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SrI:
SrImathE Goapladesika 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 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 fifty five 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 father?s
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 ?light
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 disciple?s 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 Asramam?, 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 Acharya?s 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
Acharya?s 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 Acharya?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. 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 ? the Granthas he
brought out and the vidwath sadhas he instituted
standing ?concretized? 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 ? 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
Acharya?s 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, ?Is this what you
have learnt and understood me??. The disciple
persisited in offering it as a token of his gratitude.
The Acharya consolingly told him, ?If 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 too?. The disciple knew that
the Acharya was sincere but still he persisted. Now
the Acharya spoke- ?Think 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 future?. 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 ?
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 ? 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
Swamy?s depth of knowledge and a wealth of
interpretations whether it be Swamy Desikan?s
Srisukthis or Bhagavath Bhashyakarar?s Sri Bhashya or
Gita Bhashya or any grantha whatsoever. The article
will remain incomplete without recalling these
incidents. One relates to Sri CM Vijayaraghachariar?s
personal experience. Late one night at Srirangam, East
Utthara Veedhi Sri Vijayaraghavachariar ? while
bringing back to his mind the explanation of Acharya
Srimad Andavan on the Abheethi sthava sloka 7:

ramaa dhayitha rangabhUramaNa? na thasya yamavasyathaa
narakapaatha bhIthi krutha:   

It proclaims Swamy desikan?s declaration of Lord
Ranganatha?s 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
Desikan?s abhIthis sthavam.? ? thus, he was pondering
and was having a sleepless night. 

Srirangam Divya Dampathi appeared in Acharya Srimad
Andavan?s dream and said, ?Your sishya has got a doubt
on SrI Vedantha Desikan?s 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 ? 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, ?un peyar enna?? (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 as
kind of ?aksharaabhyaasam,? 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 swamy?s merciful kataaksham. Today that
boy has grown to His Holiness Sri Rangapriya
Mahadesikan Swamy of  Bangalore.  

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 160th Thirunakshathram, today. 

Acknowledgement:
1.      Biography of Srimad Andavan Poundarikapuram
Srinivasa Mahadesikan- by Prof. P.R. Srinivasan,
Perugavazhndhan, Bangalore. 
2.      Sri Anbil Ramaswamy?s write up.
3.      Dr. Sri VN Vedantha Desikan Swamin?s article 
4.      Sri Delhi Hari Nagar Rajagopachariar Swamy?s
article

adiyEn places the head at the lotus feet of this
Acharya saarvabhouman..

asmadhAchArya paryanthAm vandhE Guru paramparaam..

Regards
namo Narayana
dAsan


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