sri:
http://www.hinduonnet.com/fr/2005/11/18/stories/2005111800060300.htm
====Article reproduced as is from the THE Hindu link above =========
A saga of sacrifice
by T. A. NARASIMHAN
Even as 12,000 residents of Srirangam formed a human chain, Pillailokacharya
fled with the idols.
==========================================================================
PART OF CELEBRATION: A play on the life history of Sri Pillailokacharya.
Pillailokacharya - Fate could not have chosen a better qualified person to
command the unreserved confidence of the residents of this tiny island called
Srirangam. Here was a superb strategist and an inspired guru, a man of infinite
patience and quiet stability under adverse pressure, a person capable of bold
decisions and actions. But for him, the Srirangam temple would have gone
extinct.
It was the Tamil month of Vaikasi in the year 1323. Unaware of the impending
danger, the residents of Srirangam had assembled in the temple to celebrate a
festival for Lord Aazahgiya Manavalan, when a washerman came running to convey
the news that the Sultanate forces from Delhi had camped at Kannanore (now
Samayapuram) on the banks of Coleroon river and were planning to attack the
Srirangam temple the next day. They wanted to seize the utsavar idols, which
they believed was made of `aparanji' gold.
Quick decisions
It was Pillailokacharya who rose to the occasion and with a small group of
advisers like Sudarshana Acharya and Vedanta Desika, made quick decisions. He
ordered the elders, women and children to cross the Cauvery and run away into
the forests. After constructing a stone wall in the sanctum sanctorum, to
protect the main deity, he placed the utsava idols in a closed palanquin and
fled Srirangam. Twelve thousand residents of Srirangam, mainly youth, under the
leadership of Sudarshana Acharya and his two sons, formed a human chain
blocking the entry of invaders, giving Pillailokacharya time to take away the
idols to safety.
All these 12,000 including Sudarshana Acharya and his two sons were massacred.
Vedanta Desika smeared blood over his body and lay amongst the heap of bodies
pretending to be dead.
Meanwhile, Pillailokacharya had travelled hundreds of miles to reach
Jyotishkudi near Aazhagar Koil in Madurai, where he hid the idols in a cave.
But he had fallen ill in the process and died chanting the name of the Lord but
not before getting a promise from his disciples that the deity would be
restored to His rightful place.
It was 48 years later that Kambanna of Vijayanagara Kingdom restored the Lord
to the Srirangam temple. By then, the idol had criss-crossed the south and had
visited places such as Madurai, Ettayapuram, Thiruvananthapuram, Kozhikode,
Melkote, Mysore, Satyamangalam forests and was taken to Tirumala.
Even today, the place where the idol was sheltered at Tirumala is called Ranga
Mantapam. After a brief stay in Ginjee, the deity was taken back to Srirangam
in 1371.
To recall the sacrifice made by Pillailokacharya and to celebrate his 800th
birth anniversary, the Kinchithkaram Trust had recently organised a week-long
festival from November 8. Velukkudi Krishnan who heads the trust said
programmes including discourses, bhajans, dance and plays were held to mark the
event.
A book on the life of Pillailokacharya authored by `Vaishnavasri'
Krishnamachariar, was also released. A stone inscription to commemorate the
Achayra's services was unveiled at the Srirangam temple and in the
Kattazhagiyasingar Koil by Sriranga Narayana Jeer.
Velukkudi Krishnan said the trust was planning to hold essay and recitation
competitions for the youth on the works of Pillailokacharya.
A telefilm on the life and history of the Acharya, directed by `Chithralaya'
Gopu, was in the making.
* * *
Celebration in Srirangam
A three-day `Sri Pillailokacharyar vaibhavam' was organised recently at
Srirangam to mark the 800th birth anniversary of the saint-poet under the
auspices of the Celebration Committee.
Discourses on the philosophy of Sri Pillailokacharya as described in his
`Ashtadasa Rahasyam' (18 volumes) were held. The highlight of the celebration
was the release of a book and compact disc on the life and works of Sri
Pillailokacharya. Sri Ranganarayana Jeer of Srirangam unveiled the inscriptions
on the life of the Vaishnavite philosopher at the Sri Pillailokacharyar shrine
of the Srirangam temple. A quiz programme and a play staged by students, which
gave an account of Sri Pillailokacharyar's efforts in spreading Vaishnavism,
were held.
"We have planned to establish an advanced research centre on the philosophy of
Sri Pillailokachayar," said A. Krishnamachariar, Co-ordinator of the
Celebration Committee.
M. BALAGANESSIN
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