srIvaishNava Guru Paramparai PDF

srIvaishNava guru paramparai – Understanding our
spiritual preceptors
http://ponnadi.blogspot.com 1 http://guruparamparai.wordpress.com
Preface
srI:
srImathE satakOpAya nama:
srImathE rAmAnujAya nama:
srImadh varavaramunayE nama:
srI vAnAchala mahAmunayE nama:
lakshminAtha samArambhAm nAtha yAmuna madhyamAm

asmadhAchArya paryanthAm vandhE guru paramparAm
I worship the glorious guru paramparai which starts with sriman nArAyaNan, has
nAthamuni and yAmunAchAriar in the middle and ends with my Acharyan.
This divine slOkam was rendered by kUrathAzhwAn to glorify our guru paramparai.
According to him, asmadhAchArya means emperumAnAr because emperumAnAr was
his AchAryan. But in general, asmadhAchArya means ones own AchAryan.
Our dharisanam is called emperumAnAr dharisanam by namperumAL as maNavALa
mAmunigaL identifies in upadhEsa rathina mAlai. It was emperumAnAr who re-
established the sanAthana dharmam (eternal way of life) during his life time. He took
the message from his predecessors nAthamuni, ALavandhAr, etc and presented it to
everyone in a very simple manner.
Guru and AchArya are synonyms. Guru means one who clears the ignorance. AchArya
means one who has learnt sAsthram, follows it himself and also makes others follow the
same. Guru paramparai means unbroken lineage of AchAryas. Our srivaishnava guru
paramparai starts with none other than sriman nArAyaNan himself as we see in this
lakshminAtha samArambhAm slOkam. It is out of the unbounded mercy of sriman
nArAyaNan, he himself takes up the responsibility of clearing the ignorance in the minds
of samsAris (jIvAthmAs who are bound in this material world) to rescue them and give
them the ever lasting blissful life in paramapadham. So he became the first AchArya in
our guru paramparai and taught the valuable meanings in sAsthram.
“thaththva jnAnan mOksha lAbha:” declares sAsthram. By acquiring real knowledge we

get liberated. All the real knowledge we have now, has been received through this
unbroken chain of spiritual teachers. So, it is very appropriate to know more about our
AchAryas and discuss about their lives and instructions all the time.
This is a humble effort from adiyen to discuss our glorious guru paramaparai as
explained in 6000 padi guru paramparA prabhAvam (written by pinbazhAgiya perumAL
jeeyar), charamOpAya nirNayam (written by nAyanAr AchAn piLLai), yathIndhra
pravaNa prabhAvam (written by piLLai lOkam jeeyar) and other granthams. Dr MA
Venkatakrishnan swamy’s vAzhvum vAkkum and Puthur krishnaswamy iyengar’s
AchAryargaL vaibhavam were very handy references in writing these articles. adiyen is
also very grateful to all the grantha kAlakshEpa AchAryas who imparted this valuable
sampradhAyam knowledge to adiyen.
adiyen sarathy ramanuja dasan
Email: sarathy.thothathri@gmail.com
pramEyam (goal) - http://koyil.org
pramANam (scriptures) - http://srivaishnavagranthams.wordpress.com
pramAthA (preceptors) - http://guruparamparai.wordpress.com
Adi pUrattAdhi (July 17, 2014) (6th release)
asmadhAchAryan
Srimath paramhamsa ithyAdhi pattarbhirAn rAmAnuja jeeyar (29th pattam, vAnamAmalai mutt)
varthmAna swAmy
Srimath paramhamsa ithyAdhi kaliyan rAmAnuja jeeyar (30th pattam, vAnamAmalai mutt)
Contents
Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... 10
periya perumAL ..................................................................................................................................... 14
periya pirAttiAr...................................................................................................................................... 15
sEnai mudhaliAr (vishwaksEnar) ............................................................................................................ 17
mudhalAzhwArgaL................................................................................................................................. 19
thirumazhisai AzhwAr............................................................................................................................ 28
nammAzhwAr........................................................................................................................................ 39
madhurakavi AzhwAr ............................................................................................................................ 44
kulasEkara AzhwAr ................................................................................................................................ 53
periyAzhwAr.......................................................................................................................................... 61
ANdAL ................................................................................................................................................... 72
thoNdaradippodi AzhwAr ...................................................................................................................... 80
thiruppANAzhwAr ................................................................................................................................. 87
thirumangai AzhwAr .............................................................................................................................. 94
dhivya prabhandha prAmANya samarthanam...................................................................................... 109
nAthamunigaL ..................................................................................................................................... 132
uyyakkondAr ....................................................................................................................................... 136
kurugai kAvalappan ............................................................................................................................. 138
thirukkaNNamangai ANdAn ................................................................................................................. 140
maNakkAl nambi ................................................................................................................................. 146
ALavandhAr ......................................................................................................................................... 149
thiruvarangapperumAL arayar ............................................................................................................. 154
periya nambi ....................................................................................................................................... 160
thirukkOshtiyUr nambi ........................................................................................................................ 163
periya thirumalai nambi ...................................................................................................................... 168
thirumAlai ANdAn ............................................................................................................................... 173
thirukkachi nambi .............................................................................................................................. 177
mARanEri nambi .................................................................................................................................. 183
emperumAnAr..................................................................................................................................... 187
kUrathAzhwAn .................................................................................................................................... 196
mudhaliyANdAn .................................................................................................................................. 207
aruLALa perumAL emperumAnAr ........................................................................................................ 214
embAr ................................................................................................................................................. 218
kOil komANdUr iLayavilli AchAn........................................................................................................... 222
kidAmbi AchAn .................................................................................................................................... 225
vaduga nambi ...................................................................................................................................... 230
vangi purathu nambi ........................................................................................................................... 235
sOmAsiyANdAn ................................................................................................................................... 238
piLLai uRangA villi dhAsar .................................................................................................................... 241
thirukkurugaippirAn piLLAn ................................................................................................................. 249
kUra nArAyaNa jIyar ............................................................................................................................ 254
engaLAzhwAn...................................................................................................................................... 258
ananthAzhwAn .................................................................................................................................... 263
thiruvarangathu amudhanAr: .............................................................................................................. 272
nadAthUr ammAL ................................................................................................................................ 278
parAsara bhattar ................................................................................................................................. 282
vEdha vyAsa bhattar ............................................................................................................................ 290
srutha prakAsikA bhattar ..................................................................................................................... 294
nanjIyar ............................................................................................................................................... 296
nampiLLai ............................................................................................................................................ 301
vadakku thiruvIdhi piLLai ..................................................................................................................... 312
periyavAchAn piLLai ............................................................................................................................ 315
eeyuNNi mAdhava perumAL................................................................................................................ 320
naduvil thiruvIdhi piLLai bhattar .......................................................................................................... 324
pinbhazhagiya perumAL jIyar............................................................................................................... 329
piLLai lOkAchAryar .............................................................................................................................. 334
azhagiya maNavALa perumAL nAyanAr................................................................................................ 340
nAyanArAchAn piLLai........................................................................................................................... 344
vAdhi kEsari azhagiya manavALa jIyar .................................................................................................. 346
kUra kulOthama dhAsar ...................................................................................................................... 350
viLanchOlai piLLai ................................................................................................................................ 353
thiruvAimozhi piLLai ............................................................................................................................ 358
vEdAnthAchAriar ................................................................................................................................. 364
thirunArAyaNapurathu Ay ................................................................................................................... 372
azhagiya maNavALa mAmunigaL ......................................................................................................... 375
ponnadikkAl jIyar................................................................................................................................. 392
paravasthu pattarpirAn jIyar ................................................................................................................ 399
kOil kandhAdai aNNan......................................................................................................................... 402
prathivAdhi bhayankaram aNNan ........................................................................................................ 415
eRumbi appA....................................................................................................................................... 421
appiLLai ............................................................................................................................................... 425
appiLLAr .............................................................................................................................................. 429
kOil kandhAdai appan.......................................................................................................................... 434
srIperumbUthUr Adhi yathirAja jIyar ................................................................................................... 438
appAchiyAraNNA ................................................................................................................................. 441
piLLai lOkam jIyar ............................................................................................................................... 447
thirumazhisai aNNavappangAr ............................................................................................................ 452
thiruvEnkata rAmAnuja embAr jIyar .................................................................................................... 455
Annexure – thanians............................................................................................................................ 463
Introduction
emperumAn sriman nArAyaNan who is sriya:pathi (husband of sri mahAlakshmi), one
who lives eternally in srivaikuntam with his divya mahishis (sri, bhoo, nILA dhEvis)
where he is served by nithysUris like ananthan, garudan, vishwaksEnar, etc is full of
auspicious qualities. Srivaikuntam (paramapadham) is a place of eternal bliss, but when
emperumAn is enjoying there, his heart is with the jIvAthmAs in samsAram (since they
are suffering there). All jIvAthmAs, a) nithyan – always in paramapadham (never been
to samsAram due to karma), b) mukthan – one who was in samsAram but liberated now
and c) badhdhan – one who is in samsAram bound by karma, are subservient to
emperumAn and have the same relationship with emperumAn (owner – owned and
father – son relationships primarily). It is out of this relationship alone emperumAn is
helping all badhdha jIvAthmAs constantly to bring them to srIvaikuntam and engage
them in eternal kainkaryam.
As sAstram explains, one needs to have real knowledge to be liberated. Real

knowledge is clearly/crisply explained in rahasya thrayam. The one providing this real
knowledge that liberates the jIvAthma from this bonding in samsAram is called
AchAryan. Since this position of AchAryan is very glorious, emperumAn himself wants
to be an AchAryan. That is why he became the prathama (first) AchAryan. It is
explained by our pUrvAchAryas that emperumAn took the position of AchAryan in 3
places:
 emperumAn took the form of nArAyaNa rishi (AchAryan) in badrikAshramam and

revealed thirumanthram to his own avathAram Nara rishi (sishyan).
 emperumAn revealed dvaya maha manthram to periya pirAtti (sri dhEvi nAchiar)
in vishnu lOkam (thus starting our srivaishnava guruparamparai).
 emperumAn, as pArtha sArathy, revealed charama slOkam to arjunan in
kurukshEthram.
View comprehensive guru paramparai chart:

http://kaarimaaran.com/downloads/guruparambarai.jpg.
periya perumAL and periyapirAtti in thiruvarangam are the same as Sriman Narayanan
and Sri Mahalakshmi. So starting with Periya perumAL, our OrAN vazhi guru
paramparai goes in this order:
1. periya perumAL
2. periya pirAtti
3. sEnai mudhaliAr
4. nammAzhwAr
5. nAthamunigal
6. uyyakkondAr
7. maNakkAl nambi
8. ALavandhAr
9. periya nambi
10. emperumAnAr
11. embAr
12. bhattar
13. nanjIyar
14. nampiLLai
15. vadakku thiruvIdhi piLLai
16. piLLai lOkAchAryar
17. thiruvAimozhi piLLai
18. azhagiya manavALa mAmunigal
AzhwArs and several other AchAryas also are considered to be part of our srivaishnava
guru paramparai.
The AzhwArs in order are:
1. poigai AzhwAr
2. bhUdhathAzhwAr
3. pEyAzhwAr
4. thirumazhisai AzhwAr
5. madhurakavi AzhwAr
6. nammAzhwAr
7. kulasEkarAzhwAr
8. periyAzhwAr
9. ANdAL
10. thondaradippodi AzhwAr
11. thiruppANAzhwAr
12. thirumangai AzhwAr
The AchAryas (who are not in OrANvazhi guru paramparai) include (but not limited to):
1. selva nambi
2. kurugai kAvalappan
3. thirukkaNNamangai ANdAn
4. thiruvarangapperumAL arayar
5. thirukkOshtiyUr nambi
6. periya thirumalai nambi
7. thirumAlai ANdAn
8. thirukkachi nambi
9. mARanEri nambi
10. kUrathAzhwAn
11. mudhaliyAndAn
12. aruLaLa permAL emperumAnAr
13. kOil komANdUr iLayavilli AchAn
14. kidAmbi AchAn
15. vaduga nambi
16. vangi purathu nambi
17. sOmAsi ANdAn
18. piLLai uRangAvilli dhAsar
19. thirukkurugaippirAn piLLAn
20. kUra nArAyaNa jIyar
21. engaLAzhwAn
22. ananthAzwAn
23. thiruvarangathu amudhanAr
24. nadAthur ammaL
25. vEdha vyAsa bhattar
26. srutha prakAsikA bhattar (sudharsana sUri)
27. periyavAchAn piLLai
28. eeyuNNi mAdhava perumAL (this includes the history of nampiLLai’s eedu mahA
vyAkyAnam)
29. eeyuNNi padhmanAbha perumAL
30. nAlUr piLLai
31. nAlUrAchAn piLLai
32. naduvil thiruvIdhi pillai bhattar
33. pinbhazhagiya perumAL jIyar
34. azhagiya manavALa perumAL nAyanAr
35. nAyanArAchAn piLLai
36. vAdhi kEsari azhagiya maNavALa jIyar
37. kUra kulOthama dhAsar
38. viLAn chOlai pillai
39. vedhAnthAchAryar
40. thirunArAyaNapurathu Ay jananyAchAryar
After (and during) the period of maNavALa mAmunigal, many glorious AchAryas lived in
our sampradhAyam including (but not limited to):
1. ponnadikkAl jeeyar
2. kOil kandhAdai aNNan
3. prathivAdhi bhayankaram aNNan
4. pathangi paravasthu pattarpirAn jIyar
5. eRumbiappA
6. appiLLai
7. appiLLAr
8. kOil kandhAdai appan
9. srIperumbUthUr Adhi yathirAja jIyar
10. appAchiyAraNNA
11. piLLai lOkam jIyar
12. thirumazhisai aNNAvappangAr
13. appan thiruvEnkata rAmAnuja embAr jIyar and more
In the subsequent articles, we will go through the lives of these AchAryas as much as
possible.
periya perumAL
thirunakshathram: AvaNi, rOhiNi
Works: bhagavath gIthai, srIsailEsa dhayApAthram thaniyan, etc
Our OrAN vazhi guru paramparai starts with periya perumAL himself. As we observed in
the previous article, emperumAn out of his unbounded mercy, takes up the position of
prathama acharya. He reveals the rahasya thrayam to periya pirAtti in vishnu lOkam.
EmperumAn is the only svathanthran (Independent) and sEshi (Master). All others are
parathanthrar (dependent) and sesha (subservient). He takes up the position of
prathama acharyan out of his own will. He is sarvajnan (omniscient), sarvasakthan
(omnipotent) and sarvavyApthan (omnipresent). It is his unquestionable capabilities
which allows him to give mOksham to the jIvAthmAs who show the desire for that.
periya perumAL (originally called Narayanan) descended from paramapadham with the
sriranga vimAnam to bramhA and was worshipped by him in sathya lOkam. Later he
descended to ayOdhya by the request of ikshvAku and was worshipped by raghu kula
kings. rAman gave periya perumAL to vibhIshanAzhwAn as a gift and enroute to lankA
vibhIshanAzwAn placed periya perumAL in srirangam. Liking the beauty of srirangam
(vandinam uralum chOlai, mayilinam ALum chOlai, kondal mIthaNavum chOlai,
kuyilinam kUvum chOlai), emperumAn decided to stay there facing south.
periya perumAL's thanian
srI sthanAbharaNam thEja: srIrangEsayam AsrayE

chinthAmaNim ivOthvAntham uthsangE ananthabhOgina:
:
இ :
periya pirAttiAr
thirunakshathram: panguni, uthram
emperumAn reveals dhvaya mahA manthram to periya pirAtti in vishnu lOkam. periya
pirAtti is the embodiment of all the qualities that are required in an acharya.
An AchArya should have krupai (mercy towards suffering souls), pArathanthriyam (total
dependence on emperumAn) and ananyArhathvam (totally entitled to emperumAn).
piratti being the embodiment of these 3 qualities rightfully decorates as the 2nd AchArya
in our OrAN vazhi guru paramparai. She is the one who actually inspires all the other
AchAryas for their conduct.
It is explained by pillai lOkAchAryar in srivachana bhUshanam that she demonstrates

these 3 qualities during the 3 separations she goes through as sIthA pirAtti.
First, when rAvaNan takes her forcefully to lanka, she out of her parama krupai allows
that to happen - because unless she goes to lanka, the dEvasthrIs (wives of dhEvas)
will not be rescued. Her being the mother of the whole universe - she is also the mother
for rAvaNan - it is out of her motherly affection she tolerates the misbehaviour of
rAvaNan.
Second, when she is pregnant, when srI rAman asks her to leave the kingdom based on
the comments of his citizens, she accepts it fully since she accepts that she is totally
dependent (pArathanthriyam) on emperumAn and whatever emperumAn says she will
accept that.
Third, when she leaves srI rAman permanently to paramapadham after coming back
from vanavAsam to prove that she was totally entitled to him (ananyArhathvam) only
and no one else.
Thus she manifests all the 3 qualities that is expected out of an AchArya perfectly.
periya pirAttiAr's thanian
nama: sriranga nAyakyai yath brO vibhrama bhEthatha:

IsEsithavya vaishamya nimnOnnatham itham jagath
: :
இ
sEnai mudhaliAr (vishwaksEnar)
sEnai mudhaliAr – thiruvallikEni
thirunakshathram: ippasi, purAdam
Works: viswaksEna samhithai
He is one of the nithya sUris. He is the commander-in-chief and the one who monitors
everything in nithya vibhUthi and leelA vibhuthi by the order of emperumAn himself. He
is also called as sEnai mudhalvar, sEnAdhipathi, vEthradharar and vEthrahasthar. His
divine consort (wife) is sUthrAvathi. He is also called sEsha asanar – one who first
partakes emperumAn’s sEsha prasAdham.
periya pirAtti is the AchAryan for sEnai mudhaliAr according to our pUrvAchAryas.
All azhwArs are considered to be his sishyas.
It is explained by our pUrvAchAryas that emperumAn gives control of all activities in

nithya and leelA vibhUthis to sEnai mudhaliAr and he happily enjoys with his mahishis
and nithya sUris in paramapadham. sEnai mudhaliAr is portrayed as an elderly minister
while emperumAn is portrayed as a prince.
In sthOthra rathnam, emperumAn’s relationship with sEnai mudhaliAr is revealed in
42nd slOkam.
thvadheeya bhuktha ujjitha sEsha bhOjiNA (

)
thvayA Nisrushta Athma bharEnNa yadhyathA (
)
priyEnNa sENApathiNA NyavEdhi ( )
thath thathANujANaNtham udhAra veekshanNai: (
:)
In this slOkam, ALavandhAr is addresing emperumAn and glorifying sEnaimudhaliAr

and enjoying the ubhaya vibhUthi sAmrAjyam of emperumAn as controlled by
sEnaimudhaliAr.
Simple translation: vishwaksEna is the one who partakes your sEsha prasAdham and
the one who is given the responsibility of running the nithya vibhUthi and leelA vibhuthi
by you and the one who is liked by everyone. That vishwaksEna is known for his ability
to do any task given to him by emperumAn just by emperumAn’s katAksham – i.e.,
emperumAn need not speak – sEnai mudhaliAr will understand emperumAn’s
thiruvuLLam by just looking at his eyes and execute the same to perfection.
sEnai mudhaliAr’s thanian
srIrangachandhramasam indhirayA viharthum

vinyasya visvachidha chinnayanAdhikAram
yO nirvahathya nisamanguLi mudhrayaiva
sEnAnyam anya vimukAs thamasi sriyAma
Let us pray to sEnai mudhaliAr to bless us to be situated with pure devotion towards
emperumAn.
mudhalAzhwArgaL
In this article we will discuss the vaibhavam of mudhalAzhwArgaL (poigaiyAr,
bhUthathAr, peyAr).
poigai AzhwAr
thirunakshathram: ippasi, thiruvONam
avathAra sthalam: kAnchipuram
AchAryan: sEnai mudhaliAr
Works: mudhal thiruvanthAdhi
poigai AzhwAr was born in a pond near thiruvekhA yathOkthAkAri temple. He is also
known as kAsAra yOgi and sarO munIndhrar.
His thanian
kAnchyAm sarasi hEmAbjE jAtham kAsAra yOgiNam
kalayE ya: sriya:pathi ravim dhIpam akalpayath
: :
bhuthathAzhwAr
thirunakshathram: ippasi, avittam
avathAra sthalam: thirukkadalmallai
Works: irandAm thiruvanthAdhi
bhUthathAzhwAr was born in a pond near thirukkadalmallai sthalasayanap perumAL

temple. He is also known as bhUthahvayar, mallApuravarAdhIshar.
His thanian
mallApura varAdhIsam mAdhavI kusumOdhbhavam
bhUtham namAmi yO vishNOr gYAnadhIpam akalpayath
pEyAzhwAr
thirunakshathram: ippasi, sadhayam
avathAra sthalam: thirumayilai
Works: mUnRAm thiruvanthAdhi
pEyAzhwAr was born in a well near thirumayilai kEsava perumAL temple. He is also
known as mahathAhvayar, mayilApurAdhIpar.
His thanian
dhrushtvA hrushtam thadhA vishNum ramayA mayilAdhipam
kUpE rakthOthpalE jAtham mahathAhvayam AsrayE
mudhalAzhwArgaL charithram/vaibhavam
All the 3 AzhwArs are usually glorified together because of the following reasons.
 They were all born a day after each other in sequence – poigaiyAr, bhuthathAr,
pEyar. They were born in the time period between the end of dhvApara yugam
and the beginning of kaliyugam (yuga sandhi – transition period – see in the
bottom for details).
 They were all ayOnijars – one who is not born from a human mother. They all
appeared from flowers by the divine mercy of emperumAn.
 They were attached to emperumAn right from their birth – they were fully/divinely
blessed by emperumAn and were fully enjoying bhagavath anubhavam
throughout their life.
 At some point in their life, they meet each other and from then onwards they
stayed together and they travelled together to various
dhivyadhEsams/kshEthrams. They are also called “Odith thiriyum yOgigaL”
( ) – the yOgis who are always doing pilgrimage.
All the 3 AzhwArs were born in different locations and enjoying emperumAn thoroughly.
emperumAn who considers his adiyArs as his life (gIthai – jnAnI thu Athma Eva mE
matham) wanted to see them all together. So he made a divine arrangement to bring all
3 of them to thirukkOvalUr in the night time.
It was raining heavily and one by one started arriving to a small shed. When they got in
to the shed there was just enough space for the 3 of them to stand. Being completely
situated in bhagavath bhAvam, they started inquiring about each other and found out
the details about each other. When they were sharing their divine anubhavams,
emperumAn with his thirumAmagaL suddenly entered the shed where it was very dark.
Wanting to see who arrived,
 poigai AzhwAr lit the place using the world as a lamp, the ocean as the oil and
sun as the light.
 bhUthathAzhwAr lit the place using his love as lamp, his attachment as the oil
and his mind as the light.
 pEyAzhwAr, being helped by the other two AzhwArs, sees the glowing beauty of
emperumAn who is with his pirAtti, thiruvAzhi and thiruchchangu and performs
mangaLAsAsanam for that sErthi.
Thus they enjoyed the thirukkOvalUr Ayan and many other archAvathAra emperumAns
together during their time in the leelA vibhUthi.
In the eedu vyAkyAnam, nampiLLai beautifully brings out the glories of

mudhalAzhwArgaL wherever applicable. Let us see a few such examples:
 pAlEy thamizhar (1.4.10) – nampiLLai identifies aLavandhAr’s nirvAham

(conclusion/statement) here. He says nammAzhwAr is glorifying
mudhalAzhwArgaL here who were the first to bring out the glories of emperumAn
in the sweet thamizh language.
 inkavi pAdum paramakavigal (7.9.6) – Here, nampiLLai identifies that
mudhalAzhwArgaL are also known as “chendhamizh pAduvAr”. He also identifies
that AzhwArs were so expert in thamizh, when poigai AzhwAr and pEyAzhwAr
asked bhUthathAzhwAr to glorify emperumAn – he spontaneously sung the
glories of emperumAn like how a male elephant fetched the honey for the female
elephant immediately when asked by the female elephant (this elephants incident
is explained by bhUthathAzhwAr in “perugu madhavEzham” – iraNdAm
thiruvanthAdhi – 75th pAsuram).
 palaradiyAr munbhrauLiya (7.10.5) – nampiLLai beautifully brings out the
thiruvuLLam of nammAzhwAr here. nammAzhwAr says in this pAsuram that
emperumAn blessed him to sing thiruvAimozhi instead of great rishis like sri
vEdhavyAsar, sri vAlmiki, sri parAsarar and mudhalAzhwArgaL who were expert
in thamizh.
 chenchorkavikAl (10.7.1) – nampiLLai refers to mudhalAzhwArgaL as “inkavi
pAdum parama kavigaL”, “chendhamizh pAduvAr”, etc and identifies that they
are ananya prayOjanargaL (one who glorifies emperumAn without expecting
anything in return).
mAmunigaL identifies how they became to be known as mudhalAzhwArgaL in his

upadhEsa rathina mAlai pAsuram 7.
maRRuLLa AzhwArgaLukku munnE vaNthuthiththu (

)
Nal thamizhAl NUl cheythu NAttaiyuyththa – peRRimaiyOr (
– )
enRu mudhalAzhwArgaL ennum peyarivarkku (
)
NinRathulagaththE NigazhNthu ( )
Simple translation:
These 3 AzhwArs appeared before the other 7 AzhwArs and benedicted the world with
their divine thamizh pAsurams. It is because of this glorious act they became to be
popularly known as mudhalAzhwArgaL.
In the vyakyAnam, piLLai lOkAm jIyar brings out some beautiful aspects.
 He identifies that mudhalAzhwArgaL are like praNavam which is always

considered as the beginning.
 He also identifies that these AzhwArs were born during the dhvApara-kali yuga
sandhi (transition period) and thirumazhisai AzhwAr appeared along the same
time. Subsequently, in the beginning of the kaliyugam, other AzhwArs appeared
one after the other.
 They laid the foundation for dhivya prabhandhams in the great dhrAvida bAshai
(thamizh).
mAmunigaL also brings out the glories of ippasi – thiruvONam, avittam and sathayam
as these dates became so popular after the appearance of the mudhalAzhwArgaL on
these days.
As identified in the thirunedunthAndagam vyAkyAna avathArikai by periyavAchAn

piLLai, mudhalAzhwArgaL are focussed on emperumAn’s parathvam. That is why, they
are often glorifying thrivikramAvathAram. On the other hand, they also glorified many
archAvathAra emperumAns since by nature all AzhwArs had great attachment to
archAvathAra emperumAns. Their archAvathAra anubhavam is already discussed in
here – http://ponnadi.blogspot.in/2012/10/archavathara-anubhavam-azhwars-1.html.
yuga sandhi
yathIndra matha dhIpikai explains various technical concepts in our sampradhAyam and
is considered as one of the most authentic sources for our sidhAntham.
In this, kAla thathvam is explained in detail and we see the definition of the various
yugams and their sandhi periods.
 1 day of dhEvas (svargam) is 1 year for manushyas (bhUmi)

 1 chathur yugam is made of 12000 dhEva years – (krutha – 4000, thrEthA –
3000, dhvApara – 2000, kali – 1000)
 brahmA’s day is made of 1000 chathur yugams. His night is of the same length
but no creation during that time. brahmA lives for 100 years of 360 such days.
 sandhi period is fairly lengthy between each yugams. Here are the sandhi
periods between each yugam:
o between krutha yugam and thrEthA yugam, there is a sandhi period of 800
dhEva years.
o between thrEtha yugam and dhvApara yugam, there is a sandhi period of
600 dhEva years.
o between dhvApara yugam and kaliyugam, there is a sandhi period of 400
dhEva years.
o between kaliyugam and the next krutha yugam, there is a sandhi period of
200 dhEva years.
 Also, in 1 day of brahmA, there is 14 manus, 14 indhrans and 14 saptha rishis
(all of these are posts that are given to certain jIvAthmAs based on their karmA).
thirumazhisai AzhwAr
thirunakshathram: thai, magam
avathAra sthalam: thirumazhisai
AchAryan: vishwaksEnar, pEyAzhwAr
sishyas: kaNikaNNan, dhrudavrathan
Works: nAnmugan thiruvanthAdhi, thiruchandha viruththam
Place where he attained paramapadham: thirukkudanthai
mAmunigaL glorifies AzhwAr as the one who has absolutely clear knowledge about the
essence of sAsthtram – i.e, only srIman nArAyaNan is worshippable and we should not
even have a tinge of association with anya dhEvathas (other demi-gods). mAmunigaL
uses the phrase “thuyya mathi” meaning pure mind for AzhwAr. piLLai lOkam jIyar
explains the purity of AzhwAr here means having no tinge of parathvam (supremacy) for
dhEvathais other than srIman nArAyaNan and removing any such doubts from our
minds as well. In many pAsurams, AzhwAr identifies how srIvaishNavas conduct
themselves in relation to anya dhEvathais. For example:
 nAnmugan thiruvanthAdhi – 53 - thiruvillAth thEvaraith thERElmin thEvu

( ) – dont consider the one
who is not related to srImahAlakshmi as worshippable dhEvathai.
 nAnumugan thiruvanthAdhi – 68 – thiruvadi than NAmam maRaNdhum
puRaNthozhA mANdhar (
) - even if they forget srIman nArAyaNan who is sarva swAmy,
srIvaishNavas will not worship other dhEvathais.
In their introduction for their vyAkyAnams for nAnumgan thiruvanthAdhi, both

periyavAchAn piLLai and nampiLLai beautifully explains thirumazhisai AzhwAr’s act of
clearing the doubts in the minds of everyone on emperumAn’s supremacy and other
dhEvathAs limitations.
periyavAchAn piLLai‘s explanation:
mudhalAzhwArs establish that emperumAn is the only person to be perceived and

enjoyed. thirumazhisai AzhwAr removes the weeds in that process. He explains to the
samsAris who perceive other dhEvathAs as Ishvara (controller) that these other
dhEvathAs are also kshEthragya (jIvAthma – knower of the body) and they are also
controlled. He explains that srIman nArAyaNan is the only controller of the entire
universe.
nampiLLai‘s explanation:
mudhalAzhwArs understood sarvEshvaran through the worldly vision, vision of

sAsthram, through their bhakthi and ofcourse through emperumAn’s nirhEthuka krupai.
thirumazhisai AzhwAr also understood and enjoyed emperumAn in the same way. But
looking around in the world, he feels sad that most people have not understood that
srIman nArAyaNan is the controller and everything else is controlled as explained in the
sAsthram, out of his utmost mercy reveals the secrets of vEdham. He says “Since
brahmA (the first progenitor) himself is a jIvAthmA and is appointed by srIman
nArAyaNan during srushti and since srIman nArAyaNan is the antharyAmi for all
sentient and non-sentient entities, as clearly explained in vEdham, srIman nArAyaNan
is the supreme person. Hold on to this principle clearly without losing it”.
Thus mAmunigaL, periyavAchAn piLLai and nampiLLai explain the unique speciality of
thirumazhisai AzhwAr in their beautiful works.
Beyond these, in the thanian for thiruchandha viruththam, it is beautifully explained that
once when great sages wanted to do thapas in a nice secluded place, they compared
the entire universe with thirumazhisai (which is the avathAra sthalam of AzhwAr),
thirumazhisai was determined by them as greater. Such is the greatness of
AzhwAr/AchAryas avathAra sthalams that they should be glorified even more than
dhivyadhEsams since AzhwAr/AchAryas showed us who emperumAn is and without
them we would not have acquired great these anubhavams on emperumAn.
With this in mind, let us enjoy the charithram of AzhwAr now.
AzhwAr is like krishNan – kaNNan emperumAn was born to vasudhEvar/dhEvaki and

then raised by nandhagOpar/yasOdhai. Similarly, AzhwAr was born to bhArgava
rishi/kanakAngi and was raised by thiruvALan/pangayachelvi (a wood cutter and his
wife). He is also known as srI bhakthisArar, mahIsApirAdhIsar, bhArgavAthmajar,
thirumazhisaiyAr and most importantly thirumazhisai pirAn. pirAn means one who has
done a big favour and AzhwAr has done the biggest favour of establishing nArAyaNa
parathvam.
Once the maharishis such as athri, bhrugu, vasishta, bhArgava, AngIrasa, etc., went to
brahmA (chathur mukan) and asked him “We want to live in the best place in
bhUlOkam. Please establish factually the best place”. brahmA, with the help of
viswakarmA, measured the whole universe in one side and thirumazhisai in another
side and thirumazhisai wins the competition. It is also known as mahIsAra kshEthram.
So, the maharishis go and live there for some time.
At that time, When bhArgava maharishi was performing a yagyam named dhIrga sathra
yAgam on srIman nArAyaNan, his wife becomes pregnant and after 12 months, she
gives birth to a piNdam (lump of flesh – early stage embryo) who is thirumazhisai
AzhwAr. He appears as sudharsana amsam (looking at the glories of AzhwArs, some
AchAryas have said that they are amsam of nithyasUris, but our pUrvAchAryas have
firmly explained that AzhwArs were in samsAram time immemorial and blessed
suddenly by emperumAn). bhArghava maharishi and his wife did not want to support
that child which had no form yet and just left that under a bush. bhUdhEvi nAchiyAr, by
the divine will of srIdhEvi nAchiyAr, took that piNdam and protects that and by her touch
that piNdam becomes a beautiful child. Immediately, he starts crying out of hunger, and
jagannAthan emperumAn (of thirumazhisai) appears in front of AzhwAr, shows him the
divine form of thirukkudanthai ArAvamuthan, blessed him with full knowledge and soon
enough, once emperumAn disapppeared from his vision, he started crying out of
separation.
At that time a wood cutter named thiruvALan who was passing by, notices the young
and crying baby, and with great joy, picks him up and brings him to his wife. Since she
did not have a child, she happily accepts that child and starts raising him. Out of
motherly affection, she attempts to breast-feed AzwAr, but AzhwAr being fully engaged
in bhagavath kalyANaguNa anubhavam does not show in eating, speaking, crying, etc.,
but still by the grace of bhagavAn continues to grow beautifully.
Hearing about this astonishing news, an old man who is born in chathurtha varNam,
along with his wife, one day, prepares nice warm milk, visits him early in the morning,
looks at the child’s magnificent thEjas, offers him the milk and requests him to kindly
accept the same. Azhwar being greatly pleased with their devotion, accepts the milk,
drinks some and gives them back some of the sEsham (remnants) of the milk. He tells
them to consume that milk prasAdham and blesses them that they will have a
sathputhan (good son) soon. At once, by the grace of AzhwAr, they regain their youth,
and the woman becomes pregnant soon. After 10 months, she begets a child like srI
vidhurar (who was extremely attached to kaNNan emperumAn). They name him
kaNikaNNan and teach him everything about emperumAn.
AzhwAr, after becoming 7 years old, since he is the son of bhArghava rishi and also
blessed by emperumAn during his birth, wants to perform astAnga yOgam. To do that
he first wants to understand the parabhrammam properly and he searches through all
different mathams (so he can firmly establish that they are defective) such as bhAhya
mathams (sAkhya, ulUkya, akshapAdhat, kshapaNa, kapila, pathanjali) and kudhrushti
mathams (saiva, mAyAvAdha, nyAya, vaisEshika, bhAtta, prabAkara, etc) and clearly
analyses/establishes that all of these mathams dont lead to the ultimate truth. Finally,
he becomes firmly situated in the srivaishNava sidhAntham which is the sanAthana
dharmam.Thus 700 years pass by.
sarvEsvaran then blesses him with divine blemishless knowledge, and shows him
 his divine svarUpam,

 his most auspicious qualities,
 his divine forms (which showcases the svarUpam and qualities),
 the beautiful ornaments on those divine forms,
 his divine weapons which are also viewed like ornaments by anukUlars,
 his mahishIs (srIdhEvi, bhUdhEvi, neeLA dhEvi, etc) and nithyasUris who
constantly enjoy emperumAn with all of the above (svarUpam, qualities, forms,
ornaments, weapons, etc),
 parampadham – their eternally beautiful residing place and finally
 samsAram – which contains prakruthi, purusha, kAla thathvams and where there
is continuous process of srushti, sthithi, samhAram is done by emperumAn both
directly himself as well as indirectly through other dhEvathAs.
emperumAn with such great qualities, shows AzhwAr how he creates brahmA (his first
son) from his nAbhi kamalam (lotus flower in his naval) according to svEthasvathAra
upanishadh “yO brahmANam vidhAdhAthi pUrvam” meaning parabrahmam is one who
creates brahmA and as per chAndhOgya brAmaNam “brahmaNa: puthrAya jyEstAya
srEshtAya” – rudhran, who is the first and best son of brahmA. AzhwAr seeing this
immediately declares the same meanings in his nAnumgan thiruvanthAdhi as
“NAnmuganai NArAyanNan padaiththAn NAnmuganum thAn mugamAych
chanGkaranaith thAn padaiththAn” (
) meaning
nArAyaNan created brahmA and brahmA inturn created rudhran, and clearly removes
any doubts in the minds of samsAris about the supremacy of emperumAn. AzhwAr
himself declares that he learnt various mathams and finally by the mercy of emperumAn
he attained the lotus feet of emperumAn. After that, he was constantly meditating on the
most auspicious qualities of sriya:pathi (husband of srI mahAlakshmi) on the banks of
kairvaiNi pushkariNi in thiruvallikkENi (brindhAraNya kshEthram).
One day, rudhran along with his wife, was passing by on his rushabam on the sky.
When their shadow was about to touch AzhwAr, AzhwAr moves away. Noticing this
pArvathi tells rudhran that they should go and meet him. rudhran replies that he is a
great soul and devotee of emperumAn and he will simply ignore them. She insists that
she wants to go down and meet him and rudhran obliges. AzhwAr does not even bother
to look at him. rudhran then asks AzhwAr “How can you ignore us, when we are right
next to you?”. AzhwAr replies “I have nothing to do with you”. rudhran says “We want to
give you some benediction”. AzhwAr says “I dont want anything from you”. rudhran say
“My visit will be wasted, you ask for whatever you desire”. AzhwAr with a smile says
“Can you give me mOksham?”. rudhran says “I have not authority to give that. Only
srIman nArAyaNan can give that”. AzhwAr then asks “Can you postpone the death of
some one?” and rudhran replies “That is based on the individual’s karmA. I have no
control over that”. AzhwAr then shows his needle and thread and asks rudhran
sarcastically “Can you send this thread into the needle?”. rudhran becomes very angry
and declares that he will burn him down like he burnt kAma dhEvan. He opens his 3rd
eye and fire starts flowing from there. AzhwAr also opens his 3rd eye from his right toe
in retaliation and great fire flows from there too. rudhran unable to bear the heat of that
fire from AzhwAr’s thiruvadi, at once surrenders to srIman nArAyaNan, and all the
dhEvas, rishis, etc also approach emperumAn and request him to stop the chaos.
emperumAn, immediately orders the praLaya clouds to bring a great rain and when they
ask if they have the power to subside AzhwAr’s fire, emperumAn says he will give them
the power. A great flood gets formed after subsiding the fire, and AzhwAr being fixed on
emperumAn continues his meditation without any disturbance. rudhran being amazed at
AzhwAr’s nishtai gives him the title “bhakthisArar”, glorifies him and explains to his wife
that “dhurvAsar was punished for his apachAram to ambarIshan. So, bhAgavathas
cannot be defeated” and leaves to his place.
AzhwAr continues his meditation, and one kEcharan (an aerial being) was travelling in
the sky on his tiger and on seeing AzhwAr, he is unable to cross him due to AzhwAr’s
yOgic powers. He comes down and offers his praNAmams to AzhwAr. Magically, he
creates a divine shawl and says to AzhwAr “Please give up your torn shawl and please
accept this beautiful one”. AzhwAr easily creates a more beautiful shawl with gems and
stones and he becomes embarassed. He then removes his hAram (necklace) and
submits that to AzhwAr and AzhwAr removes his thuLasi mAlai and shows him like
diamond necklace. kEcharan understands the yOga shakthi of AzhwAr, glorifies him,
offers him praNAmams and takes leave from him.
Hearing about AzhwAr’s glories, a magician named konkaNasidhan arrives to meet

