Guru Paramparai-4

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Sri Parthasarathi thunai

Srimathe Ramanujaya Namaha

 

Pranams,

 

We all know that our guru paramparai starts with

Sriman Narayanan and ends with Sri Manavala Manunigal

or we can even say it ends with Sriman Narayanan

himself since Periya Perumal accepted Sri Mamunigal as

his guru thereby our guru paramparai is a cycle

starting with Narayanan and also ending with him.

 

The cycle goes as follows:

 

Sriman Narayanan – Sri Mahalakshmi – Sri Vishvaksenar

– Nammazhvar – Nathamunigal –

Uyyakondar(Pundareekakshar) – Manakkal Nambi –

Aalavandaar(Periya mudaliyaar) – Periya Nambi – Sri

Ramanujar – Embar – Bhattar – Nanjeeyer – Nampillai –

Vadakku Thiruveedhi Pillai – Pillailokacharya –

Thiruvaimozhipillai – Manavala Mamunigal – Periya

Perumal.

 

The life histories of the alwars and acharyas are

known to all of us and there are many web sites to

give the same. So I am not going to repeat the same.

Let us now see some facts which all of us will like to

know or bring to memory frequently. One frequent

doubt which arises is why other alwars have not been

included in the guru paramparai. Usually two reasons

are given. One is after the age of alwars just before

the time of Sri Nathamunigal almost all the works of

the azhwars where lost. Only a few paasurams like the

ten paasurams of Thiruvaimozhi about Sri Thirukudandai

Aravamudan and Kanninun Siruthambhu of Madurakavi

Alwar was known to a few Srivaishnavites. Then,

Nathamunigal meditated the paasurams of Kanninun

Siruthambhu 12,000 times and got the whole of Divya

Prabhandam with meaning and also the Yoga Rahasyam

from Sri Nammazhvar. That is why we include only Sri

Nammazhwar who is supposed to have given the 4000

Paasurams we have today.

 

The other reason being, the custom to attribute

Nammazhwar to be the soul and the other Alwars as his

body. So when we say Nammazhwar it includes the body

and the soul. Let us see how the other Azhwars form

parts of Nammazhwar. Bhoothazhwar is considered as

the Head, Poigai and Peyalwars- his eyes, Periyazhvar

is considered his face, Thirumazhisai Alwar his neck,

Kulasekara and Thirupannan his hands,

Thondaradipodigal his chest, Thirumangai mannan his

kopoozh and his great shisya Madurakavigal his feet.

 

Sriman Narayana gave the Thirumantram in the

Badrikashramam during his Nara-Narayana Avatara. Then

he preached the meaning of Dhvaya mahamantram to

Sridevi in Srivaikundam and then he gave the Charma

Sloka to Arjuna in the Krishna Avatara. Till today

our acharyas only give these three as upadesams during

our samasrayanam. So these three have been passed on

through our Guru paramparai then starting from

Nammazhwar the Divya prabhandam and the

Bhavisyadacharya Vigraham was also passed on. The

Bhavisyadhacharya Vigraham came out when Sri

Madurakavigal was trying to make sri Nammazhwar’s

Vigraham from the Thambarabarai water. Sri Nammazhwar

then told Madurakavigal that it was the vigraham of a

great acharya who will come to save the world from the

clutches of kali as he has told in his ‘poliga poliga’

padigam.

 

Though the number of acharyas we say in the guru

paramparai are less there were number of great

acharyas like Koorathazhwan , Mudaliyaandan,

Periyavaachan pillai who have done a great Kainkaryam

to the srivaishnava society but whose names are not

mentioned here. Sri Ramanuja wanted everyone to

become a Srivaishnavite and hence he established 74

simhanadhipatis to take care of people in different

places. Here I present you all with the names of the

74 simhanadhipatis but the greatness of many of these

acharyas are not known to us. It will be nice if some

learned member of this group, enlighten us with the

details of the various simhanadhipatis.

