You are here: SriPedia - Oppiliappan - Archives - Oct 2005

Oppiliappan List Archive: Message 00206 Oct 2005

Oct 2005 Indexes ( Date | Thread | Author )

[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next]


Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

 

The Attractive Acharya

 

Apart from being a master logician and a peerless philosopher, what 
distinguishes Swami Desikan from others of his genre is his undisputed mastery 
over poetry. He was a Taarkika Simham, Vedantancharya and Kavi Simham, all 
rolled into one. As it is, advanced philosophical or logical tenets are 
difficult to express in prose-to render them into verse with lilting metres and 
without sacrificing the sobriety of the matter, requires special 
accomplishment, which came naturally to Swami Desikan. Especially, his 
descriptions of Emperuman at various divyadesams are indeed impressive. Be it 
the head-to-foot depiction of Sri Rangaraja's matchless splendour in "Bhagavat 
Dhyaana Sopaanam" or the mouth-watering descriptions of His soundaryam and 
laavanyam in "Sri Devanayaka Panchaasat", "Sri Achyuta Satakam" etc., Swami 
Desikan is a past master in bringing Emperuman's inimitable beauty before our 
eyes, making us thirst for the enchanting experience.

 

Normally, it takes a beautiful person, beautiful of physique or of intellect, 
to perceive and appreciate beauty in others. Going by this standard, we wonder 
what Swami Desikan himself looked like. The names of certain Acharyas conjure 
up before our minds' eyes certain types of figures, as we have not had the 
fortune of seeing them in person. 

 

When we think of Sri Ramanuja, for instance, we picturise him as a tall and 
impressive person with an ascetic appearance, with arms reaching down to his 
knees, face awash with the brilliance of deep devotion, the Yagyopaveetam 
sprawling across his broad chest, his broad forehead and other parts of the 
body adorned with oordhvapundram, his palms folded in typical devotion, clothed 
in ochre robes signifying his sanyaasa aashramam, deep-set eyes shining with 
the brilliance of blemishless wisdom and radiating boundless compassion, with 
the Tridandam held aloft and resembling a flagstaff of his comprehensive 
victory over opposing pseudo-Vedantic philosophers. This is how we normally 
picturise the Emperor of Yatis.  And when we think of Sri Koorattazhwan, we 
think of him with a beard, for that is how most of his vigrahams appear. As far 
as the rest of the Acharyas are concerned, it appears to have been left pretty 
much to the sculptor's imagination as to how they must have looked. 

 

We know Swami Desikan intimately from his numerous and instructive works. Our 
respect, regard and love for him multiply themselves manifold, with every 
perusal of his masterly, yet compassionate and comprehensible Sreesooktis. 
However, the icons of Swami Desikan that we worship at various divyadesams do 
not present a uniform picture, though they are the same as far as the basics 
are concerned. For instance, the moorthy that we witness at Tiruvahindrapuram 
is quite different from the one to be seen at Tooppul, or for that matter, at 
Tirunarayanapuram or Tirukkudandai. All this makes us yearn for authentic 
information about how Swami Desikan had looked, when he inhabited this planet. 

 

Fortunately, we do have a reliable account of Tooppul Pillai's looks. As for 
being authentic, it couldn't be more so, coming as it does from his illustrious 
son, Sri Kumara Varadacharya. Foreseeing the need of future generations of 
Srivaishnavas who, in the absence of Swami Desikan's physical presence, would 
long to know how Swami looked in his vibhava dasa, Kumara Varadacharya has set 
it down in a Stotram of 15 slokas, aptly titled "Srimad Vedanta Desika Vigraha 
Dhyaanam". Here are a few captivating glimpses from the Stotram.

 

We learn that Swami Desikan was extremely fair in complexion (as in conduct)-so 
much so that he resembled a shining Sun. In a slight variant, in Pillai 
Andaadi, the Acharya is said to possess a golden hue-"Sempon meni maaraada 
Tooppul Maal". His overall appearance was one that would instantly capture our 
hearts and make us bow our heads in obeisance, says Sri Nynaracharya. 

 

Embarking on a foot-to-head ("paadaadi kesam") description of his father's 
delectable persona, Kumara Varadacharya tells us next that Swami Desikan's 
tiruvadis were a veritable pair of lotuses in full bloom. This is reiterated in 
Pillai Andaadi-"Tooppul vallal men malar adi". The nails on his feet were 
pleasingly bright, like the soothing beams of the full moon, banishing the 
gloom of ignorance from the hearts of those who knelt at his holy feet. The 
soles of the feet were imprinted with signs of the lotus, Chakram and Shankham, 
similar to the Lord's. His ankles were strong, akin to Cupid's quiver, 
supporting shapely knees resembling the beautiful face of oxen and thighs 
similar to the tubular innards of the plantain tree ("Vaazhai Thandu"). The 
slender waist was covered by a pure white Vastram. Swami's navel was deep.

