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Sri maNavALa-mA-munikaL in USA.

 

Smt Sheela Belur has reported the consecration of the ?archA? representations 
of SrirAma-parivAram, AzhvAr, emperumAnAr and maNavALa mAmunikaL inthe JET 
Washington DC (March 5-8). "pallANDu pallANDu" for every one whothought of this 
and executed it with such joy and devotional fervour as comes out in the report.

 

It is to be borne in mind that no part or continent of our precious world is to 
be regarded as spiritually sterile. The purusha-sUktam is clear that as the 
Lord made the vast universe, he elected to manifest himself only here on this 
earth (which is but a spec in this vast scheme of things) ~~~~ "sa bhUmim 
viSvatO vRtvA, atyatishThat." The tiru-vAi-mozhi scripture is equally 
affirmative that the spirits of the Lord fill this world entire with 
God-consciousness, ?kaDal-vaNNan bhUtanGaL maN-mEl etc?. No area exclusion is 
indicated. It is therefore but fitting that the Lord and his blessed 
AzhvAr-AchArya saints-elect should be so worshipped in the U.S. too.
 
May this sanctified occasion strengthen world-wide prayers for universal 
welfare (lOka-kshEmam), containment of terrorist violence and abandonment 
ofwar, good rains in our bhArata-bhUmi (the sacred kAvEri bed here in Srirangam 
has gone bone dry), and return of SrirAma to His own ayOdhyA-puri.

 

----- Original Message -----

From: "bvsheela" <bvsheela@xxxx> To: <sv-general@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, March 10, 2003 6:49 PM Subject: [sv-general] PerumAL, AlwAR and 
AchAryas have come to a Metro near you...!  

 

SrimatE rAmAnujAya nama: ||

 

The pratishThApana mahOtsavam of SreeRama-parivAram along with nammAlwAr, 
emberumAnAr, svAmi maNavALa mAmunigaL took place from March 5 to 8 at the JET 
USA Washington DC center under the holy guidance of H.H Sri Sri Sri Tridandi 
Chinna Jeeyar Swamy. 
 
It was a truly divine experience for all devotees who attended the 4 day 
celebration and will be a memory to be cherished for the rest of their lives...
 
For the first time, an archa form of Swami Manavala Mamunigal has been formally 
consecrated in this country .... our heartfelt thanks (talaiyallAl 
kaimmARilanE) to all who made this great thing happen.


The yAgam and other rituals were performed in the yagashAla that was specially 
built for this purpose by Sriman Satya-narayan-acharyulu-garu of New Orleans 
temple along with Sriman Seetha-ram-acharyulu-garu , who was performing 
kainkaryam to tiruvenkaTam-uDaiyAn PerumAL at Pittsburgh temple till now and 
who will be the resident priest at the JET cente. 

 

All the resources needed for the rituals were untiringly arranged by the 
organizers Sriman Ravi and Srimati Vasanthi Aharam and their Vikasa 
Taranginitroup. Not only did Sriman Satyanarayanacharyulugaru perform all the 
rituals impeccably, he aso gave elaborate explanations of some of the salient 
aspects. One such instance was when he mentioned about the shlOkam "tvam mE ham 
mE..." when our Chakravarthi Tirumagan was giving us darsanam in His white wet 
piece of clothing soon after tirumanjanam...that scene backed by the narration 
by Sriman Satyanarayanacharyulugaru made the eyes moist...

 

When alankaram was being done, Sriman Oppili Gopalan Swamy recited
ten pashurams from perumAL tirumoli which was all the more fitting
with KulashEkahara PerumAL's tirunakshatram being just around the 
corner. There was noticeable smile on Perumal and AchAryAs'
mukha-mandalams during SAttumuRai. This was followed by kalyAnOtsavam to 
PerumAl and Seetha pirAtti. 

 

The befitting climax was when H.H.Tridandi Jeeyar Swamy's voice over the 
telephone reverberated the hall with his mangalAsanams to the organizers and 
other devoteess along with a few words of guidance for the future as to how the 
center should perform.

 

On the whole it was a once-in-life-time experience which will
remain green in our memories for years and years to come. This is 
yet another example that shows us the "saulabhyam" of our PerumAl 
and the AchAryas by coming down to this land which was once called 
only a "bhOga bhoomi" as against Bharatha varsham which has been 
known as the "karma bhoomi". Last, but not the least, even nature rewarded the 
oragnizers and other devotees by the unexpected sunny and warm weather, in
contrast to the biting cold and tons of snow of prior weeks, which greatly 
helped the success of the events.  

