SrI:
SrImathE Gopladesika mahadesikaya namah:
SrImathE Srinivasadesika Mahadesikaya namah:
SrImathE Ranganathadesika Mahadesikaya namah:
SrImathE Srinivasadesika Mahadesikaya namah:
SrImathE Gopalarya Mahadesikaya Namah:
Sri Narayana Yogindra Varadaarya Kripaasrayam /
Rangesa Paada Vinatham Srinivaasa Munim Bhaje //
(meaning)
I hail Srinivasa Muni who obtained the full grace of Sri Narayana
Yogindra Varadaarya, who always bowed at the feet of Lord Ranganatha.
About this Great mahaan, there are two slokas composed by Sri RV
Krishnamachariar:
I am giving only the translation (Please forgive my translation as well):
For those who take to sanyaas (renunciation), there could be many reasons.
Poverty, disinterest in samsaaric afflictions, mental worries, non-cooperation
from spouse etc. For this Swamy (Sri Poundarikapuram Andavan Swamy), lot of
wealth (inherited), extremely cooperative Pathivratha dEvigaL (spouse),; a
great vidwAn of the first kind. Simply due to his vairAgyam alone, he took to
sanyaasaasramam.
What a kind of vidvathvam he has!
He is PaNinI in vyAkaraNam.
GaNAdhar in mImAmsA.
Vedantha Desikan in Vedantha!
Those vidwAns and scholars who acknowledge the above whole heartedly also do
not speak in front of Him (with respect and fear- bhayam kalandha mariyAdhai)
May He reside (as alwayts) forever in the hearts of such Great scholars and
vidwAns! (in order to bless them as he does always!)
This day about one hundred and sixty two years ago, our land witnessed the holy
birth of a mahaan in Poundarikapuram; truly it was an avtaar of Sriman
Narayanan Himself, who out of His benevolence, and sincere determination,
Dhrida vratha, to save all human beings comes into this world. And the Lord
also chooses the time, the place and the parents to take birth from ? it is all
preordained by Him.
It was the day of days- Adi PoorAdam- Sowmya year, August 1847, a
child-prodigy was born in Poundarikapuram village. This village with its
sylvan surroundings is very near to the famous Oppiliappan Koil Divya
Desam, whose praise has been sung by Peyazhwar, Nammazhwar and Thirumangai
Azhwar. Enjoying, so to say, the Divya kataaksha of the Lord, this cozy
village has been the birth of many great personages. Among them were the
couple- Sri Singaperumal Ayyangar, an effulgent scholar and a man of
unswerving principles of personal practice and conduct and Smt Senkamalam
Ammal, his wife. No wonder that Sriman Narayanan chose to take His birth
from this noble couple as their seventh son and was named after Lord
Srinivasan.
How so true this about Srimad Andavan Poundarikapuram Srinivasa Mahadesikan
needs no elucidation to the Srivaishnava world, more so to those
unnumbered beneficiaries. This multifaceted genius was a repository of
erudite scholarship endowed with an uncommon acumen, which helped not only of
acquisition of knowledge of Kaavyarthas, Saasthras, Vedanthaarthas,
Granthachathushtayam, besides the Vedas and the Divya prabandhas but also in
the exposition of these to an never ending chain of disciples who flocked to
him all the year around and down the years.
A quick review of his biographical details will inform us how great personages
(in our Acharya parampara) are born great and tower far above the commonality!
Young Srinivasan was given in adoption to his fatherâs younger brother. After
his upanayanam at 7, he promptly sought to learn Sanskrit from illustrious Sri
Rangachariar Swami, father of reputed Tharka scholar Sri Narasimhachariar. Soon
followed his higher education from mahavidwans like Ghattam Varadachariar
Swamy, Sogathur Vijayaraghavachariar Swami, Perumal koil Thirupputkuzhi Swami,
Kuricchi Rangachariar Swami at Mannargudi, and in matter of time, he became an
accomplished scholar, a mahaa vidwaan himself., having mastered Alankaara
saasthra, Tharkaam, vyAkaraNam, and mImAmsa besides the Vedas and Prabandhams.
