An Interview with PBA Swami (1979)

[Guest guest]

An interview with Sri P.B. Annangaracharyar Swami

(1979).

 

Interview conducted by Sri K.A. Manavalan and Sri

T.A. Bhashyam.

 

Translated from Tamil by TCA Venkatesan.

 

 

Q. How did you get the name "prativAdi bhayankarar"?

 

A. This is not my name. It is the title given to our

ancestor. His divine name was Prativadi Bhayankaram

Annan. He lived at viLakkoLi sannidhi in Kanchipuram.

He learned the general sastras from NayanArAchAryar,

son of Vedanta Desikar. Later, after hearing the

greatness of Manavala Mamunigal, he went to Srirangam

and seeked Swami's divine feet. There, due to Mamunigal's

grace, he learnt the special sastras and became one of

his ashta dikgajas.

 

 

Q. Why did he get the name "prativAdi bhayankarar"?

 

A. When he was the disciple of NayanArAchAryar, he

defeated a advaitic pundit in a philosophical debate.

Upon which NayanArAchAryar celebrated him as "prativAdi

bhayankararE". From that day forward, he and his

descendants came to be known by that name.

 

 

Q. Were you born in Kanchipuram itself?

 

A. Yes. I was born in Kanchipuram in the household

of my grandfather (mother's father - Shashti Jeeyar

Swami).

 

 

Q. Can you tell us about your studies in youth?

 

A. My father's name was Annangaracharyar. During a

very young age, I learned from him. I had upanayanam

done when I was six years old. My father taught me

3000 divyaprabandhams before I was nine years old.

Two years later, he performed samashrayanam for me

and then taught me the Thiruvaymozhi thousand. These

were taught to me in Kanchipuram as well as in our

village of Chiththathoor Thiruvadi Rayapuram. In

addition, I learned many works from my father's

uncle Kidaambi Krishnamacharyar.

 

 

Q. Did you learn Sanskrit works also from your

grand uncle?

 

A. I learned some works from him first. Later, I

learned many Sanskrit works, including Sri Bhashyam,

from Sri U Ve Jagadguru Gaadi Ananthacharyar Swami.

When Swami went to North India, upon his order, I

learnt from Ilangaadu Rangaswamy Iyengar Swami and

Pudhupper Venkatacharyar Swami. In addition, I

learned Bhagavad Vishaya Rahasyam, mUvAyira

vyAkhyAnam, Tamil grammar, ancient Tamil works,

Ashta prabandhas and Kamba Ramayanam from Shashti

Jeeyar Swami.

 

 

Q. From whom did you learn the Vedas? When did you

get the interest to learn them?

 

A. I learned some parts of the Vedas first from

Narasimhacharyar. Later I stopped learning the

Vedas as they were in the way of my Sanskrit

education. After the age of nineteen, I started

learning them again from Mamballam Sudarshanacharyar

Swami. About 25 people learned with me. I created

a pAtashala for us to learn Vedas and purchased a

building for it. We started reciting the Vedas we

learnt, in the divine streets around the temple.

This was started in the year 1919 and stopped in

1964 when I had a heart attack.

 

 

Q. How many languages do you know? In how many

languages have you written works?

 

A. I know Tamil, Telugu,, Hindi and Sanskrit.

I have written works in all four languages. I

have also performed upanyasams in all four

languages.

 

 

Q. Till now (1979), how many works have you

authored?

 

A. In the four languages, I have written about

1207 books. This room in which I am seated has many

books - out of which only about 1/4th are not

authored by me. The rest were written and published

by me.

 

 

Q. Can you group the books you have authored so

far?

 

A. They can be separated into 16 groups. Most

importantly, I have published pUrvAchArya granthas.

I published all of Ramanuja's granthas in a book

called Ramanuja Granthamala; all of Vedanta Desika's

granthas in a book called Vedanta Desika Granthamala;

and all of Manavala Mamunigal's works in a book

called Varavaramunindra Granthamala. In addition, I

have published books authored by me, in 15 groups.