 

JET USA Washington Center plans to start celeberating Alwar and
Acharya tirunakshatrams in the coming months and the center
organizers heartily invite each and every one of the our "rAmAnuja 
kuTumbam" in the USA to come and have darasanam of Perumal and
parivAram - more so of Alwar and AchAryAs - who have come even to
this land just for our benefit... 

 

Wishing "pallAndu pallAndu" for all the oraganizers, adiyAL prays
to Perumal, AlwArs and AchAryas to bestow very good health for them
enabling them to continue to do such kainkaryams for years and years to come...


 
>AlwAr EmberumAnAr Jeeyar tiruvadigalE saranam
> adiyAL rAmAnuja dAsi.

 

Sri maNavALa-mA-munikaL

(written by tirumanjanam Sundara Rajan)

 

Sri maNavALa-mA-munikaL (1370-1443 AD) is the 'charama-paramAchArya' (the 
latest of the great preceptors) who laid the Srivaishnava faith in unredeemed 
debt for his precious services, such as, 

 

(i) revival, reorganization, and acknowledgment of the historic role of 
thecommunity of Acharya personages; as in instituting his own ashTa-diG-Gaja-s, 
the eight principal disciples, and in setting up the ?sapta-GOtra-vyavasthA? 
for preservation of the ?kandADai? identity;

 

(ii) restoration of temple structures and worship which had earlier been 
vandalised on two traumatic occasions in history, viz., the savage raids of 
Malik Kafur (1311) and Ulugh Khan (1331) through the holy 'divya-dESam' sites; 
for instance, it was mAmunikaL who sanctified the introduction of the 
bhUpati-t-tiru-nAL (in the tai / makara-mAsam) of Lord Sriranga, and this is 
testified by the beautiful wooden sculpture of mAmunikaL installed by 
thedonor-devotee Veerappa Bhupati in the rear of the tai-ratham of Lord 
Sriranga; 

 

(iii) preservation of the esoteric ('rahasya') classical works of the liberal, 
life-affirming, humanitarian and highly aesthetic doctrines of the Srivaishnava 
religion; this was carried out by mAmunikaL by remuneratively engaging 
competent copyists on making multiple copies of the classical vyAkhya works;

 

(iv) propagation of the scriptures and the corollary works of 
?rahasya?(esoterics) through his own discourses (as on the eeDu 
bhagavad-vishayam in the presence of Lord Sriranga), and through his own 
pellucid commentarieson Pillai Lokacharya?s esoteric aphorisms (?rahasya 
sootra-s?) SRI-VACHANA-BHOOSHANAM, MUMUKSHU-P-PADI, and ACHARYA-HRDAYAM of his 
veneratedyounger brother azhakia-maNavALa-p-perumAL nAyanAr, etc. This 
particular endowment of mAmunikaL was what caused him to be known as 
?viSada-vAk-SikhAmaNi? (master of clear expression).

 

 

This manner of versatility and multitude of Mamuni's services patterned after 
the life and career of Sri Ramanuja, had earned for Mamuni the revered name of 
'yateendra-pravaNa' . Mamuni had the venerable pedigree of being descended from 
Sri GO-maThattu AzhvAn, one of the 74 simhAsana-adhipati-s identified and 
nominated by Sri Ramanuja. At his birth (under mUla asterism,tulA month, 
sAdhAraNa year, corresponding to October 24 1370 AD) in AzhvArtiru-naGari, he 
was named azhakiya-maNavALa-p-perumAL (?ramya-jAmAtA?)after Lord Sriranga, the 
festive deity (utsava-archA) specifically, calledso as being the Lord of 
uRaiyUr kamala-valli dEvi who was adored as the presiding deity of the kingdom 
of the early Cholas. Mamuni is the name forSrivaishnavas to acknowledge in 
gratitude, pride and in reverence.

 

The 'eeDu' genesis.

 

The 'eeDu' is of the Great Literatures of the world, and is the grand 
culmination of SrivaishNava vyAkhyA (exegesis) tradition which got started with 
tiru-k-kurukai-p-pirAn piLLAn, as authorized by Sri Ramanuja. Sri nampiLLai it 
was who delivered the ?eeDu? in the form of discourses on the scripture 
tiru-vAi-mozhi, while seated in the four-pillared pavilion ('manDapam') close 
south of sEnai-mudaliyAr (vishvak-sEna) shrine in Srirangam Great Temple. (The 
base of a pillar in this manDapam is cut like the back-tiltof an easy-chair, 
and this is known as "nampiLLai SAimAnam", the nampiLLairecline.) It is said 
that of a day, periya-perumAL Himself stole to theeastern window of the 
gAyatrI-manDapam and peered down to absorb the discourses of nampiLLai. The 
eager Lord was noticed by tiru-viLakku-p-picchan,the light-attendant, and 
rebuked for His indiscretion and told peremptorily to return to the 
SEsha-paryankam, the serpent-couch in the sanctum !  

