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Vol 01.011
26 December, 1997

In this Issue:
1. Note from the Publisher
2. Acharya Vamsa Vriksham - Part 11 - Anbil Ramaswamy
3. adaikkala paththu - part 2 - V. Sadagopan
4. pancharatrA - part 1

1. NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER

Dear BhagavathAs,
I will try my best to publish this journal in time in the absence of Sri Anbil and until he returns to resume his responsibility. In the meantime I request all the recipients to send us a feed back on the journal.

adiyEn ,
Sampath Rengarajan

Late release of this issue :
Due to holiday schedule this issue is delayed by a week. It is planned for release of two issues in the first week of the New year. Wish you all a very happy NewYear.

Editors

CONTACT ADDRESS for Sri ANBIL IN INDIA
My contact address in India will be-
Anbil Ramaswamy
C/O Smt. Mythili Krishnaswami
22 Prithvipakkam, Ambattur,
Chennai, 600 053
Tamil Nadu, INDIA
PHONE NO. AT MADRAS : 011-91-44- 6350 246

Dasoham
Anbil Ramaswamy Preseident, SDDS.


2. ACHARYA VAMSA VRIKSHAM- Part 11:
Period G: Bhagavad Ramanuja
Anbil Ramaswamy

(3) News came that Alavandar was very sick and he desired to meet with Ilaya Perumal. Just as Tirukkachi Nambi and Alavandar arrived, they saw the funeral procession of Alavandar. During the last rites, they noticed that three fingers of Alavandar remained folded signifying three of his last unfulfilled wishes. As Ilaya Perumal swore

( i ) that he would write a commentary on Veda Vyasa's Brahma Sutra
( ii ) that he would perpetuate the memory of Vyasa and Parasara and
( iii ) that he would strive to propagate Visishtadvaita on the lines of the 4000 holy collects of Alwars, the fingers unfolded one by one automatically and stretched out to normal position signifying that these were his last wishes. Since he could not meet with Alavandar, he returned to Kanchi without even going into the temple at Srirangam (PPM)

(4) Tirukkachi Nambi obtained from Lord Varadaraja the famous ' Six Words ' and passed them on to Ilayalwar. The six words provided the guidelines for Ilayalwar to follow. They were:-

( i ) that Lord Narayana is the Paramatma.
(ii ) that the individual souls were different from Paramatma.
( iii ) that Prapatti is the means to attain salvation.
( iv) that the last remembrance of the Lord on the part of the departing soul was not necessary.
( v ) that Moksha can be obtained only on laying off the mortal coils ( Videha Mukti) &
( vi ) that Ilaya Perumal should take refuge at the feet of Periya Nambi.

Accordingly, he met with Periya Nambi at Madurantakam , where under the shade of Vakula tree Periya Nambi performed Pancha Samskara to him. As he was initiated into the esoteric of Dvaya Mantra at Madurantakam, the place came to be known as "Dvayam Vilaindha Tiruppathi" (PPM) Both returned to Srirangam and did Kalakshepams on Brahma Sutra etc. for sometime. It was at this time that Lord Ranganatha called him "Nammudaiyavar" (He is ours).(PPM)

(5) Ilaya Perumals was not a happy married life. His wife never understood either his greatness nor appreciated his catholicity and always acted on her own wavelength and there was no compatibility as between them. Several instances are cited wherein the lady ensconced in her own in her own pet ideas of being holy or otherwise showed scant respect to Bhagavatas and this greatly annoyed Ilayalwar. When he was about 30 years of age, Ilayalwar took Sannyas with the name of 'Ramanuja Muni'. He was the king among Sannyasis. Hence, he is called ' Yati Rajar'- a honorific invested by Lord Devaathi Rajan.

(6) The seat of Acharya at Srirangam was lying vacant without a successor to take over. He was prevailed upon to assume charge. But, before doing so, he wanted to equip himself with the secrets of the three great Mantras. For this purpose, he approached one " Tiruk Koshtiyur Nambi" who made him come several times before actually instructing him. He cautioned Ramanuja that he should not give out the secrets to all and sundry and if he did so, he would go to hell.

Immediately on receiving the instructions, Ramanuja climbed up to the top of the steeple of the temple and proclaimed to the large gathering of his disciples assembled there the purport of the instruction.

