Sri U.Ve. Madhurantakam Swami Centenary Celebration

[Guest guest]

Sri:

 

SrimatE Gopaladesika MahadesikAya Namaha,

 

Dear Bhaktas,

 

Adiyen is reproducing the following summary from the centenary

celebration announcement of U.Ve. Sri Madhurantakam Swamin. Adiyen

requests all Bhaktas to come forward and generously support the 100th

TN celebration of U.Ve. Sri Madhurantakam Swamin. Your tax exempt

contributions for this cause may be sent to:

SMSA Inc.,

c/o Smt. Nagu Satyan

7821 W Alder Drive Littleton, CO 80128

 

Namo Narayana,

 

SriMuralidhara Dasan

 

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SrilakshmI tragAsya lAsya viBhavasThAnAyithAsyAmbuja

SrIsrIvAsayathIndra divyakaruNAsadvIkshaNaIkAspadam

SrImadvIraraGhUtthamam guNagaNai: sadvidyayApyunnatham

nithyam shrEyasi dIkshitham nathajanE BhakthyA nathOham BhajE

 

Echambadi Achan, belonging to Koudinya Gotram, was one of the 74

SimhasanAdipatis chosen by Sri Ramanujacharya for propagating

Ubhayavedanta Siddhantam. Echambadi Achan's descendents chose to

follow Sri Vedanta Desika Sampradaya and serve the cause of Sri

Vaishnavism through the succeeding generations. Sri U.Ve. Tirumalai

Echambadi Veeraraghavachariar Swami carried aloft the great tradition

of spiritual ministry in the 20th century.

 

Born on 28.02.1900 under the asterism of Avittam to Sri T.E.

Krishnamachariar Swamin, the first TeerthakArar of Sri Kodandaramaswamy

temple at Madhurantakam, Veeraraghavachariar Swamin

had his early education in sanskrit at his native place, speedily

gaining enviable scholarship in the Vedas. At the same time, he also

mastered the 4000 verses of the Divyaprabandham, the tamil Vedam. After

Upanayanam and Pancha Samskaram, Sri Swami moved to Tiruvaiyaru to

specialize in Nyaya Shastra at the renowned Rajah's college under the

eminent Vidvan Sri U.Ve. Swachchandam Swami.

 

When he returned to Madhurantakam, he was blessed with the presence of

the legendary U.Ve. Garudapuram Rajagopalachariar Swamin, who later

on became a Sanyasi with the name Srinivasa Mahadesikan (popularly

addressed as H.H. Sri Garudapuram Swamin). The latter taught him

Sri Bhashya and the Gota Bhashya of Acharya Ramanuja and Swami

Desikan's Rahasya Trayasara as well as Arayirappadi of Tirukurugai

Piran. Sri Madhurantakam Swamin learned Tatvamukta Kalapam from Sri

U.Ve. Goshtipuram Soumyanarayana Mahadesikan Swami.

 

Well equipped thus, Sri Madhurantakam Swamin became a professor of

Nyaya at Raja's college. For close to three decades hundreds of

students benefitted from his deep knowledge of Nyaya, Vedanta, and

Mimamsa.

 

After his retirement in 1955, Madhurantakam Swami settled down in

Srirangam, keeping with the tradition of innumerable Acharyas of

Srivaishnavism from Nathamuni onwards, who made the pilgrim center

their place of Jnana yoga. He was associated with the Ranganatha

Paduka Vidyalaya as a teacher during these days. Always in demand for

scholarly congregations, he was scintillating as a powerful debater.

His expositions were clear and to the point. Blessed with a prodigious

memory, he could effortless recall the right message for his argument.

Those who heard his Kalakshepams go into raptures when they remember

how he used to extensively quote from Adikarana Saravali, Tatvamukta

Kalapam, the Upanishads and the Nalayira Divya Prabandham. Sri Swami

had begun teaching Nyaya and Vedanta Shastras when he was just twenty

years old, and so he taught the Sri Bhashyam for nearly six decades,

expounding on it no less than thirty times. In recognition of his

deep erudition, the revered Swamin was given a certificate of Honour

by the President of India in 1981.

 

A prolific writer on the philosophy and literature of Sri Vaishnavism,

Sri Madhurantakam Swami regularly contributed articles to journals

like Sri Vedanta Dipika, Sri Nrusimha Priya and Sri Ranganatha Padhuka.

His works include

 

1. Tamil translation of " Anumana Adyaya " of " Nyaya Parishuddhi " of

Swami Desikan

 

2. Tamil commentary of Nyasa Tilakam

 

3. Tamil rendering of Swami Desikan's commentary on Alavandar's

GitArttha Sangraha

 

4. Sri Sampradaya Sudha

 

5. Sanskrit translation of Siriya Tirumadal of Tirumangai Azhwar

 

6. Nikasha Satha Dushani

 

7. Tamil commentary on Jitante Stotra

 

8. Tamil commentary on Abhiti Sthavam and Sri Stuthi

 

The celebration of this Mahan's 100th Tirunakshatram is scheduled for

March 4, 2000 (Masi Avittam) with special programs starting on

February 29, 2000. The agenda includes

 

1. Recitation of Vedas, Divya Prabandham, Sri Bhashyam, Gita Bhashyam,

Srimad Rahasya Trayasaram, and Bhagavad Vishayam.

 

2. Vidwat Sadas for five days

 

3. Discourses by eminent scholars in the evenings

 

4. Publishing the collected works of Sri Madhurantakam Swami

 

5. Tadiaradhanai for all the participants during the five days