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SrI:
SrImathE Ramanujaya namah:
Dearest Srivaishnavas,

Today Panguni Hastham is Thiruvarangatthu amudhanAr
Thirunaksahthram. Let us enjoy the wondreful article
written by SrI SatakOpan Swamin of New York few years
ago on this Acharya whose Composition Iramaanusa
nOORRanthAthi (108 verses on Ramanuja) is simply
brilliant and divine. 

Thanks to Sri Satakopan Swamin for granting permission
to share this article of his.

Regards
Namo Narayana
dAsan

Life of Thiruvaranagatthu AmudanAr
**********************************

We will commence this posting with the Vaazhi
ThirunAmam for Sri TVA:

YenthAthai KoorEsar iNaiyadiyOn VaazhiyE
yezhil moongirkkudi viLanga inghu vanthOn vaazhiyE
nanthAmal YathirAsar nalam puhazhvOn vaazhiyE
nann Madhura kavinilayai naNNinOn vaazhiyE
painthAma Arangan padham paRRinAn vaazhiyE
Panguniyil attha naaL paaruthitthAn vaazhiyE
andhAthi nooRRettum aruLinAn vaazhiyE
aNiyarangatthamudanAr adiyiNaikaL vaazhiyE

This Vaazhi ThirunAmams salutes the pair of
sacred feet of Thiruvarangatthu Amudanar ,
who had KurEsan as his AchAryan .His birth
at ThirumUngirkkudi on Panguni Hastham day , 
his ever-lasting tribute to AchArya RaamAnujA 
in the form of 108 paasurams set in the kalitthuRai 
andhAthi form are recognized. The most important 
part of this Vaazhit thirunAmam identifies AmudanAr
as the One , who attained the status of
Madhura Kavi in illustrious AchArya Bhakthi.

Madhura Kavi declared in his Prabhandham:
"tEvu maRRariyEn" ( I do not know of any God
other than my AchAryan, Swamy NammAzhwAr).
AmudanAr's AchArya Bhakthi asserted itself 
in the following words of his Prabhandham ,
where he declares that AchArya RaamAnujA 
is his sole succor and sustenance :

" pERonRu maRRillai ninn CharaNanRi ,
  appERaLitthathaRkku aaRu onRumillai,
  MaRRa SaRaNanRi.." (45th paasuram )

Here AmudanAr states that Sri RaamAnujA's
sacred feet are his UpAyam and Phalan and 
he can not describe in words the greatest 
help given by Sri RaamAnujA to him . AmudanAr
states that there is nothing else to be 
attained as a treasure except the sacred feet 
of AchArya RaamAnujA for one's ujjeevanam ,
whether they are scholars steeped in Vedhic
lore or common folk without such austere
training. 

There are four Taniyans for IrAmAnusa nooRRandhAthi
attributed to Vedhap PirAn Bhattar , SOmAsi ANDAn 
and another author .We will salute AmudanAr through
these invocatory paasurams (Taniyans) and cover 
the charithram of AmudanAr , the contemproary of
AchArya RaamAnujA , in the next posting .

Taniyan 1 by Vedhap PirAn Bhattar:

munaani vinai ahala Moonkirkkudiyamudhan,
 ponnang kazhark kamalap pOthiraNDum--yennudaya
sennik kaNiyAhac chErthinEn, tennpulatthArkk-
 kennaik kadavudayEn yann 

(Meaning): All of adiyEn's ancient paapams 
have been banished with the smaraNam of 
the sacred feet of AmudhanAr. He was born in 
the village of Moonkirkkudi. His sacred feet are
the most desirable and lovely like the lotus 
flower. AdiyEn is wearing them as the abharaNam
for my head.How can adiyEn become the target
now of the Yama kinkarAs and their tortures ?
No way.