He had his Pancha samskaaram from Sri Ghattam Varadachariar Swami and Vedantha
Grantha kaalakshepam and BharasamapraNam at the feet of Srimad Andavan
VeliyanallUr Narayana Mahadesikan Swamy, an act indicating possibly things to
come, as later he succeeded Sri Narayana Desika Mahadesikan Swamy. He undertook
pilgrimages to all divya desas from Tirupathi to Thiruvananthapuram. In due
time, he married Smt Komalavilli Ammal hailing from Vagarai, a nearby village
and led his grihasthAsramam at Poundarikapuram in a manner that was remarkable
for its simplicity and austerity in spite of belonging to a family as affluent
materially as erudite in scholarship.
When his (adopted) mother Srirangammal passed away, he migrated to Srirangam
and settled down there. He led his life strictly as ordained by the elders,
performing Pancha kaala kriyas, the observance of which gives no room for
accepting any material gift whatsoever it be nor aspire of ill-gotten wealth.
His scholarship and mastery in Sahithya, Alankara, Tharkka, mImAmsA, Sri
Bhsahya and vyAkaraNa was legendary and little wonder that those who aspired to
gain knowledge of these sought after him and learnt at his Feet.
In good time, he heard the call, the divine call for taking up sanyaasa
Ashramam and to become a âlight house:, guiding the parched souls tossed
about the samsaara saagara. It was a definite call and he went and prostrated
repeatedly at the feet of Srimad Andavan Veliyanalloor Narayana Mahadesikan who
after thorough scrutiny of his discipleâs genuineness, offered him upadesa of
Preksha mantra and Prapatti Prayoga and admitted him to Sanyaasa Asramam, more
fittingly called ThurIya Asramam (the fourth stage). Thereafter he went to live
in the Srimad Andavan Asramam at Srirangam hallowed by the footprints of Srimad
PeriyANdavan and spent years there offering Samasrayanam, BharaNyAsam, and
daily kaalskhepa Goshtis to the innumerable disciples thirsting spiritually.
But as there were hindrances to the peaceful functioning of Asramam, he decided
to move out of Srirangam itself so as to more effectively carry on with his
spiritual mission. When the disciples came to know of this, they prevailed
upon him to continue his stay at Srirangam. Through their efforts, a
separate Asrama was set up and it came to be known as the "Sri Poundarikapuram
Andavan Asramamâ, in the same line of Srimad Periyandavan Guruparampara,
verily because Sriman Narayana willed it so there shall be another illustrious
seat of munithraya Sampradayam, to cater to the spiritual needs of the ever
growing Sishyavarga, ever seeking new nuances and creeping in to the crevices
of the Sampradaya. And so from this center this great Acharya traveled on foot
across South India at the request of countless disciples who considered that
their places became sanctified by the very touch of the Acharyaâs feet.
Eventually he stayed at Srirangam itself
following the footsteps of Emeprumaanaar Sri Ramanujacharya.
Thus started a great era, a Saga of monumental service to the Lord. Not a day
passed without a Kaalakshepa Goshti in the Asramam. It became the confluence of
great minds seeking more and more scholarship in Sribhashyam, Bhagavath
vishayam, and all else with a thirst and enthusiasm as witnessed never before.
Sri Poundarikapuram Swami had a large stock of affluence in his
grahasthAsramam. He left off all in his supreme self-denial and became an
ascetic by almost compelling his preceptor to grant him the saffron robe. He
swayed, as spiritual king, the Srirangam town for almost five decades. He was
no ordinary scholar, nor an ordinary ascetic, nor even an ordinary pontiff at
that. He taught many; taught Sri Bhashya every day; believed that it was
his chief goal and inaugurated the present headquarters of the Asramam on the
banks of the Coleroon river, a few yards west of Sri Dasavatharam
Sannidhi (of Sri Ahobila Mutt).
A special kind of link between the Ahobila Mutt and Sri Poundarikapuram
Andavan Asramam deserves mention in this connection. Down from 1750 to this day
the Acharya hierarchy is unbroken, uniquely continuous in this Asramam. The
Acharyas are also native to the school; inbred and brought up by
Kalakshapam / invitation by earlier Pontiffs at some time. Once a gap
occurred in the Ahobila Mutt; for some five years (1900-1905). The
Poundarikapuram Andavan of this Asramam had proudly helped in securing a
deserving candidate and giving him Sannyasa order and installing him as the
Pontiff (the 38th). This happened in 1905.
Thus, from Srirangam, he continued his mission. The Asramam under Sri
Srinivasa Maha Desikan was a center of religious activities and
philosophical discussions. The Acharya was an erudite scholar in Vedaanta
Sastras; he possessed an extraordinary power of mind by which he could
accurately recall any passage, sloka or Sutra with ease.
