SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImadh varavaramunayE nama:
One day thiruvAimozhippiLLai sent fresh vegetables which had grown in his garden, to nAyanAr’s thirumALigai (noble residence). nAyanAr was very moved and asked him “Instead of sending these to AzhwAr’s madappaLLi (kitchen) for his happiness, why send these to adiyEn’s gruham (house)?” piLLai told him “since adiyEn had not got someone like dhEvarIr all along, adiyEn was immersed in archai (idol worship)” revealing his inner mind to nAyanAr. From that day he used to send fresh vegetables every day to nAyanAr and took care of his needs in every way. He used to sit with nAyanAr during lunch time and have lunch together. Looking at all these, some of piLLai’s disciples became jealous of nAyanAr. Being an omniscient person, piLLai detected this and took efforts to put out the fire at the beginning itself so that they do not commit further offences towards nAyanAr. He told them that nAyanAr is not any ordinary person and that he is a noble person. Through subtle hints he made them realise that nAyanAr is an incarnation of AdhiSEshan through nAyanAr’s distinguished abilities so that they developed a special regard for nAyanAr. nAyanAr too, reaslising the divine mind of piLLai, was humble towards them. nAyanAr learnt Idu muppaththARAyiram (commentary for thiruvAimozhi) as well as other vyAkyAnams during this time .
A son was born to nAyanAr. He went to thiruvAimozhippiLLai and asked him to suggest a suitable name for the infant. piLLai replied “Instead of once, has it not been said a hundred and eight times!” (referring to irAmAnusa nURRandhAdhi). nAyanAr named his son as emmaiyan irAmAnusan (my Lord, rAmAnuja). On a day of thiruvAdhirai, as piLLai and other AchAryars were having lunch, piLLai recited the verse
inRO edhirAsar ivvulagil thOnRiya nAL
inRO kaliyiruL nIngunAL
(Isn’t this the day when yathirAja (rAmAnujar) incarnated? Isn’t this day that the darkness of kali was dispelled?) and kept repeating these two lines without proceeding further. nAyanAr completed the pAsuram by saying
inROdhAn
vEdhiyargaL vAzha viraimagizhOn thAn vAzha
vAdhiyargaL vAzhvadangu nAL
(This is the day that those who follow the path of vEdhams felt happy; this is the day that the fragrant magizhOn (nammAzhwAr) felt happy and the life of those who keep engaging in debates (those who do not believe in vEdhams and those who misinterpret vEdhams) subsided). Hearing this, piLLai was very happy and ate with satisfaction. nAyanAr happily partook of the remaining portion of the food.
Thus the orderliness between AchAryar (piLLai) and Sishya (nAyanAr) was proceeding well. Just as emperumAnAr gained distinction after taking refuge under periya nambi, nAyanAr too gained distinction after taking refuge under piLLai. Everyone started praising him as the reincarnation of udaiyavar. nAyanAr composed the following thaniyans for piLLai:
vadamAmalaimudhal mallananthapuriyellai malgith
thidamAga vAzhum thiruvudaiya mannaril thEsudaiyOn
thidamAna gyAna virakthi param ivai sEraninRa
satakOpathAdhar kurugUrvAzh piLLaiyaich chEru nenjE
(Oh my heart! Try to reach the divine feet of piLLai who is also called as SatakOpadhAsar, who lives in thirukkurugUr; he has firm knowledge in matters relating to emperumAn and detachment towards worldly matters; he is effulgent in the region bounded by thirumalai in the north and thiruvananthapuram in the south) and
sendhamizh vEdhath thirumalaiyAzhwAr vAzhi
kunthinagarkku aNNal kodai vAzhi – undhiya sIr
vAzhiyavan amudhavAy mozhi kEttu apporuLil
thAzhum maRRanbar thiruththAL
(Long live thirumalai AzhwAr who is a great scholar in the dhravida vEdham (nAlAyira dhivya prabandham); long live the magnanimity of the lord of kunthinagar (birth-place of thiruvAimozhippiLLai); long live those who heard the nectarean words from his divine mouth and long live the divine feet of those people who lived as per his words). During this time, his disciples composed these SlOkams on the glory of piLLai:
apyarsaya nandhathanayam karapankajAththa vENum thadhIyacharaNa pravaNArthrachEthA:
gOdhAbidhurgahana sUkthinibandhanasya vyAkyAm vayadhAth dhravida vEdhaguru: prasannAm
(worshipping the lord of cattle grazers and the one who has in his reddish lotus-like hands the divine flute, thiruvAImozhip piLLai, whose divine mind has deeply engaged with love with the divine feet of that krishNa, composed a clear vyAkyAnam (commentary) for the profound pAsurams of periyAzhwAr).
adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan
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