Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:
The Attractive Acharya
Apart from being a master logician and a peerless philosopher, what
distinguishes Swami Desikan from others of his genre is his undisputed mastery
over poetry. He was a Taarkika Simham, Vedantancharya and Kavi Simham, all
rolled into one. As it is, advanced philosophical or logical tenets are
difficult to express in prose-to render them into verse with lilting metres and
without sacrificing the sobriety of the matter, requires special
accomplishment, which came naturally to Swami Desikan. Especially, his
descriptions of Emperuman at various divyadesams are indeed impressive. Be it
the head-to-foot depiction of Sri Rangaraja's matchless splendour in "Bhagavat
Dhyaana Sopaanam" or the mouth-watering descriptions of His soundaryam and
laavanyam in "Sri Devanayaka Panchaasat", "Sri Achyuta Satakam" etc., Swami
Desikan is a past master in bringing Emperuman's inimitable beauty before our
eyes, making us thirst for the enchanting experience.
Normally, it takes a beautiful person, beautiful of physique or of intellect,
to perceive and appreciate beauty in others. Going by this standard, we wonder
what Swami Desikan himself looked like. The names of certain Acharyas conjure
up before our minds' eyes certain types of figures, as we have not had the
fortune of seeing them in person.
When we think of Sri Ramanuja, for instance, we picturise him as a tall and
impressive person with an ascetic appearance, with arms reaching down to his
knees, face awash with the brilliance of deep devotion, the Yagyopaveetam
sprawling across his broad chest, his broad forehead and other parts of the
body adorned with oordhvapundram, his palms folded in typical devotion, clothed
in ochre robes signifying his sanyaasa aashramam, deep-set eyes shining with
the brilliance of blemishless wisdom and radiating boundless compassion, with
the Tridandam held aloft and resembling a flagstaff of his comprehensive
victory over opposing pseudo-Vedantic philosophers. This is how we normally
picturise the Emperor of Yatis. And when we think of Sri Koorattazhwan, we
think of him with a beard, for that is how most of his vigrahams appear. As far
as the rest of the Acharyas are concerned, it appears to have been left pretty
much to the sculptor's imagination as to how they must have looked.
We know Swami Desikan intimately from his numerous and instructive works. Our
respect, regard and love for him multiply themselves manifold, with every
perusal of his masterly, yet compassionate and comprehensible Sreesooktis.
However, the icons of Swami Desikan that we worship at various divyadesams do
not present a uniform picture, though they are the same as far as the basics
are concerned. For instance, the moorthy that we witness at Tiruvahindrapuram
is quite different from the one to be seen at Tooppul, or for that matter, at
Tirunarayanapuram or Tirukkudandai. All this makes us yearn for authentic
information about how Swami Desikan had looked, when he inhabited this planet.
Fortunately, we do have a reliable account of Tooppul Pillai's looks. As for
being authentic, it couldn't be more so, coming as it does from his illustrious
son, Sri Kumara Varadacharya. Foreseeing the need of future generations of
Srivaishnavas who, in the absence of Swami Desikan's physical presence, would
long to know how Swami looked in his vibhava dasa, Kumara Varadacharya has set
it down in a Stotram of 15 slokas, aptly titled "Srimad Vedanta Desika Vigraha
Dhyaanam". Here are a few captivating glimpses from the Stotram.
We learn that Swami Desikan was extremely fair in complexion (as in conduct)-so
much so that he resembled a shining Sun. In a slight variant, in Pillai
Andaadi, the Acharya is said to possess a golden hue-"Sempon meni maaraada
Tooppul Maal". His overall appearance was one that would instantly capture our
hearts and make us bow our heads in obeisance, says Sri Nynaracharya.
Embarking on a foot-to-head ("paadaadi kesam") description of his father's
delectable persona, Kumara Varadacharya tells us next that Swami Desikan's
tiruvadis were a veritable pair of lotuses in full bloom. This is reiterated in
Pillai Andaadi-"Tooppul vallal men malar adi". The nails on his feet were
pleasingly bright, like the soothing beams of the full moon, banishing the
gloom of ignorance from the hearts of those who knelt at his holy feet. The
soles of the feet were imprinted with signs of the lotus, Chakram and Shankham,
similar to the Lord's. His ankles were strong, akin to Cupid's quiver,
supporting shapely knees resembling the beautiful face of oxen and thighs
similar to the tubular innards of the plantain tree ("Vaazhai Thandu"). The
slender waist was covered by a pure white Vastram. Swami's navel was deep.
