashya or any grantha whatsoever. The

article will remain incomplete without recalling these incidents. One

relates to Sri CM Vijayaraghachariar’s personal experience. Late one night

at Srirangam, East Utthara Veedhi Sri Vijayaraghavachariar – while bringing

back to his mind the explanation of Acharya Srimad Andavan on the Abheethi

sthava sloka 7:

 

ramaa dhayitha rangabhUramaNa… na thasya yamavasyathaa narakapaatha bhIthi

krutha:

 

It proclaims Swamy desikan’s declaration of Lord Ranganatha’s certain

protection to Prapannas from falling into the clutches of Yamakinkaras if

they chant this sloka.

Sri CMV Swamy could not digest it. He found it difficult to understdnmand as

to how one sloka could be so specific to Sri Ranganatha;s protection!

Perhaps, swamy would have said this due to Bhagavath Abhimaanam and

abhimaanam towards Swamy Desikan’s abhIthis sthavam.” – thus, he was

pondering and was having a sleepless night.

 

Srirangam Divya Dampathi appeared in Acharya Srimad Andavan’s dream and

said, “Your sishya has got a doubt on SrI Vedantha Desikan’s sthuthi on Us.

Go and explain the greatness and speciality of this sloka. Within an hour,

Srimad Andavan knocked at the dorr of Sri CM Vijayaraghavachariar and right

there at the door step, explained the meaning of sloka and greatness of the

compassion of Divya Dampathi with tears rolling down his cheeks. This is a

proof of his depth and clarity and explains how Lord Himself was

prathyaksham (visible to his eyes) to him. Swamy desikan has packed into

this sloka all the Beejaaksharaas contained in the Praanaprathishta Manthra

and Saannidhyaachana manthra – installation of energizing mantras pertaining

to Lord Ranganathan.

 

Another famous anecdote: Srimad Andavan had tremendous Sri Hayagriva

Mantrasiddhi. One there was a young Boy of five years walking in front of

Swamy when the parents of the boy came to the Ashramam for offering their

obeisance and dhaNdavath praNamams to swamy. The boy walked towards where

Swamy was delivering his kaalakshepam. Swamy looked at the child, pausing

the kaalakshepam and aksed him, “un peyar enna?” (what is your name?) The

boy did not utter a word. The Father of the boy told Swamy that he is born

dumb (mute). Immediately Srimad Andavan asked the boy to come near and asked

him to sit in front of him. He taught him “aksharaabhyaasam,” and recited,

 

SrImAn venkatanAthAryaH kavitArkika kesarI |

vedAntAcArya-varyome sannidhattAm sadA hRdi ||

 

(May the glorious Venkatanatha, the greatest of teachers of Vedanta, and the

lion among poets and debaters, reside forever in my heart.) and

 

jnAnanda mayamdEvam nirmalaspaTikAkruthim |

AdhAram sarva viganAnAm hayagrIvam upAsmahE ||

 

The five year old boy repeated both slokas. The one who did not speak a

single word in his past five years spoke due to swamy’s merciful kataaksham.

Today that boy has grown to His Holiness Sri Rangapriya Mahadesikan Swamy of

Bangalore. (Read Sri Srinath Chakravarthy’s excellent posts on this

Swamy).

 

The Great Sri Kozhiyaalam Raghavachariar Swami came to Srirangam and sought

Sannyaasa Sweekaranam at the feet of Srimad Poundarikapuram Andavan who

initiated him into the Sannyaasa Asrama in 1920 in the year Roudri- Aani-

Pournami day. The Aasthaana Vidwan of Tirumalai Tirupati Devasthanam,

Kapisthalam Desikaachaarya submitted to Swami for approval his Grantha

"Adhikarana Ratna Maalai". The Swami accorded his approval.

 

When the affluent devotees of Poundarikapuram village nevertheless not

his disciples had arranged for renovation and consecration, It was H H Sri

Poundarikapuram Andavan who was invited to lend the 'holy hand' for

karasparsam (by a great man). With what results! All can see today how

the small shrine of Oppiliappn has grown as Southern Thiruppathi, with gala

and festivity, fund-flow and pomp and fame and attraction, all after 1928!

The event has a precedent in Thirukkudanthai Desikan lending his

'kara-sparsam' to Araavamuthan some 200 years back!

 

This was Srimad Andavan Poundarikapuram Srinivasa Mahadesikan, a creative

genius, a perennial spring who made himself an institution and a legend with

his many sided qualities. He was a great servant, a teacher unsurpassed, an

organizer with an eye for protection, a missionary with a vision and a

visionary with a mission. No wonder that he was known as Gnana Vairagya

Anusntana Sampanna. A little known truth about this unassuming practitioner

mentioned by Sri Navalpaakaam NS Devanathachar who got it authoritatively

from Srimad Andavan ViNNARRankarai Swami. This mahaan made it a daily

practice to chant praNavam even during brief leisure hours following the

precepts of Upanishads, thereby experiencing the thrill of the union of

JivAthmA with the ParamAthmA. That he was practicing this was not known to

anybody. It was not necessary to inform anyone, it being the individual

communion of Jivan with Sriman Narayanan. How did then others come to know

of? It was the custom to invite four Srivaishnavas and feed them in the

Ashramam on the completion of every one crore (ten millions) of PraNava

japam. Such was his accuracy in keeping count of a small GREAT mantra. Sri

VennaaRRankarai Andavan Swami chanced to notice

this and humbly enquired and got to know the truth.

 

Does this not testify to the unassuming nature and greatness of the AchArya,

his gnAna, anushtAnam and VairAgyam?

 

Whenever there were doubts on sri Bhashyam Grantham and its interpretations,

Srimad Andavan was always the Judge to pass his final

judgement as to who is right. - " was the statement of Srimad Azhagiyasingar

(41st Pattam).

 

What a wonder ? He attained the everlasting Bliss of AchAryan Thiruvadi on

20th October 1934, a day after completion of one of the many Sri Bhashya

Grantha saaRRumuRais, signifying Sri Bhashya Bhakti.

 

Let us pay our obeisance to this Great Acharyan His Holiness Srimad Andavan

Sri Poundarikapuram Swamy on His 155th Thirunakshathram, today.

 

Acknowledgement:

1. Biography of Srimad Andavan Poundarikapuram Srinivasa Mahadesikan- by

Prof. P.R. Srinivasan, Perugavazhndhan, Bangalore.

2. Sri Anbil Ramaswamy’s write up.

3. Dr. Sri VN Vedantha Desikan Swamin’s article

4. Sri Delhi Hari Nagar Rajagopachariar Swamy’s article

 

AchAryan ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam

 

Regards

Narayana Narayana

aDiyEn Narayana Dasan Madhavakkannan

 

_______________

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