AzhwAr, offers his praNAmams and submits him an alchemy stone (that which will
transform stone/metal to gold), AzhwAr disregards that. He then collects some dirt from
his beautiful body (ear portion) and gives that to the magician and tells him that the
piece of dirt will transform stone to gold. He tests that out and it works – he becomes
very happy, offers his praNAmams to AzhwAr and leaves.
AzhwAr continues his meditation in a cave for some time. mudhalAzhwArs (poigai
AzhwAr, bhUdhathAzhwAr, pEyAzhwAr) who are who are constantly travelling and
glorifying emperumAn, oberves the divine thEjas from the cave where AzhwAr lives and
comes to the cave. Immediately realizing thirumazhisai AzhwAr’s glories, they enquire
about his well being. AzhwAr also understanding mudhalAzhwArs glories, enquire about
them. They continue to share their bhagavath anubhavam together for some time. They
all leave from there and reach thirumayilai (mylapore) which is the avathAra sthalam of
pEyAzhwAr and stays on the banks of kairava thIrtham for some time. Subsequently,
mudhalAzhwArs continue on their divine journey and AzhwAr returns to thirumazhisai,
his avathAra sthalam.
He searches for thirumaNkAppu but does not find that. He feels sad and
thiruvEnkatamudaiyAn appears to AzhwAr in his svapnam and shows him the place
where he can find thirumaN. He happily retrieves the same and applies dhvAdhasa
Urdhva puNdram (12 thirumaNs on various parts of the body as instructed in sAsthram)
and continues his bhagavath anubhavam. Desiring to go to poigai AzhwAr’s avathAra
sthalam, he arrives at kAnchipuram-thiruvekkA which is glories as the best among
puNya kshEthrams. He continues to stay there for 700 years worshipping the
emperumAn who is lying down beautifully on AdhisEshan and being served by srIdhEvi
and bhUdhEvi. He stays on the banks of the pond where poigai AzhwAr appeared and
spent him time meditating on poigai AzhwAr.
yathOkthakAri with nAchiyArs, thiruvekkA
At that time, kaNikaNNan arrives to him and takes shelter of his lotus feet. An old
woman comes and serves AzhwAr everyday with great devotion. AzhwAr, being
pleased with her devotion and service, asks her if she has any desires to be fulfilled.
She says, she wants to regain her youth again and AzhwAr blesses her with the same
and she thus becomes a beautiful young girl. The local king, pallavarAyan, becomes
very much attracted with her and requests her to marry him. She agrees and they both
marry and enjoy the married life together. One day, pallavarAyan, noticing that he ages
by day while his wife (blessed by AzhwAr) stays young, asks her how she got her divine
youth. She explains AzhwAr’s blessing and instructs the king to humbly request
kaNikaNNan (who visits the king for materials for his kainkaryam) to recommend to
AzhwAr to bless him also with the same divine youth. The king summons kaNikaNNan
and requests him to bring AzhwAr over to the palace for him to worship. kaNikaNNan
replies that AzhwAr does not go anywhere other than emperumAn’s temple. The king
requests kaNikaNNan to glorify him and kaNikaNNan says he will not glorify anyone
other than srIman nArAyaNan and his devotees as per sistAchAram (by elder’s
principles and acts). The king becomes angry and asks kaNikaNNan to leave his
kingdom since he refused to glorify him. kaNikaNNan at once leaves the palace,
reaches AzhwAr, explains him the incidents and takes leave from him. AzhwAr says “If
you are leaving, I am going to leave as well. If I am leaving, emperumAn will also leave.
When emperumAn leaves, all dhEvathAs will also leave from here”. He then says “I will
go to the temple and wake emperumAn up and bring him with me” and goes to the
temple. AzhwAr then sings in front of thiruvekkA emperumAn:
kanNikanNnNan pOginRAn
kAmarupUnGkachchi manNivanNnNA NI kidakka vEnNdA
thunNivudaiya cheNNAppulavanum pOginREn
NIyum unRan paiNNAgappAy churuttikkoL
Oh! one with the beautiful form staying in thiruvekkA! kaNikaNNan is going, I am (the
firmly situated poet) also going, you wind up your AdhisEshan and leave with us”.
emperumAn accepts AzhwAr’s words and at once follows him and kaNikaNNan. Thus
he got the name yathOktha kAri (kAri – one who performed, yathA – as, utktha –
instructed). All the dhEvathas also follow emperumAn and thus kAnchIpuram becomes
lifeless due to the absence of all auspiciousness. Due to that, the sun does not rise
also, the king and his ministers understanding the problem, run behind the travelling
party and falls at the lotus feet of kaNikaNNan and asks for pardon. kaNikaNNan then
requests AzhwAr to return and AzhwAr prays to emperumAn to return to yathA sthAnam
as per:
kanNikanNnNan pOkkozhiNthAn
kAmarupUnGkachchi manNivanNnNA NI kidakka vEnNdum
thunNivudaiya cheNNAppulavanum pOkkozhiNthEn
NIyum unRan paiNNAgappAy paduththukkoL
Oh! one with the beautiful form staying in thiruvekkA! kaNikaNNan is returning, I am (the
firmly situated poet) also returning, you open up your AdhisEshan and lie down as
before”.
Such was emperumAn’s saulabhyam-NIrmai ( – simplicity) and this is why

AzhwAr was immersed on this quality of emperumAn and sung
veHkanNaikkidaNthathenna NIrmaiyE ( )–
how merciful emperumAn is by lying down in thiruvekkA per my request.
Subsequently, AzhwAr with great desire starts his travel to thirukkudanthai

(kumbakONam) to perform mangaLAsAsanam to ArAvamudhAzhwAr (emperumAn). It
is said in the thirukkudanthai mAhAthmyam that “one who stays in kumbakONam for
even a moment will be guaranteed a place in srIvaikuntam, what to speak about wealth
in this world” – such is the greatness of this dhivyadhEsam. On his way, in a village
named perumpuliyUr, he is resting on the veranda of a house. There were a few
brAhmaNas who were doing vEdha adhyayanam at that time and looking at AzhwAr,
they misunderstand him from his ragged looks and stops their recital. AzhwAr, out of
great humility, understanding that, starts leaving the place. The brAhmaNas, wanting to
resume their recital, but unable to do that since they forgot where they left. AzhwAr,
immediately takes a grain of black rice and splits it using his nail and indicates the exact
verse which is “krishNAnAm vrIhiNAm nakanirbbinnam” from yajur kANdam. The
brAhmaNas immediately realise his greatness and offer their praNAmams and beg for
forgiveness for their mis-conduct.
When AzhwAr was looking for materials for his thiruvArAdhanam, the emperumAn in
the village temple was constantly turning towards his direction. The archakas show this
amazing incident to some brAhamaNas and in turn they go to perumpuliyUr adigaL who
is performing a yagyam in that village and informs him about the incident and greatness
of AzhwAr. perumpuliyUr adigaL, at once leaves the yAgasAlai (yagya bhUmi) and
reaches out to AzhwAr and looking at his aprAkrutha (divine spiritual) thirumEni (body),
offers his praNAmams and requests AzhwAr to visit his yAgasAlai. On his visit, adigaL
performs the agra pUjai (foremost respects) to AzhwAr in his yagyam. Some of the
priests object to that like sisupAlan and his friends objected to dharmaputhran giving
agra pUjai to krishNan during their rAjasUja yAgam. adigaL feels sad and informs
AzhwAr that he cannot bear their words. AzhwAr decides to reveal his great position
sings a pAsuram towards the antharyAmi emperumAn requesting him to reveal his
presence within AzhwAr’s heart to everyone. emperumAn, obliging at once, reveals his
presence with his dhivya mahishIs, AdhisEshan, garudAzhwAr, etc., in AzhwAr’s heart.
All the priests who opposed AzhwAr realise his greatness and falls flat at his feet and
beg for his forgiveness. They then performed brahma ratham (carrying AzhwAr in a
palanquin) and became the target of AzhwAr’s mercy. AzhwAr then explained them the
essence of sAsthram in great detail. Then, he left to thirukkudanthai to meet
ArAvamuthan emperumAn.
After reaching thirukkudanthai, he then throws all his granthams (palm leaves) in to the
river cauvery. By emperumAn’s thiruvuLLam, nAnmugan thiruvanthAdhi and
thiruchchantha viruththam float against the tides and return to AzhwAr. He picks them
up and goes to ArAvamuthan sannidhi and worships the most beautiful emperumAn
from his thiruvadi (foot) to thirumudi (head). With great love, he instructs emperumAn
“kAvirikkaraik kudaNthaiyuL kidaNthavARezhuNthiruNthu pEchu” (
) meaning “Oh the one who is lying
down in thirukkudanthai which is on the banks of cauvery! stand up and speak to me”.
Hearing AzhwAr’s words, emperumAn literally tries to stand and AzhwAr becoming
overwhelmed by emperumAn’s act performs mangaLAsAsanam to emperumAn in
“vAzhi kEchanE” ( ) meaning “Oh the one with beautiful hair! Long live”.
Meditating on this divine form, AzhwAr speent another 2300 years in thirukkudanthai
without accepting any food other than milk. Thus he spent 4700 years in this bhUlOkam
and gave the most important essence of sAsthram through his prabhandhams for the
upliftment of everyone in this samsAram out of his divine grace.
kOmaLavalli thAyar samEtha ArAvamuthan, thirukkudanthai
He became to be known as thirumazhisai pirAn (since pirAn means one who does great
favours and this word is usually indicated to glorify emperumAn) – since he did the
greatest favour in clarifying the supremacy of emperumAn – AzhwAr became to be
known as pirAn. In turn, thirukkudanthai ArAvamudhan emperumAn became to be
known as AzhwAr (since AzhwAr means one who gets immersed in the name, form,
qualities of emperumAn and this word is usually for the great devotees of emperumAn)
– since he got immersed in the name, form, qualities, etc., of thirumazhisai AzhwAr,
ArAvamudhan emperumAn became to be known as ArAvamuthAzhwAr.
Let us pray for AzhwAr’s divine mercy, so we can also develop the same attachment
towards emperumAn and his adiyArs.
His thanian
sakthi panchamaya vigrahAthmanE sUkthikArajatha chiththa hAriNE
mukthidhAyaka murAri pAdhayOr bhakthisAra munayE namO nama:
His archAvathAra anubhavam is already discussed in here –

http://ponnadi.blogspot.in/2012/10/archavathara-anubhavam-thirumazhisai-azhwar.html.
nammAzhwAr
thirunakshathram: vaigAsi, visAgam
avathAra sthalam: AzhwAr thirunagari
AchAryan: vishwaksEnar.
Sishyas: madhurakavi AzhwAr, nAthamunigaL, etc
He is also known as mARan, sataGopan, parAngusan, vakuLAbharaNan,

vakuLAbhirAman, magizhmAran, satajith, kurgUr nambi, etc.
NammAzhwAr was born in ThirukkurugUr (AzhwAr thirunagari) as the child of KAri and
udayanangai. He was born days after the advent of kaliyugam. In bhagavad gIthA,
krishnan declares that “After many many birth one comes to the conclusion that
everything belongs to vAsudevan (himself). And it is very rare to find such jnAnis”.
NammAzhwAr from his life and works proves that he was one such jnAni who is very
dear to emperumAn. Throughout his life (which only lasted 32 years in this samsAram),
he stayed under the tamarind tree (thirupuLiyAzhwAr) and was always in yOgam
(meditation) thinking about emperumAn. It is said in our pUrvAchArya vyAkyAnams that,
the moment we hear kurugUr (generally in thiruvAimozhi pAsurams, the last pAsuram of
each padhigam will have nammAzhwAr’s name and will generally be prefixed with
kurugUr which is his avathAra sthalam), we should do an anjali towards the south
direction (which is where AzhwAr thirungari is).
NammAzhwAr is hailed as prapanna jana kUtasthar – i.e., the first one in the prapanna
gOshti. He is also hailed as vaishnava kula pathi – the leader of the vaishnava fold by
ALavandhAr. AlavandhAr in his sthOthra rathnam, 5th slOkam declares that he bows
down at the lotus feet of vakUlAbhirAman who is everything (father, mother, child,
wealth, etc) for him and his followers/descendants.
AzhwAr in sayana thirukkOlam and emperumAnAr at his lotus feet – AzhwAr thirunagari
emperumAnAr (who is himself an avathAram of AdhisEshan) is glorified as “mARan adi

panNiNthu uyNthavan” ( ) meaning one who
surrendered to nammAzhwAr and flourished.
NampiLLai, based on pUrvAchArya works, in his eedu vyAkyAna avathArikai and

thiruvirutham vyAkyAna avathArikai, establishes that NammAzhwAr was hand picked by
emperumAn from leeLA vibhUthi to sing his glories and to bring in many baddha
jIvAthmAs into the fold of srivaishnavam. NampiLLai establishes this based on the
words of nammAzhwAr himself. emperumAn gives pure knowledge out of his own will to
nammAzhwAr so that AzhwAr can see past, present and future right in front of him. In
his works, he says in several places that he suffered in samsAram since time
immemorial. He also says that he cannot stay in this samsAram even for a single
moment – living in this samsAram for him is like standing on red-hot floor without
shoes/chappals. Right in the first pAsurm of thiruvAimozhi he says that he was blessed
with the divine knowledge by emperumAn. Based on this we can easily understand that
he was a samsAri (baddha jIvAtmA) before and was blessed by emperumAn with divine
knowledge. The same logic is applied for other AzhwArs also due to the following
reasons:
 Since nammAzhwAr is called the avayavi (whole) and all the other AzhwArs
(except AndAL ofcourse) are avayavam (parts), and
 Other AzhwArs have also said the same thing in their works, that they were
suffering in samsAram and are blessed by emperumAn with divine knowledge.
NammAzhwar has sung 4 divya prabhandhams namely,
 thiruviruththam (rig vEdha sAram)

 thiruvAsiriyam (yajur vEdha sAram)
 periya thiruvandhAdhi (atharvaNa vEdha sAram)
 thiruvAimozhi (sAma vEdha sAram)
nammAzhwAr’s prabhandhams are equal to 4 vEdhas. He is also known as “vEdham

thamizh cheitha mAran” – one who gave the essence of samskrita vEdhas through his
thamizh prabandhams. All the other AzhwArs prabhandhams are considered to be
similar to the supplementary portion of vEdhas (like sIkshA, vyAkaraNam, etc).
ThiruvAimozhi is glorified as the essence of all the 4000 divya prabandhams sung by
AzhwArs. All our pUrvAchAryas works (vyAkyAnams and rahasya granthams) are
based on the knowledge extracted from thiruvAimozhi. thiruvAimozhi itself has 5
vyAkyAnams and more detailed explanations in arumpadham.
Our pUrvAchAryas establish that nammAzhwAr is considered to be having the qualities

of many great personalities like srIdhEvi, bhUdhEvi, nILA dhEvi, goPikAs, lakshmaNan,
bharathAzhwAn, sathrugnAzhwAn, dhasarathan, kousalyai, prahlAdhAzhwAn,
vibhIshaNAzhwAn, hanuman, arjunan, etc. While nammAzhwAr has the qualities of
every one of these personalities, they each only have some of the qualities of
nammAzhwAr – such is his glories.
In thiruvAimozhi 7.10.5 - palaradiyAr munbhrauLiya – nampiLLai beautifully brings out

the thiruvuLLam of nammAzhwAr here. nammAzhwAr says in this pAsuram that
emperumAn blessed him to sing thiruvAimozhi instead of great rishis like sri
vEdhavyAsar, sri vAlmiki, sri parAsarar and mudhalAzhwArgaL who were expert in
thamizh.
With this in mind, let us see his charithram:
nammAzhwAr who is considered as the avayavi (the whole) and other AzhwArs are
considered as avayam (parts of him), appears in thirukkurugUr, on the banks of river
thAmirabharaNi which is considered to be greater than all other rivers like gangA,
yamunA, sarasvathi, etc. He appears as the son of kAri who is part of the prappanna
kulam for many generations. These great personalities would not worship any one other
than srIman nArAyaNan as explained by thirumazhisai AzhwAr as “maRaNthum puRam
thozhA mANthar” ( ). There was one thiruvaLuthi
vaLa nAdar, whose son is aRanthAngiyAr, whose son is chakrapANiyAr, whose son is
achyuthar, whose son is chenthAmaraik kaNNar, whose son is poRkAriyAr, whose son
is kAriyAr and whose son is nammAzhwAr.
In this great vaishNava family, poRkAriyAr decides to look for a vaishnava girl for his
son kAri to establish him in gruhasthAshramam and create vaishnava children for the
upliftment of the entire world. poRkAri goes to thiruvaNparisAram dhivyadhEsam and
meet thiruvAzhmArbhar (who is seeking to get her daughter married to a vaishnava and
get vaishnava offsprings) and requests him to give her daughter udaiya nangai in
wedding to kAriyAr. thiruvAzhmArbhar accepts and a grand wedding ceremony is
conducted between kAriyAr and udaiyanangai. Both kAriyAr and udayanangai worship
thiruvAzhmArbhan emperumAn in thiruvaNparisAram and returns to thirukkurugur. On
their return, everyone in thirukkurugUr welcomed them with a great mood of devotion
and celebration just like when srI rAman married sIthA pirAtti and brought her along to
ayOdhyA from mithilA.
After some time, kAriyAr and udayanangai visit thiruvaNparisAram and on their way
back, they visit thirukkurungudi and worship nambi emperumAn. They pray to him to
have a child and nambi promises them that he himself will appear as their child. They
return to thirukkurugur happily and after some time udaya nangai becomes pregnant.
On the 43rd day after the dawn of kaliyugam, as per the orders of emperumAn,
nammAzhwAr as he himself declares in “thirumAlAl aruLap peRRa chatagOpan”
( ) meaning nammAzhwAr who was
divinely blessed by srIman nArAyaNan, appears as an amsam of vishwaksEnar on
bahudhAnya year (also said that it is pramAdhi year), vasantha ruthu (spring season),
vaikAsi month, sukla paksham, paurNami thithi and thiruvisAka nakshathram. Similar to
azhagiya maNavALa perumAL nAyanAr‘s declaration in his AchArya hrudhayam, here it
is said that “Adhithya rAmadhivAkara achyutha bANukkaLukku NInGgAtha uLLiruL
NInGgi chOshiyAtha piRavikkadal chOshiththu vikasiyAtha pOthil kamalam
malarumpadi vakuLabUshanNa bAskarOdhayam unNdAyththu udaiyaNanGgaiyAgiRa
pUrvasaNdhyaiyilE” (
) meaning the inner ignorance of
samsAris that was not removed by the appearance of the sun (Adhithya), srI rAman
(rAma dhivAkara) who is glorified as a shining sun and krishNan (achyutha bAnu) who
is also glorified as a shining sun, the ignorance was removed and the knowledge
bloomed after the arrival of nammAzhwAr (vakuLA bhUshaNa bAskara) and this
nammAzhwAr was conceived by udaiyanangai.
AdhisEshan appears as the divine tamarind tree to protect AzhwAr (knowing that
AzhwAr will take shelter in thirukkurugUr AthinAthan emperumAn’s temple).
AzhwAr’s subsequent activities are described in madhurakavi AzhwAr’s charithram –

http://guruparamparai.wordpress.com/2013/01/17/madhurakavi-azhwar/.
nammAzhwAr’s thanian
mAthA pithA yuvathayas thanayA vibhUthi

sarvam ya dhEva niyamEna madh anvayAnAm
Adhyasyana: kulapathEr vakuLAbhirAmam
srimath thadhangri yugaLam praNamAmi mUrdhnA
His archAvathAra anubhavam is discussed in

http://ponnadi.blogspot.in/2012/10/archavathara-anubhavam-nammazhwar.html.
madhurakavi AzhwAr
thirunakshathram: chithirai, chithirai
avathAra sthalam: thirukkOLUr
AchAryan: nammAzhwAr
Works: kaNNinuN chiruthAmbu
Place where he attained paramapadham: AzhwAr thirunagari
nampiLLai, in the vyAkyAna avathArikai brings out the glories of madhurakavi AzhwAr
beautifully. Let us see some glimpses of it.
rishis are focussed on sAmAnya sAsthram which establishes ishvaryam, kaivalyam and
bhagavath kainkaryam as purushArtham (goal to be attained by a soul). Azhwars are
focussed on the uththama purushArtham (ultimate goal) that is loving service to srIman
nArAyaNan. madhurakavi AzhwAr is focussed on the epitome (top most stage) of
bhagavath kainkaryam that is bhAgavatha kainkaryam – ofcourse bhagavAn
appreciates service to his devotees more than service to him.
We can see this in srI rAmAyaNam as well. Since srI rAmAyaNam is vEdha
upabruhmmaNam (that which explains the intricate meanings of vEdham) it promptly
establishes the main aspects of vEdham.
 perumAL (srI rAman) is an embodiment of dharmam – so he established

sAmAnya (ordinary/simple) dharmams of “pithru vachana paripAlanam”
(following the orders of father/elders), etc.
 iLaya perumAL (lakshmaNan) established the visEsha (special) dharmam of
sEshathvam that a sEshan (servant) should always follow and serve the sEshi
(master). He said “aham sarvam karishyAmi” (I will do everything for you) to srI
rAman and also put that in to practice.
 srI bharathAzhwAn (bharathan) established pArathanthriyam which is the real
svarUpam of jIvAthmAs. pArathanthriyam means full following the desires of the
master without any expectations on our own. Because perumAL wanted
bharathAzhwAn to stay in ayOdhyA and take care of the rAjyam, he obliges and
accepts that as his supreme command and stays outside ayOdhyA for 14 years
with the same attire and anushtAnam of srI rAman.
 srI chathrugnAzhwAn (chathrugnan) established the epitome of our svarUpam
which is bhAgavatha sEshathvam. He simply followed bharathAzhwAn and
served him without any interest in anything else.
nampiLLai quotes srI bhAshyakArar (rAmAnujar) saying because of chathrugnan’s total

surrender to srI bharathAzhwAn, he was more dear to srI rAman than the other 2
brothers – iLaya perumAL and bharathAzhwAn. madhurakavi AzhwAr was like srI
chathrugnAzhwAn who was fully established in bhAgavatha nishtai. madurakavi AzhwAr
also was fully surrendered to nammAzhwAr and was fully serving him. For him,
nammAzhwAr is both the goal and the process to attain that goal. That is what is
established by madhurakavi AzhwAr in his dhivya prabhandham.
piLLai lOkAchAryar in his magnum opus srIvachana bhUshaNam, in the last

prakaraNam which fully reveals the glories of AchArya abhimAna nishtai (depending
fully on AchAryan’s abhimAnam) establishes this principle by citing madhurakavi
AzhwAr’s life and attachment towards nammAzhwAr as the example. In the 8th
prakaraNam, bhagavan nirhEthuka krupai is explained. At the same time, bhagavAn is
also bound to give results to jIvAthmA per their karmA. So, one may have a doubt that
emperumAn may or may not accept us. In the 9th (and last) prakaraNam, piLLai
lOkAchAryar establishes the greatness of charama upAyam (the final way) which is
depending on AchAryan and how that will easily deliver the jIvAthmA. Let us see that
now.
In sUthram 407, it is shown that one may have a doubt in the mind that emperumAn
being svathanthran, may accept us or reject us depending on him following sAsthram
(which gives results based on one’s own karmA) or his kAruNyam (mercy). mAmunigaL
shows in the vyAkyAnam that the sUthram is completed by adding “When we depend
on AchAryan who is a parathanthran (fully dependent on emperumAn), there is no
doubt, since he will ensure that we will get delivered, because AchAryan is embodiment
of kAruNyam and will look for the upliftment of the jIvAthmA only”.
In sUthram 408, it is explained that, this cannot be proved by the pAsurams of the 10
AzhwArs (excluding madhurakavi AzhwAr and ANdaL) who are fully surrendered to
emperumAn. These AzhwArs were divinely blessed by emperumAn with blemishless
knowledge. When they get immersed in bhagavath anubhavam they glorify the
bhAgavathAs. But when the are in separation from emperumAn, they get upset with
bhAgavathAs out of their desperate situation (many pAsurams are cited by mAmunigaL
in the vyAkyAnam). mAmunigaL summarizes in the end that we cannot determine the
true glories of AchArya vaibhavam through the pAsurams of 10 AzhwArs but we have to
do that using madhurakavi AzhwAr’s pAsurams.
In sUthram 409, it is explained that madhurakavi AzhwAr is far greater than other
AzhwArs since he is only focussed on AchArya (nammAzhwAr) vaibhavam unlike other
AzhwArs who glorifies bhAgavathas some times and ignores them at other times. It is
through the words of madhurakavi AzhwAr we can establish the glories of AchArya
vaibhavam.
mAmunigaL explains the glories of madhurakavi AzhwAr and his upadhEsa raththina
mAlai in 25th and 26th pAsurams.
In the 25th pAsuram, he says that madhurakavi AzhwAr’s thiruvavathAram

(appearance) day – chithirai/chithirai, is most suitable for prapanna’s svarUpam, even
more than the appearance days of other AzhwArs.
In the 26th pAsuram, he explains the glories of AzhwAr and his prabhandham
wonderfully.
vAyththa thirumaNthiraththin maththimamAm padham pOl

chIrththa madhurakavi chey kalaiyai
Arththa pugazh AriyargaL thAnGgaL aruLicheyal NaduvE
chErviththAr thARpariyam thErNthu
piLLai lOkam jIyar gives beautiful explanation for this pAsuram. nama: padham in
thirumanthram is taken as an example here for kaNNinuN chiruthAmbu. thirumanthram
is gloried as the one which will relieve the reciter from bondage in this samsAram. In
this thirumanthram, nama: padham is the most important word – it clearly establishes
that we have no involvement in protecting ourselves and we have to fully depend on our
master (emperumAn) to protect us. This same principle is explained by madhurakavi
AzhwAr (who himself is great because of his AchArya nishtai) in his prabhandham that
we should fully depend on our AchAryan to protect us. It is because of this fact that it
brings out the essence of sAsthram, our pUrvAchAryas included this prabhandham in to
the collection of 4000 dhivya prabhandham. Just like madhurakavi AzhwAr is born in
chithrai thirunakshathram which comes in the middle of the 27 nakshathrams, his
prabhandham is also considered the center piece of the dhivya prabhandha rathan
hAram (necklace).
Thus, we can see how beautifully emperumAnAr, nampiLLai, piLLai lOkAchAryar,

mAmunigaL and piLLai lOkam jIyar are explaining the same principle from different
angles.
With this understanding, let us now go through his charithram.
madhurakavi AzhwAr appeared in chaithra mAsam, chithrA nakshathram in

thirukkOLUr. Just like sun’s rays appear before the sun itself, he appeared just before
nammAzhwAr’s divine appearance. Looking at his greatness, in dhivya sUri charitham,
garuda vAhana pandithar glorifies him as an amsam of “kumudha gaNEshar” or
“garudAzhwAr” (though AzhwArs were handpicked from samsAram by emperumAn and
divinely blessed by him).
He was born in a family of pUrva shikai brAhmaNas who are part of sAma vEdham. At
the appropriate ages, he undergoes jAtha karma, nAma karaNa, anna prAsana,
chauLa, upanayanam, etc., and learns vEdham, vEdhAntham, purANa, ithihAsam, etc.
He was completely detached from everything else other than emperumAn and goes on
a thIrtha yAthrai to ayOdhyA, mathurA, etc. – dhivyadhEsams/kshEthrams in the
northern part of bhAratha dhEsam.
madhurakavi AzhwAr, nammAzhwAr, nAthamunigaL – kAnchipuram
nammAzhwAr who appeared after madhurakavi AzhwAr, was staying without any
interest for even mother’s milk and without uttering any sound (in complete silence). His
parents kAri and udaya nangai, on the 12th day after his appearance, with great anxiety
for the child’s behaviour, brought him infront of polindhu ninRa pirAn emperumAn who is
having his beautiful temple in the south side river thamirabharaNi, who is decorated
beautifully with shankam (divine conch) and chakram (divine disc), who is having lotus
like beautiful eyes, who is holding the abhaya hastham (a posture of the hand which
declares he will protect us) and who is with his dhivya mahishIs srIdhEvi, bhUdhEvi and
nILA dhEvi. In front of emperumAn, they give him the name “mARan” (one who is
different from others) and leaves him under the divine tamarind tree and considers him
as a divine personality and worships him there. paramapadhanAthan then instructs
vishwaksEnar to go and perform panchasamskAram to nammAzhwAr and teach him
dhrAvida vEdham (from this we can understand dhrAvida vEdham is also eternal as
declared by nAyanAr in AchArya hrudhayam) and all rahasya manthrams/meanings and
vishwaksEnar obliged as such.
nammAzhwAr then stayed for 16 years under the thiruppuLiyAzhwAr (divine tamarind
tree). His parents understanding his greatness but unable to share the same since not
many understood AzhwAr’s greatness, keeps praying to thirukkurungudi nambi
emperumAn. madhurakavi AzhwAr also hears about this matter and once when he went
to the river banks in the night and noticed there was a bright light shining in the south
side. He first thinks that may be there is some village burning or a forest fire.
But, subsequently he notices the same light for 2 or 3 nights consecutively. He decides
to investigate what it is and so sleeps in the morning and starts following that light in the
night. He checks many dhivya dhEsams on his way and reaches srIrangam. He still
sees the light from further south and finally reaches thirukkurugUr (AzhwAr thirunagari).
He no longer sees the light and concludes that it must be originating from here. He then
enters the temple and under the thiruppuLiyAzhwAr, he sees nammAzhwAr who looks
filled with complete/pure knowledge, who has beautiful eyes, who is just 16 years young
and beautiful like the moon on a full moon day, who is seated on padhmAsanam, who
has the upadhEsa mudhrai instructing about emperumAn and who is the AchAryan for
all prapannas. Observing that he is fully immersed in bhagavath anubhavam, he takes a
rock and throws in front of him. AzhwAr beautifully wakes up and looks at madhurakavi
AzhwAr. Wanting to check if he can speak, madurakavi AzhwAr asks him
“cheththaththin vayiRRil chiRiyathu piRaNthAl eththaiththinRu enGgE kidakkum”
(
) meaning if a chEthanan (jIvAthmA – sentient) enters an achEthanam
(insentient), what will he enjoy and where will he stay. AzhwAr replies “aththaiththinRu
anGgE kidakkum” ( ) meaning “He will keep
enjoying the materialistic joy and sorrows and will stay permanently there”. Hearing this
madhurakavi AzhwAr realises that “He is a sarvagyar (omniscient – one who knows
everything) and I should serve this great personality and be uplifted” and falls flat at the
lotus feet of nammAzhwAr. He then stays with AzhwAr permanently, serves him always
and sings his glories.
Subsequently, srIvaikunta nAthan (from paramapadham) who is the cause of all causes,
who is the proprietor or everything, who is the controller of everyone, who is the in-
dwelling supersoul of every one and every thing, who one who has a beautiful
blackish/bluish thirumEni (body) wants to meet AzhwAr. periya thiruvadi (garudAzhwAn)
at once arrives in front of emperumAn and emperumAn along with srI mahAlakshmi
climbs on them and they reach thirukkurugUr at once and gives his divine dharshan to
nammAzhwAr and blesses him divine blemishless knowledge. nammAzhwAr, being
blessed by emperumAn, immerses in bhagavath anubhavam and as that anubhavam
overflows beyond limits, they flow out as divine pAsurams in the form of thiruvirutham,
thiruvAsiriyam, periya thiruvanthAdhi and thiruvAimozhi (which are the essence of 4
vEdhams) revealing emperumAn’s divine svarUpam, divine forms, divine qualities.
nammAzhwAr then teaches the same to madhurakavi AzhwAr and others who were
surrendered to him. All the dhivya dhEsa emperumAns arrive to thiruppuLiyAzhwAr to
bless nammAzhwAr and sustain themselves by the mangaLAsAsanam of
nammAzhwAr. nammAzhwAr then blesses everyone to become like him, to develop the
same attachment towards emperumAn like him and nithya sUris (from paramapadham)
and svEthadvIpa vAsis (residents of kshIrAbdhi) arrive to glorify nammAzhwAr and
nammAzhwAr after seeing them performs mangaLAsAsanam to them. nammAzhwAr
being overwhelmed by the glories of nithya sUris and svEthadvIpa vAsis and them
coming to see him, declares himself to be the greatest in the universe (sAthvika
ahankAram arising out of emperumAn’s divine blessings), lives with unlimited glories,
always sustaining himself by thinking about kaNNan emperumAn. He fully reveals artha
panchakam (paramAthma svarUpam, jIvAthma svarUpam, upAya svarUpam, upEya
svarUpam and virOdhi svarUpam) and the meanings of dhvaya mahA manthram
through thiruvAimozhi which is divine nectar for the devotees of emperumAn. He finally
leaves this samsAram at the age of 32 and reaches paramapadham by the divine desire
of emperumAn.
Subsequently, madhurakavi AzhwAr who is the main disciple of nammAzhwAr (who is

the prapanna jana kUtasthar – leader of the prapanna kulam), compiles kaNNinuN
chiruthAmbu in glorification of his AchAryan and presents the same to mumukshus who
are panchamOpAya nishtars (situated in 5th upAyam – AchArya nishtai, the other 4
upAyams being karma, jnAna, bhakthi and prapathi). He establishes the archA
vigraham in AzhwAr thirunagari and arranges for nithya (daily), paksha (fortnightly),
mAsa (monthly), ayana (half-yearly) and samvathsara (yearly) uthsavams in a grand
manner and performs the same. He glorifies nammAzhwAr as “vEdham thamizh
cheytha perumAL vaNthAr, thiruvAymozhip perumAL vaNthAr, thiruNagarip perumAL
vaNthAr, thiruvazhuthivaLaNAdar vaNthAr, thirukkurugUrNagar Nambi vaNthAr,
kArimARar vaNthAr, chatagOpar vaNthAr, parAnGguchar vaNthAr” (
, ,
, ,
, , , ) meaning
One who gave the essence of vEdham arrived, the great author of thiruvAimozhi
arrived, the leader of thirunagari arrived, the one from thiruvazhuthivaLa (AzhwAr
thirunagari and its surroundings) region has arrived, the one from thirukkurugUrnagar
who is filled with wonderful qualities has arrived, son of kAri arrived, sadagOpar arrived,
one who controlled everyone arrived, etc. At that time, the thamizh experts from (south)
madhurai thamizh sangam arrive there and they object to these glories and say that
unless nammAzhwAr’s greatness is proved and sanga palagai (the plank which
measures the greatness of literature) accepts his literature, they will not accept that
nammAzhwAr gave the essence of vEdham. madhurakavi AzhwAr says that
nammAzhwAr will not travel anywhere and writes “kanNnNan kazhalinNai” (
) which is the beginning of thiruvAimozhi 10.5.1 pAsuram on a small palm-
leaf and hands it over to those poets from thamizh sangam. He tells them that if the
sanga palagai accepts these 2 words of AzhwAr then his greatness will be proved. The
poets agree to madhurakavi AzhwAr’s words and go to madhurai and explain the
incidents to the leader of thamizh sangam. The leader agrees and they keep the palm-
leaf with AzhwAr’s pAsuram along with 300 other great poets of those days. The
magical plank retains AzhwAr’s words alone and pushes everyone else immediately
proving AzhwAr’s greatness. The leader of the sangam at once compiles a poem
glorifying AzhwAr as follows:
IyAduvathO garudaRkethirE
iravikkethir minminiyAduvathO
NAyOduvathO uRumippulimun
NarikEcharimun NadaiyAduvathO
pEyaduvathO ezhilUrvachimun
perumAnadi chEr vaguLAbharanNan OrAyiramAmaRaiyin thamizhil oru chol porumO
ulagil kaviyE
nammAzhwAr‘s (who is surrendered to srIman nArAyaNan and have given the essence
of vEdham in his 1000+ pAsurams) one word cannot be compared any number of these
poems of these worldly poets just like there is no comparison between
 flying skill of garudan and a house fly

 brightness of sun and a fire fly
 roaring of a tiger and barking of a dog
 the majestic walk of a lion and the ordinary walk of a fox
 the beautiful dance of Urvasi (a dhEva lOka dancer) and the dancing of a ghost
Seeing this, all the poets at once begged for their forgiveness from nammAzhwAr and
glorified him. Thus madhurakavi AzhwAr spent his time glorifying his AchAryan as per
“gurum prakAchayEth dhImAN” ( ) meaning ones
AchAryan should be glorified in public and uplifted all beings. After some time he left
this samsAram and reached his AchAryan thiruvadi to perform nithya kainkaryam to
nammAzhwAr.
His thanian
avidhitha vishayAntharas chatArEr upanishdhAm upagAna mAthra bOga:
api cha guNa vachAth thadhEka sEshi madhurakavir hrudhayE mamAvirasthu

http://ponnadi.blogspot.in/2012/10/archavathara-anubhavam-madhurakavi.html.
kulasEkara AzhwAr
thirunakshathram: mAsi, punarpUsam
avathAra sthalam: thiruvanjikkaLam
AchAryan: vishwaksEnar
Works: mukundha mAlai, perumAL thirumozhi
Place where he attained paramapadham: mannAr kOyil (near thirunelvEli)
kulasEkara AzhwAr’s greatness lies in the fact that he was born in kshathriya kulam
(which is condusive for having great ego) but was still so humble in his attitude towards
emperumAn and bhakthas. It is because of his great devotion and attachment towards
perumAL (srI rAman) he came to be known as kulasEkara perumAL himself. In his
perumAL thirumozhi, after performing mangaLAsAsanam to periya perumAL in the first
padhigam (iruLiyach chudar manigaL), he immediately glorifies srIvaishNavas in the
second padhigam (thEttarum thiral thEn). He is also popular to have been so attached
to srIvaishnavas which we will see in his charithram in the subsequent sections.
He himself declares the real svarUpam of jIvAthmA as sEshathvam in his perumAL

thirumozhi in the end (10.7) as “thillaiNagar chiththirakUdam thannuL arachamarNthAn
adichUdum arachai allAl arachAga enNnNEn maRRarachu thAnE” (
) meaning “I will not consider any thing as kingship other

than holding the lotus feet of the king of thiruchithrakUdam (gOvindharAjan
emperumAn). He clearly eradicates any thought of dhEvathAnthara/vishayAnthara
sambandham of jIvAthmA through these words.
He also declares the ultimate svarUpam of jIvAthma svarUpam as “achithvath

pArathanthriyam” in thiruvEnkata padhigam. In 4.9, he explains:
chediyAya valvinaigaL thIrkkum thirumAlE

NediyAnE vEnGkatavA! Nin kOyilin vAchal
adiyArum vAnavarum arambaiyarum kidaNthiyanGgum
padiyAyk kidaNthu un pavaLa vAyk kAnNbEnE
Oh srIvEnkatEsa! You are the one who can eradicated my strong karmAs. I want to be
like the stepping stone at the entrance of your sannidhi where your great devotees,
dhEvas who expect material benefits from you and their dependants are longing to take
your dharshan.
periyavAchAn piLLai explains that the jIvAthmA should be both like
 (padiyAik kidanthu) achith (insentient) in the sense that emperumAn should have
full control over the jIvAthmA. Just like chandhanam (sandal wood), kusumam
(flower), etc – which are only present for the pleasure of the consumer and have
no personal interest at all.
 (un pavaLa vAyk kANbEnE) chit (sentient) in the sense that we should
acknowledge that he is having pleasure by accepting our service. If we dont
acknowledge and receiprocate then we will be no different than achith.
This principle is called “achithvath pArathanthriyam” meaning jIvAthmA being fully

controlled by emperumAn and still reciprocating with emperumAn – this is the highest
principle of our srIvaishNava sidhAntham.
We have already enjoyed how mAmunigaL glorifies kulasEkara AzhwAr in his

archAvathAra anubhavam article – http://ponnadi.blogspot.in/2012/10/archavathara-
anubhavam-kulasekara.html.
nAyanAr in his magnum opus AchArya hrudhayam explains that one should
discriminate between devotees based on their birth in a series of chUrNikais and
establishes the greatness of nammAzhwAr and other great personalities in the end. In
that section, while explaining the greatness of the births which is condusive to
bhagavath kainkaryam, nAyanAr cites the example of how various great personalities
opted/desired for so-called low births only because of the reason that those births are
very condusive for kainkaryam. Let us see the essence of 87th chUrNikai and how this
relates to kulasEkara AzhwAr.
anNaiya Ura punaiya adiyum podiyum padap parvatha bhavaNanGgaLilE EthEnumAga

jaNikkap peRugiRa thiryak sthAvara jaNmanGgaLai perumakkaLum periyOrum
parigrahiththup prArththippargaL.
The nithyasUris like ananthan, garudan, etc., opts to take birth as bed (AdhisEshan), a
bird (garudAzhwAr), etc. nammAzhwAr identifies how thiruththuzhAi is so dear to
emperumAn that he wears it everywhere (on his head, shoulders, chest, etc). Great
sages like parAsara, vyAsa, sukha, etc., desired to be born as the dust of vrindhAvana
which gets touched by the lotus feet of krishNan and gOpis. kulasEkara AzhwAr desired
to be born as anything in thiruvEnkata hill. ALavandhAr desired to be born as a worm in
the house of a srIvaishNava. Let us see kulasEkara AzhwAr’s desire in a little bit detail
as explained by mAmunigaL in the vyAkyAnam of this chUrNikai.
In perumAL thirumozhi 4th padhigam, AzhwAr desires to have some relationship with
thiruvEnkata hill which lasts forever – he wants to be eternally connected to
thiruvEnkata hill.
He desires to be:
 A bird in the pond on the hill

 A fish in the pond since the bird may fly away
 Some one who will hold the golden utensil which is used in emperumAn’s
service, since the fish may swim away
 A flower on a tree, since holding the golden utensil may create ego in my mind
and that will drive me away
 A useless tree since once the flower is used up, it will be thrown away
 A river on thiruvEkata hill, since the useless tree will be removed some day
 The stairs leading up to the sannidhi, since the river may dry up some day
 The stepping stone in front of the sannidhi (this is how it became to be known as
kulasEkaran padi), since by being the stairs, route may be changed some day
 Anything on thiruvEnkatam that stays eternally – periyvAchAn piLLai explains in
the vyAkyAnam that AzhwAr would not even mind becoming
thiruvEnkatamudaiyAn himself to be eternally connected to the hill. He also
identifies bhattar‘s quote “Neither I need to know that I am there, nor
thiruvEnkatamudaiyAn needs to know that I am there and no one need to glorify
that I am there. I am just happy to be present there in some form eternally”.
Such was the greatness of kulasEkara AzhwAr, he was fully craving for
bhagavath/bhAgavatha sambandham without any personal expectation.
With this in mind, let us see his charithram now.
srI kulasEkara perumAL was born in the kingdom of kollinagar (thiruvanjikkALam) in the
kshahriya vamsam an amsam of srIkausthubam as shown in dhivya sUri charitham by
garuda vAhana pandithar (though AzhwArs were handpicked from samsAram by
emperumAn and divinely blessed by him). He is also known as kolli kAvalan, kozhiyar
kOn, kUdal nAyakan, etc.
As explained in his thanian as “mARRalarai, vIranGkeduththa chenGkOl kolli kAvalan

villavarkOn, chEran kulachEkaran mudivENthar chikAmanNi” ( ,
,
) meaning he is the destroyer of his enemies
and the king of the chEra kingdom, he had great strength of chariots, horses, elephants
and foot soldiers and was able to drive out all his enemies. He ruled according to
sAsthram and ensured that the strong did not trouble the weak and like srI rAman, he
was most generous and most humble during his rule.
Being a great king, he was thinking to be fully independent and the controller of his
rAjyam. srIman nArAyaNan who is the supreme controller of both paramapadham and
samsAram, out of his causeless mercy, blessed him blemishless divine knowledge,
removed his rajO/thamO guNams and made him fully situated in sathva guNam and
revealed his divine svarUpam (true nature), rUpam (form), guNam (qualities), vibhUthi
(his wealth/controlling power) and chEshtithams (pastimes/leelais) in detail. Seeing that
and understanding the same, AzhwAr became greatly anguished to be in the midst of
samsAris who are fully indulged in bodily aspirations without any interest in bhagavath
vishayam (spiritual matters). As nammAzhwAr declares that great material wealth is like
big fire which will destroy the owner himself by indulging him in just more and more
material aspirations, kulasEkara AzhwAr had no attachment to his rAjyam (kingdom)
and stayed aloof from everything like srI vibhIshaNAzhwAn gave up all his wealth and
surrendered to srI rAman.
He developed great attachment towards srIrangam and srI ranganAthan and more so
towards the devotees of srI ranganAthan who are completely detached from worldly
affairs and spend their time only singing the glories of srI ranganAthan. He wanted to
live amidst such srIvaishNavas who are called sAdhus (vaishNava agrEsa: – leader of
vaishnavas) and the ones who are identified as “anNiyaranGgan thirumuRRaththu
adiyAr” ( ) meaning the devotees who
spend all their life in srIranganAthan’s temple. Understanding that srIranga yAthrai and
the desire to go to srIrangam itself will give paramapadham what to speak of living in
srIrangam, he lives everyday thinking about going to srIrangam.
Also, he developed great attachment towards thiruvEnkatam (thirumalai) which has the
swAmy pushkariNi that is glorified to be greater than the holy rivers gangA, yamunA,
etc. As ANdaL also speaks about “vEnGkataththaip pathiyAga vAzhvIrgAL”
( ) meaning we should live in thiruvEnkatam
as our eternal residence where great sages and mahAthmAs stay eternally, he also has
the same desire. As we have already seen in the beginning, he desires to be a bird, a
plant or even a stone on this dhivyadhEsam. Beyond this he also desires to live in many
dhivyadhEsams serving the archAvathAra emperumAn and his devotees there.
After analysing and observing the various purANams, ithihAsams, etc., he blesses with
a great sanskrit slOka grantham named mukundha mAlai. As the greatness of
srIrAmAyaNam is explained in the following slOkam:
vEdha vEdhyE parE pumsi jAthE dhacharathAthmajE

vEdha: prAchEthasAdhAsIth sAkshAth rAmAyanNathmaNA
Just like srIman nArAyaNan who can be understood through vEdham appeared as srI
rAman (the son of dhasarathan), vEdham itself appeared as srI rAmAyaNam from srI
vAlmIki.
AzhwAr took up listening to srI rAmAyaNam and discoursing the same as his daily
routine. He becomes immersed in srI rAmAyaNam that some times he forgets even who
he is. Once when the lecturer explains the sequence were 14000 rAkshasas under
kara/dhUshaNa prepare for a battle with srI rAman who leaves sItha dhEvi under the
protection of iLaya perumAL (lakshmaNan) in a cave and all the rishis become very
scared seeing at this situation where perumAL is single handedly taking on 14000
rAkshasas, AzhwAr being overwhelmed with emotions, at once orders his army to get
ready for the battle and march towards the battle field to help srI rAman. Seeing this,
some of his ministers, arrange for a few people to come from the opposite side and
inform him that the battle is already won by srI rAman and sIthA dhEvi is nursing his
injuries by tenderly attending him and he need not go any more. AzhwAr being satisfied,
returns to his kingdom.
His ministers then start thinking about AzhwAr’s behaviour and decide that this is an
outcome of his association with the srIvaishnavas. They decide to drive the
srivaishnavas out and devise a plan for that. They steal one of the diamond necklace
from the thiruvArAdhanam room of AzhwAr and proclaim that his close confident
srIvaishnavas must have stole it. At once, AzhwAr orders for a pot with a venomous
snake placed in it and once it arrives, he puts his hand inside and declares that
“srIvaishnavas will not indulge in such acts” – the snake does not bite him due to his
honesty and the ministers feel ashamed, return the necklace and beg for forgiveness
from AzhwAr and srIvaishnavas.
Subsequently, AzhwAr starts feeling greatly anguished living amidst samsAris as stated
in saunaka samhithai that “For a prapanna, being with people who dont glorify
bhagavAn is worse than being amidst a ball of fire”. He then crowns his son as the king
of the kingdom and hands over all the responsibilities and declares that “AnAtha
chelvaththu arambaiyargaL thaRchUzha vAnALum chelvamum manNnNarachum yAn
vEnNdEn” (
) meaning He no longer desires to
rule great wealth surrounded by many servants and entertainers. He then leaves to
srIrangam with his close srIvaishnava friends and performs mangaLAsAsanam to
srIranganAthan who looks like a diamond placed on golden plate (him lying down on
AdhisEshan) and who is always looking out for the welfare of everyone. He glorifies
emperumAn every moment and as a result of his outpouring emotions, he compiles
perumAL thirumozhi and blesses that to every one and thus uplifted them. After some
time he leaves this samsAram and reaches the divine abode of paramapadhanAthan
and eternally serves him there.
His thanian
gushyathE yasya nagarE rangayAthrA dhinE dhinE
thamaham sirasA vandhE rAjAnam kulasEkaram
His archAvathAra anubhavam is already discussed in here -

http://ponnadi.blogspot.in/2012/10/archavathara-anubhavam-kulasekara.html.
periyAzhwAr
thirunakshathram: Ani, swAthi
avathAra sthalam: srIvilliputhUr
Works: thiruppallANdu, periyAzhwAr thirumozhi
Place where he attained paramapadham: thirumAlirunchOlai
periyavAchAn piLLai wonderfully glorifies periyAzhwAr in the vyAkyAna avathArikai

(introduction) of thiruppallANdu. He identifies the purpose of periyAzhwAr’s avathAram
is to uplift the suffering jIvAthmAs from this samsAram. periyAzhwAr is decorated with
sahaja dhAsyam (natural servitorship) towards emperumAn by the grace of emperumAn
himself. He wanted to conduct his life by performing kainkaryam and studied the
sAsthram to find out the best kainkaryam. srI krishNan himself enters into the house of
mAlAkArar (the garland maker) in mathurA before going to the assembly of kamsan,
requesting him for some garlands and when the mAlAkArar happily gives the best
garland with great love and affection, kaNNan emperumAn becomes extremely pleased
and wears it with great joy. Observing this, periyAzhwAr determines that making flower
garlands is the most pleasing service for emperumAn, he starts making a garden where
he plants fresh flower-giving seeds, nurtures the same and makes fresh garland every
day to srIvilliputhur emperumAn with great love and affection.
There is a big difference between periyAzhwAr and other AzhwArs. Other AzhwArs
want to get their desires (them serving emperumAn eternally) fulfilled. But periyAzhwAr
is focussed on fulfilling emperumAn’s desires (bringing many suffering jIvAthmAs to be
with him eternally in paramapadham) even at the cost of his own desires. Other
AzhwArs think that Ishvaran is the protector and they are the protected and thus get rid
of their fears. periyAzhwAr thinks that he is the protector and Ishvaran is to be
protected. This point is further explained by piLLai lOkAchAryar and mAmunigaL
beautifully which we will see in the subsequent sections.
Similarly, thiruppallANdu is greatly glorified in comparison with other dhivya

prabhandhams. While other prabhandhams discuss many vEdhAntham related
complicated matters thiruppallANdu simply focusses on performing mangaLAsAsanam
to emperumAn. While other prabhandhams are big in size, this prabhandham is crisp
and small – in just 12 pAsurams all the essential principles are explained.
piLLai lOkAchAryar in srI vachana bhUshaNa dhivya sAsthram, explains the glories of
mangaLAsAsanam as part of the sidhdhOpAya nishtar’s (one who is fully situated in
bhagavAn as upAyam(process)/upEyam(goal)) dhinacharyai (daily activities). The
srIvaishnava dhinacharyai is already discussed in
http://ponnadi.blogspot.in/2012/08/srivaishnava-lakshanam-10.html and
http://ponnadi.blogspot.in/2012/08/srivaishnava-lakshanam-11.html as part of the
srIvaishnava lakshaNam series of articles - http://ponnadi.blogspot.in/p/srivaishnava-
lakshanam.html.
mangaLAsAsanam means desiring/praying for the well being of some one. AzhwArs
are always looking out for emperumAn’s well being. But piLLai lOkAchAryar shows that
periyAzhwAr’s attachment towards emperumAn is far greater than others. This is
already explained in detail in the introduction section of periyaAzhwAr’s archAvathAra
anubhavam – http://ponnadi.blogspot.in/2012/10/archavathara-anubhavam-
periyazhwar.html. Let us just see 255th sUthram which nicely brings out the glories of
periyAzhwAr and srI bhAshyakArar (rAmAnujar).
allAthavargaLaip pOlE kEtkiRavargaLudaiyavum, chollukiRavargaLutaiyavum
thanimaiyaith thavirkkaiyanRikkE ALumALAr engiRavanudaiya thanimaiyaith
thavirkkaikkAgavAyiRRu bhAshyakArarum ivarum upathEchippathu.
இ .
Unlike other AzhwArs/AchAryars, periyAzhwAr and bhAshyakArar instructs the

meanings of sAsthram to reform jIvAthmAs and engage them in mangaLAsAsanam to
emperumAn so emperumAn’s loneliness is removed (emperumAn wants naturally every
one to serve him because every one belongs to him, just like a father or mother will not
be happy even if one of their children is not with them, emperumAn will not be happy
even if one jIvAthmA among many is not with him). The real focus is not removing the
loneliness of the instructor, loneliness of instructed and the upliftment of jIvAthmA – but
it is to fulfill emperumAn’s natural desire and having the jIvAthmA being situated in his
natural position.
mAmunigaL in his vyAkyAnam for this sUthram explains that AzhwAr understands the
most tender/delicate nature of emperumAn and determines that such tender natured
person cannot bear separation from the jIvAthmAs and thus wants to fully focus on that
alone. He also brings out beautifully that piLLai lOkAchAryar said bhAshyakArar
(instead of emperumAnAr, rAmAnujar, etc) to reveal that bhAshyakArar means one who
established the essence of vEdhAntham through srIbhAshyam – and thus his act of
focussing on emperumAn’s pleasure alone is also in line with vEdhAntham.
mAmunigaL in his upadhEsa rathina mAlai, glorifies periyAzhwAr in 5 pAsurams

consecutively.
 In the 16th pAsuram, he tells to his own heart that Ani svAthi is to be greatly
glorified since that is the day when pattarpirAn (periyAzhwAr) who brought us
great auspiciousness by compiling thiruppallANdu appeared.
 In the 17th pAsuram, he instructs his own heart to always think that there is no
one equal in this whole world to the gyAnis who become pleased on hearing the
glories of Ani svAthis which is the appearance day of periyAzhwAr.
 In the 18th pAsuram, he explains that periyAzhwAr’s interest in performing
mangaLAsAsanam is far greater than other AzhwArs and because of his
overflowing affection towards emperumAn, he became to be famously known as
periyAzhwAr.
 In the 19th pAsuram, among all the pAsurams (which are defectless – here
defect means discussing other matters than emperumAn) of AzhwArs (who are
defectless – here defect means having attachment to other upAyams like
karma/gyAna/bhakthi and also not having great desire to reach emperumAn),
thiruppallANdu is the foremost. Just like praNavam is the foremost and essence
of samskritha vEdham, thiruppallANdu is the foremost and essence of dhrAvida
vEdham since this discusses mangaLAsAsanam.
 In the 20th pAsuram, he asks his heart to observe all pramANams and see if
there is a prabhandham better than thiruppallANdu and to observe all AzhwArs
and see if there is another AzhwAr better than periyAzhwAr.
His unique speciality is that he is the father-in-law of periya perumAL by giving his
daughter ANdAL in marriage to him.
periyAzhwAr was born in srIvilliputhUr where many great experts of vEdham lived. He
was born on Ani svAthi and named vishNuchithar by his parents. Since he did
parathathva nirUpaNam (establishing srIman nArAyaNan’s supremacy) like garudan
who is called as vEdhAthmA (one who has vEdham as his body) and who always holds
srIman nArAyaNan’s lotus feet (thus establishing srIman nArAyaNan’s parathvam), he
was considered as an amsam of garudAzhwAr (though AzhwArs are hand-picked from
samsAram and divinely blessed by emperumAn).
He was blessed by vatapathrasAyI by his causeless mercy during his birth itself just like
prahlAdhan was born with bhagavath bhakthi. It is said in sAsthram that “Na
akinYchithkurvathach chEshathvam” ( ) meaning
when one does not perform atleast small service to emperumAn, his sEshathvam
(servitorship) does not exist. Thinking that he should also engage in some kainkaryam
purely for the pleasure of emperumAn, he started observing all the purANams, etc. He
observes that sarvEshvaran appears as krishNan in mathurA as stated in:
Esha NArAyanNa srImAN kshIrArnNava NikEthaNa:

NAga paryanGkam uthsrujya hyAgathO madhurAm purIm
srIman nArAyaNan who was lying down in kshIrAbdhi gave up his AdhisEsha bed and
descended to mathurA as krishNan.
Also, nammAzhwAr says that “manNnNin bhAram NIkkuthaRkE vadamathuraip

piRaNthAn” ( ) meaning
kaNNan emperumAn appeared in mathurA to remove the pains of bhUdhEvi. It is also
said in mahAbhArahtham that the eternal bhagavAn appears as kaNNan emperumAn
and lives in dhvArakA to establish the dharmam, protect the sAdhus and to annihilate
the miscreants. Such emperumAn was born as the son of the most beautiful dhEvaki
and was raised by the most beautiful yasOdhai. Such beautiful krishNan who is
decorated with beautiful garlands by nithyasUris, goes to mAlAkArar who works for
kamsa and asks him to give him some garlands. mAlAkArar being very pleased with
kaNNan emperumAn himself coming and requesting for garlands, offers him the best
and most fresh garlands to him to please emperumAn. Seeing this, periyAzhwAr
understands that offering garlands which are prepared with great love and affection is
the most pleasing kainkaryam for emperumAn and starts performing that kainkaryam to
vatapathrasAyi emperumAn of srIvilliputhUr.
At that time one king named srI vallabha dhEvan who comes in the lineage of pAndiya
king (who planted his fish flag on the divine mEru mountain) was ruling the pAndiya
kingdom from (south) madhurai in a very virtuous manner. One night he was going on a
walk in disguise to check the proper functioning of the kingdom, he noticed a brAhmaNa
sitting outside someone’s house. The king asks him about his identity and whereabouts
and the brAhmaNa tells him that he is a brAhmaNa and is returning from ganges after
doing gangA snAnam. The king asks him to recite a slOkam if he knows and the
brAhmaNa recites the following slOkam.
varshArthamashtau prayathEtha mAsAN NichArththamarththam dhivasam yathEtha

vArdhdhagyahEthOr vayasA NavENa parathra hEthOriha jaNmaNA cha
People work hard for 8 months to stay relaxed during the 4 months of rainy season; To
be happy in the night they work hard in the day time; To live comfortably when they get
old, people work hard when they are young; People should thus work hard in this life to
have a good after-life.
Hearing this, the king starts contemplating that he is comfortable in this life from
material wealth, comforts, etc, but he is not sure about the after-life and how to
approach that. He then goes to his purOhith (pandit) and asks him how to establish the
supreme god and how to attain him after this life. selva nambi who is a great devotee of
srIman nArAyaNan at once says we must assemble all the vidhwAns (scholars) and
establish the parathathvam based on vEdhAntham. He invites the scholars to establish
the truth since the most important principle per Apasthambha dharma sUthram,
“dharmajnYasamaya: pramAnNam vEdhAchcha” ( :
) meaning the acts of the knowers of vEdham is the primary source of
knowledge and vEdham is the secondary source. The king prepares a pouch filled with
great wealth as the prize for the one who establishes the truth and hangs that in a
decorative ceiling. He invites the scholars from all over the region to assemble at his
palace for a debate.
vatapathrasAyi emperumAn (srIvilliputhUr) wants to uplift the samsAris by establishing

his supremacy (as explained in vEdhAntham) through periyAzhwAr, appears in his
dream and instructs him to go and fetch the prize. AzhwAr replies to emperumAn that
the prize is for establishing the supremacy of emperumAn through vEdhAntham and out
of humility says that “How can I go and fetch that prize with my hands which have
become rough due to working in the garden?”. emperumAn insists to him that “I will take
care of everything since I am revealer of vEdham and its meanings as necessary”.
AzhwAr waking up early in the morning as per sAsthram which says “brAhmE
muhurththE cha uththAya” ( ) meaning one
should wake up in the brahma muhurtham (around 4am) and realising the divine dream,
performs his nithyAnushtAnam and leaves to madhurai to the palace of the king.
Arriving at the palace, the king and selva nambi welcome AzhwAr who is a
brAhmaNOthama (top most brAhmaNa) and offer their obeisance to him. The local
scholars informs the king that AzhwAr is not well learned – but selva nambi and the king
already knowing about AzhwAr’s dedication to vatapathrasAyi and his kainkaryam gave
him great respect and asked him to establish the parathathvam based on vEdhAntham.
By the divine grace of emperumAn, periyAzhwAr was able to visualize and understand
the essence of vEdham, vEdhAntham, ithihAsam, purANam, etc. Just like srI vAlmIki
bhagavAn was able to understand all the great principles by the grace of brahmA and
prahlAdhAzhwAn became sarvagya (omniscient) immediately by the touch of
emperumAn’s pAnchajanyam, periyAzhwAr by the causeless mercy of emperumAn,
understood that the essence of sAsthram is srIman nArAyaNan’s parathvam
(supremacy). This can be seen in the logical sequence of pramANams as follows:
samastha chabhdha mUlathvAdh akArasya svabhAvatha:

samastha vAchya mUlathvAth brahmanNOpi svabhAvatha:
vAchyavAchaka sambhaNdhas thayOr arththAth pradhIyathE
:
:
All the sounds naturally originate from akAram; All the meanings (or the objects) of
those sounds naturally originate from brahmmam. So, it can be understood that the
relationship between akAram and brahmmam is natural as well.
gIthAchAryan himself declares in bhagavath gIthai that “aksharAnNamakArOsmi”

( ), meaning I am akAram amongst letters.
It is said that “akArO vishnNuvAchaka:” ( :) meaning

akAram represents vishnNu establishing that srIman nArAyaNan is the supreme being.
thaithriya upanishadh identifies the foremost qualities of such srIman nArAyaNan as

follows:
yathO vA imANi bhUthANi jAyanthE, yENa jAthANi jIvaNthi, yathprayaNthi

abhisamvichaNthi, thath vijijnYAsasva, thath brahmEthi
இ , ,
, ,
That from which this whole universe and the beings are created, on which the whole
universe is sustained, in which it merges during destruction, where the beings reach
upon attaining mOksham, know that and know that to brahmam. Thus jagath
kAraNathva (being the cause of the universe), mumukshu upAsyathva (being the object
of the worship for the ones who desire to get mOksham) and mOksha pradhathva
(having the ability to benedict mOksham to a jIvAthmA) are identified as the most
important qualities of the supreme being.
These qualities are fully seen in srIman nArAyaNan as explained in:
vishnNOs sakAchAdhudhbhUtham jagath thathraiva cha sthitham

sthithi samyamakarththAsau jagathOsya jagachcha sa:
As stated in vishNu purANam, this universe appears from vishNu; it subsides in vishNu
during praLayam (when there is no creation); He is the one who sustains it and
annihilates it; He also has the whole universe as his sarIram (body).
NArAyanNAthparO dhEvO Na bhUthO Na bhavishyathi

Ethath rahasyam vEdhANAm purAnNANAm cha sammatham
As stated in varAha purANam, there has not been a higher being than nArAyaNan in
the past or present, nor there will be on in the future. This is the most confidential
message of vEdham and is accepted in purANams as well.
sathyam sathyam puNassathyam udhdhruthya bhujamuchyathE

vEdha chAsthrAth param NAsthi Na dhaivam kEchavAth param
As stated in nAradhIya purANam, I declare this 3 times (emphasis) with raised hands –
there is no god greater (or other) than kEsavan and there is no sAsthram greater (or
other) than vEdham.
periyAzhwAr, thus established the parathvam of srIman nArAyaNan using the above
pramANams and many more from smruthi, ithihAsams, purANams, etc. At once, the
pouch of wealth (prize for the winner) automatically comes down from the ceiling by the
divine will, periyAzhwAr fetches the prize quickly.
Seeing this, the scholars who rejected periyAzhwAr, the king and every one become
extremely pleased and offers their obeisances to him. They declare that periyAzhwAr
revealed the essence of vEdhAntham in pristine clarity and with great affection,
arranges for a grand procession for AzhwAr on the ceremonial elephant. On the side, all
the scholars carry chathram (umbrellA), chAmaram (soft fan), etc and proclaim that “All
glories to the most trustworthy person who shows the essence of vEdham has arrived”.
The king srI vallabha dhEvan honours him with the title pattarpirAn meaning one who
has done great favours to bhattars (great scholars) by revealing the most valuable
details of knowledge. The king also joins the procession and there is grand celebration
everywhere.
paramapadhanAthan, seeing these, just like a mother/father will be very happy to
participate in an event where their sons are glorified, he also wants to join the great
celebration. Along with srI mahAlakshmI (sriyapathithvam – being the husband of pirAtti
is his main identity) climbs up on the magnificient garudAzhwAn, emperumAn having
decorated with pAnchajanyam and sudharshanAzhwAn, arrives on the sky. To see him
and AzhwAr together, all dhEvathais of this material world like brahman, rudhran,
indhran, etc., arrive immediately along with their family and subordinates. periyAzhwAr
being blessed by emperumAn and able to visualize the arrival of srIman nArAyaNan
and the others, instead of being proud about the celebrations for him and their arrival for
him, at once sees emperumAn and starts worrying about emperumAn’s presence in this
material world. Being blessed with divine knowledge, even though he understands
srIman nArAyaNan is sarvagya (onmiscient), sarvasaktha (omnipotent), etc., and is
undefeatable by any one, out of great love towards emperumAn, he starts thinking
about emperumAn’s tender, delicate nature. It is said in sAsthram that emperumAn’s
dhivya mangaLa vigraham (divine auspicious body) is made of pancha upanishadh
(spiritual components) and is constantly enjoyed by nithyasUris in paramapadam which
is not reachable for even great sages or dhEvathais of this world like brahmA, rudhran,
etc., what to speak of asuras/rAkshasas (demoniac people). But he has left that divine
abode and entered into this material world which is full of ignorant and demoniac people
and is ruled by kali in this yugam. AzhwAr starts thinking “emperumAn has arrived here
and may become the victim of dhrushti (inauspicious looks/thoughts) as well, so let us
pray for his well being now” and picks up the bell from the neck of the elephant which is
carrying him and starts singing thiruppallANdu at once. Forgetting his own svarUpam as
dependent and emperumAn’s svarUpam as fully independent and capable, AzhwAr out
of great love, invites everyone (ishvaryArthi – one who desires wealth, kaivalyArthi –
one who desires for AthmAnubhavam, bhagavath charaNArthi – one who desires for
eternal kainkaryam to emperumAn) along with him and sings thiruppallANdu. srIman
nArAyaNan then returns to his abode happily after the celebrations.
Subequently, periyAzhwAr blesses the king and he is well honoured by the king.
Wanting to serve vatapathrasAyi again, AzhwAr returns to srIvilliputhUr and offers all
the wealth that was given to him by the king to the emperumAn there. According to
manu smrithi, it is said that:
thraya EvAdhaNA rAjaN bhAryA dhAsas thathA sUtha:

yaththE samadhigachchaNathi yasyaithE thasya thadhdhaNam
Wife, servant, son who does not own anything. All they earn will belong to their
respective owners (husband, master and father).
According to this periyAzhwAr also offered everything to his master vatapathrasAyi and
tells him “since these are earned by your grace these belong to you alone”. Completing
the additional task, he then goes back to his routine kanikaryam of preparing many
fresh variety of garlands with great affection and continues offering them to
vatapathrasAyi like srI mAlAkArar prepared and offered them to krishNan and glorified
him. Becoming greatly attached with kaNNan emperumAn’s charithram starting from his
birth through his divine pastimes, he takes the bhAvam of yasOdhai and greatly relishes
his sauseelyam (magnanimity) and saulabhyam (easy accessibility). Such overflowing
emotions resulted in him revealing the divine prabhandham named periyAzhwAr
thirumozhi. Contemplating on srIya:pathi allways, He nourished and uplifted his sishyas
and abhimAnis who were surrendered to him and blessed everyone in the world.
Its not over yet, his divine charithram is further explained in ANdAL’s charithram which
can be read at http://guruparamparai.wordpress.com/2012/12/16/andal/.
His thanian
gurumukam anadhIthya prAhavE thAn asEshAn
narapathi parikluptham sulkamAdhAthu kAma:
svasuram amara vandhyam ranganAthasya sAkshAth
dhvija kula thilakam vishNuchiththam namAmi
http://ponnadi.blogspot.in/2012/10/archavathara-anubhavam-periyazhwar.html.
ANdAL
thirunakshathram: thiruvAdi, pUram
avathAra sthalam: srIvilliputhUr
AchAryan: periyAzhwAr
Works: thiruppAvai, nAchiAr thirumozhi
In thiruppAvai 6000 padi vyAkyAnam, periyavAchAn piLLai first establishes the
greatness of ANdAL over all other AzhwArs. He builds a beautiful layer of different
categories of jIvAthmAs and shows the difference between each category.
 The difference between samsAris (dhEhAthma abhimAnis – materialistic people)

and the rishis who have realised the Athma svarUpam is similar to that of a small
stone and a big mountain.
 Difference between such rishis (who attain the knowledge by their own effort and
at times fall down from their positions) and AzhwArs (who are divinely blessed by
emperumAn himself and are completely pure) is similar to that of a small stone
and a big mountain.
 Difference between rest of the AzhwArs (who focus on svAnubhavam at times
and mangaLAsAsanam at other times) and periyAzhwar (who is fully focussed on
mangaLAsAsanam only) is similar to that of a small stone and a big mountain.
 Difference between periyAzhwAr and ANdAL is similar to that of a small stone
and a big mountain. The reasons for this are:
o all AzhwArs were first divinely blessed by emperumAn and then they woke
the samsAris up from their sleep, i.e., gave them the knowledge about
emperumAn. but ANdAL, being an avathAram of bhUmi pirAtti, she herself
went and woke emperumAn up from his sleep, i.e., reminded him about
his responsibilities of protecting every one. As it is established by
nampiLLai in thiruvirutham and thiruvAimozhi vyAkyAnams, AzhwArs were
originally samsAris who were blessed with divine knowledge by
emperumAn, but ANdAL is bhUmi pirAtti herself who is already a
nithyasUri and specifically she is one of the dhivya mahishis of
emperumAn himself. periyavAchAn piLLai follows similar line here and
establishes the same principle.
o ANdAL being a woman, it is natural for her to engage in husband/wife
relationship with emperumAn (unlike AzhwArs who had male thirumEnis)
and it is shown that her love towards emperumAn is far greater than the
love of AzhwArs.
piLLai lOkAchAriar brings out the divine glories of ANdAL in a few sUthrams in his
srIvachana bhUshaNa dhivya sAsthram. Let us enjoy some of that here.
 sUthram 238 – brAhmanNOththamarAna periyAzhwArum thirumagaLArum

gOpajaNmaththai AsthANam panNnNinArgaL (
). In this prakaranam, piLLai lOkAchAriar is explaining the

greatness of bhAgavathas (irrespective of their varNam – birth, etc). Here, he
gives many examples where great personalities desired to take different births
which are condusive for bhagavath anubhavam/kainkaryam. In this sUthram, he
explains that periyAzhwAr and ANdAL, even though born in great brAhmaNa
families, they themselves desired to be the cowherd girls of vrindhAvan. ANdAL
specifically showed that kainkaryam that pleases emperumAn is the most
important goal and one must glorify and desire for such kainkaryam in whatever
form.
 sUthram 285 – koduththuk koLLAthE konNdaththukkuk kaikkUli kodukkavEnNum
(
). In this prakaraNam, piLLai lOkAchAriar is explaining how
one should do kainkaryam. This is related to sUthram 238 – in that sUthram
piLLai lOkAchAryar shows one should desire for kainkaryam that pleases
emperumAn. In the previous sUthram (284), piLLai lOkAchAriar explains that
kainkaryam should done be with out any expectation in return, i.e., we should not
do kainkaryam to get something else. In this sUthram, he says that kainkaryam
should be done and when emperumAn gets pleased we should do more
kainkaryam to him. mAmunigaL explains this concept beautifully using ANdAL’s
words. ANdAL says in NAchiar thirumozhi 9.7 “inRu vaNthu iththanaiyum
cheythidapperil, NAn onRu NURu AyiramAgak koduththu pinnum ALum
cheyvan” (இ இ ,
). In the
previous pAsuram she says she wants to offer 100 plates of butter and 100
plates of sweet rice to thirumAlirunchOlai azhagar. In this pAsuram she says
seeing emperumAn accepting her offerings, to show her gratitude towards
emperumAn, she will offer more such offerings to please emperumAn further and
keep doing it (without expecting anything other than his happiness from him
ever). Thus she shows her the pinnacle of our sampradhAyam so easily in her
pAsurams.
Ay jananyAchAryar in his vyAkyAna avathArikai identifies the glories of thiruppAvai (and

there by ANdAL nAchiAr) very beautifully. He has done 2 vyAkyAnams – 2000 padi and
4000 padi. In the avathArikai, he shows an incident where emperumAnAr’s sishyas
request him to perform an upanyAsam of thiruppAvai and explain the meanings of the
same. emperumAnAr replies that “You will find people (to explain and to hear)
thiruppallANdu but not for thiruppAvai” meaning thiruppaLLANdu is done by
periyAzhwAr as mangaLAsAsanam to emperumAn (pratham parvam – initial level) for
which we will find more people, but thiruppAvai is done by ANdAL as
mangaLAsAsanam to bhAgavathas (charama parvam – ultimate level) for which there
will be less people in that highest state. He also explains that “Men are not qualified to
explain and hear about thiruppAvai.” meaning one should have full dependency on
emperumAn like a woman is dependent on her husband to be able to understand the
intricacies of thiruppAvai and the heart of ANdAL. He further explains that “Even
amongst women, not even emperumAn’s pirAttis who are constantly looking for
anubhavam (and having the same) with emperumAn can explain/hear about the subject
matter of thiruppAvai. ANdAL (who reflects the best aspects of all the AzhwArs put
together) is the only person with qualification and bhAvam to explain and hear about the
subject matter of thiruppAvai”. Such is the greatness of ANdAL and her thiruppAvai.
mAmunigaL also glorifies ANdAL’s greatness in upadhEsa rathina mAlai pAsurams 22,
23 and 24.
 In the 22nd pAsuram, he becomes greatly emotional thinking about how ANdAL
gave up her comforts in paramapadham and stepped down to samsAram to
protect him (svAnubhavam) and took birth as the divine daughter of periyAzhwAr.
Just like if a mother sees her child caught in a river, she also jumps into the river
to save the child, ANdAL being the mother of all, she jumps into samsAram to
save the samsAris.
 In the 23rd pAsuram, he says there is no equal to the birth day of ANdAL
“thiruvAdi pUram” just like there is none equal to ANdAL.
 In the 24th pAsuram, he says ANdAL is the daughter of “anju kudi” and her
activities are far greater than other AzhwArs and how she developed love for
emperumAn right at a very young age. piLLai lOkam jIyar in his vyAkyAnam
explains that “anju kudi” means:
o descendant of the clan which contains all the AzhwArs just like parikshIth
was the great descendant of the pancha pANdavas.
o the descendant of AzhwArs who are part of the prapanna kulam
o the descendant of periyAzhwAr who is always worried (achcham – fear)
about emperumAn and performing mangaLAsAsanam.
ANdAL is purely in AchArya nishtai. It is because of periyAzhwAr’s attachment towards

emperumAn, ANdAL also developed attachment towards emperumAn and glorified him.
This is seen from:
 her own words in nAchiAr thirumozhi, pAsuram 10.10, ANdAL says “villiputhuvai
vittuchiththar thangaL dhEvarai valla parichu varuvipparEl athu kAnNdumE”
(
). She says, if periyAzhwAr can convince his
dear emperumAn to come here, she will worship him.
 mAmunigaL in his upadhEsa rathina mAlai, after explaining the 10 AzhwArs,
introduces ANdAL, madhurakavi AzhwAr and emperumAnAr together since all 3
of them are AchArya nishtars.
With this in mind, let us enjoy the charithram of ANdAL now.
ANdAL was born in srIvilliputhUr (where nAchiAr temple is now seen) near a thuLasi
mAdam. Just like sIthA pirAtti was born from the earth when janakarAjan was ploughing
the field and was named sItha (named after the plough which means sIthA),
periyAzhwAr found ANdAL who is an avathAram of bhUmi pirAtti near a thuLasi mAdam
and named her kOdhai (which means a garland).
As she was growing up, she was fed with emperumAn’s divine leelais by periyAzhwAr.
periyAzhwAr was regularly making garlands and offering them to vatapathrasAyi
emperumAn. She shows great attachment to emperumAn and want to marry him only.
Once, in his absence, ANdAL took a garland which was ready to be offered for
emperumAn, wore it and checked if it fits her and also checks if she looks like a good
match for emperumAn. periyAzhwAr returns and he offers those garlands to
emperumAn. This routine goes on for some time and one day periyAzhwAr notices that
ANdAL is wearing the garland before it is offered to emperumAn. He becomes very
anguished knowing about this and that particular day he does not offer the garland to
emperumAn. That night, emperumAn appears in the dream of periyAzhwAr and asks
him why he did not bring garlands that day. AzhwAr says since it was first worn by
ANdAL it became unfit to be worn by emperumAn. emperumAn immediately tells him
that he actually likes the garlands worn by ANdAL first as they have the special
fragrance of bhakthi of ANdAL. AzhwAr becomes very pleased hearing this and then
after develops great attachment and respect towards ANdAL. After that, he offers the
garlands first to ANdAL and subsequently to emperumAn every day.
ANdAL nAchiAr, was born with parama bhakthi towards emperumAn (since she is
bhUmi pirAtti herself) who is naturally attached to emperumAn. Her attachment towards
emperumAn is far greater than AzhwArs’ attachment. Unable to bear the separation of
emperumAn she starts to look for ways to marry him. Following in the foot steps of
gOpis (cowherd girls) who acted out the pastimes of kaNNan emperumAn during his
sudden absence during rAsakrItai to sustain themselves, ANdAL pretends that
vatapathrasAyi is kaNNan emperumAn, his temple is NandhagOpan’s thirumALigai,
srIvilliputhur is thiruvAippAdi and her local friends are gOpis and starts singing
thiruppAvai.
In thiruppAvai, ANdAL beautifully explains the following details:
 establishes that prApyam (goal) and prApakam (path) are emperumAn only.
 do’s and dont’s for srivaishnavas and all of that fully based on pUrvAchArya
anushtAnam (sistAchAram)
 bhagavath anubhavam should be done as a group instead of doing it individually
(selfishly) – she wakes up 10 gOpis to go along with her to meet kaNNan
emperumAn
 we should take shelter of emperumAn’s close adiyArs like dhvAra pAlakas,
balarAman, yasOdhai, nandhagOpan, etc., before going to emperumAn
 we should always take the help (purushakAram) of pirAtti before going to
emperumAn
 we should always perform mangaLAsAsanam to him
 we should ask for kainkaryam to him – kainkaryam should be prayed for as it is
svarUpam for jIvAthmA to request emperumAn to accept his kainkaryam
 that he is the upAyam to get that kainkaryam and we should never think that our
effort is the upAyam even a little bit
 kainkaryam should be done for his pleasure only and we should not look for
anything in return
Even after that, emperumAn had still not appeared to emperumAn and accepted
ANdAL. So, ANdAL out of unbearable sorrow, calls out to emperumAn in her nAchiAr
thirumOzhi. Many great principles of our sampradhAyam are explained in nAchiAr
thirumOzhi and it is generally explained that one has to be very matured to even start
listening/reading nAchiAr thirumozhi’s meanings. In this she says that
“mAnidavarkkenRu pEchchuppadil vAzhagillEn” (
) meaning “even if some one without my knowledge
talks about marrying me to some one else other than emperumAn I will die”. She
dreams about her marriage with emperumAn in her vAraNam Ayiram padhigam (9.6).
periyAzhwAr then explains to ANdAL the vaibhavam (greatness) of all the archAvathAra
emperumAns and ANdAL becomes very attached to thiruvaranganAthan. AzhwAr
becomes filled with anxiety thinking how he can fulfill ANdAL’s desire. One night, in his
dream, thiruvaranganAthan appears and asks him to bring ANdAL over to srIrangam so
that they can unite there. AzhwAr feels greatly satisfied with that and in the mean time
srIranganAthan sends a beautiful palanquin, chAmaram, umbrella and his
kainkaryaparars to srIvilliputhUr to bring ANdAL over. AzhwAr, after getting permission
from vatapathrasAyi, leaves to srIrangam along with ANdAL in the closed palanquin
with mELam (band music), etc in a grand procession.
After entering srIrangam, ANdAL who was most beautifully decorated, stepped out of
the palanquin, entered the temple and subsequently into the garbagruham of periya
perumAL and touched the lotus feet of emperumAn. Immediately she vanished and
reached the divine abode of paramapadham.
Every one became astonished seeing these events and started glorifying periyAzhwAr.
periya perumAL immediately declares that periyAzhwAr has also become his father-in-
law just like samudhrarAjan and gives him special honors.and in returns to srIvilliputhUr
to continue his kainkaryams to vatapathrasAyi emperumAn.
ANdAL’s unlimited glories are heard so many times (atleast once an year during
mArgazhi month) but every time we hear/read about them, they always feel like new
and there are so many divine principles that we find in her life and prabhandhams every
time we read them.
To have a glimpse of the true glories of ANdAL and thiruppAvai, we can end with
bhattar‘s divine words. bhattar says that one should recite the 30 pAsurams of
thiruppAvai every day. If that is not possible at least one should recite the chiRRam
chirukAlE pAsuram every day. Even if that is not possible, at least one should think that
there was bhattar who had great attachment to thiruppAvai – simply that thinking itself
will please emperumAn. Just like when a mother cow starts giving milk even when she
sees a fake calf (which is made of straws and covered with calf’s skin), emperumAn will
see us thinking about bhattar’s attachment towards thiruppAvai or us reciting 1 pAsuram
or reciting 30 pAsurams – as long as we have some connection with ANdAL
emperumAn will shower us with his causeless mercy, since that is what ANdAL (as
bhUmi pirAtti) requested varAhan emperumAn. Out of her causeless mercy, ANdAL
took birth in this samsAram and sung thiruppAvai, so that we can also be blessed with
the divine grace of emperumAn and be permanently relieved of the pains of this
samsAram and enjoy bhagavath anubhavam/kainkaryam in paramapadham.
Her thanian
nILA thunga sthanagiri thatI suptham uthpOdhya krishNam
pArArthyam svam shruthi shatha shiras sidhdham adhyApayanthI
svOchishtAyAm srajinikaLitham yAbalAth kruthya bhungthE
gOdhA thasyai nama itham itham bhUya EvAsthu bhUya:
இ இ :
Her archAvathAra anubhavam is already discussed in here -

http://ponnadi.blogspot.in/2012/10/archavathara-anubhavam-andal-anubhavam.html.
thoNdaradippodi AzhwAr
thirunakshathram: mArgazhi, kEttai
avathAra sthalam: thirumaNdangudi
Works: thirumAlai, thiruppaLLiyeLuchi
Place where he attained paramapadham: srIrangam
nanjIyar, in his vyAkyAna avathArikai for thiruppaLLiyeLuchi, identifies that AzhwAr was
in samsAram as per “anAdhi mAyayA suptha:” (since time immemorial, he was sleeping
(due to ignorance) in this samsAam) and emperumAn wakes him up (gives him
blemishless knowledge). But periya perumAL is in yOga nidhrai after that, and AzhwAr
takes his turn to awake him and request him to engage him in kainkaryam.
periyavAchAn piLLai, in his vyAkyAna avathArikai for thiruppaLLiyeLuchi, brings out the
glories of AzhwAr through AzhwAr’s own pAsurams. When AzhwAr was awakened by
emperumAn, AzhwAr after realising his svarUpam, goes to periya perumAL only to find
him lying down with his eyes closed instead of welcoming him, enquiring about his well
being, etc. It cannot be said that periya perumAL is not interested in AzhwAr since
AzhwAr is very dear to emperumAn and vice versa. It can also not be said that periya
perumAL is lying down out of indigestion because these defects are only seen in
material nature which is filled with thamO guNam – but periya perumAL is fully spiritual
– so there is no question of that. The reason for periya perumAL’s lying down on
meditation is because he is contemplating to how to reform everyone like he reformed
AzhwAr who has the following great qualities:
 He has full knowledge that this prakruthi sambandham (relationship with matter)
is not appropriate for jIvAthmA as he says “AthalAl piRavi vEnNdEn” (
) meaning I no longer want to be born in this samsAram.
 He has full knowledge of svarUpa yAthAthmya jnAnam (understanding the true
nature of the soul) is bhAgavatha sEshathvam as he says “pOnagam cheytha
chEtam tharuvarEl punidham” (
) meaning if a srivaishnava gives the remnants of the food he/she
consumed that is very sacred.
 He has clear understanding of material vs spiritual aspirations as he says
“ichchuvai thavira achchuvai peRinum vEnNdEn” (இ
) meaning I only want to enjoy periya perumAL and
nothing more.
 He has full control of his own indhriyams (senses) as he says “kAvalil pulanai
vaiththu” ( ) meaning I have controlled my senses.
 He has completely given up all other upAyams as he says “kuLiththu mUnRu
analai Ombum kuRikoL aNadhanNamai thannai oLiththittEn” (
)
meaning I have given up the path of karma yOgam, etc.
 He has complete understanding of the upAya yAthAthma jnAnam (true upAyam)
as he says “un aruL ennum Achai thannAl poyyanEn vaNdhu NinREn” (
), I
have come here fully depending on your krupai (mercy) as the upAyam.
Finally, periyavAchAn piLLai says, since AzhwAr has these great qualities he is very
dear to periya perumAL as said in “vAzhum chOmbarai ugaththi pOlum” (
) meaning those who fully surrender to emperumAn are
very dear to him.
mAmunigaL glorifies AzhwAr as the one who is glorified by the ones who have
mastered the vEdhams since they are the ones who truly understand the essence of
vEdhams and observe/glorify AzhwAr’s activities which are fully in line with the essence
of sAsthram. We have already seen this and archAvathAra anubhavam of AzhwAr in
http://ponnadi.blogspot.in/2012/10/archavathara-anubhavam-thondaradippodi.html.
With this in mind, let us enjoy the charithram of AzhwAr now.
With the divine blessings during his birth by namperumAL, AzhwAr was born as
sudhdha sathva nishtar and was named vipranArAyaNar. He undergoes proper
samskArams like chauLam, upanayanam, etc. at the proper age and learns all
vEdhams with their angams and meanings. Developing great knowledge and
detachment, he enters srIrangam and worships periya perumAL. periya perumAL, being
pleased with his devotion, enhances his bhakthi further by showing his divine beauty
and makes him stay in srIrangam forever.
AzhwAr, established a beautiful nandhavanam (garden) and performed pushpa