The popular belief that he gave out the Mantras is not correct; What he actually gave out was that he had found out the way to attain Moksha through the three great Mantras and invited those who sincerely wished to follow him and get initiated. Also, he did not advise all and sundry as assumed by some. By the time of this episode, he had already gathered a huge following of disciples who congregated at the main entrance to the temple and he was thus addressing his own disciples (as explained in a separate posting in this series). This is another less known fact about the well known Acharya Tirukkoshtiyur Nambi was so enraged and demanded an explanation. Ramanuja replied that he did not give out the secrets and even if he had transgressed the specific warning of the Guru, only he himself would go to hell but the multitude of humanity that listened to his clarion ' wake - up' call would be saved spiritually. The Guru was overwhelmed by this reply . Embracing Ramanuja appreciating his broad mindedness, he called him 'Emperumanar'- " O! My lord" and declared that Srivaishnavism would thenceforward be known as " Ramanuja Darsanam"- ' the light of Ramanuja'

(7) Yadava prakasa, his old Guru had by then returned to Kanchi, became Ramanuja's disciple assuming the name of 'Govinda Yogi'

(8) Ramanuja used to go round the streets for his Biksha. An evil minded fellow had mixed poison in the biksha. His wife while serving the biksha fell at Ramanujas feet with tears in her eyes. Ramanuja understood that there was something wrong. When the Sishyas sorted out the biksha for cooking, they found out that poison was mixed with it. Ramanuja went on a fast with a view to cleanse the mind of the evil-doer. On hearing this, Tirukkoshtiyur Nambi rushed all the way to Srirangam. When Ramanuja heard of the coming of his Guru, he rushed to the banks of River Kaveri to receive him. It was the height of summer. Ramanuja ran towards him in the hot Sun to receive him and fell at his feet on the burning sands on the banks of river Kaveri. Nambi did not ask him to get up. Such was his Acharya Bhakti. At that time , Kidambi Aachaan, who was nearby told Nambi " Your action (in not asking Ramanuja to get up) is worse than the poison mixed in the bikshai". Such was the Acharya bhakti of Ramanujas Sishya !(Like master, like pupil !). Tirukkoshtiyur Nambi exclaimed, " After all, now I can cast off my physical body since I have found one who would take the greatest care of Ramanuja"

(9) Ramanuja traveled throughout the country spreading the message of Visishtadvaita. Once a votary of the ' illusion theory' Yagna Murthi by name confronted him for 16 days in endless arguments and counter arguments. Finally, he accepted defeat and became a disciple of Ramanuja assuming the name of 'Arulala Perumal Emperumanar' and wrote 'Gnana Saram and Prameya Saram'.

(10) One of the most important disciples who was totally devoted to Ramanuja was Kuresan also known as ' Kurattalwan'. Once, Kuresan participated in the shradda ceremony performed for his mother by the famous Tiruvarangathu Amudanar. This Amudanar was in charge of the Srirangam temple. When Amudanar inquired what Kuresan desired as reward for his participation, Kuresan replied that the administration of the temple should be handed over to Ramanuja. Amudanar, who had already known the greatness of Ramanuja was only too glad to hand over the key to Ramanuja. It is this Tiruvarangattu Amudanar who subsequently wrote the Ramanuja Noorrantadhi of 108 verses which was included in the holy collects to make up the total of 4,000.


3. Adaikkalap patthu - part 2
V.Sadagopan

SeerAr Thuppal ThiruvEnakatamudayAn ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam

Swami Desikan was moved to perform SaraNAgathi after the unmatched nectar-like experience of tasting the subhAsrayam and the anantha kalyANa guNams of Lord VaradarAjA presiding over Hasthigiri . He used the Tamil metre of KocchahakkalippA to direct the flow of his emotion , which rushed forth as the gushing water from a dam that collapsed .

Prabhandham 1 : Bhakti mudalAmavaRRil ---
I surrender my soul at the sacred feet of PeraruLALan , who resides at the most important of the seven cities that bless their residents with Moksham . I have come to the realization that I am powerless to attain moksham through the difficult-to-practise Bhakthi yOgam as upAyam . I have hence chosen Prapatthi at the lotus feet of Varadhan as the saving grace for me and am performing saraNAgathi . This act of mine (performance of SaraNAgathi at the Lord's feet as the helpless one with no other recourse ) is like the deed of the evil-minded KaakAsuran , who committed grave apachArams to the Lord's consort and was yet saved by the Lord , when he fell at the feet of the Lord as a saraNAgathan without any other recourse .