 

Sri nampiLLai's lectures were competently and faithfully committed to writing 
by vaDakku-t-tiru-veethi-p-piLLai. This record came to be known as EeDu. 
Ma-muni appropriately adores VTVPillai as 'vaLLal', Blessed Bestower (44, 
'upadESa-ratna-mAlai'). The work is among the ultimate instances of excellence 
in ?rasa?, as meeting the dictum, "mitam cha sAram cha vachOhi vAgmitA" ~ 
rhetoric consists in brevity and essentiality.  

 

'SriSailESa' and mAmuni. 

 

Tirumalai AzhvAr (=SriSailESa) who came to be known as tiru-vAi-mozhi-p-piLLai 
(1290-1410 AD) taught ?eeDu? to mAmuni (1370-1443 AD). When mAmuni subsequently 
came to study the SribhAshyam under kiDAmbi-nAyanAr in Kanchi, the teacher was 
impressed with the mAmuni's facile grasp of SribhAshyam corpus as principally 
on account of his deep apprenticeship in eeDu, and encouraged mAmuni on the 
course (set for him by his Guru SriSailESa) of reaching eeDu to the community 
of scholars.

 

On mAmuni's return to Srirangam, there was the divine initiative of Lord 
namperumAL to get mAmuni to lecture in public on eeDu. The commodious periya 
tiru-maNDapam (= azhakiya maNavALan maNDapam spreading out before 
thetiru-aNukkan-vASal guarded by Jaya and Vijaya) was the venue for the 
year-long course of mAmuni's lecture.  

 

Feast for God.

 

For maNavALa-mA-muni, this was providential approval of his heart's passion, 
this was his God-given means of redeeming his word to his AchArya, SriSailESa, 
to enhance community appreciation of the scripture tiru-vAi-mozhi. Lord 
Azhakiya-maNavALan and His consorts, ubhaya-nAcchimAr, were in audience in the 
'manDapam' pavilion which was packed with the grand congregation of devotees.   
 
Each day's lecture was enriched by mAmuni's citing of relevant texts and 
interpretations from a range of scriptural sources like Sruti, SribhAshyam, 
Sruta-prakASikA, GeetA-bhAshyam, the pAncha-rAtra Agamam, SrirAmAyaNam, 
mahAbhAratam, SrivishNu-purANam, Srimad-bhAgavatam, etc.

 

He was assiduous in explaining the meaning of an operative word, the unitive 
import emerging from the syntax of a crucial sentence, the apparent meaning 
('samabhi-vyAhAra-artham') and the underlying import, the implied message 
('dhvani'), the SabdArtham, bhAvArtham, the patent reading and the contextual 
reading. The venerated text of eeDu which he was expounding demanded such 
intellectual alertness and virtuosity, moderated and held on course by mAmuni's 
inborn modesty and manifest devotion to the line of the great AchArya-s who had 
bequeathed to him the precious legacy.

 

The inspired ?taniyan?. 

 

Lord Sriranga suspended His seasonal festivities for nearly an year to 
makepossible this vAk-yajnam (worship of the Word) which concluded on the 
Ani-t-tiru-moolam of the year pramAdeecha. It is said that as a proper gift 
(bahu-mAnam) to the great exponent mAmuni, the Lord inspired a young boy offour 
or five (who identified himself by the name Ranga-nayakam) to enter the 
congregation and recite the taniyan-SlOkam, 

 

"Sri-SailESa-dayA-pAtram, dhee-bhaktyAdi-guN/ARNavam, 

yateendra-pravaNam vandE, ramya-jAmAtaram munim !?    

      

The fervent devotees who had been feasting on the manna of mAmuni's discourses 
wrote down this tribute promptly on a palm-leaf and stamped it with turmeric 
paste and placed it at the feet of the Lord in audience.

 

Ani-t-tiru-mUlam Day 

 

Ani-t-tiru-mUlam of year pramAdeeSa (circa 1432-33 AD) was the blessed day on 
which the precious ?Sri-SailESa? tribute of mAmunikaL was enunciated. This 
sacred couplet was commended (as sEnai-mudaliyAr Sri-mukham) to Tirumalai, 
Perumal Koyil (Kanchi) and all the other divya-dESam shrines in the land, and 
has ever since been the affix to any formal psalmody (GOshThee recital) of the 
'divya-prabandham'.   

 

The mystic import.

 

The taniyan is a cryptic formula of 'praNava-artham', says piLLai-lOkam-jeeyar, 
the author of the twin hagiographic gems, 'rAmAnujArya divya-charitai'and 
'yateendra-pravaNa-prabhAvam'. The monosyllabic ?praNavam? blends in itself the 
identity of the Lord Transcendant, and the entity of the seeker who 
instinctively submits to the Lord's way, and their abiding relationship. 

