Request for liberal contribution from Desika sampradya Sishyas for Sri Vilakkoli Thoopul Vedantha Desikan Sravanam Trust.

[Guest guest]

Dear Bhagavathas,

 

I am placing this appeal received from the Sri Vilakkoli Thoopul Vedantha

Desikan Sravanam Trust.

 

This trust was formed in the year 1960 by Late Srirama Dasarathy Swamy

affectionetly called as Dasarathy Mama Who is well to all Asthikas in Thondai

Mandalam and to all over Sri Vaishnavas throughout the world. His selfless

service to our community is a fact which needs no publicity.

 

The various activities of the trust are listed below.

 

1. All the Uthsavams for Swami Desikan at Thoopul are performed by the Trust

only,

 

2. Swami Desikan Sravana Purapadu, Thirumanjanam for Vilakoli Perumal and

Acharyan, Veda. Prabanda Parayanam and Sathumari and prasada deistribution were

done by the trust.

 

3.Puratasi Swami Desika Bramhotsavam for 10 days including vahana purapadu both

moring and eveing, Thirumanjam, Veda-prabanda Sathumurai, Thadiyarathanai both

morning and eveing.

 

4. Mangalasasana Uthsavam on Puratasi Sravanam in a grand scale at Vilakoli

Perumal temple as well as Lord Devathiraja Temple.

 

5. Monthly Sravanam and ten days festival at Desikan sannadi at Lord Varadaraja

Temple.

 

6. Presenting Veshti (10X6) to about Vedic Scholars at Thoopul on the day of

GARUDA SEVA OF LORD VARADARAJA.

 

7. Grand Purappadu of Swami Deikan on Vaikasi Sravanam Day in the "MANGALAGIRI

OF LORD VARADARAJA'.

 

8. Punniyakoti Uthsavam of Lord Varadaraja is performed by the trust.

 

9. Anustanakulam Uthsavam Madapapodi at Thoopul of Lord Varadaraja along with

Bashyakar

 

10. Nithyaradhanam for Lord Varadarajan on Puratasi Sravanam.

 

The Trust has got 20Lakhs as Corpus Fund. The expedinture

per annum will be Rs.5 Lakhs. The interest accrued is not suffient to meet the

expenditure. The Annual Bramhotsavam of Swami Desikan will be celeberated from

3rd to 12th October 2005. All the Bhakthas are invited to participate and get

the blessings of Swami Desikan

 

The trust makes an appeal to all philanthropists all over

the world to come forwad and donate liberally for making Swami Thirunakshthiram

Celeberations as a grand suceess. The contribution may be sent by way of

Cash/cheque/demand draft in favour of

"Sri Vilakoli Thoopul Vedantha Desikan Sravanam Trust"

 

C. R. VASUDEVAN, MANAGING TRUSTEE

ADDRESS; Old No.6/New No.15 Anaikati Street,

Kanchipuram-631 503.

Tamil Nadu, India. Tel No: 04112-267082, 044-2475014

Dear Sri. Balaji,

 

Yes Hebbar Iyengars were not originally Srivaishnavas as you said and also

it is true that even Sri. Ramanujacharya was not a Srivaishnava when he was

born. He was born to an advaitin! So when Ramanuja preached Vishistadvaita,

Srivaishnavism became popular in Tamilnadu and as you said, when

Sri.Ramanjua fled from TN and settled in Karnataka for 12 long years it

spread to Southern Parts of Karnataka.

 

The details of Hebbar Srivaishnava origin was published long back in the

Hebbar Srivaishnava magazine called "Hebbar Kshema" and I remember reading

this. Also a historical novel written by Smt. Neeladevi about the life of

Ramanjuja in Karnataka named "Dhanya" gives similar answers to the orgin of

Hebbar Srivaishnavas

 

During the time when ramanjuja was in Tondanur(Tonnur) near Melukote, a

group of elderly Kannada Brahmins came to Ramanjua and offered to convert to

Srivaishnava Religion impressed by Ramanujas philosophy of Vishistadvaita.