Many learned scholars came to study Adhyatma Sastras under his feet.
Apart from the saamaanya sishyas and countless extraordinary sishyas, mention
must be made of a few outstanding sishyas who distinguished themselves by their
startling mastery of the sampradaya granthas in all their facets and left an
indelible mark in the form of permanent contributions to the growth and spread
of the Munithraya sampradayam. And thus the three Acahrays who succeeded him
after, Srimad Ranganatha Mahadesikan, Srimad ViNNaRRankarai Srinivasa
Mahadesikan and Sri Gopaladesika Mahadesikan are manifestations of the Great
AchArya Himself as they follow his footprints in the sands of time, offering
spiritual succour to the ever growing disciples. In their succession lies the
clue to great Acharyaâs prophetic gift, the Visionary that he was.
In 1934, in the month of Vaikasi on Pornami day, the AchArya's look finally
fell kindly on the great scholar disciple from Mannaargudi as he had decided
that he should succeed him and carry forward the intellectual and spiritual
service that he had so deftly given a new dimension to. Thus Sri Mannargudi
Anadavan, (followed then by sri ViNNaaRRankarai Andavan) succeeded Sri
Srinivasa Mahadesikan (Poundarikapuram Anadavan). And Prakritham Andavan is
Srimad Andavan ParavaakkOttai Gopaladesika Mahadesikan, whose 81st
Thirunakshathram is being celebrated.
While this was the Great Acharyaâs work to keep the line of succession
continuous, he did not rest content there; he knew the coming days would demand
more than this. While this was the Great Acharya Srimad Poundarikapuram Andavan
Sri Srinivasadesika mahadesikan's work to keep the line of succession
continuous, he did not rest content there; he knew the coming days would demand
more than this, that the future upkeep of our sampradaya would need not merely
"ships" and "light houses", but also, pillars and foundation Structures. Among
the many hundreds of Ashthikas/Sishyas, mention should be made of Sri A.V
Gopalacharyar of Anbil, of Sri Krishna thathachariar Swamy of Bangalore, and of
Sri C.M Vijayaraghavachariar Swamy also of Bangalore, not because others were
less equal, but because these scholar disciples carved for themselves a unique
position.
Sri A.V Gopalacharyar was at the feet of this great Acharya for 42 years of his
life, practically everyday learning the nuances of our sampradayam. A man of
shrewd intellect, a lawyer matchless in his profession at Tiruchi and affluent,
learned in Poorvapaksham forms of Advaita found full enlightenment from
Acharya's responses and answers to his full load of doubts and questions.
Srimad Andavan well versed in the intricacies of Advaita completely and fully
satisfied the disciple's lurking doubts so well that Sri Anbil Gopalcharyar
Swami was enabled to author many books in elucidation of Advaitha philosophy, -
a contribution of very crucial importance for the very understanding of
Greatness of unparalleled and unambiguous Visishtadvaita; he also brought out a
few other granthas. He perpetuated the memory of this great mahan thus, in the
form of granthas and idealized it by instituting the "Srinivasa Mahadesikan
Vidhwath Sadhas", munificently endowing for
its conduct. It is an annual feature since then, in this ashramam that brings
in congregation scholars of repute for intellectual and philosophical
discussion, disputation and authoritative assertion of our sampradaya Gnana.
What Sri AV Gopalchariar had done â the Granthas he brought out and the
vidwath sadhas he instituted standing âconcretizedâ in the form of an
elegant front mandapa named after the great Savant, reverberating with the
sonorous voices of the great scholars who congregate there- will for ages speak
of the glory of his master â Srimad Andavan Poundarikapuram Swamy.
So was the great scholar from Bangalore, Sri Krishna Thathachariar who sat at
the feet of the great Acharya for several years and in turn in multiplication
of those years, imbibed with a sense of purpose and mission, he
enthusiastically undertook the propagation of our Munithraya Sampradaya by
teaching many disciples in and around Bangalore- a contrbution of great value
requiring Bhashanthara Gnana to cater to the Spiritual well being of the
Kannasa Desa sishyavarga so dear to Srimath Bhashyakarar and Swamy Desikan.