Starting at the age of 19, I have authored extended

meanings for the 4000 divyaprabandhams.

 

 

Q0. In addition, you have also been publishing a

journal, right?

 

A0. Yes. I have been running journals in all four

languages. I publish a journal called "Vaidika

Manohara" in Sanskrit and Hindi. In Telugu, I

publish a journal called "Ramanuja Patrika" and

in Tamil "Sri Ramanujan".

 

 

Q. Are you the editor for all magazines or do

you use representative for each of the magazine?

 

A. I am the editor for all magazines. I have

not kept any assistant so far. These magazine

have been running for 32 years.

 

 

Q. You said you know four languages. Do you

also know English?

 

A. When I was learning at the Vanamamalai

Patashala, my mother wished me to learn English.

However, my father did not agree to it. Later,

when my father was ill, a doctor came to see

him. At that time, my father himself asked that

I learn English from the doctor. I learnt English

from him for about 1.5 years. I also learnt

English for some time from a person called

Venkataryan. Even now, while I cannot speak well

in English, I can still read and write. My hand-

writing is beautiful in all languages. Those who

see my handwriting ask me if I am a B.A. I tell

that I am a P.B.A (laughs).

 

 

Q. What's the reason for your greater affinity

for dEva perumAL's ghoshti than for dEva perumAL

Himself?

 

A. My father had ordered me that I should never

give up ghoshti. It is due to his grace. I have

never missed iyal ghoshti once nor have I offered

obeisance to it once.

 

 

Q. What do you mean you have not offered obeisance

to the iyal ghoshti once?

 

A. If one is present in the ghoshti when it starts,

then one does not have to offer obeisance to it.

Only if one joins it in the middle does one have

to do that. I have never joined the ghoshti once

in the middle. I will always be ready before the

ghoshti starts. All this is due to the grace of

my father.

 

 

Q. What is the reason for Divyaprabandha ghoshti

to come in the front and Veda ghoshti to come behind,

when perumAL goes about in the streets?

 

A. The Divyaprabandhams which are the Tamil

Vedas tell us all about the Lord's divine auspicious

qualities. However, the Sanskri Vedas which started

telling about these qualities, failed in its attempt

and backed off ("yatO vAchO nivartante"). The same

is stressed by Vedanta Desikar, Kambar and others.

This is the reason why aruLis seyals are in the front

and vEda pArAyaNam is in the back.

 

 

Q. Amongst all your works, which one do you

consider is the best?

 

A. Amongst the works I have authored, I consider

the work "Sri Bhashya Saram" in Thamzih, as the

best. Also, all my vyakhyanams in Sanskrit for the

4000 Divyaprabandhams are very good.

 

 

Q. Do you recall your first work?

 

A. I was about 15 years old at that time. A

scholar speaking at the Hundred Pillar mandapam

in Kanchipuram stated that as the Divyaprabandhams

were written in Tamil they cannot be respected.

I wrote a 30 page book in Sanskrit called

"Divyaprabandha Vaibhava Viveka:" rejecting his

claim. That was my first book.

 

 

Q. Can you tell us when and where you gave your

first discourse?

 

A. One time I had gone to Hyderabad (Sitarambag)

for Udayavar Utsavam, along with my acharya Sri U.

Ve. Gaadi Ananthacharyar Swami. I was about 16 years

at that time. There some people requested Gaadi

Swami to perform a discourse. Then, he ordered me

to do a discourse. That order is the source for all

my upanyasams. I performed my first discourse there

on Udayavar Vaibhavam.

 

 

Q. Your voice is majestic till date. What is the

reason behind that? Do you use any medicines to

protect your voice quality?

 

A. The Lord's grace is the reason for my voice

being good. I do not use any medicine for that.

The Lord is the medicine.

 

 

Q. Even though you have helped the people of this

world by performed many discourses, there is a

complaint that you have not created any disciples

who can follow in your foot steps....

 

A. I have written thousands of works. Even today,

many scholars who perform discourses write to me

saying that their discourses are based upon my

writings. They all can be considered my disciples.

