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SRIRAMANUJA

AnEJournal1Aiyppasivyaya

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amunA thapanAdhiSAyi bhUmnA yathirAjENa nibaddha nAyaka SrI: mahathI guru pamkthi hAra yashTi vibudhAnAm hridayamgamA vibhAthi ||

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Table of Contents
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Introduction ............................................................................................................................................. 5 Swamy ManavAla MAmunikaL & Pillai LokAcharya .................................................................... 7 Sri ViswaksEnar (sEnApathi AzhvAn)............................................................................................. 10 Mudal AzhwArgal (The First AzhwArs) .......................................................................................... 13 Mudal AzhwArgal Greatness ............................................................................................................. 16 Sri Pinpazhagiya PerumAl Jeeyer & Sri Naduvil Thiruveedhipillai ....................................... 20 Sri Vilancholai Pillai ............................................................................................................................ 24 SrI Kurakulotthama Dasar .................................................................................................................. 27 SrI Thirukkurukai pirAn piLLAn ..................................................................................................... 28 SrI Erumbiappa ..................................................................................................................................... 29

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Editorial
The RamAnuja E-Journal is being commenced from this divine month -Aippasi-vyAya varusham. The e-journal's main aim is to commemorate the Thirunakshathram-s of AzvAr-AchAryas in the form discussion of the historical events, dates of the current year, of their divine works-commentaries, texts,pictures and so on. It is hoped that this journal will act as a catalyst in kindling the emotions of the devotees and precipitate thier inner feelings to manifest into celebrations at their places of residence as we are geographically divided. The celebration can be united as we are electronically integrated-thanks to the web and netservices and groups.This perhaps, will quench the thirst for bhagavatha/bhagavAtha anubhavham. Sri ANDAL advocated group devotion rather than bakthi in isolated manner. We are achieving this here. This mutual 'anubhavam-s' is expected to enrich one and all and enhance the divine experience, in the weeks and months to follow: 'bOdhayantha parasparam' KUdi irundhu kuLirndhEalOAr EmpAvAi' vara vara muni dasargaL

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1. Introduction
aippasiyil ONam avittam sadhayam ivai * oppilavA nALgaL vulagathEr ! *eppuviyum pEAsu pugazh poigaiyAr bhUdhathAr pEAy AzvAr * thEsudanEA thONRu siRappal. - upAdEsa Rathina mAlai - 6 The month Aippasi represents a great divine month. This month is rich with thirunakshathram s of many AzhwArs and AchAryAs. Sri MaNavALa mAmunikaL, in his work upadEsa Rathina mAlai lists out the thirunakshathram of Mudhal AzvArgaL as Aippasiyil ONam, avittam and sadhyam the three consecutive divine days.

The important dates for this month:

Swamy manavAla mAmunikaL Sri VishwaksEnar SrI Thirukkurukai pirAn piLLAn Sri PoigaiyAr and SvAmi pILLai lOkAchAR Sri BhUdanthAzhvAr Sri NaduvilthiruvEEdhippillai Sri PEai AzhvAR Sri PinpazhagiaperumAl Jeeyar Sri Vilancholai Pillai SrI Erumbiappa SrI Kurakulotthama Dasar 27.10.2006 28.10.2006 28.10.2006 30.10.2006 31.10.2006 31.10.2006 01.11.2006 01.11.2006 03.11.2006 04.11.2006 09.11.2006

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It is customary in temples and thirumALigais (Acharyas house) to perform the divine bath, thirumanjanam of the AchaRya/AzhvAr followed by thiruppAvai and svap prabhandham (Divine work of respective AzhvArs) PoigaiAzhvAr--ThiruvONam - ThiruppAvai and Mudhal ThiruvandhAdhi BhUdathuAzhvAr - Avittam- ThiruppAvai and iraNDAm ThiruvandhAdhi PEAiAZhvAr --Sadhayam- ThiruppAvai and MUNRam ThiruvandhAdhi. VishvaksEnar- - PUrADAm - irAmAnusa NuTrandhadhi. Sri PiLLai lOkAchAryAr - ThiruvONam - along with Poigai AzhvAr. Sri MaNavALa mAmunikaL- mUlam -ThiruppAvai -upadEsa rathinamAlai and thiruvAimozhi nUtrandhAdhi In thiruvallikkEANi usually thirunakshathirams are celebrated in this manner. However, if there is a ten-day utsavam, the utsava kramam (procedure) is also followed. For instance for Periya JEyar utsavam - nAlAyiram -4000 is chanted on a daily basis culminating on the final day. For those AzhvAr-AchAryas where the utsavam is not celebrated for 10 days, kOil thiruvAimozhi is chanted after PerumAL purappADu (Procession) along with the respective AzhvAr AchArya in the evenings. For instance in case of BhUdathAzhvAr - kOil thiruvAimozhi is chanted. Let us remember the greatness of these divine souls who had the blessings of EmperumAn and celebrate and also remember their invaluable sacrifices. vachana bUdanathin sErmai onRukkillai pugazh alla iv-vArthai mei ippOdhu . - upadesa rathinamAlai - 53 (Meaning: There is none that can match the greatness of SrivachanabhUshanam and this is not just words of praise but definitive truth)

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2. Swamy ManavAla MAmunikaL & Pillai LokAcharya

