life of raamaanujaacharya 7

[Guest guest]

-------continuation from part (6)

 

In illustration of this implicit servitude to his

master, it is recorded that on a certain occasion, he

accompanied the two daughters of his guru on

pilgrimage to a bathing place. They were returning and

damsels shrank at a small stream in their path,

because it was sloughy. Raama-misra saw the situation

and immediately coming to their rescue, stretched

himself at length across the channel, and let them

walk over his back! The guru heard this incident, and

drawing the disciple to him with exclamations of joy,

touched his head with his feet- a favour not bestowed

all indiscriminately. “Is there any thing more that I

can do to thee?” said the disciple, “ than that,

having already attained my highest ambition, viz, that

of serving at your holy feet, this service should be

continued to me forever”? Uyyakkondaar was overcome

with this exemplary attitude and in his irrepressible

wish to do to his disciple the highest good,

commendedd to him once more for meditation the

dvayamantra, the efficacy of which has been described

thus in the paancharatra:-

 

SratItaanaagatagnaana maatmatatva prakaasanam!

sarvavEdaarya vignaanaM sarvaSastrartha darSanam!!

maanasaMvaachikampaapaM kaayakaMchatridhAkrutam!

dvayasmaraNamaatrENaa naaSaMyaati suniSchitam!!

 

 

Uyyakkondaar’s sojourn in this earth was now

approaching its end and raama-misra, reverently

broached to his the subject who after him was to bear

the apostleship for their blessed dispensation. “Well,

my son”, said he, “I had hoped to carryour myself the

behests of my Holy master naathamuni, communicated to

me when he was passing away, viz, to expect the

arrival of a grandson for him(i.e., son to Isvara

muni), to whom to impart all the mysteries of our

faith, naming him yamunai-t-taraivar, as my guru

willed; but providence has willed it otherwise. This

duty therefore devolves on thee, the next and my most

trusted disciple, and thou therefore wilt beqeath our

mysteries to posterity in the holy sottai line of

descent”. So delivering the message, Uyyakkondaar left

his body, seating himself in padm-aasana posture, and

uniting his heart with the holy feet of his aacharya,

sri naathamuni.

 

Neither raama-misra. Nor his brethren, could bear the

pang of separation, but gradually they recovered and

girded themselves to carryout the last services and

sacraments for the departed; which they did with all

due ceremony and solemnity. The memorial verse

dedicared to him on the occasion is thus recorded

 

 

nama pañkajanEtraaya naathaaSrIpaada pañkajE!

Nyastasarvabharaayaasma tkulanaathaayadhiimatE!!

 

Raama-misra was now, with his disciples, engaged in

the work of furthering his holy mission, all the time

in eager expectation of the hoped-for holy sin to be

born to Isvara-muni. This happy event came about in

the month of aadi under the asterisk ‘uttaraarda’. Joy

overspread their countenances, and they forthwith went

about administering to the child all the sacraments

fit for occasion, through the medium of the father,

ending by naming the child

yamunai-t-turaivar(according to the wishes of

naathamuni) and observing all the needful

preliminaries prescribed for the vaishnavas according

to the paancharatra text:-

 

(need to verify the transliteration of this sloka

again)

vaiShNavaikshvaivasUktaikshva kuryAtsaMmArjanaMSiSO!

tasyadantiNAkarNOtu japEdashTAntaraM dvayaM!!

mUnnRihastaMvinintipya japE~chadrAdaSaantaraM!

naamakuryAttata~pakshvAdvaishNAvaM paapanASanaM!!

 

who was this holy child, but yamunaacharya(the

Sanskrit synonym); alavaandar (the tamil name), -the

famous forerunner of SrI raamanujam who was to come.

----- will be continued in part (8)

 

 

 

________

India Answers: Share what you know. Learn something new

http://in.answers./