Even though I have not created a few disciples, I

have written thousands of works that will last

hundreds of years. That is sufficient.

 

 

Q. Our sampradhayam is going down. In such a

situation, who are you appointing as your heir?

 

A. When so many scholars such as Sadabishekam

Govinda Narasimhachariar, Velukkudi Varadachariar,

Pillai Lokam Bhashyakachariar, S. Krishnaswami

Iyengar (Sudarshanam Publisher), Nallan Ramakrishna

Iyengar, K.A. Manavalan and Sthalasayanaththuraivar

are building the sampradhayam, it is wrong to say

that the sampradhayam is going down. Therefore, it

is not necessary for me to appoint someone as my

heir.

 

 

Q. Can you say something about the Thenkalai

and Vadakalai divisions within the Srivaishnava

Sampradhayam. What was Vedanta Desikar's role

in this division?

 

A. During Vedanta Desikar's time, there was

no division within the Srivaishnava Sampradhayam.

Why go that far? I will swear, wearing a Thulasi

garland, that prior to 1800, there was no Thenkalai

Vadakalai division. Vedanta Desikar gained great

knowledge through upAsana. Therefore, he authored

a great number of works. In these works, first he

will reject a notion of Pillai Lokacharyar. A few

pages later, he would state that "this is the

thought of such and such". A little later, he

would agree with what he himself had rejected

earlier. A certain group which came after his

time, started following his earlier opinions. This

is the cause for the Thenkalai Vadakalai division.

 

 

Q. When and where did you get the title "mahA

mahipOdhyAya"?

 

A. In 1972, at Allahabad, seven people were

selected as Saptha Rishis. At that time, this

title was given to me by vice president Sri

Pathak.

 

 

Q. We learn that you have gone on several

divyadesa yatras. Have you been to all Sri

Vaishnava divyadesams?

 

A. So far, I have done North Indian divya

desa yatras alone 23 times. Out of the 108

Sri Vaishnava divyadesams, 106 are in this

world. Out of them, excluding Salagramam and

Thiruppirithi, I have worshipped at 104 divya

desams.

 

 

Q. Many people of our sampradhayam go to

work early and return late. Being involved

in lowkika like this, they are unable to

follow the Srivaishnava sampradhayam. Can

you briefly tell what they can do?

 

A. After waking up and performing sandhya-

vandanam, they must recite all 30 verses of

Thiruppavai. If there is insufficient time

even for that, then they must at least recite

the "siRRam siRukAlE" pasuram. If they do

this much, they would have followed the

Srivaishnava sampradhayam.

 

 

Q. What do you consider as your greatest

gift?

 

A. I consider the fact that I was born in

Manavala Mamunigals' sampradhayam as my

greatest gift. Just as Dasaratha prayed that

Rama be born as his son for seven (all)

births ("ninnaiyE maganAgap perRap peRuvEn

EzhpiRappum nedunthOL vEndhE"), so too I

pray every day that I gain Manavala Mamunigal

as my acharya for seven (all) births ("ninnaiyE

guruvAgap peRap peRuvEn EzhpiRappum yathIndhrap

pravaNA").

 

 

Q. You have accomplished a great many things.

Is there something that you feel you have not

done yet?

 

A. Whatever you consider that I have

accomplished thus far, if they remain without

any problems, then that is sufficient.

 

 

Q. When you perform discourses, why do you ask

questions toward the audience? Particularly, when

it appears that you are questioning some scholars,

it is said that they are bothered.

 

A. I do not ask questions to bother any one.

I ask them questions so that the audience realize

their knowledge. Also, if people who have knowledge

of the Vedas and Divyaprabandhams come to me, I

take them with me to my upanyasams. I do this for

the benefit of the audience only - not to test

them.

 

 

Q. As the editor of magazines, what is your

wish for the magazine Geethacharyan (run by Sri

M.A. Venkatakrishnan)?

 

A. Geethacharyan must grow greatly. It must increase

its pages more. As it grows, I would like to stop

my magazine "Sri Ramanujan" and take this as my

magazine.