The ten-day Sri maNavALa mAmunikaL utsavam culminated in a very grand manner on 27.10.2006. Sri Mudhal AzvArgal utsavam and PiLlai VulagAsiryar utsavam immediately followed. Sri piLLai LOkAchAr while explaining the praNavartham in mumUshuppadi, quotes from mudhal thriuvandhAdhi. iththAl "thAmaraiyAL kELvan oruvanaiyE nOkkum uNarve"enRathAyiRRu - mumukshuppadi - 73 The pranavArtham basically sums up the relationship between the Atman and the Supreme. 'ThAmaraiyAL kEALvan oruvanaiyEa nOKKum vuNarvu' - mudhal ThiruvandhAdhi - 67 By mentioning thAmaraiyAL kEaLvan the nature of 'akAra vAsyan' (One who is explained by the letter akAra) namely Sriyappadhi is underlined. Further, oruvanaiyEa nOkkum vuNarvu emphasizes the ananyArha sEshathvam i.e. subservience to EmperumAn and nobody else. This is the nature of Atman. Thus the Sriyappadhi and the Atma and their relationship is wonderfully brought about from the mudhal thiruvandhAdhi verse The text of Mumukshuppadi of Sri PiLLai vulagAsiriyar, the quote of Sri Poigai AzvAr-mudhal thiruvandhAdhi 67 and the commentary of Periya jEyar are apt food for thought in this month of their thirunakshathirams.

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swAmi piLLai lOkAchAryar (CE 1205-1325) during his 801th Thirunakshatram in SrIrangam.

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From periya jeeyars Commentary for mumukshuppadi

__._,_.___ viSadavAksh SikhAmaNikaL at AzhvAr thriunagari

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3. Sri ViswaksEnar (sEnApathi AzhvAn)

AippaSi pUrADam- thirunakshathram of sEnApathi AzhvAn tulAkathEdinagarE poorvAshAdA samudhbhavam padmApadhAmbhujAsak tham sEnAdhipamaham bhajE is a thaniyan used to salute SrI sEnApathi AzhvAn or SrI vishvakshEna in our Guru-parampara. In the SrIvaishNava sampradAyam, Guruparmpara the position of SrIvishvakshEna is third in the line. Tradition has it SrIyaHpathi SrIman nArAyaNan, did the rahasya upadESam to periya pirATTiyAr SrImahAlakshmi, and she did upadESam to SrI vishvakshEna, and Through vishvakshEna, EmperumAn did panchasamskAram to swAmi nammAzhvAr. Hence, the thirunakshathram of the commander in chief of the ubhaya vibhUthi is very much of importance to us. On this auspicious day let us try to glimpse through the passing remarks given by our pUrvAchAryas about this grand Acharya. He is often portrayed in the divya mangaLavigraham, as chathurbAhu, holding, conch, chakram, and having his left hand holding a cane, or a whip, or a chenkOl, and his right hand showing a special mudra called Anguli mudra. This is wonderfully paraSarabhattar portrayed in srIranga rAja sthavam, by swami

SrIrangachandramasa indhirayA viharthum vinyasya viSva chitha chinnayanAdhikAram | yO nirvahathya nisamanguli mudrayaiva senAnyamanyavimukAs thama SriyAma || In this slokam SENai mudhalaiyAr is being worshipped and revered. The whole prapancham is to be administered by EmperumAn. VishwakSEnar, spells out thus " svAmi! dhEvarEr need not bother; You can be with Periya PirATTiyAr. adiyEan will take care of these duties' and the Lord Almighty accordingly delegates these on him. Sri VishwaksEnar' s anguLi mudhirai -which is seen in his vigraham-srepresents this administration under his regime. The well known SrI vishNu sahasranAmam, salutes sEnApathi Azhvan, in the second invocatory verse as the remover of obstacles. Yasya dviravakthrAdya pArishadyA paraSSadam Vighnam nighnanthi Sathatham vishvakshEnam thmASrayE ||

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In Edu 36000ppadi commentary for thiruvAymozhi nampiLLAi refers emperuman himself as "Viswaksenar pirambin kEzhEa vaLarnadha thathuvam" Meaning the philosophy grown under the strict regime of Sri Visvaksenar

SrI vishvaksEnar at ThiruvELukkai divyadEsam Often in our pUrvAchArya commentaries he is portrayed as an age old prime minister to whom EmperumAn transferred all the duties and takes pleasure with pirATTI's. Whenever SrI vishvaksEna makes an entry without notice, pirATTi's go and hide, out of great respect to the age old manthri. Among the nithya sUrIs, and mukthAs, VishvaksEna is the chieftain. In Every temple, he is the custodian of EmperumAn's prasAdam. That is ,whenever the thaLigai (offerings) is offered to EmperumAn, immediately afterwards, it is offered to vishvakshEna. Hence, he bears, the name SEshASana(not to be confused with sEshAsana) meaning, one who part takes the remaining food. Remember the SEsha SEshASana garuDa pramukha chUrNai in SaraNagathi gadyam.