Equally great was the life of Sri CM Vijayaraghavachariar of Bangalore. Itw as
all a divine dispensation; how else could a retired police circle inspector who
had casually gone to prostrate at the feet of this Acharya, get transformed,
metamorphosed, so to say into an erudite scholar with such depth, thorughness
and accuracy of knowledge as to be able to write and publish many of our
sampradaya granthas in Kannada language for the invaluable benefit of the
disciples in kannada desa.
And you will be wonderstruck when known how did it happen. This Swami, after
ten interesting and enlightening years of Gurukulavasam, at Srirangam
Poundarikapuram Ashramam and gratified at the Acharyaâs commitment with which
he taught him all these years right from Sanskrit alphabet to Vedanthas and
Saathras in great depths, offered even in those days, an enticing Rs 10,000 as
Guru dhakshiNa. Srimad Andavan looked up and asked him, âIs this what you
have learnt and understood me?â. The disciple persisited in offering it as a
token of his gratitude.
The Acharya consolingly told him, âIf I accepted this from you, great harm
will follow- in future, our disciples may stop coming to mearn from me unable
to make a GurudhakshiNa; also this may incite me an expectation of the same
tooâ. The disciple knew that the Acharya was sincere but still he persisted.
Now the Acharya spoke- âThink what one in my state can do with this money;
with you perhaps, it may find immense use in making our Sampradayam Granthas so
much needed for the futureâ. This was the divine spark that impregnated in
the mind of Sri CM Vijayaraghavachariar the passion and the spirit for writing
many books in kannada language which are available even today as source books
for reference and research in Karnataka â something which Bhagawan Ramanuja
would have approved of. Words do not suffice to extol the importance of this
service to Srivaishnava community. Srimad Andavan was noted for his vairAgya
â inassailable spirit of total
renunciation of worldly, material things. It was Bhagawath Sankalpa, that in
this manner a whole range of our Samparadya Granthas should be born in Kannada
language.
It is pertinent to mention here of just two sweet anecdotes illustrating Srimad
Andavan Poundarikapuram Swamyâs depth of knowledge and a wealth of
interpretations whether it be Swamy Desikanâs Srisukthis or Bhagavath
Bhashyakararâs Sri Bhashya or Gita Bhashya or any grantha whatsoever. The
article will remain incomplete without recalling these incidents. One relates
to Sri CM Vijayaraghachariarâs personal experience. Late one night at
Srirangam, East Utthara Veedhi Sri Vijayaraghavachariar â while bringing back
to his mind the explanation of Acharya Srimad Andavan on the Abheethi sthava
sloka 7:
ramaa dhayitha rangabhUramaNaâ na thasya yamavasyathaa narakapaatha bhIthi
krutha:
It proclaims Swamy desikanâs declaration of Lord Ranganathaâs certain
protection to Prapannas from falling into the clutches of Yamakinkaras if they
chant this sloka.
Sri CMV Swamy could not digest it. He found it difficult to understdnmand as to
how one sloka could be so specific to Sri Ranganatha;s protection! Perhaps,
swamy would have said this due to Bhagavath Abhimaanam and abhimaanam towards
Swamy Desikanâs abhIthis sthavam.â â thus, he was pondering and was
having a sleepless night.
Srirangam Divya Dampathi appeared in Acharya Srimad Andavanâs dream and said,
âYour sishya has got a doubt on SrI Vedantha Desikanâs sthuthi on Us. Go
and explain the greatness and speciality of this sloka. Within an hour, Srimad
Andavan knocked at the dorr of Sri CM Vijayaraghavachariar and right there at
the door step, explained the meaning of sloka and greatness of the compassion
of Divya Dampathi with tears rolling down his cheeks. This is a proof of his
depth and clarity and explains how Lord Himself was prathyaksham (visible to
his eyes) to him. Swamy desikan has packed into this sloka all the
Beejaaksharaas contained in the Praanaprathishta Manthra and Saannidhyaachana
manthra â installation of energizing mantras pertaining to Lord Ranganathan.
