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Ramanuja List Archive: Message 00053 Apr 2002

 
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sri:

Dear bhagavatas,
I had to unfortunately go through a write up by Sri Anand Swamy on Swamy 
Manavala mamunigal. The following are the main allegations:
1. Srisailesa taniyan was taught to a common archaka boy and made to recite - 
Sri Ranganatha did not come in disguise as this boy - yatindra pravana 
prabhavan wrongly quoted for this.
2. Srisailesa means Kidambi iyengar purushothaman who was a disciple of 
Brahmatantra jeer - mistaken identity.
3. Swamy Desikan is a purvacharya for thenkalayars and so they should recite 
Swamy Desikan taniyan.
4. Swamy Manavala mamunigal is not a purvacharya for vadakalayars and so they 
need not recite Swamy MMunigal taniyan (or even worship him ?)
5. Thenkalayars being fanatics and a sampradaya ignorant lot, glorify Swamy 
manavala Mamunigal to degrade Swamy Desikan. 

Sri U Ve Venkatakrishnan swami was requested to come out with the correct facts 
on the above. He was kind enough to promptly do so. Issue wise they are given 
below. 

====================================
Manavala Mamunigal & Sriranganatha
====================================
The biography of Manavala Mamunigal was written by
Pillailokam Jeeyar of 16th Century A.D. It is known as
Yathindrapravana Prabhavam. 
This is the only ancient work on the biography of Mamunigal 
and hence, people who want to quote the incidents that took 
place in life of Manavala Mamunigal, as well as the people who
want to misquote also depend only on this book. 

In that book, it has been clearly said that Lord
Ranganatha of Srirangam himself invited Manavala
Mamunigal to give a detailed discourse on Thiruvalmozhi
in front of him. The discourse went on for one year
and on the concluding day of the discourse, Lord
Ranganatha, came in the disguise of one
Sriranganayakam, a five year old son of an Archaka,
uttered the thanian 
?srisailesa daya patram dhi bhaktyadi gunarnavam 
yathindrapravanam vande ramya jamataram munim?. 

Having unttered this, he disappeared. 
This incidnent is narrated in the book
called Yathindrapravana Prabhavam, which is still
available in print and it is for everybody to verify
it with their own eyes. 
(?Ythindrapravana Prabhavam? published by Dr.V.V.Ramanujam, 
Srirangapriya Publications, 68 T.P.Koil Street, Triplicane, Chennai
600 005; page 158-159) 

But recently some persons who are not able to tolerate the 
greatness of Manavala Mamunigal, have misquoted the 
portions from that book and tried to establish that it was not Lord
Ranganatha, but only the Archaka?s son Aranganayakam
who composed the thaniyan. When doing so, they have
conveniently ignored the next Para in that same book:

?uDane tirumalai perumAlkoil thodakkamAna
thiruppadigalukkellAm sri sEnaimudliyAruDaya
srimukamAga anusandhAna kAlangal thorum jEyar
vishayamAga namperumAl arulichcheida taniyan

?srisailesa daya patram dhi bhaktyadi gunarnavam 
yathindrapravanam vande ramya jamataram munim?. 

endru anusandhithu thodangavum .............? (immediatly,
the messeage was sent through sEnaimudaliyAr to all
the Divyadesams like thirumalai, perumAl koil etc. to
commence the recetations only with this thaniyan
composed by namperumAl i.e. Lord Ranganatha) (page 160). 
If they say that they don?t accept the authority
of that book it is for them to do so. But if they
quote (why quote? misquote) some lines of from the
above book, and conveniently ignore the following
lines (which are against their ideas), it is a blatant
cheating.

