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Re: Digest bhakti.v003.n356

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V.Srimahavishnu • May 4, 1999 


On Mon, 3 May 1999 Sri Srinath Chakravarthy wrote:

> 
> I also have another thought regarding the nature of ubhaya vedAnta.  As we
> all know, it entails approaching PerumAL through both Veda and the Prabandham.
> I am wondering as to why only the school of rAmAnujar encompasses this unique
> tradition.  For instance, the Saiva tradition (in addition to its monastic
> school of advaita) also has nayanamArs, just as we have AzhwArs.  Also, the
> majority of madhwAchArya's (dvaita school) followers are either kannada or
> marAThi speaking, and they too have saints whose compositions were in the
> respective local languages.  So then, "Why is it just SriVaishnavas who
> recognize a concept such as ubhaya vedanta?"  I realize that it has largely
> to do with rAmAnujar's promise to nAthamuni, but my question still remains...
> 
                            As we know, VaikhAnasa priests though
considered to be belonging to Sri Sampradayam, their guru paramparA is
totally different from ours.(lakshmI vallabhArambhAm vikhanO muni
madhyamAm).Unlike in pAncharAtra temples, priests in VaikhAnasa temples
never join the dravida prabandha goshthI( though most of them are either
Tamil or of Tamil origin). 
           
                  When these priests were unable to perform their duties
properly atop TiruvEngadam, AdiSEshar came to the earth(with several
other missions) to save the holy shrine from people having
"kudrushti".When such people enetered into an argument with these priests
of diminished knowledge, Bhagavad rAmAnuja was invited to TiruvEngadam to
prove that the Lord on the southern bank of the pushkariNI is none other
than JagatkArANa bhUtan Who came to the rescue of gajEndran.SrI rAmanuja
 soon defeated Saivas.

                Then BhagavadrAmAnuja took up the task of establishing
proper pUjA vidhAnam for PerumAL as per the VaikhAnasa Agama to which the
priests of the sthAnam traditionally belonged.He read many samhitAs of the
Agama and interpreted them properly without any difficulty.As per the
rules laid down by AchAryar only, nowadays abhishEkam is performed only
once in a week(before that it was done everyday) and we can quote many
such things.

           Here the point relevant to us is , while interpreting
VaikhANasa Agama (which has nothing to do wih our guruparamparA),
BhagavadrAmAnujar interpreted the term "VEDA PARAYANAM"
as both samskruta and dravida vEdam.Thus he started the tradition of doing 
   --------------------------------
Divya prabandha pArAyaNam on Tirumala.So let us not have any doubts about 
the supremacy of our ALwAr's works.They are second to none.When chanted
with proper swaram, their dhvani is as pleasant as samskruta vEda ghOshA.  
It is only our tradition which has vEdas in two languages and vEdam is
chante in both the languages at parama vaidika kshEtras like SrIrangam and
Tirumalai.
                             
                                                    anantArya dAsan
                                                    V.Srimahavishnu

(from SrImattirumalai anndANbiLLai's  vEnkatAchalEtihAsamAlA)