Swami Desikan's forehead resembled the Ashtami Chandran, shapely, broad and
beautiful. This forehead was never empty, always adorned with bright Tiruman
Kaappu. His hair was straight, white and long (obviously what we have here is
an account of Swami Desikan in his advanced years). There was in Swami Desikan
a marked resemblance to Sri Nammazhwar. This is hardly surprising, for, Swami
Desikan had spent an entire lifetime in the study, analysis, preservation and
propagation of Satakopa Muni's sreesooktis, with several works such as Nigama
Parimalam (unfortunately lost to us), Dramidopanishad Taatparya Ratnaavali,
Dramidopanishad Saaram and Paduka Sahasram, all portraying the glory of Sri
Nammazhwar. We tend to acquire the traits of the person who is constantly in
our thoughts, adopting him as our role model. It is only a natural corollary of
this maxim, that in looks too Swami Desikan grew to be like the divine bard he
most admired.
Swami Desikan's saintly face was bright and pleasant as the moon, but without
any blemish. And the Acharya had a flowing white beard, which accentuated his
scholarly and saintly appearance. This account lends credence to the view of
scholars that Swami Desikan too, like Sri Koorattazhwan, grew a beard in his
later years. The beard was long enough to touch his chest, flowing down like
moon beams, from just below his lower lip. The cheeks were neither chubby nor
shrunken, but with the right amount of flesh, and glass-like in their beauty.
His broad chest was adorned by a pure white Yagyopaveetam, while his beautiful
neck, resembling a shining white conch, was adorned with garlands made of lotus
beads. His shoulders were high and rounded, with the collar bones appropriately
hidden by fleshy cover. They were also adorned with glowing Shankham and
Chakram, acquired during Samaashrayanam. His hands were long and sturdy,
reaching down to his knees-a real "Ajaanubaahu". His ears were shapely and
fine-looking. The fingers adorning the hands were soft, supple, long and
graceful. His face was always adorned by a beatific smile ("thoomuruval konda
mukham"), compassionate, friendly and inviting. His beautiful lips resembled
the just-sprouted tender leaves of a mango tree, always moist and fresh.
Swami Desikan's teeth were straight, white and bright. Despite his advanced
years at which this stotram appears to have been composed, the Acharya appears
to have had a full set of pearly-white teeth, obviously due to the saatvic food
he had been imbibing all his life. A slightly upturned and proportionate nose,
resembling the sesame bloom, with flared nostrils, adorned the centre of his
face. The nose resembled a slender creeper, from which appeared to blossom
beautiful twin lotuses, representing the Swami's compassionate and captivating
eyes. The wide, beautiful eyes radiated compassion and understanding.
Enchanting eyebrows formed fitting overhangs for these lotus-like eyes.
The entire tirmeni of the aged Acharya thus presented a picture of rare beauty,
asceticism, grace, enchanting elegance and captivating charm, all of which are
to be conjured up in our mind's eye, when we recite the concluding lines of
Pillai Andaadi-"Vadivazhagu aarnda van Tooppul Vallal".
Kumara Varadacharya summarises all that has been said above about the
captivating looks of Swami Desikan, in a single slokam, with a paadaadi kesa
varnanam (reproduced below), to enable convenience of meditation-
"Sujaata charanaambujam, sudrida gulpha jaanu oorukam
sitaantara kati thatam subhaga naabhi vakshogalam
sudeergha yuga baahukam shubha kapola naasaakshikam
mano ruchira maalikam kalaya Venkatesam gurum"
When we worship Swami Desikan at Tooppul, his holy face appears to confirm that
whatever Kumara Varadacharya has portrayed is no exaggeration, but a mere
statement of fact.
Srimate Sri Lakshminrisimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana
Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:
dasan, sadagopan
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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