Taniyan 2 by Vedhap PirAn Bhattar:

nayam taru pErinbhamellAm pazhuthenRu naNNInar paal
 sayam taru keerthi RaamAnusa Muni thALiNai mEl
Uyarntha guNatthut ThiruvarangatthamudhOnkumanbAl
 iyampum KalitthuRaiyandhAthi Odha visai nenjamE

(Meaning): Here , the prayer is to one's nenju
to agree to recite the sacred prabhnadham of
IrAmAnusa nooRRandhAthi of AmudhanAr.

EmperumAnAr is the glorious One , who blesses
us with victory over the afflictions of SamsAram ,
once we seek His sacred feet as refuge after
clearly recognizing that the material pleasures
are evanescent and ephemeral. Oh My mind, Please 
agree to recite the Prabhandham of AmudhanAr set
in kalitthuRai metre in the form of an andhAthi ;
AmudhanAr's dhivya prabhndham originated from
his saraNAgathi with MahA visvAsam at the sacred 
feet of RaamAnujar and the love that flowed from that
sacred rite taking the shape of RaamAnuja 
nooRRandhAthi is for our ujjeevanam.

Taniyan 3 by SOmAsi ANDAn :

sollin thohai koNDu unathadip pOthukkut thoNDu seyum
 nallanbharEtthum unn naamamelAm yenRan naavinuLLE
allum pahalum amarumpaDi nalhu aRu samayam
 vellum Parama, IrAmAnusa! ithenn viNNappamE 

(Meaning): Here SOmAsi ANDAn wishes his tongue 
to recite the ThirunAmams of IrAmAnusan eulogized 
by His adiyArs.

Oh RaamAnujA , who has the glory of winning over
the six darsanams and demonstrated that they are
no match to Sri VaisNava darsanam ! This is my 
prayer to You ! May Your ThirunAmams celebrated 
by your adiyArs in their paasurams stay on my tongue 
day and night for my enjoyment and ujeevanam.

Taniyan 4 used in mElnAttu Thiruppathis:

iniyenn kuRai namakkemperumAnAr ThirunAmatthAl 
  muni tanatha nooRRettu SAAVITHRI  yennu nuNNporuLai
kani tantha senjcholl KalithuraiyandhAthi
paaDithanthAn
  punithan ThiruvarangatthamuthAhiya PuNNiyanE 

(meaning): We have nothing missing in our lives , now
that we have the prapanna Saavithri -- the 108
pasurams
of RaamAnuja nooRRandhAthi celebrating our AchAryan's
sacred name set in kalitthurai andhAthi, blessed by 
the puNya moorthi , ThiruvarangatthamudanAr .
Meditating
on the deep meanings of this Prabhandham , we do not
have any more wants in this world . We do not 
lack any thing. 

SrimathE RaamAnujAya nama:
Daasan, Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri SadagOpan  

Introduction on the vaibhavam of AmudhanAr
********************************************

There are three utthAraka (uplifting )
manthrams besides the AshtAkshara and Dhvaya manthrams
for Sri VaishNavites . The latter two are received 
directly from a SadAchAryan. The other three 
are SrimathE NaarAyaNAya nama: ,
SrimathE SatakOpAya nama: and SrimathE 
RaamAnujAya Nama:

These are considered amudha mozhis and it
is appropriate we think of AmudhanAr 
and his Sri Sookthi in this context.It is
also appropriate to recall that the name 
"AmudhanAr" was given to periya Koil Nampi 
by AchArya RaamAnujA himself.

The manthram , "SrimathE RaamAnujAya nama:"
is dear to the tongue and mind of all
Udayavar sampradhAyins and this manthram
and the 108 paasurams extolling AchArya 
RaamAnujA's greatness are generally 
viewed as AmruthAksharangaL.Let us 
recite Sri RaamAnuja NooRRandhAthi 
during his Thirunakshathream .It is 
also my request to Sri Thirukkudanthai
Rengarajan to post a series of articles on 
the individual paasurams of this Prabhandham 
for our benefit .  

AmudhanAr's lineage
********************
Sri AmudhanAr was born at Srirangam. 
His father's name was ANiarangatthamudanAr ,
who was steeped in service to Sri RanganAthan .
The other name for our AmudanAr is Moongilkudi
amudhanAr denoting the ancient village from
which his ancestors came prior to settling down
in Srirangam. AmudhanAr lived for 128 years
on this earth . 