Prabhandham 2 : sadaimudiyAN --
Here again ananya gathithvam is celebrated in another way .
I am offering my prapatthi at the sacred feet of PeraruLALan while fully cognizant of the fact that the power and wealth of even BrahmA and SivA are evanascent and transitory and fully dictated by their karma visEshams . Once their accumulated puNyams are over , their status as powerful demi-gods disappear . Knowing their alpa sukhams fully well, I am not enamoured of such status and power . I seek therefore the lasting bliss of moksham and nithya kaimkaryam in the Lord's Sri Vaikuntam through my prapatthi.

Prabhandham 3 : TanthirangaL--
Here , Swami Desikan points out that all are eligible to perform Prapatthi at the lotus feet of the Lord of Kaanchi and receive the boon of Moksham from that act of self-surrendeer .

I meditate on the glorious attribute of VaradarAjAn , who blesses all without discrimination , when they perform prapatthi unto Him . These are the virtuous ones , who understand the difficulties of practising Bhakthi yOgam and understand well the equal qualifications of all to perform prapatthi to gain the boon of Moksham . They do not seek any other means than prapatthi and observe their varNAsrama dharmams without slipping . They utter thereafter the prapatthi manthram (svanishtai ) or follow the utterances of their AchAryAs ( AchArya Nishtai ) and perform their prapatthi to the Lord , who accepts it with joy and rewards them with the boon of mOksham .

Prabhandham 4 : kaahamirAkkathan ----
Here the reference is to Maha Viswasam that leads to the fruition of one's prapatthi .
I offer my prapatthi at the holy feet of VaradarAjan inspired by the thought that He granted the boons of samsAra bhOgam and Moksham as desired by them to the offending crow , VibhishAnAN , Drowpathi , Kshathrabhandhu , GajEndran , KaaLiyan , Sivan , BrahmA and all the dEvAs .

Prabhandham 5 : uhakkumavai--
Here , Swami Desikan reveals that he has performed the prapatthi at the Lord's feet in the proper manner with the five angAs of Prapatthi .The words of the prabhandham connected to the five angams are :

With these words , Swami Desikan points out that he has performed aathma samarpaNam with its five limbs .

Prabhandham 6 : aLavudayAr --
Here, Swami Deikan refers to the four kinds of Prapatthi : Svanishtai , Ukthi nishtai, AchArya nishtai and BhAgavatha nishtai. Swami says that he has performed prapatthi at the lotus feet of Varadhan , who grants the boon of Moksham to one , who has performed any one of the four kinds of Prapatthi .

Prabhandham 7 : umathu adigaL adaihinREn---
The meaning of the Abhaya MudrA of Varadhan is ceelbrated here .
The Lord is resplendent at the sight of the prapannA and blesses him to enjoy all of His Isvaryam and looks at the prapannA with great compassion and reveals through the gesture of Abhaya MudrA that his one-time praaptthi alone is sufficinet to enjoy all of that bliss . I surrender my aathmA to that glorious and merciful Lord , who grants such matchless boons .

Prabhandham 8 : thiNmai kurayAmaikkum -----
Here , the conductance of one's life in the post-prapatthi period is described by our ParamAchAryA . I repeately reflect on the meaning of the Lord's sarama slOkam and the assurances given by Him there to the one , who has performed prapatthi . I remind myself that as a prapannan , I must have unshakable faith in the assured fruits of my prapatthi .

I pray for the further enhancement of my bhakthi and Jnaanam . I shall never forget my utter servititude to You and You alone. I shall stay in a happy and tranquil mood with the knowledge of the essence of the rahasyArthAs . I will bear my days on the earth without agitation over the delay in realizing moksham . I will forget the sorrows of SamsAram that is inevitable during the days on earth after performing my prapatthi at Your saced feet . This way , I will spend my post-prapatthi life .

Prabhandham 9 : Suruthi ninaivu ---
As a prapannA , I worship always the Lotus feet of PeraruLALan with a tranquil mind calmed by the clear understanding of the meanings of Sruthis , Smruthis , AzhwAr's Sri Sookthis , AchAryA's Sri Sookthis that deal with the sookshmArthams of VedAnthams .

Prabhandham 10 : ThirumahaLum Thiruvadivum ---
I have joined without fail the majestic and glorious feet of the Lord , who is never separated from His beloved consort. He has the most bewitching beauty. He is an ocean of mercy . His dayA for His devotees is unmatched. He is omniscinet . He is easy of access to His devotees . He has the chEthanAs and achEthanmas as His body . He is the supreme Lord of all of this universe .He is the one , who creates , protects and destroys all of this world and its beings . These auspicious attributes will never part company with the Lord . I have now joined with this PeraruLALan of such anantha kalyANa guNa vaibhavam .