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In Kerala DD's, Thanthra samucchayam, kriyA paTalam, addresses him as nirmAlya dhAri. Meaning the same, SEshASana . His presence is inevitable in all utsavams, and his extreme importance is seen in SrIpAncharArtha Agama itself, having an important portion of it named after himself as vishvaksEna samhitha. In sthOthra rathnam, swAmi ALavanthAr points out thvadIya bhukthOjhitha SEsha bhOjinaa thvayaa nisRshtha aathma bharENa yadyathhaa. priyeNa senaapathinaanyavEd i thath thathhaanu jaanantha mudaara viixaNaiH Who approves with noble glance whatever communication is brought to You by your beloved chief of hosts (Vishvaksenar) , who partakes of the remnants of Your food, and on whom has been bestowed the charge (of Your sovereignty) . swAmi dESikan praises the vishvaksEna in several SrI sUkthIs in dayA Sathakam it goes like this anEka vighna samanam aneekEswaram AshrayE sreemata: karuNAmbOdhou sikshA srOta ivOtthitam salutations to vishvaksEna, who is like a canal, originating from the ocean of mercy of the lord, He has been given the power to chastise and correct the erring chEthanams to remove the obstacles that stand in the way of their travel through the path of light to reach Bhagavan's supreme abode. In yathirAja sapthathi it goes like this VandE VaikuNDa sEnAnyam dEvam SootravatI sakham yat vEtra shikara: spande visvam Etat vyavastthitam I pay my respects to Vishvaksena, the Consort of Soothravathi. He is the Commander-in- chief of the Lord. At the tip of His disciplining ward (whip) the whole universe stays put in proper place and is rightly led on. And above all, when swAmi nammAzhvar expresses his deep anguish for kainkaryam, in the ozhivil kAlamellAm pathikam he remembers immediately about vishvakshEna. vAnavar vAnavarkOnoDum chinthu pUmakizhum thiruvEnkaTam [Nithyasooris along with the king of nithyasooris, vishvaksana enjoy doing kainkarya, in the thirumala filled with scattered flowers]

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4. Mudal AzhwArgal (The First AzhwArs)

aippasiyil onam -avittam-sadyhyam ivai oppilava nalgal vulagather eppuviyum peasu pugazh poigaizhar budathar peaiazvar theasudanea thonru sirappal - upAdEsa Rathina mAlai - 6 There is a widely prevalent misconception that AzhvArs are the incarnation of various nitya sooris. The sUthram-s 92, 93 and 94 of AchArya Hrdhaym of Sri Azhagai ManvALap perumAL nAyanAr changed the perception People were contemplating in the following lines, after the avataram of swamy Nammazhwar. On seeing the prabhavam of Azhwar everyone wonders whether he is the amsa of one of the most utthama Brahmana maharishi Athiri' s son daddAthrEya in krithayuga or Jamadagni's son swamy parasuramA or the Kshatriya born King Dasaratha's son Sri RAmA in Treta yuga or King Vasudeva's son Sri Krishna in Dwapara yuga or Sage Vyasa or some Nitya soori's avatara. Sri Azhagia MaNavALap perumAL nAyanAr categorically rejects all these and concludes swamy NammAzhwAr (and thereby all the azhwArs , as all azhvars are considered to be the angas (body) of the angi (soul) nammazhvar) as jEEvAthmAs due to the following reasons: --EmperumAn took various steps for the upliftment of the jeevAtmas from this miserable world such as, He gave the senses to the jeevAthmAs so that they can turn towards, him, but it so happened that they got lost in all the other attractions/ distractions and got immersed in the infinite loop of the samsara the cycle of birth and death. Secondly, with very deep compassion and pity, to bring them back to the right path, He gave all the shAshtras and Vedas and to simplify them he also gave the Veda angAs. All these however, seemed futile. Third, seeing His indirect attempts failing, He himself took the field by taking the Rama and Krishna Avatars. But people dismissed Rama as a human being undergoing all the sufferings in tandem to all the other jeevAthmAs in the world and dismissed Krishna to be a magician.

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Going by the experience that an animal can be tamed only by another animal; he showered his unconditional grace on a set of jeevathmas and gave them the void less Knowledge to be renowned as AzhwArs. This idea is well reflected in the Thiruvirutham commentary avatharikai by Sri Periya vAchAn piLLai and 1st sriyappathi padi of nampillai Edu. Since these selected few are very deeply immersed in the kalyaNa guNAs of emperumAn, they are called as AzhwArs (tamil meaning for Azhthal is to get immersed). In srivaishnava sampradAya, AzhwArs are ten in number they are Poigai Azhwar Bhoodath Azhwar pEyazhwar Thirumazhisai AzhwAr Swamy NammazhwAr KulasEkara AzhwAr PeriyAzhwAr Thondaradipodi AzhwAr ThirupAnAzhwar Thirumangai Azhwar

In addition to the above, the thiruvadi nilai (divine paduka) of swamy NammAzhwar - Swamy Madurakavi aZhwar and PeriyAzwAr's daughter - Sri AndAl are also included to make their count as twelve. Of the above twelve, the first three - Poigai Azhwar, Bhoodath azhwAr and pEyazhwAr draw a special mention for this post, since their thirunakshatrams fall in the current month Iyappasi. These three called as mudal (first) AzhwArs, were not only contemporaries but were also born on three consecutive days in SiddhArti year, Aiyppasi month on TiruvONam, Avittam and sadhayam nakshathrams respectively and they were born as ayOnijars (birth not from a womb of a mother). Their birth was actually on various flowers. poigaiAzhwAr, was born (made to appear by the Lord) in kancheepuram, while bhoodaththAr in mahabalipuram and pEyAzhwAr in thirumayilai (present Mylapore). All the three avatara stalams are in and around Chennai. SvAmi maNavALa mAmunikaL in his upadEsa rethinamAlai summarises the reason for these three apostles to be known as mudhal AzvAr-s.

