Sri RanganAtha Temple , Priest Quarters construction Support series : Posting XIV: Swamy Desikan Sannidhi

[Guest guest]

Sri:

 

Dear BhakthAs :

 

Today , we will spend good amount of time at

Swamy Desikan Sannidhi at the Pomona Temple .

 

Location of Swamy Desikan's Sannidhi at the Pomona Temple

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We find Swamy Desikan Sannidhi sandwiched here between the AzhwAr

Sannidhis on one side and Sri RanganAyaki Sannidhi on the other side.

As at Srirangam , Swamy Desikan has positioned himself

very close to Sri RanganAyaki's Sannidhi . From His Sannidhi ,

Swamy Desikan is also performing MangaLAsAsanam to

AchArya RaamAnuja directly across the hall . It is a powerful

grouping of AzhwArs , AchAryAs , our most merciful Mother

and the Great Acharya RaamAnujA , whose Sri Sookthis were

the nectarine , daily food of Swamy Desikan . We must recall that

Swamy Desikan had conducted Sri BhAshyam KaalakshEpams

thirty plus times in His life time .

 

Why Swamy Desikan is sitting Next to the AzhwAr Sannidhis ?

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Out of His special and undiminishing reverence for the works of

AzhwArs , Swamy Desikan defended successfully twice

the sacredness of Dhivya Prabandham . Swamy Desikan described

the dhivya Prabhandams as " Santha mihu Tamizh MaRai " .

He established that the AzhwAr's aruLiccheyalkaLs are

the distillation of the essence of Sanskritic VedAs and Upanishads

(VedAnthams) and that the dhivya pranhandhams were on

a par with Sruthi (Sanskrit Vedas and Upanishads ) , which

is one of our key pramANams .

 

Lord VaradarAjan welcomed the soundness with which Swamy

Desikan established the sanctity of the Dhivya Prabhandhams and

the unquestionable sacredness of the AzhwArs, who are dear

to the Lord . Atthigiri AruLAla PerumAL presented therefore

Swamy Desikan with one of the pair of Thirucchinnams

used during His Uthsavams . Even today , at Kaanchipuram ,

Only one Thriucchinnam is used at he Lord's uthsavams

in commemoration of this event .

 

At Srirangam , Swamy Desikan defeated the loud opponents ,

who questioned the sacredness of the Dhivya Prabhandhams

and pleased Lord RanganAthan . Swamy Desikan blessed the people

of His time with a wondeful Sri Sookthi Known as " Nigama ParimaLam "

or the Seventy Four Thousand , an exhaustive commentary on

Swamy NammAzhwAr's ThiruvAimozhi . Unfortunately , this

master piece describing at great length the Vedanthic

basis of the twelve AzhwAr's aruLiccheyalkaL is no longer

available to us.

 

Fortunately for us , Sri Sookthis like DramidOpanishad

Taathparya RathnAvaLi (DTR) and DhramidOpanishad

Saara (DS) are available to us today . They reveal the genius

of Swamy Desikan in synopsis of the decads and the centums

of Swamy NammAzhwAr's ThiruvAimozhi in Sanskrit .

He identified the ThiruvAimozhi Paasurams as Tamil

Upanishads ( DhramidOpanishad) . There are 129 slOkams

in DTR that euologize ThiruvAimozhi and provide

the summary of the 1102 Paasurams of ThiruvAimozhi.

 

The DhramidOpanishad Saaram is even more brilliant effort

by Swamy Desikan to summarize in 26 slOkams the purport

and progression of the ten sathakams ( centads) of

Swamy NammAzhwAr's ThiruvAimozhi.

 

In the 1008 slOkams of Sri RanganAtha PaadhukA Sahasram ,

Swamy Desikan extolled the glories of the PaadhukAs of

the Lord of Srirangam , which are nothing but Swamy NammAzhwAr .

 

Swamy Desikan revealed His high reverence to the Four Thousand

Sacred collect ( NaalAyira dhivya Prabhandham) through

the creation of Sri Sookthis in Tamil or MaNipravALam

or Sanskrit like " Prabhandha Saaram , MunivAhana BhOgam

( dealing with ThiruppANa AzhwAr ) and Bhagavath dhyAna

sOpAnam ( dealing with AmalanAdhipirAn Prabhandham) .

 

In His Magnum opus , Srimath Rahasya Thraya Saaram ,

Swamy Desikan quotes copiously from AzhwAr's Paasurams

to back up the doctrinal points relating to Sri VaishNavam

established by AchArya RaamAnujaa in His Sri Sookthis.

 

It is therfore no surprise to us that Swamy Desikan's

sannidhi is right next to the AzhwAr Sannidhis at

Lord RanganAthA's temple at Pomona , NY . The Brahma

tEjas of Swamy Desikan's archA vigraham at Pomona

Sannidhi is dazzling indeed .

 

As we stand before His sannidhi , we recall with profound

gratitude Swamy Desikan protecting and preserving

the commentary on AchArya RaamAnujA's Sri BhAshyam

revered as Srutha PrakAsikaa . We are indebted to Swamy

Desikan for this magnanimous and courageous act to

save this extraordinary commentary of Sudarsana Soori

and recite with gratitude , the MangaLAsAsanam of

Kumaara VaradAchAr Swamy about this event :

 

" SruthaprakAsikaa bhUmau yenaadhou PARIRAKSHITHAA

pravaaritaa ca pathrEshu tasmai SrEshthAya MangaLam "

 

The StOtrAs (Devotional Lyrics) of Swamy Desikan

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The 28 StOtra granthams of Swamy Desikan have

been composed in Sanskrit and PrAkruta languages .

Swamy's distinction as Kavi Simham is clearly evident

in these stOtrams and this talent as a poet is matched only

by His devotion to the ArchA Moorthys at Kaanchi ,

Srirangam , Thiruvaheendhrapuram, ThruttaNkaa ,

ThuruvEnkatam and Srivilliputthur . Number of these stOtrams

are also tributes to His AarAdhana Moorthys ( Lord Lakshmi

HayagrIvan , Athtigiri AruKALan ) or AchArya upadEsams

about esoteric VaishNavite doctrines .

 

The commentaries on number of the StOtrams are archived in

http://www.sadagopan.org or at Oppiliappan archives:

http://www.ibiblio.org/sripedia/oppiliappan/archives

 

Sri MadhavakkaNNan along with Sri Achutharaman

has assembled a formidable site dealing entirely with

the works of Swamy Desikan . You must visit this site

to experience the multi-sided genius of this grat AchArya :

 

http://swamydesikatripod.com/index_text.html#top

 

Personal tribute of the precocious son of Swamy Desikan ,

Sri KumAra VaradAchArya Swamy is a most moving one

and is revered as PiLLai AnthAdhi . Its URL is :

 

http://swamydesika.tripod.com/anthaadhi.html

 

What Swamy Desikan accomplished in the 101 years of

His Life marked by Bhakthi for the Lord , anushtAnam

and VairAgyam is beyond anyone's ability to describe

adequately and do justice to His bestowal of Kula dhanam

after Kula dhanam for posterity and Vaidhika Sri of

the VaishNava Community as long as there would be

the Sun and the Moon .

 

adiyEn stops here and bow deeply before the matchless

KavitArkika Simham on whose tongue Lord HayagrIvan

had His throne .

 

Swamy Desikan ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam ,

Daasan , Oppiliappan KOil VaradAchAri Sadagopan

 

Srimate Sri Laksminrisimha Divya Paduka Sevaka

Srivan Satakopa Sri Narayana Yatindra Mahadesikaya Nama: