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Vedics is delighted to announce a Spiritual Thematic Calendar 2018 for the residents of USA. Booking for the calendar is now open till Dec 9, 2017. This includes a discourses by Velukkudi Sri. U.Ve. Krishnan Swamy and a DVD depicting Pranayama, Asana etc as described above in the flyer.
Calendars are available in English or Tamil. However, DVDs will be only in Tamil.
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If you are a Little Mite member, you will get a free calendar shipped to your address. Please Join or renew your Little Mite membership for the year 2018 to contribute to the wonderful Kainkaryam initiatives by Vedics here.
śrīmate rāmānujāya namaḥ śrīmad varavaramunaye namaḥ
śrīśaileśa-dayāpātraṁ dhībhaktyādi-guṇārṇavam |
yatīndra-pravaṇaṁ vande ramya-jāmātaraṁ munim ||
Śvāmi Maṇavāḻa Māmuňigaḻ Vaibhavam
After the end of the tragic period of Turuṣka occupation comes the highest point in the glory of Śrīraṅgam, as Nampêrumāḻ returns home and lets Ādiśeṣan reappear as Svāmi Maṇavāḻa Māmuňigaḻ, entrusting him with the monumental task of taking up the work He started as the first ācāryan and carrying it to a state of completion, for the enjoyment and upliftment of posterity. Having been handed the entirety of all of our pūrvācāryars’s treasures, Svāmi Maṇavāḻa Māmuňigaḻ’s mission was to take them all, along with the various yojanais of these giant ācāryars, and show to the world how to line these up without conflict, right from basic sāmānya-śāstrams to saṁskṛta-veda-vedāntams to smṛti-itihāsa-purāna-āgamams to aruḻiccêyals to rahasyārthams and all the way to anuṣṭānam. Displaying more karuṇai than in his previous avatāram as Śvāmi Rāmānujar, Svāmi Maṇavāḻa Māmuňigaḻ is hailed to have written and taught with perfect clarity and accuracy, with utmost simplicity and explicitness, without a single inconsistency, and leaving nothing for deciphering by later generations. Svāmī is celebrated for his most refined style of discourse – full of sweetness and flow, yet tight and precise – unmatched even by other pūrvācāryars and appreciated over and over by ācāryas of extraordinary vidvat. Knowing Pêriyapêrumāḻ’s tiruvuḻḻam, Svāmi Maṇavāḻa Māmuňigaḻ authored detailed commentaries of the most important rahasya-granthams, topped by his glorious commentary to Svāmi Piḻḻailokācāryar’s all-encompassing, magnificent work, Śrī Vacana Bhūṣaṇam. This, combined with Svāmī’s insatiable indulgence in aruḻiccêyals, his caramaparva-niṣṭai towards his ācāryan Svāmi Tiruvāymôļippiḻḻai, and his atyanta-pāratantṛyam towards Svāmi Êmpêrumāňār, made Prathamācāryan decide to close the hāram(necklace) of pūrvācāryars with Svāmi Maṇavāḻa Māmuňigaḻ by taking him as His ācāryan. To unambiguously display this bhāvam of His to the world, he had Svāmi Maṇavāḻa Māmuňigaḻ conduct the famous year-long Īdu 36000paḍi pravacanam close to his āsthānam, directly experienced the pleasure of listening to it by physically being there at the expense of all his utsavams over the period, and reveled offering the taniyan ślokam above to Svāmī’s feet with the commandment that aruḻiccêyal sevai hereon be begun and ended with this taniyan. Ācārya-śreṣṭars of immeasurable pāṇḍityam and maṭhadhipatis of illustrious lineages recognized Svāmī’s greatness and sought his tiruvaḍi saṁbandham, thereby blessing the entire Śrīvaiṣṇava world with ŚrīRāmānuja Saṁbandham through this ācārya-sārvabhaumar. Fittingly, Svāmi Maṇavāḻa Māmuňigaḻ’s supremacy, sweetness and endless other divya-guṇams were extolled by great vidvāns through numerous literary works on him including Varavaramuni Dinacaryais, Varavaramuni Śatakams, Varavaramuni Suprabhātam, Varavaramuni Maṅgaḻam, several muktaka-ślokams and pācurams, Maṇavāḻa Māmuňigaḻ Kaṇṇinuṇciřuttāmbu, Maṇavāḻa Māmuňigaḻ Nūřřandādi, and kāvyams and vaibhava-granthams like Yatīndra-pravaṇa-prabhāvam.
Let us imbibe Svāmi Maṇavāḻa Māmuňigaḻ’s divine qualities and whole-heartedly surrender at his feet wishing for his maṅgaḻam.
śrīmate ramyajāmātṛ-munīndrāya mahātmane |
śriraṅga-vāsine bhūyāt nityashrīh nitya-maṅgaḻam ||
śrīmate rāmānujāya namaḥ śrīmad varavaramunaye namaḥ
lokācāryāya gurave kṛṣṇapādasya sūnave |
saṁsāra-bhogi-saṁdaṣṭa-jīva-jīvātave namaḥ ||
Svāmi Piḻḻailokācāryar tirunakṣatram- Oct 21, 2015
It was a golden age in Bhūlokavaikuṇṭam, when Êmpêrumāňār Daricaňam was marching ahead beyond Svāmi’s own victories with Śrībhāṣyam and Gītābhāṣyam. On one front, Svāmi Nampiḻḻai’s Bhagavad Viṣaya pravacanams were being digested and documented as 36000paḍi by Svāmi Vaḍakkuttiruvīdippiḻḻai; on another front, Svāmi Pêriyavāccāňpiḻḻai had authored vyākhyānams to the entire Aruḻiccêyal corpus, in addition to other key commentaries including the one for important verses of Śrīrāmāyaṇam; and on yet another front, Āļvār-Ācārya vaibhavams, their vacanams, anubhavams, ācaraṇams and upadeśams were gloriously captured in detail by Śvāmi Pinbaļagarām Pêrumāḻ Jīyar in his 6000paḍi and Vārtāmālai granthams. In this setting, as a fitting receptacle to the confluence of all of this divine knowledge, appeared Svāmi Piḻḻailokācāryar. On the day of Pôigai Āļvār’s tirunakṣatram in the year 1205 CE, Svāmi Piḻḻailokācāryar was born to Svāmi Vaḍakkuttiruvīdippiḻḻai out of Svāmi Nampiḻḻai’s grace and as an amśam of Kāñcī Devappêrumāḻ Himself. Svāmi Piḻḻailokācāryar led a blessed life of a naiṣṭhika-brahmacāri-vedāntin devoting undivided attention to the core message of our Vedic sampradāyam – the Rahasyatrayam. As is well-known, Svāmī wrote 18 granthams on this topic catering to the various aspects of understanding the rahasyārthams and to the various adhikārins that yearn to understand. One might attempt to sense the greatness and importance of Svāmi Piḻḻailokācāryar’s rahasya works by reflecting on the fact that these have outshone the rahasya works of even the towering ācārya, Svāmi Pêriyavāccāňpiḻḻai!
Svāmi Maṇavāḻa Māmuňigaḻ points out that the greatest among Svāmi Piḻḻailokācāryar’s 18 works is Śrī Vacana Bhūṣaṇam – the sāratama (ie., of undiluted essence) anuṣṭāna-grantham instructing how exactly a Śrīvaiṣṇava should think and act. Svāmi Maṇavāḻa Māmuňigaḻ also says that after a rigorous Śāstraic analysis the jewels of Pūrvācārya-Vacanams were embedded in the golden words of Svāmi Piḻḻailokācāryar to make the ornament of Śrī Vacana Bhūṣaṇam that decorates one’s ātman. The work was authored to instruct as wells as establish with strong defense the highly refined Veda-Matam and Vaidika-Anuṣṭānam of our Pūrvācāryars. As opposed to verse or running prose, the grantham adopts the sūtra style of traditional mīmāmsā, vouching for and standing by every syllable and word spoken, and supporting it with pramāṇam. The seven pāsurams of Upadecarattiňamālai put the importance of this grantham in perspective by placing it right at the very top and as the very end of all Śrīvaiṣṇava granthams.
It is primarily for giving us Śrī Vacana Bhūṣaṇam that the taniyan above hails Svāmi Piḻḻailokācāryar as the jīvātu (life-giving medicine) to jīvātmans bit by the saṁsāra-serpent. Without Śrī Vacana Bhūṣaṇam, the teachings and practices of our Pūrvācāryars that challenged commonly-held misbeliefs would not have been brought over and established to posterity as strictly Vedic. Svāmi Piḻḻailokācāryar’s kaiṁkaryam in the form of authoring Śrī Vacana Bhūṣaṇam is held on par with his other kaiṁkaryam of immeasurable greatness – giving his life to protect Nampêrumāḻ Himself from the Turuṣka marauders.
Svāmi Maṇavāḻa Māmuňigaḻ declares that it is near impossible to find a person that fully comprehends the deep meanings of Śrī Vacana Bhūṣaṇam, internalize them, and then bring them to the level of anuṣṭānam. Just like how Ādiśeṣan had to come down as Svāmi Rāmānujar to bring out the vedāntārthams captured in the Brahmasūtrams, Svāmi Rāmānujar had to be reborn as Svāmi Maṇavāḻa Māmuňigaḻ to bring out the hard-to-intuit arthams of Drāviḍavedāntam captured in Śrī Vacana Bhūṣaṇa sūtrams. Svāmi Maṇavāḻa Māmuňigaḻ’s vyākhyānam is universally revered for its lucidity and precision, without which, ācāryas say, the profound meanings of this all-important work of Svāmi Piḻḻailokācāryar would never have been understood.
mātā pitā yuvatayaḥ tanayāḥ vibhūtiḥ sarvaṁ yadeva niyamena mad anvayānām|
ādyaḥ sa naḥ kulapateḥ vakuḻābhirāmaṁ śrīmat tadaṅghri yugaḻaṁ praṇamāmi mūrdhnā ||
There is no better way to understand the greatness of Svāmi Nammāļvār than by reflecting on the limitless reverence and bhakti our pūrvācāryas especially, Svāmi Rāmānuja, held towards him. Therefore, let us take some of our ācāryas and focus on how they saw Svāmi Nammāļvār.
Śrī Raṅganātha and Śrī Raṅga Nācciyār picked only Svāmi Nammāļvār for granting mayarvařa madinalam (flawless jñānam and bhakti). The Divine Couple also honoured Svāmi Nammāļvār by giving him the prefix ‘Nam’ meaning ‘Our’, displaying to the world the special regard they had for Āļvār. The Divya Dampatī celebrate several grand utsavams for Svāmi Nammāļvār such as the famous Adhyayana Utsavam, Tiruvaḍi Toļal, Vaikuṇṭa Vācal Tiřappu, in addition to Āļvār’s Tirunakṣatra Utsavam. Śrī Raṅganātha keeps Āļvār as his own Tiruvaḍi, which is named after him as Śrīśaṭakopam or Śaṭāri. Svāmi Nammāļvār’s love for Raṅganātha is matched only by Raṅganātha’s love for Āļvār. Śrī Raṅga Nācciyār shows even greater regard for Svāmi Nammāļvār, only because of whose intervention She takes back Raṅganātha letting go of her praṇayaroṣam against Him.
Madhurakavi Āļvār was the ultimate devotee of Svāmi Nammāļvār, as he knew of no greater God than him. He sings in deep gratitude towards Svāmi Nammāļvār for granting the hard Vedas in the enjoyable form and such that their deepest meanings stood firm in his heart. Tirumaṅgai Āļvār claims himself as ‘irum tamiļ nūl pulavaň’ which, our ācāryas point out, refers to his mastery of Tiruvāimoļi. He arranged for the elaborate celebration of the Adhyayana Utsavam for Svāmi Nammāļvār at Śrīraṅgam, and had Śrī Raṅganātha directly authorize and set in stone that Tiruvāimoļi is Veda-samam (equal to the Vedas).
Śrīman Nāthamuňigaḻ’s respect and devotion for Svāmi Nammāļvār and the Divya Prabandhams is most evident, as he brought back the lost paasurams through Āļvār’s Aruḻ and became the first ācārya. Nāthamuňigaḻ established against enormous opposition that Divya Prabandham is Veda-samam, apauruṣeyam (unauthored) and nityam (ever-existing). He devoted his life to spreading the Divya Prabandham by giving it music and started the tradition of handing it down to śiṣyas. The ‘bhaktāmṛtam’ taniyan shlokam sung by Śrīman Nāthamuňigaḻ summarizes his reverence towards Tiruvāimoļi.
Śrī Āḻavandār displays his complete and undivided bhakti of all forms towards Svāmi Nammāļvār through the ‘mātā pitā’ shlokam at the beginning of his greatest work, Stotraratnam. He bows down to Āļvār hailing him as “by rule, Āļvār is mother, father, objects of pleasure, sons, property, and everything to him and to everyone connected to him”. In the previous shlokam he addresses the great maharṣi Parāśarar, bowing to him in gratitude for delineating tattva-hita-puruṣārthams for us. But he does so simply with a quick ‘Namah’ and moves on to the next ślokam declaring Āļvār as everything to him, beautifully elucidating the supreme importance of Āļvār over Ṛṣis.
Svāmi Rāmānujar’s ultimate devotion towards Āļvār is seen clearly through the many pāsurams of Rāmānuja Nūřřandādi, such as the very first one, where Svāmi Rāmānuja is hailed as ‘māřaň aḍipaṇindu uyndavaň’. The magnitude of Āļvār’s influence on Svāmi Rāmānujar is evident all though his Vedantic works, as is amply enjoyed and written about by experts. Among the various ways of experiencing it, one would be to contextually compare commentaries of other darśanas where the same Vedantic explanation is proffered, then to notice what Svāmi Rāmānujar says beyond the common explanation, and then to see that those are based on the Divya Prabandhams only. Traditional historic accounts of Svami Ramanuja’s life and kaiṁkaryams are replete with his successful efforts to bring Āļvār and Divya Prabandhams to prominence in everyday kaiṁkaryams at Śrīraṅgam and other Divya Deśams.
Sri Vedānta Desikar hails Svāmi Nammāļvār as the one because of whom the Vedas can now take rest. In Pādukāsahasram, he sings of Āļvār as Perumāḻ’s Tiruvaḍi, which He places on people’s heads solely to give them a connection with Svāmi Nammāļvār. He reveres the Divya Prabandhams as the key to understand the otherwise unintelligible parts of the Vedas.
Svāmi Maṇavāḻa Māmuňigaḻ held Svāmi Nammāļvār as greater than Namperumāḻ, as is evident in his Tiruvāimoļi Nūřřandādi pāsurams, where he says a hundred times that whatever Āļvār got from Perumāḻ, we will get from Āļvār by thinking and speaking of it. In Upadeśarattiňamālai, he highlights Svāmi Nammāļvār, Tiruvāimoļi and Tirukkurugūr are matchless. In Ārtipprabandham, he expresses that we are blessed with Nammāļvār’s works alone as our food and nourishment for our souls, and that we have the mental state expressed by Madhurakavi Āļvār as our state because of the latter’s bhakti towards Svāmi Nammāļvār.
On the tirunakṣatram of Svāmi Nammāļvār, let us listen to his greatness, attempt to understand his pāsurams, and recite them to give us uninterrupted service at the Lotus Feet of Śrīman Nārāyaṇa.
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śrīnagaryāṁ mahāpuryāṁ tāmraparňi uttaretaṭe |
śrī tintṛṇī mūla dhāmne śaṭakopāya maṅgaḻam ||
Āļvār Êmpermāňār Jīyar Tiruvaḍigaḻe Śaraṇam
Thiruppavai Upanyasam by Velukkudi Sri U. Ve. Krishnan swami
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Sri:
Srimathe ramanujaya nama:
Srimad varavaramunayae nama:
Srisailesa dayapatram deebhakthyaadi gunaarnavam
Yatindra pravanam vande ramaya jaamaataram munim
Svāmi Maṇavāḻa Māmuňigaḻ is the charama acharyan in the Acharya guru parampara haaram ( that starts with Lord Sri Ranganatha Himself). Periya perumal's quest for the ultimate Acharya was achieved with the avataram of Maṇavāḻa Māmuňigaḻ and he accepted Maṇavāḻa Māmuňigaḻ as His acharya, thereby completing the guruparamparai ratna haaram.
Swami's 646th birth anniversary is fittingly celebrated worldwide, exactly as Periya Perumal would like. In North America, many cities celebrated the auspicious Aippasi thirumoolam festival in various temples and homes. In this article, we wish to detail the celebrations held in Seattle.
Seattle Aippasi Thirumoolam Celebrations - 2016
In the Seattle metro, aippasi thirumoolam utsavam was celebrated grandly for 10 days in various Srivaishnava homes and 1 day in the Lakshmi Venkateswara temple.
For each day of the utsavam, 1 centum of Nammazhvar's thiruvaimozhi was recited along with Sri Devaraja Mangalam. During the weekend, Pillai Lokacharya's SriVachana Booshanam and Mumukshupadi were recited. The utsavam also included Upanyasams on 9 out of the 10 days. These Upanyasams were provided by stalwarts from India, through Skype or audio conferencing.
The utsavam had a glorious start by Sri. U.Ve.Vinjimoor Venkatachariar Swami, descendant of Arulalaperumal Emberumaanaar from Srivilliputhur through Skype. Vinjimoor Swami talked about the greatness of Manavaala Mamunigal's avatharam and also kick started the sevakalam.
On Deepavali day, the utsavam was graced by Sri. U.Ve. Thenthirupperai Aravindhalochanan swami's Skype upanyasam on Maṇavāḻa Māmuňigaḻ's composition about Perarulaalan, Sri. Devaraaja Mangalam.
Sri. U.Ve. Prathivadi Bayankaram Rajahamsam Swami exemplified Māmuňigaḻ's Guna Poorthi and Srivaishnava Lakshanam. Sri. U.Ve. Akkarakani Srinidhi Swami mesmerized us with the similarities between Emperumanar and Māmuňigaḻ.
In addition to the upanyasams by stalwarts from India, Seattle's budding local Upanyasakars also provided comprehensive talks on Arthi prabandham, Kovil Kandhadai Annan charithram, Poyyilaadha Manavaala Mamunigal, Thiruvaimozhi 8th centum etc. It is very heartwarming and reassuring for the North American Srivaishnava community to know that locals can deliver upanyasams, carrying on the beacon of our Sampradayam in USA for generations to come.
As part of the celebrations at the local temple, Thirumanjanam was performed for both Mamunigal and Lord Venkateshwara. Maṇavāḻa Māmuňigaḻ's thirumanjanam was conducted at the feet of Sri Venkateshwara perumal. It felt like Perumal was pointing his varadha hastham towards Māmuňigaḻ, showing us that Māmuňigaḻ is the one to be followed. The sevakalam included Thiruppallandu, Thiruppalliezhuchi, Thiruppavai, Amalanadhipiran, Kanninum Siruthambu, Gnyaana saaram, Prameya saaram, Thiruvaimozhi Nootranthaathi, Dinacharyai, Yatiraja Vimshati and Arthi Prabandham. This was followed by purappadu of Manavaala Mamunigal, around Perumal's praakaaram.
During bhOjyaasanam, 8 Srivaishnava children brought before our eyes the ashtadiggajas appointed by Svāmi Maṇavāḻa Māmuňigaḻ. They performed a mini sangeetha upanyasam, singing and explaining the meanings of podhu taniyans and 8 pasurams from Upadesa Rathina Maalai.
Vedics brings to you the recording of these upanyasams and the children's program. We hope you can relive the wonderful experiences of the Seattle goshti.
You can listen to the upanyasams here:
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Sri. U.Ve. Vinjimoor Venkatachariar Seattle Māmuňigaḻ Utsavam 2016 Thodakkam:
Stay tuned for celebrations and pictures from other cities.
Sri:
Srimathe Ramanujaya Namaha
Srimad Varavara Munaye Namaha
The Inspiration to the Inspired
In the disciplic lineage that we ascribe to as part of the Visishtadvaitha Srivaishnava Sampradaya the most venerated and celebrated acharya is Swami Ramanuja. We are all aware of his divine birth, deep knowledge and his unparalleled love for Sriman Narayana. It must be mentioned that Swami Ramanuja looked up to Swami Alavandar for inspiration. Swami Alavandar’s main contribution to our divine tradition is that he is the one who identified Swami Ramanuja (then known as Sri Ilayazhwar) in Kanchipuram and hailed him as the successor to adorn the pontifical seat of being the “darsana pravarthaka acharya” (preceptor to carry the divine vision forward).
Excerpts Swami Alavandar’s stotra literature are most celebrated in our sampradaya and serve as excellent works to learn methods of expression in the sanskrit language. His works are extremely polemic and served as the basis for the work by all our preceptors that followed him. Learning his works and spending time in understanding the manning contained in them is the best way to celebrate the annual birth asterism of this wonderful personality. VEDICS Foundation is proud to present a wonderful discourse delivered by Velukkudi Sri U. Ve. Krishnan Swamy at Kattumannar Kovil, the place of birth of Swami Alavandar.
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Swami Alavandar
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Sri:
Srimathe Ramanujaya Namaha
Srimad Varavara Munaye Namaha
True Education
Dear Readers,
Upakarma which means “beginning” in sanskrit is an annual ritual that is conducted in all Brahmin households. It signifies the day/date/asterism when a Brahmachari child, whose sacred-thread ceremony has been performed, commences his vedic studies. In the past, the day would symbolize the annual beginning of curricular studies for any brahmachari child.
Velukkudi Sri U. Ve. Krishnan Swami has delivered a beautiful discourse on the many aspects that pertain to the Upakarma festival that we celebrate. Please login with your userId to listen to the same.
Upakarma
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Our readers are also encouraged to browse other sections of the website and recommend our Membership Program to their family and friends, through which a lot of the activities that we undertake currently, are made possible. As always, please share this information on your social media channels as well.
VEDICS Foundation, due to the grace of Sriman Narayana, has been helping propagate the traditional method of study for several works and works in conjunction with Kinchitkaram Trust which runs Veda Patasalas in India. More information can be had by contacting us directly
sri:
srimathe ramanujaya namaha
srimad varavaramunaye namaha
A Beginning or The End?
One of the core tenets of the Visishtadvaitha Srivaishnava Sampradaya as expounded by Swami Ramanuja, also known as the Emperumanar Darsanam, is the theory of causality known as the “satkaryavada”. It is defined by the axiom that the existence of any effect is implied in a latent form whenever a cause is exercised. It is a tenet that found favor with Swami Ramanuja in his explanation of our ontology, which resonates with the message in the Upanishads and lie in tune with the divine outpourings of the Azhwars. It principally helps rationalize the philosophy associated with creation. Much like the Law of Conservation of Energy, which states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed, our sampradayam holds that anything which comes to being is wholly real and is only a transformation from something that existed before to another new, present form and has not been created from a previous state of non existence.
Srisailesa Thaniyan
Sri Varavaramuni Suprabhatham
This dictum is one that followers of this tradition hold at high regard and is one that draws a thin line between ours and other schools of Vedanta. Thus, one can always hold a point of view that the end of something is the beginning of another and also infer that the beginning of one signifies the end of some other. The same concept underlies the Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 2, verse 27 - “jaatasya hi dhruvo mrutyuhu”. It is also indicative of the pasurams of Swami Nammazhwar which are composed in the Andhadhi style, where the beginning of the following verse in the same as the end of the current one.
Thus, it is quite clear that a very interesting Möbius strip like phenomenon is quite predominant in our sampradayam. Interestingly, this day is one that holds extreme significance in this regard. we follow a disciplic succession called the Oran Vazhi Acharya Guru Parampara. This lineage is held in the highest regard amongst our elders and to relive of their glories time and again during the day was a favorite past time of theirs. This succession begins with Sriman Narayana. After them comes Sri Vishwaksena, followed by Swami Nammazhwar. Then begins the era of Sriman Nathamuni. Yamuna Muni, Swami Ramanuja and so on unto Srisailesa or Sri Tirumalai Azhwar. Each of them were known as the “darshana pravarthaka acharya”, roughly translated as ‘The Preceptor Promoting the Vision’. Sri Tirumalai Azhwar was succeeded by the most compassionate, benevolent and illustrious Swami Manavala Mamunigal.
Stories abound the legend of how The Supreme Lord himself sought a teacher who was replete with all of the qualities that defined a preceptor in entirety. It was Namperumal, as one of his many displays of divine amusement, who submitted himself as an acolyte by submitting a salutary verse called as a “thaniyan”. This is the thaniyan that begins as “Srishailesha daya pathram”. It was ordained by Sri Namperumal himself that this thaniyan be recited by one and all at the commencement and conclusion of any gatherings.
Thus, we see two instances of where the beginning and the end have been conceived as symmetric expositions. The Lord took it upon himself to complete the Acharya Ratna Haram by ably forging the hook and fastener so that the disciplic succession is one of perpetual propagation. Also, the invocatory and concluding verse of all recitation has ordained to be the Srisailesa thaniyan, the Srisailesa Maha Mantram.
VEDICS Foundation invites you to listen and delve into the glories of one of the greatest events of our sampradayam. We present to you an upanyasam giving the meanings of the Thaniyan, some graphics that illustrate the incident via paintings and some more resources about Swami Manavala Mamunigal for you to enjoy. As always, we encourage you to share our information across your social media channels and with all your friends and family. Happy Learning!
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Sri Varavaramuni Mangalam
Sri:
Srimathe Ramanujaya Namha
Srimad Varavara Munaye Namaha
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SRI PERIAZHWAR, SRIRANGAM PERIYA KOVIL
VEDICS Foundation has always strived to try and establish an accessible yet undiluted bridge between the various teachings and expositions of Āzhwārs and Āchāryas. Often times the various works of our preceptors feel distant because of barriers in language, and understanding. We must always attempt to overcome these barriers and enjoy the timeless wisdom that has come forth from the erudite lands of our preceptors.
Today is the auspicious day of the Āni month, Swāthi nakshatram. This happens to be the annual birth star for various stalwarts of our sampradāyam namely Sri Periāzhwār, Sri Vadakku Thiruveedhi Pillai and Sri Vādhikesari Azhagiya Manavala Jeeyar. It also happens to be the asterism that is associated with Sri Narasimhar and Sri Garudazhwar.
Sri Periāzhwār was born in Srivilliputhur and is the father of Sri Āndāl. He has authored several pasurams and visited several divyadesams while residing in bhūlokam. Tirupallāndu which is one of the most oft recited song was composed by him.