 

Kanchi prati-vAdi-bhayankaram aNNanGAr-AchArya svAmi reads the couplet to say 
how the Lord in his incarnations as SrirAma and SrikrishNa had his dismays and, 
as Sriranga-nAtha, he sought out for the rewarding discovery of mAmuni. The 
kAnchi-svAmi gets such reflections into each quarter ('pAdam') of the couplet. 

 

"SriSailESa-dayA-pAtram" recalls sugreeva who dismayed SrirAma by failing to 
mobilise the army in time to fight rAvaNa. sugreeva failed at first tokeep his 
word, while mAmuni who was the favoured of his AchArya 
SriSailESa(tiru-vAi-mozhi-p-piLLai) succeeded, by the very grace of the Lord, 
to redeem his pledge to his preceptor to enhance the community appreciation of 
tiru-vAi-mozhi.
 
"dhee-bhaktyAdi-guNARNavam". Before commencing the war with Ravana, SrirAma had 
the unpleasant ceremony of beseeching the aRNava (Ocean) deity but receiving no 
response. The Lord would rather seek the consolation of adoringmAmuni, the 
Ocean of several merits like intellectual power, unsullied andunbrandished 
devotion, unobtrusive wisdom etc.

 

"yateendra-pravaNam". The Lord of Tirumalai, SriSailESa, was in debt to Sri 
Ramanuja in several respects. However, it transpired that, after the Lord 
pondered the Ramanuja-nooRRantAdi verse 97, He prized the service to Ramanuja's 
devotee as exceeding His attachment to Ramanuja himself.
 
"vandE ramya-jAmAtaram munim !" As Srirama walked the wild under the command of 
viSvAmitra muni, he had to put up with very unrewarding narratives like 
viSvAmitra?s old-time sports with Menaka, scuffle with VasishTha etc. Likewise, 
as Srikrishna proffered the pupil's gift to his teacher sAndeepinee, the Lord 
was disappointed that the teacher did not ask for the ultimate grace, but as a 
sentimental parent he merely sought the revival of his child who was drowned in 
prabhAsa. On the other hand, mAmuni presented the contrast of mundane 
detachment, and this had its wholesome appeal for theLord who gladly chose 
mAmuni to instruct him in tiru-vAi-mozhi itself.

 

Ani-t-tiru-moolam in mAmuni shrine.

 

Any event in the maNavAla-mA-muni shrine in Srirangam is marked with 
'aruLi-c-cheyal' recital by the Great Temple 'adhyApaka-gOshThee'. The 'periya 
alankAram' food offerings made to the Lord Periya Perumal is received as a 
continuing gesture of the Lord's regard for mAmuni. At the end of the 
SAttu-muRai, the devotees receive the holy water and mAmuni's "pon-aDiyAm 
Sen-kamala-p-pOtu" (the wooden sandals used by mAmuni, encased in gold-plate) 
are placed on their bowed heads. 

 

Three contemporary corroborations.

 

At the end of the Ani-t-tiru-moolam protocol, there is chanting of 
'sampradAya-chandrikai' verses of appiLLAr, and paravAdi-kEsari's "SriSaila 
vaibhavam", both relating to the momentous emergence of the 
'SriSailESa-dayA-pAtram' couplet. The minor Sanskrit work 'SriSailESAshTakam' 
by eRumbi-appA onthe same theme is another vivid account available to us. This 
slender profile of the revered and humane personage mAmunikaL is offered in 
celebration of the consecration of the first iconic representation of mAmunikaL 
in the USA, and also as a reminder that the revival of his memorial awaits 
theexpeditious and generous support of every Srivaishnava born.

 

It would be fitting to end this slim write-up with the following tribute inthe 
form of a ?muktaka-SlOkam? ~

 

"Sreemad-ranGam jayatu paramam / bhUmi-tEjO nidhAnam,  

bhUmA tasmai bhavatu kuSalee / kO/pi bhUmA-sahAya:,  

divyam tasmai diSatu vibhavam / dESikO dESikAnAm,   

kAlE kAlE vara-vara-muni: / kalpayan manGalAni !" 

 

[ May the glorious (city of) Srirangam prevail as the ultimate reservoir ofthe 
world?s splendour. May (the mother) earth favour this (blessed spot). May the 
Lord of bhUmi-dEvi bestow (on Srirangam) divine riches / power time after time, 
so that the preceptor par excellence, Vara-vara-muni, could (continuously) 
multiply its blessings !] 

 

~ aDiyEn rAmAnuja-dAsan, tirumanjanam Sundara Rajan, at Srirangam.



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