Another famous anecdote: Srimad Andavan had tremendous Sri Hayagriva
Mantrasiddhi. One there was a young Boy of five years walking in front of Swamy
when the parents of the boy came to the Ashramam for offering their obeisance
and dhaNdavath praNamams to swamy. The boy walked towards where Swamy was
delivering his kaalakshepam. Swamy looked at the child, pausing the
kaalakshepam and aksed him, âun peyar enna?â (what is your name?) The boy
did not utter a word. The Father of the boy told Swamy that he is born dumb
(mute). Immediately Srimad Andavan asked the boy to come near and asked him to
sit in front of him. He taught him âaksharaabhyaasam,â and recited,
SrImAn venkatanAthAryaH kavitArkika kesarI |
vedAntAcArya-varyome sannidhattAm sadA hRdi ||
(May the glorious Venkatanatha, the greatest of teachers of Vedanta, and the
lion among poets and debaters, reside forever in my heart.) and
jnAnanda mayamdEvam nirmalaspaTikAkruthim |
AdhAram sarva viganAnAm hayagrIvam upAsmahE ||
The five year old boy repeated both slokas. The one who did not speak a single
word in his past five years spoke due to swamyâs merciful kataaksham. Today
that boy has grown to His Holiness Sri Rangapriya Mahadesikan Swamy of
Bangalore. (Read Sri Srinath Chakravarthyâs excellent posts on this Swamy).
The Great Sri Kozhiyaalam Raghavachariar Swami came to Srirangam and sought
Sannyaasa Sweekaranam at the feet of Srimad Poundarikapuram Andavan who
initiated him into the Sannyaasa Asrama in 1920 in the year Roudri- Aani-
Pournami day. The Aasthaana Vidwan of Tirumalai Tirupati Devasthanam,
Kapisthalam Desikaachaarya submitted to Swami for approval his Grantha
"Adhikarana Ratna Maalai". The Swami accorded his approval.
When the affluent devotees of Poundarikapuram village nevertheless not his
disciples had arranged for renovation and consecration, It was H H Sri
Poundarikapuram Andavan who was invited to lend the 'holy hand' for
karasparsam (by a great man). With what results! All can see today how the
small shrine of Oppiliappn has grown as Southern Thiruppathi, with gala and
festivity, fund-flow and pomp and fame and attraction, all after 1928! The
event has a precedent in Thirukkudanthai Desikan lending his
'kara-sparsam' to Araavamuthan some 200 years back!
This was Srimad Andavan Poundarikapuram Srinivasa Mahadesikan, a creative
genius, a perennial spring who made himself an institution and a legend with
his many sided qualities. He was a great servant, a teacher unsurpassed, an
organizer with an eye for protection, a missionary with a vision and a
visionary with a mission. No wonder that he was known as Gnana Vairagya
Anusntana Sampanna. A little known truth about this unassuming practitioner
mentioned by Sri Navalpaakaam NS Devanathachar who got it authoritatively from
Srimad Andavan ViNNARRankarai Swami. This mahaan made it a daily practice to
chant praNavam even during brief leisure hours following the precepts of
Upanishads, thereby experiencing the thrill of the union of JivAthmA with the
ParamAthmA. That he was practicing this was not known to anybody. It was not
necessary to inform anyone, it being the individual communion of Jivan with
Sriman Narayanan. How did then others come to know of? It was
the custom to invite four Srivaishnavas and feed them in the Ashramam on the
completion of every one crore (ten millions) of PraNava japam. Such was his
accuracy in keeping count of a small GREAT mantra. Sri VennaaRRankarai Andavan
Swami chanced to notice this and humbly enquired and got to know the truth.
Does this not testify to the unassuming nature and greatness of the AchArya,
his gnAna, anushtAnam and VairAgyam?
Whenever there were doubts on sri Bhashyam Grantham and its interpretations,
Srimad Andavan was always the Judge to pass his final
judgement as to who is right. - " was the statement of Srimad Azhagiyasingar
(41st Pattam).
What a wonder ? He attained the everlasting Bliss of AchAryan Thiruvadi on 20th
October 1934, a day after completion of one of the many Sri Bhashya Grantha
saaRRumuRais, signifying Sri Bhashya Bhakti.
Let us pay our obeisance to this Great Acharyan His Holiness Srimad Andavan Sri
Poundarikapuram Swamy on His 162nd Thirunakshathram, today.
Acknowledgement:
1. Biography of Srimad Andavan Poundarikapuram Srinivasa Mahadesikan- by
Prof. P.R. Srinivasan, Perugavazhndhan, Bangalore.
2. Sri Anbil Ramaswamyâs write up 'Acharya vamsa vriksham
3. Dr. Sri VN Vedantha Desikan Swaminâs article
4. Sri Delhi Hari Nagar Rajagopachariar Swamyâs article
AchAryan ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam
Regards
namo Narayana
aDiyEn Narayana Dasan Madhavakkannan
------------------------------------
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