 

· CHOTTAI NAMBI (SON OF AALAVANDAR)

· PUNDARIKA (SON OF MAHA POORNA)

· YAAMUNA (SON OF GHOSTI PURNA)

· SUNDARA BAHU ( SON OF THIRUMAALAI AANDAN)

· RAAMANUJA ( SON OF SAILA PURNA)

· PARASARA BHATTAR(AND HIS BROTHER, SONS OF

ALWAN)

· RAAMAANUJA ( SON OF AANDAN)

· NADUVIL AAZHWAN(MADYAMAARYA)

· GOMATATHU AAZHWAAN

· THIRUKOVALOOR AAZHWAN

· THIRUMOOHUR AAZHWAN

· PILLAI PILLAI AZHWAAN(DISCIPLE OF KOORATHAZHWAN)

· NADADOOR AMMAL (VARADA VISHNU ACHARYA, VATSYA

VARADAR)

· VISHNU CHITTHA (ENGALAZHWAN)

· MILAGAZHWAN

· NEYYUNDHAZHWAN

· BAALARAAYA-1 (SETLUR SERIYAAZHWAN)

· ANANTHAZHWAN (THIRUMALAI)

· VEDAANTHI AAZHWAN

· KOVIL AAZHVAN

· UKKALAAZHWAN

· ARANA PURATU AAZHVAN

· EMBAAR

· KIDAMBI AACHAN

· BALARAAYA-11(KANIYANOOR SIRIYA AAZHWAN)

· ICHCHAMBAADI AAZHWAN

· KONGIL AACHAN

· ICHCHAMBADI JEEYER

· TIRUMALI NALLAN

· SATTAAM PILLAI JEEYER

· THIRUVELLARAI JEEYER

· AATKONDAVALLI JEEYER

· THIRUNAGARI PILLAI

· KAARANJI SOMAYAAJI

· ALAMKAARA VENKATAVAR

· NAMBI KARAM DEVAR

· DEVARAJA BHATTAR

· PILLAI URANDHI UDAIYAAR

· THIRUKURUGAI PIRAN PILLAN

· PERIYA KOIL VALLALAAR

· AASSRIP PILLAI

· KANNAPURATTU AACHAAN

· MUNIP PILLAI

· AMMANGHIP PILLAI

· MAARUTHI AANDAAN

· MAARUTHI SIRIYA AANDAAN

· SOMAYAJI AANDAAN

· JEEYER AANDAN

· ISVARAANDAAN

· IYENNIPILLAI AANDAAN

· PERIYAA ANDAAN

· SIRIYA AANDAAN

· KURINJI PURAM SIRIYA AANDAAN

· AMMANGI AANDAAN

· AALAVANDAAR AANDAAN

· DEVARAJA MUNI (ARULALAP PERUMAL EMPERUMANAR)

· THONDANOOR NAMBI

· MARUDOOR NAMBI

· MAZHUVOOR NAMBI

· THIRUKURUNGUDI NAMBI

· KURUVA NAMBI

· MUDUMBAI NAMBI

· VADUGA NAMBI

· VANKIPIRATHU NAMBI

· PARAANKUSA NAMBI

· AMMANGI AMMAL

· PARUTHIK KOLLAI AMMAL

· UKKALA AMMAL

· CHOTTAI AMMAL

· MUDUMBAI AMMAL

· KOMAANDOOR PILLAI

· KOMAANDOOR ELLAYAVALLI

· KIDAAMBI PERUMAAL

· AARKATU PILLAAN

 

Then Sri Manavala Mamunigal established the

Ashtadijgajas who were:

· SRI VANNAMAMALAI JEEYER

· SRI PATTARBIRAN JEEYER

· SRI THIRUVENKATA RAMANUJA JEEYER

· SRI KOILANNAN

· SRI PRATHIVADI BAYANGARAM ANNA

· SRI ERRUMBIAPPA

· SRI APPILLAI

· SRI APPULLAR

 

In the next postings we will see a brief about the

various works of our Aacharyas.

 

Adiyen Ramanuja Dasyai

Sumithra Varadarajan

 

 

 

 

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