Sri Ramanuja Journal Volume 7, Issue 6

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Srimathe Ramanujaya namaH

Srimathe varavarmunayE namaH

 

Panguni, Sarvajith Azhvar 7, Acharya 6

 

 

AnanthAzhvan

Chitthirai- Chitthirai

 

akhilAtma guNAvAsam agyAna timirApaham |

AshritAnAm sucaraNam vandE anantArya dEshikam ||

 

Millions of devotees throng the Tirumala Hills practically round the clock throughout the year. There was a time when there were hardly few people around, in Thirumalai, for kainkaryam. Emperumanar had visited the Hills thrice. His maternal uncle , Peria Thirumalai Nambi gave him education on the SrI Ramayana for several months at the Hills. Once in the Bagvad vishaya kalakshepa goshti at Srirangam, emperumanar was teaching ozhivilkAlamellAm padhikam, where azhvar expresses the deep anguish to do kainkaryam at Thiruvenkadam. Emperumanar deeply moved by this, asked " is there some one in this goshti who can go to thirumalai and do pushpa kainkaryam? " . The climate in thirumalai was so bad those times, fearing the hard life up the Hills filled with tigers , snakes and other wild animals and also not wanting to miss Swamy emperumanar and his ghosti no one was ready to go. There was Anantharya , among the gOshti He rose to his feet and prayed , " With your grace , adiyen will be happy to undertake this service. " Ramanuja was mightily pleased and embracing Anantharya, declared before the congregation , " Anantharya , You are truly the man ( Aanpillai). " Anatharya chose to settle down on the Hills in fulfillment of the command of his Acharya and went on to lay the garden of flowers , dug up the lake and named it after Ramanuja. Anantharya was so much obsessed with zealous personal service to the Lord that on one occasion , he hit with a crowbar a young man who was trying to help his wife in laying the garden. Anantharya was chasing him when the young man disappeared into the temple. The priests found blood oozing from the chin of the Lord as Anantharya entered the sanctum sanctorum. He applied camphor on the chin and prayed for forgiveness. The crowbar can even today be seen at the entrance to the temple as a momento to the dedicated devotion of Anantharya.

Anantha Suri was some sort of a chronicler. His Venkatchala Ithihasamala represents to Tirupati what Koil Olugu is to Srirangam. The Holy triumvirate of Saint Ramanuja , Anantharya and Peria Thirumalai Nambigal at a conference at the third visit of Ramanuja set up the Pedda Jeeyangar Mutt to regulate the vaikansa agama form of worship.

His devotion to Andal was so great that on one occasion he was seen diving deep down the Srivilliputtur temple tank to search for the remnants of holy turmeric if any used by Andal. He composed the Ramanuja Chautsloki showing how Srirangam , The Tirumalai Hills , Kanchi and Melkote were dear to Ramanuja. His Goda Chatusloki is a work of great art , rich in lines whose depth of thought , warmth of feeling , glow of imagery and grace of phrases will ring for centuries in every land where the glory of Andal is cherished.

Bhattar , the successor to Saint Ramanuja at Srirangam, once sent a disciple to Ananthalwan to ascertain who a true Vaishnava was. Ananthalwan told the Brahmin from Srirangam , " A true Sri Vaishnavite is like a crane , like a rooster, like salt and He will be like You. " - kokku pOla irukkum, kOzhi pOla irukkum , vuppu pOla irukkum, vummaip pOla irukkum " Bhattar later on explained the four different ideas of Ananthalwan. The Srivaishnava ignores ordinary mortals and awaits the arrival of a true Gnani so that he may surrender to that Mahatma through devotion to service. Not for him the different parts of the Vedas which are not always of universal appeal. Like the rooster picking up the good grains from the chaff , the Vaishnava will swear by the Dravida Veda of Nammalwar. Just as the salt dissolves itself in food and becomes useful thereby , the Srivaishnava effaces himself in Bhagavath, Bhaagavatha and Acharya Kainkarya. Like the Brahmin from Srirangam , he is free of ego or arrogance , always humble and devoted to the Srivaishnava clan.

Ananthalwan's final sacred gift to the pilgrims visiting the Hills was the shrine for Ramanuja. Everywhere swami emperumanar's divine feet is known as MudhaliyANdAn, except in Thirumalai where it is called AnanthAzhvAn. Ananthalwan joined eternity Lord's kainkaryam on the sacred Thiru Adi Pooram day. Even today , Lord Venkateswara visits the garden and bestows honours on the Magizha Tree.

In iraNdAm Tiruvandaadi, Sri Bhoothatthazhvaar describes an event occurring in the hills of Tirumalai as follows.

perugu mathavEzham maappidikku munninRuirukaNiLamoongil vaangi arugirunthathEn kalanthu neettum thiruvEngadam

kaNdeer vaan kalantha vaNNan varai

The description of nature in this paasuram is, in the Tirumalai hills, a male elephant , pulls off a bamboo shoot, dips it in a honeycomb nearby and extends it to its female elephant.

On one occasion when Sri Ramanuja visited Tiruvengadam, the devotees there requested that he give a discourse on the meaning of Dvayam. Sri Ramanuja agreed and did so; however, he also included the meanings of Tirumantram and Carama SlOkam in the discourse and as such the discourse became lengthy. Upon seeing this, Ananthazhvar stated that on that day he understood the true meaning of Bhoothatthazhvar's paasuram, as follows. The male elephant in mast is a description of Sri Ramanujar the mast is the tears in his eyes as he enjoys the divine words of Swami Nammazhvar ( " paNdaru maaRan pasunthamizh aanantham paaymathamaay viNdida engaL raamaanusamuni vEzham " ). The female elephant represents the devotees in the gathering. Moongil represents a delicious substance. Here it stands for dvayam. Amongst Tirumantram, Dvayam, and Carama SlOkam, Dvayam is the most delicious to Sriman Narayana's devotees. Also, since Azhvar said a moongil with two eyes (knots), it represents dvayam with its two parts. The honey in the comb nearby refers to Tirumantram and Carama SlOkam near Dvayam. The word neettum (extend) refers to the fact that the discourse was extended because Sri Ramanuja added the meanings of Tirumantram and Carama SlOkam to the meaning of Dvayam. Thus the description of TiruvEngadam was that of Sri Ramanujar extending a lengthy discourse to His devotees on the meanings of Dvayam, Tirumantram and Carama SlOkam.

While delivering a thaniyan for ThiruvAymozhi, AnanthAzhvan had no second thought to dedicate it via emperumAnAr. If you want to learn SathakOpans senthamizh vEdam, get blessing of empeurmanar.

 

vara vara muni dasargaL