AmudhanAr's blessings 
**********************

AmudhanAr's devotion to AchArya RaamAnujA
was equal to that of the unparalleled devotion 
that Madhuara Kavi AzhwAr had for SwamyNammAzhwAr. 
AmudhanAr was saved by AchArya sambhandham. Prior to 
being saved by the limitless of DayA of AchArya
RaamAnujA ,
Amudhanar was the purOhithar for Sri RanganAthA
and was filled with rajO guNam and had ill feelings
towards AchArya RaamAnujA for the boons granted 
to him by Sri RanganAthA .He resented the granting 
of the title of Udayavar by Sri RanganAthan. In those
days , AmudhanAr was known as Periya Koil Nampi.

RaamAnujA's plan and Sri RanganAthA's Sankalpam
************************************************

As RaamAnujA began to fulfill the command of 
Lord RanganAthA to manage the day to day affairs 
of the temple , Amudhanar got angrier and angrier
and placed many obstacles in the way of RaamAnujA
and caused deep pain to RaamAnujA . The despondent
RaamAnujA wanted to dismiss AmudhanAr from temple
service to achieve the smooth running of the affairs
of the temple. One day , Lord RanganAtha appeared 
in the dream of RaamAnujA as an old Brahmin and said: 
" Periya Koil Nampi is dependent on Me for a long
time.
rest is Your ThiruvuLLam " and disappeared. RaamAnujA 
shared his dream with KUrEsan and concluded that
the Lord did not want him to dismiss Periya Koil Nampi

from His service and that the Lord wanted Nampi 
to engage in some other kaimkaryam other than
purOhitham.

KurEsan responded and mentioned that the Lord wants 
RaamAnujA to correct the undesirable ways of Nampi
and to engage him in AchArya kaimkaryams . RaamAnujA 
suggested that KUrEsan himself correct Nampi's
destructive ways and bring him back to the fold of
BhAgavathAs . KUrEsan accepted the suggestion of
his AchAryan as command and engaged the scholarly 
Periya Koil Nampi in discussions and slowly  but
surely changed Nampi to mend his previous ways.
KUresan brought Nampi before RaamAnujA and placed
Nampi at his feet . AchArya RaamAnujA was overjoyed 
at the transformation in Nampi and was about to accept
him as his sishyan.

KUrEsan becoming the AchAryan for Nampi
**************************************** 

Periya Koil Nampi was a great scholar and 
AchArya RaamAnujA recognized that extraordinary 
scholarship and felt that Nampi's vidhvath
was far superior to his own and therefore recommended 
that KUrEsan become the AchAryan to nampi instead of 
him. Recognizing the sweetness of speech of Nampi ,
AchArya RaamAnujA gave the name of "AmudhanAr" 
to Nampi. From then on , Periya Koil Nampi came
to be known as " Thiruvarangatthu AmudhanAr ". 
He was also addressed with reverence as 
"PiLLai AmudhanAr ". 

AchArya RaamAnujA taking control of Temple service
***************************************************

Few days after becoming the Thiruvadi of 
KUrEsan , AmudhanAr's mother passed away.
AmudhanAr was performing her Charama kaimkaryam.
The day of yEkOdhishtam came ( the day after
sabhinDIkaraNam). Because of the earlier 
quarrels that Nampi had with his relatives , he could
not
get anyone to accept his invitation to officiate
in the ceremonies. AchArya RaamAnujA realized
the desperate state AmudhanAr was in and suggested 
that KurEsan to take part in the ceremony and
bring it to a saasthraic conclusion without
any vignams. 

