Sri Varamangai muni Vaibhavam-40

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Sri Parthasarathi thunai

Srimathe Ramanujaya Namaha

Sri Vara Vara MunayE Namaha

Sri VanAchala mahA munayE Namaha

 

SrisailEsa dayA pAthram deebhakthyAdhi gunArnavam

Yateendra pravanam vandhE ramya jAmataram munim

 

RamyajAmAtru yOgeendra pAdha rEkhA mayam sadhA

ThathAyath thAthma sadhdhAthim rAmAnuja munim bhajE

 

In the previous posting we saw that Sri Vanamamalai ramanuja jeeyer swamy

attained the divine abode of emperuman leaving his disciples in the ocean of

misery. Varada muni, ramanujam pillai and others were struck by very deep

sorrow due to the separation from swamy and they fell to ground like trees

without root and wept thinking about the glory of swamy and their state in this

world without swamy. Then consoled by all the other disciples, varada muni, the

next jeeyer of the vanamamalai mutt, appointed by swamy to perform his last

rites, went to bathe in the settruthAmarai along with the others, took a divine

dip and then returned to do thirumanjanam (divine bath) to his acharya.

 

They placed swamy on a thirumanjana seat and did the thirumanjanam along with

the recitation of purusha sooktham, dvayAnusandhAnam and other manthras. Then

they changed the vastram (dress) of Swamy and decorated him with thiruparivattam

and thirumankAppu. While everyone involved themselves in enjoying the divine

beauty of the thirumEni (body) of swamy with eyes and mind with utmost

concentration, deivanAyaka perumal sent his uduththukalaindha peedaga vAdai

(dress earlier adorned by perumal), and his garland in a golden plate.

Srivaishnavas from the deivanAyakan sannadhi carried the plate amidst the sound

of divine instruments and chatra samara honors and came in front of the mutt.

 

Varada Muni accepted the perumal mariyAdai (honors) from the srivaishnavas and

honored swamy’s vimala sarama vigraham. Then all the sannadhi kainkaryaparas,

swamy’s disciples (SripAdhaththu mudhaligal) and other sAththAdha Srivaishnavas

(those who didn’t undergo upanayanam) had the divine darshan of swamy’s body.

Everyone was grief struck. Each one started lamenting not being able to get

away from the darshan of swamy. The following were the feelings expressed by

few of them:

 

“Iyo! KannapirAn araiyO muraiyO srivaramangai veetrirundha vAnanAdanE en

kArmugil vannanE!” (Oh! my god is this fair; Oh my swamy who lived in

srivaramangai, my karmugil vannan)

 

“Anantham prathamam roopam lakshmanasthu thatha: param l balabathra:

thretheeyasthu kalau kaschit bhavishyati ll”

(Oh! swamy were you the ramanuja muni who took avatar as per the above verse? Or

were you the punarAvathAram of varavara muni? Or are you only varamangai muni,

who was like varavaramuni to ramanuja muni?

 

The shisyas submitted a number of strotras to the divine feet of swamy. A few

of them are as follows:

 

“MaththAr mannar thozhum thottaiyaikarappai, valarsamarapungavaguru, suddha

sattvam annA, EththAdhavarEththum appAchiyArannA, A-rArum kalvi nidhi erAmAnusam

pillai, kAththulagai yAdharikkum thiurkkOttiyuraiyar, kalai muzhudhum kaivandhu

kalakkAdha Jnanakkan AththAnum pallakkAl siththanum enmaru ashtagajamAgiyE,

adimai seitharulukaiyAl vanamamalai munivan pOlE desikar mAnilaththil vErundO”

 

(Vanamamalai ramanuja Jeeyer is a great acharya who has been blessed with 8

gem-like sathshisyas (close and good disciples), thottaiyaikarappai,

samarapunavaguru, suddha sattvam annA, appAchiyArannA. Eramanusan pillai,

thirukkOttiyuraiyar, Jnankkan AththAn and pallakAl siththar called the

ashtadiggajas. Is there any acharya who has such greatness?)

 

“eththanai pEr thandhai, eththanai per maindhanAi, eththanai pEr kEval thozhil

seidhEn, aththanaiyum, mAttruviththAn mangaiyil erAmAnusamunivan A-ttramula

ettu ezhuththinAl”

 

(I have become a father of many, the son of many and done a lot of jobs under

many but only ramanuja muni changed everything due to the divine power of the

ashtAkshari)

 

“mannia senjol manavalamunivan kazhal unniya kondal eramanusan enpadhangal,

thanniya nenjil tharikka vallAr avar padhaththai senniyil soodha vallAr

vinnulArilum sEriyarE”

 

(Those who have the divine feet of rAmAnusa muni, the one who has always the

divine feet of manavala muni, one filled with sweet words, in his hearts, in

their minds, those who bear the feet of such adiyars on their head are to be

considered even greater than the nithya sooris).

 

In this way, the disciples expressed the divine qualities of their acharya.

 

(To be continued)

 

Alwar EmperumAnAr jeeyar thiruvadigalE sharaNam

 

Adiyen Ramanuja dasyai

Sumithra Varadarajan

 

P.S: The earlier postings have been archived at

http://www.geocities.com/sumivaradan/General.htm

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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