====================================
Srisailesa dayapatram 
====================================
Out of the 108 Srivaishnava Divyadesams,
Divyaprabandhams are recited only in about 80
Divyadesams (excepting the ones that located in the
North India and Kerala.) Out of these 80, in all about
70 Divya desams only ?srisailesa dayApAtram? is
recited at the commencement of the sevAkAlam. Apart
from this, in the birth places of all the Alvars and
Acharyas, (without any exception), including thUppil,
the birth place of Vedanta Desika, ?Srisailesa
dayApAtram? taniyan alone is recited. This itself is
the clear proof that the taniyan was composed by the
Lord Himself, and only by His order it is recited in
all the Divyadesams. Even today, the annual
Thirunakshatram and Thirtham of Manavala Mamunigal is
celebrated none other than by Lord Ranganatha Himself,
just as a disciple would do for his Acharya. If
anybody is jealous of this we can?t help it. Even in
the very few divya desams where divyaprabandam is
started with out srisailesa dayapatram there are very
clear court records to prove when it happened so.
====================================
Manavala Mamunigal & Kidambi Nayanar
====================================
In the same ?yathindrapravana prabhavam? it is stated
that Mamunigal had his Sribhashya kalakshepam under
one Kidambi Nayanar. (Note that the name has not been
mentioned as Kidambi Thirumalai Nayanar.) His
thaniyan is recited in the Thengalai kalakshepa
guruparampara and his name is mentioned as
varadacharya in that thaniyan. But the name of Kidambi
Thirumalai Nayanar, disciple of Brahmatantra Jeeyar
swami is mentioned as Purushottama Desikar in the
(vadagalai) moovaayrippadi guruprampara. Thus it is
clear that Kidambi nayanar (sribhashya Acharya of
Manaval Mamunigal) and Kidambi thirumalai nayanar (the
disciple of Brahmatantra jeeyar) are two different
persons. Even assuming that Manavalamamunigal had his
Sribhashya Kalakshepam under the disciple of
Brahmatantra Jeeyar, then one can ask why the
vadagalis (at least the followers of Brahmatantra
jeear) do not accept Mamunigal as one of the Acharyas,
when he had his Sribhashya kalakshepam under their
Acharya? 
====================================
Manavala Mamunigal & Vedanta Desika
====================================
If Manavala Mamunigal?s thaniyan is recited in
preference to the other thaniyans it is because of the
Order of the Lord Sriranganatha. It doesn?t mean any
disrespect to any other Acharya. Even the thaniyan
(mAthA pithA) of Nammalvar is recited only after the
thaniyan (yonithyam) of Ramanuja by all the
Srivaishnavites without any exception. Does this mean
disrespect to Nammalvar? The individual thaniyans of
Nathmuni, Yamunacharya, Periyanambi, Tirumalai Nambi,
Kurattalvan, Embar, Bhattar, Nanjiyar, Nampillai and
so many other Acharyas are not at all recited while
the Divyaprabandhams are recited. Does this undermines
their contribution to Srivaishnavism? So when the
thaniyan of Manavalamamunigal is recited, it is
because of the Divine Order, and it does not mean any
disrespect to any other Acharya, including Vedanta
Desika. Hence, if anybody thinks that the greatness of
Manavala Mamunigal is affecting the greatness of
Vedanta Desika, he is only doing an Asahyapachara on
both these Acharyas. (Asahyapachara is a sin committed
towards a devotee of the Lord, without any reason
whatsoever and mere out of jealousy.) 

Thangalais accept Vedanta Desika as an Acharya and
they do recite his thaniyan in Sribhashya prampara.

Almost in all the Thengalai temple, the idol of Vedanta
Desika is there and his thirunakshatrams are also
performed. 
But not even in a single vadagalai temple
Manavala mamunigal idol is consecrated. Though
Manavalamamunigal was mainly responsible to bring the
Edu Muppatharayirappadi to light, his thaniyan is not
being recited by even the Vadagalais who accept Edu.
This clearly shows who are jealous against whom.
------------------------------------------------------ 
These replies are given for both thenkalayars and vadakalayars to know the 
truth. 
Enough has been written about the author of the write up and so I would not 
like to add. 
We have answered only the direct issues in the write up. I have many unanswered 
questions. 

1. What was the need for this write up ?
2. What is the objective of this write up ?
3. What is the value added to malolan net by publishing this write up ?
4. There was a controversy a few months back in bhakti list. 
After that every one resolved that we would not indulge in this mudslinging. 
Why is our resolution/self contol so short lived ? 

All the members of Yati sammelanam came to a consensus that derogatory remarks 
(like calling someone as fanatic) would not be published hereafter, 
irrespective of 
whether the issue on hand is true or false. It was also agreed that NO damaging 
remarks would be passed on either sect (like alpa buddhi etc)or an individual 
acharya. 
This resulution was published in many of our sampradaya monthly journals. 
This write up is being put up to the members. Either malolan net can say that 
they are not bound by the sammelanam resolution in which case they are not 
connected to Ahobila mutt. 
Or if they feel they are connected to Ahobila mutt and so they are bound by the 
resolution, let them be kind enough to announce the removal of this posting 
from their list. 

Let us continue our discussions only to learn more. 


===============================================================
U.Ve. M.A Venkatakrishnan Swami U.Ve Velukkudi Krishnan Swami
===============================================================

azhwAr emberumAnAr JeeyAr thiruvadigalE saranam

adiyEn rAmAnuja dAsan
Mukundan Vangkipuram Pattangi
http://www.radioramanuja.com




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