Is the Tirumala Deity VaishNavite Or Saivite ?

[Guest guest]

SrI:

SrI PadmAvati SamEta SrInivAsa ParabrahmaNE namaha

SrI Lakshminrusimha divya pAdukA sEvaka SrIvaN SaThakOpa-

SrI nArAyaNa yateendra mahAdESikAya namaha

 

namO nArAyaNa!

 

Dear bhaktas,

 

In the recent issue of SrI Nrusimha Priya, the articles by

Dr.Ramesan and Ms.Ramesh on the issue of whether

the deity at Tirumala (Lord SrInivAsa) is VaishNavite or

Saivite, has been reproduced. The authors have given many

excellent arguments and proofs to the effect that the

deity is certainly a VaishNavite one (aDiyEn hasn't read

them completly though). The former is reported to be an

ardent devotee of Kanchi ParamAchArya. The latter author

(SrI VaishNava) gives references from " VEnkatEsa

IthihAsamAla " of AnantAzhwAn, a great disciple of Bhagavad

RAmAnujAchArya, wherein the arguments of emperumAnAr on this

issue based upon the purANas has been recorded.

 

Recently, some magazines/persons have stirred this

(well settled) issue it seems and SrI Nrusimha Priya has

replied promptly.

---------------

 

aDiyEn's paternal grandfather SrI GopAlAchArya (a leading

adhyApaka of Divya Prabandham of his times and a great

" rasika " of AzhwAr's divya prabandhams and " extremly "

devoted to Lord VeerarAghava of TiruvaLLUr), once

entertained doubt in his mind as to whether the thirumala

deity is really Lord SrIman nArAyaNa. Though he knew

very well about AzhwAr's and AchArya's divya-sooktIs, this

doubt just occurred to him based upon certain interpretations

given by heritics to AzhwAr's " tAzh-sadayum ... " etc pAsurams

and other (fabricated) stories + seemingly logical connecting

links to explain various features of this temple and deity. That

very night, our ThiruvEnkatamudayAn unable to tolearte his

dear prapanna's doubt, appeared in his dream with his

majestic Sanku, Chakra etc and captivating smile told " nallA

pArum " ( ie. " See me Very Well " ) few times and ended with

" ippO theriardA " (ie. Do you come to know now ?). Then,

aDiyEn's grandfather with tears prostrated to PerumAL (in the

PerumAL sannidhi at our house) more than 50 times and

begged for forgiveness in having earlier entertained a doubt

just for a second on this issue.

 

So wonderful are the ways in which the " mAyan " (PerumAL)

reciprocates to His devotees. Be it directly by Himself

Or through AchAryas/BhAgavatas, He performs the grand act

of " Thirutthip pani koLLudal " in innumerous ways out of His

inexplicable and abundant mercy.

 

Lets meditate on this " mAyan " , the " vada-madurai mainthan "

and " yamunaith thuraivan " (as per the mangaLAsAsanam of

AndAL) who out of His overflowing love for His devotees

incarnated at Mathura/GOkulam.

 

Have a great SrI KrishNa Jayanti !!

 

aDiyEn rAmAnuja dAsan,

KOmAndUr ELayavilli KaraLapAkkam anantapadmanAbhan.

[Guest guest]

Sri:

 

 

SrimatE Gopaladesika MahadesikAya Namaha,

 

Dear Sriman Anand Swamin,

 

Adiyen is deeply pained to hear that doubts are being cast by

some uninitiated persons on the authenticity of the Lord of Seven

Hills as a Vaishnavaite deity. It was most touching to read about

your grandfather's anubhavam.

 

Please consider the following. The Varaha PuraNam glorifies the

Kshetram of Tirumalai as " VenkatAdri Samam sthAnam BrahmAndE nAsthi

kinchana Venkatesha samO deva na BhUthO na Bhavishyathi " This is

consistent with the Mahopanishad declaration " Eko ha vai NarayaNa

asIth na brahma na IshAna: " . The term Venkatesha arises from a

combination of Vem(sin), kata(to destroy) and isha(Lord). In this

context, it denotes none other than our Supreme Lord-Sriman Narayana.

H.H. Srimad Poundarikapuram Andavan Swami remarked that

" Other avatarams of the Lord like Ranganatha, Rama, Krishna, and

Varadaraja can be addressed by their name as is or with the prefix

Sri. The latter denotes either a respectful form of address as well

as the Lord's eternal association with Sri. However, for the Lord of

Seven Hills, Sri is an integral part of His name. Therefore, not only

is He forever associated with Sri through Thayar's residence in His

Vakshasthalam, but also in name. The term nivasan makes no sense

without the prefix Sri " . This alone is sufficient to establish the

fact that the Lord of Seven Hills is none other than Lord Narayana.

The Vishnu Sahasranamam glorifies him as " Srinivasa sathAngathi " and

" Sridha srIsha srinivasa sriniDhi srivibhAvana: "

 

Swami Alavandar has established that among the three Srivaishnava

Rahasyams the Lord of Seven Hills denotes the Charma Shlokam.

Eloquent testimony in this regard is seen from the posture of

the Lord's right hand pointing to His lotus feet. This is indicative

of the Lord's declaration " maam ekam sharaNam vraja " . In all the

itihasas and puraNas, our SharaNyan alone has unequivocally

assured protection at all times to those who surrender to His lotus

feet. No other deity is capable of providing this assurance. The

Sri Sooktis of Azhwars and Swami Desikan bear eloquent testimony to

this fact. Specifically, Swami NammAzhwar performed his formal

SharaNagati at the lotus feet of Lord Srinivasa. It is utter

blasphemy to suggest that our Kulapati would perform SharaNagati to

anyone other than the Supreme Lord. Kulashekara Azhwar pours out his

heart in the fourth decad of Perumal Tirumozhi and emphatically

declares " Brahma, Rudra, and Indra have attained their elevated

status as fruits of numerous yajnas performed for Lord Srinivasa.

However, even their status is transient. That which is lasting and

permanent is service to the Supreme Lord and his Bhagavatas.

Therefore, let me be the threshold step to the Garbhagruham of Your

temple from where I can behold Your lips red like coral " . Ten of

the twelve Azhwars have sung the praises of Lord Srinivasa. The

common theme of their AruLicheyals is that of unconditional, total

surrender to His lotus feet. In view of this, it is absolutely

nonsensical to cast doubts on the authenticity of the fact that the

Lord of Seven Hills is Lord Narayana alone. Adiyen hopes that

these people who cast aspersions are given a fitting reply.

 

Namo Narayana,

 

SriMuralidhara Dasan