kainkaryam for periya perumAL every day following in the footsteps of puNdarIkar (who
was a great mahAn), mAlAkArar (one who offered flower garlands in mathurA to
kaNNan emperumAn and balarAman with great love and affection), gajEndhrAzhwAn
who was a great kainkarya srImAn and our great periyAzhwAr who made beautiful
garlands out of eight flowers.
Once, a beautiful vEsyA (courtezan) named dhEva dhEvi from thirukkarambanUr was
returning from uraiyUr, enters the garden of AzhwAr and gets amazed by the beauty of
the garden, the flowers, the birds, etc.
At that time they see vipranArAyaNar who looks very beautiful with long hairs on head
and face, wearing pure vasthrams (clothes), thuLasi/lotus mAlais, urdhva puNdrams,
etc with water and garden equipments in his hand. While they were looking at him,
vipranArAyaNar was sincerely focussing on his kainkaryam without noticing them at all.
dhEva dhEvi asks her sister and friends “is he mad or unmanly, how come he is not
looking at a beautiful girl like me standing in front of him?”. Her friends inform her that
he is vipranArAyaNar who is a kainkaryaparar of namperumAL and will not bother about
her beauty. They say that they will give 6 months time to mesmerize him and change
him to be mad at her and if she does so, they will agree that she is the most beautiful
girl and will serve for 6 months as her maid-servant. She agrees and gives her valuable
jewels, etc to her friends and assume a sAthvika form/dress.
She then goes and prostrates at AzhwAr and tells him that she wants to surrender to a
bhAgavatha who is performing confidential service to emperumAn. She approaches
AzhwAr and tells him, she can wait until AzhwAr comes back after his mAdhukaram
(bhikshai). AzhwAr agrees and she goes on to serve for some time eating the sEsha
prasAdham of AzhwAr.
One day, when dhEva dhEvi was working in the garden, it rains heavily. So, she slowly
enters the Ashramam of vipranArAyaNar. Seeing her fully drenched, vipranArAyaNar
gives his upper cloth to her. After that vipranArAyAnar and dhEva dhEvi becomes
intimate to each other like butter and fire. The next day, she brings back her jewels and
attractive clothes and wears them and presents her beautiful form to him. He then
becomes so attached to her and completely forgets and gives up his kainkaryam itself.
She shows some affection towards him for some time and he becomes fully
surrendered to her. After taking all his wealth away, she pushes him out and asks him to
leave her place. He then becomes very sad and stays at the entrance of her house
waiting for her to accept him. At that time, periya perumAL and periya pirAtti happens to
pass that street for their divine walk. pirAtti asks emperumAn who is that person waiting
at the entrance of the prostitute? and emperumAn replies that he is vipranArAyaNar
who was a kainkaryaparar for him and now has become mad on her and is suffering
due to that. pirAtti then initiates her purushkAram and asks emperumAn “How can you
leave a confidential devotee even if he becomes attached to vishayAntharam? Please
remove his mAyai and bless him again to become a close servant of us”. emperumAn
agrees and he picks up one of the gold utensils (part of the pancha pAthram used in
thiruvArAdhanam) from his sannidhi and goes to dhEva dhEvi’s house (in a different
identify/form – not as his own self) and knocks at her door. When she opens the door
and asks him who he was, he says, his name is azhagiya maNavALan who is a
messenger of vipranArAyaNar and tells her that he gifted this gold utensil for her. She
becomes very pleased and asks him to send vipranArAyaNar inside. He then goes to
vipranArAyaNar and informs him that dhEva dhEvi invited him inside. Hearing these
sweet words, he becomes very pleased and enters her house and they become
immersed in material pleasures yet again. periya perumAL returns to his sannidhi and
happily lies down on his AdhisEshan paryankam.
The next day, when the sannidhi is opened by the kainkaryaparars, they notice that one
of the utensils is missing and they inform that to the king. The king then becomes angry
with the kainkaryaparars for their negligence. When one of the maid servants goes to
bring water from the well, she hears one of her relatives being the target of the king’s
anger and so informs him that vipranArAyaNar gave a gold utensil to dhEva dhEvi and it
is under her pillow. That kainkaryaparar informs that to the soldiers of the king and they
Immediately go to dhEva dhEvi’s place, locate the gold utensil and arrest both
vipranArAyaNar and dhEva dhEvi. When they are brought to the king’s court, the king
asks her “Even if some one brings periya perumAL‘s utensil, how can you accept it?”
and she replies “I dont know that this is perumAL’s utensil; vipranArAyaNar sent this as
his own utensil through his messenger named azhagiya maNavALan and I accepted it
without doubting it”. vipranArAyaNar says that neither he has a messenger nor he owns
any gold utensil. Hearing these, the king slaps a fine on dhEva dhEvi and releases her.
He then offers to utensil back to emperumAn and asks his soldiers to keep
vipranArAyaNar in the jail until further investigation can be done in the robbery case.
pirAtti, looking at the incidents, requests emperumAn to make vipranArAyaNar an object

of his krupai instead of an object of his leelai. emperumAn at once agrees and appears
in the dream of the king that night. He tells the king that vipranArAyaNar is his
confidential servant and emperumAn enacted this leelai to remove his prArabdha
karmam; Please release him and re-engage him in his previous kainkaryam of
maintaining garden and making me garlands. The king wakes up and realises the
greatness of vipranArAyaNar and at once orders his release and explains him the whole
dream. He honours vipranArAyaNar with great respect and wealth and sends him
home. vipranArAyaNar then realises the glories of emperumAn and his efforts to purify
him, at once gives up all attachments to material pleasures and accepts srIpAdha
thIrtham of bhAgavathas (which is considered as the prAyaschitham – atonement for all
sins).
After that, he becomes popularly known as thoNdaradippodi AzhwAr and bhakthAngri

rENu – which means thoNda/bhaktha (devotee), adi/angri (lotus feet), podi/rENu (dust)
– the dust of the lotus feet of emperumAn’s devotees. This is his unique greatness
which is not seen in any other AzhwArs – he is the only one who has a name
which reflects bhAgavatha sEshathvam. Just like thiruvadi (hanumAn), iLaya
perumAL (lakshmaNan) and nammAzhwAr (satagOpan) who said they will not consider
anything other emperumAn as worthy, AzhwAr also said “indhira lOkam ALum
achchuvai perinum vENdEn” (இ
) meaning I dont even want to think about paramapadham – I only want
periya perumAL‘s anubhavam in srIrangam. He also shows his upakAra smrithi
(gratitude) towards periya perumAL constantly for reforming him and becomes fully
attached to periya perumAL only unlike other AzhwArs who have travelled to and sung
many archAvathAra emperumAns. Looking at his unflinching faith and attachment
towars him, namperumAL also reciprocates such love towards him, blesses him with
blemishless knowlege and shows his names, forms, divine activities etc., of parathvAdhi
panchakam (the 5 different manifestations of emperumAn explained in
http://ponnadi.blogspot.in/2012/10/archavathara-anubhavam-parathvadhi.html) in
thiruvarangam itself. Also, looking at his devotion, dhEva dhEvi becomes purified and
offers all her wealth to periya perumAL and constantly serves emperumAn.
AzhwAr being fully situated in para bhakthi, para gyAna and parama bhakthi and fully
understanding that periya perumAL is everything for him, enjoys periya perumAL
constantly through thirumanthra anusandhAnam and nAma sankIrthanam.
Understanding his divine position, he declares that srivaishnavas need not fear for
yaman. He says the servants of yaman will look out for the thiruvadi of srivaishnavas
while srivaishnavas will look out for the thiruvadi of other srivaishnavas as their object of
worship. Thus he sings thirumAlai infront of periya perumAL just like saunaka rishi
explained the glories of emperumAn’s divine names to sadhAnandhar. Just like
nammAzhwAr identified the defects of achith (24 elements: mUla prakruthi; mahAn;
ahankAram; manas; pancha jnAnEndhriyam, pancha karmEndhriyam, pancha
thanmAthrai, pancha bhUtham), AzhwAr also identifies the achith thathvam clearly as
“puRam chuvar Ottai mAdam” ( ) meaning this body is
just the outside wall and the AthmA is the in-dweller and controller. He then declares the
svarUpam of jIvAthmA as servant of emperumAn’s bhakthas in “adiyarOrkku”
( ) meaning this jIvAthmA is the servant of bhAgavathas. He, being a
thirumanthra nishtar, reveals that emperumAn is the only upAyam in the “mEmporuL”
( ) pAsuram which is the essence of thirumAlai prabhandham. Finally he
declares that service to bhAgavathas is the ultimate goal of srivaishNavas in the
pAsurams following “mEmporuL” pAsuram and in the last pAsuram of
thiruppaLLiyeLuchi by requesting emperumAn as “unnadiyArkkAtpaduththAy”
( ) meaning make me subservient to your devotees.
Thus, he revealed these high principles in two divine prabhandhams named thirumAlai
and thirppaLLiyeLuchi for the upliftment of the whole world.
His thanian
thamEva mathvA paravAsudhEvam rangEchayam rAjavadharhaNiyam
prAbhOdhikIm yOkrutha sUkthimAlAm bhakthAngrirENum bhagavanthamIdE

http://ponnadi.blogspot.in/2012/10/archavathara-anubhavam-thondaradippodi.html.
thiruppANAzhwAr
thirunakshathram: kArthigai, rOhiNi
avathAra sthalam: uraiyUr
Works: amalanAdhipirAn
It is explained in pUrvAchArya charithram that ALavandhAr had special attachment
towards thiruppANAzhwAr who is also known muni vAhanar.
periyavAchAn piLLai, azhagiya maNavALa perumAL nAyanAr and vEdhAnthAchAryar

have written beautiful vyAkyAnams for AzhwAr’s amalanAdhipirAn prabhandham.
azhagiya maNavALa perumAL nAyanAr wonderfully glorifies the greatness of

thiruppANAzhwAr in his vyAkyAna avathArikai (introduction). Let us see that now.
mudhalAzhwArs are focussed on srIman nArAyaNan’s parathvam (supremacy) and also

touched upon his archAvathAram. kulasEkarAzhwAr is focussed on srIrAma
anubhavam like srI vAlmIki bhagavAn and also engaged in archAvathAram. Like vEdha
vyAsa bhagavAn, nammAzhwAr, periyAzhwAr and ANdAL are focussed on krishNa
anubhavam and also enjoyed archAvathAram. thirumazhisai AzhwAr is focussed on
dhEvathAnthara parathva nirasanam (removing any thought of attachment towards
other dhEvathais as supreme) and also engaged in archAvathAram. thirumangai
AzhwAr is focussed on all archAvathAram emperumAns by visiting each one of them
and glorifying them. But he also constantly inter-exchanged vibhava avathArams (srI
rAman, krishNan, etc) and archAvathArams at various places. thoNdaradippodi AzhwAr
fully engaged in enjoying periya perumAL (srI ranganAthan) but at the same time, in his
pAsurams, he showed his own limitations, engaged in upadhEsam for others, etc.
thiruppANAzhwAr being in a totally different level than other AzhwArs, is fully focussed
on enjoying archAvathAra emperumAn alone, that too periya perumAL. Since katavalli
(upanishadh) declares archAvathAram is the complete manifestation of emperumAn,
AzhwAr engaged in simply glorifying periya perumAL.
Just like krishNan gave divine eyes to arjunan and showed him his viswarUpam and like
he attracted akrUrar, mAlAkArar, etc by showing his beauty, magnanimity, etc., periya
perumAL even though being in archA samAdhi (where he does not interact with
ordinary people), he showed AzhwAr his beauty and AzhwAr at once enjoys it through
out the divine form of periya perumAL.
Since AzhwAr was born in panchama kulam, naichyam (humility) is janma sidhdham
(natural by birth). So, he did not have to assume naichyam like other AzhwArs since he
naturally had it. He himself considers himself as outside four varNams (as panchama)
and periya perumAL also considers himself as outside four varNams (as nithyasUri).
Just like thiruvadi (hanuman) declared to srI rAman that he wants to constantly be
immersed in rAma anubhavam and did not want to even go to paramapadham, AzhwAr
also only wanted to be immersed in periya perumAL‘s anubhavam and nothing else.
Because of his greatness, just like srI rAman sent sugrIva mahArAjar to bring srI
vibhIshaNAzhwAn over to him, periya perumAL sends srI lOka sAranga mahAmuni to
bring AzhwAr over to periya kOil. When srI lOka sAranga mahAmuni invites AzhwAr,
AzhwAr out of humility refuses to enter the kshEthram. So, mahAmuni then insists him
and carries him on his shoulders and brings him over to periya perumAL. AzhwAr sings
9 pAsurams of his dhivya prabhandham amalanAdhipirAn on the way and completes
the 10th pAsuram inside the main sannidhi in srIrangam and at once reaches the divine
abode of paramapadham to be with paramapadhanAthan and all the nithyas/mukthas
eternally glorifying him.
We have already seen mAmunigaL‘s glorification of AzhwAr in

http://ponnadi.blogspot.in/2012/10/archavathara-anubhavam-thiruppanazhwar.html.
thiruppANAzhwAr’s charithram starts with uraiyUr kamala valli nAchiyAr charithram

(since they both are born in this dhivyadhEsam).
It is said that whoever breathes cauvEri river’s air, they will get mOksham – what to
speak about the ones who live on the banks of that river. nichuLApuri (uraiyUr) is one
such kingdom on the banks of cauvEry which had great temples, palaces, etc. There
was a king named chOLa bhUpathi coming in sUrya vamsam who was ruling very
virtuously. Like srI mahAlakshmi appeared from samudhra rAjan (king of kShIrAbdhi),
nILA dhEvi (consort of paramapadhanAthan) appears as uraiyUr nAchiyAr as the
daughter of dharmavarmA who is very attached to namperumAL (srI ranganAthan). She
grew up always contemplating on namperumAL and once she became matured, she
went to a garden in the kingdom. At that time namperumAL arrives at the same place
for hunting. Seeing him, uraiyUr nAchiyAr becomes greatly attached and informs her
father that she would marry only namperumAL. dharmavarmA, greatly joyed hearing
that, goes to namperumAL and informs that to him. namperumAL being very pleased to
hear that, accepts that and orders him to arrange for the wedding. A grand wedding
happens, where dharmavarmA gives uraiyUr nAchiyAr to namperumAL like janakarAjan
gave sIthA pirAtti to srI rAman. The king gives great wealth to namperumAL as
srIdhanam and continues ruling the kingdom.
At that time, thiruppANAzhwAr appears on kArthigai, rOhiNi in panchama kulam as

some one who has performed all his duties (and have no more obligations to any one).
Looking at his glories, it is said by garuda vAhana pandithar in dhivya sUri charitham
that he is like the srIvathsam (divine mole on srIman nArAyaNan’s chest) – though all
AzhwArs are hand-picked by emperumAn from samsAram and divinely blessed by him
with blemishless knowledge.
jAyamANam hi purusham yam pachyEN madhusUdhaNa:
sAthvikassa thu vijnYEyas sa vai mOkshArththa chiNthaka:
:
:
When madhusUdhanan emperumAn blesses a jIvAthmA during his birth, he will be born
with pure sathva guNam. Such jIvAthmA will be fully focussed on mOksham only.
As said in the above slOkam in mahAbhAratham, as emperumAn blesses AzhwAr

during his birth, he was born with pure sathva guNam and was like nAradha bhagavAn
(who had great attachment towards emperumAn and is constantly glorifying him) and
like nampAduvAn (one who was engaged in singing and glorifying thirukkurungudi
nambi) who relieved the brahma rakshas (brAhmaNa who became a rAkshasa) from all
of his sins as explained in kaisika purANam. From his glories, it looked like a nithya sUri
took birth to specifically sing and glorify emperumAn. Following varNAshrama
dharmam, without stepping into srIrangam, everyday, he stays in the south side of the
river and facing srI ranganAthan, as some one fully surrendered to srIman nArAyaNan
who has sudharshana chakram on his right hand, constantly sings and glorifies periya
perumAL with great natural emotions. periya perumAL also enjoys AzhwAr’s singing
and glorification with great pleasure.
Once, srI lOka sAranga mahAmuni arrives to the place where AzhwAr is present to
bring thIrtham (water) for kainkaryam. He sees AzhwAr being fully immersed in
anubhavam, but considering his birth, he asks him to move away so that he can fetch
water. AzhwAr being immersed in bhagavath anubhavam, does not hear/realize
mahAmuni’s words. mahAmuni throws a stone towards AzhwAr which hits him on his
forehead and blood starts oozing out. Realizing his action, AzhwAr at once feels very
bad for interrupting mahAmuni’s kainkaryam, asks for forgiveness and moves away
quickly. lOka sAranga mahAmuni then bathes, performance his nithya
karmAnuushtAnams and brings water for periya perumAL kainkaryam also along with
chathram (umbrella), chAmaram (fan), mELam (drum), thALam, etc (as it is customary
do so while bring thIrtham for emperumAn). periya perumAL being distressed with lOka
sAranga muni’s action, nAchiyAr asks perumAL “How can we allow pAN perumAL (as
AzhwAr is affectionately called) to be outside our sannidhi?”, periya perumAL at once
shuts his sannidhi doors and with anger asks lOka sAranga muni “How can you do this
to my dear devotee?”. lOka sArangar realizes his mistake immediately and is upset with
himself very much. He then asks periya perumAL “I have done this great bhAgavatha
apachAram (offense). How can I be saved from this great mistake?”. periya perumAL
replies out of great mercy towards pAN perumAL and his total independence (of not
anyone being able to question him) that “You now go and bring him her by carrying him
on your shoulders with great devotion” in his dream that night. lOka sArangar wakes up
early in the morning and thinks that this day is a great day for him as akrUra thought
“adhyamE sapalam jaNma suprabhAthA cha mE NichA” (
) meaning Today my life became meaningful and it is a great
dawn for me today when kamsan asked him to go and bring balarAman/krishNan to
mathurA. He went to the cauvery river along with pure hearted devotees, took bathe
and performed his nithyAnushtAnams.
As said in “sudhUramapi gaNdhavyam yathra bhAgavathas sthitha:” (

:) meaning even if a bhAgavatha is staying in a
far away place, one should go to him (and serve him), lOka sAranga muni goes to
thiruppANAzhwAr who is standing farther than srIrangam. AzhwAr is facing the direction
of srIrangam which is covered with beautiful gardens, etc and glorifying srI
ranganAthan. lOka sAranga muni falls at the lotus feet of AzhwAr and requests him to
enter srIrangam as per the orders of namperumAL. AzhwAr refuses and says he is
taken a very lowly birth, not being born in the chatur varNam and is unfit to place his
lotus feet in srIrangam. srI lOkasAranga muni, at once says, “Oh yes! You cannot keep
your lotus feet on srI rangam, but you can certainly climb my shoulders and I can carry
you directly to srI ranganAthan. I insist you do so according to periya perumAL‘s
orders”. AzhwAr being totally surrendered to bhagavAn and bhAgavathAs, unable to
refuse periya perumAL and lOka sArangar’s words, accepts those words and begins
contemplating emperumAn’s most merciful favours for him and gives up all
responsibilities and submits to lOka sAranga muni. srI lOka sAranga mahAmunI, being
overjoyed, lifts AzhwAr up and places him on his shoulders and carries him towards srI
rangam just like AdhivAhikars (the ones who lead jIvAthmA during their final journey
towards paramapadham) bring the jIvAthmAs who are becoming mukthas to the
thirumAmaNi mandapam (divine mandapam decorated with divine jewels where
paramapadhanAthan is seated with his dhivya mahishIs and nithyasUris).
Note: This charithram is shown beautifully by azhagiya maNavALa perumAL nAyanAr in

AchArya hrudhayam – 85th chUrNikai.
lOka sAranga mahAmuni, thiruppANAzhwAr, namperumAL
periya perumAL manifests his divine form which is shown to nithyasUris in front of
AzhwAr and AzhwAr starts reciting amalanAdhipirAn with beautiful music from his divine
vINai and sings 9 pAsurams outside the sannidhi. Once he enters the sannidhi of periya
perumAL, periya perumAL manifests in front of him beautifully as explained in srIranga
mAhAthmiyam as follows:
brahmA worshipped srI ranganAthan who is beautifully decorated with a crown,

shoulder bangles, beautiful ear rings made of diamonds and precious routines, wearing
beautiful necklace and garlands made of pure pearls, his broad chest which is shining
with srI kausthuba jewel, his greatly masculine chest which is the eternal dwelling place
of srImahAlakshmi, wearing a beautiful yellow garment which shines like molten gold,
wearing a beautiful waist belt, wearing beautiful anklets in his lotus feet, wearing
beautiful and soft yagyOpavItham, gracefully having one hand as support for his head
and stretching the other hand towards his lotus feet, having slightly bent and raised
lotus feet, having beautiful and long form, having raised shoulders and beautifully
decorated, and lying down on thiruvananthAzhwAn (AdhisEshan).
AzhwAr after entering the sannidhi of such magnificent emperumAn who is worshipped
by everyone starting from brahmA, just like an infant will only look for the breast of the
mother which sustains the infant, AzhwAr looks for the lotus feet because the
surrendered ones always sustain by meditating and praying at the lotus feet of the
master. This is why AzhwAr also stated in his first pAsuram itself that
“aranGgaththammAn thirukkamalapAdham vaNdhu en kanNnNinuLLana okkinRathE”
(
) meaning my master srI ranganAthan’s lotus feet reaches out and enters
into my eyes. arangaththammAn indicates sEshithvam (emperumAn being master),
kamalam (lotus) indicates bhOgyathvam (enjoyable) and pAdham indicates
upAyathvam (way to attain the goal). periyAzhwAr also glorified emperumAn from his
lotus feet to head in his periyAzhwAr thirumozhi 2nd padhigam in 20 pAsurams. Like
wise, thiruppANAzhwAr being brought over by lOka sAranga mahAmuni by the divine
orders of periya perumAL, enjoyed periya perumAL’s lotus feet to head fully and the
overflowing emotions resulted in the dhivya prabhandham named amalanAdhipirAn
which gives the essence of our sampradhAyam – thirumanthra artham – the detailed
explanation of thirumanthram. periya perumAL accepted thiruppANAzhwAr at once with
the same thirumEni and in front of every one AzhwAr ascended to parampadham
through the lotus feet of periya perumAL.
His thanian
ApAtha chUdam anubhUya harim chayAnam
madhyE kavEra hithur mudhithAnthrAthmA
adhrashtruthAm nayanayOr vishayANtharANAm
yO nischikAya manavai munivAhananm tham

http://ponnadi.blogspot.in/2012/10/archavathara-anubhavam-thiruppanazhwar.html.
thirumangai AzhwAr
thirunakshathram: kArthigai, kArthigai
avathAra sthalam: thirukkuraiyalUr
AchAryan: vishwaksEnar, thirunaRaiyUr nambi, thriukkaNNapuram sauri perumAL
Sishyas: His brother-in-law iLayAzhwAr, parakAla sishyar, nIrmEl nadappAn,
thALUthuvAn, thOrA vazhakkan, nizhalil maRaivAn, uyarath thonguvAn,
Works: periya thirumozhi, thirukkuRunthANdagam, thiruvezhukkURRirukkai, siriya

thirumadal, periya thirumadal, thiruneduNthANdagam
Place where he attained paramapadham: thirukkuRungudi
periyavAchAn piLLai’s introduction to periya thirumozhi brings out the essence of

sAsthram, i.e., emperumAn out of his causeless mercy reforms thirumangai AzhwAr
and thereby uplifts many jIvAthmAs through him. Let us see that now.
thirumangai AzhwAr had kept his AthmA (himself) in the hot sun and the body in the
pleasing shadow. Keeping AthmA in hot sun means not engaging in bhagavath
vishayam (spiritual matters) and keeping body in pleasing shadow means being
attached to materialistic aspirations since time immemorial and having that as the goal
in life. The real shadow is bhagavath vishayam only as it is said in “vAsudhEva tharuch
chAyA” ( ) meaning vAsudhEvan (krishNan) is the real
shadow giving tree. He is the original/only pleasing tree which gives shadow that
pleases us everywhere and all the time, This shadow can destroy any thApam (anguish)
and is neither too hot nor too cold. Because thirumangai AzhwAr was very attached to
vishyAntharam (material aspirations) which were pleasing to the eyes, emperumAn
diverts his attachment from vishayAntharam to the many dhivyadhEsams and
archAvathAra emperumAns who are most pleasing to the eyes and makes his mind fully
fixed on archAvathAra emperumAns and gives him full anubhavam that AzhwAr cannot
sustain himself without seeing emperumAn even for a moment. Further more,
emperumAn converts him to be at the stage of nithyas/mukthas while he is here in this
samsAram, develops his urge to reach paramapadham and ultimately benedicts him
with paramapadha prApthi also.
AzhwAr understands that “emperumAn only looked for AzwAr’s adhvEsham (that is
bhagavAn is trying to help jIvAthmA every moment and jIvAthmA is rejecting his help
since time immemorial, the moment jIvAthmA stops rejecting, that is enough for
emperumAn to uplift the jIvAthmA – this adhvEsham is explained as adhikAri
visEshaNam meaning a natural attribute of the jIvAthmA) and the limitations of material
aspirations to reform AzhwAr, AzhwAr’s taste for material aspirations as the key (and
diverted that taste towards emperumAn) and AzhwAr’s sins from time immemorial as
the target of emperumAn’s mercy and blessed AzhwAr by first revealing the
thirumanthram and emperumAn’s svarUpa (true nature), rUpa (forms), guNa (divine
qualities) and vibhUthi (wealth)”. AzhwAr being overwhelmed by these favours of
emperumAn, at once starts glorifying thirumanthram in his periya thirumozhi out of
gratitude. It is the svarUpam of chith (sentient beings) to manifest the knowledge and
insentient being devoid of knowledge cannot appreciate anything. Thus to demonstrate
his gratitude and glorify emperumAn’s archAvathArams, AzhwAr sings these many
divine prabhanahdams.
Thus periyavAchAn piLLai establishes the nirhEthuka krupai (causeless mercy) of

emperumAn and upAya sUnyathvam (devoid of performing any positive act to get the
mercy of emperumAn) of AzhwAr in this vyAkyAna avathArikai. But once AzhwAr was
divinely blessed by emperumAn, his attachment towards emperumAn becomes
unparallel as he himself declares in periya thirumozhi 4.9.6 – “NummadiyArOdum okka
enNnNiyiruththIr adiyEnai” (
) – “dont consider me like other adiyArs”.
We have already seen more of periyavAchAn piLLai’s glorification of AzhwAr and

mAmunigaL‘s glorification of AzhwAr in
http://ponnadi.blogspot.in/2012/10/archavathara-anubhavam-thirumangai.html.
emperumAnAr (srI rAmAnujar) was declared by amudhanAr in rAmAnuja

nURRanthAdhi, 2nd pAsuram as “kuraiyal pirAnadikkIzh viLLAtha anban” (
) meaning one who had unflinching attachment on
thirumangai AzhwAr’s thiruvadi.
mAmunigaL, while visiting thiruvAli-thirunagari dhivyadhEsams, was so attracted to the

enchanting beauty of AzhwAr’s divine thiumEni saundharyam (beauty of the form) and
at once submitted a pAsuram which most beautifully brings out the graceful form in front
of our eyes. Let us enjoy that now:
anNaiththa vElum, thozhukaiyum, azhuNthiya thiruNAmamum,
OmenRa vAyum, uyarNtha mUkkum, kuLirNtha mukamum,
paraNtha vizhiyum, irunNda kuzhalum, churunNda vaLaiyamum,
vadiththa kAthum, malarNtha kAthu kAppum, thAzhNtha cheviyum,
cheRiNtha kazhuththum, aganRa mArbum, thiranNda thOLum,
NeLiththa muthugum, kuviNtha idaiyum, allikkayiRum,
azhuNdhiya chIrAvum, thUkkiya karunGkOvaiyum,
thonGgalum, thani mAlaiyum, chAththiya thiruththanNdaiyum,
chathirAna vIrakkazhalum, kuNthiyitta kanNaikkAlum,
kuLira vaiththa thiruvadi malarum, maruvalartham udal thunNiya
vALvIchum parakAlan manGgaimannarAna vadivE enRum
, , ,
, , ,
,இ , ,
, , ,
, , ,
, இ , ,
, ,
, , ,
, ,
,
parakAlan/mangai mannan’s divine form is always in my heart. This form is narrated as

the one with the spear that is supported by the shoulder, the hands which are
worshipping emperumAn, the beautiful Urdhva puNdram, the mouth which is saying
Om, Sharp/slightly raised nose, cooling face, broad eyes, blackish hairs which are
beautifully curled, ears which are perfectly built and which are slightly bent (to hear
ashtAkshara mahAmanthram from emperumAn), well rounded neck, broad chest,
strong shoulders, well shaped upper back, narrow waist, beautiful garlands, wonderful
anklets, knees which reflect AzhwAr’s valour, slightly slanting divine lotus feet and the
sword which will destroy all enemies. We can easily declare that kaliyan’s archA
vigraham in thiruvAli-thirunagari is the most beautiful one in the entire creation.
AzhwAr is also known as parakAlan, kaliyan, neelan, kalidhvamsan, kavilOka

dhivAkaran, chathushkavi sikAmaNi, shat prabhandha kavi, kalivairi, nAlukavip
perumAL, thiruvAvIrudaiya perumAn, mangaiyar kOn, aruL mAri, mangai vEndhan,
AlinAdan, arattmukki, adaiyAr sIyam, kongu malark kuzhaliyarvEL, koRRa vEndhan,
koRRavEl mangai vEndhan.
AzhwAr takes birth in thirukkuraiyalUr (near thiruvAli-thirunagari) as an amsam of

kArmuka in chathurtha varNam and was named as neelan (dark complexioned) as
identified in dhivya sUri charitham of garuda vAhana pandithar.
While he grew up in his child hood without any attachment to bhagavath vishayam,
once he became a youth he became very materialistic. He had a strong body and great
fighting skills with knowledge in handling many weapons and thus went to the chOla
bhUpathi (the king of the region) and requests him to include him in his army. The king
being pleased with neelan’s abilities appoints him as a commander of his army and
gives a small region to rule.
In the mean time, in thiruvAli dhivya dhEsam, in a beautiful pond, some apsaras sthrIs
(dancing gilrs from dhEva lOkam, etc) comes to play in the water. One such girl named
thirumAmagaL (kumudhavalli) goes to fetch some flowers and her friends leave the
place forgetting about her. She accepts a manushya sarIram (human form) and looks
for some help. A srIvaishnava vaidhyan (doctor) comes by that side and enquires about
him and she informs that her friends left her alone and the whole incident. Since he did
not have any children, he happily brings her home and introduces her to his wife and
they both happily accept her as their daughter and starts raising her. Seeing her beauty,
some people go and inform about her to neelan and becoming very attached to her
beauty, at once he goes to the bhAgavatha vaidhyar and starts a conversation. At that
time, kumudhavalli goes by and the vaidhyar tells neelan that he is worried about
marrying this girl to a proper man since he does not know her kulam, gOthram, etc.
neelan at once tells the vaidhyar that he wants to marry her and offers him great wealth.
The vaidhyar and his wife agrees to marry her to him but kumudhavalli puts forth a
condition saying she will only marry a srivaishnava who has had pancha samskAram
from an AchAryan. As it is said that an intelligent person will perform good things
immediately, neelan at once runs to thirunariyUr and goes in front of thirunariyUr nambi
and asks him to bless with panca samskAram. emperumAn out of his divine grace
performs him sanka chakra lAnchanam and thirumanthra upadhEsam.
It is said in padhma purANam that
sarvaich chvEthamruthA dhAryam UrdhvapunNdram yathAvidhi

rujuNi sANtharALANi hyanGgEshu dhvAdhachasvapi
Urdhva puNdram must be applied in 12 parts of the body, facing upwards with proper
gaps in between and using white colored sand from dhivya dhEsams.
Thus AzhwAr returned to kumudhavalli, wearing dvAdhasa urdhva puNdram and asks
kumudhavalli to marry him. kumudhavalli says that she will marry him, but will accept
him as husband only when AzhwAr performs thadhiyArAdhanam for one full year for
1008 srIvaishnavas every day without fail. AzhwAr agrees for the condition out of his
attachment towards kumudhavalli and they both are married in a grand ceremony.
It is said in padhma purANam that:
ArAdhaNANAm sarvEshAm vishnNOr ArAdhaNam param

thasmAth paratharam prOktham thadhIyArAdhaNam NrUpa
Oh King! Worshipping vishNu is considered to be greater than worshipping any one

else. Worshipping vishNu bhakthas is considered even greater than vishNu himself.
As per the above pramANam, AzhwAr started performing thadhIyArAdhanam (feeding

srivaishnavas with sumptuous prasAdham everyday) using all his wealth. Looking at
that, some people go and complain to the king that parakAlan (AzhwAr) is spending all
the wealth of the kingdom by just feeding the srIvaishnavas. The king sends his soldiers
to bring AzhwAr to his court, but AzhwAr just speaks pleasantly to them and keeps them
waiting. The soldiers insist that AzhwAr should pay his tax for the king, and AzhwAr
becomes angry and pushes them out. The soldiers return to the king and inform him
about the incidents. The king orders the commander-in-chief to go with the full army and
arrest him. The commander brings a big army with him and attacks AzhwAr. AzhwAr
being most powerful and brave responds back and drives the commander and his army
out of their region. The commander returns to the king and informs AzhwAr’s victory.
The strong king himself decides to fight with AzhwAr and brings his big army with him
and attacks AzhwAr. AzhwAr again demonstrates his bravery and easily destroys the
king’s army. The king becomes very pleased with AzhwAr’s bravery, declares peace
and hails his glories. Trusting the king, AzhwAr goes near him, but the king cunningly
arrests him through his minister and asks him to pay the pending tax. The minister
brings AzhwAr and jails him inside a temple of emperumAn and AzhwAr fasts without
taking any food for 3 days. It is said that, at that time, nAchiyAr of thirunaraiyUr tells
thirunaraiyUr nambi that she cannot witness AzhwAr starving and brings some
prasAdham to him. AzhwAr just stays fully surrendered to periya perumAL and
thiruvEnkatamudaiyAn and keeps meditating on them. dhEva perumAL of kAnchipuram
appears in the dream of AzhwAr at that time and informs him that there is a great
treasure in kAnchipuram which will be given to him if he comes there. AzhwAr informs
this to the king and king arranges AzhwAr to visit kAnchipuram along with great
security. AzhwAr reaching kAnchipuram, does not find the wealth and dhEva perumAL
being the one who gives everything to his devotees, appears in AzhwAr’s dream again
and shows him the location of treasure on the banks of river vEgavathI. AzhwAr locates
the treasure, gives the king’s share and returns back to thirukkuraiyalUr to continue with
his thadhIyArAdhanam. Again after some time, the king sends his soldiers to collect tax,
and again AzhwAr becomes filled with sorrow and again dhEva perumAL appears in his

dream and instructs him to gather the sand from vEgavathi river and present that to the
soldiers. When the soldiers receive the sand, it appears like invaluable grains to them.
They happily carry that to the king and explains him all the details. The king then
understands the greatness of AzhwAr, invites him to his court again, begs for
forgiveness and submits great wealth to him. To atone for the offenses he committed to
AzhwAr, the king spends his wealth by doing charities to dhEvas and brAhmaNas.
AzhwAr continued his thadhIyArAdhanam and his wealth eventually became exhausted.
He then decides to continue the kainkaryam even by robbing wealthy people who pass
by his region. He robs the wealth people and performs thadhIyArAdhanam with great
devotion. sarvEsvaran, thinking that, even if he is robbing the wealthy people, atleast he
is spending the money in feeding srIvaishnavas thus being situated in charama
purushArtham (ultimate goal), decides to uplift him from samsAram by blessing him with
divine blemishless knowledge. As it is said that srIman nArAyaNan takes a human form
(as AchAryan) and with the help of sAsthram uplifts the jIvAthmA who suffers in the
samsAram, emperumAn starts going towards AzhwAr’s place along with nAchiyAr with
wedding costumes as vayalAli maNavALan with beautiful ornaments and with a big
wedding party. AzhwAr, being excited at the opportunity of getting a big bounty,
surrounds the emperumAn with his wedding party and robs them of everything. Finally,
AzhwAr bites off the toe ring from emperumAn’s lotus feet and emperumAn being
greatly amazed at AzhwAr’s valour proclaims “Nam kaliyanO” ( )
meaning Are you my kaliyan? (kaliyan means one who is great in valour).