Ramanjua affectionately called the group of Hiriya Haruva(Elderly Brahmin

Kannadigas) as Hebbar and thus originated the sect called Hebbar

Sivaishnava(Iyengars). So Hebbar Srivaishnavas are originally Kannada

Brahimins(Advaitins) who got converted to Srivaishnavas impressed by the

teachings of Sri. Ramanuja and not of backward Caste as you said.

 

Ramanuja asked them to settle in different places of the Hoysala

Kingdom(Current South Karnataka) and thus you can find many Hebbar

Srivaishnavas mainly in the souther districts of Karnatka especially,

Bangalore, Mysore, Mandya, Tumkur, Hassan, Kolar and Chamarajanagar

districts.

 

They have their kuladaivams or Haath perumal in different places of these

districts. for more info. Please visit www.karnatkavaishanavatemples.net

 

 

Since their mother tongue was Kannada they still have the affliction towards

kannada. Gradually they learnt to speak Tamil mainlyu to learn the Divya

Prabhandams.

 

But still Hebbar Srivaishnavas cannot read and write in Tamil. They read the

Ramanujas philosophical works and Alwars divya prabhandams translated to

Kannada or English. But they recite Nalayara divyaprabhandams in Temples in

Karnataka forming Gostis. They are called Melnatu Iyengars as they are

residing in the High plateau of Karnataka. Another sect called Keelnatu

Iyengars are those who migrated to Karnataka from Tamilnadu, which is lower

than the Plateau of Karnataka.

 

I request any one in the groups who can give more info on a unique sect

called Hebbar Srivaishnavas of Karnataka.

 

Om namO nArAyanAya

Sampige Srinivasa Iyengar

Bengalooru

 

 

 

_____

 

k.s.Balaji [kadababalaji]

Thursday, August 11, 2005 1:18 PM

sampiges

Re: Origin of Hebbar iyengars

 

 

 

While i was recently surfing the net, i came across a message to Bhakti

list, in which a very pertinent question of Origin of Hebbar Iyengars, had

been raised by, one Ranganath Sudarshan some where in march 2000.

This aspect had been engaging my mind, for quite some time and no credible

answers have comeforth from anybody. Even the Hebbar Shrivaishnava Sabha At

Bangalore doesn't seem to have made any attempt to find out the roots of

Hebbar iyengars. My introspection tells me that we must have been, most

probably, belonging to Backward class community of that period. The reason

is simple.. When Saint Ramanuja was about to be persecuted in Tamil Nadu,

he escaped the persecution, and came away to a place called Melukote, which

is in Karnataka.I am certain he could not have come with a huge number of

followers, except may be a few hundreds.

Its well known fact that vaishnavism spread in Karnataka, after Ramanujas

coming,as he found that Temple entry was denied to back ward communities.

In order to ensure entry to back ward class people, he could have converted

a very large number of backward class people to vaishnavism, thro his

disciples, who came along with him to Melukote. It is likely, that these

disciples of Ramanuja were asked to spread out to various places of the then

Mysore state, to spread his Philosophy of Vishistaadvaita and also to ensure

temple entry to one and all including backward class, thro conversion to

Vaishnavism, thus bringing them to forward fold... As these disciples of

Ramanuja were mostly male members, it is most likely, they might have got

married to these backward women who were inducted into the Vaishnava fold

and our forefathers could be the off springs of such marriages.

If u think aloud, u can see that while Hebbar iyengars, can speak Tamil

interspersed with kannada words, they cannot read and write tamil. . As they

say the first syllables/words learnt by a kid is always thro its mother

tongue, and the mother while having learnt spoken/broken tamil thro

marriage, to a pure vaishnavite, knows only Kannada from her child hood for

writing and reading, which had been her langauge before marriage.. Hence she

would have found it a lot more easier to teach her off springs this language

than Tamil, which is not her mother tongue.

Really i do not know how many takers are there for my introspection.. and

the Hebbar iyengars may frown at my own findings.. Its better to accept the

realities , if such be the case, than masquerading oneself as pure

Brahmins.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

shriimate laksmiihayagriiva lakshmiinaaraayanaabhyaaM namaH

Visit the Sri Parakala Matham Home Page at

http://www.parakalamatham.org

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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