[Fwd: Sri Ramanuja Soundaryam]

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Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra

Maha Desikaya Nama:

Sri Ramanuja Soundaryam

 

Sri Ramanuja's physical beauty is best described

through the words of one of his most ardent sishyAs,

Sri Andhra PoorNA (Sri Vaduga nambi). The latter was a

living exposition of the concept of BhAgavata nishttA,

and believed more in worshipping his living God (Sri

Ramanuja) than an Emperuman bound by archA samAdhi. In

short, this sishyA was to Sri Bhashyakara, what Sri

Madurakavi was to Sri NammAzhwAr, right down to the

tenet of " thEvu mattru ariyEn " .

 

Once, due to his Acharya's compulsion, Sri Vaduganambi

accompanied Sri Ramanuja for a mangalAsAsanam of Sri

Ranganatha. When Sri Yatiraja, captivated by the

beautiful eyes of Periaperumal, turned to his side, he

found Sri Vaduganambi gazing at him( Sri Ramanuja) in

rapt attention. When exhorted by Sri LakshmanaMuni to

concentrate on the enchanting eyes of Sri Ranganatha,

Sri Vaduganambi replied that he found the divya nEtrAs

of his own deity (Sri Ramanuja) more captivating than

those of Periaperumal.

We are used to the sight of Udayavar with anjali

baddha ( with palms together in supplication).There is

however another beautiful pose with the right palm in

the gnAna mudra or upadEsa mudra. Sri Desikan avers

that this gnAna mudra, resembling a lotus in full

bloom, looks as if Sri Ramanuja , after delving into

the esoteric depths of the Upanishads, has extracted

their essence and is holding it in his palm, for

dissemination to the devout. Here is the beautiful

sloka from Sri Etiraja saptati-

" udgrihNateem upanishatsu nigoodam arttham

chitthE nivEsayitum alpa dhiyAm svayam na:

pasyEma LakshmaNa munE:pratipanna hastAm

unnidra padma subhagAm upadEsa mudrAm " .

 

While " upamA kAlidAsasya " is the old saying,( denoting

KalidAsA's felicity with the perfect simile), after

Tooppul Pillai's avataram, it should have been

modified to " upamA Vedanta Desikasya " , for such is the

depth and variety of Swami's comparisons, be it in his

stotras, rahasyas or vyakyana grantas. In the 24th

sloka of Sri Etiraja saptati, there is another

beautiful upamAnam, this time comparing Sri Ramanuja's

gnAna mudrA with a painter's brush.

" nAtha: sa Esha yaminAm nakha rasmi jAlai:

antar nileenam apaneeya tamO madeeyam

vignAna chitram anagham likhateeva chittE

vyAkyAna kELi rasikEna karAmbujEna "

The King of sanyAsis appears before us with his right

palm in a gnAna mudrA, ready to impart tatva gnAnA. As

the Sun removes darkness from nook and corner, the

dazzling light from the nails on Sri Yatiraja's palm

cleanses even the unreachable corners of our soul of

ignorance, making it a clean canvas for Sri

Bhashyakara to paint a picture of divine truths. It is

customary for artistes to clean the surface before

proceeding with the painting: similarly, Sri Ramanuja

makes us pure and free from sin, before imparting true

knowledge. Sri Etiraja Saptati abounds with such

similes, comparing the Acharya to the Sun, the

Moon,the swan,a mountain,Sri Krishna, a magician etc.,

etc.

 

That Sri Ramanuja was a person of stunning

handsomeness and charisma, is also borne out by the

words of Sri Tirukkacchi nambi. Sri Alavandar, while

on a visit to Kanchi , having heard reports of Sri

Ramanuja's intelligence, spiritual prowess and tEjas,

expresses a desire to see him. Sri Ramanuja, then a

part of Yadavaprakasa's entourage, is pointed out by

Sri Tirukkacchinambi with the words, " that is Sri

Ramanuja, the tall, fair and handsome person with arms

reaching down to his knees (AjAnubAhu) " .

The glorious sight of Yatiraja at Sriperumboodur

makes us wonder-if the arcchA vigraham, which is at

best a replica, could be so breath-takingly

captivating, of what indescribable beauty must the

original tirumEni of Sri Bhashyakara have been ?

 

" udippana utthamar sindayuL-onnalar nenjam anji

kodittida mAri nadappana-koLLai van kuttramellAm

padittha en punkavi pAvinam poondana-pAvu tol seer

Edittalai nathan IrAmAnusan tan iNai adiyE "

 

 

Srimate SriLakshmiNrsimha diva paduka sevaka

SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana Yatindra Mahadesikaya

Nama:

-dasan, sadagopan.

 

 

 

 

 

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- SrImate rAmAnujAya namaH -

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