After that, AzhwAr prepares a big bundle of ornaments and wealth and tries to lift them
up but is unable to do so. He looks at the bridegroom (emperumAn) and tells him that
you have recited some manthram which is stopping me from lifting this. emperumAn
agrees that there is a manthram and says that he can reveal it to AzhwAr if we wants to
hear that. AzhwAr shows his sword and says that he wants to hear it immediately.
emperumAn reveals the thirumanthram to AzhwAr which is most pleasing to hear, which
is full in all meanings, which establishes the ultimate goal to be attained, which is the
essence of all vEdhams, which can uplift one from this samsAram which is full of
sorrows, which can benedict the reciter with ishvaryam (happiness in this world),
kaivalyam (enjoying ones own self) and bhagavath kainkaryam. This thirumanthram is
glorified in sAsthram as follows:
vruttha hArItha sruthi
ruchO yajumshi sAmANi thathaiva atharvanNANi cha

sarvam ashtAksharANthasththam yachchANyadhapi vAnGmayam

All the meanings of rg, yajur, sAma, atharvaNa vEdhams and their upabruhmaNams are
contained in ashtaksharam itself.
nAradhIya purANam
sarvavEdhANtha sArArththas samsArArnNava thAraka:

gathir ashtAksharO NrunNAm apuNarbhavakAnGkshinNAm
For the one who desires to attain salvation, ashtAksharam which is the essence of all
vEdhAntham and one that can help cross the ocean of samsAram is the only refuge.
nArAyaNa upanishadh
OmithyagrE vyAharEth, Nama ithi pachchAth, NArAyanNAyEthyuparishtAth,

OmithyEkAksharam, Nama ithi dhvE aksharE, NArAyanNAyEthi panYchAksharAnNi
, இ , ,
, இ ,
Om should be recited first, followed by Nama: and NArAyaNAya; Om has one letter,
nama: is made of two letters and NArAyaNAya is made of 5 letters (thus this manthram
contains 8 letters and called ashtAksharam). Thus sAsthram gives the exact structure of
ashtAksharam and how it should be recited without any doubt.
nAradhIya purANam
maNthrAnNAm paramO maNthrO guhyANAm guhyamuththamam

pavithranYcha pavithrAnNAm mUlamaNthras saNAthaNa:

ashtAkshara mahA manthram is the greatest manthram among all manthrams, most
confidential one amongst the confidential manthrams, the purest one among the pure
manthrams and is the eternal/ancient one.
Beyond all of these, this ashtAkshara mahA manthram is the one which is accepted by
pUrvAchAryas who are great intellectuals as said in thirumozhi 7.4.4 as “pErALan
pErOdhum periyOr” ( ) meaning the great
personalities who recite the names of emperumAn. Also, AzhwAr himself reveals in the
first padhigam of periya thirumozhi itself as “peRRa thAyinum Ayina cheyyum
Nalamtharum chollai NAn kanNdu konNdEn’ (
) meaning I found the
manthram that will do me good even better than ones own mother.
After hearing the thirumanthram from emperumAn, emperumAn then shows him his
divine form along with srImahAlakshmi who is mercy personified on the divine
garudAzhwAr whose body shines like beautiful gold. He also blesses AzhwAr with
divine blemishless knowledge out of his nirhEthuka krupai (causeless mercy). AzhwAr,
after seeing all of those and understanding the blessing of emperumAn, which was
triggered by srImahAlakshmi thAyAr’s purushakAram, blesses everyone with 6
prabhandhams – periya thirumozhi, thirukkuRunthANdakam, thiruvezhukkURRirukkai,
siriya thirumadal, periya thirumadal and thirunedunthANdakam which are considered as
6 angams for nammAzhwAr’s four dhivya prabhandhams. His prabhandhams are made
of different forms of poetry – Asu, madhuram, chitham and vistharam and thus became
to be famously known as nAlu kavip perumAL.
emperumAn finally orders AzhwAr to go to various dhivyadhEsams along with his

sishyas and perform mangaLAsAsanam to various dhivya dhEsa archAvathAra
emperumAns and disappears. AzhwAr along with his ministers and sishyas, starts his
dhivyadhEsa yAthrai, takes bathe in many divine rivers and performs
mangaLAsAsanam at srI bhadhrAchalam, simhAchalam, srI kUrmam, srI
purushOththamam (puri jagannAth), gayA, gOkulam, vrndhAvanam, mathurA,
dhvArakA, ayOdhyA, badhrikAshram, kAnchipuram, thiruvEnkatam, etc. He arrives at
chOLa mandalam, his sishyas exclaim his glories “chathush kavi has arrived”, “kaliyan
has arrived”, “parakAlan has arrived”, “One who won over all other mathams have
arrived”, etc. A saiva scholar/bhakthar named thirugyAna sambandhar was living there
at that time and his sishyas object to the glories of AzhwAr. AzhwAr at once says he will
debate with sambandhar and establish nArAyaNa parathvam (supremacy). They bring
him over to sambandhar’s residence and informs him about the same and he agrees to
debate with AzhwAr. Since, the whole place/town was filled with avaishnavas and since
there is no vigraham (form) of emperumAn, AzhwAr is unable to start speaking and

starts worrying about the situation. At that time, he notices a srivaishnava lady and asks
her to bring her thiruvArAdhana perumAL (vigraham). She brings her emperumAn who
is krishNan and brings him over to sambandhar’s place and starts the debate.
sambandhar recites a poem and AzhwAr finds fault in that. sambandhar then
challenges AzhwAr to recite a poem and AzhwAr recites “oru kuraLAi” padhigam (periya
thirumozhi – 7.4) on thAdALan emperumAn (kAzhi chIrAma viNNagaram – sIrgAzhi).
sambandhar unable to respond back for that great padhigam which is perfectly and
beautifully composed wonders about the greatness of AzhwAr and accepts his glories
and worships him.
AzhwAr desires to visit srIrangam and perform mangaLAsAsanam and kainkaryam to

srIranganAthan. It is said in bhrahmAnda purANam that:
vimANam pranNavAkAram vEdhachrunGgam mahAdhbhutham

srIranGgachAyI bhagavAN pranNavArththa prakAchaka:
The most marvelous srIrangavimAnam is a manifestation of OmkAram; Its peak is

vEdham itself. bhagavAn srIranganAthan is manifesting himself as the ultimate meaning
of praNavam (which is the essence of thirumanthram).
AzhwAr wanting to build a fort around the temple, discusses with his sishyas about
getting the wealth to build the same. They reply that there is a vigraham of an avaidhiha
matham in nAgapattinam which is fully made of gold and if we can acquire that we can
do a lot of kainkaryam using that. AzhwAr at once leaves to nAgappattinam and finds a
lady and asks her if there is any secret information in that town. She says that her
mother-in-law use to say that there is a golden vigraham (deity) and the architect who
made that vigraham and the most protective vimAnam where the vigraham is kept, lives
in a different dvIpam (island/region of bhUlOkam). AzhwAr at once leaves to that place
along with his sishyas and enquire about the architect who is comparable to
vishwakarmA (the chief architect of dhEvas). The people direct AzhwAr to the palace
which is huge and beautiful and AzhwAr reaches the palace. Along with his sishyas he
started discussing about various things outside the palace and at that time the architect
steps outside after finishing his bathing and meal. Seeing him, AzhwAr strategically
says with great sorrow that “Oh! Some invaders came and destroyed the temple in
nAgappattinam and took away the golden vigraham. Why are we still living in this
world?”. Hearing this, the architect feels great pain, starts crying out loud and says “It
must be one of the mischievous sculptors who revealed the secret to open the peak of
the vimAnam through which any one can enter there. I made the most complicated key

– a twisted iron chain inside a stone and kept that under the slab where the water falls
and how did they break that?” thus revealing the actual secret unknowingly.
AzhwAr along with his sishyas, at once leaves the place happily since the secret is
known, and reached the seashore to return to nAgappattinam. He sees a virtuous
merchant who is boarding his ship with a huge shipment of nuts (pAkku) and blesses
him and requests him to leave them in the other side of the sea. He agrees and they all
board the ship and begin the journey. On the way, AzhwAr picks up a nut, cuts it into
half and gives it to the merchant and tells him that he will accept it back at the end of the
journey and asks him to give a small chit with his signature saying that “I owe AzhwAr
half the nut of my ship”. The merchant does so and after reaching nAgappattinam,
AzhwAr asks him to give half the load of the expensive nuts in the ship (to use that in
kainkaryam for srIrangam temple). The merchant is shocked and refuse to do so. They
both argue and decide to go bring all the merchants together to get a neutral judgement
and all the merchants declare that the merchant should give half the shipment to
AzhwAr. The merchant without any choice gives the money for half the shipment to
AzhwAr and leaves.
AzhwAr and his sishyas then go to the temple and hide there until the night. In the night
they break open the slab, retrieve the key, go to top of the vimAnam and opens the
entrance by rotating it both sides and see the most shining vigraham. Seeing AzhwAr,
the vigraham says “IyaththAl AgAthO irumbinAl AgAthO, bhUyaththAl mikkathoru
bhUthaththAl AgAthO, thEyathEy piththaLai NaRchembugaLAlAgAthO, mAyappon
vEnNumO mathiththennaip panNnNugaikkE” ( இ
, ,
,
) meaning “Could you not just use iron, copper,
bronze, etc? You needed me to be made of divine gold so that you can come and use
me in kainkaryam for bhagavAn”. AzhwAr then gets his brother-in-law to fetch the
vigraham and leaves the place with all of them.
In the next morning, they reach a small town, where in a small farm land which was just
ploughed, AzhwAr buries the virgaham for safety and rests there. When the farmers
arrive there and start ploughing the field, they find the vigraham and declare that it was
theirs. AzhwAr says it was his forefathers’ who buried it under the field. A debate follows
and AzhwAr finally says that he will show a document in the next morning proving his
ownership and the farmers agree and leave the place. AzhwAr and his sishyas, after
sunset, leave the place with the vigraham, reaches uththamar kOil dhivya dhEsam and
store the vigraham safely there. In the meantime, the temple incharge in nAgappattinam
along with the local leaders come to know about the stealing of the vigraham and traces

it upto the farm land where it was buried and finally reaches uththamar kOil. When they
ask AzhwAr for the vigraham, he first says he does not know anything about the
vigraham but subsequently says that he will restore the vigraham fully upto the finger to
them in panguni month after the rainy season. He writes a document to that effect, signs
that and gives that to them with his signature and they accept that and leave. AzhwAr
immediately melts the vigraham, sells it to get money and starts building the fort around
srIrangam temple. He runs into the nandhavanam (garden) which was setup by
thoNdaradippodi AzhwAr and he carefully leaves that area un-disturbed with great
reverence and builds the fort around the area. Being very pleased with thirumangai
AzhwAr’s act, thoNdaradippodi AzhwAr names his gardening tool (shear/fork) as
aruLmAri (one of the names of thirumangai AzhwAr) with great affection. Thus AzhwAr
performed many such kainkaryams and showed his gratitude to emperumAn.
After the rainy season, they come back looking for the vigraham. He asks them to read
the document and as written in the document he returns a small finger. A debate rages
and they go to the mediators and the mediators give their judgement that according to
the agreement in the document, they can accept the finger and leave. They understand
AzhwAr’s smartness and leave without even accepting anything. AzhwAr subsequently
invites the architects of that temple and tells them that he wants to give some wealth to
them and that wealth is in a nearby island. He gets them all boarded on a boat and after
going some distance in the water, he signals to boatman, who jumps into a smaller boat
along with AzhwAr and tilts the boat that carries all the architects and drowns them.
AzhwAr returns to his place and the grand children of the architects arrive there and
enquire about their grandfathers. AzhwAr tells them that he showed them great wealth
in the island and they are packing them to bring them along over here. The
grandchildren suspecting AzhwAr, tells him that they would not leave unless their
grandfathers are brought back to life and returned to them. AzhwAr becomes very
worried and srIranganAthan appears in his dream and tells him “Do not worry anymore”.
He then asks all of them to go to Cauvery river, take a bath there, apply Urdhva
pundrams and arrive at my main mandapam and invite each of their grandfathers by
their names. They accept emperumAn’s orders and starts inviting their grandfathers one
by one. To their astonishment, every one arrive from behind srIranganAthan and appear
in front of them and tells them “By the divine grace of AzhwAr, we have now reached
periya perumAL’s lotus feet. You also take shelter of him, be here in this samsAram
happily for some time and get yourselves uplifted”. Following their grandfathers’ orders
every one of them accept AzhwAr as their AchAryan and return to their place
eventually.
periya perumAL then asks AzhwAr if he has any desires. AzhwAr tells periya perumAL
that he wants to worship emperumAn’s dhasAvathAram. periya perumAL tells him “If
that is your desire, you can install my archAvathAra vigrahams of dhasAvathAram” and
at once AzhwAr builds the sannidhi for dhasAvathAra emperumAns in srIrangam.

Subsequently, periya perumAL invites AzhwAr’s brother-in-law and orders him to make
an archA vigraham for AzhwAr (since AzhwAr is his brother-in-law’s AchAryan) and
install the same in thirukkuraiyalUr, build a beautiful temple there and celebrate
AzhwAr’s uthsavams in a grand manner. His brother-in-law, immediately gets archA
vigrahams made for both AzhwAr and his wife kumudhavalli nAchiyAr, goes to
thirukkuraiyalUr with everyone and installs the archA vigrahams there and performs
grand uthsavams there. AzhwAr continued to uplift all his sishyas and others and spent
his life constantly meditating on periya perumAL as both upAyam and upEyam.
His thanian
kalayAmi kalidhvamsam kavim lOka dhivAkAram
yasya gObi: prakAsAbir Avidhyam nihatham thama:
: :

http://ponnadi.blogspot.in/2012/10/archavathara-anubhavam-thirumangai.html.

dhivya prabhandha prAmANya samarthanam
This article is based on the section that is available in 6000 padi guru paramparA prabhAvam
immediately after AzhwArs' charithram, where the following principles are established:
 srIman nArAyaNan's supremacy and his relationship with other dhEvathas

 Validtity of dhivya prabhandhams based on their glorification of srIman nArAyaNan
 AzhwArs' greatness and supremacy over other dhEvathas
 Glories of AzhwArs' irrespective of their varNam and glories of dhivya prabhandhams
irrespective of their language
 the glories of one who fully depends on AzhwArs and their dhivya prabhandhams
The publisher of 6000 padi guru paramparA prabhAvam identifies that this section is not
consistently found in the various original manuscripts and concludes that this section might have
been added by later day AchAryas to firmly establish the truth in some of these matters.

Let us proceed with the article now.
While dhivya prabhandhams of AzhwArs who appeared as thathva dharsis (one who fully
understands the truth) are considered as the most important pramANam (valid source of
knowledge), they present various aspects of srIman nArAyaNan and dhEvathAntharams (other
dhEvathas).
Establishing that other dhEvathas are created by srIman nArAyaNan
In many pAsurams, it is established by AzhwArs that all dhEvathas are created by srIman
nArAyaNan. Let us see some pramANams for that here:
 thiruvAimozhi - 2.2.4 - pUvil NAnmuganaip padaiththa dhEvan (

) - the god who created brahmA from his naval
lotus

 thiruvAimozhi - 4.10.1 - NAnmugan thannodu dhEvar ulagOduyir padaiththAn
( ) - srIman
nArAyaNan created brahmA, dhEvas, all beings and the material world
 thiruvAimozhi - 10.10.3 - biraman chivan iNdhiranAdhikkellAm NAbikkamala
mudhaRkizhanGgu ( இ
) - one whose naval is the root of brahmA, shiva, indhra, etc
 nAnmugan thiruvandhAdhi - 1 - NAnmuganai NArAyanNan padaiththAn
( ) - nArAyaNan created brahmA
 and more
Establishing that srIman nArAyaNan has given a place in his body for all dhEvathas
In many pAsurams, is established by AzhwArs that bhagavAn, just like giving his chest as the
residing place for srI mahAlakshmi who is hailed as vishNOsrIranapAyinI" (One who is the
wealth of vishNu and who never separates from him), who is eternally most auspicious and is
the main consort of bhagavAn, he gives place to brahmA, rudhran, etc who are situated in the
mode of rajas (passon) and thamas (ignorance).
 thiruvAimozhi - 1.3.9 - valaththanan thiripurameriththavan idam peRaththuNthith

thalaththezhu thichaimugan ( இ
) - srIman nArAyaNan has rudhran (the one
who destroyed the 3 towns) on his right side, in his naval he has brahmA who has 4
heads (one head per direction).
 thiruvAimozhi - 2.2.3 - ERanaip pUvanaip pUmagaL thannai, vERinRi vinN thozhath
thannuL vaiththu ( ,
) - One who keeps rudran (rishaba vAhanan), brahmA
(one who is on a flower) and srImahA lakshmi (who residing in a flower) and is most
worshippable by everyone because of this.
 thiruvAimohi - 4.8.1 - ERALum iRaiyOnum thichaimuganum thirumagaLum kURALum
thani udamban ( இ
) - rudhran (one who controls the rishabam), brahmA and
srImahAlakshmi have their own parts in srIman nArAyaNan' divine form
 and more
Establishing that all other dhEvathas worship srIman nArAyaNan
In many pAsurams, it is established by AzhwArs that brahmA, rudhran, etc approach bhagavAn,
offer their obeisances and glorify him.

 thiruvAimozhi - 2.2.10 - kaLvA emmaiyum Ezhulagum NinnuLLE thORRiya, veLLERan
NAnumugan iNdhiran vAnavar puLLUrthi kazhal panNiNthu Eththuvar (
,
இ ) - rudhran, brahmA,
indhra and the dhEvas worship the lotus feet of srIman nArAyaNan (the garuda
vAhanan) and glorify him as "Oh thief! you are the one who created me and all the 7
worlds from you".
 thiruvAimozhi - 10.10.3 - mEvith thozhum biraman chivan iNdhiran (
இ ) - brahmA, rudhran, indhra who fully worships srIman
nArAyaNan.
 irandAm thiruvanthAdhi - 12 - avar ivar enRillai aravanNaiyAn pAdham, evar vanNanGki
EththAdhAr enNnNil, pavarum chezhunGkadhirOn onNmalarOn kanNnNudhalOn anRE?
thozhuNthagaiyAr NALum thodarNdhu ( இ
, ,
?
) - If we enquire who are all the worshippers of the lotus feet of the sEsha
sAyi srIman nArAyaNan, the most popular dhEvathas like Adhithyan, brahmA, rudhran
worships him and glorifies him every day.
 and more
Establishing that other dhEvathas are not qualified enough to glorify srIman nArAyaNan

While sathvam arises in the minds of other dhEvathas, they start glorifying bhagavAn. But since
bhagavAn wants to be glorified by persons who are constantly in the mode of sathvam, when
other dhEvathas (who are in mixed modes of sathvam, rajas and thamas), bhagavAn does not
prefer that. This is shown in the following pAsurams:
 thiruvAimozhi - 3.1.7 - kEzhththa chIr aran mudhalAk kiLar dheyvamAyk kiLarNdhu

chUzhththamarar thudhiththAl un tholpugazh mAchUnNAdhE (
) - if brahmA, rudhran, etc (who are well knowledgable) with

their capable words, glorify you, that will only minimize your natural greatness.
 thiruvAimozhi - 1.5.2 - NinaiNdhu NaiNdhu uLkaraiNdhu urugi imaiyOr palarum
munivarum punaiNdha kanNnNi NIr chANdham pugaiyOdu ENdhi vanNanGkinAl ... un
perumai mAchUnNAdhO? mAyOnE! (
இ
... ? !) - Even if
dhEvas starting with brahmA, rudhran, etc and sanakAdhi munis meditate upon you,
complete melt upon thinking your glories, worship you with flowers, water, etc.,
considering your glories, their worship can never be a match.
 thiruvAimozhi - 3.1.10 - piRaiyERu chadaiyAnum NAnmuganum iNdhiranum iRaiyAdhal
aRiNdhEththa vIRRiruththal idhu viyappE? (
இ இ இ
?) - Since rudhran who has a crescent in his matted hair, brahmA, indhran are
created by srIman nArAyaNan himself, even if they understand emperumAn's
supremacy and glorify him, that will not add any new glories to him (since their
knowledge is limited and bhagavAn's glories are unlimited). But you accept their glories
out of your kindness since they have taken shelter of you.
Establishing that other dhEvathas are sarIram of srIman nArAyaNan
 thiruvAimozhi - 3.5.8 - NaLirmadhich chadaiyan engO? NAnmugak kadavuL engO?

( ? ?) - Can I say you
are the one with the cool crescent on the matted hair (rudhran)? Can I say you are the
one who is the father of rudhran (brahmA)?
 thiruvAimozhi 6.9.1 - chivanAy ayanAnAy ( ) - You became
shivan and brahmA.
 thiruvAimozhi - 7.6.7 - en thirumArban thannai, en malaimagaL kURan thannai, enRum
en NAmagaLai agampAl konNda NAnmuganai ( ,
,

) - One how has srI mahAlakshmi in his chest, One who has pArvathi as
his better half (of the body) and one who is the husband of saraswathi.
 thiruvAimozhi - 10.10.1 - muniyE NAnmuganE mukkanNnNappA (
) - Oh the one who is constantly meditating for the
upliftment of jIvAthmAs! Oh the four faced brahmA! Oh the 3 eyed rudhrA!
Thus AzhwArs have presented many different ideas about srIman nArAyaNan in relation to
other dhEvathas right from the beginning, in the middle and in the end. Can we trust such
dhivya prabhandhams as the most important pramANam for us?
Yes. We can trust their words. Let us see how.
Trustworthy nature of AzhwArs' words due to their affiliation to vEdham/vEdhAntham
AzhwArs right upfront establish their vairAgyam (detachment) towards other dhEvathas in many
pAsurams.
 thiruvAsiriyam - 6 - OO! ulaginadhu iyalvE! InROL irukka manNai NIrAtti,

padaiththidaNdhu unNdumizhNdhaLaNdhu thErNdhu ulagaLikkum muthaRperum
kadavuL NiRpa, pudaip pala thAn aRi dheyvam pEnNudhal, thanAdhu pullaRivu
AnNmai poruNdhak kAtti ( ! இ ! இ
,
, ,
) - The nature of this samsAram
(material world) is very pathetic. When ones own mother is present, ignoring her, the
less intelligent people will be decorating and worshipping a wooden-plank. The same
way, when srIman nArAyaNan who first created the universe, rescued it from the ocean,
protected the universe by keeping it in his stomach safely, etc., is present, the less
intelligent people reveal their lack of intelligence by worshipping/glorifiying other
dhEvathas who themselves were created..
 thiruvAsiriyam - 7 - em perumA mAyanai allathu orumA dheyvam maRRudaiyamO
yAmE (
) - Do I have any other dheivam other than the great srIman nArAyaNan).
 nAnumugan thiruvanthAdhi - 84 - pidhirum manamilEn pinYchagan thannOdu ethirvan
avan enakku NErAn (
) - I am firmly confident that rudhran who sings emperumAn's
glories (when his sathva guNam arises) is not an equal to me since I am constantly
situated in sathva guNam.

 periya thirumozhi - 8.10.3 - maRRumOr dheyvam uLadhenRu iruppArOdu uRRilEn
( இ ) - I will not
associate with the ones who accept other dhEvathas.
 thiruvAimozhi - 1.1.7 - uLan chudarmigu churuthiyuL ( )-
shining brightly in vEdham which is both nithyam (eternal) and apaurushEyam
(authorless/defectless).
 thiruvAimozhi - 2.8.6 - thIrththan ulagaLaNdha chEvadimEl pUNthAmam chErththi
avaiyE chivan mudimEl thAn kanNdu pArththan theLiNdhozhiNdha paiNthuzhAyAn
perumai pErththum oruvarAl pEchak kidaNdhadhE? (
?) - When arjunan wanted to blessed by shiva with some weapons in

the battle field, he asks krishNan what to do. krishNan simply asks him to worship his
most pure and auspicious lotus feet (that measured the universe) with some flowers and
in the night shivan appears in arjunan's dream and shows him carrying those same
flowers in his head and blessed him the weapons. Thus it is shown that srIman
nArAyaNan's supremacy is well established.
 and many more.
Thus AzhwArs established through various words from vEdham and various incidents that
srIman nArAyaNan is the supreme god and all other dhEvathas are subservient to him. This is
established in varAha purANam in the following slOkam:
yadhEtha paramam brahma lOkE vEdhEshu patyathE

sa dhEva: punNdarikAkshas svayam nArAyanNa: para:
: : :
srIman nArAyaNan (puNdarikAkshan - the lotus eyed) is the supreme god who is seen in the
vEdham and in the entire universe.
periyAzhwAr also established that srIman nArAyaNan's supremacy in the king's court in front of
many great scholars and got the reward from the madhurai king. He established that using
verses from vEdham and great sages.

periyAzhwAr being honoured by the king after establishing vishNu parathvam
vishNu purANam
para: parAnNAm purushO yasya thushtO jaNArthdhaNa:

sa prApNOthyakshayam sthANamEthath sathyam mayOdhitham
: :
If janArdhanan who is greatest amongst everyone and who is known as purusha gets pleased
with anyone, he achieves the eternal spiritual planet. I am confidently declaring this.
mahAbhAratham
NAsthi NArAyanNa samO Na bhUthO Na bhavishyathi

EthENa sathya vAkyENa sarvArththAN sAdhayAmyaham
There never was some one equal to NArAyaNan, there never is and there never will be. I can
accomplish everything using these most truthful words.
Thus based on the above pramANams, we can see that, AzhwArs are fully following what is
said in vEdham and are never bound to the any defects. We can also understand that they
would not display any inconsistency in their words. The reason why we see the various
pAsurams on the relationship between srIman nArAyaNan and other dhEvathas is due to the
nature and activities of these other dhEvathas. Let us see that now.

The nature of other dhEvathas
brahmA, shiva are subjected to karmA (repeated birth/death cycle based on ones own actions).
They achieve their position by great penances and are rewarded their posts by srIman
nArAyaNan for their efforts. This is explained in the following 2 slOkams:
mahAbhAratham
yuga kOti sahasrAnNi vishnNum ArAdhya padhmabhU:

puNas thrailOkya dhAthruthvam prApthavAN ithi chusruma
:
இ
It is heard that brahmA who was born from the lotus flower of srI mahAvishNu worships vishNu
for 1000 crore yugams and again becomes the main progenitor and heads the material creation.
mahAbhAratham
mahAdhEvas sarvamEdhE mahAthmA huthvASSthmANam dhEvadhEvO bhabhUva

SS
shiva who is a mahAthmA offers himself in the sarvamEdha yAgam and becomes the lord of
lords.
Thus, the various relationships between srIman nArAyaNan and other dhEvathas, as presented
by AzhwArs are perfectly valid based on the following:
 these dhEvathas worship srIman nArAyaNan and are given their great positions to enjoy
the result of their penances by bhagavAn, their value of existence will diminish when
they ignore bhagavAn
 when their sathva guNam arises they will be qualified to glorify bhagavAn
 since they act against bhagavAn when their rajO/thamO guNam arises their glorification
of bhagavAn is not much preferred by bhagavAn, and
 since their svarUpam, sustenance, action and inaction are fully dependent on bhagavAn
as the sarIram (body) fully depends on the jIvAthma/sarIri (soul).

srIman nArAyaNan himself declares:
Eka Eva jagathsvAmI chakthimAN achyutha: prabhu:

thadham chAchchakthimaNthOSNyE brahmEchANAdhayOSmarA:
: :
S S :
Achyuthan is the only master/controller of the whole creation and is fully capable. brahmA,
shiva, etc have certain powers/capabilities (which are a miniscule fraction of bhagavAn) and are
bhagavAn's amsams (forms).
Thus, we can conclude that AzhwArs' dhivya prabhandhams are the most important
pramANams based on the above explanations.
There are many slOkams from shruthi, smrithi, purANams, ithihAsams, etc that establish that
srIman nArAyaNan's antharyAmithvam for all other dhEvathas. Let us see them now:
vishNu purANam
sa Eva srujyas sa cha sargga karththA sa Eva pAthyaththi cha pAlyathE cha
brahmAdhyavasthApir achEshamUrththir vishnNur varishtO varadhO varEnNya:
The created beings are also him (his own forms); The creators like brahmA, etc are also him;
He is the one who sustains the universe; He is the one who swallows the universe; He is the
one who is being sustained. vishNu, the one who has everything as his body is the most
supreme; the one who can benedict; the one who is fit enough to be worshipped.
kalpANthE rudhrarUpI yOgrasathE sakalam jagath

thamAdhyam purusham vishnNum pranNathOSsmi jaNArthdhaNam

I surrender unto janArdhanan/vishNu who is the primordial being who takes the form of rudhran
at the end of the kalpam (during praLayam) and destroys everything.
vishNu purANam
srushti sthithi aNthakaranNIm brahma vishnNu chivAthmakAm

sa samjnYAm yAthi bhagavANEka Eva jaNArthdhaNa:
janArdhanan (srIman nArAyaNan) gets the names brahmA, vishNu, shiva while performing the
duties of creation, sustenance and destruction respectively.
thiruvAimozhi 2.7.12
dhAmOdharan uruvAgiya chivaRkum thichaimugaRkum
shiva, brahma who are various forms of dhAmOdharan (one who was bound by yasOdhai on
his waist).
thiruvAimozhi 1.1.8
aran ayan ena ulagazhiththu amaiththuLanE
When bhagavAn is paramAthmA and these other dhEvathas are his sarIram (body), sometimes
they themselves are directly indicated as him because when something is mentioned about the
body it leads up to the soul (its actually intertwined). When a person says "I am fat, I am thin"
himself and others say "You have become fat, You have lost weight" - I and You refers to the
AthmA (soul) and fat and thin refers to the body. Similarly, if these dhEvathas are
explained/glorified some times it goes all the way to the paramAthmA (super soul) who controls
these dhEvathas.

AzhwArs present bhagavAn as chEthanams (sentients) and achEthanams (insentients) in many
pAsurams.
 thiruvAimozhi - 10.4.1 - NIr vAnam manN eri kAlAy NinRa NEmiyAn (

) - srIman nArAyaNan who is the holder of chakram
manifests himself as the panch bhUthams (five gross elements - water, sky, earth, fire
and air)
 thiruvAimozhi - 10.10.10 - chUzhNdhaganRAzhNdhuyarNdha mudivil perum pAzhEyO!
chUzhNdhadhanil periya para Nanmalarch chOdhIyO! chUzhNdhadhanil periya chudar
jnYAna inbamEyO! ( !
!
இ !) - You are the one who is manifesting yourself as this great
prakruthi (matter); You are the one who is manifesting as this innumerable number of
jIvAthmAs! You are the paramAthmA who is the benedictor of the ultimate bliss
 mudhal thiruvanthAdhi - 15 - mudhalAvAr mUvarE; ammUvaruLLum mudhalAvAn mUri
NIr vanNnNan ( ;
) - brahmA, vishNu, shiva are the main deities; of those 3, srIman
nArAyaNan - the one who looks like a beautiful cloud (both for the color and the
generosity) is the controller of the other two.
AzhwArs present srIman nArAyaNan as everything based on the following:

shruthi (vEdha) vAkyam - bruhadhAraNyaka upanishadh
yasya AthmA charIram; yasya pruthivI charIram
Supreme god is the one who has all sentients as his body and all insentients as his body.
bhagavAn's own words in varAha charama slOkam:
vichvarUpanYcha mAmajam
I am the one who has the whole world as my body and I am the unborn
AzhwArs also establish srIman nArAyaNan's parathvam (supremacy) and sarva

antharyAmithvam (him being the super soul of everyone/everything) based on his showing of
vishwarUpam for arjunan in the kurukshEthra battle field.

hari vamsam
ka ithi brahmanNO NAma IchOSham sarva dhEhiNAm

AvAm thavAnGgE sambhUthau thasmAth kEchavaNAmavAN
இ S
rudhran's words - ka represents brahmA; I am the master of the ones who are focussed on
their bodies. We are born from you - so you are called kEsava (the master/controller of brahmA
and Isa).
pAdhENa kamalAbhENa brahma rudhrArchchithENa cha

pasparcha punNdarIkAksha: chichOrApAdhamasthakam

puNdarikAkshan (krishNan) touched parIkshith's head to foot with his lotus feet that was
worshipped by brahmA and rudhran.
Thus, we can see that sruthi, smruthi, ithihAsa, purANas establish that all the dhEvathas are
subservient to srIman nArAyaNan, they worship him and their everything depend on his will.
paramAthmA parO yOSsau NArAyanNa samAhvaya:

thasyANapAyiNI chakthir dhEvI thadhdharma dharminNI
S :
srI mahAlakshmi never separates from srIman nArAyaNan who is the most supreme; she is his
dear consort, his power potency and has the same qualities like him.
It is shown in the sAsthram that these other dhEvathas also exist on bhagavAn's divine form. Do
they reside on his form always like srI mahAlakshmi as explained in the previous slOkam?
They will stay on bhagavAn's divine form for their sustenance. This is one of the greatest
qualities - sauseelyam (magnanimity) of bhagavAn and contemplating this great quality,
AzhwArs praise him often for this act of him. This is explained by AzhwArs in the following
pAsurams:
thiruvAimozhi - 9.3.10
thALa thAmaraiyAn unadhuNdhiyAn

vALkoL NILmazhuvALi unnAgaththAn
ALarAyth thozhuvArum amarargaL
NALum en pugazhgO una chIlamE?
How can I glorify your magnanimity? You are presenting yourselves to brahmA (who is in the
lotus flower and has taken up your naval as his residence), rudhran (who holds an axe and has

taken up your right side as his residence), nithya sUris who contantly serve you and dhEvas
who are always looking some material benediction from you. Even if I constantly glorify you, I
will not be satisfied.
periya thirumozhi - 9.6.1
akkum puliyin adhaLum udaiyAr avar oruvar

pakkam NiRka NinRa panNbar
The most auspicious one who is filled with good qualities due to him allowing rudhran to stand
next to him in thirukkurungudi.
This principle of bhagavAn giving his form as the residence for other dhEvathas is explained
using an example. bhattar explains to NanjIyar that "During kalahams (floods or disturbance
from invaders), every one (irrespective of their nature) will come and stay inside the
adayavaLaindhAn layer/fort in srIrangam. Once normality returns, every one will return to their
residences outside, but even in their absence, the place where they resided will be identified as
their past residence. Similarly, even though bhagavAn gives his body as the residence for these
dhEvathas at times, even when they are not there, that place is identified as the residence place
of those dhEvathas".
So far, we have seen that AzhwArs presented the core principles of vEdham/vEdhAntham, i.e.,
srIman nArAyaNan is the supreme god and all other dhEvathas are subservient to him.

AzhwArs identify that whatever explained previously in case of other dhEvathas is also
applicable for evey one of us. Let us see how:
 thiruvAimozhi - 1.4.9 - vAdAtha malaradikkIzh vaikkavE vagukkinRu (

) - Our true nature is to serve
emperumAn by offering fresh flowers to his fresh lotus feet
 thiruvAimozhi - 2.7.11 - ennaiyAkkikkonNdu ( )-
after creating me and accepting me
 thiruvAimozhi - 3.2.1 - aNNAL NI thaNdha Akkaiyin vazhi uzhalvEn (
) - I become subservient to the body
that was given to me by you
 thiruvAimozhi - 8.7.1 - ennaith than ponnadik kIzh iruththi (
இ ) - Keeping me at his golden feet
 thiruvAimozhi - 6.10.1 - kulathol adiyEn ( ) - I am born in
a family in which served you for many many generations
 thiruvAimozhi - 9.2.1 - kudikudi vazhi vaNdhu Atcheyyum thonNdar (
) - Servitor in family which served
emperumAn for many many generations

 thiruvAimozhi - 1.5.1 - aruvinaiyEn kaLavEzh venNnNey thoduvunNda kaLvA
enban (
) - I (who is unqualified to glorify him) will pretend to be his mother
yasOdhai and chastise him for stealing butter
 and more
Through the above pAsurams, we can understand that AzhwArs (all pAsurams happens
to be from nammAzhwAr) have stated that he is also given his body by bhagavAn, he is
also given a place in bhagavAn's sarIram, he also worships srIman nArAyaNan, he is
also not qualified to glorify bhagavAn, etc - i.e., the qualities that were explained for
other dhEvathas are not unique to them and are common for all jIvAthmAs.
But, are AzhwArs the same as dhEvathas? Ofcourse not. AzhwArs are far greater than
other dhEvathas. Let us see how:
 dhEvathas (brahmA, rudhran, etc) are given their position based on their
karmam. AzhwArs were personally hand-picked from samsAram by emperumAn
out of his desire to reform many jIvAthmAs.
 dhEvathas reside in bhagavAn's form during praLayam for protection. AzhwArs
are glorified as "NIkkamillAvadiyAr" ( ) - those who are
never separated from bhagavAn.
 dhEvathas are called servitors of bhagavAn only because they glorify him when
sathva guNam (mode of goodness) arises in them. AzhwArs are fully situated in
sudhdha sathvam (pure goodness) and are constantly engaged in kainkaryam
without any break.
 When dhEvathas become affected with rajO/thamO guNam they sometimes ask
"Who is that vishNu?" and at times even fight with bhagavaN like it happened
during bANAsura charithram where rudhran fought against krishna bhagavAn.
Thinking about all of these, thirumazhisai AzhwAr sung "pidhirum manamilEn

pinYchagan thannOdu ethirvan avan enakku NErAn" where he himself says he is
greater than rudhran because he is constantly thinking about srIman nArAyaNan. Thus,
we can understand that AzhwArs are far greater than other dhEvathas.
Establishing that AzhwArs' varNam and the language of dhivya prabhandhams

does not minimize the glories of dhivya prabhandhams
But, How can we understand that dhivya prabhandhams to be equivalent to samskritha

vEdham (which is nithyam - eternal, apuarushEyam - not compiled by any one and
nirdhOsham - no defects). dhivya prabhandhams are in thamizh language (instead of

the dhEva bhAshai samskritham) and that are sung (some) AzhwArs who are not born
in brAmaNa varNam. It can be compared easily - let us see how.
If the dhivya prabhandhams were sung by brAhamaNa AzhwArs only, only brAhmaNas
will be able to understand that and attain salvation and the others may not be able to
relate to that and benefit. Also, since prapathi is sarvAdhikAram (any one can perform
prapathi) and dhivya prabandhams fully focus on prapathi, emperumAn facilitated
AzhwArs to be born in different varNams for the upliftment of samsAris who are
immersed in this ocean of samsAram.
Even though dhivya prabhandhams are in thamizh which is not hailed as dhEva
bhAshai as in the case of samskritham, they are great due to the following aspects:
 mathsya purANam - harikIrththim viNaivANyath brAhmanNENa NarOththama;

bhAshAgANam Na gAthavyam thasmAth pApam thvayA krutham
( ;
) - Oh best of men! Except
while glorifying lord vishNu, poems/songs in other languages cannot be uttered;
But since you punished the ones who were glorifying Lord vishNu (in other
languages) you have acquired sins for that.
 Since, nammAzhwAr said "vadamozhi maRai" ( ) in
thiruvAimozhi 8.9.7 - northern language (samkritha) vEdham, it is clear that there
is southern language (dhrAvida) vEdham (which is thiruvAimozhi and other 3
prabhandhams of nammAzhwAr).
 Since nammAzhwAr says "poyyil pAdal" ( ) in thiruvAimozhi
4.3.11 which means his pAsurams are fully truth and not mixed with any lies.
 As azhagiya maNavALa perumAL nAyanAr identifies in AchArya hrudhayam -
"Agasthiyamum aNAdhi" ( ) - thamizh language which
was taught by agasthya muni is also beginningless (similar to samskritham)
apaurushEyathvam (not created by any one) is one of the unique qualities of vEdham.
When something is created by some one it will be bound by the limitations of the
creator. Even if bhagavAn himself creates some scripture, some one could say it will
have his own personal influence (which is actually good). But since vEdham is not
created by any one (including bhagavAn), it has free from all defects (nirdhOsham).
Here it is established that AzhwArs dhivya prabhandhams are also free from all defects.
 As nammAzhwAr himself says in thiruvAimozhi - 10.7.5 - "yAnAyththannaith thAn

pAdith thennAvennum ammAn" (

) - srIman nArAyaNan sung on himself through
the mouth of nammAzhwAr and gets blissful. Since bhagavAn is called sthava
priya (in vishNu sahasranAmam), he likes to be glorified and he glorifies himself
through AzhwArs.
 As thirumangai AzhwAr says in periya thirumozhi - 5.7.3 - "annamAy anRanGku
arumaRai payaNdhAn" ( )-
bhagavAn appears as a divine swan and reveals the vEdham to brahmA and as
bhagavAn appears as vyAsar (shakthi AvEsha avathAram) and explains the
vEdham in detail, he reveals the dhrAvida vEdham through AzhwArs.
Thus it is explained that dhivya prabhandham is also apaurushEyam and defectless.
Just like samskritha vEdham, dhivya prabhandhams are also nithyam (eternal). Let us
see how:
 As per suptha prabhudhdha ( ) nyAyam, when a teacher

teaches to his students every day after awakening the students from sleep - their
teaching is considered as continuous, bhagavAn periodically wakes up
jIvAthmAs through AzhwArs with the eternal dhivya prabhandham.
 Just like bhagavAn preserves vEdham in his heart during praLayam and reveals
them it brahmA, etc., dhivya prabhandhams are also revealed in every chatur
yugam through AzhwArs.
Thus dhivya prabhandhams also are as valid as vEdham itself with respect to
apuarushEyathvam, nithyathvam and nirdhOshathvam.
Now, Let us see that dhivya prabhandhams are in fact much greater than samskritha
vEdham.
In bhagavath gIthai, kaNNan emperumAn declares that "thraigunNya vishayA vEdhA:"

( :) meaning samskritha vEdham is meant for people of
all modes (sathvam, rajas and thamas). But dhivya prabhandhams are presented by
AzhwArs who were divinely blessed with blemishless knowledge by bhagavAn himself
for the whole purpose of uplifting jIvAthmAs from this samsAram and leading them in to
the path of emancipation through prapathi (surrender). So, it is fully meant for people
who want to be fully situated sudhdha sathvam (pure goodness). Thus dhivya
prabhandhams are far greater than samskritha vEdham.
archAvathAra upAdhANa vaishNava uthpaththi chiNthaNam

mAthruyONi parIkshayAs thulyamAhur maNIshinNa:

:
The learned people state that "analysing archAvathAra emperumAn based on the raw
material (metal, wood, stone, etc) and the qualities of a vaishnava based on his birth are
considered as doubting the chastity of ones own mother (which is very cruel)".
The same principle is explained by azhagiya maNavALa perumAL nAyanAr beautifully

in his AchArya hrudhayam 75th chUrNikai as:
vIttinbha inbhappAkkaLil dhravya bhAshA NirUpanNa samam inbha mAriyil ArAychchi
இ இ
(mAmunigaL beautifully explains this in his vyAkyAnam as follows.
emperumAn out of his causeless mercy descend into the temples and homes of his
most dear devotees who melt by simply hearing about him. He takes the form that is
desired by his devotees. AzhwArs are most dear to bhagavAn because they were hand
picked by bhagavAn from this samsAram and blessed by him and thus became so
attached to him. Their dhivya prabhandhams are glorified by great intellects like srIman
nAthamunigaL, srI yAmunAchAryar, srI rAmAnujar, etc. Thus having any misconception
in archAvathAra emperumAns based on the raw material that is used to make the divine
vigraham, AzhwArs because of their varNam and their dhivya prabhandhams based on
their language is considered very cruel.)
Thus it is fully established that dhivya prabhandhams are most glories and are the most
valid pramANams for us to accept and follow.
AzhwArs' bhagavath dharshanam
Did AzhwArs see emperumAn in prathyaksham (directly) or in mAnasa/jnAna

sAkshAthkAram? It is jnAna sAkshAthkAram only and not direct vision. But sometimes
we see AzhwArs saying in thiruvAimozhi 1.9.9"kamalak kanNnNan en kanNnNinuLLAn
kAnNban" ( )-
puNdarikAkshan is within my eyes and I am seeing him, thiruvAimozhi 5.5.1 "Nambiyai
NAn kanNdapin" ( ) - After seeing thirukkuRungudi nambi,

etc. Those are all jnAna sAkshAthkAram (vision in mind) which is equivalent to direct
vision.
In many pAsurams AzhwArs crave for a direct vision of emperumAn. In thiruvAimozhi

4.7.10 nammAzhwAr says "pakkam NOkki NinRalaNdhEn pAviyEn kAnNginRilEn"
( ) - I was looking
for your arrival and being very unfortunate, unable to see you. He shows great desire to
see emperumAn directly. In thiruvAimozhi 4.7.4 "kAnNa vaNdhu en kanN mugappE"
( ) pAsuram he says that even brahmA, rudhran, etc
cannot directly see emperumAn and him desiring to have that dharshan is not
reasonable. But in the next pAsuram "appanE adalAzhiyAnE" (
) itself he cries out "Because of your glorious generosity and since
you are capable of removing any hurdles, please present your beautiful form in front of
me". Finally in 4.7.10 he first says "kAnNginRilEn" ( ) saying he still
does not see emperumAn directly and finishes the pAsuram saying "thakka jnYAnak
kanNgaLAlE kanNdu thazhuvuvanE" (
) - I will see him with my inner eyes and embrace him. Thus we can
understand that AzhwArs saw emperumAn through their inner eyes and not external
eyes. This is what is explained by azhagiya maNavALa perumAL nAyanAr in AchArya
hrudhayam chUrNikai 230 "kanNdEn enRa paththum utkanNnNAlE" (
) meaning 10 places where AzhwAr identifies that he
saw emperumAn relates to mAnasa sAkshAthkAram (inner vision only). (mAmunigaL in
his vyAkyAnam, most beautifully brings out the 10 places where AzhwAr says he saw
emperumAn). This is the principle of sudhdha sampradhAyam as taught by our
pUrvAchAryas. nammAzhwAr, thirumangai AzhwAr, mudhalAzhwArs, etc., identified in
their pAsurams that they saw emperumAn only through their inner eyes. Now,
archAvathAra emperumAns is the only place where prathyaksha dharshanam (direct
vision) is possible.

