SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImadh varavaramunayE nama:
iLaiyAzhwAr piLLai and rAmANuja dhAsar undertake the pilgrimage
When chakravarthith thirumagan (SI rAma) gave his sandals to bharathAzhwAr, iLaiyaperumAL (lakshmaNa) could not get them. When iLaiyAzhwAr piLLai, who has the divine name of iLaiyaperumAL attained the sandals of jIyar he caused a festival of happiness for the people. Just like rAmAnuja dhAsar was given the divine uththarIyam (upper cloth), iLaiyAzhwAr piLLai was given jIyar’s sandals as his representative. iLaiyAzhwAr too, on getting the sandals, just like ALavandhAr had said in his sthOthra rathnam “dhanammadhIyam thava pAdha pankajam” (your divine lotus-like feet are like a treasure for me) he felt as if he had attained a great treasure. He kept the sandals on his divine head, just like it has been said in “madhIyam mUrdhAnam alankarishyathi” (they decorate my forehead), he kept them on his divine head well and was happy beyond any limit. rAmAnuja dhAsar too was extremely pleased, just like it has been said in nAchchiyAr thirumozhi “perumAL araiyil pIthagavAdai koNdu ennai vAttam thaNiya vIsIr” (fan me with the divine yellow cloth worn by emperumAn on his waist such that my tiredness disappears).
The two of them carried the two pieces of treasure, similar to thiruvArAdhAnap perumAL (vigraham for divine worship) and with a great urgency reached the shores of river gangA. They gave a divine bath to the divine sandals of jIyar as said in SAsthras, for a long time, in the river. They imagined that jIyar himself was taking a bath there and they took a bath with the same water. They worshipped all the near by places in that place.
kramENa thIrthAni SarIra bhAjAm pApApahAnyUrjitha saukyathAni
parikramandhAvathithim dhruSOsthau vininyasu: SrIbhadharInivAsam
vichithrAdhEhasampaththirISvarAya nivEdhithum
(those two (rAmAnujadhAsar and iLaiyAzhwAr piLLai) took bath, in the proper order, in various divine water bodies which are capable of removing the sins of people and which are capable of giving supreme comfort and then reached badhri, making SrI badhrikASramap perumAL as a feast for their eyes) (the well-to-do body and its limbs, which have many types of powers, have been created to carry out kainkaryam to bhagavAn). Just as it has been said in these SlOkams, for those for whom nurturing the body is only towards bhagavathartham (for the purpose of bhagavAn – i.e. for carrying out kainkaryam) dhivyadhESams (divine abodes of sarvESvaran) remove all hurdles due to connection with them (i.e. dhivyadhESams) and bestow the greatest purushArtham (benefit). rAmAnuja dhAsar and ilaiyAzhwAr piLLai went to all such dhivyadhESams on their way and reached badhrikASrama nArAyaNan, making him as the affectionate dhasrSanam in all ways, for their divine eyes. Just as they carried out mangaLASAsanam for nara nArAyaNap perumAL at badhri, as said in the SlOkam
ayOdhya rAmAnujadhAsanAmA sathA muthA pUjayathi prasanna:
vaSInijaSrIkulaSekarassan harim badharyASrama vAsinamtham
(a person by the name of ayOdhyA rAmAnuja dhAsar, having control over everyone, being a jewel in the crown of his SrIvaishNava clan, joyously nurtured badharikASrama perumAL who is always famous), ayOdhyA rAmAnuja dhAsar, being the leader of his clan, being acceptable to all the people, having a good conduct, was joyously nurturing vadhariyAchchiramap perumAL (badhariyASrama perumAL) at all times. Just as it is said in the SlOkam
salakshmaNam vIkshyapavithrarUpam samEdhya rAmAnujadhAsamEnam
samarchayithvA vividhOpachAraissa dharSayAmAsa ramAsahAyam
(that ayOdhyA rAmAnujadhAsar, approached rAmAnujadhAsar who is a SudhdhasvarUpar (one with a purely good form) and who came with iLaiyAzhwAr piLLai, hounoured him in many ways, praised him and enabled good dharSan of badhrikASrama perumAL for them), rAmAnuja ayyangAr (ayOdhyA rAmAnuja dhAsar) offered his salutations to rAmAnuja dhAsar who came from SrIrangam, made them to have dharSan of nara nArAyaNap perumAL. He prepared distinguished varieties of food for nara nArAyaNap perumAL, offering them to perumAL. He then requested them to recite dhivya prabandham as brought out by the SlOkam
varayOgivarAgathauchailathau naranArAyaNasannidhau purasthAth
dhramidOpanishanmahAprabandha prathamOdhAharaNE nyayungthavidhvAn
(ayOdhyA rAmAnuja ayyangAr who is a vidhvAn, ordained these two people who had come from maNavALa mAmunigaL sannidhi, to start reciting dhivyaprabandham in the sannidhi of nara nArAyaNap perumAL). iLayAzhwAr piLLai, in line with rAmAnuja ayyangAr’s niyamanam, and as said in the SlOkam
thathA vidhigyOvidhivath prasAdhAthvarOpayanthur dhurirangadhAmnA
nivEdhitham padhyavaram dhvikaNtam patanjakau dhrAvidavEdhamEsha:
(iLaiyAzhwAr piLLai, who knows the proper order, as per the order of rAmAnuja ayyangAr, started reciting SrISailESa thaniyan, which was mercifully recited, with clarity of mind, by SrI ranganAthan in front of maNavALa mAmunigaL, and which is composed of two parts, and then recited dhivya prabandham), started to recite initially the thaniyan SrISailESa dhayApAthram as a precursor, then recited the other thaniyans too in the proper order and then recited dhivya prabandham pAsurams.
adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan
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