In this important srArddha ceremony ,
there is a stage, when the Brahmin chosen to
accept the ritual food should say , " I am 
satisfied with the offerings " (susampannam ,
Sarvam sampUrNam , ThrupthAsma: ).When that stage
arrived , KUrEsan stalled and did not say 
the prathivachanam , "ThrupthAsma:". AmudhanAr
was deeply disturbed and asked waht else needs to 
be done . AchArya RaamAnujA had instructed KUrEsan
to ask as dhAnam , PurOhitham and PurANa
patanam for Sri RanganAthan , which were 
the heriditary rights of AmudhanAr family . 
When KUrEsan asked for these two dhAnams , 
AmudhanAr had no choice except to agree. Thus AchArya
RaamAnujA was able to get control of 
the temple administration from AmudhanAr and 
appointed KUresan to serve as the chief priest
and pourANikar for the Lord . That is how ,
ParAsara Bhattar , the son of KUrEsar got
the title of Sri rangEsa PurOhithar later.

RaamAnujA's daya for AmudhanAr
*******************************

Lord RanganAthA was very pleased with the turn of
events.
RaamAnujA felt bad that such a great scholar
(AmudhanAr)
was stripped of his erstwhile major responsibilites
and out of his (RaamAnujA's) spirit of compassion went
to 
the residence of one of his AchAryan ,Thiruvaranga 
PerumAL arayar .There , he begged his achAryan 
to grant as boon(DhAnam)  Iyarpaa SrikOsam 
to him . He requested his AchAryan not to recite
the Iyarppaa thousand , which was his assigned duty.
He instructed  AmudhanAr on the recitation of
Iyarppaaa and asked him to take over the recitation
of this thousand from the Arayar. All the maryAdhayais
for such kaimkaryam were deflected to Amudhanaar
from that day onward.Arayar recited all other 
isaippaa other than Iyarppaa.AmudhanAr was 
also put in charge of Iyarppaaa recitation at 
Sri RanganAyaki ThAyAr sannidhi. 

The composition of RaamAnuja NooRRandhAthi
*******************************************

AmudhanAr was moved by the dayA of RaamAnujA 
and composed the 108 paasurams of Sri RaamAnuja
NooRRandhAthi and recited in front of NamperumAL. 
On a SapthAvaraNam day , Lord RanganAthA asked
RaamAnujA not to accompany Him on His Raaja Veedhis
and stopped all vAdhyams and asked Sri VaishNavAs
to recite the RaamAnuja NooRRandhAthi. From then on ,
NooRRandhAthi is recited after Iyarppaa at PerumAL
and ThAyAr sannidhis at the command of NamperumAL .

AchArya RaamAnujA obeyed the wish of Lord RanganAthA
and included the recital of NooRRandhAthi at the end
of Iyarppaa recitation , just as KaNNinuNN SiRutthAmpu
is recited at the end of Mudal Aayiram. Thus AmudhanAr

is to AchArya RaamAnujA just as Madhura Kavi is to 
Swamy NammAzhwAr. The two prabhandhams by Madhura kavi
and Thiruvarangatthu AmudhanAr are like Naayaka 
rathnams adorning the gem necklace .

In Sri VaishNava sampradhAyam , AchAryan is recognized
as the avathAra visesham of Sriman NaarAyaNan.
Therefore ,
one worships one's AchAryan as not different form
EmperumAn .
Such AchArya abhimAna nishtaaLs appreciate deeply
Madhura Kavi's sincere declaration , "dhEvu
maRRaRiyEn".
AmudhanAr declared in this respect : " surakkum
Thiruvum
uNarvum solappuhil vaayamudham parakkum iruvinai
paRraRavOdum patiyiluLLIr ! uraikkinranan numakkiyAn
aRancheeRum uRu kalyai thurakkum perumai RAAMAANUSAN 
YENRU SOLLUMINE ". 

In every one of his NooRRandhAthi paasurams ,
AmudhanAr placed the ThirunAmAm of RaamAnusar
for our benefit .We look forward to Sri RengarajAn's
postings in the days to come to have  a special
celebration on the Vaibhavam of AchArya RaamAnujA
and his reverence to AzhwAr's Sri Sookthis.

Daasan, Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri Sadagopan 



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