Thus, the ones who are fully faithful towards AzhwArs (who are most glorious, who are
the leaders of prapanna kulam, who appeared for the upliftment of everyone and who
blessed us with their dhrAvida vEdham which can be easily understood by everyone)
are called jIvan mukthars (Note: this is to highlight the glories of srIvaishnavas as it is
explained by AzhwArs themselves as nilath thEvar/bhUsurar - sUris of this world - this is
not the same jIvan mukthar concept of advaitham).
Those srIvaishNavas who have given up any interest in heretical doctrines and
materialistic aspirations, who are so fixed in sAsthram that they do not give up their
AchAram/anushtAnam even when their life is under threat, being subservient to
bhagavAn vishNu instead of their own senses, always contemplating on the true
knowledge about the jIvAthmA, giving up violence fully and being situated in full control
over their senses, being merciful towards all living beings, giving up all attachment
towards lust and wealth, being full realised, being content, having good control over the
prasAdham (food) they consume, not being coward and at the same time not being
angry, not having mamakAram towards wife and children, etc are considered to be jIvan
mukthars as nammAzhwAr said in thiruvAimozhi 5.5.11 "aRiyakkaRRuvallAr
AzhkadalnYAlaththuLLE vaittanNavar" (
) - the one who knows the core principles
of thiruvAimozhi and lives by that are great vaishNavas in this world itself.

Thus, AzhwArs, out of their mercy, blessed us these dhivya prabhandhams for the
upliftment of everyone in this world and then ascended to paramapadham.
Thus ends this beautiful section named dhivya prabhandha prAmANya samarthanam in
6000 padi guru paramparA prabhAvam.

nAthamunigaL
nAthamunigaL – kAttu mannAr koil
Thirunakshathram: Ani, anusham
avathAra sthalam: kAttu mannAr koil (veera nArAyana puram)
AchAryan: NammAzhwAr
Sishyas: UyyakkondAr, kurugai kAvalappan, piLLai karuNAkara dhAsar, nambi

karuNAkara dhAsar, yEru thiruvudaiyAr, thiukkaNNamangai AndAn, vAnamAmalai
dheivanAyaka AndAn, uruppattUr AchAn piLLai, chOgathUrAzhwAn,
kIzhaiagathAzhwAn, mElaiagathAzhwan.
Works: nyAya thathvam, yOga rahasyam, purusha nirNayam
sriman nAthamunigal was Born in veera nArAyaNa puram to Ishvara bhattAzhwAr. He

is also known as sri ranganAtha muni and nAtha brahmar. He was an expert in
ashtAnga yOgam and divine sangeetham. Also, he is the one who established the
arayar sEvai which is still observed in thiruvarangam, AzhwAr thirunagari, srivilliputhUr,
etc.
nAthamunigal along with his father, family and son (Ishvara muni) went on a pilgrimage
to vada Mathurai, VrindhAvanam, govardhana giri, dvArakai, badharikAsramam,

naimisAraNyam, etc and stayed in a village named gOvardhanapuram on the banks of
yamunA river serving emperumAn in the form of yamunai thurvar. One day, in his
dream, emperumAn orders his to return to kAttu mannAr koil and nAthamunigal returns
back. Enroute, he does mangalAsAsanam to vAraNAsi, puri jagannath, simhAchalam,
thiruvEnkatam, kadikAchalam, kAnchipuram (and other divyadhEsams there),
thiruvahindrapuram, thirukkOvalUr, thiruvarangam and thirukkudanthai and finally
reaches kAttu mannAr kOil.
A group of srivaishnavas from mElnAdu (thirunArAyaNapuram area) visit kAttu mannAr

koil and sings the “ArAvamuthE…” padhigam from thiruvAimozhi in front of mannanAr
(emperumAn in kAttu mannAr koil). nAthamunigaL, enthralled by the meanings of those
pAsurams, asks the srivaishnavas about them, but they dont know anything beyond
those 11 pAsurams. They say that if nAthamunigaL goes to ThirukkurugUr, he may be
able to find out more details. nAthamunigaL takes leave from mannanAr and reaches
AzhwAr thirungari. He meets parAngusa dhAsar who is a sishya of madhurakavi
AzhwAr, who teaches nAthamunigaL kaNNinuN chiruththAmbu and asks him to chant it
12000 times in front of thiruppuzhiAzhwAr (tamarind tree where nammAzhwAr lived) on
a single stretch. Since nAthamunigaL has already learnt ashtAnga yOgam he meditates
on nammAzhwAr and successfully completes chanting kaNNinuN chiruththAmbu 12000
times. nammAzhwAr being pleased with nAthamunigaL, appears in front of him and
blesses him with full knowledge in ashAnga yOgam, 4000 divya prabhandham and all
meanings of aruLicheyal. Just like nammAzhwAr is blessed by emperumAn with divine
knowledge, nAthamunigaL is blessed by nammAzhwAr with the same divine
knowledge. This is what mAmunigaL says in upadhEsa rathina mAlai – aruL peRRa
nAtha muni ( ).
nAthamunigaL returns to kAttu mannAr koil and presents 4000 divya prabhandham in
front of mannanAr. mannanAr is very pleased with nAthamunigaL and asks him to
categorize divya prabhandham and propagate it everywhere. He adds music to
aruLicheyal and teaches the same to his nephews keezhaiagathAzhwAn and
mElaiagathAzhwAn and propagates the same through them.
nAthamunigaL was an expert in divine sangeetham as well. Once when the local king
was unable to distinguish between a normal singer and a divine singer, nAthamunigaL
identifies the divine singer. When the king questions his abilities, nAthamunigaL asks
4000 cymbals to be used to make sounds at once and based on the sound coming from
the cymbals, he identifies the weight of each cymbal – such was his expertise. The king
understands his greatness and gives him a lot of wealth – but nAthamunigaL shows no
interest in those wealth.

nAthamunigaL foresees the appearance of ALavandhAr (his grand son). He instructs
his son Isvara muni to name the child “yamunai thuravian” (due to his attachment to
kannan emperumAn) and mentions to all his sishyas that they should teach all the
knowledge to yamunai thuraivan (who will become ALavandhAr later).
nAthamunigaL, while meditating on emperumAn, forgets everything around him. Once,

when a king comes with his wives to meet nAthamunigaL, nAthamunigaL was in yOgam
at that time, so the king quietly leaves. But nAthamunigaL out of his pure bhakthi
bhAvam, thinks that it was Krishnan and gOpis visiting him and runs behind them.
Finally, once when the king visits nAthamunigaL after his hunting session, with his wife,
another archer and a monkey, nAthamunigaL, again out of his bhakthi bhAvam, thinks it
was rAman, sIthai, lakshmaNan and hanumAn. He starts running behind them and
when he loses sight of them, he faints immediately. Unable to bear the separation from
emperumAn anymore, he attains paramapadham immediately. Hearing this, Isvara
muni and nAthamunigaL’s sishyas reached that spot and did charama kainkaryamgaL
for him.
Without nAthamunigaL’s effort to retrieve aruLicheyal, we would not have gotten all the
srivaishnavasri we have today. ALavandhAr in his sthOthra rathnam, sings the glories of
nAthamunigaL in the first 3 slOkams.
In the first slOkam, he says “I worship nAthamunigaL who is full of unthinkable,

fabulous, easily earned (by the grace of emperumAn/AzhwAr) ocean of jnAnam, bhakthi
and vairAgyam”.
In the second slOkam, he says “I worship nAthamunigaL’s lotus feet which is my refuge
in both samsAram and paramapadham and who has full knowledge and love for the
lotus feet of the killer of madhu (madhusUdhanan)”.
In the third slOkam, he says “I worship nAthamunigaL who has boundless love for
achyuthan, who is the epitome of real knowledge, who is an ocean of nectar, who has
appeared in this world to rescue others, who is full in bhakthi and who is the leader of all
yOgis”.
Finally in the last slOkam he says to emperumAn, “Please do not accept me for my
great achievements but for my grandfather nAthamunigaL who has natural love towards
your lotus feet and who is fully understood the real knowledge”.
From the above 4 slOkams we can understand the real greatness of nAthamunigaL. Let
us pray at the lotus feet of sriman nAthamunigaL that we also develop the same
attachment towards achyuthan and AzhwAr.

nAthamunigaL’s thanian
nama: achinthya adhbudha aklishta jnAna vairAgya rAsayE

nAthAya munaye agAdha bhagavadh bhakthi sindhavE

uyyakkondAr
uyyakkondAr – AlwArthirungari
thirunakshathram: chithirai, kArthigai
avathAra sthalam: thiruveLLarai
AchAryan: nAthamunigaL
Sishyas: maNakkAl nambi, thiruvallikkENi pAN perumAL araiyar, chEttalUr

chendalangAra dhAsar, sri pundarIka dhAsar, Gomatam thiruviNNakarappan,
ulagaperumAL nangai.
puNdarIkAkshar was born in ThiruveLLarai (svEtha giri) divyadhEsam and was named
after the emperumAn of the divyadhEsam. He is also known as padhmAkshar but
eventually and popularly became to be known as uyyakkondAr.
He was one of the prime sishyas of nAthamunigaL along with kurugai kAvalappan.
When nAthamunigaL got blessed with divine knowledge by nammAzhwAr, he came
back to kAttu mannAr koil and started preaching our samprAdhAyam from there. He
taught ashtAnga yOgam to kurugai kAvalappan – through ashtAnga yOgam, one can do
bhagavadh anubhavam non-stop without having to think about any bodily activities.
When nAthamunigaL asked uyyakkoNdAr if we wanted to learn ashtAnga yOgam as
well – uyyakkondAr said “pinNam kidakka manNam punNaralAmO” (
) – meaning when so many samsAris are suffering in this world

out of ignorance, how can we do bhagavadh anubhavam on our own. Hearing this
nAthamunigaL was extremely pleased and appreciated uyyakkondAr’s magnanimity. He
instructed both uyyakkondAr and kurugai kAvalappan to teach aruLicheyal and
ashtAnga yOgam with meanings to Ishvara muni’s son (nAthamunigaL’s own grandson)
who is soon to appear.
After the time of nAthamunigaL, uyyakkondAr becomes the dharisna pravarthakar (one
who is incharge of protecting/propagating the sampradhAyam) and teaches this divine
knowledge to his sishyas. At the time of leaving to paramapadham, maNakkAl nambi
(his prime sishya) asks him about the successor and uyyakkondAr instructs maNakkAl
nambi himself to take care of the sampradhAyam. He also instructs maNakkAl nambi to
prepare yamunaithuraivar to be the next leader.
uyyakkondAr’s thanian:
nama: pankaja nEthrAya nAtha: srI pAdha pankajE

nyastha sarva bharAya asmath kula nAthAya dhimathE
: :

kurugai kAvalappan
thirunakshathram: thai, visAgam
kurugai kAvalappan is a dear sishya of nAthamunigaL. nAthamunigaL, after returning to

kAttu mannAr kOil, spends some time in meditating on emperumAn. Subsequently, he
orders kurugai kAvalappan to learn the yOga rahasyams and teaches the same to him.
kurugai kAvalappan learns the same and continues to meditate on emperumAn in
ashtAnga yOgam. When nAthamanuigaL leaves to paramapadham unable to bear the
separation from emperumAn, kurugai kAvalappan goes to the place where
nAthamunigaL gives up his vimala charama thirumEni (pure final body) and stays there
for the rest of his life fully meditating on emperumAn and taking care of that place.
maNakkAl nambi instructs ALavandhAr to go and learn yOga rahasyam from kurugai
kAvalappan. ALavandhAr along with his sishyas reach where appan is in yOgam
(meditation) with emperumAn. Wanting to not disturb appan's meditation, without
making any sound, they all hide behind a wall and watch appan from behind his back.
Suddenly, appan turns around and asks if anyone from chottai kulam (srEshta kulam of
nAthamunigaL). AlavandhAr comes out and introduces himself as yamunai thuraivan
the grand son of nAthamunigaL. He asks appan "We were hiding behind the wall on
your back side. How did you come to know about my identity?". appan replies "When I
am with emperumAn in yOgam, even if periya pirAttiyAr comes and invites him, he will
not turn around. But he was constantly pressing my shoulders down and looking over
me towards your direction. From that I understood that there must be some one from
the sottai kulam of nAthamunigaL which is very dear to him". AlavandhAr becomes very
moved with appan's experience with bhagavAn and bhagavAn's attachment towards
nAthamunigaL. He then falls flat at appan's lotus feet and requests him to teach the
yOga rahasyam. appan lifts him up and promises to teach him the same but he says he
will reveal that only towards the end of his own life here in samsAram. Being a great
yOgi, he exactly knew his date of ascending to paramapadham. He revealed that date
and time to ALavandhAr in a note and asked him to come back that particular time to
learn yOga rahasyam. Agreeing to that, ALavandhAr returns to srIrangam and
continues his kainkaryam.
Subsequently, during adhyayana uthsavam at srIranagam, AzhwAr thiruvaranga

perumAL arayar recites nammAzhwAr's thiruvAimozhi in front of namperumAL. He
recites the thiruvananthapuram padhigam - kedumidar (10.2) and by namperumAL's

divine desire, arayar recites the phrase "NadaminO NamargaLuLLIr NAmumakku
aRiyach chonnOm" (
) meaning "Oh dear devotees! walk to thirvananthapuram at once"
looking at ALavandhAr's face. Hearing this, ALavandhAr accepts thus as the divine
order of namperumAL and leaves to thiruvananthapuram. After reaching there and
performing mangaLAsAsanam, he realizes that, it was the day when appan had asked
him to come and learn yOga rahasyam. So, ALavandhAr laments that he did not have a
pushpak vimAnam which will carry him at once.
Thus appan meditated on emperumAn and stayed forever at the place where his
AchAryan left samsAram and finally himself reached his AchAryan's divine lotus feet.
Let us pray at the lotus feet of kurugai kAvalappan to develop great attachment towards
emperumAn and AchAryan.
kurugai kAvalappan's thaniyan:
nAthamauni padhAsaktham gyAnayOgAthi sampadham

kurugAthipa yOghIndhram namAmi sirasA sadhA

thirukkaNNamangai ANdAn
thirunakshathram: Ani sravaNam (thiruvONam)
avathAra sthalam: thirukkaNNAmangai
Place where he attained paramapadham from: thirukkaNNAmangai
Works: nAchiyAr thirumozhi thaniyan starting with “alli nAL thAmarai mEl“
bhakthavathsalan emperumAn with thAyAr – thirkkaNNamangai

thirukkaNNamngai ANdAn – thirukkaNNamangai
thirukkaNNamangai ANdAn, who is a dear sishya of nAthamunigaL, was born in

thirukkaNNamangai dhivya dhEsam. He is greatly glorified by our pUrvAchAryas for his
utmost faith in bhagavAn‘s rakshakathvam (protection).
His glories are revealed in srIvachana bhUshaNa dhivya sAsthram by piLLai

lOkAchAryar. While explaining about the most ideal/exalted examples for upAyam
(means to pursue bhagavAn) and upEyam (goal – to serve bhagavAn), he says in
sUthram 80 “upAyaththukku pirAttiyaiyum, dhraupathiyaiyum, thirukkaNNamangai
ANdAnaiyum pOlE irukkavENum; upEyaththukku iLaiya perumALaiyum, periya
udaiyAraiyum, piLLai thirunaraiyUr araiyaraiyum chinthayanthiyaiyum pOlE
irukkavENum” ( , ,
இ ;
இ , ,
இ ).
In this sUthram and the next few sUthrams, upAyam and upEyam are explained with
excellent examples. upAyam is the process and upEyam is the goal. According to
sAsthram, bhagavAn is the explained as the best means and eternal kainkaryam

(service) to bhagavAn is the top-most goal. Since, bhagavAn is fully capable, he can
easily uplift anyone – so he is the best upAyam. Since srIman nArAyaNan is the
supreme lord of everyone, kainkaryam to srIman nArAyaNan and his divine consort srI
mahAlakshmi is said to be the best upEyam. Here, few examples are given for upAyam
and upEyam – let us see them briefly now:
upAyam
 pirAtti – sIthA pirAtti (srI mahAlakshmi) – When pirAtti was captured by rAvaNa
and was held captive, she could have easily punished rAvaNa and escaped from
there as she is fully capable. She demonstrated her capacity by protecting
hanumAn when his tail was set fire by the rAkshasas. She blessed and protected
hanumAn by saying “sIthO bhava” (let this fire have a cooling effect on
hanumAn). But she manifested total dependence on perumAL (srI rAma), gave
up her sakthi (ability) to protect herself and waited for him to come and rescue
her.
 dhraupathi – when she was harrassed and humiliated in the assembly of
kauravas, she fully gave up her lajjA (modesty), raised her hands and cried out
for krishNan. She did not hold on to her clothes, but fully and faithfully raised her
hands and surely krishNa protected her.
 thirukkaNNamangai ANdAn – he gave up all his actions and fully surrendered to
bhakthavathsalan emperumAn of thirukkaNNamangai dhivya dhEsam, accepting
emperumAn as his total refuge and protector.
ANdAn’s nishtai is beautifully explained by our mAmunigaL in this sUthram’s

vyAkyAnam, once ANdAn saw a dog is attacked by a person. The owner of the dog
becomes very angry and fights the person who attacked his dog. They both pull out
their knives and attack each other and even are ready to kill each other. Seeing this, a
great realization dawns on ANdAn. ANdAn thinks “If an ordinary person who owns of a
dog becomes greatly agitated and can go to the extent of killing some one else who
attacked his dog just because the dog is owned by him, how would srIman nArAyaNan
who is the supreme lord feel, if some one surrendered to him is suffering and trying to
protect oneself?”. Thinking this, he immediately gives up all his attachments and goes
into the temple and lies down happily without any more worry about protecting himself.
Here, giving up of all actions could be easily understood for not doing anything. But
mAmunigaL beautifully explains this principle in his vyAkyAnam. His divine words are
“svarakshaNa hEthuvAna svavyApArangaLai vittAn enRapadi” (
) – this means he gave
up all actions that are related to protecting oneself. This means, he continued to perform
wonderful kainkaryams towards emperumAn but only gave up efforts to protect oneself.
Ay jananyAchAryar too highlights the exact same principle. This can be understood

from the subsequent sections, especially in the incident highlighted in thiruvAimozhi
9.2.1 vyAkyAnam.
upEyam (kainkaryam) – a very brief explanation of the remaining part of sUthram

80 and the subsequent sUthrams
 iLaiya perumAL – lakshmaNa – He was so stead-fast in kainkaryam that he

followed perumAL (srI rAma) wherever he went and served him always.
 periya udaiyAr – jatAyu mahArAja – In the process of fighting rAvaNa to save
sIthA pirAtti, he was not bothered about getting killed. He was simply focussed
on trying to save thAyAr and eventually he was killed.
 piLLai thirunaraiyUr araiyar – He along with his family were serving
the emperumAn at thottiyam thirunArAyaNapuram (which is located near
srIrangam). Once some vandals attacked the temple and set fire to the
archAvathAra emperumAn. Unable to bear such attack and trying to protect the
emperumAn, he along with his family embraced the archA vigraham and
protected emperumAn. But in the course, due to the burns from the fire, he along
with his family gave up his life. His dedication to emperumAn is greatly glorified
by our pUrvAchAryas.
 chinthayanthi – a gOpikA who lived in vraja bhUmi. She was greatly attached to
kaNNan emperumAn. Once she heard the divine music of kaNNan emperumAn,
became blissful and wanted to leave her house to see emperumAn. But she
could not leave her house immediately and becomes very sad. By having great
bliss on hearing emperumAn‘s flute sound she exhausted her puNya karmAs
(puNyam leads to joy) and by having great sorrow on not being able to leave she
exhausted her pApa karmAs. Since all her puNyam and pApam are exhausted,
she at once ascended to paramapadham (our puNyam and pApam are that
which binds us in samsAram – once they are gone, we will be uplifted). Thus,
she easily attained the ultimate goal of ascending to paramapadham and serving
emperumAn eternally there.
He then lived the rest of his life serving thirukkaNNamangai emperumAn and then
gloriously ascended to paramapadham to continue his divine service to
paramapadhanAthan.
ANdAn’s life and glories are identified in a few places in vyAkyAnams and pUrvAchArya
granthams. Let us see them now.
 nAchiyAr thirumozhi 1.1 – periyavAchAn piLLai vyAkyanam – ANdAL says “tharai

viLakki” ( ) – by sweeping/cleaning the floor. periyavAchAn piLLai

highlights that thirukkaNNamangai ANdAN was performing the cleaning
kainkaryam as the ultimate goal (not as a means to achieve something).
 thirumAlai 38 – periyavAchAn piLLai vyAkyanam – When explaining “un
kadaiththalai irunthu vAzhum sOmbar” ( இ
) - periyavAchAn piLLai explains vAzhum sOmbar (living lazy person)
means ones who have full faith on emperumAn like demonstrated by ANdAn on
bhakthavathsalan emperumAn after seeing the dog being protected by its owner.
The opposite of vAzhum sOmbar is thAzhum sOmbar (real lazy person) who
simply does not engage in any kainkaryam and wastes their life.
 thiruvAimozhi 9.2.1 – nampiLLai eedu vyAkyAnam – nammAzhwAr says in
10.2.7, “kadaiththalai chIykkappeRRAl kaduvinai kaLaiyalAmE” (
) – ones sins can be
removed by simply sweeping the floor of emperumAn‘s temple.
thirukkaNNamangai ANdAn is well known for giving up everything and staying in
thirukkaNNamangai bhakthavathsalan emperumAn sannidhi ever after. He was
greatly attached to sweeping kainkaryam at the temple and was performing that
kainkaryam regularly. In thiruvAimozhi 9.2.1 vyAkyAnam, nampiLLai beautifully
establishes an important aspect. Here in the pAsuram, nammAzhwAr says to
emperumAn “We have been doing many different kainkaryams such as cleaning
the temple, etc., for many generations”. Here a question arises. prapannas fully
accept emperumAn as the only upAyam. They have no involvement in any
personal effort – so why do kainkaryams at all? This is explained beautifully by
nampiLLai through the following incident involving thirukkaNNamangai ANdAn.
One of his class-mates (who became nAsthika) asks ANdAn why he is troubling
himself by sweeping the floors if he has no involvement in self-effort. ANdAn
shows him a place where there is dust and a place where there is no dust – he
says the result of sweeping is just that – the place becomes clean – nothing
more. He asks back “Cant you spot the difference between clean place and dirty
place?”. Thus, we can understand that performing kainkaryam is a natural act of
the dhAsa bhUthan (a servant) and that kainkaryam (service) does not become
upAyam. In srIvachana bhUshaNam, piLLai lOkAchAryar beautifully explains in
sUthram 88, “If a materially driven person will do so many things to fulfill his (or
his dear ones) material desires, how much desire a prapanna (one who is
surrendered to bhagavAn) should have to serve emperumAn who is supremely
blissful and apt to be served for the true nature of the jIvAthmA?”.
 charamOpAya nirNayam - nAthamunigaL learnt all the 4000 dhivya
prabhandhams from nammAzhwAr himself at AzhwAr thirunagari and returned to
vIranArAyaNa puaram (kAttu mannAr kOyil). He recited the dhivya
prabhandhams in front of mannanAr emperumAn there and received all honors
from the emperumAn. He then reached his thirumALigai (residence) and invited

his nephews kIzhai agathu AzhwAn and mElai agathu AzwAn, explains them
about the special mercy he got from AzhwAr and the divine form AzhwAr
showed in his dream (In nAthumunigaL’s dream, nammAzhwAr shows the divine
form emperumAnAr who is to appear in the future for the upliftment of everyone).
They both became astonished hearing about this and were satisfied that they got
some how got related to such mahAnubhAvar (great personality). After that,
nAthamunigaL was teaching dhvaya mahA manthram’s meanings through
thiruvAimozhi to his dear sishya thirukkaNNamangai ANdAn (who is very well
qualified to be a proper sishya). During “poliga poliga poliga” (thiruvAimozhi
5.2.1) pAsuram, nAthamunigaL explains the divine words of AzhwAr and the
incidents seen in his dream. Hearing this thirukkaNNamangai ANdAn mentions
that “I am so blessed to have the relationship with your highness who has seen
the divine form of bhavishyadhAchAryan in your dream”. This incident is
highlighted in charamOpAya nirNayam
(http://ponnadi.blogspot.in/2012/12/charamopaya-nirnayam-thirumudi.html) which
is written by nAyanArAchAn piLLai who is the adopted son of periyavAchAn
piLLai.
 vArthA mAlai 109 – pinbhazhagiya perumAL jIyar explains the same principle
that is explained in srIvachana bhUshaNa sUthrams which we have already
seen. Here also he highlights that pirAtti, dhraupathi and thirukkaNNamangai
ANdAn are the ultimate examples of how to pursue emperumAn and how to fully
depend on him.
 vArthA mAlai 234 – Here the importance of fully focussing on visEsha sAsthram
(bhAgavatha dharmam) over sAmAnya sAsthram (varNAsrama dharmam) is
stressed and its highlighted we should not think that such nishtai is only possible
for very highly elevated adhikAris (persons) like Adhi bharathan,
thirukkaNNamangai ANdAn, etc. Instead everyone should strive for that and by
the grace of bhagavAn we too will become firm in such faith.
Thus, we have seen some glimpses of the glorious life of thirukkaNNamangai ANdAn.
Let us pray at his lotus feet that we too get such full faith on emperumAn.

maNakkAl nambi
maNakkAl nambi – maNakkAl
Thirunakshathram: mAsi, magam
avathAra sthalam: maNakkAl (a village on the banks of river cauvery, near

srirangam)
AchAryan: uyyakkondAr
Sishyas: ALavandhAr, thiruvaranga perumAL arayar (ALavandhAr’s son),

dheivathukkarasu nambi, piLLai arasu nambi, siru puLLUrudaiyAr piLLai,
thirumAlirunchOlai dhAsar, vangipurathu Aychi.
sri rAma misrar was born in maNakkAl. He eventually and popularly became to be
known as maNakkAl nambi.
He lived with his Acharyan uyyakkondAr and served him for 12 years together. During
that time uyyakkondAr’s dharma pathini (wife) attains paramapadham – so maNakkAl
nambi completely takes care of his AchAryan’s thirumALigai and children. Once, when
his AchAryan’s daughters were returning from cauvery, they were stopped by a large
puddle of muddy water and were hesitating to cross the same. At that time, nambi falls
flat on the puddle and let the girls cross over by walking over him. On hearing this,

uyyakkondAr becomes very pleased and decorates nambi’s thirumudi (head) with his
lotus feet. He asks nambi what he needs and nambi says he only wants to serve his
AchAryan. Being extermely pleased with his sishyan’s conduct/desire, uyyakkondAr
immediately does dvaya mahA manthrOpadhEsam once more (it was customary for
AchAryas to do dvaya mahA manthrOpadhEsam when they are pleased with their
sishyas).
uyyakkondAr appoints maNakkAl nambi as his successor while ascending to

paramapadham and instructs him to train Ishvara muni’s son to become the leader of
our dharisanam. Ishvara muni begets yamunaithuraivar and nambi performs pancha
samskAram to him (It seems customary those days that sanka chakra lAnchanam is
also done during nAma karaNam on the 11th day – while the sishya will learn the
thirumanthra artha upadhEsam and thiruvArAdhanam after attaining appropriate
maturity).
yamunaithuraivar being very intelligent, goes on to become ALavandhAr, gets half the
kingdom (which we will see in his vaibhavam) and gets entangled in administrative
duties forgetting his position. When maNakkAl nambi tries to meet ALavandhAr, the
security guards does not allow him to do so.
maNakkAl nambi takes up the task of reforming ALavandhAr. To re-engage his sishya,
he starts giving thUthuvaLai keerai (a green leafy vegetable) daily to the palace kitchen
kainkaryaparAs. ALavandhAr starts liking it and suddenly when one day it was stopped,
asks his kainkaryaparas what happened to it. They mention that an elderly srivaishnava
regularly gave that and he stopped now. Finding out that it was maNakkAl nambi, he
invites him to his palace, gives him a special seat and asks him if he needs any wealth.
maNakkAl nambi says, he has the real wealth (srivaishnavasri) generated by
nAthamunigaL and wants to give that to ALavandhAr. Hearing this ALavandhAr orders
his security guards to let him in any time.
maNakkAl nambi starts teaching the meanings of bhagavath gIthai fully to ALavandhAr
which slowly transforms ALavandhAr back to his old self. ALavandhAr, once reformed,
asks what is the essence of gIthai that will allow him to have bhagavath sAkshAthkAram
and nambi explains charama slOka artham in a detailed manner. He then takes
ALavandhAr along with him to thiruvarangam and makes him worship periya perumAL
and ALavandhAr gives up all worldly attachments by being mesmerized by the beauty
of periya perumAL.
maNakkAl nambi, thus fullfilling the desires of nAthamunigaL, happily ascends to

paramapadham. He instructs ALavandhAr to always think about nAthamunigaL and
protect and propagate our dharisanam. He also instructs ALavandhAr to identify/bless a

dharisana pravarthakar like him for the future as well. Rest is history, as we know,
ALavandhAr blesses emperumAnAr to become our dharisana pravarthakar and all.
maNakkAl nambi’s thanian:
ayathnathO yAumunam Athma dhAsam alarkka pathrArppaNa NishkrayENa

ya: krIthavAnAsthitha yauvarAjyam namAmitham rAmamEya sathvam

ALavandhAr
ALavandhAr – kAttu mannAr kOil
Thirunakshathram: Adi, uthrAdam
avathAra sthalam: kAttu mannAr kOil
AchAryan: maNakkAl nambi
Sishyas: periya nambi, periya thirumalai nambi, thirukkOshtiyur nambi,

thirumAlaiAndAn, dheivavAriAndAn, vAnamAmalaiAndAn, IsvarAndAn, jeeyarAndAn
ALavandhArAzhwAn, thirumOgUrappan, thirumOgur ninRar, dhEvaperumAL, mAranEri
nambi, thirukkachi nambi, thiruvaranga perumAL arayar (sishya of maNakkAl nambi and
son of ALavandhAr), thirukkurugUr dhAsar, vakulAbharaNa sOmayAjiyAr, ammangi,
ALkoNdi, gOvindha dhAsar (who was born in vadamathurai), nAthamuni dhAsar (rAja
purOhithar), thiruvarangathamman (rAja mahishi).
Works: chathuslOki, sthOtra rathnam, sidhi thrayam, Agama prAmaNyam, gIthArtha

sangraham
Place where he attained paramapadham: Thiruvarangam
yamunaithuraivar was born in kAttu mannAr kOil. He eventually and popularly became
to be known as ALavandhAr. He is also known as periya mudhaliAr, paramAchAryar,
vAdhimathEbha simhEndrar.

He was born as the son of Isvara muni and the grand son of nAthamunigaL. He studied
sAmAnya sAstram under mahAbhashya bhattar. During that time, AkkiAzhwAn, the rAja
purOhithar sends his representatives to all pandits and asks them to pay taxes to him
(since he is the chief pandit). mahAbhAshya bhattar becomes worried and seeing that
yamunaithuraivar says that he will handle the issue. He sends a slOkam which says “he
will destory the poets who look for cheap publicity”. Seeing this AkkiAzhwAn gets angry
and sends his soldiers to bring yamunaithuraivar to the king’s court. Yamunaithuraivar
tells them that he will come only if he was offered proper respects. So, the king sends
him a palanquin and yamunaithuraivar visits the court.
While the debate is about to start, rAja mahishi tells the king that she is sure that
yamunaithuraivar will win and if he loses, she will become a servant of the king. And the
king is confident that AkkiAzhwAn will win and he says if yamunaithurairvar, he will give
half the kingdom to him.
AkkiAzhwAn being very confident on his debating skills says that he will refute whatever
statements yamunaithuraivar make. yamunaithuraivar makes 3 statements:
 AkkiAzhwAn’s mother is not childless.

 The king is all capable.
 The queen is a chaste (pure) woman.
Hearing this AkkiAzhwAn is spell bound. He could not refute any of the above fearing
backlash from the king. But yamunaithuraivar easily refutes all the 3 points as in:
 AkkiAzhwAn’s mother is childless because she only has one child (according to
sAmAnya sAstram, a woman with one child is considered to be childless)
 The king is not all capable since he is not the ruler of everything – he just rules
this particular kingdom.
 In marriages done according to sAstram, the bride is first offered to dhEvas
through specific manthrams before the husband. So she is not chaste in that
sense.
AkkiAzhwAn understands the true mastery of yamunaithuraivar and finally gets

defeated in the debate by yamunaithuraivar’s great explanations from sAstram
establishing the visishtAdhvaitha sidhAntham. He becomes a sishya of
yamunaithuraivar as well. The queen gives him the name “ALavandhAr” (one who came
to rule/protect her – had he not won, she would have become a servant) and also
becomes his sishyai. He also gets half the kingdom and starts engaging himself in
administrative tasks.

We have already seen in the previous article how maNakkAl nambi reforms
ALavandhAr and brings him back to srirangam to make him the leader of our
sampradhAyam. Once he comes to srirangam, he becomes a sannyAsi and starts
propagating our sampradhAyam. Many become his sishyas.
Once maNakkAl nambi instructs ALavandhAr to go and learn ashtAnga yOga rahasyam
from kurugai kAvalappan. When he goes there, kurugai kAvalappan is fully immersed in
bhagavadh anubhavam through yOgam. But he identifies the arrival of ALavandhAr and
tells ALavandhAr that emperumAn is looking over his shoulders during the yOgam to
see ALavandhAr who is coming in the lineage of nAthamunigaL since that lineage is
very dear to emperumAn. He also gives a date (just before he is planning to leave
samsAram to go to paramapadham) to ALavandhAr to learn the yOga rahasyam. But on
that particular date, ALavandhAr happens to visit thiruvananthapuram and only realises
that it was too late to learn the yOga rahasyam.
During this time, one of his sishyas named dheivavAriAndAn, being unable to handle
the separation from his AchArya, travels towards thiruvananthapuram while
ALavandhAr starts travelling towards srirangam. They meet each other at the entrance
of thiruvananthapuram and dheivavAriAndAn is full of joy that he met his AchAryan. He
decides to return with his AchAryan and when ALavandhAr asks him to go and worship
ananthasayana emperumAn, he says that ALavandhAr is more important for him than
emperumAn. Such was his AchArya bhakthi.
ALavandhAr comes back to srirangam and is worried about appointing the successor to
lead the sampradhAyam. He finds out about iLayAzhwAr (Sri rAmAnujar) who is
studying under yAdhavaprakAsan in kAnchipuram. He visits kAnchipuram and in the
dhEvaperumAl kOil, in front of kariyamAnikka perumAl sannidhi, he gives his divine
katAksham towards iLayAzhwAr who passes by at that time. ALavandhAr goes to
dhEva perumAl and does a sharaNagathi to emperumAn to make iLayAzhwAr the next
leader of the sampradhAyam. Thus ALavandhAr plants the seed to what is going to be
a mahA vriskham (great tree) i.e., emperumAnAr dharisanam. ALavandhAr asks
thirukkachi nambi to help iLayAzhwAr in his spiritual development.
ALavandhAr becomes ill and he instructs all his sishyas to depend on thiruvaranga
perumAL arayar. He also gives very important instructions during his charama dhasai
(towards the end of his life here in samsAram). Some of his valuable instructions are:
 dhivyadhEsams are our life and we should always spend our time thinking about
them and doing kainkaryams there.
 We should worship thiruppANAzhwAr (from his thirvadi to thirumudi) who is at
the lotus feet of periya perumAL. He also says that he always thinks about
thiruppANAzhwAr (who is always worshipped by thiruvarangaperumAL arayar)

as his upAyam and upEyam. He also compares thiruppANAzhwAr (who sung
periya perumAL), kurumbarutha nambi (who offered clay flowers to
thiruvEnkatamudayAn) and thirukkachi nambi (who does fan kainkaryam to
dhEva perumAL) to be on the same level.
 A prapannan should neither worry for his Athma yAthrai (bhagavad vishayam)
nor for his dhEha yAtrai (loukikam). Since AthmA is athyantha parathanthan of
emperumAn, emperumAn will take care of Athma yAthrai. Since dhEham is
driven by karma, our puNyam/pApam will drive the dhEha yAthrai. So, we dont
need to worry about either one.
 We should not discriminate amongst bhAgavathas. We should also treat
bhAgavathas atleast at the same level as emperumAn.
 Just like we accept emperumAn’s charaNamrutham, we should also accept
AchArya’s sripAdha thIrtham with the same respect.
 When we (AchAryas) give sripAdha thIrtham to others, we should do it on behalf
of the guruparamparai with vAkya guruparamparai/dvaya mahAmanthra
anusandhanam.
Finally he requests all his disciples and other srivaishnavas to assemble in front of him.
He asks for their pardon for any mistakes he committed, accepts sripAdha thIrtham from
them, does thadhiArAdhanam to them and leaves his charama thirumEni to
paramapadham. All his disciples were plunged into sorrow and finally they start
planning for the grand celebration. When srivaishnavas leave their body to go to
paramapadham it is actually celebrated in a grand manner considering the great
benediction they get when they go to paramapadham. All the charama kainkaryams like
thirumanjanam, srichUrNa paripAlanam, alankArams, brahma ratham, etc are all
explained in a detailed manner in ALavandhAr’s charithram and other AchAryas lives
also.
In the mean time, periya nambi had gone to kAnchipuram to bring iLayAzhwAr with him
to srirangam. When iLayAzhwAr goes to sAlai kiNaru for his kainkaryam of bringing
water for dhEvaperumAL, periya nambi recites ALavandhAr’s sthOthra rathnam loudly.
Hearing that and understanding the deep meanings, iLayAzhwAr enquires periya nambi
about the author of the slOkams. periya nambi explaining about ALavandhAr’s
greatness, requests iLayAzhwAr to visit him at srirangam. iLayAzhwAr accepting the
proposal, goes to dhEva perumAL and thirukkachi nambi and takes permission from
them to go to srirangam. While reaching srirangam, they see the procession of
ALavandhAr’s thirumEni and periya nambi falls down crying. iLayAzhwAr also being
very upset enquires from the local srivaishnavas and understand what has happened.
At that time, when the final kainkaryams for ALavandhAr starts, everyone observes that
3 fingers are folded in one of his hands. When iLayAzhwAr asks if anyone knew the
reason, the srivaishnavas mention that ALavandhAr had 3 unfulfilled desires, viz:

 We should show our gratitude towards vyAsa and parAsara rishi.
 We should show our love towards nammAzhwAr.
 We should have a bhAshyam written for vyAsa’s brahma sUtram as per
visishtAdhvaitha sidhantham.
Hearing this, iLayAzhwAr immediately takes an oath that he will satisfy all the 3 desires
and immediately ALavandhAr’s fingers unfolded. The assembled srivaishnavas become
ecstatic looking at this and they say that ALavandhAr’s krupai and shakthi is fully
showering on him and hail him to become our dharisan nirvAhakar. Once all the
kainkaryams are over, iLayAzhwAr returns to kAnchipuram without even worshipping
namperumAL since he was overwhelmed by the loss of ALavandhAr.
ALavandhAr was a very great scholar in ubhaya vEdhAntham. We can easily

understand from his granthams.
 In chathusLoki he gives the essence of pirAtti’s vaibhavam in just 4 slOkams.

 sthOthra rathnam is a real gem – He explains the whole concept of sharaNagathi
(as explained in thiruvAimozhi, etc) in very simple sthOthrams.
 gIthArtha sangraham brings out the essence of gIthA.
 Agama prAmaNyam is the first grantham which highlights the importance and
validity of sri pAncharAthra Agamam.
ALavandhAr’s thanian
yath padhAmbhOruhadhyAna vidhvasthAsEsha kalmasha:

vasthuthAmupayA dhOham yAmunEyam namAmitham

thiruvarangapperumAL arayar
thiruvarangapperumAL arayar – srirangam
Thirunakshathram: vaikAsi, kEttai
avathAra sthalam: srirangam
AchAryan: maNakkAl nambi, ALavandhAr
Sishyas: emperumAnAr (grantha kAlakshEpa AchAryar)

Place where he attained paramapadham: thiruvarangam
thiruvarangapperumAL arayar is the son of ALavandhAr and was one of the prime
sishyas of ALavandhAr.
arayar was expert in music, dance and drama. It was during his arayar sEvai infront of
namperumAL during an adhyayana uthsavam, he was singing “kedumidar” padhigam of
thiruvAimozhi (10.2). In that padhigam, looking at ALavandhAr who is the leader of the
assembly, he sings “nadaminO namargaLuLLIr nAmumakku aRiya chonnOm” meaning
“Oh! my dear devotees, go to thiruvananthapuram now”, ALavandhAr accepts that as
the instruction from namperumAL himself and leaves to thiruvananthapuram to perform
mangaLAsAsanam to anantha sayana perumAL.
From the words of ALavandhAr during his final days, it is clear that arayar had great
attachment towards thiruppANAzhwAr. During his final days, ALavandhAr declares that
everyone should be very attached to thiruvarangapperumAL arayar because of his
utmost devotion towards periya perumAL and thiruppANAzhwAr. Such is arayar’s
greatness, that he is even glorified in public by ALavandhAr himself.
arayar was instrumental in bringing rAmAnujar to srirangam. After ALavandhAr‘s time

and after emperumAnAr accepting sannyAsAsramam, all the srivaishnavas in srirangam
pray to namperumAL to bring rAmAnujar to srirangam for living there permanently.
periya perumAL at once sends a request to dhEva perumAL to send rAmAnujar to
srIrangam. But pEraruLALan says he cannot send rAmAnjuar who is very dear to his
heart. periya perumAL then devises a special plan to bring emperumAnAr over to
srIrangam. He tells arayar that pEraruLALan likes music and sthOthram very much and
once he is pleased he will give anything to the ones who pleased him with sthOthram.
So, he instructs arayar to ask for emperumAnAr when dhEva perumAL wishes him to
give anything.

arayar then leaves to kAnchIpuram, and when he reaches there, he is welcomed by
varam tharum perumAL arayar (who is the local arayar swamy) to his thirumALigai and
is looked after nicely. The next day, thirukkachi nambi hears about arayar’s arrival and
he goes and offers his praNAmams and enquires about his well being. arayar requests
nambi to bring him to dhEva perumAL for mangaLAsAsanam (it is customary for
srivaishnavas while going to dhivyadhEsams, to always go to emperumAn with/through
local kainkaryaparars). nambi obliges and arayar when seeing dhEva perumAL offers
his obeisances reciting “kadhA punas chanka rathAng kalpaka dhvaja aravindha
angucha vajra lAnchanam; thrivikrama thvachcharaNAmbhuja dhvayam madhIya
mUrdhdhAnam alankarishyathi” meaning “Oh thrivikrama! when Oh when your lotus
feet which has many auspicious symbols like the conch, sudharshana chakram, kalpaka
tree, lotus, etcis going to decorate my head”. emperumAn through his archakars
presents him thIrtham, prasAdham, srIsatagOpam, etc to him and asks him to render
arayar sEvai in front of him. arayar with great love and devotion sings from many
AzhwAr’s srIsUkthis with dance and action. emperumAn becomes extremely pleased
and offers him many gifts. arayar says that he does not need those gifts and tells him
that because dhEva perumAL is the one who bestows the desirers with whatever they
desire for, emperumAn should also fulfill his desires. emperumAn agrees and says “I
will give anything but myself and my wifes; go ahead and ask”. arayar then shows
rAmAnujar and says that he wants him to be brought along to srIrangam. dhEva
perumAL says “I did not think you were going to ask for him; ask for something else”.

arayar replies “you are none other than srI rAman who does not have two words – you
cannot refuse any more”. dhEva perumAL then finally agrees and gives a farewell to
rAmAnujar. arayar holding rAmAnujar’s hands and starts his journey towards srIrangam.
rAmAnujar then asks AzhwAn and ANdAn to go to his mutt and bring his
thiruvArAdhana perumAL (pEraruLALan) and all the paraphernelia and leaves to
srIrangam with everyone after taking permission from dhEva perumAL. Thus, arayar did
the most important favour for srIvaishnavam by bringing rAmAnujar over to srIrangam to
establish our sampradhAyam firmly and take it to great heights.
ALavandhAr instructs his 5 main sishyas to teach 5 different aspects to udayavar.

periya nambi performs pancha samskAram to udayavar. periya thirumalai nambi
teaches srI rAmAyaNam. thirukkOshtiyUr nambi teaches thirumanthra and charama
slOka meanings. thirumAlai ANdAn teaches thiruvAimozhi. thiruvarangapperumAL
arayar was instructed by ALavandhAr to teach some parts of aruLicheyal and
charamOpAyam (the ultimate means – AchArya nishtai) to udayavar. emperumAnAr
learns thiruvAimozhi fully from thirumAlai ANdAn and then periya nambi instructs him to
learn the essence of our sampradhAyam from arayar. emperumAnAr, following the
principles identified in sAsthram, first performs kainkaryam to arayar for 6 months
before asking him to teach anything. He prepares milk in proper warmth every day and
also prepares turmeric paste for arayar to be applied on him when necessary.