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They descended on this earth before other AzvAr-s and blessed us with divine teachings in wonderful tamil. Hence, they are known as 'mudhal AzvArgaL' mathuLLa AzvArgaLukku munnEA vandhuthithu nATRamizhAl nUl seydhu nATTai vuitha* pETRimayOrEnRu mudhal AzvArgaL ennum pEAr ivaRkku ninRadhulagathEa nigazndhu. -upadesa rethinamalai 7 They composed the first three divya prabandhams of 4000. 1. PoigaiAzhwAr composed the first 100 pAsurams named "mudhal thiruvandhAdhi " (andhAdhi means the first word of one verse will be last word of the previous verse) starting with: vaiyam thagaliyA, vArkadlE neyyAga veyyakkadirOn viLakkAga sudarAzhiyAn adikkE soottinEn sol mAlai IdarAzhi neengugavE enRu -mudal thiruvandhAdhi -1

Meaning: I light the lamp of earth with the ocean as the ghee and the sun as the flame to have the divine darshan of the divine feet of that lord with the glittering chakra in his hand and make this garland of praise in order to get rid of my hurdles. 2. BhoodaththAzhwAr composed thiruvandhAdhi " starting with: the second 100 pAsurams "irandAm

anbE thagaliyA, ArvamE neyyAga inburugu sindhai idu thiriyA naNpurugi GnAna chudar viLakku EtrinEn nAranarkku Gnana thamizh purindha nAn. -irandAm thiruvandhAdhi -1

Meaning: Me, who has done these verses in Tamil lit the lamp of knowledge, with love as the lamp, my desire (interest) as the ghee and devoted mind as the twig immersed in devotion to narayana. 3. PEyAzhwAr composed the third 100 called "moonRAm thiruvandhAdhi", with ThirukkaNdEn, ponmEni kaNdEn- thigazhum

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arukkan ani niRamum kaNdEn-seruk kiLaRum ponAzhi kaNdEn puri sangham kai kaNdEn en Azhi vaNNan pAl inRu -mOOndrAm thiruvandhAdhi -1

Meaning: I saw the beautiful divine mother, Sri Mahalakshmi followed by his divine body and then the beautiful color and the sanghu chakra in the divine hands of that lord who is glittering with the color of the dark clouds. Para-bhakthi, Para-gnAnam and Parama-bhakthi are three different stages in devotion towards the lord almighty. The first three azhvars exhibited these three stages respectively. Poigaiazhvar showed para bhakthi, bhoodathAzhvar paragnAnam and pEyAzhvar the parama-bhakthi. Para bhakthi is getting introduced to the lord and developing devotion towards him. Para gnAnam is getting into deeper relationship with the lord and realizing that he is our soul. Parama bhakthi is the stage where one cannot exist without the union with the lord. Though all the azhvars had utmost devotion they exhibited these stages as per the wish of the lord himself. On these divine days (Iyppasiyil Onam, avittam, sadhayam) let us all remember the greatness of the first three azhvars and join together to sing mangalasasanams to them. Mudal

5. Mudal AzhwArgal Greatness

Poigai Azhvar (Iyppasi thiruvonam) "tulAyAm sravanE jAtham kAnchyAm kAnjanavArijAthI dvAparE pAnchajanyAmsam sarOyOgi na mAsrayE II" As per the words of the great Tamil poetess ovvaiyar, who proclaimed in unequivocal terms - "thirumAlukku adimai sei-teNNeer vayal toNdai nannAdu sAndrOrudaiththu" meaning: thoNdai maNdalam is the place of great scholars with exceptional capabilities in education, principles and qualities. Kanchipuram adorned as "mukthi tarum nagarEzhil mukkiyamAm kachi" (Out of the seven cities which grant Moksha, kanchee is the most important) and "kAsi mudhalAgiya nannagaramellAm kArmEni arulAlar kachchikku ovvA" (Places like Kasi cannot be equated to the abode of kArmEni arulAlar, Kancheepuram) is one of the important divyadesams in thondai mandalam. Also in this place runs the river vEgavathi. In the southern banks of vEgavathi lies the divya desam

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thiruvekka, the divine abode of yethOththakAri emperuman. To the northern side of this sannadhi, in the pond with crystal clear water like the heart of great saints, poigai azhwAr, the first among the mudal azhwArs appeared in a beautiful lotus flower on an Iyppasi sravana day. Being born in a pond (tamil equivalent is poigai) he is called as poigai-Azhvar. Seeing his divine qualities the elders remembered him to be a reflection of the panchajanya, the divine conch of the supreme Sriman Narayana.

Poygai AzhvAr (kAnchIpuram) BhoothatAzhvar (Iyppasi avittam ) "tulAtanishtA sambhootham bhootham kallOla mAlina: deerE pullOthpalE mallApuryA meedE gadhAmsajam II" BhoodhatAzhvar was also born in thoNdai maNdalam near the sea shores of a town called thirukkadalmallai (famously called mahabalipuram) in a kurukaththi flower in Iyppasi avitta star. Astounded by azhvars vaibhavams, elders got reminded of the nityasuri kowmOdhaki (gadha). His name was derived from the Sanskrit root bhoo-saththAyAm. The word Bhootham means "that which has gained strength". This Azhvar gained his strength by enjoying the divine qualities of the Almighty and hence is celebrated as bhoothatAzhvar. The same meaning has been given by our poorvacharyas in the commentary to thiruvaimozhi (5-2-1) " kadalvaNNan bhootham"

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bhUthatthAzhvAr (ThirukkaDal mallai) PeyAzhvar (Iyppasi sadhayam ) "tulAsadabhishak jAtham mayoorapuri kairavAt I mahAntham mahathAyAtham vandhE srinandakAmsajam II" In the same thoNdai maNdalam, that has 22 divya desams under its umbrella, peyazhvar took birth in a place called thirumayilai (also called as Mylapore in Chennai) in the southern side of the divya desam thiruvallikeni. He was actually born in a red lilly flower in a well on a Iyppasi sadhayam star. Flabbergasted by his divine qualities elders thought him to be a amsa of nandhakam (vAl). Due to his very deep devotion towards sriman Narayana, he cried, laughed, screamed and became silent without any reasons which made people to think of him as crazy. His behaviour defied any logic and couldn't be understood by common people. Hence he was called peyAzhvar. When compared to the other Azhvars peyAzhvar's paramabhakthi was more explicit and overflowing. Not stopping with just singing about the EmperumAn, he also involved himself in correcting (thiruthi-p paNi koLLal) thirumazhisai piran and getting him into fold and hence he is also celebrated as mahathA:vayar