Pala sruthi Prabhandham --11: aaRu payan vERillA ---
These ten verses dealing with my SaraNAgathi at the sacred feet of the Lord of Kanchi will shine without any faults forever. BhagavathAs seek the Lord as upAyam and palan . They observe prapatthi once at His feet. The fruits of the one time prapatthi however lasts forever and is most enjoyable . Understanding the above truths and the sigmificance of such a prapatthi , I have performed my own prapatthi and sung about them in a manner matching their blemishless aathma samarpaNams .

Sri PerumdEvi ThAyAr Sametha Sri Varadaraaja ParabrahmaNE Nama :

Swami Desikan ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam
Oppiliappan Koil Varadachari Sadagopan


4. pAncarAtra. - part 1
Sri Krishnamachari

Introduction:
The scriptures of the Hindu-s can be classified into Agama-s (also known as the Tantra-s) and nigama-s (also known as the veda-s). Agama prescribes the day-to-day ritualistic life and a practical course of self-discipline for its followers. It also prescribes the procedures for consecrating the idols in the temples, forms of worship to be performed in temples that follow the particular Agama, etc. The Agama has three main divisions - Saiva (based on Siva as the Deity), Sakta (based on worship of Sakti as the Deity) , and vaishNava. The nigma is divided into four veda-s - r*k, yajus, sAma, and atharva.

There are further sub-divisions among each of the Agama-s. The principal divisions in the vaishNava Agama are the vaikhAnasa and pAncarAtra. The current review deals with the pAncarAtra Agama.

In the historical evolution of the Agama-s, there have been several views over time - a) Agama-s are derived from the veda, b) Agama and veda are both derived from a common root or mUla-veda, c) Agama-s are inferior to, and less authoritative than the veda, and d) Agama-s are superior to veda. It was probably these kinds of differences that led to Sri YamunacArya's work titled Agama-prAmANya and Sri VedAnta desika's work titled SrI pAncarAtra rakshA. It should be noted that SrI vedAnta deSika has also written a work about the vaikhAnasa Agama titled sajjanavaibhava.

The development of the Agama schools gave great support to promoting the concept of bhakti by concentrating attention on one Deity, and to self-surrender. It also gave great support to art through temple architecture, devotional poetry, dance, etc.

The name "pAncarAtra":
There are several different explanations for the term pAncarAtra. Some of these relate to the principles or practices of the pAncarAtra, whereas others fall in the category of 'imaginative exercises' as described in Agama-koSa published by Kalpatharu Research Academy. An elaborate list of definitions from several samhitA-s is included in the above reference, but I am including below only a few of them.

Literally, the term "pAncarAtra" means "five nights". Some definitions tie back to this meaning, and others key in on the word "pAnca". Based on an analysis of the definitions found in various texts, the five rAtra-s have been equated to a) five cosmic elements, b) five objects of senses, c) the five types of knowledge, or d) the five types of ignorance. And so, the pAncarAtra Sastra can be considered either as the means for the liberation of the soul from the five elements, or container of the five types of knowledge, or the dispeller of the five types of ignorance. Some definitions tell the story of five nights which is described below.

The following is from vihagendra samhitA (I.31-4) - "When the kr*ta yuga had just appeared, by the grace of KeSava, the following five viz. ananta (the serpent), GaruDa, vishvaksena, Brahman and Siva hear the Sastra in parts, as follows: in the first night (rAtra) ananta has his questions answered, in the second night GaruDa, etc. Each of them hears for himself the Religion of Faith in the form of a work on knowledge, yoga, construction, and conduct, each night consisting of a lakh of verses. Since the whole instruction thus has five lakhs of verses, it is called the pAncarAtra".

The name "pAncarAtra" can thus be associated with the "five nights" of instruction. The last sentence in the above para from the translation of vihagendra samhitA implies that the word "rAtra" relates to "one lakh". This could not be verified from the dictionary.

Another interpretation for the term "pAncarAtra" comes from Satapata-brahmaNa (XIII.6.1). This has the earliest passage in which the word pAncarAtra occurs. Here, Purusha nArAyaNa is mentioned as having conceived the idea of a pAnca-rAtra sattra - continued sacrifice for five days - as a means of attaining superiority over all beings and becoming all beings.

In ahirbudhnya samhitA, at the end of the 11th adhyAya, it is stated that the Lord Himself framed out of the original Sastra the system called pAncarAtra describing His fivefold nature known as para, vyuha, vibhava, antaryAmin, and arca forms. This is yet another interpretation for the term.