Once emperumAnAr prepares the turmeric paste that was not satisfactory for arayar –
udayavar finds that out just by looking at arayar’s face which shows dissatisfaction.
udayavar then prepares another batch of turmeric paste which satisfies arayar’s heart
so much that he instructs the ultimate means and ultimate goal – AchArya kainkaryam.
He instructs that “we should always think that the emperumAn whos is lying down in
kshIrAbdhi (milk ocean) is the one who has taken the form of AchAryan”. We have
already seen charamOpAyam in detail in ponnadi.blogspot.in/p/charamopaya-
nirnayam.html.
arayar’s greatness is revealed in many idhihyams. Let us see a couple here:
 In eedu vyAkyAnam for 1.5.11, while explaining "pAlEy thamizhar ichaikArar"

( இ ) where ichaikArar means expert musician,
nampiLLai quotes AzhwAn who would say ichaikArar means
thiruvarangapperumAL arayar.

 In eedu vyAkyAnam for 3.3.1, nampiLLai explains that when arayar starts singing
"ozhivil kAlamellAm" ( ), he becomes very emotional
and keeps singing kAlamellAm, kAlamellAm and completes with that without
proceeding. In this padhigam, AzhwAr requests for eternal/uninterrupted/pure
kainkaryam for thiruvEnkatamudayAn and this padhigam is identified as the
explanation for second line of dhvaya mahAmanthram (kainkarya prArthanai).
Let us pray at his lotus feet to bless us with the same attachment towards emperumAn
and AchAryan as well.
thiruvarangapperumAL arayar’s thanian
srIrAmamisra padha pankaja sancharIkam

srIyAmunArya vara puthram aham guNAdyam

periya nambi
periya nambi – srirangam
Thirunakshathram: mArgazhi, kEttai
AchAryan: ALavandhAr
Sishyas: emperumAnAr, malai kuniya ninRAr, AriyUril sri satagOpa dhAsar,

aNiarangathamuthanAr piLLai, thiruvAikkulamudaiyAr bhattar, etc.
Works: thiruppathik kOvai
Place where he attained paramapadham: pasiyathu (pasupathy?) kOil in chOLa

dhEsam
periya nambi was born in srirangam and is also known as mahA pUrNar, parAnkusa
dhAsar and pUrNAchAryar.
He was one of the prime sishyas of ALavandhAr and instrumental in bringing rAmAnujar
to srirangam. After ALavandhAr’s time, all the srivaishnavas in srirangam request periya
nambi to go and bring rAmAnujar to srirangam. So, he leaves srirangam with his family

and travels towards kAnchipuram. In the mean time, rAmAnujar also leaves
kAnchipuram to meet periya nambi. They both meet at madhurAnthagam and periya
nambi does pancha samskAram to him right there. He goes to kAnchipuram to teach
sampradhAya arthams to rAmAnujar. But due to some conflicts caused by rAmAnujar’s
dharma pathni, he along with his family actually leave kAnchipuram and return to
srirangam.
There are several incidents of periya nambi’s life that are recorded in various
pUrvAchArya srisUkthis. Let us see a few here:
 He was full of Athma guNams and had great attachment towards rAmAnujar.
Even when his daughter comes to him and asks him for loukIka help, he asks her
to go to rAmAnujar for solution.
 Once when rAmAnujar is walking with all his sishyas, periya nambi prostrates in
front of him. rAmAnujar does not acknowledge it because acknowledging it
means accepting the praNamam of his AchAryan. When periya nambi was asked
why he did that he says that he sees ALavandhAr in rAmAnujar. In vArthA mAlai,
there is a particular statement that “AchAryas should have great respect for their
sishyas” and periya nambi lived by that.
 When mAranEri nambi (who is a great srivaishnava, disciple of ALavandhAr and
born in chathurtha varNam) attains paramapadham, periya nambi does charama
kainkarayam for him. Some local srivaishnavas does not accept his act and
complain about that to rAmAnujar. When rAmAnujar asks about that, periya
nambi says that he acted according to AzhwAr’s thiruvuLLam as expressed in
thiruvAimozhi, payilum chudaroLi (3.7) and nedumArkkadimai (8.10) padhigams.
This Idhihyam is shown in azhagiya manavALa perumAL nAyanAr in AchArya
hrudhayam and explained in guru paramparA prabhAvam.
 Once, when there was a danger from some miscreants for periya perumAl, it was
decided that periya nambi is the right person to do a pradhakshiNam around the
periya kOil. He requests kUrathzhwAn to accompany him since kUrathAzhwAn is
the one who have fully understood the nature of pArathanthriyam properly. This
is shown in thiruvAimozhi (7.10.5), eedu vyAkyAnam by nampiLLai.
 Beyond all of these, when the saiva king invited rAmAnujar to his court,
kUrathAzhwAn went in disguise. Along with AzhwAn, periya nambi also went at
very old age. When the king orders the eyes to be plucked, periya nambi accepts
that and out of his old age and not able to bear the pain, he eventually gives up
his life and reach paramapadham. But at the time of giving up his life, there is a
very important point he shows to us. AzhwAn and athuzhAi (periya nambi’s
daughter) says that srirangam is only a few miles away and requests periya
nambi to hold on to his breath until he reaches srirangam, so that he can leave
his body in srirangam. periya nambi immediately stops and decides to give up his
life then and there. He says if ever some one hears this incident and concludes

that one has to be in srirangam (or any dhivya dhEsam) to give up his life that will
only limit a srivaishnava’s glory. AzhwAr says “vaikuNtham Agum tham UrellAm”
( ஊ ) – wherever a srivaishnava is, that
place becomes vaikuntham. So, it is more important to depend on emperumAn
wherever we are – there are many people living in dhivya dhEsams without even
realising the glories of such blessing, but then there are others who live in remote
places (remember the chAndili-garudan episode) but constantly thinking about
emperumAn.
Thus we can see how exalted periya nambi was. He was fully dependent on
emperumAn. He is also known as parAnkusa dhAsar because of his attachment
towards nammAzhwAr and thiruvAimozhi. From his thanian we can also understand
that he immersed in kalyANa guNa anubhavam of sriya:pathi and was completely
satisfied in that anubhavam. Let us pray at his lotus feet to bless us with the same
qualities as well.
periya nambi’s thanian
kamalApathi kalyANa guNAmrutha nishEvayA

pUrNa kAmAya sathatham pUrNAya mahathE nama:

thirukkOshtiyUr nambi
Thirunakshathram: vaikAsi, rOhiNi
avathAra sthalam: thirukkOshtiyUr
Sishyas: emperumAnAr (grantha kAlakshEpa sishya)
thriukkOshtiyUr is greatly glorified by periyAzhwAr in his periyAzhwAr thirumozhi 4.4 -

nAva kAriyam padhigam. thirukkurugai pirAn, who was born in this beautiful dhivya
dhEsam, becomes to be famously known as thirukkOshtiyUr nambi and is one of the
prime sishyas of ALavandhAr. He is also known as gOshti pUrNar and gOshti purIsar.

ALavandhAr instructs his 5 prime disciples to teach various aspects of our
sampradhAyam to emperumAnAr. Of those, thirukkOshtiyUr is given the responsibility
of teaching the meanings of rahasya thrayam - thirumanthram, dhvayam and charama
slOkam.
thirukkOshtiyUr nambi is the one who bestows the name "emperumAnAr" to srI
rAmAnujar for his selfless act of sharing the meanings of charama slOkam with
everyone who desired to learn that without any pre-conditions. nambi is constantly
engaged in meditating on emperumAn through the divine meanings of rahasya thrayam
(thirumanthram, dhvayam and charama slOkam) as he learnt from ALavandhAr and
does not interact with anyone. In his own town (thirukkOshtiyUr) no one knew his
glories. srI rAmAnujar, knowing the glories of nambi, walked 18 times from srIrangam to
thirukkOshtiyUr to learn the most confidential meaning of charama slOkam. Finally at
the 18th time nambi decides to instruct him the most confidential meaning of charama
slOkam. nambi asks srI rAmAnujar to promise that he wont share this knowledge with
anyone who is not qualified and who does not strive very very hard to know the same.
rAmAnujar accepts that and promises at that time. nambi teaches the most confidential
knowledge of charama slOkam. charama slOkam is gIthAchAryan's "sarva dharmAn
parithyajya" slOkam (gIthai - 18.66). In this slOkam, the most important principle is
revealed through the word "Ekam" - which means only bhagavAn is upAyam. Any thing
else such as karma, jnAna, bhakthi yOgams, our own prapathi (surrender), etc are not
the real upAyam. This most confidential meaning when revealed to unqualified, can be
easily misused in not performing ones own duties. So, the AchAryas until srI rAmAnujar
protected it very carefully. But rAmAnujar, after learning this meaning from
thirukkOshtiyUr nambi, immediately gathered the ones who were very eager to learn
this secret meaning and explained the same in detail. nambi hears about rAmAnujar's
revelation and summons him at once. rAmAnujar arrive at nambi's thirumALigai
(residence). nambi enquires about rAmAnujar's act and rAmAnujar accepts that he
disobeyed his orders. When nambi asks why he did that, rAmAnujar says, "I may go to
hell by disobeying your orders but many others (who learnt the meaning of charam
slOkam) will get mOksham and be uplifted". nambi becomes totally overwhelmed by
rAmAnujar's huge heart in providing true spiritual help to others and gives him a special
name - emperumAnAr. emperumAn means my lord (bhagavAn) and emperumAnAr
means one who is more merciful than bhagavAn. Thus, rAmAnujar becomes
emperumAnAr after revealing the esoteric meanings of charama slOkam in
thirukkOshtiyUr. This charithram (incident) is clearly and beautifully explained in
mumukshuppadi vyAkyAna avathArikai (introduction) of maNavALa mAmunigaL for
charama slOka prakaraNam (section). Note: In 6000 padi guru paramparA prabhAvam,
it is explained that srI rAmAnujar learnt the meanings of thirumanthram from
thirukkOshtiyUr nambi and revealed that and because of that nambi named him
"emperumAnAr" and subsequently learnt the meanings of charama slOkam. But since
mAmunigaL clearly explains that it is charama slOkam that was revealed by

emperumAnAr and also since it fits many incidents in vyAkyAnams where "Ekam"
shabhdham of charama slOkam is declared as the most confidential principle, we
accept that as the authority (as heard from AchAryas).
nambi's vaibhavam is highlighted in many places in the vyAkyAnam. Let us see some
here now:
 nAchiyAr thirumozhi 12.2 - periyavAchAn piLLai vyAkyAnam

o Here ANdAL is compared to nambi. Just like nambi did not reveal his
bhagavadh anubhavam to others, it is said that ANdAL also does not want
to reveal her anguish in separation from emperumAn to others.
o The local residents of thirukkOshtiyUr did not know the real greatness of
nambi until srI rAmAnujar arrived there. When rAmAnujar arrived at
thirukkOshtiyUr, he enquired about the residence of thirukkurugai pirAn
(original name of nambi named after nammAzhwAr) and as soon as the
particular direction was shown, he falls flat and offers his obeisances. The
locals then understood the glories of nambi who was worshipped by
rAmAnujar himself.
o It is highlighted that both mudhaliyANdAn and kUrathAzhwAn served 6
months at the lotus feet of nambi to get valuable meanings of our
sampradhAyam.
 thiruviruththam 10 - nampiLLai svApadhEsam - Every time nambi visits
srIrangam, while returning, emperumAnAr walks along with him upto
mArAchchippuram (a place near srIrangam) to bid farewell. One such time,
emperumAnAr asks nambi to give an instruction which he can contemplate on.
nambi says "When ALavandhAr takes bath in the river, while he dips inside, his
upper back portion is seen as the backside of kUrmAsanam (a seat which looks
like tortoise's shell). Even after ALavandhAr ascending to paramapadham, I
always think about that vision of ALavandhAr's upper back. You also contemplate
on the same". By this incident nambi shows that a sishya should be attached to
AchAryan's thirumEni (divine form) as much as his instructions and the
knowledge.
 thiruviruththam 99 - periyavAchAn piLLai vyAkyAnam - AzhwAr says he accepts
gyAnappirAn as the only upAyam. This explains the "Ekam" word in charama
slOkam which eliminates all other upAyams and establishes emperumAn as the
only upAyam. This is the most confidential principle of our sampradhAyam and
was taught by thirukkOshtiyUr nambi to srI rAmAnujar. Once, during a visit to
srIrangam for a uthsavam, nambi brings emperumAnAr into a secluded place in
the srIrangam temple and starts explaining the meanings of Ekam. But then he
notices a kainkaryaparar of the temple lying down in deep sleep and snoring.
Immediately nambi retracts and says there is some one here and does not
explain the meaning. But subsequently nambi instructs the meanings to

emperumAnAr in once and informs emperumAnAr that he should also explain
this to deserving persons only. emperumAnAr, in the bright noon time under the
hot sun, runs to AzhwAn's residence and shares him the meaning as heard from
nambi. Thus emperumAnAr proves sahakAri nairapEkshyam (not expecting any
action from our part for the benediction) by sharing the meanings to AzhwAn
without AzhwAn making any special efforts for that.
 thiruviruththam 95 - In this pAsura (yAthAnum Or Akkayil pukku pAsuram)
vyAkyAnam, it is shown that one of the sishyas of nambi explains to nanjIyar that
this is the favourite pAsuram of nambi. This pAsuram reveals the benediction and
favours done by emperumAn even though the jIvAthmA is constantly engaged in
materialistic activities.
 thiruvAimozhi 1.10.6 - nampiLLai vyAkyAnam - AzhwAr discusses with his
nenjam (heart) in this pAsuram. To explain that, nampiLLai explains that since
bhagavadh vishayam is a very superior subject and not everyone can understand
it, just like nambi always contemplates it alone, AzhwAr is discussing bhagavadh
vishayam with his own heart.
 thiruvAimozhi 8.8.2 - Once during a lecture of emperumAnAr, a question arises
about the svarUpam (nature) of jIvAthamA. Is it gyAthruthvam (being the knower)
or sEshathvam (being the servitor of emperumAn)? emperumAnAr instructs
AzhwAn to enquire the meanings from nambi. AzhwAn goes to thirukkOshtiyUr
and serves him for 6 months. Finally when nambi asks for the purpose of
AzhwAn's visit, AzhwAn explains the question. nambi simply says AzhwAr has
established that "adiyEn uLLAn", meaning jIvAthmA is adiyEn - servitor by
nature. So, why is vEdhAntham talks about gyAthruthvam (being the knower)?
That is because, knower here means knowing that he is the servitor of
emperumAn. So the real svarUpam of jIvAthmA as explained by AzhwAr and
thirukkOshtiyUr nambi is - jIvAthmA is the one who knows that he is subservient
to emperumAn.
thirukkOshtiyUr nambi establishing emperumAnAr's glories is also explained in the

divine grantham named charamOpAya nirNayam and it can be viewed at
http://ponnadi.blogspot.in/2012/12/charamopaya-nirnayam-ramanujars-acharyas.html.
When thirumAlai ANdAn stops the thiruvAimozhi kAlakshEpam due to some

misunderstandings with emperumAnAr, nambi reconciles the issue and explains to
thirumAlai ANdAn that emperumAnAr is an avathAra purusha who is fully knowledgable.
He insists that the kAlakshEpam should continue and ensures that it happens.
When emperumAnAr was once poisoned by some miscreants, emperumAnAr coming to

know about that, starts fasting and does not consume any prasAdham at all. nambi
arrives from thirukkOshtiyUr and emperumAnAr meets him on the banks of cauvery
river on a hot day. emperumAnAr offers his sAshtAnga praNAmam (obeisances) to

nambi on the hot sand and nambi keeps watching that. kidAmbi AchAn who is a sishya
of emperumAnAr immediately lifts emperumAnAr up and challenges nambi on his act of
making emperumAnAr stay on the sand for long. nambi immediately says that he was
doing that to find out who is most attached to emperumAnAr's thirumEni (divine form).
nambi subsequently instructs kidAmbi AchAn to prepare the prasAdham for
emperumAnAr regularly. Thus, we can see, nambi was very fond of emperumAnAr and
was always looking out for the well-being of emperumAnAr.
Thus, we have seen that thirukkOshtiyUr nambi's glories are many and he was
instrumental in srI rAmAnujar getting the most beautiful name "emperumAnAr" leading
to our sampradhAyam being hailed as emperumAnAr dharisanam by namperumAL
himself as shown by mAmunigaL in his upadhEsa rathina mAlai.
Let us bow down at the lotus feet of thirukkOshtiyUr nambi who had great attachment
towards ALavandhAr and emperumAnAr.
thirukkOshtiyUr nambi’s thanian
srIvallabhapadhAmbhOja dhIbhakthyamrutha sAgaram

srImadhgOshtIpurIpUrNam dhEsikEndhram bhajAmahE

periya thirumalai nambi
Thirunakshathram: vaikAsi, swAthi
avathAra sthalam: thirumalai (thiruvEnkatam)

Sishyas: emperumAnAr (grantha kAlakshEpa sishya), malaikuniya ninRa perumAL,
piLLai thirukkulamudaiyAr, bhattAriyaril satagOpadhAsar
thirumalai nambi, was born in thirumalai by the blessings of thiruvEnkatamudaiyAn and

is one of the prime sishyas of ALavandhAr. He is also known as srIsaila pUrNar. He
was honoured by thiruvEnkatamudaiyAn himself as “pithAmaha” for his great
attachment towards emperumAn.

sampradhAyam to emperumAnAr. Of those, thirumalai nambi is given the responsibility
of teaching the meanings of srI rAmAyaNam which is famously called as sharaNAgathi
sAsthram in our sampradhAyam.
thirumalai nambi is the maternal uncle of rAmAnujar and the one who bestows the
name “iLayAzhwAr” to him when he was born. He is highlighted as the foremost of
srIvaishNavas hailing from thiruvEnkatam. He was a nithya kainkaryaparar (daily
servitor) to thiruvEnkatamudaiyan (srInivAsar) and was engaged in bringing thIrtham
(holy water) from AkAsa gangai (a water source on thirumalai) everyday.
emperumAnAr wanting to bring gOvindha perumAL (embAr) back in to our

sampradhAyam (as he had become uLLangai koNarntha nAyanAr during his yAthrai to
vAraNAsi and was serving a dhEvathAnthram in kALahasthi), sends a request to
thirumalai nambi through a srIvaishNava to go and reform gOvindha perumAL.
thirumalai nambi, immediately goes to kALahasthi along with his sishyas and the
srIvaishNava (who subsequently returns to srIrangam and narrates the whole incident to
emperumAnAr) to see gOvindha perumAL. nambi was sitting with his sishyas under the
shade of a tree on the route which gOvindha perumAL travels usually. gOvindha
perumAL arrives at that place dressed as a siva bhaktha with rudhrAkha mAlai and
thiryak puNdrams (ashes) all over his body singing the glories of rudhran. nambi starts
singing the glories of emperumAn and gOvindha perumAL watches that with great
curiosity. After some days, nambi returns to the same place at the same time and writes
ALavandhAr’s sthOthra rathnam 11th slOkam (which establishes srIman nArAyaNan‘s
natural supremacy and other dhEvathas dependency on emperumAn) on a palm leaf
and slips it down. gOvindha perumAL picks it up while arriving, reads it and then drops it
down. On his return, he looks out for the palm leaf and finds it. Contemplating deeply on
the meanings of that slOkam, he approaches nambi and asks if it was belonging to him.
A converstation happens at that time between gOvindha perumAL and thirumalai nambi
where nambi clarifies all the doubts of gOvindha perumAL on srIman nArAyaNan‘s
supremacy. Mostly convinced gOvindha perumAL leaves the place. Subsequently
nambi arrives there at the same place. gOvindha perumAL was plucking flowers for
rudhran this time on a tree. nambi, starts lecturing thiNNan vIdu padhigam

(thiruvAimozhi 2.2) where AzhwAr talks about emperumAn’s supremacy. He beautifully
lectures the 4th pAsuram, where nammAzhwAr establishes that flowers and prayers are
fit to be offered to srIman nArAyaNan only. Hearing that gOvindha perumAL,
immediately jumps off the tree and falls flat at the lotus feet of nambi, starts crying for
his unnecessary association thus far and prays to accept him. nambi, at once lifts him
up and consoles him. gOvindha perumAL gives up all relationship with kALahasthi and
hands over the keys of the treasury to the local rudhra bhakthas. They mention that,
rudhran appeared in their dream the night before and informed that emperumAnAr has
appeared in this world to give true knowledge to everyone and gOvindha perumAL
should not be stopped when he gives up his attachment to them – so they also happily
sends him off.
After returning to thirumalai, nambi performs upanyana samskAram and pancha

samskAram to gOvindha perumAL and teaches him AzhwArs’ dhivya prabhandhams.
emperumAnAr arrives at thiruppathi and emperumAnAr climbs up the thirumalai hill,

nambi himself comes to welcome emperumAnAr at the entrance. nambi being most
qualified, elder to emperumAnAr and also his AchAryan, asks him if he could not find
some one who is less qualified to be sent to welcome him. nambi, out of great humility,
replies that he looked around everywhere and could not find any one less qualified than
him. emperumAnAr performs mangaLAsAsanam to thiruvEnkatamudaiyAn and leaves
the divine hill.
periya thirumalai nambi’s srI rAmAyaNa kAlakshEpa gOshti
srI rAmAnujar arrives at thiruppathi to learn srI rAmAyaNam from thirumalai nambi. He
stays there for one full year. At the end of the kAlakshEpam, thirumalai nambi asks
emperumAnAr to accept something from him and emperumAnAr asks nambi to send

gOvindha perumAL with him. nambi happily obliges and emperumAnAr leaves
thiruppathi with gOvindha perumAL. But gOvindha perumAL is unable to bear the
separation from his AchAryan, returns to thiruppathi after a while. But thirumalai nambi
does not even want to speak to gOvindha perumAL saying he belongs to emperumAnAr
and should immediately return to him. Such was his dedication. This incident is
explained in http://ponnadi.blogspot.com/2013/01/embars-acharya-nishtai.html.
Subsequently, gOvindha perumAL accepts sannyAsAshramam and become to be
known as embAr.
nambi’s vaibhavam and his explanations are highlighted in many places in the
vyAkyAnam. Let us see some here now:
 thiruppAvai 14 – azhagiya maNavALa perumAL nAyanAr – nambi’s explanation

for “chengal podikkURai veNpal thavaththavar” is explained here. nambi explains
that since we want to highlight auspicious occurrences in the early morning while
waking up the gOpis, these people should be seen as good sannyAsis who wake
up early in the morning and are going to the temple to worship emperumAn.
 nAchiyAr thirumozhi 10.8 – periyavAchAn piLLai vyAkyAnam – It is identified that
this pAsuram (mazhaiyE mazhaiyE) and the next pAsuram (kadalE kadalE) are
very dear to nambi. In these pAsurams, ANdAL is sending the clouds as her
messenger to thiruvEnkatamudaiyAn to inform about her feelings in separation.
Every time he recites these pAsurams, he is overwhelmed with emotions and
becomes speechless. Because of nambi’s attachment, our AchAryas also had
great affiliation towards these pAsurams.
 thiruviruththam 3 – nampiLLai vyAkyAnam – piLLai thirunaraiyUr nambi explains
that periya thirumalai nambi revelas AzhwAr‘s heart where AzhwAr is wondering
if his bhagavadh anubhavam will just be mAnasa sAkshAth kAram (divine
internal vision) or if it will evolve in to external vision and anubhavam.
 thiruvAsiriyam 1 – periyavAchAn piLLai vyAkyAnam – When explaining
emperumAn’s beauty, AzhwAr says it looks like a “lush green hill is lying down
and resting” – he uses the term “kaNvaLarvathu” instead of “thUnguvathu” for
resting. While “kaNvaLarvathu” is a noble term for resting, “thUnguvathu” is
coloqial. periya thiumalai nambi’s mastery of words in using noble terms is cited
as an example here. nambi says “The one who cant wear ear-rings even if they
are made with gold” while trying to identify some one to emperumAnAr. Here, the
intent of nambi is to identify a person who will not listen to any one even if the
best instructions are given. nambi, uses noble terms to explain that principle,
showing that srIvaishNavas should always be very dignified in their expression of
anything.
 thiruvAimozhi 1.4.8 – nampiLLai vyAkyAnam – AzhwAr says in this pAsuram (in
nAyikA bhAvam) to the bird (which is sent as a messenger to emperumAn to
inform about her situation) that she lost all her bodily strength and beauty and

became very weak because of the separation from emperumAn. She asks the
bird to find its own food since AzhwAr cannot do that. In this nampiLLai identifies
a charithram of periya thirumalai nambi. During his last days, nambi goes to his
thiruvArAdhana perumAL – veNNaikkAdum piLLai (krishNan who dances for
butter) and tells him that he has become very weak and emperumAn should find
some one to take care of him.
thirumalai nambi establishing emperumAnAr‘s glories is also explained in the divine

grantham named charamOpAya nirNayam and it can be viewed at
http://ponnadi.blogspot.in/2012/12/charamopaya-nirnayam-ramanujars-acharyas.html.
Thus, we have seen some glimpses of thirumalai nambi’s glories.
Let us bow down at the lotus feet of thirumalai nambi who had great attachment towards
ALavandhAr and emperumAnAr.
Note: nambi’s thirunakshathram is identified as chithrai – swAthi in 6000 padi guru

paramparA prabhAvam and periya thirumudi adaivu, but its identified as vaikAsi –
swAthi in his vAzhi thirunAmam and is celebrated on that day.
thirumalai nambi’s thanian
pithAmahasyApi pithAmahAya prAchEthasAdhEchapalapradhAya

srIbhAshyakArOththama dhEchikAya srIchailapUrNAya namO nama: sthAth

thirumAlai ANdAn
Thirunakshathram: mAsi, magam
avathAra sthalam: thirumAlirunchOlai
Sishyas: emperumAnAr (grantha kAlakshEpa sishya)
thirumAlai ANdAn is one of the prime sishyas of ALavandhAr. He is also known as

mAlAdhArar and srI gyAna pUrNar.

sampradhAyam to emperumAnAr. Of those, thirumAlai ANdAn is given the
responsibility of teaching the meanings of thiruvAimozhi. After ALavandhAr ascending
to paramapadham and emperumAnAr arriving at srIrangam, thirukkOshtiyUr nambi
guides emperumAnAr to thirumAlai ANdAn to listen the estoeric meanings of
nammAzhwAr‘s thiruvAimozhi.
ALavandhAr with his sishyas
While giving lectures, thirumAlai ANdAn explains the meanings of thiruvAimozhi as he

heard from ALavandhAr. But at times, emperumAnAr presents his view point in some of
the pAsurams (that are different from ANdAn’s) and thirumAlai ANdAn thinks that

emperumAnAr is creating meanings on his own and tells emperumAnAr that he has
never heard ALavndhAr explaining those meanings.
One such time, while explaining thiruvAimozhi 2.3.3 “aRiyAk kAlaththuLLE” pAsuram,
ANdAn explains that AzhwAr is speaking with sorrow that emperumAn blessed him with
blemishless knowledge but still has kept him in this samsAram with this body. But
emperumAnAr looks at it differently (by placing the 2nd line first) and says that since
this padhigam (10 pAsurams) are revelation of AzhwAr’s bliss, the pAsuram really
means that AzhwAr is saying with great joy that “I was suffering in this samsAram since
time immemorial and you have blessed me suddenly”. Hearing this ANdAn becomes
upset and says he has never heard this from ALavandhAr and emperumAnAr is
creating new meanings like vishwAmithra created new lOkam for thrisangu mahArAja.
And he stops his lectures as well. Hearing this, thirukkOshtiyUr nambi comes running
from thirukkOshtiyUr to srIrangam and goes to ANdAn and enquires him about the
incident. ANdAn says that emperumAnAr keeps on giving new meanings which are not
heard from ALavandhAr. When ANdAn explains the particular incident fully, nambi says
that he has heard this meaning from ALavandhAr and is a valid explanation of the
pAsuram. He further says that “just like emperumAn learnt from sAndhIpani, rAmAnujar
is learning thiruvAimozhi from you. He will not say anything other than what is in
ALavandhAr‘s heart. Do not presume that you are teaching some thing rAmAnujar does
not know already”. He then brings ANdAn and periya nambi to emperumAnAr’s mutt
and requests emperumAnAr to continue hearing from ANdAn. Subsequently,
emperumAnAr explains another pAsuram differently than ANdAn and ANdAn asks him
how he knows this particular meaning even without meeting ALavandhAr and
emperumAnAr replies that it is because he is like Ekalvayan for ALavndhAr (Ekalavyan
is the one who learnt everything from dhrONAchArya without directly learning from him).
ANdAn understanding the greatness offers his respects to emperumAnAr and feels
great joy that he is able to hear what he missed hearing from ALavandhAr.
There are many pAsurams that are identified in the vyAkyAnams where ANdAn and
emperumAnAr had interesting/different view points. Let us see a couple.
 thiruvAimozhi 1.2 – nampiLLai vyAkyAnam – "vIdu min muRRavum" padhigam

(decad) introduction section – ANdAn lectures this padhigam to emperumAnAr
as explaining prapathi (surrender) yOgam as heard from ALavandhAr.
emperumAnAr also follows the same approach. But after emperumAnAr
completes srI bhAshyam, he changes his perspective and starts lecturing this
padhigam as explaining bhakthi yOgam. Since prapathi is most confidential and
can be easily misinterpreted, emperumAnAr explains this as sAdhya bhakthi
(which means doing bhakthi purely for emperumAn's pleasure without any tinge
of the thought that "I am doing bhakthi on my own capacity"). This sAdhya

bhakthi is different from upAya/sAdhana bhakthi (which is explained generally as
bhakthi yOgam). embAr also follows emperumAnAr and does the same.
 thiruvAimozhi 2.3.1 – nampiLLai vyAkyAnam – While explaining “thEnum pAlum
kannalum amuthumoththE – kalandhozhinthOm” (
– ), ANdAn explains it as heard from
ALavandhAr as AzhwAr saying “emperumAn and I mingled naturally as honey
and honey or milk and milk will mix”. But emperumAnAr explains it as AzhwAr
saying “We mingled and enjoyed all the nectarean taste that is arrived by mixing
various tasty materials like honey, milk, sugar, etc”.
In nAchiyAr thirumozhi, 11.6 vyAkyAnam, periyavAchAn piLLai identifies ANdAn’s

AchArya bhakthi through his own words. ANdAn used to say that “Even though we
should give up attachments to body and all bodily belongings, this particular body
should not be ignored since it was this body through which I got ALavandhAr’s
sambhandham”.
In charamOpAya nirNayam (which glorifies emperumAnAr’s greatness) nAyanAr AchAn

piLLai identifies that when thirumAlai ANdAn was explaining poliga poliga pAsuram
(thiruvAimozhi 5.2), thirukkOshtiyUr nambi reveals to everyone in the gOshti that
emperumAnAr is the one who is talked about in this pAsuram. Hearing this ANdAn
becomes ecstatic and declares that he will consider emperumAnAr as ALavandhAr (his
own AchAryan). This is explained at http://ponnadi.blogspot.in/2012/12/charamopaya-
nirnayam-ramanujars-acharyas.html.
Let us pray at the lotus feet of thirumAlai ANdAn who had great attachment towards
ALavandhAr and emperumAnAr.
thirumAlai ANdAn’s thanian
rAmAnuja munIndhrAya dhrAmidI samhithArththadham

mAlAdhara gurum vandhE vAvadhUkam vipaschitham

thirukkachi nambi
Thirunakshathram: mAsi, mrugasIrsham
avathAra sthalam: pUvirunthavalli

Sishyas: emperumAnAr (abhimAna sishya)
Place where he attained paramapadham: pUviruthavalli
Works: dhEvarAja ashtakam
orks: dhEvarAja ashtakam
thirukkachi nambi also known as kAnchi pUrNar and gajEndhra dhAsar is born in
pUvirundhavalli. He was most popularly known for his thiruvAlavatta (fan) kainkaryam
for dhEva perumAL and his regular conversations with dhEva perumAL and perundhEvi
thAyAr.
When iLayAzhwAr (srI rAmAnujar) returns to kAnchipuram from vAraNAsi yAthrai (after
escaping from the plan to kill him), his mother instructs him to take shelter of thirukkachi
nambi who is a sishya of ALavandhAr and a close confidante of dhEva perumAL.
iLayAzhwAr apporaches nambi and requests for his guidance. nambi instructs
iLayAzhwAr to perform thirumanjana thIrtham bringing kainkaryam from sAlai kiNaru (a
well which is situated few kilometers from the dhEva perumAL temple). iLayAzhwAr
happily obliges and starts performing that kainkaryam every day.
periya nambi visits kAnchipuram to bring iLayAzhwAr to srIrangam to formally have him
initiated in to the sampradhAyam by ALavandhAr and to establish him as the next
AchArya of the sampradhAyam. He approaches thirukkachi nambi and asks for
permission from him and thirukkachi nambi happily agrees. periya nambi then explains
ALavandhAr’s glories to iLayAzhwAr and iLayAzhwAr leaves with periya nambi to
surrender to ALavandhAr. But ALavandhAr ascends to paramapadham before meeting
iLayAzhwAr. So, iLayAzhwAr returns to kAnchipuram and continues his kainkaryam
there.
iLayAzhwAr develops great attachment towards thirukkachi nambi and surrenders to

thirukkachi nambi and requests him to perform pancha samskAram to him to accept him
as his sishya. But nambi citing pramANams says that, him being in an abhrAmaNa
varNam makes him ineligible to become a formal AchArya (while he can continue to be
regarded very high and can continue to instruct iLayAzhwAr). iLayAzhwAr becomes
very dejected but accepts thirukkachi nambi’s stand due to unflinching faith in sAsthram.
iLayAzhwAr wanting to accept the uchchistam (sEsha prasAdham/food remnants) of

thirukkachi nambi, once invites him to his thirumALigai (home) to accept his
thadhIyArAdhanam. thirukkachi nambi obliges and iLayAzhwAr runs back to his
thirumALigai (home), informs his wife about this with great joy and instructs her to
prepare a great feast, performs his nithya karmAnushtAnam, completes his

thirumanjana thIrtha kainkaryam for dhEva perumAL and returns home. He then goes to
meet thirukkachi nambi through the south side of the temple, while nambi starts to
iLayAzhwAr thirumALigai through the north side of the temple. nambi arrives at
iLayAzhwAr’s home and informs iLayAzhwAr‘s wife that he needs to return for his
kainkaryam quickly. So, he quickly accepts the prasAdham and leaves. thanjammAL
(wife of iLayAzhwAr) without understanding iLayAzhwAr’s heart, considering nambi’s
varNam, pushes out the banana leaf, fully cleans the place and take a bathe.
iLayAzhwAr returns to see this and asks her why she took bath. She replies that “nambi
came and had prasAdham, but because he had some kainkaryam he left early. Since
he is not an upavIthar (one with yagyOpavItham), I threw away the plantain leaf on
which he had prasAdham, cleaned the place using cow dung and took bath to purify
myself”. iLayAzhwAr becomes very upset with the behaviour of his wife who
disrespected nambi (since she did not understand his true greatness) and leaves the
place.
nambi is well known to be conversing with dhEva perumAL. iLayAzhwAr had some
lingering doubts in his mind and he goes to thirukkachi nambi and requests him to find
the answers for his doubts from dhEva perumAL. (Note: srI rAmAnujar being Adhi
sEsha avathAram and based on pUrvAchArya srIsUkthis, we should understand that he
knows everything, but is enacting these events only to establish the pramANams
through bhagavAn and his elders/AchAryas). On that night, after completing his
kainkaryam, to dhEva perumAL, nambi was looking at emperumAn with great love as
usual.

dhEva perumAL being sarvagya (omniscient), asks nambi if we wants to say something.
nambi reveals iLayAzhwAr‘s heart (Note: iLayAzhwAr did not say what the doubts are)
and asks emperumAn to clarify his doubts. dhEva perumAL at once says “Just like I
went to sAndhipani to learn sAsthram, iLayAzhwAr (Adhi sEshan) who is a great expert
in sAsthram is asking me to clarify his doubts”. He then gives out what is famously
known as 6 vArthaigaL (6 commandments) through nambi to iLayAzhwAr. They are:
 ahamEva param thathvam – I am the supreme

 dharshanam bhEdham Eva – jIvAthmAs/achEthanam are different from me (my
sarIram)
 upAyam prapathi – “accepting me as the only refuge” is the only means to attain
me
 anthima smrthi varjanam – for prapannas, there is no need for thinking about me
while leaving their body since bhagavAn declares in varAha charama slOkam
that he will think about us during our last moments (interestingly, all our
AchAryas reveal that they are thinking about their AchAryas instead of bhagavAn
while leaving their body – this is the beautiful inner meaning of our
sampradhAyam that one should always be thinking about his/her AchAryan)
 dhEhavasAnE mukthi – prapannas will be liberated at the end of this body and
will ascend to paramapadham to eternally serve him there

 pUrNAchArya padhAsritha – Accept mAhA pUrNar (periya nambi) as AchAryan
thirukkachi nambi, goes to iLayAzhwAr and informs him about the 6 commandments.
iLayAzhwAr thanks nambi for his favour and offers his respects to him. nambi asks if
iLayAzhwAr was also thinking the same and iLayAzhwAr agrees – thus nambi becomes
very pleased to emperumAn’s thiruvuLLam (heart) and iLayAzhwAr’s thiruvuLLam being
the same.
Subsequently, iLayAzhwAr accepts periya nambi as AchArya in madhurAnthakam and

gets the name srI rAmAunja.
Not much more is present about thirukkachi nambi in pUrvAchArya granthams. He is

identified in a few places in vyAkyAnams. Let us see them now.
 periyAzhwAr thirumozhi – 3.7.8 – thiruvAimozhi piLLai‘s svApadhEsa

vyAkyAnam – thirukkachi nambi asks dhEva perumAL to give him a name which
is very dear to emperumAn. dhEva perumAL names him gajendhra dhAsar
(since gajEndhrAzhwAn worshipped dhEva perumAL in kAnchipuram, he is very
dear to emperumAn there).
 thiruviruththam – 8 – nampiLLai Idu – Once emperumAnAr was seated with
many srIvaishNavas. He suddenly thinks about thirukkachi nambi and requests
for a volunteer to go and enquire nambi’s well-being. No one volunteers at that
time. The next morning, periya nambi (mahA pUrNar) summons emperumAnAr
and informs him that he will visit kAnchipuram for mangaLAsAsanam.
emperumAnAr at once says that periya nambi has all authority over him and he
could fulfill his desire. periya nambi then reaches kAnchipuram, meets
thirukkachi nambi and enquires about his well being and starts his return journey
immediately. When thirukkachi nambi requests periya nambi to stay there for the
upcoming uthsavam, periya nambi says that his mission (to enquire about
thirukkachi nambi) is accomplished. He informs thirukkachi nambi that no one
was willing to travel immediately so he just volunteered and came to meet
thirukkachi nambi only. Such was thirukkachi nambi’s greatness that periya
nambi himself travelled all the way to kAnchipuram to meet him exclusively.
 AchArya hrudhayam – 85th chUrNikai - thyAga manNdapaththil Alavattamum
kaiyumAna aNtharanGgarai vaidhikOththamar anuvarththiththa kramam (
) – While explaining the glories of

bhAgavathas who are not born in brAhmaNa varNam, azhagiya maNavALa
perumAL nAyanAr cites the glories of thirukkachi nambi who was serving dhEva
perumAL in thyAga mandapam (kAnchipuram) by performing fan kainkaryam and

how the top most vaidhihar (emperumAnAr) himself revered and served
thirukkachi nambi.
mAmunigaL in his dhEvarAja mangaLam brings out the greatness of thirukkachi nambi
and dhEva perumAL’s great affection for him in the 11th slOkam.
srI kAnYchipUrnNamisrEnNa prIthyA sarvAbhibhAshanE

athithArchchAvyavasthAya hasthadhrIsAya manGgalam
Let there be all auspiciousness for the lord of hasthigiri who broke his archA samAdhi
and conversed regularly with thirukkachi nambi out of his great attachment towards him.
mAmunigaL beautifully brings out the relationship between dhEva perumAL and
thirukkachi nambi in this slOkam and also shows us that whenever we approach
bhagavAn we should go through his devotees only.
Let us pray at his lotus feet to bless us with the same attachment towards emperumAn
and AchAryan as well.
thirukkachi nambi’s thanian
dhEvarAja dhayApAthram srI kAnchi pUrNam uththamam

rAmAnuja munEr mAnyam vandhEham sajjanAsrayam
His archAvathAra anubhavam (through his beautiful grantham dhEvarAja ashtakam)

can be read at http://ponnadi.blogspot.in/2012/11/archavathara-anubhavam-
thuirukkachi-nambi.html.

mARanEri nambi
Thirunakshathram: Ani, Ayilyam
avathAra sthalam: purAnthakam (a village in pAndiya nAdu)
Place from where he attained paramapadham: srIrangam
ALavandhAr (in the middle) with dheivavAri ANdAn and mARanERi nambi – A sculpture
in srI rAmAnujar sannidhi, srI rangam
mARanEri nambi is a dear sishya of ALavandhAr. He was born in chathurtha varNam

and was most respected in srIrangam for his attachment towards periya perumAL and
his AchAryan ALavandhAr.
He is sometimes known as mARanEr nambi – one who is similar to mARan

(nammAzhwAr) in qualities.