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Sri Thiruvarangathamudh anAr celebrates him as 'thamizhthalaivan'

pEyAzhvAr (Mylapore) Mudal AzhwAr's vaibhavam Just like rAmA, lakshmanA and bharathA the mudhal Azhvars were also born on three consecutive days, as ayonijars( not born from a mother's womb). As per the order of the srivaikundanatha senai mudaliyar did pancha samskara and also gave the meaning of thirumanthram. These azhvars as per the verse "mukgunaththirandava i agaRRi, ondrinil ondRi nindRu " got rid of the rajo and tamo gunas and were filled only with sathva guna. They considered doing kainkaryam (divine service) to the lord as their sole motto and remained with jnana, bhakthi and vairakya. ("vuNNum sOru parugu neer thiNNm veRRilaiyu mellAm Kannan" whatever they ate, drank and enjoyed were only Krishna). They never mixed with this world where people ran after food and shelter/dress (vundiyE vudaiyE vugandOdum mandalam) and hence kept on moving from one place to another. They were roaming around nor knowing each other. It was the Lord's divine sankalpa to make them meet and wanted to uplift the world through them. One day they met in thirukkovaloor. It was pouring heavily and first wanting to find shelter, poigaiazhvar entered the mrugandu

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maharishi's thirumAligai (divine place of existence) and rested in the corridor (edaikazhi). Then came bhoodhadh azhwAr. As per sastra, vaishnavO vaishnavam drishtvA thandavath praNamEth puvi" (whenever two vaishnavas meet they are supposed to prostrate each other) both of them prostrated each other. Actually the corridor was enough for one person to lie down but if two are present, they can only sit. As per the situation, both of them sat down and started discussing on the bhagavat kalyAna gunAs. Now it is the turn of pEyAzhwAr and he entered the scene. They all prostrated each other, and all decided to stand and continue the foregoing discussion, as the corridor was barely enough for one person to lie down or two to sit or three to stand. The lord, who measured all the worlds with his divine feet, now got deeply interested in joining this great bhagavata goshti. He increased the downpour and the darkness and went and joined the divine three by squeezing his way into the corridor as the place had barely place for four. The mudal azhwars first, couldn't guess the sudden shortage of space. To find out the unknown intruder in their divine anubhavam, Poigai AzhwAr lit a lamp with the earth as the lamp (Container), ocean as the ghee and the sun as the lamp. (vaiyam thagaLiyA -vArkadalEa neiyyAga) Bhoodath azhwAr followed suite by lighting a lamp of knowledge with love as the lamp, desire as the ghee and the mind as the twig. (anbEa thagaLiyA ArvamEa neiyyAga) In the light of the above two lamps, pEzhwAr had the divine darshan of the lord with his consort and sang the mangalAsasanam as " thirukkandEn ponmEni kandEn. The azhwArs getting ecstatic on this divine darshan, expressed the same as divya prabhandams for the benefit of the whole world. Thereby emerged the first three andhAdhis. Then the three azhvars prostrated the thirukovaloor dehaleesa perumal otherwise called as Ayan and continued to do their mangalasasanams to many other divya desams and due to their yoga balam stayed in this world for thousands of years thereafter and uplifted everyone. sen-thamizh pAduvAr ThiruvadigaLE charaNam

6. Sri Pinpazhagiya PerumAl Jeeyer & Sri Naduvil Thiruveedhipillai

Naduvil thiruveedhipillai (Iyppasi avittam)

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" tulA tanishtA sambhootham SriLOkAryapadhAsrit ham I bhattanAdha gurO: puttram veedhibhattArya mAsrayE" II Naduvil thiruveedhi bhattar was a descendant of Sri Parasara bhattar and a great scholar during the time of swamy Nampillai. Since he was born in a great clan of Bhattar, he couldn't accept others crediting svAmi Nampillai as Lokacharya and was filled with jealousy. Once he went to the court of the king. The king was highly knowledgeable and he had a practice of questioning scholars who come to his court from Ramayana. The king similarly questioned Naduvil thiruveedhi bhattar as follows, "In the Ramavatara the Lord hid all his divine qualities and capabilities and came to this world. When that is the case how did he grant moksha to jaTayu as per the verse, 'mayA tvam samanujnyAthO gachcha lOkAn anuththamAn'" Bhattar couldn't think of a satisfactory answer for this question. Fortunately the king was also engaged with some other activity and Naduvil thiruveedhi bhattar happened to take a disciple of Sri Nampillai with him on that day. He asked the disciple "How will nampillai answer this question?" The disciple replied " satyEna lOkAn jayathi"-Nampillai will answer with this sloka". Naduvil thiruveedhi bhattar immediately understood the answer and did an elaborate upanyasa in front of the king. The king was exhilarated hearing the same and he honoured Naduvil thiruveedhi bhattar largely. Immediately Naduvil thiruveedhi bhattar went straight to nampillai's place and submitted everything to nampillai's divine feet and said, "All these are outcomes of a meaning that spilled from your innumerable srisookthis. So now please accept me" and fell like uprooted tree under the divine feet of nampillai. From then Naduvil thiruveedhi bhattar became a very close disciple of nampillai and he noted down all the divine meanings given by swamy nampillai and prepared a big book (laksha grantha). Pinpazhagiya perumAl Jeeyer (Iyppasi sadhayam ) "tulA sadhabhishak jAtham srilOkArya padhAsritham I jnAnAdhi bhooshaNam vandhE paschAt sundaradEsikam II" Though nampillai had a number of disciples, the acharya bhakthi of Sri Pinpazhagiya perumAL jEyar was extraordinary. Swamy manavala mAmunikal in his upadesaratinamalai says, " pinpazhagarAm perumAl jeeyer perundivaththil anbadhuvu maRRu mikka vAsiyinAl nampillaikku Ana vadimaigal sei annilaiyai nannenjE! Voonamara eppozhudhum Or" Sri Pinpazhagiay perumAL jEyar once got ill and he requested some srivaishnavas, "since I don't want to ascend to paramapadam now please go to the

