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Oppiliappan List Archive: Message 00304 Jan 2008

 
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SrI:
SrImathE Gopaladesika mahadesikaya nama:

Dearest all,

Today Thia hastham is the most auspicious day in
Srivaishnavam. It is the janma nakshathram of Swami
KooratthAzhwAn. Kuresa (KooratthAzhwAn) was one of the
Prime  and foremost sishyas (disciples) of Sri
Ramanujacharya and was 7 years older than Bhagavd
Ramanuja. 

Swami KooratthAzhwAn?s scholarship, anushtAnam,
vairAgyam and bhakti were exemplary. 

He was shining with greatest Athma guNAs. His humility
and Acharya bhakti are amazing. His life history is
soul stirring and is a great role model for each one
of us. His precocious sons were Swami Paraasara
Bhattar and Swami Vyaasa Bhattar. His most devoted
wife was by name AndAL and she was also equally
knowledgeable. 

His dates are recorded to be from 1010-1116 CE. He was
born in Kuram, a village close to Kanchipuram and
hence was called Kuresa. 

His wonderful works were :

1.      Srivaikuntasthavam
2.      athimAnushasthavam
3.      Sundarabaahusthavam
4.      Sri Vararajasthavam
5.      Sri sthavam 

It was he who had composed the famous verse on
Ramanuja:

"yO nityamachutha padAmbhuja yugmarugma
vyAmOhatas-tadi-tarANi trNAya mEnE
asmath gurOr bhagavatOsya daiyaiyaka sindOhO
rAmAnujasya charanow sharanam prapadyE !".

The Holy Feet of My Master, Ramanuja, are my only
refuge! For He is an Ocean of dayA! Everything else is
like blade of grass for him,  other than the Supreme
Wealth that is the Feet of Achutha- (One who never
ever lets us down)"   

This verse appears as the first verse of Srivaikunta
sthavam as a humble prayer to Acharya Ramanuja. 

Swami Parasara Bhattar wrote the dedicatory verse on
his illustrious father Swmai Kuresa 

SrIvathsachihna misrEbhyO namaukthim adhImahE
yadhukthaya: thrayIkaNDE yaanthi MangaLasoothrathAm

We pay our homage to the One Sri Kuresa, whose holy
verses are the very auspicious mangaLasuthra
(Thirumangalya) around the neck of the Veda mAthA
(Vedas being personified here). 

His aversion towards anything other than the
sampradayam is illustrated by his giving up all his
wealth and going to Srirangam to serve Emberumaanaar
(Sri Ramanuja).  

KoorEsar was the one who read the Commentary of
Brahmasoothram in one night and he could remember all
when it was stolen and taken away be the envious
enemies on RamaujA's return from kashmir. Based on
KoorEsar's memory and ability, Ramanuja had written
Sri BhAshyam. Such was the Greatness of
KooratthAzhwAn. Thus endowed with a phenomenal memory
and intellect, he soon become Emberumaanaar's
closest confidant and chief disciple, collaborating
with him in all his efforts. Without Alvan, it is safe
to say that it would have been extremely difficult for
Emberumaanaar to have written
his philosophical masterpiece, the Sribhashya.

There is another legend that the house, where the Sri
Kosams were burnt down from a fire and the Sri
Bhaashyam was lost. It is then KurEsar recalled form
memory the Text of Sri Bhaashyam. KurEsar was also Sri
RaamAnujA's amenuse or the memory bank and helped a
freat deal in the creation of Sri Bhaashyam by his
AchAryan 

The king, on the advice of Nalooraan, (a former sishya
of KooratthAzhwAn, and was working for the king) had
ordered RamanujA and Periya nambhi to appear in his
court to sign a statement saying "Sivaath Paratharam
naasthi", (means: there is none superior to Siva. When
the command of the king was heard by KooratthAzhwaan
first, he wore the sanyaasi's dress, (when Ramanuja at

that time was taking bath in the river), and left his
white "gruhastha" vEshti for Ramanuja, so that he can
escape. He along with periya nambhi went to the king's
court and when Periya nambhi refused to sign, he was
executed. 

The clever Sanskrit slOkam with double meanings is :
" SivAth paratharam naasthi---> dhrONamasthi tatha:
param " Sivam is KuruNi and DhrONam , the measure
bigger than Sivam is Pathakku That was KoorEsar's
chaathuryam and that must have really triggered off
the king and must have angered him who was trying to
propagate Saivam. the king, Krimikantha, in a mad
rage, ordered his soldiers to arrest Kuresh and 
burnt his eyes out. The king?s men took Kuresar to a
prison, and after blinding him, released him in the
forest. During the entire horrifying experience
Kuresar never once protested. He found strength within
knowing that his guru was safe. KurEsar himself
plucked his eyes and threw them in front of the Veera
Saiva RaajA with the announcement that he did not want
to possess the eyes that had the paapam of seeing that
intolerant NaarayaNa dhvEshi .The king's servants
plucked the eyes of Periya nampi , who accompanied
KurEsa to the king's court to refute the assertion of
the king that SivA was the greatest among Gods . This
king later had throat cancer for his aparAdham and
died a miserable death.  

KooratthAzhwAn was so merciful and soft hearted that
he requested the Lord (when he was asked to appeal to
the Lord, by RamanujA for getting back his eyesight)
to save him (KoorEsar) and Nalooraan also (who was a 
traitor and who had committed such asashya apacharam
to his own Acharya- because of which KoorEsar was in
fact blinded at all). What a great heart! - That is
the essential quality of a srivaishnava; He gave away
his very darsanam (eyes) for the sake of (Ramanuja)
Darsanam. None can be equal to our Swami Kuresa. His
life history brings tears on one?s eyes and melts our
hearts. darsanattukkaaga darsanattaye koduttavar",
i.e., he sacrificed his darsana (eyesight) for the
sake of darsana (sampradaya).

AchAryA RaamAnujA expressly returned from Melkote
after hearing about the fate of KurEsar and Periya
Nampi. He went to Kanchipuram and asked KurEsar to
compose a sthOthra in honor of the boon-granting Sri
VaradarAjan for the return of his (KurEsar"s )eye
sight. KurEsar composed the sthavam on Sri VaradarAjA.
In that sthavam  KurEsar asked for Jn~Ana chakshus (
n~Anak KaNNkaL) instead of
physical eyes.His prayer was "nEthrasAth Kuru 
KarIsa !sadhA mE ". 

In him we see such greatest Acharya; and the greatest
Sishya- na bhoothO; na bhavishyathi? 

Let us pray to his lotus feet to grant us ceaseless
faultless kainkarya ruchi towards the Divya Dampathi. 

Please forgive me for any errors and omissions of the
great mahAthmA- Swami Kuresa. 

Kuresa ThiruvaDigaLE SaraNam
Regards
Namo Narayana
dAsan


      
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