Sri Ramanuja Journal Volume 3 Issue 4

[Guest guest]

* SrimathE rAmAnujAya

namaH*

 

* SrimathE varavaramunaye

namaH*

 

* *

 

*Margazhi, Vyaya

Azhvar 3, Acharya 4*

 

* *

 

*Periya nambikaL*

 

*Thirunakshatram : Margazhi kETTai*

 

* *

 

*kamalApathi kalyANa GuNAmrutha niShEvayA *

 

*pUrNa kAmAya sathatham pUrNAya mahathE namaH*

 

 

 

*Even though emperumanar had 5 acharyas periya nambikal only finds his place

in the OrAnvazhi acharya paramparai, because of his uniqueness as the

acharya who did pancha samskaram to swami emperumanar. Periya nambikal's

thirunamam was paraankusa dasa and is also known as mahApUrNar. *

 

*In the ARU VARTTHai (6 words) of DevaperumAL to emperumanar the last

command was*

 

*PURnAchArya samASRayaH : Surrender to periya nambikaL*

 

*And akin to this by the command of swami alavandar, periyanambikaL, did

pancha samskaram to swami emperumanar at the wonderful divya kshetram of

madhuranthakam. *

 

* *

 

*This year marks the 1010th Thirunakshtram of this Great Acharya, who is a

martyr for our sampradayam during the AbhayavadEsyan's (He that shall not be

named) doomed acts against emperumanar and to the srivaishnava sampradayam.

*

 

 

 

*Idhihyams about Sri periyanambikal found its place in many paasurams

commentaries. And we will focus on few instances among them. *

 

*In the commentary of the ThirunedunthAndakam pasuram "vaLArtthathanAl payan

peRREn varukavenni maDakkiLiyai kaikUPPi vaNanginALE " swami PVP recollects

the incident that once when emperumanar was on the streets of srirangam,

going for his sacramental bath in kaveri, the complete sishya goshti was

following him. Seeing empeurmanar amidst this grand goshti periyanambikal

even though he was the acharya to emperumanar, he immediately prostrated

emperumanar. Emperumanar understood the feeling of periyanambikal so he did

not respond to the prostration neither accepted it nor did prathiabhivadanam

(reciprocation) but just moved without any response. When asked by the

sishyas, emperumanar turned to periyanambikal and asked nammai ippadi

seyvathen ? (why did devareer do this?)*

 

*For that periya nambikal replied : ALavanthar entru ninaitthEn (Thought

that you were Alavandaar)*

 

*PVP adds a wonderful line in the commentary which goes like this*

 

*"puthrarkalAhavumAm sishyarkaL AhavumAm bhagavad vishayatthil Oradi

ittavarkaL gauravyarkaLirE " (Whether it is son or shisya those who have a

placed a step in bhagavat vishayam are to be respected)*

 

*In the unthumathakaLitthan paasuram commentary another wonderful aidhihyam

is presented. The thirunamam thiruppavai jeeyar was given to emperumanar by

periyanambikal himself. Emperumanar used to chant thiruppavai always and

once it happened that he went in front of periyanambi thirumaligai while

knocking the door, he was chanting unthumadhakalitthan pasuram. Suddenly he

heard the sound of bangles on the other side of the door and it was opened

to him by athhuzhay, daughter of periyanambikal the coincidence of the

pasuram and door opening was so much that the moment emperumanar saw

athuzhai he fell prostrated. Athuzhay was wonderstruck and she ran to

periyanambikal telling "Ayya jeeyar ennai sevitthAr" (Oh! father jeeyer

prostrated me)periyanambikal immediately understood the mood of his sishya

and asked "Oh! thiruppavai jeeyar! you are having unthumathakalitthan

paasuram in mind isn't it" such was the understanding between the acharya

and sishya. (There is also a school of interpretation that this is

ThirukOshTiyUr nambi)*

 

*The most befitting tribute to periyanambikal is written in the golden

letters of SrivachanabhUshanam and AchArya hridayam*

 

* *

 

*mAraneri nambi vishyamAka periyanambi uDayavarkkaruLiccheytha vArtthaye

smarippathu 234 SrivachanabhUshanam *

 

* *

 

*mLEchchhanum bhakthanAnAl ……………aivaril nAl_varil mUvaril murpaTTavarkaL

sandEhiyAmal sahajarOTE purODASamAka cheytha puthrakrthyavum,……. aRivArkkirE

janmOthkarshApakarshankaL therivathu. 85 AchAryahridayam *

 

* *

 

*The incident goes like this:*

 

 

 

*Sri MAranEri nambi who was by birth not a high caste was a devout

srEvaishNavite. When he left this world to ThirunADu, Sri Periya Nambi,

performed the last rites for him. *

 

 

 

*To reveal the greatness to the society, EmperumAnAr approached Sri Periya

Nambi and asked him 'When I am meticulously laying fence for our faith on

one side, are you not removing it from the other side?" How can a high caste

person perform last rites to a low caste born. *

 

 

 

*Sri Periya Nambi quotes precedences. Sri Chakravarthith Thirumagan

performing to Periya vudaiyAr, Sri dhArmarajar performing last rites to

Vidhurar and zeroing in aruLichyeal : *

 

*'payilum sudaroli' and nedumARkadimai' kadal OsaiyOA! The sound of the

waves in a ocean goes a waste. If we are not going to follow what AzvAr's

have preached us, these aruLicheyal will also become like that. AzvAr-s

preached, devotion to devotees of ThirumAl is the ultimate in 'payilum

sudaroli' thiruvAimozhi 3-7 and 'nedumArkadimai' 8-10; *

 

*One should practise what one preaches and Sri Periya Nambi demonstrated

what cannot be dreamt those days.*

 

*When ritualistic practices are still considered to be a prime act even

today, think of those days.*

 

 

 

*Periya Nambi a great reformer indeed.*

 

* *

 

*VaravaramunidasargaL*