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lord pray for me, reciting Ezhai Adhalan and Azhi ezha paasurams" The Srivaishnavas followed and due to the lord's divine grace he got well. Some Srivaishnavas went to nampillai and enquired about the act of Sri Pinpazhagiya perumAL jEyar "He is such an elderly person both in age and knowledge. Whatever he has done now does it suite his svaroopa?" Does it behove the nature of Athman to seek something from EmperumAn especially for the sake of living more years in this earth?

nampiLLAi Edu kAlakshEpa gOshTi in SrIrangam A series of dialogues that goes on after this is very interesting. Nampillai: I don't know his intent go and ask engalAzhvan EngalAzhvan : Oh! Probably it is due to his love towards Srirangam

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(Srivaishnavas came back to nampillai) Nampillai: Good. Now go and ask thirunarayapurathth araiyar Araiyar: Probably he feels that he hasn't yet completed the kainkaryams started here (Nampillai then sent them to ammangiammal) Ammangiammal: Oh! Will anyone who has enjoyed being in association with nampillai and enjoyed the nectar of nampillai delivering bhagavat vishayam ever want to go to paramapadam? (Nampillai then sent them to ammangi periyamudaliyar) Ammangiperiyamudali yar: Bhattar told that if he didn't find the beautiful reddish thirumukamandalam of namperuman with the kasturi thirunamam in vaikundam he will poke a hole in a corner and jump down to Srirangam. Probably even PPJ is afraid to get separated from namperumal. (The Srivaishnavas returned back. Now nampillai smiled at Sri Pinpazhagiya perumAL jEyar PPJ ) Nampillai: so which of these is your thought PPJ: None of these Nampillai: Then I know what your thought is PPJ: You are our acharya who knows everything but if you want adiyen to give it out, here is my actual intent. When swamy (nampillai) goes to have his divine bath and after the divine bath swamy walks wearing the pure veshti and uttariyam the darshan of the face with droplets of sweat and adiyen going around doing kainkaryam Oh! Can I ever think of leaving this great bhakyam? Will going to paramapadam ever be in my thoughts? Listening to this all the Srivaishnavas uttered with ecstasy, "Oh! This is something that can be done ONLY WITH THIS BODY" One day when nampillai finished his bhagavat vishaya kalashepa ghosti, PPJ prostrated swamy and asked, "swamy! Please tell adiyen what is the svaroopa, upaya, upeya, purushartha to this athma"

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Nampillai: Interest (echchai) is svaroopa; Mercy (erakkam) is upaya; sweetness (enimai) upeya; PPJ: Adiyen doesn't think so; Nampillai: what is your theory then? PPJ: Devareer's thiruvadi (your esteemed selfs divine feet) is my refuge; My svaroopa is to be a servant to the devotees; Srivaishnava abhimana-upaya; Their blossoming face (smile due to happiness and pleasure) is upeya. Nampillai was exhilarated to hear these words of Sri Pinpazhagiya perumAL jEyar PPJ.

7. Sri VilAnchOlai Pillai

Thirunakshathram - AippaSi uthraTTAthi (November 3rd 2006) vAzhi nalam thikazh nAraNathAthan aruL vAzhi avan amudha vAymozhikaL vAzhiyE ERu thiruvuTaiyAn enthai ulagAriyan sol thERu thiruvuTaiyAn sIr Sri viLanchOlai piLLai a prominent disciple of Sri PiLLai lOkAchArya -was deeply devoted to his AchArya. He was instrumental in teaching Sri vachana bhUshaNa divya sAsthram to TiruvAimozhi-p-piLLai which later on paved way to go into the heart and mind of svAmi MaNavALa mAmunikaL. Swami vilAnchOlai piLLai or SrI Nalanthigazh nArAyaNa dAsar, hails from Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala. He was born in the Pulaya community. He went all the way to Srirangam and learnt all the sastrA-s and prabandham-s from Swami piLLai lOkAcharyar. Even though not born in a Brahmin community swami piLLai lOkAchAryar accepted Sri vilAnchOlai piLLai as a stalwart sishya. Swami vilAnchOlai piLLai was with swami piLLai lOkAchAryar in the final moments at jyothishkuDi, where swami lOkAchAryar commanded him to go to Thiruvananthapuram and stay there. viLAnchOlai piLLayE thirumEniyaLavAka thiruvanthapuratthilE ezhuntharuLi irukkum paTi niyamittharuLi .Thus says Yatheendra praVaNa prabhAvam (YPP)