Other explanations involve the five-fold kAla-s like abhigamana etc., or the panca samskAra-s (puNdra, nAma, mantra, japa and pujA). In the nArAyaNIya (12.338.4) nArAyaNa is called "pa~ncaj~na, pa~nca kAla kartr* pate, pa~ncarAtrika" - (Homage to) Thee of Five Offerings, Lord of those who perform the Pa~nca kAla ritual, Thee of pA~nca rAtra. In the pAdma-samhitA there is a Sloka which lists different words which are synonymous with the word 'bhAgavata'. One of these is panca-kAla-vit (the knower of the significance of the five-fold division of time). "sUrih suhr*t bhAgavatah sAttvatah panca-kAla-vit | ekAntikah tan-mayaSca pAnca-rAtrika ityapi | evamAdibhirAkhyAbhih Akhyeyah kamalAsana || (2-87)" SrI vedAnta-deSika's eloquent defense of pAnca-rAtra highlights this aspect of the pAnca-rAtra doctrine -

The jayAkhya samhitA gives a similar definition, and says the name is derived based on the five different actions performed during the five time periods - panca karmAnushThAna panca kAla nirdeSanena pAncarAtra iti sam~jnah.

The panca kAla-s are:
1) abhigamana - beginning with the brahma-muhUrta about 4.30 a.m., devoted to the preparatory sequences in the morning (like Sauca, snAna, snadhyA, japa, and dhyAna).

2) upAdAna - from about 9 a.m. to 12 noon) - spent in collecting the articles necessary for worship (like flowers, tulasi, fruits, etc.), and making preparations for worship

3) ijyA ( beginning with noontime) devoted to the formal iconic worship elaborately conducted, and partaking of food as naivedya with other devotees

4) svAdhyAya (afternoon and evening), spent in the study of scriptures, contemplating on import, teaching scriptures to others, and such activities

5) yoga (night), devoted to the repetition of the formal iconic worship but briefly conducted, yoga practice (eight-fold practice, ashThAnga yoga), and deep meditation on godhead (dhyAna) before finally resting for the day.

The five phases are intended to be one uninterrupted worship ritual, with the ijyA as the central theme, and the others as preparatory or follow-up. This may be along the lines of the pAncarAtra sattra ritual of the Satapata-brAhmaNa, with the five nights altered to five phases of the day.

Among the definitions that do not directly relate to the practices of the pAncarAtra are the following:

The mahA-bhArata views is that the name derives from the fact that pAnca-rAtra is inclusive of the four veda-s and the sAnkhya yoga - "idam mahopanishadam caturveda samanvitam | sAnkhya yoga kr*tAntena panca-rAtrAnuSabditam " ( mahAbhA 339,112).

The five subjects of knowledge covered in the pAncarAtra according to the nArada pAncarAtra are tattva (cosmology), mukti-prada (liberation), bhakti-prada (devotion), yaugika (yoga), and vaishayika (objects of sense). The nAradIya pAncarAtra is now generally not considered an authentic pAncarAtra text by many vaishNava-s. I could also not verify the meaning "knowledge" for the word "rAtra" from my samskr*t dictionaries.

The Sandilya samhitA (1-4-75-76) gives a different interpretation viz. that the pAncarAtra is capable of giving the devotee delight that will be given together by the five nights viz. sAnkhya, yoga, Saiva, veda-s, and AraNyaka. Here the firve Sastra-s are equated with rAtra-s.

Another interesting stanza from the utsava sa~ngraha says that the name derives because of the five disciplines covered in the pAncarAtra - Agama, bharata (nAtya Sastra), Silpa (iconography and architecture), vaidya (medicine), and jyotisha (astrology) -

Paushkara samhitA (38-307-308) interprets the word as meaning a collection of five systems of thought - purANa, veda, vedAnta, sAnkhya, and yoga - purANam veda-vedAntam tathAnanAkhya yogajam | panca prakAram vij~neyam yatra rAtrAyate'bjaja | phalotkarshenaiva pancarAtra iti smr*tam ||

There are some texts (e.g., padma-purANa) that interpret the word rAtri as 'overcoming' or 'eradicating' (rAtrIyante, adr*SyAni bhavanti), some that interpret rAtra as meaning ignorance or false knowledge (e.g., vishNu samhitA), etc. The false knowledge is that obtained through the five senses (form, sound, smell, taste, and touch), or the panca-bhUta-s (earth, water, fire, air, AkASa) which constitute the world.

dAsan
kr*shNamacAryan