Bhagavad Ramanuja Vaibhavam- 1.35- Our Kula nAThan- Sriman nAthamuni... after Nammazhwar

[Guest guest]

SrI:

SrImathE Gopaladesika Mahadesikaya namah:

 

Dearest srivaishnavas,

 

We have enjoyed Sri SatakOpar's glories so far. After that next in acharya

lineage is Sriman nATha muni...

 

The Acharya paramparai of Srivaihsnavm is:

Sriya: Pathi Sriman Narayanan

Sri Mahalakshmi

Sri Vishvaksenar (Senai mudali)

Sri SaTakOpar (Sri NammAzhwAr)

Sri Nathamuni

Sri Pundarikakshar (Sri UyyakkoNdaar)

Sri Ramamisrar (maNakkaal nambhi)

Sri Yamuncharyar (Alavandhar)

Sri MahapoorNar (Periya Nambhi)

Sri Ramanujar

 

LakshmI nAtha samArambhaam nAtha yAmuna madhyamAm..

 

Swamy Vedantha Desikan pays his obeisance to Sriman Nathamuni thus:

 

nAthEna muni nAthEna bhavEyam nathavan ahamam |

yasya naigamikam tatvam hastAmalakatam gatam ||

 

Sriman Nathamuni is the most benign master (Acharya ) for me. Sriman

Nathamuni indeed availed the good opportunity to perceive the true and

purport of Vedas, like a tiny amla fruit on one’s palm (uLLankai nellikani).

Let me pay my humble obeisance to Sri Nathamuni by the folding of my palms.

 

Sriman NathamunigaL was born in 824 A.D in Aani anusham star, in

Kaattumannargudi, at Veeranarayanapuram near GangaikoNda chaozhapuram.

AzhwAr's paasurams (poems) called naalaayira divyap prabhandam composed by

twelve AzhwArs.

 

It was by divine grace of Sriman Narayanan that Sriman

Naathamuni came to know of the Tamil poems praising Lord Vishnu. It is

believed that Sriman Naathamuni heard some devotees visiting his home town

singing a few (11) Tamil songs starting with " aaraa amudhE adiyEn udalam " and

ending with " ... kuruhoor sadagOpan kuzhalil maliyach sonna Or AyiratthuL

ippatthum, mazhalai theera vallaar

kaamar maanEy nOkkiyarkE. "

 

(NammAzhwAr's Thiruvaaymozhi 5.8.1 - 5.8.11)

 

Sriman Nathamuni was greatly excited and enchanted with the exquisite

beauty of the poems. He approached the devotees and enquired about its

origin. The ending of the 11 poems, " aayiratthuL ippatthu, " (means this ten

of the thousand) suggested that there are many more such poems (may be

thousand?).

 

Unfortunately, the devotees were unaware of any other poems besides the

eleven they had just finished reciting. However, they suggested to Sriman

Nathamuni that he may try enquiring in the town of thiruk kuruhoor, present day

AzhwAr thiru nagari near thirunelvEli. So he set out to travel from

kaattumannarkudi to thiruk kurugoor, where he found one paraangusa daasar.

 

From him, Sriman Nathamuni learnt 11 more paasurams called kaNNinuN

sirutthaambu. These were composed by Madhurakavi AzhwAr and all 11 paasurams are

in praise of kurugoor SatakOpan(NammAzhwAr).

 

Paraangusa daasar suggested that he repeatedly recite this great kaNNinuN

sirutthaambu (sung in praise of Sri Sadagopan- NammAzhwAr) in the hope of

pleasing the Lord. Sriman Naathamuni took his advice sincerely and recited

it about 12,000 times! It is said that NammAzhwAr was impressed with Sriman

Nathamuni's persistence and appeared before him.

 

NammAzhwAr was so impressed that he revealed to Sriman Nathamuni not just

the 1102 paasurams of his own " thiruvaay mozhi " , but also all the rest of

the paasurams composed by the other eleven AzhwArs.

 

Sriman nathamuni set these 4000 to tune and music and taught to Melai

agatthAzhwAn and Keezhai agatthAzhwAn (his nephews) and propagated the 4000 in

various Divya Desams. Nathamuni re arranged 4000 into four parts and introduced

the same as part of recitation in Divya Desams, as part of

worship. Following the teaching of NammAzhwar, Sri Nathamuni seems to have

advocated the adoption of prapatti (self- surrender) as the means of

salvation in [place of rigorous bhakti yogam

 

We should remember Sri Nathamuni with gratitude not merely for his recovering

the lost treasure of the Divya Prabandas, but also for setting them to music.

Swami Desikan acknowledges this by paying him this tribute-

 

" TALam vazhangi Tamizh marai innisai tanda vaLLal " . Further, in Sri Prabanda

Saram, Swami Desikan repeatedly refers to the divya prabandas by the term

" pAttu " , signifying that these were set to music and sung, during his times.

 

 

NathamunigaL is “the vaLLal†who gave us the 4000 the insatiable nectar, set

to music..

 

Sri Nathmuni wrote two works: Nyaya tatvam and Yoga rahasyam.

 

Both are not extant’ But Swamy Desikan and Ramanuja have referred to nyAya

tatvam in their works. Sri Alavandhar in his “Athmasiddhi†says, nyAyatatvam

is the most wonderful composition..

 

Sri NathamunigaL has unalloyed devotion to Sri Ranganthan. Once, Chozha

Rajan (king chola), who is also a sishya of Nathmuni, came to pay his

obeisance to Acharyan. He came in his chariot along with his few devis

(wives).

 

When Raja got down with his wives, in such great ornaments, crown, and silk

cloth, Sri Nathamuni for a moment lost himself and thought Sri Krishna with His

devis have come from Dwarakai. He fell at the feet of the king to prostrate. The

king was shocked and immediately sprung to lift Sri Nathamuni from the ground.

Later he came to know of the mind of Sri Nathamuni, and why he fell at the feet.

 

Also, when on another occasion, the same king had completed discussing with

Sriman Nathamuni and he took Acharya’s permission to leave. He started walking

towards the chariot. When he was about to board, (as usual, the king used to

call the chariot driver on whose shoulder he sets his foot to jump into the

chariot), the driver was there for the king to jump in. After he jumped in, he

saw below and it was Sriman Nathamuni’s shoulder. The king was stunned and got

down to apologize to acharyan. “What have I done! Stepped on your shoulders!

I have committed apacharam!â€. Sriman Nathamuni then only came to this world.

He had thought it is Sri Rama who had come by the chariot along with Sumanthrar.

Hence, he offered his shoulders for Rama to step into the chariot.

 

That was Sriman Nathamuni’s unalloyed devotion. No acting.. No show.. No

exhibitionism..

 

Sri NathamunigaL ThiruvadigaLE saraNam

 

Regards

namo narayana

dAsan