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sri vilAnchOlai piLLai summarized the essence of the SrIVachana bhUshaNa divya SAsthram, into 7 pasurams in anthAthi style. This prabandham is called saptha gAdhai. Starting with ampon arankarkkum Avikkum antharamgga sambandham kATTi thaTai kATTi umbar thivam ennum vAzhvukku cErntha neRi kATTum avan anRO AchAryan (1) saptha gAdhai (Commencing with the greatness and definiton of AchAryan -refer SrI-vachana bhUshaNa divya sasthram -reg. this nErE AchAryan enpathu samsAra nivartthakamAna periya thirumanthratthai upadESitthavanai - 315 SrIvachanabhUshaNam Acharyan is one who teaches thirumanthram -which leads to removal of the Atman from the samsAram) The fifth pasuram is almost an exact description of suthram-s like vITTinba inbappAkkaLil dravya bhAshA nirUpaNa samam inpamAriyilArAychi 75 AchArya hridayam (vITTinbam emperuman at individuals home, inbappA thiruvAy mozhi, inbamAri nammAzvAr ) 194. bhaakavathaapacaaram thaan anEka vidham. 195. athilE onRu avar_kaL pakkal Janma nirupaNam. 196. ithuthaan ar_cchaavathaaraththil upaadhaana smrthiyilumkaaTTil kruuram. - SrIvanchana bhUshanam en pakkal OdhinAr innAr enum iyal_vum en pakkal nanmai enum iyal_vum man pakkal sEvippArkku anbuTaiyOr janma nirUpaNamum AvikkE nErE azhukku (5) saptha gAdhai ThiruvAymozhi piLLAi went to thiruvananthapuram since the command of swami piLLai lOkAchAryar to thiruvAymozhi piLLAi was to go to vilAnchOlai piLLAi and learn viSeShArtham. Accordingly thiruvaymozhi piLLai met sri vilAnchOlai piLLai and mastered SrIvachanabhUshanam. (Perhaps, this was the forerunner to Periya Jeyar authoring the vyAkyAnam for SrI vachana bhUshaNa divya sAsthram) Sri vilAnchOlai piLLai also gave him saptha gAthai. The incident of the meeting is beautifully described in YPP as, SrI Thirumalai azhvar saw srivilancholai piLLai deeply meditating in samAdhi, keeping the mind in the srisukthis of swami piLLai lOkAcharyar, and it took few days (nAlAru dinangaL (YPP)) to open his eyes and ask thiruvaymozhi piLLai who you are and why did you

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came?. YPP describes, Sri piLLai was so deeply in the samAdhi that, spider webs were found on his thirumEni.

Rahasya grantha kAlakshEpam of swAmi piLLailOkAcharyar in Srirangam Since swami viLAnchOlai piLLai was already deeply moved in paramabhakthi stage, soon he ascended to parama padam. YPP describes a wonderful incident of the day of Ascension. The Nambis (kainkarya paraL of thiruvananthapuram temple are called with the name nambi, there are 5 nambis for the nithya kainkaryam) went to open the sanctum door for SrIpadmanabhan for thiruvaradhanam and saw swami ViLAnchOlai piLLai standing with Folded hands, in the ThiruvaDi of anantha padmanabhan, they wondered themselves telling, Look That pulaya viLAnchOlai piLLai is inside the sanctum we should not go there and they closed the doors and came out. The moment they came out the Sishya mudhalis of Sri vilAnchOlai piLLai came in front of the temple announcing

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viLAnchOlai piLLai lOkAchAryar thiruvaTichErnthAr,[vilAncholai pillai has attained the divine feet of Pillai lokAcharyar] and chanting irAmAnuja nUtthanthAdhi, and asking for thirupparivatttam and thirumaalai to be adorned to the Chamrama thirumEni. Seeing this nambis were wonder stuck and explained them the miracle they have seen inside the sanctum sanctorum to every one. When the news came to AzhvAr thirunagari. SrI ThiruvAymozhi piLLai did the rest of charma kainkaryams to sri vilAnchOlai piLLai like a son does to his father. nalan thigazh nAraNan adikk kEzh nannuvArEA

8. SrI KurakulOtthama DAsar

Thirunakshathram: aippaSi Thiruvathirai , November 9th lOkAchArya kripApAthram kauNdinya kulabhUshaNam samasthAthma guNAvAsam vandE kUrakulOtthamam Koorakulothama dasa's avatara was in Srirangam, in Koundinya gotra, in Ipasi tiruvadirai. He got panchasamskara from Vadakku thiruveedi pillai. Tiruvoimozhi with commentaries, Sribhasya, Srutaprakasika were all blessed to him by Sri Pillai lokacharya. Rahasyas were blessed by Azhagia manavala perumal nayanar. During the devastation of CE 1325, when namperumAL went out on uLA (fled from srirangam) along with swami piLLai lOkAchAryar, srI kUrakulOtthama dAsar and other sishyas followed them. Before the ascension of swami piLLai lOkAchAryar, entrusted the big responsibility of moulding the young, Thirumalai Azhvar, the glorious minister in the pandyan dynasty in to the next darSana pravarthaka, to sri kUrakulOtthama dAsar. After delegagting the responsibilities, to the individual sishyas, swami lOkAchAryar ascended to paramapadam. Thirumalai azhvars mother, who also followed the ulA goshTi (group of person who fled), too ascended shortly after the incident. Even earlier the young Thirumalai azhvar, was looked after by the step mother, and he was then ruling the pandyan Kingdom , since the prince was a minor. One day Koorakulothama dasa went in front of Tiruvoimozhi pillai chanting Alwars Tiruviruttam. Tiruvoimozhi pillai, being a tamil lover, requested for the meaning. Koorakulothama dasa denied disrespectfully. Tirumalaiazhvar, told this incidence to his stepmother. She reminded him of his connection to SriKurakulOtthama dasa and svami Pillai lokacharya. Tiruvoimozhi pillai was inclined to surrender to KurakulOtthama dasa and to start learning. However, the time was not ripe. On a day, when Tiruvoimozhi pillai was going on an elephant, KurakulOtthama dasa stood on a place where Tiruvaymozhi piLLai can see him. Tiruvoimozhi pillai realized him as Pillai lokacharya himself and surrendered immediately. KurakulOtthama dasa also embraced him and decided to start the

