Table of Contents

Ramanuja Darshanam
Editor: Sri Kahiyur Narayanan

RAMANUJA DARSHANAM
(Philosophy of Ramanuja)

Editorial AchArya LakshaNam sri kumara venkatAchar svAmi kOLari srI embAr rangAchAri svAmi Sri Mudaliandan Swami thirumaligai SrI KM NarayaNan Vaishnavism in the Vedic Period Sri V V Ramanujam Swami Great Saints and teachers mumUkshuppadi srI TCA Venkatesan Divyadesa vaibhavam Kamasikaashtakam Sri KM Narayanan Sapthakaadhai Smt. Vasumathi Sampathkumar Gadya trayam Sri V V Ramanujam Swami

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About the Cover image The cover image of Ramanuja in this issue of Ramanuja Darsanam is that of Ramanuja at srIvillipuththUr, the birthplace of Sri ANdAL, and the home of periyAzhvAr. Ramanuja here is affectionately known as kOil aNNar the elder brother of ANdAL. The reason is as follows in nAchchiyAr Thirumozhi, in the 9th decade where she sings about the Lord of thirumAlirum sOlai, ANdAL specifically says that "I offer 100 vessels full of butter, and 100 vessels full of akkAra adisil (a sweet) to the Lord of mAlirum sOlai". Unfortunately, in her lifetime she could not physically do the offering. It is said that Ramanuja fulfilled this desire of ANdAL by offering the akkaara adisil in 100 vessels to Lord Sundara Raja at ThirumAl irum sOlai. Hence, he is considered to be the elder brother of ANdAL the elder brother who fulfilled the desires of his younger sister!

Volume 3 Issue 2: June Aug 2005 Vedics Foundation (http://www.vedics.net)

A VEDICS JOURNAL

EDITORIAL

Kazhiyur Narayanan

In SrImad Bhagavath Gita, while explaining to Arjuna the need for his appearance (avatAra), Lord Sri Krishna gives three important reasons. 1. 2. 3. Protection of his devotees. Uprooting the enemies of the devotees of the Lord Reestablishing the dharma

Our SampradAyam is bestowed with many Acharyas who had special reverence to Sri Nrsimha. This issue of Ramanuja Darshanam has many articles on the enjoyment or worship of our AchAryAs on Lord Nrsimha. There is an article on how our Azhvars have enjoyed Lord Nrsimha. There is another article on a stOtra on Lord Nrsimha, bestowed by Sri Vedanta Desika. The divyadEsam of interest in this issue is Sholinghur, a divine kshEtram where Lord Nrsimha is present. Let us perform our Saranagati to Lord Sri Lakshmi Nrsimha.

Even though the Lord gives these three reasons, it looks as if the Lords appearances are for His very close devotees and He appears here to make true the declarations of his devotees. Sri Nrsimha avatAra is case in point. Swami Pillai Lokacharya states that all his avatAras are only due to the fact that He could not withstand the offences committed towards His devotees. Sri Nrsimha avatAra clearly proves this - When HiraNya committed several offences (apachaaras) to dEvas like Indra, the Lord did not choose to appear in person. Once hiraNya started committing apachaaras towards Sri PrahlAda, He appeared to annihilate him. Swami NammAzhvAr praises Lord Nrsimha in ThiruvAimozhi (2.8.9)

Paramapadavasi K.K.V.A Kumara Venkatacharya Swami (translated by Kazhiyur Narayanan) "aachaaryan sichchan aar uyirai-p-pENumavan, theSaarum sichchan avan seer vadivai aasaiyudan nOkkuvan" are the words from our flawless Swami Manavala Maamuni. The above statement means "An Acharya would look after the welfare of his sishyas soul and a sishya would look after the bodily welfare of his Acharya An Acharya should initially impress upon his Sishya that, 1. Body and soul are distinct 2. The Soul, as stated in Thirumantram is wholly subservient to Lord Sriman Narayana 3. The soul is wholly dependant on the Lord and should always strive to perform Kainkaryam (Service) to the Lord and His devotees in all ways and at all times. With such instructions, coupled with his own practice (anuShtAnam), an Acharya looks after the welfare of his sishyas soul. The Sastras say "aaseenOthihi saastraarthaan achErasthabayEtyEbhi swayam aacharathE yasmaath thasmaath aachaarya uchyathE" Rough paraphrasing of meaning of the above verse: An Acharya would deeply analyze the esoteric meanings of the Sastras, understand them in the correct perspective, evaluate what is to be followed, practice as it should be followed, set an example and enable others to follow in that right path. Our Swami Manavala Maamuni also says

ACHARYA LAKSHANAM

yengumuLan KaNNan yenra mahanai kaaynthu ingillaiyAlenru IraNiyan thooN pudaippa angappozhudhE avan veeyatthOnria yen SINGAPPIRAAN PERUMAI AARAAYUM SEERMAITTHE
Rough paraphrasing of the meaning of the above verse is The Lord is all pervasive (engumuLan Kannan) was the declaration of PrahlAda. HiraNya kicked a pillar and asked his son What if He is not here?". How can one estimate the greatness of my Nrsimha who appeared there instantly to annihilate that HiraNya? If we observe Sri Nrsimha avatAra, we find that He not only made PrahlAda's words come true by appearing instantly, but He also proved Brahmas words to be true - that HiraNya cannot be killed by a man or dEva or anyone who is created by Him. Such was the glory of Sri Nrsimha Bhagavan who wanted to keep the words of His devotees true. Even today, we see that in many of the ThirumaaLigais (divine houses) of our Acharya Purushas (divine teachers) Lord Lakshmi Nrsimha is the ArAdhya Dheivam (deity worshipped daily).

jnyaanam anuttaanam ivai nanraagavE udaiyanaana

guruvai adaidha-k-kaal, maanilaththeer thEnaar kamalath thirumaamagaL kozhunan thaanE vaikundham tharum
Rough paraphrasing of meaning of the above verse: Once a seeker attains an AchArya who has full knowledge of the Sastras and practices as per that, Sriman Narayana would willingly allow that seeker to His abode of Sri VaikuNTam. This leads to 2 questions. What is Knowledge (jnyaanam) and what is practice (anushtaanam)? jnyaanam knowledge: Knowledge is about knowing the Lord and what His essential nature (swaroopam) is. Any other knowledge other than this is really not considered as jnyaanam in this context. The true knowledge is the knowledge that Lord Sriman Narayana is the Supreme Lord (Iswara) of all the sentient (cit) and insentient (acit) beings in the universe, and everything is subservient to Him. Lord Sriman Narayana is the Master of the entire Universe (sarva svAmi). anushtaanam practice: anushtaanam is leading a life as ordained by Saastraas and as directed by pUrvAcharyas. It is not enough if one just obtains the knowledge of the Sastras. An Acharya also needs to stand as an example for others to follow by his constant practices as ordained by the Sastras. All the acts should be performed as Bhagavad Kainkaryam (devotional service to the Lord) and should not result in any be karma bhandam. In matters of karma anushtaanam (practice of ordained things), one should remember what Sri Vishnu Purana says "The real karma is one that does not bind the performer in the everlasting cycle of birth and death. All other are mere efforts which results in more bonding to the karmic cycle of birth and death". An Acharya needs to Have deep respect to his immediate Acharya Have Sadacharam (good practices) which includes nityAnushtaanam (following of ordained daily rituals) and aahaara niyamam (following the dietary habits as prescribed by the Sastras), always adorning the sacred oordhva puNdram. Ensure that he does not get himself afflicted with offences towards the Lord (bhagavad apachaaram), or His devotees (bhaagavatha apachaaram)

Think that Lord has made Him as an Acharya only for the sole upliftment of his Sishyas souls. In Sri Vachana Bhushanam, Swami Pillai Lokacharya states: 1. During Panchasamskaram (initiation, also called samAsrayaNam), An Acharya should not think that he is the Acharya for the disciple to whom he is performing the panchasamskaaram. Rather, he needs to think that his Swacharyan (his own Acharya), is the real Acharya for that Sishya. 2. He needs to think that this Sishya is in fact his co-disciple of his own Swacharyan. 3. The benefit of His initiation is only to enable his Sishya to perform mangaLaasaasana Kaimkaryam to Lord. He should never think of any other material benefit he may obtain from his disciple through this initiation. However, in this current world, we may witness that it is only the disciples who help their respective Acharyas to run their daily livelihood. Does it sound contradictory? No, it is not. As mentioned earlier, a Sishya takes the responsibility of looking after the material welfare of his Acharya. Hence both Acharya and his Sishya should learn to act as per their nature (swaroopam). Let us see how these three people (The Lord, the Acharya and the sishya) act now. An Acharya thinks that his sole purpose of initiating the sishya is to ensure that his sishya performs mangalasasana Kainkaryam to the Lord. The sishya understands the true nature of Lord and his own swaroopam and performs his Prapatti. The Lord looks at the sishya, considers him a sishya of a genuine Acharya, and ensures moksham for him. Out of all the wealth an Acharya can have, the most important wealth is his Sishyas. In the current world, where a high level of atheism exists, it is important for an Acharya to carefully guide his Shishyas. Finally, an Acharya should ensure that at least one of his sons is initiated in the sampradAyam to take over the future responsibility of Acharya Peetam. They have to ensure their children are well versed in Sanskrit, Divya Prabhandam, Vedas, Sri Bhashya and the Rahasyas Sarva maNgaLaNi Bhavanthu

KOLARI

U.Ve Embar Rangachari Swami

"vaidhu ninnai vallavaa pazhiththavarkum, maaRil pOr seidhu , ninna seRRa theeyin vendhavarkkum vandhunai eidhalaagum enbar" Those who abuse You the most, and those who get burnt by Your fit of anger in a war with You can reach You. The AzhvArs always refer to PuraNic, or epic anecdotes with relevance to their messages. In the case of the Narasimha avatAra, they have in mind, the following qualities of the Lord: (i) He takes the responsibility of clarifying about His capability of existence to those who doubt them "ingillaiyaal enRu iraNian thooN pudaippa angu appozhudhE avan veeyath thONriya" He appeared at the very place and time when and where HiraNya said that He was not there and broke his pillar (thiruvAimozhi 2.8.9) The Lord has qualities which cannot be present anywhere else. He can put under His feet those who are blessed by Him simultaneously showing His anger elsewhere "seeRRaththOdu aruL petravan adikkeezh-p-puga ninRa sengaNmaal" thiruvAimozhi 3-6-6. HiraNya exhibits the asurabhaava as described in Sri Bhagavad Gita (16-14,15) "IsvarOham aham bhOgi sidhdhOham bhalavaan sukhi; aadyO abhijanavaanasmi kOnyOsthi sadrsO mayaa" "The demoniac person thinks - I am the controller, enjoyer, achiever, strongman, comfortably placed, independently capable, born in a high class is there anybody equal to me?" The Lord in Narasimha form does not use force initially. But, He attracts him by the strengths revealed by His appearance, knowing that HiraNya is as powerful as Himself. He shows HiraNya that He is the Bhogi, by making a feast on His body "varaththal valininaindhu." mudhal thiruvandhaadhi - 90 and kudalmaalai seeraar thirumaarbinmeL katti, sengurudhi sOraak kidandhaanai kumkumaththOL kotti (siRiya thirumadal). The Lord bestowed the grace of constant remembrance about Him on Prahlada. The asurabhaava of his father was an impediment, more aptly a nuisance to prahlaada's concentration; though Prahlada did not also request the Lord for anything for himself He had so much of confidence in the Lord's qualities. The Lord took on Himself the elimination of the nuisance for us ordinary human beings,

kOL, in Tamizh means agony, or hurdle, mainly the former being caused by the latter (i.e. agony, caused by a hurdle). With the later belief that hurdles in one's life are caused by the situation of the celestial planets, the word came to be used to denote the planets too. To illustrate the use of the word kOL in the sense of agony, the Lord's serpentine bed in the milky ocean is called kOLvaai aravaNAi kOLvaai indicating the agonizing mouth of the serpent AdisEsha spewing fire and venom against the Lord's enemies. The Lord is kOLari, remover of hurdles. For instance, He is kObaala kOLariEru, the bull of a remover of obstacles who was the protector of cows in the context of giving alms to Siva so as to remove his great sin (thiruvAimozhi 2-2-2). His qualities as kOLari are very well brought out by the AzhvArs in the context of His appearing as ALari Narasimha. Poigai AzhvAr points out that the niche on the Lord's fingers when He tore the breast of HiraNya (to remind us of His qualities) thazhumbirundha poongOdhaiyaaL veruva ponpeyarOn maarbidandha veengOdha vaNNar viral (mudhal thiruvandhaadhi - 23). The words veengOdhavaNNar (having the colour of the ocean), and poongOdhaiyaaL veruva (with the flower decked Sri frightened) bring out important messages. The former phrase indicates the Lord's quality of blessing all without discrimination. The latter indicates that Sri, who is the Lord's krupa personified, felt frightened by the wrath of the Lord towards HiraNya, obviously indicating a departure from his avowed nature. In Srimad Bhagavatha (7-9-2-3), it is stated that Sri did not go near Him though requested by the dEvAs after HiraNyavadha because She was suspicious about Her usefulness in bringing down the wrath of the Lord unseen and unheard by Her earlier. She sent Prahlada before Him for this purpose. The Lord, after listening to praise by Prahlada orders him to seek a boon, but as one never interested in getting boons for his own uplift and with the conviction that his devotion to the Lord is by the Lord's choice, he reminds the Lord about His name krupana vatsala treating even those who are not willing to part with anything (with all being His), bestowed by Him as His offsprings (veridhE aruL seiyvar thiruvaaymozhi 8-7-8), to bless his (prahlaada's) father. Thirumazhisai Azhvar, in thirucchandaviruththam 111 asserts

(ii)

(iii)

(iv)

the frightening things standing in the way of one thinking about the Supreme Being is the fear about the effect of our physical and mental actions (if we think that we are the sole agents for these actions). God's qualities drive away this fear and makes us bold to be capable of anything as Nammazhvar says unnai c chindhai seidhu seidhu un nedumaamozhi isai paadi aadi en munnai-th-theevinaihal muzhuvErarindhanan yaan unnai-ch-chindhaiynaal igazhndha iraNiyan agal maarvam keeNda en munnai k kOLariyE mudiyaadhaden enakke? (thiruvAimozhi 2-6-6) "By ceaselessly thinking about You and singing and dancing bereft of fear and responsibility expressing Your great and far reaching qualities, I chopped off the entire root of the effect of my earlier acts; My surging remover of hurdles who tore off the broad breast of hiraNya who discarded you in His thinking! What is there not possible for me?" The Lord Himself is the remover of the hurdles, in the form of ego, in thinking about Him and reaching Him, of course, with our concern for self Narasimha has become a form of the Lord to be propitiated for removing hurdles in goals set by ourselves in samsAra. Maybe that, He decided to create this interest in us just to make us remember this form of His, if not the qualities expressed by this form.

Swami Mudaliandan is one of the closest shishyas of Swami Ramanuja. He is often referred to as Ramanuja Paduka, or yatiraja Paduka, which means the sandals, or foot wear, of Ramanuja i.e. He was always present at the feet of Ramanuja.

SRI MUDALIANDAN SWAMI THIRUMALIGAI

pAdukE yatirAjasya gathayanthi yathakhyaya | thasya dAsarathE: pAdow sirasaa dArayamyaham|| Sri rAmAnuja yOgeendra karuna pari brumhithAm | srEya see manakAm vandhE sreemath vAdhoola sandhathim ||

Kazhiyur Narayanan

(I prostrate to the lineage of Vadhoola vamsam, which is flawless and graced by the mercy of Swami Ramanuja) This is how Sri Manavala Mamunikal described when the descendants of Sri Mudaliandan visited him in Srirangam. Sri Kumara Venkatacharyar Acharya of the Mudaliandan thirumaligai at Kanchipuram from 1921 - 1997

Sri Mudaliandan had the privilege of having both bodily relationship (dhEha sambandham) and Spiritual relationship (Atma sambandham) with Swami Ramanuja - Bodily relationship as Sri Ramanujas sisters son and spiritual relationship as a Servant and immediate disciple of Sri Ramanuja. It is said that Ramanuja entrusted all matters of administration pertaining to the sampradAyam to Swami Mudaliandan. After Swami Mudaliandan's time, in due course, there came into being 8 Thirumaligais which were led by AchAryAs who were born in the lineage of Swami Mudaliandan. In this issue of Ramanuja Darshanam, we will present some information on one of the Mudaliandan Thirumaligais the one at Kanchipuram. The picture presented earlier in the article is that of Sri Kumara Venkatacharyar Swami (1921-1997), popularly called as Mudaliandan Swami. He was born in 1921, In Kaarthikai month and Kaarthikai Star in Sri Rangam the same month and star as Thirumangai Azhvar and Swami NampiLLai. For more than 65 Years, he performed the services of reciting divya prabhandam by participating in the gOshti at many divya desams, instructed many of his shishyas in to the right path of Sri Vaishnavam and traveled tirelessly in India to initiate the willing into the Ramanuja SampradAyam. Sri Kumara Venkatacharyar Swami had his Panchasamkarams performed by his elder brother Sri SriSailachar Swami. He learnt Sanskrit kaavyas and drama from Thirukkottiyur Meyyuvu Iyengar, Divya Prabhandams from Sandhai Malli Ramanujachar and his elder brother, learnt Vedas from Karunilam Varada Ramanujachar and Ashtagotram Venkatachar Swami, obtained ThiruvAimozhi kaalakshepam from Meyyuvu Iyengar and Senakulam Kandadai Ramanujachar and Rashya Granthaas from his elder brother. Swami was also very good in singing and playing Carnatic Music. He learnt music from Cholasimhapuram K.K.Charanyachar and Veena from Thiru Narayanapuram Srinivasachar. He was very mild natured and used to guide his shishyas in a very reconciliatory manner. He was an ardent exponent of Sri Vacana Bhushanam and he used to quote very often from the works of Swami PiLLai Lokacharyar. His Mangalasasanas (articles) in the monthly magazine yatiraja Paduka published by his shishyas brought out his mastery over our PUrvAchArya granthaas. His rendering of Divyaprabandha was a treat to ones ears. He was very focused in Divya Desa Kainkaryam; He lived many years in

Kanchipuram and would not miss the KAnchi DEva perumAL GOshti when he was at Kanchipuram. Also he would stay at Kooram, the birth place of Sri Kurathazhvan, for the yearly utsavam of Sri Kooranatha for all the ten days during the month of thai. The PerumALs present in the thirumaligai daily worship: .

A photo of all the PerumALs in the Thirumaligai Azhaiththu Vaazhviththavar: kandAdai thOzhappar was the son of kandAdai Andaan and the grandson of Sri Mudaliandan. Lord Varadarajar considered him as his friend (thozhar) and named him Thozappar. Kandadai Thozappar installed Andal vigraham at Kanchipuram and performed thiru-kkalyana utsavam (marriage festivities) to ANdAL and the Lord. It is said that Lord Varadarajar gave him the moorthy known as Azhaiththu Vaazhviththavar for performing thiruvArAdhanam. Even today, the same moorthy, Azhaiththu Vaazhviththavar, is the main thiru ArAdhana deity in the thirumaligai. Azhaiththu Vaazhviththavar is one of the six bErAs of Lord Varadaraja at Kanchipuram (per the

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pAncarAtra aagama, there are 6 beras of the Lord in the temple, and they can be seen in the sanctum sanctorum normally).

This perumAL was worshipped by Sri AtkoNdavilli Jeeyar. Swami Appachiaranna spent his life in Kanchipuram, doing service to the Lord of KAnchi Varadaraja by bringing in water for the Lords thirumanjanam the same service that was performed by Sri Ramanuja at Kanchipuram.

SRI AZHAITHU VAZHIVITHAVAR Theemanam keduththAr: Appachiaranna is a direct descendant of Sri Mudaliandan Swami and occupies the ninth position in the family lineage. Swami Appachiaranna was addressed by Swami Manavala Maamuni as "Nam Appachiar aNNanO". Sri Manavala maamuni gave two similar vigrahas of Himself to two of his key devotees - one to Sri Appachiaranna, and the other to Sri Vanamamalai Jeeyar svAmi; these two vigrahas were made from the metal contained in the vessels used by Swami Ramanuja for daily worship, that was handed over the years to Sri Manavala maamuni, and had become unusable due to age. Sri Manavala maamuni also gave Appachiaranna the idol of theemanam keduththAr (which literally means the One who took away the bad thoughts in me).

TEEMANAM KEDUTHAR Sri Lakshmi Narasimhan: Swami Annavilappan, son of Appachiaranna Swami lived in a holy place called Singaperumal koil in the service of Sri Pataladhri Narasimha Perumal as ordained by Lord Narasimha. The Lord of Singaperumal Kovil appeared in the dream of Swami Annavilappan and ordered him to set right His abode which was covered under sand dunes, and establish a place where devotees lived and performed services to Him. Accordingly, Swami Annavilappan followed the divine order, rebuilt the temple, established a village with people and lived his life in the service of Lord Pataladhri. Varthamana (Current) Swami of the thirumaligai: The current swami in this great lineage is known as Sri Kumara Ramanujachar Swami. He is the only son of Sri Kumara Venkatacharyar

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Swami. Like Swami Annavilappan, he resides and performs nitya kainkaryams to Sri Pataladhri Narasimha Perumal at Singaperumal kovil. He performs samashrayanam to Sishyas at his thirumaligai whose address is Sri Mudaliandan Swami Thirumaligai, 4/115 Sannidhi Street, Singaperumal Kovil, Tamilnadu, 603204.

Sri K.K.V.A Kumara Ramanujachar Swami

Photos Courtesy: Sri Laskhmi Narasimhan in the thirumALigai

http://www15.brinkster.com/mudaliandan/ 13 14

VAISHNAVISM IN VEDIC PERIOD

Sri V.V.Ramanujam SvAmi

jagatkaaraNa. Everything that exists is controlled by Him. He is the Universal Ruler. The first part of this hymn purushasuktham declares "vEdaahamEtham purusham mahaantham aadityavarNam tamasastu pare". "mahaantham" immeasurably great person, infinite tamas refers to the primordial matter prakriti. tamasastu pare means beyond the tamas, and controlling it. aaditya varNam shining like Aditya, the sun, exceedingly bright. vEdaaham I know (understand) this purushas. Since the infinite cannot be known fully, here "I know" (vEdaaham) only means I meditate with devotion. This vEdanam is synonymous with Bhakthi. Further the hymn goes on to state that this Supreme person creates all the worlds and the beings therein. He enters into all created things in spirit.. He pervades the entire universe. He supports all His creations. That is, He pervades all material creations both inside and outside. This Supreme person who is endless is ageless without known origin. This birthless person is born in various forms in the world out of His own will (sankalpa or ichcha). Though the entire jagat universe is His form, He shows Himself in a finite form of unsurpassed beauty and brightness. He is full with all auspicious qualities beginning with knowledge, power, valour, brilliance and might, giving Him the appellation of Bhagavaan. With hosts and hosts of desirable and auspicious qualities, He is blemishless flawless free from defect of anykind. Sridevi and Bhudevi are his consorts. For the benefit of the people of the world He incarnates Himself in various forms as he chooses. Only the most fortunate persons of great wisdom know the secret of his incarnation (avatAra), while others think the incarnation is only a worldly being. Earth and the heavens as well as what is beyond the land of everlasting bliss (paramapada) are His possessions (vibhUti, or aiswaryam). He controls, commands and rules all these worlds. He is pleased to accept our wholehearted worship (pooja) and grants the everlasting bliss of His highest land. He is inseparably associated with Sri Mahalakshmi. Eternal service unto Him with His consorts is the highest bliss one can hope for. We have now to identify this Supreme with a particular deity in the Vedic pantheon. A portion of the taittirIya upanishan in the Yajurveda called nArAyaNa suktham helps to clearly identify this person. This hymn begins with the mantra

{Note: It gives us great pleasure to continue the serialization of An introduction to Vaishnavism and the Vedas, written by Sri. V.V. Ramanujam Swami. The purpose is to give the readers an understanding of how our great tradition is derived from the Sanskrit Vedas. This is the second part of the series.} The basic Truth taught by all the Vedas is the same. This conclusion is referred to as PramEya, or vEdya. PramEya means the basic subject matter. vEdya means what is learnt. Bhagavan Sri KrishNa declares in the Gita "vEdaisca sarvai: aham Eva vEdyah" I am the only one taught by all the Vedas. The Supreme Lord is the vEdavEdya One who is learnt from all the Vedas. In all the Vedanta texts, the Supreme vEdavEdya is referred to mostly in general terms such as paratattva highest truth, brahma, or parabrahma. brahma means infinite. para is the supreme with no superior with none equal or greater than it. This Supreme Brahman should not be identified with the popularly known four-faced deity called Brahma. The text called purushas suktha finds a place in all the four Veda branches. The sentences are the same in all the Vedas. This fact emphasizes the importance of this text as a scriptural authority (pramaaNa). The sentences are familiar to all those interested in Vedic leanring "sahasra seershaa purushah sahasraakshas sahasrapaath sa bhUmim viswathO vruthvaa athathishtath dasangulam" so runs the text. purushas means person. It refers to a person with a thousand heads (faces), a thousand eyes, a thousand feet. He surrounds our world on all sides and encompasses all the other worlds. One can immediately perceive that "sahasra" does not limit itself to the number one thousand (1000), but conveys the meaning "very large" almost innumerable. A thousand faces should normally have at least two thousand eyes. The text should be taken to convey "thousands of faces, thousands of eyes" and so on. Since the head is the seat of knowledge and the eyes are the most important organs connected with knowledge the so called "jnAnEndriyAs", the general meaning conveyed is this This person's jnana is all encompassing. There is nothing that he does not know. So also legs. This organ of locomotion represents power shakti. So the person referred to is all knowing omniscient and omnipotent all powerful. Such a person can only be the incomparable Supreme Being Brahman of the Upanishads. The text goes on to say that He is eternal immortal, and capable of conferring immortality on others. The text further states that He is the primal cause of the entire Universe the

sahasraseersham dEvam viswaaksham visvasambhuvvam | viswam naaraayaNam dEvam aksharam paramam prabhum ||

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What was conveyed in the authoritative purushas suktha in general terms is particularized here. The beginning sahasraseersham clearly indicates that it is a continuation of the material of the purushas suktha. The purport of this mantra may be put thus The Deity with a thousand (really, thousands of) heads, Who shines with extraordinary radiance, Who has eyes directed everywhere, Who is good to all the worlds, Who is Himself all the worlds, Who is flawless, Who is deathless (without an end), incomparably superior to all else, Who is the Lord controlling and ruling all is nArAyaNa. Now it is clear that the Supreme person described in the purusha suktham is the particular deity named nArAyaNa.. This first sentence leads to the clear conclusion that nArAyaNa is the dEva and parama prabhu. dEva divine and highly radiant; parama prabhu unsurpassed Lord, or incomparably great ruler. viswasambhuvam who confers all that is good on the worlds (the beings therein). It continues

things are known or not. One thing stands out from all that was said till now. We recognize three entities here knowledge, the knower and the object of knowledge. viswaatma the one who enters inside all objects and is present in each one of them as the inner soul. The term paraayaNam refers to the means and the goal attained by that means. patim viswasyai the Lord of the entire universe. aatmEswara master and controller of all individuals. easwara is the controller and commander. aatmEswara also means that there is no other controlling Him. saaswatham one without origin or end permanent and eternal. sivam - most auspicious and so, most desirable. The container of all that is auspicious also. achyutam- most reliable; One Who does not let down anybody. Mantras which follow the above are

viswatah paramaam nityam viswam naaraayaNam harim viswamEvEdam purushah tadviswam upajeevati patim viswasyaatmEswaram saaswatam sivam achyutam naarayaNam mahaajnEyam viswaatmaanam paraayaNam
He Who is superior to all in this universe, Who is eternal, Who is Himself the entire universe is nArAyaNa hari. The jagat universe, owes its existence to this purusha nArAyaNa. The Lord of all the worlds, the master of living (and inanimate) objects, Who is birthless and deathless, Who is most auspicious, Who never lets down those Who approach Him for protection, Who is the inner soul of all that is there, Who is the highest means, that is nArAyaNa. Means refers to the path to reach a goal. The term viswam means the universe which includes all the galaxies and so on. He is above (superior to) all that is sentient and non-sentient (sentient that which has the power of sense perception). Though He is referred to as the entire Universe, all that exists yet, He is apart, different from them. He is referred to as the entire universe because He is everywhere in it, inside and outside all perceptible things. hari is in a general way "one who destroys". The idea is that He retracts or dissolves all created things into Himself at some stage and recreates them from within Himself at a later stage. The entire universe owes its welfare to this person nArAyaNa. This nArAyaNa is the highest among all objects which are known that is subject matter of knowledge. This means He is the highest truth which has to be known, irrespective of whether other

naaraayaNa param brahma tatvam naaraayaNa parah naaraayaNa parO jyOthiraatma naarayaNa parah yacca kincit jagatyasmin drishyatE srUyatEpi vaa antar bahsicha tat sarvam vyaapya naaraayaNa stithah
nArAyaNa is the highest Brahman. nArAyaNa is the highest truth. He is the highest jyOti (light or brilliance). He is the Supreme Self. Whatever is seen in this vast universe, also whatever is spoken of and heard, are at the same time pervaded inside and out by nArAyaNa. Being inside means that He is the inner soul. Surrounding outside means that He is the universal support. Compared to humans like us, all the dEvas (celestials, deities) are great. Indra, Rudra (Siva), Brahma each is superior in his own way. nArAyaNa is the param brahma the greatest of the great, with none superior to Him. Similarly one should understand the meaning of param tatvam and para jyOti. paramaatman - the superior, or the Supreme Self. The soul In each of the living things be it dEva, man, animal or plant is the jIvAtma - the individual soul, or self. paramaatma is different from these selves and is far superior to them. That is, He has no equal or superior among all that exist. The sentence beginning yaccha kincit jagatyasmin is most important. This sentence conveys the essential meaning of the word nArAyaNa. This word splits into two word naara, and ayana. By naara, we mean all things in all the worlds other than the Supreme. ayana means resting place. According to the way the two words are combined grammatically, two meanings are possible. The One who rests (resides) in the naraas, or the One in whom all naraas reside. His being in the naraas signifies that

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He is the inner controlling soul in all existing objects. In other words, these constitute His body. Objects being in Him means that He bears, or supports all created things.

Jeeyar vandhaar" Our Jeeyar has come. From that day onwards, Maadhavachaarya's name became Nanjeeyar, and he stayed at Srirangam learning from Sri ParASara bhaTTar and others. Nanjeeyar's devotion towards his AchArya was remarkable. Once, when BhaTTar was being carried in a palanquin, Nanjeeyar went and tried to be one of the bearers of the palanquin. BhaTTar immediately said "Please do not do this Sanyaasis should not be a bearer of the palanquin of a grahastha", to which Nanjeeyar replied "If this monk hood prevents me from being the bearer of the palanquin of my AchArya, then I dont want this monk hood I will renounce this monk hood and become a grahastha again so that I can be a bearer of your palanquin"!. By this incident, the strength of Nanjeeyar's conviction in the Vaishnava dharma (one should do services to his/her Acharya at all times, at all states) over the SamAnya dharma (ordinary dharma) is evident. Nanjeeyar learned under bhaTTar, and many times, bhaTTar himself would ask Nanjeeyar to comment on AzhvAr pasurams, to which Nanjeeyar would provide beautiful interpretations. He also was a great Acharya of his disciples, the chief among whom was Sri NampiLLai. After Sri ParASara BhaTTar's ascent to Sri Vaikuntam, Sri Nanjeeyar became to supreme Acharya of Sri Vaishnavam for 34 years. During that time, elders say that he performed discourses on thiruvAimozhi 100 times, and during the 100th time, he performed celebrations of respect for his AchArya. One of Nanjeeyar's beautiful explanations is for the sentence "nambuvaar padhi vaikuntham kaaNmiNE" from kaNNiNun siruththaambu. For this, the literal meaning is that those who believe and follow kaNNiNun siruththaambu will have Sri VaikuNTam as their residence. As a second explanation, he also said that the place where great people who believed and followed kaNNiNun siruththaambu lived is also Sri Vaikuntam to support that, he explained "Sri Nambi thiruvazhudi vaLa naadu daasar explained that after Sri BhaTTar was born to Sri Kooraththaazhvaan, the wall between parama padam and this earth went away!" i.e. used the teachings of an elder Acharya to explain concepts. Sri Nanjeeyar had a great amount of devotion towards Lord Krishna. Nanjeeyar's daily worship perumAL (thiru ArAdhana perumAL) was named "aayar thEvu" the Lord of the cowherds. For Lord Ranganatha (Namperumal), normally, there is an upper garment worn called "mEL sAththu" upper covering. The reason for that upper garment, according to Nanjeeyar was as follows When Lord Krishna was tied up to the stone by Yasodha with a rope, there were marks that came on Lord

GREAT SAINTS AND TEACHERS

SrI TA Varadhan

Five great Purvacharyas blessed us with detailed commentaries on thiruvAimozhi. They are 1. Sri thiru-k-kurugai-p-piraan piLLaan 2. Sri Nanjeeyar 3. Sri NampiLLai 4. Sri periyavAchchAn piLLai 5. Sri vAdikEsari azhagiya maNavaaLa Jeeyar In this issue, we will enjoy some details in the life of one of the above AchAryAs Sri Nanjeeyar. According to source texts (periya thirumudi adaivu), Sri Nanjeeyar was born in current day Karnataka, in thiru-Narayana-puram (mElkOte) in AD 1153. His original name was Maadhavachaarya. He was so learned in Vedas and Vedanta, and people used to refer to him with the name Vedanti! Sri Ramanuja Himself took note of Maadhavachaarya's scholarship, and wanted to bring him to the faith based on the right interpretation of the Vedas, and commanded Sri ParASara BhaTTar to convince Maadhavachaarya about the right interpretation. Sri ParASara bhaTTar went to Melkote to debate with Maadhavachaarya. There, Sri ananthAzhvAn, an elderly disciple of Ramanuja received BhaTTar, and told him about Maadhavachaarya's fame. Given that access to Maadhavachaarya was guarded closely by several of his disciples, it was almost impossible to directly approach him for a debate. But, there was a way out. Maadhavachaarya used to feed hundreds of Brahmins everyday. BhaTTar went in the garb of a poor Brahmin to Maadhavachaarya's home, and asked for "tarka biksha" the alms of debate. Maadhavachaarya agreed and the debate started. Sri ParASara BhaTTar defeated Maadhavachaarya using thirunedundhaandakam of Thirumangai Azhvar, and Maadhavachaarya became Sri ParASara BhaTTar's disciple. He also became a sanyasi. After getting blessings from ananthAzhvAn, Maadhavachaarya reached Srirangam, where BhaTTar, with joy, embraced him and said "nam

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Krishna's hip. He used to cover it with a piece of cloth. Once, when He was playing, the piece of cloth moved slightly, and the marks were visible. Some cowherd girls who were there laughed at Him. Now, Namperumal is none other than the same Krishna. To not have people laugh at his marks is why the upper garment is worn! Sri Nanjeeyar' salutation is namO vEdAnta vEdyAya jagan mangaLa hEthavE | yasya vaag amrutha saarapooritham bhuvana thrayam ||

rahasyathrayam are Thirumantram, Dvayam and Charama Slokam. The word Mumukshu comes from the combination of mokthum icchu: That is one who desires liberation from the samsaric cycle. Sutra 2: athil prathama rahasyam thirumanthram. Meaning: Amongst the three rahasyas the first rahasyam that a mumukshu has to know is the Thiruvashtakshara mahamanthram. Sri PBA Swamis Sarartha Deepikai: Amongst the three manthrams that a mumukshu has to know, the very first rahasyam he has to understand is the Thiruvashtaksharam known as the Thirumantram. The reason that this has to be learnt first is that only after the meanings of the self is understood can one understand the meanings of the means and the goal. Therefore, the Thirumantram which explains the nature of the self has to be learnt ahead of the other two rahasyas which explain the means and the goal. A jIva is enslaved to the Lord. He is dependent on the Lord and He enjoys nothing but his association with the Lord - this is the understanding of the self. Thirumantram which explains this meaning is therefore to be learnt first. The Thirumantram is made of two parts: Pranavam and Manthrasesham. Om is the Pranavam and Namo Narayanaya is Manthrasesham. Pranavam is expanded upon by Manthrasesham. Manthrasesham is expanded upon by Dvayam. Dvayam is expanded upon by Carama Slokam. By this order also Thirumantram has to be learnt first. The word mantram is obtained from "manthAram thrAyathe". It is that which protects those who recite it. The protection is of two types: One is via the sound of the mantra and the second is via the meaning of the mantra. The benefits that are obtained by those who recite it and use it in hOmas is obtained via the power of the sound of Thirumantram. The benefit accrued by the prapannas who look to nothing but the Lord, is obtained by the power of the meaning of Thirumantram. The second meaning is explained by Sri BhaTTar in Ashtasloki as follows. If a person thinks that his body is the same as his soul then he should look at the makaram of the pranavam. Since it talks about the soul with knowledge he would understand the knowledge-less body cannot be the same as the soul. Even if one understands this, he may mistake that the soul is not dependent on the Lord and think that it is fully independent. Such a person should look at akaaram in pranavam.

MUMUKSHUPPADI

Sri TCA Venkatesan

(Swami Pillai Lokacharya is hailed as that very special Acharya, who synthesized the essential philosophy of Sri Vaishnavam and Azhvars, into a form accessible to one and all. His ashTAdaSa rahasyas, essential guidebooks for every practicing Sri Vaishnava, lay down the principles of Ramanuja Darshanam with crystal clear clarity and insight. Of all his works, mumUkshuppadi, tatva trayam and Sri Vacana Bhushanam deserve special mention, because they condense the essence of Vedanta and divya prabhandam in the form of easily assimilated sutras, aphorisms. It took the intellect of a Manavala maamuni, to expose the true meanings of these great works through his magnificent commentaries, and the intellectual might of a swami PB aNNangarAchAriAr, out of his compassion for the ignorant and incapable, to provide a condensed work based on swami Mamunikals commentary. Sri TCA Venkatesan has translated swami aNNangarAchAriArs manuscript into English, and it gives us great pleasure to bring to our readers an opportunity to experience the greatness of our acharyas. This is the second part of the series.) Sutra 1: mumUkshuvukku aRiya vENdiya rahasyam mUnRu. Meaning: There are three Rahasyas that one who craves Moksham (liberation) has to know for sure. Sri PBA Swamis Saarartha Deepikai: A being who has lost interest in this world and has the sole wish of reaching Sriman Narayana's lotus feet is known as Mumukshu. Such a person has to most assuredly know three rahasyas. Each person has to know the nature of self, the means and the purpose. These three are explained by the Rahasyatraya and as such mumukshus have to understand these three rahasyas. The

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akaaram emphasizes that the souls are enslaved to the Lord and therefore he will be cleared of his error. If he understands that a soul is enslaved to the Lord but thinks that it is similarly enslaved to many others, a fact that is commonly seen in this world, then he should look at the ukaaram in pranavam. This ukaaram shows that the souls are enslaved only to Sriman Narayana and as such he would correct his mistake. A person who understands all of this might still think that his own effort is sufficient to protect himself. Such a person should look at the nama: term. This term shows that the protection of the souls is the duty of the Lord and not of the self. If a person begins to develop great attachment to the people surrounding him, his wife, children, relatives, then he should look at the Narayana term. This teaches him that Sriman Narayana is the one and all relation to a soul. A person who becomes attached to things of this world should look at the "aaya" term (chathurthi vibhakti). As this term signifies that eternal service to the Lord is the purpose for a soul, attachment to other things will be broken. The Thirumantram that contains these meanings is therefore to be learnt first and is the refuge for all prapannas. Sutra 3: thirumanthraththinudaiya seermaikkup pOrumpadi prEmaththOdE pENi anusanthikka vENum. Meaning: This Thirumantram has to be recited by giving it the respect due while keeping it hidden from those who are not qualified for it. Sri PBA Swamis Saarartha Deepikai: The greatness of the Thirumantram is beginning to be explained from this point on. The first is the correct method of reciting it and keeping it in one's heart. The meanings of the four Vedas (Rk, Yajur, Sama and Atharvana) are contained within this mantra. It is considered as the best amongst mantras, the best amongst rahasyas, and the best amongst the best things. As such, a person holding it in his heart should keep it there and recite it daily with the respect that is due to it, with a melted heart while with-holding it from those who are not qualified to hold it in their hearts. This also means that it should not be recited when the heart is not prepared and it should also not be recited in a loud voice. Sutra 4: manthraththilum manthraththukkuLLIdAna vasthuvilum manthrapradhanAna AcAryan pakkalilum prEmam ganakka uNdAnAl kAryakaramAvathu.

Meaning: If a person develops great affection and love for this mantra, for the Lord who is the inner meaning of this mantra and for the Acharya who teaches this Thirumantram, then this mantra will act for him. Sri PBA Swamis Saarartha Deepikai: In the previous choorNai, it was said that a kind and melted heart was needed for the recital of this mantra. If the question arises, whether that is sufficient, the answer is no. The mantra's recital has its effect only when there is love for the mantra, for Lord Sriman Narayana who is the true meaning of the mantra, as well as for the Acharya who out of his great kindness taught the mantra to that person. Only then will the mantra have the true effect for the person reciting it. Sutra 5: SamSArikaL thankaLaiyum Isvaranaiyum maRanthu Isvara kainkaryaththaiyum izhanthu izhanthOmenkiRa izhavum inRikkE SamSAramAkiRa perunkadalilE vIzhunthu nOvupada, SarvEsvaran, than krupaiyAlE, ivarkaL thannai aRinthu karaimaram sErumpadi thAnE sishyanumAy AchAryanumAy ninRu thirumanthraththai veLiyittaruLinAn. Meaning: The baddha chetanas who are trapped in this samsaric world, forget that they are dAsas, forget that Sriman Narayana is their Lord (that is they forget that they are the seshas and that He is the seshi), do not live in service of the Lord, are not concerned that they have lost the most valuable thing that they possessed, and stay trapped in this samsaric ocean which is difficult to cross. Seeing this, the Lord out of His kindness (His nirhEduka krupai), in order to make these jIvas know Him and facilitate their crossing samsara and reaching Him, Himself became Nara the disciple and Narayana the Acharya and taught the Thirumantram which is the essence of Artha Panchakam. Sri PBA Swamis Saarartha Deepikai: Here the origination of the Thirumantram is explained to show its greatness. The samsaric chetanas due to association with this prakruti which is timeless get trapped in the endless cycle of birth and death and forget themselves and the Lord. Forgetting themselves is this: all souls are naturally servile to the Supreme Soul; without difference whether they are in this world or the other world their only and true characteristic is that they are enslaved to the Lord; forgetting this fact of their natural servitude to the Lord is forgetting themselves. Forgetting the Lord is this: forgetting His supreme and all encompassing leadership. Thus forgetting their nature as well as the nature of the Lord they lose the supreme goal of service to Him. Not only do they lose it, they even

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lose the feeling that they have lost such a valuable thing. Seeing the souls suffer thus and stay trapped in the samsaric ocean, He took great kindness in His divine lotus heart toward them. He thought that they need to know Him so that they can cross this ocean and reach Him. Thus He Himself became Nara the sishya and Narayana the Acharya and expositioned that Thirumantram which holds in it the meaning of all Sastras and which shows clearly the artha panchakam.

Hanuman to be in front of him in the form of Yoga AnjanEya, remove the ills of the people and come to Sri VaikuNTam after the kali yuga is over. This is why, in Sholinghur, there is a separate shrine for Hanuman. This is the only place where Hanuman is in the Yoga AnjanEya form, with the sankha and chakra. mUlavar: yOga Narasimha, also known as "akkAra-k-kani emperumAn", in the sitting pose, facing east thAyAr: amruthavalli utsavar: Bhaktavatsala perumAL (thakkAn) theertham: amrutha theertham, thakkAn kuLam, pANdava theertham vimaanam: simha vimaanam, gOshtaakruthi vimaanam, hEmakOti vimaanam In this divya desam, there are three temples one below the hill, with utsavar; one on the 500 feet hill, where mUlavar is present, and a smaller hill where Hanuman is present. This divyadEsam has become a special place of worship for people, who are suspected to be under the influence of demons (pEy, pisaasu etc.) and for those who have severe health problems. Such people come here, stay in this divyadEsam for a set period of time, bathe everyday in the temple tank (thakkAn kuLam) and go up the hills to worship Lord Narasimha and Hanuman. Even today, one can see such people going back happily having gotten rid of their problems once they worship Lord Narasimha here. The name of the Lord "akkAra-k-kani" is very special. In Tamizh, "akkaaram" means sugar, and "kani" means fruit i.e. the literal meaning of akkara-k-kani is sugar fruit. This denotes how much joy the Lord provides His devotees who meditate on Him. Our AchAryAs tell us that the literal meaning of sugar fruit does not do justice to this Lord's qualities. They say that the word should be interpreted the following manner think of a tree that is entirely made of sugar, and think of the fruit that grows in such a sugar tree how sweet it will be! That fruit, the fruit of a sugar tree, is called akkAra-k-kani! Thirumangai Azhvar gave this name to the Lord. In this divyadEsam, there lived a great AchArya called "doddAchArya". In his time on this earth, He was a leading light for Sri Vaishnavam. This

DIVYA DESAM
In this issue of Ramanuja Darshanam, we will learn about the divyadEsam of thiru-k-kadigai, also known as Sholinghur Chola simha puram. Sthala PuraNam: Sri Vishnu Purana and Paadma Purana provide brief details about this divya desam. With a desire to see and worship the Narasimha form of the Lord, the Saptha Rishis (7 great Rishis) and another Rishi called VaamadEva came to this hill and started doing penance. The reason for them to have chosen this hill is as follows Long ago, Sage Viswamitra is said to have done penance on Lord Narasimha on this hill for the time period of one Ghatika (in Tamizh, naazhigai - 24 minutes), and obtained the title of Brahma Rishi. Hence, these Rishis thought that they could obtain the blessing of seeing the Narasimha form of the Lord in a short period of time if they did penance on the Lord on this hill. After Rama's avatAra ended, and when He was going to Sri VaikuNTam, Sri AnjanEya (hanuman) also said that he will come with Rama to Sri VaikuNTam. Rama replied to hanuman that He would like for Hanuman to protect the Rishis who were doing penance on Lord Narasimha on this hill, come to Sri VaikuNTam after that. Accordingly, Hanuman also came to this hill. There were two Rakshasas known as kaalan and kEyan on this hill, and they used to trouble the Rishis a lot. Hanuman fought them a lot, and felt a bit tired, and meditated on Lord Rama. Lord Rama appeared before Hanuman, and provided him with the sankha and chakra, which Hanuman used to get rid of the rakshasas. The Rishis continued their penance, and the Lord becomes pleased with them, and appears in front of them as Lord Narasimha. On seeing and enjoying Lord Narasimha, Hanuman became ecstatic and started singing praise of the Lord. Lord Narasimha then requested

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great AchArya used to go to Kanchipuram every year for the garuda sEva of Lord Varadaraja in the Tamizh month of VaikAsi and immerse himself in the great beauty of the Lord there. One year, due to weak health, he could not go the Kanchipuram. He was sitting on the banks of the temple tank (called thakkaan kuLam), meditating on Lord Varadaraja's garuda sEva and was crying as he could not see the Lord on the garuda sEva that year. Lord Varadaraja immediately appeared in front of him on the garuda vaahana, and the great AchArya worshipped the Lord to his heart's content.

with the great umbrellas for the Lord covering the Lord completely for a moment as the Lord is deemed to have gone to Sholinghur to provide Darshanam to His devotee, doddAchArya!. This divyadEsam is also called "GhatikAchalam".

Hanuman, at the smaller hill temple

Lord Narasimha at Sholinghur, the big hill temple To commemorate this great incident, even today, every year during the garuda sEva in Kanchipuram, when Lord Varadaraja on garuda comes out of the west temple gOpuram, a big haarathi is performed to the Lord,

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akkAra-k-kani emperumAn in the lower temple

Current AchArya in the doddAchArya lineage

Vigraham of Swami doddAchArya

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KAAMAASIKAASHTAKAM

vEgOpakaNTa sangaath vimukta vaikuNTa bahumatim upaasE||

Here Swami prays to the wonderful form of the Lord who chose VELukkai as His place. He mentions that it looks as if the Lord gave up his reverence for Sri VaikuNTam and preferred to be here at VELukkai in this form.

Kazhiyur Narayanan

VELukkai is a divya desam in Kanchipuram. Here there is a beautiful temple for Lord Nrsimha. This literal meaning of word vELukkai is a chosen residing place. Swami Vedanta Desikan has composed a StOtram called as kaamaasikaaShTakam (Kama- desired or resolved, Asika- to stay) on this Lord. This StOtram has 8 Slokas with one Phalastruti (verse explaining the benefits to one who recites). In this StOtram, Swami Desikan mentions that the Lord eulogized in Upanishads is none other than Lord Nrsimha who has 3 eyes; He has desire to protect His devotees, and swami Desikan wonders how on one hand He protects His devotes and on the other remains a foe to the likes of HiraNya. At the end of the StOtram, Swami asserts that the Lord is the only protector for us and no one else is. Let us attempt to enjoy the Swamis anubhavam.

bandhum akilasya jantO: bandhura paryanka bandha ramaNeeyam | vishama vilOchana mIDE vEgavathee puLina kELi nrsimham ||
Swami mentions that Lord is the only real bandhu (relative) for all the souls (jIvAs), all the other relatives we may have are only transient. Lord is our sakalavidha bandhu. (He is the relative in all senses; He is our Father, mother, friend, etc). He is seated in a posture known as Parayanga bhandham. It is one of the postures mentioned in Yoga Sastra. In such a posture, Swami wonders if He is performing the Yoga of contemplating on the welfare of His dear devotees.

SrutInaam uttaram bhAgam vEgavatyaascha dakshiNam | kaamaad adhivasan jeeyaath kaschid adbhuta kEsari ||
Here swami performs Mangalasasana to Lord Nrsimha at thiru vELukkai. Swami mentions that the Lord, out of His own desire chose to stay in this divya desam. He is the Lord eulogized by the latter part (uttara bhaaga) of the vEdAs i.e. the Upanishads. He marvels at the unique combination of animal head face and human body form (adbhuta kEsari).

svasthaanEshu marudgaNaan niyamayan svaadheena sarvEndriya: paryanka sthira dhaaraNaa prakaTitha pratyan mukhaavasthithi: | praayENa praNipEdushaam prabhurasau yOgam nijam shikshayan kaaman aatnudaath asEsha jagataam kaamaasikaa kEsari ||
In this sloka, Swami compares the Lord of VELukkai to a performer of Yoga and prays that He should bestow all the boons desired by the people of this entire universe. A performer of Yoga, at first, controls his three kinds of breath namely praaNa, apaana and udhaana; then he controls his sense organs (karma indriya and jnaana indriyaas); later, he sits in a place ordained to him, performs meditation (dhyaana) and tries to understand the Lord within himself. Similarly, Swami wonders if Lord Nrsimha, who seated in VELukkai facing west, gives respective places for Devas on his indriyas; He seems to control all these indriyas, as He Himself is hrishEkESha(controller of senses). To Swami, it looks like as if the Lord is demonstrating to us how one should one performs yoga to attain Him.

tapanEndvagni nayana: taapaan apacinOtu na: | taapanIya rahasyaanaam saara: kaamaasikaa hari: ||
Here Swami mentions that this Lord of vELukkai is the One who can mitigate our three tapas (sufferings; taapa trayam the three great sufferings) with His 3 eyes. The 3 kinds of taapas (sufferings) are (i) aadyaatmika sufferings which we bring to ourselves, by our thoughts and actions (ii) aadibhoudika sufferings we get due to the outside environment (weather, earthquake etc.), and (iii) aadidaivika sufferings we get due to the punishments imposed by superior beings. In Nrsimha taapaneeya Upanishad there is a mention that Lord Nrsimha has 3 eyes. The sun (sUrya), moon (chandra), and fire (agni) became respectively His 3 eyes.

vikasvara nakha svaru kshata hiraNya vaksha: sthalee nirargaLa vinirkaLadhruDhira sinDhu sanDhyaayithaa: | avanthu madhanaasikaa manuja pancha vakthrasya maam ahamprathamikaa mitha: prakaTithaahavaa baahava: ||

aakaaNTam aaDipurusham kaNTeeravam upari kuNTitaaraatim |

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In this Sloka, Swami praises the blood stained hands of Kamasika Nrsimha. Lord Nrsimha's nails were stronger as Indras weapon vajrAyudha, and the blood flew incessantly from His hands while killing HiraNya. Such hand of His is ever willing to help the cause of His devotees.

SAPTHAKAADHAI

Smt. Vasumathi Sampathkumar

saTaa paTala BheeshaNE saraBha saaTTahaasOdBhaTE sphuratkruDhi prisphuTAd BhrukuTikEpi vaktrE kruthE | krupaa kapaTa kEsarin danuja DimBha datta stanaa sarOja sadrushaa dhrushaa vyathiBishajya tE vyajyatE ||
Here Swami praises the Lords anger. The Lords face was very ferocious out of anger caused by HiraNya's offences (apacharas) towards PrahlAda. Though His angry face, coupled with His majestic roaring was a cause of fear to the enemies, His same face showered motherly affection towards PrahlAda. Swami wonders at the Lords leelA in which, at the same time His appearance reflects intense anger towards HiraNya, He makes His appearance to PrahlAda one of intense Mercy and kindness reflecting that of a mother feeding her young child. The usage of words "krupaa kapaTA kEsari" - Merciful Lord pretending as a Lion, is music to our ears.

In the verse ennindra yOniyumaay pirandhaai imaiyOr thalaivaa Oh Lord of the Devas! You were born in countless forms, Swami Nammazhvar speaks about the countless births of the Lord. Our elders say that similar to the countless avatArAs that the Lord has taken, His ardent devotees too take many avatArAs. The purpose of the Lords various incarnations are to release the individual soul from worldly bondage and to make the souls realize the true nature of themselves. The purpose of the Lords ardent devotees taking birth in this earth is to act as a liaison between the Lord and the individual soul. Such great devotees are called as AchAryAs. It is the AchArya who helps the jIva to know the Supreme Being. Such AchAryAs who teach us the true nature of the soul and the Lord are inseparable from the Lord, and one should not disrespect an Acharya due to the community in which he took birth. Thondar-adi-p-podi AzhvAr, in thirumAlai, has given us this verse pazhudilaa ozhugalaaRRu palasaduppEdi maargaL Izhi kulaththavarkaL Elum am adiyaargaL aagil Thozumin neer kodumiN kOLmin enRu ninnOdum okka Vazhipada aruLinaay pOlum madiL thiru arangaththaanE paasuram 42 In the above verse, the AzhvAr says that the Lord ORDERED everyone to worship and move freely with ALL of the Lords devotees, even if they were born in what is considered according to the varnaasrama dharma, the lowliest of the communities Among such AchAryAs were Swami PiLLai urangaavilli daasar, Eru thiru udaiya daasar, piLLai Vanamamalai daasar and Swami ViLaanchOlai piLLai. PiLLai urangaavilli daasar was a sishya of Swami Ramanuja, Eru thiru udaiya daasar was adored by Swami nampiLLai, Vanamamalai daasar was intimate to Swami naduvil thiruveedhi bhaTTar. Swami ViLaanchOlai piLLai was a disciple of Swami PiLLai Lokacharyar. Swami ViLaanchOlai piLLai learnt all the sacred granthaas (rahasya granthaas) from Swami PiLLai Lokacharyar. It is said that he spent his time immersed in the meaning of Sri Vacana Bhushanam, especially the last portion of the work, which is regarded to hold a similar place like the Charama sloka in SrImad Bhagavad Gita. Moved by this great work,

tvayi rakshati rakshakai: kim ananyai: tvayi ca arakshati rakshakai: kin ananyai: | iti nischita DhI: srayaami nityam nruharE vEgavathI taTaasrayam thvaam ||
Swami, in this Sloka, declares that Lord is the only protector for him and surrenders to Him. If Lord decides to protect us, there is no necessity for us to look for protection from anyone else. In the same vein, if the Lord decides to not to protect us, still there is no use in seeking any other persons protection, as no one can protect us then! Swami declares that with this clear mind, he seeks protection from the Lord of VELukkai.

iththam stutha: sakrudihaashtaBhirEsha paDHyai: Sri vEnkatESa rachthai:tridaSEndra vanDHya: | durdaanta GhOra durita dviradEndra BhEdI kaamaasikaa naraharir vitanOtu kaaman ||
This sloka is the phalasruti (Sloka explaining the benefit to one who recites and meditates on this stOtra). Swami mentions that even if we stOtra just once, Kamasika Nrsimha would tear apart our elephant like sins and bestow us with all our desires.

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Sri Vacana Bhushanam, he wrote a work known as sapthakaadai, which brings out the essence of the last chapter of Sri Vacana Bhushanam. This chapter deals with a concept known as carama parva nishtai. During carama Parva Nishtai (the behavior during the ultimate stages of bhakti), a surrendered devotee will normally have devotion towards His Acharya as the ideal way to attain the Lord. Thus, the subject matter also deals with another concept called AchArya abhimaanam the practice of having complete faith in ones AchArya (Madhurakavi AzhvAr and Swami Vaduga nambi are known to have been great exponents of this carama parva nishtai) The essence of sapthakaadai is that to attain salvation, one should have full devotion towards his/her AchArya i.e. AchArya abhimaanamE uttaarakam (Faith towards ones Acharya ALONE is the saving way). The AchArya is one who imparts to the jIva, the knowledge about the Supreme Lord, and shows the way to attain the Lord hence, it is said that the AchArya is none other than the incarnation of the Lord Himself, and it is ONLY through the grace of the AchArya that one can attain the lotus feet of the Lord. In the first pasuram of sapthakaadai, the greatness of the AchArya and his remarkable service is conveyed. It is the AchArya who imparts the knowledge of the artha panchakam (the five essential truths 1. the nature of the soul 2. nature of the Lord 3. The ultimate goal 4. Means of attaining the Lord, and 5. The obstacles in the way of attaining salvation). It is the AchArya who teaches the nine essential relationships that exist between the jIva and the Lord (nava vidha sambhandham they are 1.pitA/putra bhAvam father/son relationship 2. Rakshya/Rakshaka Protector/protected 3. sEsha/sEshi Master/Servant 4. Barthru/Bharya husband/wife 5. GnyAtru/GnEya To be known/knower 6. Sva/sVami possessed/possessor 7. AdhArya/AdhEya 8. sarIra/sarIri and 9. bhOktrutva/bhOgya). The AchArya also explains the three kinds of obstacles in the way of salvation 1. svarUpa virOdhi 2. upAya virOdhi and 3. prApya virOdhi. Since the AchArya imparts us with the above, very essential knowledge, he should be regarded as an incarnation of the Lord Himself. In the second pasuram, Swami viLaanchOlai piLLai says that one who has no regard for his AchArya is worse than the most dangerous poison, and will never be able to get released from the endless cycle of birth. Swami maNavaaLa maamuni, in Upadesa Rattinamalai conveys the same idea than guruvin taaLiNaigaL tannil anbonrillaadhaar, anbu thanpaal seidhaalum ambuyaikOn, imbamigu viNNaadu thaan aLikka

vENdi iraan aadhallal naNNaar avargaL thirunAdu (The Lord does not grant Sri Vaikunta vAsam to those who worship Him, but do not hold devotion for their AchAryAs hence, such people who dont have devotion towards their AchArya will not attain paramapadam). In the third pasuram, Swami describes the status of a disciple who has no devotion to his AchArya. The knowledge gained from the AchArya vanishes away, if the disciple has no regard for his AchArya. Even though he learns everything, it becomes useless and he remains in this worldly bondage and suffers for ever. Swami goes further and even says that such a disciple is sure to attain worse hell. In the 4th pasuram, the five essential truths (artha panchakam) is elaborated. It is the knowledge of these five essential truths that enables the individual to attain salvation. This can be understood from the Thirumantram. Again, it is the AchArya who imparts the Thirumantram (Om namO nArAyaNAya), and its meanings to the disciple. The eight syllable Thirumantram conveys the five essential meanings. The nama: padam (namO) conveys the meaning that the jIva is ever subservient to the Supreme Lord and the Supreme Lord alone. The word nArAyaNa conveys the countless auspicious qualities that the Lord has, and that it is He alone who can grant salvation. It is the Acharyan who imparts the Mantropadesam. A sutra in Thirumantram a rahasya grantham that elaborates on the meanings of the three sacred mantras for us says - mantrattilum mantirathukku uLLeedaana vasthuvilum, mantrha pradhanaana aachaaryan pakkalilum prEmam ganakka uNdaanaal kaarya kramam aavadhu please see the article on Thirumantram in this issue for meaning of the above sutra. In the 5th pasuram, the code of conduct expected from an AchArya is described. In the earlier pasurams, it was explained that the AchArya is the incarnation of the Lord Himself; in this pasuram, the quality of a pure AchArya (sadAchArya) is described. It is expected from an AchArya, that while imparting the sacred Thirumantram to a disciple, the AchArya should regard the disciple as the disciple of His (the Acharya's) Acharya (and not as his own disciple), and while imparting the meaning of the Thirumantram, he should regard the disciple as a fellow student (sa- brahmAchari). To be more precise, the AchArya should not regard himself as superior to the disciple, and should remember that all jIvAs are disciples of the First Acharya the Lord Himself. If the AchArya regards himself as one who possesses all the good qualities expected of an Acharya, then the very egoistic thought blemishes his soul. This pasuram has its origin the following two sutras of Sri Vacana Bhushanam

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sUTra 508: thaan hitOpadEsam paNNUm pOdhu thannaiyum sishyanaiyum phalaththaiyum maaraadi ninaikkai krooranishtam sUtra 194: bhAgavatha apachaaram thaan anEka vidham. In the first part of the pasuram, Swami talks about how an AchArya should regard his disciples. In the second half of the pasuram, Swami conveys that the devotees of the Lord should NOT be discriminated based on their birth or creed. Then by the third line, ViLaanchOlai Pillai conveys that the devotees of Lord should not be discriminated based on their birth, caste or creed. If an AchArya fails to practice the above mentioned qualities, then he looses his identity his soul become impure. After having described the sufferings that one may undergo if he fails to practice the code of conduct required (whether he is an AchArya, or a disciple), Swami prays for purification from such sins which he might have committed due to the effects of samsAra. The 6th pasuram is addressed to Lord Sri Ranganatha, where, Swami prays to the Lord to purify him from such sins. He makes this appeal through his AchArya, and prays as follows For the sake of the blemish less soul of svAmi piLLai Lokacharyar, my AchArya, and for the sake of the blemish less soul of svAmi emperumAnAr, and by Your unconditional grace, may I be purified from all the sins I have committed. In the 7th pasuram, Swami conveys the easiest way of attaining salvation having complete faith and devotion in ones AchArya. He says that one who is devoted to his AchArya, and follows his teachings will during life on the earth spend his days enjoying the pastimes & qualities of the Lord, residing in holy places; after life on this earth, such a person will attain the greatest of all goals residence in Sri VaikuNTam. The same message is conveyed by Swami maNavaaLa maamuni, in Upadesa Rattinamalai

GADYA TRAYAM

Sri V.V. Ramanujam Swami

(With the maNipravALa commentary by parama kAruNika most merciful, vyAkhyAna chakravathi the emperor amongst commentators, swami periyavAchchAn piLLai. Serialized with permission from the original publisher, Sri Parampara Sabha, Bangalore) - Fifth part of a multipart serialization) (Editors note: It is the uninstigated grace of our Lord and connection to Swami Ramanuja that has given us this wonderful opportunity to adapt and serialize this seminal work in Sri Vaishnavam. Swami EmperumAnArs gadya-trayam is both fundamental to the sampradAyam, and an essential aspect of Ramanuja Darshanam, very necessary for everyone to learn about, understand, comprehend. The incomparable commentary of swami periyavAchchAn piLLai has been very aptly transliterated by Dr. V V Ramanujam, to whom we will remain forever in debt for affording us this joy of getting close to the wondrous, inspired, divine, compassionate vision of our jagadAchArya Swami Ramanuja) 4(i) - Akila hEya pratyaneeka kalyaaNaikataana svEtara vasthu vilakshaNa ananta jnyaana aanandaika svaroopaa! 4(ii) - Svaabhimataanu roopa, achintya, nitya niravadya, niratisaya aujvalya saundarya, saugandhya, saukumaarya laavaNya yauvanaadhi ananta guNanidhi divyaroopaa! In these, Sri Ramanuja addresses the Lord bringing out His preeminence in several ways. This forms a stOtra. There is praise but no flattery because His preeminence is such that He has no equal or superior and no praise can do full justice to this pre-eminence. 4(i): The opposite of all that is lowly and evil; the abode of all that is beneficent and good; distinctly different from all beings other than Yourself; and perfect embodiment of infinite knowledge and bliss. hEya: -anything undesirable is hEya. The susceptibility to change on the part of matter; susceptibility to ignorance and misery on the part of the bound jivatma (to the cycle of birth and death); the dependence (pAratantrya) on the part of the released and ever-free souls; all these are undesirable. The Lord is free from all that can be considered lowly; He is not tainted by contact with the encompassing; all that is sentient and

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nonsentient in the entirety of the created worlds and the eternal paramapada. Kalyana ekatana - the sole abode of all that is desirable and good-full of virtues, with no possibility of being inauspicious even in a small part. Svetara samasta vastuvilaksana - distinctly different from all others than Himself. His being akila hEya pratyanIka and kalyana aikatana mark the Lord as distinctly different from all others. ananta infinite, immeasurable; not confined to any locality; eternal and not bound by time limits; being immanent in all objects, He is universal; He can not be measured in terms of weight or volume. Jnanannandaika svarupa - He is selfeffulgent knowledge; self illuminating. This is the significance of jnana aikasvarupa, similarly in Ananda-bliss. Bliss is all that is favorable (anukoola) and enjoyable (sukharupa). Thus far, the nature of the Supreme Self; the next part of the curnika describes the Divine form. 4 (ii) Sri Ramanuja now proceeds to describe the divyamangala vigraha. Your divine form is most agreeable to You and worthy of You (suits You); unchanging, beyond the reach of thought (incomparable); divine and wonderful, eternal, pure and faultless (unsullied), of incomparable brilliance, possessed of unique loveliness of form (lAvaNya) and limbs (saundarya), exuding a very pleasant odor, charmingly soft, ever youthful;- a vigraha which is a treasure house of all the excellences (above-mentioned) in infinite measure. abhimata most agreeable or dear since the form conforms to His wish (iccha parigrihitam); anuroopa - by showing off all His divine qualities; ekaroopa- changeless (our bodies are susceptible to changes from birth to death; acintya - cannot be understood by comparison with anything or anybody; divya - divine, not of the stuff that goes to making common forms, refreshingly different from that; adbhuta - wonderful in presenting new facets of beauty every instant; nityaniravadya - eternally faultless - this excellent form is not for His own enjoyment and admiration but solely for His devotees; without the flaw of being difficult to conceive and meditate upon; niratisaya aujvalya incomparable brilliance putting to shame all radiant objects like the Sun; saundarya is the loveliness of each part of the form- avayava sobha; each part is such a feast to the eyes and the mind that they get engrossed in it and fail to move on to another part of the form; saugandhya - of the most pleasant odor (aroma) and making others odoriferous by mere contact; saukumaarya - most charming; even His consorts would hesitate to

touch, out of fear that it may show signs of fading; lAvaNya - beauty of the form as a whole (samudaaya sobha), ever in the prime of youthfulness; Adi- and so on; to include other excellences not spoken explicitly here. ananta guNa nidhi treasure house of innumerable excellences; divyarupa the second divya here indicates that the form is celestial (divishita). The excellence of His nature (svarupa) and form (rupa or vigraha) are such that any amount of repetition of their excellence does not provide mental satisfaction of having fully described the same. The next three clauses describe the Lords kalyana gunas, ornaments and weapons; 4 (iii) svaabhaavika anavadhika athisaya jnyaana bala aiswarya veerya Shakti tEja sausIlya vaatsalya maardava aarjava sauhaarda saamya kaaruNya gaambheerya audaarya sthairya dhairya saurya paraakrama satyakaama satyasamkalpa krititva krtajnyata aadi asamkhyEya guNa gaNaugha mahaarNavaa! 4(iv) svOcita vividha vicitra ananta aascharya nitya niravadya niratisaya sugandha niratisaya sukhasparsa niratisaya aujwalya kireeta makuta choodaavathamsa makara kuNdala graivEyaka haara kEyoora kataka sreevatsa kausthuba mukthaa dhaama udhara bandhana peetaambara kaancheeguNa noopuraadi aparimita divya bhooshaNaa! svocitavividhavicitranantascarya 4(v) sva anuroopa acintya sakthi sankha chakra gadaa saarnga aadi asamkhEya nitya niravadya niratiSaya kalyaaNa divya aayudhaa! 4 (iii) Translation : The Lord is addressed here as a vast and deep ocean filled with innumerable hoards of fitting (natural) incomparable and insuperable auspicious qualities; to list - jnana all pervading knowledge, bala - ability to bear the entire worlds by sheer will, aisvarya mighty rulership, veerya ability to bear and rule all the worlds without even a sign of any tiredness- unalterable nature despite being the material cause of all creations, sakti wonderful and unimaginable power and ability, tEjas - ability to get things done without any assistance ( these are the six principal qualities unique and characteristic of the Lord _ Bhagavan); sausilya ability (of the superior) to mix freely (with inferiors); vatsalya tender affection which causes even faults to be enjoyable (like the mischievous pranks of children); maardava - softness of feeling which brooks no separation from beloved devotees; aarjava - straight forwardness in word, deed and thought; sauharda friendliness; saamya being equally accessible

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to all irrespective of apparent differences; kaaruNya mercy; maadhurya being sweet even to murderous enemies; gaambheerya unfathomable mind; audaarya generosity not caring for return; caaturya ability to turn even the hostile to friendliness; sthairya firmness in protecting without any help prakrama ability to defeat enemy hordes in battle effortlessly; satyakaama - of ever fulfilled will; satyasankalpa ability to successfully put into action anything that is willed; krititva ever active for the good of devotees; kratajnyatagratitude even for small good; aadi these and many more like these (naturally fitting auspicious qualities). Elaborative Notes: svaabhaavikha most natural like the coolness of cold water and the heat of a fire; anavadhika atisaya limitless excellence; jnyaana - ability to complete comprehension of all at once; sakti ability to activate His creations, unbelievable and unimaginable ability to do the undoable, like being in all beings all at once in full form; as nammAzhvAr says, He occupies every drop of water in the ocean as if it is a vast expanse of space. tEjas - brilliance which dulls into shade every luminous object (like the sun), majesty, cowing down others. The first six guNas are inherent qualities which are unique to the Lord. The next twelve gunas are for the benefit of devotees, sauseelya ability of superiors to mix freely with others, like water with water, without any feeling of condescension; recall the exquisite qualities exhibited by Srirama towards the hunter Guha and others. Vaatsalya affection, the quality exhibited by the mother cow towards the newborn calf; aarjava oneness in thought word and deed like the truthful exposition of his (Ramas) life story even to soorphanakha ; sauhaarda well intentioned friendliness; saamya equally accessible to all as Srirama to Guha and Sabari; kaaruNya inability to look at anothers sorrow with equanimity; showing mercy not with an eye for any benefit; maadhurya sweetness; being sweet even when He is about to kill; Bhisma welcomed Krsna when He took His chakra to slay him come ! Welcome ! My Lord with eyes like the freshly blossoming Lotus! Lord of the entire World! Lord of all the devas ! I salute you. Slay me in the battle field. gaambheerya no one comprehend what good He has in mind for His devotees; He does not look at the greatness of what He offers and littleness of the receiver; He gives Himself and also the ability to enjoy what is given; audaarya nobility to consider the receiver as generous because he chooses to receive from Him; caathurya cleverly covering up the faults of devotees; sthairya strength of mind; firm determination; I will not forsake anybody who has come in friendliness (Rama); dhairya - the strength needed to abide by the resolve above mentioned; absolute fearlessness.

The next two qualities relate to vanquishing of enemies; saurya ability to destroy the foes of devotees; paraakrama courage to be always in the offensive in the presence of the enemy; be first to deal a blow; People saw the raakshasa hordes being pierced, cut, burnt and fleeced by Ramas arrows; they could not see the quick moving archer (Rama) (Yuddhakanda 64_12); dhairya unmatchable courage may be added here. satyakaama and satyasankalpa are unique qualities. Kaama - lovable; satyakaama most loveable qualities and attributes. Kaama - is also the resolve to protect devotees; this never proves futile. Sankalpa is the will to be incarnated in any form to come to the succor of devotees; He does this unhindered like play (sport). These two qualities are unique of the Lord as Creator and Protector (sustainer). Krtitva and krtajnata are the qualities which characterize the PurushOttama a true gentleman. Krtitva - if devotees wish is fulfilled, He feels He is benefited; Having crowned Vibhisana king of Lanka, Rama felt satisfied, relieved and happy that He had done His duty (1.85). Recall Srivarahas words, I remember my devotee. Kratajnata remembrance; when a devotee once seeks refuge (in Him), He is oblivious to faults and remembers only his surrender. Krsnas words I could not be present in person to protect Draupadi when she cried out for me in her moment of dire need. This will be always a big load in my heart. Ramas words I could not fulfill Bharatas wish his prayer with bowed head. These words come with deep anguish. He is even conscious of His (few) lapses, aadi refers to qualities not elaborated. asamkhyEya countless- limitless. Kalyanagunagana ogha heaps and heaps of ever auspicious qualities. Even His anger is loveable; ogha flood; mahaarNava ocean. All the worlds cannot fully enumerate all His qualities even over a period of 10,000 years (Karnas words in the Mahabharata). 4 (iv) Translation with notes: The qualities described above adorn the Self (the atmasvarupa). The jewels which adorn and beautify the Person (divyamangalavigraha) are now pictured. svOcita matching the beauty of His form; vicitra - diverse in range; vividha numerous in variety; anantascarya - immensely wonderful; excellent beyond any limit; nitya everlasting; niravadya faultless or, nityaniravadya ever without fault. The jewels are also nityasuris (ever emancipated souls), their sole aim is to add to the beauty of the Lords form; niratisaya is an adjective qualifying the adorable characteristics of the various ornaments and indicates their limitless excellence; sugandha fragrant, of sweet aroma, He is himself sarvagandha and sarvarasa- the ornaments enhance these.

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Sukhasparsa soft to the touch; they need not be removed during hours of relaxation (in bed); niratisaya aujvalya of immense splendor; kireeta, makuta, choodaavatamsa- varieties of crowns, say, a crown to signify His absolute supremacy; one to signify easy accessibility to devotees; a third denoting chivalry; chooda may also mean the small pendant at the top of the face (chooda), avatamsa an ornament for the upper ear lobe. makara kuNdala ornaments for the lower ear lobe shaped like a makara (a variety of sea fish). graivEyaka necklace; haara rows ornament for the forearm (like bangles) ; sreevatsa a uniquely beautiful and natural mark (mole) in His chest which is listed here as a jewel; kaustubha an ornament of most superior gems indicative of His Supermacy; mukthaadaama strings of exquisite pearls; udarabandhana a waist band, a fitting ornament to the tummy which holds and protects the entire worlds during pralaya; peethaambara a beautiful yellow silk dress ( vesti ) befitting His Lordship; kaanchee guNa golden belt enhancing the luster of the pitambara; noopura adornment for the feet which devotees seek; aadi - to include those not listed like his yajnopavitam, finger rings and so on; aparimita innumerable and diverse; divyabhusana divine ornaments, absolutely befitting His beauteous form. 4(v) Translation with notes : This clause talks of the divine weapons, which beautify His form and shine like ornaments, which beautify His form and shine like ornaments, adorning Him. Sva anurupa befitting Him; powerful weapons in destroying the foes of devotees, and gladdening the beholding devotees as ornaments adorning Him. acintya shakti unimaginable prowess each weapon can do the functions of all the others; the single arrow of Rama did the function of the crowbar, axe, chisel, spade and what not in felling the seven huge sala trees (Kiskinda 36-); sankha - the conch, chakra (disc), mace (gada), sword (asi), bow (saarnga), and so on; asankhyeya - countless, like the ornaments; nityaniravadya - eternal; ever faultless and ever ready to destroy the foes of the Lords devotees, ever alert in the Masters service, ever sharp and not showing any sign of bluntness; niratisayakalyana auspicious by their very presence; foreseeing the Lords thoughts and acting when it comes to protecting His devotees; always in the dharmik path; also indicates the eminent splendor of the combination of ornaments and weapons. divyaayudha divine weapons not of the stuff of these worlds. Then follows His association with His consorts.

Azhagiya singar, at thiruvalli-k-kENi

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FALL IN LOVE WITH GOD
Regular upanyAsams on sri kooraththazvAn's athimanusha sthavam are happening by Sri E.S.BhUvarahAchAriAr svAmi. These normally happen on Saturdays; please refer to www.vedics.net for further details. The following is an excerpt from the paraphrasing of a part of a recent upanyAsam by svAmi. In Sloka 36 Kurathazhvan asks Krishna "You who is supposed to be pure, One who cannot be comprehended even by yogis, One who is capable of releasing samsaris from their cycle of birth and death, moreover One who is the All Supreme" this is how You are glorified by one and all. How were You bound by Yasoda's rope and couldn't get out of the ties? I am surprised! Now Sri ESBV Swami goes on to give details of how our Purvacharyas reveal the secrets of Krishna's Leelas. Referring to the samsaric bondage, Sri Pillai Thirunaraiyur Arayar says it is like trying to undo a bird's nest, which is built with so many materials that nobody can unravel it. By ourselves we cannot come out of the bondage of samsara. The Lord is all knowing, and He knows it all, but He was behaving with ignorance and got caught by Yasoda. He is the Lord for all, and is called ParamEsvara You who is birth less, but You are born of Your own will to Yasoda. The Vedas worship You, and You are above all, but You were tied by Your mother, and an Azhvars enjoy this by way of saying "kattuNNap paNNiya perumAyan" Pray with sincerity humility and gratitude for atleast 15 minutes a day.

RESTRICT FOOD CONSUMPTION

Eat anything only after offering it to God.

MEDITATION
Meditate on the beauty of God, at least thrice a day, atleast a minimum of 3 minutes each time. Chant Sri Vishnu Sahasranamam (the 1000 Holy Names of Lord Vishnu) once a day.

RESPECT FOR ALL THAT IS HIS

Strive to lead a life in which you will never hurt a fellow living being for any reason.

MONEY
Earn to live, educate, support and serve and not for the sake of pursuing materialistic desires. CHARITY Donate however little it may be to noble causes. Feeding the needy is the highest form of charity.

CONTENTMENT
Be happy and content that you are His. Thank your preceptors at least once a day for blessing you with this awareness.

ABSOLUTE FAITH
Place complete trust in the supreme LORD. Do not go against His way.

SELF CONTROL
Strive to live a life free from selfish desire and anger. Latest updates and more information visit: www.vedics.net For more details, please e-mail: ramanuja@yahoogroups.com Always adorn a peaceful smile; it will work on others and on you too