SwAmi ThiruvAimozhippiLLai vaibhavam -1

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Sri: SrimatE rAmAnujAya nama: Srimad Varavara munayE nama: Dear adiyArs of this forum, we celebrated the Tirunakshtrams (appearance days) of SwAmi nammAzhwAr and AchAryA ThiruvAimozhippiLLai in Denver, Co in a grand way. As a token of gratitude to the great AchAryan, adiyEn took upon myself the task of translating the AchArya Vaibhavam written by the great Scholar Madurai Arangarajan. adiyEn would like to present the same in this forum. dAsan. SwAmi ThiruvAimozhippiLLai Vaibhavam Introduction nama: srIshaila nAthAya kuntI nagara janmanE | prasAdalabdha parama prApya kainkarya sAlinE || We all know that SwAmi ThiruvAimozhippiLLai is the AchAryan of Swami ManavALa mAmunikaL, who is the AchAryan of Lord Sri ranganAthA Himself. SwAmi ThiruvAimozhippiLLai was responsible for the resurgence of our sampradayam after Srirangam was anhilated by the Islamic armies from the north. He resurrected the practices, the philosophy, and most

important of all, he reconsecrated the divine idol of SwAmi nammAzhwAr in AzhwAr Thirunagari, as SwAmi nammAzhwAr’s deity was hidden in a secret place to be protected from the advancing Islamic armies. adiyEn has made a humble attempt to translate his vaibhavam into English. The source of this article is “ThiruvAimozhippiLLai Vaibhavam” authored by the Scholar par excellence, Madurai Sri U. Ve. arangarAjan SwAmin. All praises are due to that great scholar, and all brickbats should be attributed to adiyEn. [ Sidenote 1: A brief look at history during the time of SwAmi ThiruvAimozhippiLLai During the 14th century, Srirangam and other South Indian holy towns were ransacked by the Mohammedan army. Many temples were destroyed. Many of the presiding deities of those temples were removed from the sanctum sanctorum and moved to safe locations, hopefully beyond the reach

of the invading army. Many vaishnavAs were slaughtered; uloop khan was the the commander of the Mohammedan army, and he invaded the south during the years 1323-1326. SwAmi ThiruvAimozhippiLLai was around 24 years during that time. He was a very well respected minister in the Pandya Empire in Madurai. SwAmi piLLai lOkAchAriar undertook the mission of saving namperumAL ( the

processional deity of Srirangam) and his consorts. At the ripe old age of 120, he trekked all the way from Srirangam till he reached a safe place called jYOthishkudi, a small town near Madurai. He was accompanied by his disciples including viLAnjOlaippiLLai, koora kulOthama dAsar, thirpputkuzhi jeeyar, Sri kannangudi piLLai, nAloorppiLLai, kollikAvala dAsar, kOttur aNNar and SAthvikai ammayar, who is the mother of SwAmi ThiruvAimozhippiLLai. ] Mindful of the short piece of history above, let us a have brief

look at the biography of SwAmi ThiruvAimozhippiLLai. 1. SwAmi ThiruvAimozhippiLLai’s Birth SwAmi ThiruvAimozhippiLLai was born in the year 1301 on the ascent of the Visakam star in the

tamil month vaikasi. It is not coincidence that SwAmi nammAzhwAr was born on the same day. His birthplace is called Kunti nagaram near Madurai. In due course of time, the same town is now called kondhagai. SwAmi ThiruvAimozhippiLLai is a descendant of SwAmi uyyakkOndAr, who is one of the AchAryAs in the Srivaishnava Guru Parampara. The name of SwAmi ThiruvAimozhippiLLai’s mother is SAthvikai ammayAr. She was an ardent disciple of SwAmi piLlai lOkAchAriar. During SwAmi

ThiruvAimozhippiLLai’s youth his mother performed upanayanam and took him to Srirangam where he was initiated into Sri Sampradayam by the great SwAmi piLLai lOkAchAriar. It is important to note that SwAmi ThiruvAimozhippiLLai was then known as “SwAmi Thirumalai AzhwAr” After returning from Srirangam, SwAmi Thirumalai AzhwAr learnt all the sAstrAs and became a scholar in both tamil and Sanskrit. He became the chief priest in the court of the pAndya king in Madurai. [sidenote 2: The name “Kunthi-nagaram”: According to MahabhAratha, when Arjuna was conducting pilgrimage in South India, he married princess

ChitrAngadhai, the daughter of the Pandya king babravAhan. The king built a city for the newlyweds and named it “Kunti-puri” after arjunA’s mother queen Kunti. ] to be continued......

 

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