One of the most important songs that is part of the collect termed "Divya Prabandham" is the Tiruvāimozhi sung by Swāmi Nammāzhwār. All of our āchāryās have spent their entire lives knowing and propagating the meanings of these divine songs. Swami Rāmānujā has prescribed this as one of his tenets to all his sambandhis. Tiruvāimozhi is replete with esoteric meanings as contained in the Tirumantram, Dwayam, Charama slokam, Bhagavad Gîtā, Vedās, Upanishads, the Brahma Sutra etc. Several of our elders have spent their entire lifetimes in helping teach and further the knowledge of samsaris and elevate them.
There are five commentaries written by various āchāryās of our sampradāyam for Tiruvāimozhi. They are:
1. Ārāyira-padi by Tiru-kurugai pirān Pillan
2. Onbadhināyira-padi by Nanjîyar
3. Iruvathinālāyira-padi by Periya Vāchān Pillai
4. Pannîrāyira-padi by Vadhikesari Azhagiya Manavala Jeeyar
5. Ēdu/Muppathiārāyira-padi by Nampillai
Of these, the most celebrated is the Ēdu maha-vyākhyānam. While the commentary itself is attributed to Swami Nampillai who delivered them as discourses, the scribe who has helped save it for all posterity was Swami Vadakku Thiruveedhi Pillai. In addition to this, he is the father of the illustrious Swami Pillailokachāriār and Swami Azhagiya Manavala Perumāl Nāyanar.
Vadhikesari Azhagiya Manavala Jeeyar was born in a small town called Brahmadesam-Mannārkovil in the present Tirunelveli district. His story is one of an amazing transformation, one that can come only out of the infinite grace of our pūrvāchāryās. He surrendered at the feet of Swami Periya Vāchān Pillai, who trained him in several branches of study and under his tutelage, went on to become one of the foremost scholars of their time. In addition to his commentary on the Tiruvāimozhi, he has authored the Dravidopanishad Sangathi(samskrit) and Gîtā Venba(tamizh) which are both critical works in the understanding of the Tiruvāimozhi and the Bhagavad Gîtā respectively.
A very interesting nexus of those born on this auspicious day can be observed. In the writings of Swami Vadakku Thiruveedhi Pillai, in the commentary for the pasuram "Māśūñā" (3-1-8) of the "Mudicchodhi" (3-1) decad, a beautiful explanation of Swami Periāzhwar's exposition can be found. In the commentary it says that the Āzhwārs alone have comprehended (the greatness of) his Divine Feet and accorded protective auspiciousness to them. A reference made to the Divine feet of the lord in the Tiruppallāndu is quoted while attempting to explain the inner meanings of the Tiruvaimozhi pāsuram. Similarly, a reference from the Tirupallāndu is taken while explaining some portions of the next pasuram "Muzhangādha" (3-1-9).
So, on the days that the Swathi Asterism occurs, we should all remember the songs of Periyāzhwār, whose songs when quoted have been dutifully recorded by Swami Vadakku Tiruveedhi Pillai. These have been propagated by Swami Azhagiya Manavāla Jîyar. The songs are about Sriman Nārāyanā one of whose forms is Lord Narasimha. Several of these pasurams have references to the Lord borne by his faithful vāhana Garudan.
VEDICS Foundation, due to the grace of Sriman Narāyana, has been helping propagate the traditional kalakshepam method of study for several works. Currently, Ēdu kalakshepam called the Bhagavad Vishayam is being delivered by U. Ve. Velukkudi Sri Krishnan Swami at Vāgāmruthavarshî Bhavanam, Srirangam. We are offering a web-streaming version of the same and continue to have the same divine experience delivered to our homes around the world. We also host several other upanyasams in our "Audio" section. Our readers are also encouraged to browse other sections of the website and recommend our Membership Program to their family and friends, through which a lot of the activities that we undertake currently, are made possible.
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