yathIndhra pravaNa prabhAvam – Part 40

SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImadh varavaramunayE nama:

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thirumanjanam appA and bhattarpirAn jIyar take refuge under jIyar

Every day, jIyar would go just before sunrise to the divine kAvEri to have his bath. thirumanjanam appA, who was fully engaged with sathva (purely good) activities, and who was carrying out kainkaryam in perumAL’s sannidhi without expecting anything, would go along with him and take bath in the river at a position down the river where jIyar would have his bath so that the water, after having contact with jIyar’s divine form, would flow towards him and bathe him. Due to this, he acquired the knowledge to take refuge under the divine feet of jIyar. He developed overflowing affection for jIyar and took refuge under his divine feet. This incident was captured by the following SlOkam by people who saw this incident:

ushasyayamvAriNi sahyajAyA: snAthO yathIndhrapravaNOmunIndhra:
thathraiva paSchAdh avagAhya thIrthE SrIthIrthAthAdhas tham upASrithObhUth

(In the early hours of the morning, thirumanjanam appA would bathe in the abundant flow of river kAvEri which would come after contacting mAmunigaL who is known as yathIndhrapravaNar. thirumanjanam appA, with lot of affection for mAmunigaL, took refuge under that mAmunigaL).  appA heard all the meanings of SAsthras through the divine mouth of jIyar and as said in the verse “chAyAvAsathvamanugachchEth” he lived under the divine shadow of jIyar, being totally dependent on jIyar, not leaving him even for a moment and being his trusted follower.

Subsequently, a person named gOvindha dhAsappar, who later became bhattarpirAn jIyar, took refuge under the divine feet of jIyar and sustained himself only through the divine lotus-like feet of jIyar.

maNavALa mAmunigaL then started giving discourse on the Idu (ultimate commentary) for thiruvAimozhi which is sung on sarvESvaran as said in “mugil vannAn adimEl sonna sol mAlai Ayiram” (thousand pAsurams of garland of words sung on the divine feet of emperumAn who has the complexion of clouds) and in “madhiLarangar vaNpugazh mEl AnRa thamizh maRaigal Ayiram” (thousand pAsurams of dhrAvida vEdham on the magnanimous repuration of SrI ranganAthan who resides inside the fort-like temple). He also gave discourse on other commentaries of aruLichcheyals (nAyAlyira dhivya prabandham) as well as on divine, esoteric meanings of SrIvachana bhUshaNam and such esoteric texts. He was carrying out these everyday, worshipping the divine feet of rAmAnujar as well as reciting the SrIvaishNava gAyathri of irAmAnusa nURRandhAdhi, as said in the verse “gurOr nAma sadhA japEth” (keep reciting the divine name of AchAryan continuously). He lived under the divine shadow of thirumalaiyAzhwAr (the maNtapam in his divine residence), continuously praying to the divine feet of rAmANujar and sustaining himself with that. He would constantly speak about the glories of rAmAnujar and was without any equal. With the order of periya perumAL, he had SrI rangarAjan as his thiruvArAdhanap perumAL (vigraham for worshipping daily). On piLLai lOkAchAriyar’s divine star day of thiruvONam (SravaNam) in the month of aippasi (thulA mAsam) he consecrated the vigraham and carried out divine worship with his divine hands. He offered akkAravadisil (pAyasam) on that day as well as on the stars of all the pUrvAchAryars to his thiruvArAdhanap perumAL, explaining the divine words of pUrvAchAryars on those days and remained as the mangaLadheepam (auspicious lamp) for SrIrangaSrI (wealth of SrIrangam).

Hearing about the glories of maNavALa mAmunigaL, people said

chiravirahadhaSa chinthAnajarjarachEthasam bhujagaSayanam
dhEvam bhUya: prasAdhayithum dhruvam
yathikulapathiS SrImAnrAmAnujasya mabhUthayanthvidhi
samadhushan sarvE sarvathra thathrasudhIjanA:

(The knowledgeable people, everywhere, said that SrImAn rAmAnujar, in order to comfort periya perumAL who is reclining on the mattress of AdhiSEshan, who was feeling disheartened due to separation from SrI rAmAnujar for a long time, reincarnated as this maNavALa mAmunigaL).

They further said

Samunis saumyajAmAthA sarvEshAm Eva paSyathAm
SrIsakasyanidhESEna SuSupE dhESika SriyA

(That munivar (AchAryar) who carries the name of azhagiya maNavALan, through the order of perumAL who is the divine consort of thirumagaL (SrI mahAlakshmi), remained with AchAryaSrI (wealth of knowledge which an AchArya will have) to be seen by everyone).

Hearing these, people who were living in other places too said

thadhassamuthsukhAssarvE SathaSOtha sahasraSa:
SaraNam thasya samSrithya  charaNau dhanyathAm gathA:

(People, feeling elated in their minds, came in the hundreds and thousands and took refuge under the divine feet of that maNavALa mAmunigaL and became thankful).

Without any difference, people who were living nearby and far away, in countless numbers, came and took refuge under him. With his paramakrupa (exalted mercy), just as it has been said in “thiruththith thirumagaL kELvanukku Akki (correcting them and making them as servitors of the consort of SrI mahAlakshmi) and in “arangan seyya thALiNaiyOdArthAn” (engaged them with the divine, reddish feet of SrI ranganAthan), mAmunigaL made their identity to be known by the terms “arangan meyyadiyArgaL” (the divine followers of SrI ranganAthan) and thirumAladiyArgaL (the divine followers of the consort of SrI mahAlakshmi). They too developed auspicious qualities, without any fault in them, being favourable to him always, carrying out service to his divine feet, listening to the bhagavath vishayam (matters related to sarvESvaran) that mAmunigaL was instructing them and living with utmost reverence to AchAryar.

adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan

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