Sri Vara Vara Muni-1

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Sri Parthasarathi thunai

 

Srimathe ramanujaya Namaha

 

Sri Vara Vara MunayE Namaha

 

Sri vAnAchala mahA munayE namaha

 

 

 

Dear bhagavatas,

 

 

 

On this auspicious day, mAsi dwAdasi, " The thiruvadhyayana dhinam " of our dear

acharya, Sri Vara Vara muni let us all remember that great soul and revered

acharya and show our obeisance to that great mahAn by meditating on his

greatness and divine athma gunas. Erumbiappa, one of the astadiggajas of Periya

Jeeyer, swamy manavAla mAmunikal sang 100 slokas adorning the divine qualities

of Jeeyer. In our sampradayam, when we say Azhvar it indicates to only

nammAzhvar, the term swamy refers only to emperumAnAr and Jeeyer is a special

term indicating Periya Jeeyer, Sri Vara Vara Muni. The slokas of erumbiappa are

called as " Vara Vara Muni sathakam " . In the very same name one another

ashtadiggaja Sri prathivAdi bayankaram anna swamy has also done 100 slokas on

the divine qualities of Sri Vara Vara Muni. Each one of these slokas is no

exaggeration and exactly portrays the greatness of our dear acharya, mAmunikal.

Jeeyer's greatness cannot be fully told with just these slokas. Even the

greatness of emperuman can be enjoyed to an extent but the greatness of our dear

acharya is totally beyond words. But still to show their bhakthi towards the

great acharya the prime disciples of Swamy sang the slokas adorning swamy.

Moreover these are great gifts given to mandhabhuddis (dull-headed people) like

us by the great disciples so as to make us cherish the divine qualities of

Jeeyer that are totally beyond our level of perseverance.

 

 

 

To just enjoy a drop from the ocean of divinity (dheebhakthyAdhi gunArnavam)

here is one such sloka. This sloka is from erumbiappa's vara vara muni

sathakam. In those days, if a child cries in the midnight and if the reason

behind the same is unpredictable then the mother used to recite this sloka that

immediately gave relief to the child and the child will sleep in peace the rest

of the night.

 

 

 

" Srimad rangam jayatu paramam dhAma tEjOnidhAnam bhoomA

 

tasmin bhavatu kushalee kOpibhoomA sahAya I

 

divyam tasmai dhishatu vibhavam dEsikO dEsikAnAm kAlE kAlE

 

vara vara muni: kalpayan mangalAni II "

 

 

 

Srimad - What is the Sri (wealth) for Srivaishnavas? The kainkarya Sri. Valmiki

did not call Lakshmana Sriman when he was in ayodhya as the prince but he called

him " Sriman " when he started with Sri rama piran to the forest. While he is

been sent out of the kingdom wearing a saffron cloth (maravuri) without anything

in hand why is valmiki calling him like that? Is he teasing lakshmana? No.

Lakshmana got the actual Sri, Rama kainkaryam only while he went with

chakravarthi thirumagan to the forest. He says, " aham sarvam karishyAmi

jAgrudha svapadaschathE " (I will do all sorts of kainkaryams to you while you

are awake or asleep). So only that kainkarya Sri is the actual Vaishnava Sri.

Similarly valmiki calls vibheeshana as Sriman when he left all the treasures in

lanka rAjyam and came with folded hands to join in the ghosti of rama piran. So

only the bhagavat/bhAgavata kainkaryam is our wealth (Sri). Swamy mAmunikal in

his Arthi prabhandam says, " nAttrAdhai som pudhalvar thammadhanrO dhAyamurai

thAn " Here he refers to the wealth of his jnana pithA, father who granted him

knowledge (swamy emperumAnAr). What is the wealth emperumAnAr has left to him?

Sriranga Kainkaryam. " mad " indicates " nithya yOgE mathupu " that is 'mad' is

used to show the permanent nature. That is the kainkaryam is not just for

sometime but it is forever ( " ozhivil kAlamellAm vudanAi manni vazhivilA

adimai " ).

 

 

 

rangam jayatu - the stage/place where the lord resides with happiness. Due to

his ultimate wish to stay amidst all of us emperuman descended from the divine

abode and stays in-between the ubhaya kaveri in Srirangam to uplift each one of

us. This is the place where all our poorvAcharyas cherished doing kainkaryam.

Only to grant us all the opportunity to enjoy the divine kainkaryam of emperuman

in this very leela vibhoothi, emperuman descended down ignoring even the great

pleasures in the nithya soori mandalam. According to Swamy parasara bhattar,

emperuman in paramapadam didn't descend to Srirangam but only the emperuman in

Srirangam stays in paramapadam. Such was the regard our acharyas had towards

this divine abode (Srirangam) of emperuman. Each day in whichever place/divya

desam we are, all of us pray for the welfare of Srirangam. " adiyArgal vAzha

aranganagar vAzha " . Since Srirangam is the head quarters of our divine ramanuja

sampradayam if it lives then it is sure for all our divya desams to live with

prosperity. The Srirangam soil has its special divinity as it talks the

greatness of each one of our acharyas whose divine feet has touched that holy

soil. So first of all swamy erumbiappa, does mangalasasanams to that divine

soil on which the great acharya lived long and spread the fragrance of

emperumAnAr darisanam throughout the world. Even when he was sick and unable to

write swamy continued his kainkaryam by doing the vyakhyanam to acharya

hrudhayam. He used to ask his shisyas to write down whatever he said. While

asked why swamy took such pain he replied, " This is the wealth that I am

preserving for the generations to come. If I see my pain today then all these

divine words of Swamy azhagiya manavala perumal nayanar will go without being

understood by the next generations and hence they will all loose the divine

treasures and remain as paupers born in a rich family " . Such was the karunai

(grace) of Sri Vara Vara muni on all of us. Surely if there was no mAmunikal's

commentary then even a single word in acharya hrudhayam will not be understood

by us. That absolute treasure would have been lost forever.

 

 

 

What can we do in return to the great help swamy has bestowed on us? Nothing

other than saying " saTakOpan tan thamizh nool vAzha manavAla mAmuniyE ennum oru

nootrAndu erum " How much ever time we repeat these words it is not enough. Let

the glory of that great acharya glitter in our minds always.

 

 

 

Let us enjoy the rest of the sloka in the next posting.

 

 

 

Alwar emperumAnAr Jeeyer thiruvadigalE sharaNam

 

Adiyen ramanuja dAsee

 

Sumithra Varadarajan