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teachings as per the wish of their acharya. After few incidents, finally, Thirumalai azhvar got virakthi (denouncement) in the laoukika vishayas (materialistic possessions), and they all left madhurai, and settled in Sikkil kiDAram, where he had unhindered kAlakshEpams from kUrakulOtthamadAsar until his ascention. During the final days of kUrakulOtthama dAsar, he requested thiruvaymozhi piLLai to go to the other sishyas of piLLai lOkAcharyar and listen to the rest of the meanings as per the command of piLLai lOkAcharyar. Kurakulothama dAsar immaculate service to the srivaishnava sampradaya, is the moulding thiruvaymozhipillai as a darsana pravarthaka, that too during the time of devastation by the muslim rulers is unparallel. In bharathi vijayam, ganga devi reports that 12000 srivaishnavas were assassinated in SrIrangam during CE 1325 and a whole generation had lost the knowledge of even how to put a kolam. From such a situation, to the glorious regime of swAmi manavala mamunikal would not have been possible with out AchAryas like kUrakulOtthama dAsar. SwayamAhUya sailEsa guravErthapradanataha labdha udArAbhidham kUrakulotama gurum bhaje

9. SrI Thirukkurukai pirAn piLLAn

Thirunakshatiram:AippaSi- pooradam

drAvidAkama sAragnyam rAmAnujapadhAsritham ruchiram (sarvagnyam) kurukEsAryam namAmi sirasAnvaham [I prostrate with my head daily that beautiful (filled with knowledge) thirukkurugaipiran pillAn who completely knows the essence of the tamil veda, thiruvaimozhi and who has surrendered to the divine feet of swamy emperumAnAr.] Thirukkurukai pirAn pillAn was born to periyathirumalai nambikal in aippasi pooradam. He surrendered to emperumanar. Emperumanar considered him as an abhimana putran (manasika puthran). He was named after Nammazhvar, by doing this swami emperumanar fulfilled one of the three wishes of swami ALavanthAr. Sri PillAn approached emperumanar and requested to write a commentary for thiruvAymozhi, but emperumanar instead of writing himself he commanded piLLan to do this and SrI Thirukkurukai pirAn piLLAn wrote the first commentary to ThiruvAymozhi known as ArAyirappaDi. swAmi maNavALa mAmunikaL describe this in upadEsarathnamAlai theLLArum jnAna thirukkurukaip pirAn piLLAn yathirAsar pEraruLAl uLLArum anpuDanE mAran maRaipporuLai antruraitthadhu inbamigum ARAyiram

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- UpadEsarathna malai - 41 In 6000ppadi GPP an incident is narrated, while in SiruputhUr, sOmayAji AndAn, heard SrIbhAsyam, 3 times from piLLAn and finally AnDAn requested piLLAn something as final refuge, thanjam AvadhonRu. Then piLLAn replied to AndAn "dont think that you have mastered bATTA prabhAkara mEmAsai and capable of disseminating sri bashyam Think EmperumAnAr's Divine feet as the ultimate refuge"

10. SrI Erumbiappa

Thirunakshitiram: Iyppasi Revathi "tulA rEvathi sambhootham varayOgi padhAsritham I Sarva vEdAntha sampoornam appAcharya aham bhajE II" Erumbiappa was a great scholar in all sastras who stayed in a village called erumbi near cholasimhapuram. At the same time, Swamy mamunikal remained with all glory, with number of shisyas establishing ramanuja siddAntham in Srirangam. Coming to know about the greatness of mAmunikal, erumbiappa came to srirangam. He talked with swamy and did get impressed by swamy's medAvilAsam but still couldn't shed his ego and pride. Swamy mAmunikal then requested erumbiappa to take prasadam in the mutt. Remembering the dharma sAstram that a gruhastan should not take food in a mutt of a sanyasi, erumbiappa refused and returned back to erumbi. The next day when he tried to do thiruvArAdhanam to his perumal (Rama piran) he was unable to open the koil Azhvar. Erumbiappa felt very bad and started thinking and wondered, "Oh! rama what apacharam did adiyen do?" Rama replied, "You remembered the sAmanya sastram and did apacharam to the ethi punarAvathAram, Sri Manavala mAmunikal. Go immediately now and do apacharya kshAmanam (apologise) and accept the prasadam" Thondaradipodi alwar in his thirumAlai says, " pOnagam seidha sEdam tharuvarEl punidhamandrE". Here Azhvar says, even if a person who does a cheap work (Ettiya vinayarElum) but still is a bhakthan of perumal then it is pure to accept his left over prasadam. When it is the case with such a person what to say about Swamy mamunikal, a great acharya accepted as acharya by perumal himself. Will a shisya keep quiet when someone insults his acharya? That is why perumal showed his anger at erumbiappa. Erumbiappa, then shed all his ego and accepted the prasadam of swamy mAmunikal and settled under the divine feet of mAmunikal for ever. His acharya bhakthi could be easily seen in his

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works, poorva dinacharya, uttara dinacharya,and vara vara muni sathakam all about his acharya Swamy Manavala mAmunikal . It is not even necessary for one to go through these sanskrit prabandhams to learn about his acharya nishtai, just one paasuram is enough. "mannuyir_kAL ingE maNavALa mAmunivan * ponnadiyAm senkamalappOthukaLai * - unni siraththAlE theeNdil amAnavanum nammai * karaththAlE theeNdal kadan " Meaning: Oh! The people of this world, if you place the divine feet of Swamy manavala mAmunivan on your head here, then we are sure to be touched by the hands of amAnavan.