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Azhgia Manavala Mamunighal - Part 2

From the Bhakti List Archives

B. Narasimhan • April 11, 1999 


Sri
Sri Mathe Ramanujaya Namah
Sri Mathe BAla Dhanvhi Maha Kuruvae Namah


Sri Manavala Mamunighal - Article 2
(from the artile written by Dr. V V Ramanujam in Panchajanya
magazine)

Alagia Manavalan went to Sri sailesa for spritual enlightment. So
deeply was the master impressed by the  Alagia Manavalan's
learning and his personal qualities of devotion and modesty that
he decided to train him to suceed him as the chief Vaishnava
Acharya. He cammand Alagia Manavalan that despite his mastery of
all sastras the sould always give the pride of place to the
Divyaprabandhams in his teachings.

Alagia Manavala Perumal Nayanar as the young scholar came to be
called was deeply devoted to Shri Ramanuja. Sri sailesa had built
a temple for Ramanuja at Thirukkurukur to commemorate the deep
devotion that the latter had for Satogopa and his Sahasrageeth.
The management of this temple was entrusted to Nayanar wand he
developed ot with care and devotion. He composed a poem ot twenty
Sansrit verses - 'Yathiraja Vimsathi' in praise of Sri Ramanuja
(Yathindra) a devotion which gave him the name Yateendrapravanam

Sri Sailesa had bidden his disiciple to shift to Srirangam peace
had been restored by then and the presiding deity had also been
restored to the temple. and from there direct his activities for
the propagation of the teachings of the Azhwars and Acharyas.
Accordingly he shifted to SriRangam and began the task of
speading the gospel of Vaishnavism and enlightening the Sri
Vaishnavas.  In the meantime he made a trip to Kancheepuram to
have formal instruction in the Sri Bhasya, Ramanuja's
interpretation of the Brambasutras, under Kidambi Nayanar and
spent a year giving discourses on Sri Bhasya in the Yadokthakari
temple there.

On his return to Sri Rangam, he got ordained into the Sannyasa
Ashrama and was given the name Manavala Mamunighal by Lord
Ranganatha who also directed that the Pallavarayan Math be given
for his residence. This building now houses the shrine dedicated
to the Acharya at SriRangam. Mamunighal built a spacious hall in
this building where large audiences could hear his discourses and
called it Srisailesa Maha Mantapa after his achariyan. He had the
dust from Sri Pillai Lokacharya's house sprinkled on his seat
because it was scented with the fragrance of the rahasys texts
which grew in that soil !!

Adiyen
Elayavilli  Bhashyam Narasimhan & Aravindalochana ramanuja dasan



Azhwar Emberumanar  Jeeyar Thiruvadigale charanam