 

Swami Desikan's forehead resembled the Ashtami Chandran, shapely, broad and 
beautiful. This forehead was never empty, always adorned with bright Tiruman 
Kaappu. His hair was straight, white and long (obviously what we have here is 
an account of Swami Desikan in his advanced years). There was in Swami Desikan 
a marked resemblance to Sri Nammazhwar. This is hardly surprising, for, Swami 
Desikan had spent an entire lifetime in the study, analysis, preservation and 
propagation of Satakopa Muni's sreesooktis, with several works such as Nigama 
Parimalam (unfortunately lost to us), Dramidopanishad Taatparya Ratnaavali, 
Dramidopanishad Saaram and Paduka Sahasram, all portraying the glory of Sri 
Nammazhwar. We tend to acquire the traits of the person who is constantly in 
our thoughts, adopting him as our role model. It is only a natural corollary of 
this maxim, that in looks too Swami Desikan grew to be like the divine bard he 
most admired.

 

Swami Desikan's saintly face was bright and pleasant as the moon, but without 
any blemish. And the Acharya had a flowing white beard, which accentuated his 
scholarly and saintly appearance. This account lends credence to the view of 
scholars that Swami Desikan too, like Sri Koorattazhwan, grew a beard in his 
later years. The beard was long enough to touch his chest, flowing down like 
moon beams, from just below his lower lip. The cheeks were neither chubby nor 
shrunken, but with the right amount of flesh, and glass-like in their beauty. 
His broad chest was adorned by a pure white Yagyopaveetam, while his beautiful 
neck, resembling a shining white conch, was adorned with garlands made of lotus 
beads. His shoulders were high and rounded, with the collar bones appropriately 
hidden by fleshy cover. They were also adorned with glowing Shankham and 
Chakram, acquired during Samaashrayanam. His hands were long and sturdy, 
reaching down to his knees-a real "Ajaanubaahu". His ears were shapely and 
fine-looking. The fingers adorning the hands were soft, supple, long and 
graceful. His face was always adorned by a beatific smile ("thoomuruval konda 
mukham"), compassionate, friendly and inviting. His beautiful lips resembled 
the just-sprouted tender leaves of a mango tree, always moist and fresh.

 

Swami Desikan's teeth were straight, white and bright. Despite his advanced 
years at which this stotram appears to have been composed, the Acharya appears 
to have had a full set of pearly-white teeth, obviously due to the saatvic food 
he had been imbibing all his life. A slightly upturned and proportionate nose, 
resembling the sesame bloom, with flared nostrils, adorned the centre of his 
face. The nose resembled a slender creeper, from which appeared to blossom 
beautiful twin lotuses, representing the Swami's compassionate and captivating 
eyes. The wide, beautiful eyes radiated compassion and understanding. 
Enchanting eyebrows formed fitting overhangs for these lotus-like eyes.

 

The entire tirmeni of the aged Acharya thus presented a picture of rare beauty, 
asceticism, grace, enchanting elegance and captivating charm, all of which are 
to be conjured up in our mind's eye, when we recite the concluding lines of 
Pillai Andaadi-"Vadivazhagu aarnda van Tooppul Vallal".

 

Kumara Varadacharya summarises all that has been said above about the 
captivating looks of Swami Desikan, in a single slokam, with a paadaadi kesa 
varnanam (reproduced below), to enable convenience of meditation-

 

"Sujaata charanaambujam, sudrida gulpha jaanu oorukam

 sitaantara kati thatam subhaga naabhi vakshogalam

 sudeergha yuga baahukam shubha kapola naasaakshikam

 mano ruchira maalikam kalaya Venkatesam gurum"

 

When we worship Swami Desikan at Tooppul, his holy face appears to confirm that 
whatever Kumara Varadacharya has portrayed is no exaggeration, but a mere 
statement of fact. 

 

Srimate Sri Lakshminrisimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana 
Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

dasan, sadagopan

 

 

 

 

 


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]



------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> 
Click here to rescue a little child from a life of poverty.
http://us.click.yahoo.com/rAWabB/gYnLAA/i1hLAA/XUWolB/TM
--------------------------------------------------------------------~-> 

 
Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Oppiliappan/

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
    Oppiliappan-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
    http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
 





[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next] [Date Index ] [Thread Index ] [Author Index ]
Home Page
http://www.ibiblio.org/sripedia
oppiliappan-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
To subscribe to the list