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From the Bhakti List Archives

vasan • March 21, 1999 


Please accept adiyen's pranamams.
During my visit to India, and following my Samashrayanam, i had gone to enquire
about some books at the Vedanta Desikar Vidya Bhavanam, Mylapore. At that time i
was given this note, requesting for donations towards the publication of a
commentary on SriBhashya.
 Having been in the field of chemistry for an eternity, a publication is
something one really looks forward to. Also, it is a method of being evaluated
by ur peers and spreading the  knowledge that has been inculcated. I have
personally seen this text (sanskrit) and was all admiration and awe, and is
disheartening to know that something called "lack of money" is keeping it from
being published. Hence, i urge fellow bhagavathas to contribute what little
towards this noble cause. (I have no clue regarding the tax-exemption status for
these contributions.)
 Checks can be mailed directly or i will be more than happy to forward the same.
My address is : K.R. Srinivasan, 740 Bluegrass Drive, Longmont, CO-80503-7669. U
may also reach me at (303) 774-8705, if u so desire.

The appeal reads as follows:

                    An Appeal

The philosophy of the Upanishads has been given in a nut-shell by sage Veda
Vyasa in his treatise called Brahmasutra-s. Sri Ramanuja wrote a brilliant gloss
(bhashya) on it. Pleased by the grand work, goddess Saraswati conferred the
title Bhashyakara on Sri Ramanuja and christened his work as Sribhashya,
according to guruparampara records. The will of the bhashyakara is that the
Sribhashya be studied and propogated by his followers.

The Sribhashya has been commented upon by Sri. Sudarsana Suri, who came in the
lineage of the great Kurattalvan, the first and foremost disciple of Sri
Ramanuja. The commentary is named Srutaprakasika and its greatness lies in the
fact that, though many commentaries did exist before its time, all of them were
eclipsed by it. But it is  a matter of great regret that no edition of the
Sribhashya along with the Srutaprakasika is available now, to cater to the needs
of the interested people.

The Sribhashya has also been recently commented by a great scholar of our times,
Sri U. Ve. P. M. Chakravarty Acharya Swamy. He is a prominent disciple of H.H
the 42nd pontiff of the Ahobila Mutt, fondly known as the Injimettu
Azhagiyasingar, a scholar par excellence and a rigorous sanyasin. Our Swami has
written several works in tamil and sanskrit and is a specialist in SriBhagavata
and Sri Ramayana and also Thirupavvai, for which, his commentary is just being
published.

His commentary on the SriBhashya is named Sribhashyacandrika, which is very
simple in style and clarifies many knotty passages in the bhashya with lucidity
and felicity. In fact, just like Srutaprakasika, this commentary, also was
written by our Swamy, while learning it at the feet of His Holiness Sri
Injimettu Azhagiyasingar, in the form of traditional kalakshepam. After due
completion, it was shown to His Holiness, who, extremely pleased with the great
scholarship of our Swamy, bestowed his blessings, after fully going through the
same. But, it has not been published so far, for want of funds.

Hence, it has now been decided to bring out an edition of the Sribhashya and
commentaries Srutaprakasika and Candrika, which will be a great service to Sri
Ramanuja and to the world of scholars. The estimated cost of the project is
around four lakhs (~$10000), to print a thousand copies.

We look forward to the generous help of the devotees of Sri Ramanuja, the world
over, and request them to contribute liberally for this noble cause.
Contributions may please be sent to The Sribhashyam Trust, c/o Sri U. Ve. P. M.
Chakravarty Acharya Swamy, Desika Vidya Bhavanam, 27, Venkatesa Agraharam,
Mylapore, Madras-600 004. Contributions to this trust will be entitled for
exemption under Section 80G of the Income Tax Act.
---End of appeal---

Bhashyakarar Thiruvadigale Saranam
adiyen, Ramanuja Dasan
(srinivasan)