He was known to be fully engaged in listening kAlakshEpams from ALavandhAr and
being engaged in guNAnubhavam of periya perumAL. He had given up all other
attachments and just stayed in srIrangam temple prAkAram itself.
During his last days mARanEri nambi requests periya nambi (who is his dear friend) to
take care of his final rites and not handover his thirumEni (divine form) to his bodily
relatives since they had not become srIvaishNavas. He compares that his body is like
havis (offering in yagya) that is only fit to be offered to bhagavAn and should not be
touched by others. periya nambi obliges and after mARanEri nambi attains
paramapadham, he performs the charama kainkaryams (final rites) for him. Due to his
varNam, the local srIvaishNavas does not accept periya nambi‘s action and challenges
him. They go to emperumAnAr and complain to him about periya nambi’s act.
emperumAnAr, wanting to establish the glories of mARanEri nambi through periya
nambi’s words, goes to periya nambi and questions him. emperumAnAr asks him
“When I am trying to develop faith and confidence in everyone’s mind on sAsthram, why
are you doing something which looks tangential to sAsthram?”. periya nambi replies that
“We cannot appoint some one else to perform bhAgavatha kainkaryam. We have to do
it ourselves. srI rAman did the final rites for jatAyu. I am not greater than srI rAman and
he is not lower than jatAyu – so there is nothing wrong in me doing this kainkaryam for
him. payilum chudaroLi (thiruvAimozhi 3.7) and nedumARkadimai (thiruvAimozhi 8.10)
padhigams of nammAzhwAr which glorifies bhAgavatha sEshathvam are not just
theoretical. We should atleast try to follow some aspects of AzhwAr’s divine words”.
Hearing this emperumAnAr becomes very pleased, offers his obeisances to periya
nambi and declares that periya nambi has indeed done a noble act. All the local
srIvaishNavas become very pleased. This most beautiful conversation is most
beautifully explained by maNavALa mAmunigaL in the vyAkyAnam of 234th sUthram of
piLLai lOkAchAryar‘s srIvachana bhUshaNam.
nambi’s vaibhavam is highlighted in a few places in the vyAkyAnams. Let us see them
here now:
 thiruppAvai 29 – Ayi jananyAchAryar vyAkyAnam – In this pAsuram, a beautiful

conversation between periya nambi and emperumAnAr is explained. When
mARanEri nambi was in his final days, he had to endure great bodily difficulties.
At that time, he becomes worried that he wont even be able to meditate on
emperumAn during his final moments. Looking at his state, periya nambi asks
emperumAnAr if mARanEri nambi will reach paramapadham. emperumAnAr
replies saying since srI varAha perumAL has guaranteed in the varAha charama
slOkam that he will think about the ones who surrender to him and delivers them
to paramapadham at the end of their lives. periya nambi then says those words
cannot be accepted since varAha perumAL could have just said that out of
compassion (and attachment towards bhUmi pirAttiyAr) and may not fulfill the

words. But emperumAnAr replies since pirAtti is with emperumAn always, he is
not going to say something to pacify her just at that time. Periya nambi then asks
for a pramANam where it is said that the ones who are engaged in bhagavadh
vishayam fully will be granted mOksham. emperumAnAr replies that kaNNan
emperumAn’s words in gIthai 4.10 – “janma karma cha mE dhivyam Evam yO
vEththi thathvatha: thyakthvA dhEham punar janma naithi mAmEthi sOrjuna”
says that one who understands bhagavAn’s birth and activities truly will reach
paramapadham definitely at the end of his life. periya nambi then becomes
pleased by emperumAnAr‘s words.
 periya thirumozhi 7.4 – periyavAchAn piLLai vyAkyAnam introduction section – In
this padhigam (kaNsOra venkuruthi), thirumangai AzhwAr glorifies the
srIvaishNavas who are surrendered to thiruchErai sAranAthan emperumAn. Here
the incident of periya nambi performind the last rites for mARanEri nambi is
identified.
 mudal thiruvanthAdhi 1 – nampiLLai vyAkyAnam – In this pAsuram, it is identified
that when some one asks mARanEri nambi if there is a way to remember
emperumAn, he replies back asking if there is a way to forget emperumAn (since
he is constantly meditating on emperumAn, he cannot even think of the
possibility of forgetting him ever).
 srIvachana bhUshaNam 324 – piLLai lOkAchAryar identifies the glories of
srIvaishNavas in this section and establishes that birth in a particular varNam
does not minimize the glories of srIvaishNavas. Amongst many other examples,
he identifies the incident of periya nambi explaining his act of performing final
rites to mARanEri nambi to emperumAnAr. mAmunigaL in his beautiful
vyAkyAnam brings out the essence of the discussion in the most crisp manner.
 AchArya hrudhayam 85 – azhagiya maNavALa perumAL nAyanAr, following in
the foot steps of his elder brother (piLLai lOkAchAryar), highlights the glories of
mARanEri nambi in this chUrNikai through the same incident.
Thus, we have seen some glimpses of the glories of mARanEri nambi.
Let us bow down at the lotus feet of mARanEri nambi who had great attachment
towards ALavandhAr.
Note: nambi’s thirunakshathram is identified as Adi – Ayilyam in periya thirumudi

adaivu, but its identified as Ani – Ayilyam in his vAzhi thirunAmam.
mARanEri nambi’s thanian
yAmunAchArya sachchishyam rangasthalanivAsinam

gyAnabhakthyAdhijaladhim mARanErigurum bhajE

emperumAnAr
thAnAna thirumEni thAnugantha thirumEni thamarugantha thirumEni

(srirangam) (sriperumpUdhUr) (thirunArayaNapuram)
Thirunakshathram: chithirai, thiruvAdhirai
avathAra sthalam: sriperumpudhUr
AchAryan: periya nambi
Sishyas: kUrathAzhwAn, mudhaliAndAn, embAr, aruLaLa perumAL emperumAnAr,

ananthAzhwAn, 74 simhAsanAdhipathis, many thousands of sishyas. It is said that he
had 12000 srivaishnavas, 74 simhAsAnadhipathis, 700 sanyAsis, and many many
srivaishnavas from different caste/creed were his disciples.
Works: He has done nine granthams which are considered as nava rathnams namely
sri bhAshyam, gItha bhAshya, vEdhArtha sangraham, vEdhAntha dhIpam, vEdhAntha
sAram, sharaNAgathi gadhyam, sriranga gadhyam, srivaikunta gadhyam and nithya
grantham.

iLayAzhwAr was born in sriperumbudhUr to kEsava dhIkshithar and kAnthimathi
ammangAr as an avathAram of AdhisEshan and is also known by many other names.
Let us see his many names and who gave them to him.
 iLayAzhwAr given by periya thirumalai nambi on behalf of his parents.

 sri rAmAnuja given by periya nambi during his pancha samskAram.
 yathirAja and rAmAnuja muni given by dhEva perumAL during sanyAsAshrama
svIkAram.
 udayavar given by namperumAL
 lakshmaNa muni given by thiruvaranga peumAL arayar
 emperumAnAr given by thirukkOshtiyUr nambi when emperumAnAr gave
charamaslOka artham to the ones who surrendered to him in thirukkOshtiyUr.
 satagOpan ponnadi given by thirumAlaiAndAn.
 kOil ANNan given by AndAL after emperumAnAr offered 100 plates of akkAra
adisil and 100 plates of butter to thirumAlirunchOlai azhagar.
 sri bhAshyakArar given by sarasvathi in kashmir.
 bhUthapurIsar given by Adhi kEsava perumAL of sriperumputhUr.
 dhEsikEndhrar given by thiruvEnkatamudayAn.
Brief life history
 Born in srIperumputhUr by the grace of thiruvallikkENi pArthasArathy

emperumAn as his amsAvathAram.
pArthasArathy with ubaya nAchiArs and udayavar – thiruvallikkENi

 Marries thanjammAl (rakshkAmbAL).
 Goes to kAnchipuram and learns sAmAnya sAstram and pUrva paksham from
yAdhava prakAsar.
 When yAdhava prakAsar gives crooked interpretations to sAstra vAkyams,
iLayAzhwAr corrects them.
 On a pilgrimage towards vAraNAsi, some disciples of yAdhava prakAsar plans to
kill iLayAzhwAr. Govindhar (embAr in the future), a cousin of iLayAzhwAr thwarts
the plan and sends iLayAzhwAr towards kAnchipuram. iLayAzhwAr feeling lost in
the forest is helped by dhEva perumAL and perundhEvi thAyar and comes back
to kAnchipuram.
 On his return, based on his mother’s advice, he serves dhEva perumAL under
the guidance of thirukkachi nambi.
 iLayAzhwAr travels with periya nambi to srirangam to meet ALavandhAr – but
only sees ALavandhArs charama thirumEni. He vows that he will fulfill
ALavandhArs 3 wishes.
 iLayAzhwAr considers thirukkachi nambi to be his AchAryan and asks him to do
pancha samskAram, but nambi refuses to do that citing pramANams from
sAstram. iLayAzhwAr wants to have sEsha prasAdham of thirukkachi nambi but
his desire is not fulfilled.
 dhEva perumAL gives Aru vArthaigaL (6 words) to iLayAzhwAr through
thirukkachi nambi.
 iLayAzhwAr and periya nambi meet at madhurAnthagam. periya nambi does
pancha samskAram to iLayAzhwAr and gives rAmAnujan as dhAsya nAmam.
 periya nambi stays at rAmAnujar’s thirumALigai and teaches him all
sampradhAya arthams. Eventually periya nambi leaves to srirangam.
 rAmAnujar accepts sanyAsAshramam from dhEva perumAL.
 AzhwAn and AndAn becomes sishyas of rAmAnujar.
 yAdhava prakAsar becomes a sishya of rAmAnujar and becomes gOvindha
jeeyar. He writes “yathi dharma samuchayam” – which is used as guidelines for
srivaishnava yathis.
 periya perumAL sends thiruvaranga perumAL to dhEva perumAL to bring
rAmAnujar to srirangam. dhEva perumAL agrees and rAmAnujar becomes
srirangavAsi.
 rAmAnujar gets periya thirumalai nambi to bring gOvindha bhattar (embAr) back
into the srivaishnava dharmam.
 rAmAnujar travels to thirukkOshtiyur to learn charama slOkam from
thirukkOshtiyUr nambi. He teaches the meaning to every one who came with the
desire to learn that and was named emperumAnAr by thirukkOsthiyUr nambi.
 emperumAnAr listens thiruvAimozhi kAlakshEpam from thirumAlai AndAn.
 emperumAnAr learns panchamOpAya (AchArya) nishtai from thiruvaranga
perumAL arayar.

 emperumAnAr out of his parama krupai, performs sharaNAgathi in front of
namperumAL and sriranga nAchiAr on a panguni uthram day for the benefit of all
of his followers.
 emperumAnAr is given poisoned food. ThirukkOshtiyUr nambi visits srirangam
and orders kidAmbi AchAn to take care of emperumAnArs bikshai.
 emperumAnAr defeats yagya mUrthy in debate. yagya mUrthy becomes aruLaLa
perumAL emperumAnAr and is given thiruvArAdhana kainkaryam for
emperumAnArs thiruvArAdhana emperumAn.
 emperumAnAr instructs ananthAzhwan, etc to become aruLALa perumAL
emperumAnAr’s sishyas.
 emperumAnAr sends ananthAzhwAn to thirumalai to perform nithya kainkaryam
to thiruvEnkatamudayAn.
 emperumAnAr goes on pilgrimage and finally visits thirumalai.
 emperumAnAr establishes that thiruvEnkatamudayAn is a vishnu mUrthy
(vigraham) and defeat the kudhrustis who claimed otherwise. He is glorified as
the AchAryan of thiruvEnkatamudayAn and can be seen with a jnAna mudhrai in
thirumalai.
emperumAnAr – thirumalai
 There he hears sri rAmAyaNa kAlakshEpam from periya thirumalai nambi.

 emperumAnAr gives sanyAsAshramam for govindha bhattar and names him
embAr.
 emperumAnAr visits kashmIr along with kUrathAzhwAn to bring bOdhAyana
vruthi grantham. They get the grantham but the wicked pandits send their
soldiers to take it away from emperumAnAr. When it was lost, AzhwAn says he
memorized everything.
 emperumAnAr with the help of AzhwAn writes sribhAshyam fulling ALavandhAr’s
first wish.

 emperumAnAr visits thirukkurungudi and empeumAn becomes a sishya of
emperumAnAr and gets the name “srivaishnava nambi”.
 AzhWan and AndAL, by the grace of prasAdham from namperumAL gets 2

children. emperumAnAr names them parAsAra and vEdha vyAsa fulfilling
ALavandhAr’s second wish.
 embAr’s brother siriya gOvindha perumAL gets a child and emperumAnAr names
him “parAngusa nambi” fulfilling ALavandhAr’s third wish. It is also said that
emperumAnAr instructed thirukkurugai pirAn piLLAn to write a commentary for
thiruvAimozhi to fulfill ALavandhAr’s third wish.
 emperumAnAr travels to thirunArAyaNa puram, establishes the temple worship
there and initiates many into our sampradhAyam.
 emperumAnAr takes the form of 1000 headed AdhisEshan and defeats 1000 jain
scholars simulataneously.
 emperumAnAr retrieves selvapiLLai utsava mUrthy from muslim king’s daughter
and performs the marriage of the muslim king’s daughter and selva piLLai.
 emperumAnAr returns to srirangam after the saiva kings death. He instructs
AzhwAn to get his eyes back by glorifying dhEva perumAL.
 emperumAnAr travels to thirumAlirunchOlai and offers 100 plates of akkAra adisil
and 100 plates of butter as per ANdAL’s wish.
 emperumAnAr shows the greatness of piLLai urangA villi dhAsar to other
srivaishnavas.
 emperumAnAr gives many final instructions to his sishyas. He instructs his
sishyas to treat parAsara bhattar as himself. Also, He instructs parAsara bhattar
to bring nanjeeyar into our sampradhAyam.
 Finally, meditating on ALavandhAr’s thirumEni, emperumAnAr completes his
leelai in leelA vibhUthi and returns paramapadham to continue his leelai in nithya
vibhUthi.

 Just like AzhwAr’s charama thirumEni was preserved inside the AdhinAthan
temple in AzhwAr thiunagari, emperumAnAr’s charama thirumEni is also
preserved inside the ranganAthan temple in srirangam (under the mUlavar
thirumEni in emperumAnAr sannidhi).
 All his charama kainkaryams were done in a grand manner just like the
brahmOtsavam of thiruvaranganAthan himself.
emperumAnAr’s unique position in our sampradhAyam
In our AchArya rathna hAram emperumAnAr is considered as the nAyaka maNi (the
center piece). In charamOpAya nirNayam, nAyanAr AchAn piLLai (son of periyavAchAn
piLLai) brings out the full glories of emperumAnAr. Let us see some glimpses of this
magnificient grantham:
 Through the words of many AchAryas (before and after emperumAnAr),

emperumAnAr is proven to be the charamOpAyam for all srivaishnavas.
 Even though our pUrvAchAryas were fully dependent on their own AchAryas,
because everyone’s AchAryas showed that “we have to fully dependent on
emperumAnAr only”, emperumAnAr’s uththArakathvam was fully established.
 periyavAchAn piLLai also says in mAnikka mAlai that “AchArya sthAnam is
special and only emperumAnAr fully qualifies for that sthAnam”.
 AchAryas before empeumAnAr were anuvruthi prasannAchAryas, i.e., they had
to be served continuously before they will be pleased and give valuable
instructions and accept sishyas. But emperumAnAr, looking at the difficulties in
this kaliyugam, identified that AchAryas should be krupA mAthra
prasannAchAryas, i.e., they should be full of mercy and accept sishyas purely
based on the desire in the heart of the sishya.
 It is also explained that just like when pithrus in pithru lOkam get benefited by
sath santhAnam (good offsprings) in their families and ofcourse the subsequent
generations will also benefit by such persons, AchAryas before and after
emperumAnAr benefit from the appearance of emperumAnAr in the srivaishnava
kulam. Just like vadudhEvan/dhEvaki, nandhagOpan/yasOdhA and
dhasarathan/kausalyA were blessed by giving birth to kannan emperumAn and
perumAL, AchAryas before emperumAnAr were blessed by the appearance of
emperumAnAr in the prapanna kulam.
 nammAzhwAr glorifies the appearance of emperumAnAr in poliga poliga poliga
padhigam and presents the bhavishyadhAchAryan (emperumAnAr) vigraham to
nAthamunigaL even before the appearance of emperumAnAr. (Another
bhavishyadhAchAryan was acquired by madhurakavi AzhwAr by the mercy of
nammAzhwAr while boiling the thAmiRa bharaNi water).

bhavishyadhAchAryan – AzhwArthirungari
 This divine form was preserved and worshipped by nAthamunigaL,

uyyakkoNdAr, etc., upto thirukkOshtiyUr nambi (The other divine form that was
received earlier by boiling thAmirabharaNi water was worshipped by
thiruvAimozhi piLLai and manavALa mAmunigaL in AzhwAr thiunagari
bhavishyadhAchAryan sannidhi)..
 periya nambi says that just like perumAL appeared in raghu kulam and made that
kulam famous, emperumAnAr appeared in prapanna kulam and made this kulam
famous.
 periya thirumalai nambi says to embAr that “you should think that emperumAnAr
thirvadigaLE thanjam and think about emperumAnAr more than myself”.
 thirukkOshtiyUr nambi during his final days says that “he was fortunate to have
the relationship with emperumAnAr”. Also when there is misunderstanding by
thirumAlaiAndAn, thirukkOshtiyUr nambi says that “you are not instructing
anything new to emperumAnAr, he is sarvajnar already. Just like kannan
emperumAn learnt from sAndIpani and perumAL learnt from vasishtan,
emperumAnAr is learning from us”.
 peraruLALan, periya perumAL, thiruvEnkatamudayAn, thirumAlirunchOlai
azhagar, thirkkurungudi nambi, etc also highlighted the importance/glories of
emperumAnAr and instructed everyone to completely depend on emperumAnAr.
 aruLaLa perumAL emperumAnAr, AzhwAn, ANdAn, embAr, vaduga nambi, vangi
purathu nambi, bhattar, nadAthUr ammAL, nanjeeyar, nampiLLai and many other
AchAryas show to their sishyas that “we should always think that emperumAnAr
thiruvadigaLE thanjam”.

 It is explained that by our pUrvAchAryas that we have to think emperumAnAr as
the upAyam and upEyam. This is called charamOpAya nishtai or anthimOpAya
nishtai.
 thiruvarangathamudhanAr after being reformed by kUrathAzhwAn, developed
great attachment towards emperumAnAr. He poured out his emotions in his
prabhandham rAmAnusa nURRanthAdhi. A fitting glorification of emperumAnAr,
this prabhandham was composed when emperumAnAr was living in srirangam
and was ordered by namperumAL to be recited in front of him during his
purappAdu without any other disturbances like vAdhyam, etc (which are usually
present in front of any purappAdu). This prabhandham was also included as part
of 4000 divya prabhandham by our pUrvAchAryas considering the glories of
emperumAnAr and his contribution towards our sampradhAyam. Not only that
this became to be known as prapanna gAyathri – that which should be recited
fully by every srivaishnava at least once a day.
manavALa mAmunigaL in upadhEsa rathina mAlai shows that our dharisanam is named
as “emperumAnAr dharisanam” by namperumAl himself. He also says that AchAryas
before emperumAnAr, were anuvruthi prasannAchAryas and were only instructing to
few sishyas who served them with utmost dedication for long durations. But
emperumAnAr changed the trend and showed that in this kaliyugam AchAryas should
be filled with mercy. Looking at the sorrows and difficulties in the samsAram, the
AchAryas should look out for individuals who simply have the desire to leave samsAram
and give them the valuable meanings on the process to leave samsAram. Not only
emperumAnAr himself did that, he also established 74 simhAsanAdhipathis who will
propagate our sanAthana dharmam everywhere and give the mercy to every one.
It is easy to speak about and summarize emperumAn’s vaibhavam but emperumAnAr’s

vaibhavam is unlimited. Even he himself with his thousand tongues (as AdhisEshan)
cannot speak his glories, so how can we do that to our full satisfaction. We just have to
satisfy ourselves saying that some how we benefited immensely by speaking (and
reading) about him today.
emperumAnAr’s thanian
yOnithyam achyutha padhAmbuja yugma rukma

vyAmOhathas thathitharANi thruNAya mEnE
asmadhgurOr bhagavathOsya dhayaikasindhO:
rAmAnujasya charaNau sharaNam prapadhyE

:

kUrathAzhwAn
thirunakshathram: thai, hastham
avathAra sthalam: kUram
AchAryan: emperumAnAr
Sishyas: thiruvarangathamudhanAr
Works: pancha sthavam (athi mAnusha sthavam, srI vaikunta sthavam, sundhara
bhAhu sthavam, varadharAja sthavam, srI sthavam), yO nithyam
achyutha/lakshminAtha thanians
 Born in kUram village in a noble family in the year 1010 CE (sowmya varusham,
thai mAsam, hastha nakshathram) as the son of kUrathazhwar and perundhEvi
ammAL. He was named srivathsAngan.
 His mother attained AchAryan thiruvadi (passed away) at a very young age and
his father does not remarry even though sAsthrams insist one must be in a
proper Asramam (i.e., once married, if the wife passes away, a man should
remarry). His father says “if i get married and my new wife does not treat
kUrathAzhwAn well, it will be a bhAgavatha apachAram”. Such is his qualities
even at a very young age.
 He was guided by thirukkachi nambi who was serving dhEvaperumAL.
 He gets married to ANdAL who is equally great in good qualities.
 He takes shelter of emperumAnAr and accepts pancha samskAram from him.

 Leaving behind all his wealth at kUram, he along with his wife reach srIrangam
and starts living there by taking unjavruthi (bikshai).
 He travels with emperumAnAr to Kashmir to retrieve Bodayana Vruthi Grantham.
After losing the grantham on the way back, he comforts emperumAnAr that he
memorized the whole grantham. Later, after getting back to srIrangam, he helps
emperumAnAr complete his magnus opum “srI bhAshyam” by recording it in
palm leaves as dictated by emperumAnAr.
amudhanAr – AzhwAn – emperumAnAr
 He instructs thiruvarangathu amudhanAr regularly and gets him to become a

disciple of emperumAnAr, give up the temple responsibilities and hands over the
temple keys to emperumAnAr after sitting in the EkAgam ritual.
 He goes to the saiva king’s court in place of emperumAnAr, refutes the king’s
claim of “rudhran being the supreme”, establishes of srIman nArAyaNa‘s
supremacy and in the end gives up his own dharshanam (eyes) to protect
srIvaishNava dharshanam (sampradayam).
 He leaves srIrangam to go to thirumAlirunchOlai (after emperumAnAr leaves to
thirunArAyaNapuram/mElkOte) where he stays for 12 years.
 He sings sundhara bAhu sthavam (one of pancha sthavam sung by him) to
kaLLazhagar (thirumAlirunchOlai emperumAn).
 He returns back to srIrangam after hearing about emperumAnAr‘s return to Sri
Rangam.
 Under the instructions of emperumAnAr, he sings varadharAja sthavam to dhEva
perumAL, and in the end asks for mOksham to all his sambhandhis – especially
nAlurAn (who was one of the main causes for him losing his eyes).
 In total he sings pancha sthavams – srI vaikuntha sthavam, athimAnusha
sthavam, sundhara bAhu sthavam, varadaraja sthavam and srI sthavam – all of
them contains the juice of vedantha meanings.

 He gets assigned the pourANika kainkaryam in srIrangam temple by
emperumAnAr and he also remains the grantha nirvAhi for our sampradayam
during his times.
AzhwAn and his sons parAsara bhattar and vEdha vyAsa bhattar
 He and his wife ges the prasAdham from Sri Ranganathan, and from that
prasAdham two beautiful children are born to them. They are named parAsara
bhattar and vEdha Vyasa bhattar.
 He is so immersed in arulicheyal anubhavam (4000 divya prabhandham) that
whenever he starts saying an upanyasam either he keeps crying after being
overwhelmed by anubhavam or he faints.
 periya perumAL converses with him directly.
 Finally, he requests mOksham from periya perumAL and periya perumAL grants
it. When emperumAnAr asks “how can you leave before me?”, he says
“According to sUzh visumbaNi mugil… padhigam in ThiruvAimozhi, when one
goes to paramapadam, nityas and muktas come and wash the feet of the newly
arriving mukta atma. How can I allow you to come and do that for me? That is
why I am leaving before you.”.

 There are numerous aidhIhyams (incidents) which are identfied/elaborated in
vyAkyAnams (commentaries) and guru parampara prabhAvam relating to
kUrathAzhwAn.
 Is it possible to list out the greatness of kUrathAzhwAn in this single page? If it is
not for my inability to comprehend kUrathAzhwAn’s vaibhavam, this page could
be endless.
AzhwAn’s thanian
srIvathsa chinna misrEbyO nama ukthima dhImahE:

yadhukthayas thrayi gantE yaanthi mangaLa sUthradhAm:
:
:
I worship kUrathAzhwAn, whose pancha sthavam are like mangala sutra

(ThirumAngalyam) for the vedas – i.e., without which there is no clarity in who is
paradhEvathai.
AzhwAn’s special greatness (based on srI U.vE vELukkudi krishNan swamy’s

lecture on this topic – written during AzhwAn’s 1000th year celebration at
thiruvallikkENi – originally posted in http://koorathazhwan1000.webs.com/)
arvAnchO yath padha sarasija dhvandhvam Asrithya pUrvE

mUrdhnA yasyAnvayam upagathA desikA mukthimApu:
sOyam ramanuja munir api sveeya mukthim karastAm
yath sambhandhAdh amanutha katam varnayathe kUranatha:
How can we speak the greatness of kUrathAzhwAn within the boundary of words
(mozhiai kadakkum perumpugalAn/vAcha magOchara)? Everyone gets mOksham
through emperumAnAr – some (who are elders to emperumAnAr) through his
thirumudi sambhandham and others (who are younger to emperumAnAr) gets
through his thiruvadi sambhandam. Such great personality emperumAnAr
himself proclaims that it was due to his connection to kUrathAzhwAn he gets
mOksham.
kUrathAzhwAn is one of the prime disciples of emperumAnAr. Born in kUram village

near Kanchipuram in a noble family, kUrathAzhwAn is considered as an epitome of
Srivaishnava Acharyas. He was well known for not having 3 mathams – prides (vidya
matham – proud of having high knowledge, dhana matham – proud of having huge

wealth, abijathya matham – proud of having born in noble family). He was praised by
thiruvarangathu amudhanAr in rAmAnusa nURRanthAdhi as “mozhiyai kadakkum
perum pugazhAn vanja muk kurumbAm kuzhiyai kadakum nam kUrathAzhwAn” and by
Manavala MAmunigal in Yathiraja Vimsadhi as “vAchAmagocara mahAguna desikAgrya
KUrAdhinatha” – both indicating that kUrathAzhwAn’s vaibhavams are beyond words. In
fact both rAmAnusa nURRanthAdhi and yathirAja vimsathi are aimed at praising
emperumAnAr.
emperumAnAr is considered as the most important acharya in Srivaishnava

sampradayam. This sampradayam truly represents Sanatana Dharma (vedic religion)
which contains boundless knowledge about tattva trayam (chit – soul, achit – matter and
Iswara – God srIman nArAyaNan). emperumAnAr preached this universal dharma all
over India. He was a visionary who played many roles – preacher, temple administrator,
social reformist, humanitarian, etc. He wrote nine granthams explaining various aspects
of vEdham, vEdhAntham, bhagavath gIthA, concept of saranagati (complete surrender
to god) and vaidhIka anushtAnams.
emperumAnAr is closely related to Sri Parthasarathy swamy temple. It was because of

his father’s prayers to Sri VenkataKrishnan/Sri Parthasarathy, presiding deity here in
Thiruvallikeni, emperumAnAr was born into this world.. It is one of the 108 divya
desams where pEyAzhwAr, thirumazhisai AzhwAr and thirumangai AzhwAr have
performed mangaLAsAsanams.
gIthAcharyan and Azhwan 1
Sri Parthasarathy, who is gIthAchAryan – one who spoke srI bhagavath gIthA to
arjunan. Sri bhagavath githA is considered as the most important scripture for Sanatana
Dharma and especially Srivaishnavas as this is directly spoken by krishNa himself.
In the 13th AdhyAyam (Chapter) of Sri bhagavath githA, krishNa explains the difference
between Kshetra (body) and Kshetranja (Knower of the body – soul). As part of his
instructions, he explains the 20 important qualities of a God realized person. These
qualities are wonderfully visible in kUrathAzhwAn’s life and we will walk through each of
the qualities explained by kaNNan emperumAn with specific examples from
kUrathazwan’s life.
Sri bhagavath githA, Chapter 13, Slokas 7 – 11
amAnithvam adambhithvam
ahimsA shAnthir Arjavam
AcharyOpAsanam saucham
sthairyam Athma-vinigraha:

indhriyArthesu vairAgyam
anahankAra Eva cha
janma mrthyu jarA vyAdhi
duhkha dhOshAnudharsanam
ashakthir anabhisvangah
puthra dhAra grhAdisu
nithyam cha sAma chiththathvam
ishtAnishtopapaththisu
mayi chAnanya yOgEna

bhakthir avyabhichAriNi
viviktha dhEsa sEvithvam
Aratir jana samsadhi
adhyAthma gyAna nithyathvam

thaththva gyAanArtha dharshanam
Ethath gyAnAnam ithi prOktham
agyAnAnam yadh athO anyatha
1. amanitvam – humility
 Even though he was born in a noble and wealthy family, he gave up everything
when he decided to go to srIrangam to server emperumAnAr.
 In srIrangam, there was a time, when emperumAnAr was asking Sri Periya
Nambi to drop holy sand by circling around the temple to protect it from evils, Sri
Periya Nambi asks for some one to accompany him – but insists that person
should be very humble – one who will not think even for a moment that why
should I walk behind another person. While emperumAnAr is thinking and looking
around, Sri Periya Nambi himself says, “Please send KUrathanzhwan since there
can be no one more humble than him”.
2. adambhitvam – pridelessness
 When accompanying Sri Ramanja to Kashmir to retrieve the Bodhayana vruthi

grantham (which is a short commentary for Brahma sutras), they received the
grantham and were returning back. At that time, some of the local pandits who
did not like emperumAnAr sent some soldiers who took the grantham away from
emperumAnAr. While emperumAnAr was in shock and disappointment,
kUrathAzhwAn mentions to emperumAnAr that he memorized the whole
grantham in night time after serving him. But still he did not show even a tinge of
pride during this incident.

3. ahimsa – nonviolence
 Once he hears the sound of a frog crying out while being eaten by a snake. He
starts crying for the poor frog and faints immediately. This shows his love for all
living beings. He is considered as an incarnation of Sri Rama, who as stated in
Valmiki Ramayanam, when some thing bad happens in Ayodhya before the
affected person Sri Rama cries and when some thing good happens he feels
happy before the affected person.
4. ksantir – tolerance
 emperumAnAr learns the meanings of Sri bhagavath githA Charama slokam

(Sarva DharmAn Parithyajya mAm ekam …) from Sri Thirukottiyur Nambi. Sri
Thirukotiyur Nambi instructs emperumAnAr to teach this only to his disciples after
putting them through difficult tests. When, kUrathAzhwAn asks for the meanings,
emperumAnAr asks him to show his dedication, and kUrathAzhwAn, fasts for 1
month outside the mutt of emperumAnAr. Finally he learns it after being patient
for so long.
 He also forgives and begs for Moksham for NAlurAn who was one of the cause
for losing his eyes in the Saiva king’s palace.
5. arjavam – honesty
 After instructing thiruvarangathu amudhanAr for a while on bhagavath vishayam,

when amudhanAr wanted to become a disciple, he asked him to take shelter of
emperumAnAr.
 After instructing Pillai Pillai Azhwan, kUrathAzhwAn tells him to always depend
on emperumAnAr.
6. acarya-upasanam – always depending on the Acharya
 When emperumAnAr places his feet on a deaf and dumb person who is living in
Sri Rangam, kUrathAzhwAn starts crying and says there is no use of learning
vedanthams compared to getting the lotus feet of emperumAnAr. “thruNi krutha
virinchAdhi nirangusa vibUthaya: rAmAnuja padhAmbOja samAsrayaNa sAlina:”
indicates the same meaning.
7. saucam – cleanliness -both internal and external
 While it is obvious that such great personality will be externally clean, the next
examples show how clean his heart was.

 When emperumAnAr had to leave srIrangam to go to Melkote due to Saiva
King’s actions, kUrathAzhwAn was still living in srIrangam. One day, when he
entered the temple, one of the guards stopped him saying “the king has ordered
anyone related to emperumAnAr should not enter the temple”. But another guard
at that time said, ” kUrathAzhwAn is a person of great qualities, so we should let
him in”. Hearing this kUrathAzhwAn said, “If I have any good qualities, that is
because of my relationship with emperumAnAr” and leaves the temple without
entering. Such is his pure heart, that if some one considers him independently
great, he does not accept it, even to take the Darshan of the Lord Sri
Ranganatha.
8. sthairyam–steadfastness
 When some devotees was asking “why srivaishnavas are not worshipping
dhEvatantarams?”, kUrathAzhwAn said because our elders (pUrvacharyas –
great vedic scholars) did not do that, we are also not doing it. He had such
steady mind and faith on pUrvacharyas.
9. atma-vinigrahah – self control (vairaghyam)
 When his children were getting ready to be married, his wife and many others
were asking him to look for suitable brides. kUrathAzhwAn said “Iswara
kudumbathukku nAm yAr karaivathu?” – meaning “Why should I worry for
Bhagavan’s family? It is srI ranganAtha’s responsibility.”.
 When emperumAnAr instructs kUrathAzhwAn to sing kAnchipuram
dhEvaperumAL and request for his eyes back – kUrathAzhwAn asks for
Moksham for him and NAlurAn who caused the loss of eyes.
10. indriya-arthesu vairagyam -renunciation in the matter of the senses
 When Thiruvarangathu amudhanAr submits all his wealth (gold, etc) to

kUrathAzhwAn, kUrathAzhwAn simplity throws them out on the street, and tells
emperumAnAr that he got rid of unnecessary burdens.
11. anahankAra – being without false egoism
 Even after being a great scholar, wealthy person, etc., when emperumAnAr gets
upset with kUrathAzhwAn while writing the Sri Bhashya, kUrathAzhwAn says,
“emperumAnAr is my Swamy and I am his Dasan, so he can do whatever he
wants to me”.

12. janma-mrtyu-jara-vyadhi-
duhkha-dosanudarsanam – Always seeing the faults in this samsara
 Once when he hears some one gives birth to a child, kUrathAzhwAn goes in front
of Lord Ranganatha and cries. When asked why, he says “When some one gets
put in this jail of samsara, you have to go and cry in front of the one who can
relieve them from this samsara. Since Lord Ranganatha is the only one who can
liberate us all from samsara, I went and cried in front of him for this new born
child”.
13. asaktir – detachment
 When travelling to srIrangam to take shelter of emperumAnAr, through the forest,

kUrathAzhwAn’s wife was looking worried. When asked she said she was
carrying the gold vessel in which kUrathAzhwAn will eat prasAdham every day.
Hearing this, he takes that from her and threw it away, saying what is the use of
this utensil when Lord Ranganatha and Sri Ramanuja are there. This shows that
he did not even have a tinge of attachment to anything material.
14. putra, dara, grha-adisu anabhisvangah – without association to sons, wife,

home, etc.
 Not only he gave up all his wealth, he also started taking unja vruthi (bikshai) for
his daily needs after reaching srIrangam. Even after having a family, he was very
strict in adhering to sastras.
 When he was instructing to his disciples on rahasya trayam (Thirumantram,
dvayam, charama slokam), he first asks his children to leave – but later invites
them and teaches them the inner meanings. When asked why, he says, “well
who knows how long they could live, they could lose their life before reaching
home, that is why I wanted to make sure they learn this”. This shows, he is not
sentimental towards his children, but see them also as atmas who need to attain
proper knowledge and get liberated from samsara
 It is also said that he did not keep any bodily relationship with his wife and his
children (both Parasara bhattar and vedavyasa bhattar) were given by Lord Sri
Ranganatha itself through his prasAdham.
15. ista anista upapattisu nityam sama-cittatvam – even-mindedness amid

pleasant and unpleasant events
 When he lost his eyes kUrathAzhwAn did not worry too much. He said “what is
the use of these eyes anymore after seeing the king who is a bhagavad virodhi”.
When emperumAnAr instructs him to request his eyes back from Sri Kachi

Varadan, kUrathAzhwAn is not too happy either – he says “I am already seeing
both emperumAnAr and emperumAn through my inner eyes, so what is the need
for these external eyes?”.
16. mayi ananya-yogena bhaktih avyabhicarini – constant devotion unto me

(krishNa) only
 Even in many adverse conditions, such as having to lose his eyes, or having to
leave srIrangam, etc., kUrathAzhwAn always prayed for constant devotion to
emperumAn. He never went to any one else, nor he asked anything other than
complete devotion to the Lord.
17. vivikta desa sevitvam – living in solitary places
 For a Srivaishnava, living in a solitary place means living in holy places where
there is activities around Lord only nothing else. kUrathAzhwAn always stayed
with his Acharya emperumAnAr and was always thinking about service to
emperumAnAr and emperumAn.
18. aratih jana samsadi – without attachment to people in general
 Even though great devotees may have to associate with general people, they will
still show no attachment towards them. kUrathAzhwAn even though had to
associate with ordinary people (kings, etc) who takes instructions from him, but
never showed any attachment towards them.
19. adhyatma jnana nityatvam – pertaining to the eternal self knowledge
 Right from the young age, kUrathAzhwAn always shows interest in self
knowledge and shows clear understanding of all jivatmas are servants of
paramatma.
20. tattva-jnana artha chintanam – Thinking about the true knowledge
 kUrathAzhwAn always was thinking about the true knowldge – that all jivatmas
are servants of Sriman Narayana. That is why when he left his body to go to
paramapadham, emperumAnAr instructs the Srivaishnavas to keep reciting
Dvaya maha mantram in kUrathAzhwAn’s ears since that is what he is always
thinking about.
Conclusion

It is so amazing to see all this wonderful qualities in a single person. That is why
periyavAchAn pillai says “Both Acharya and Sishya lakshanam are fully
manifested in KUrathazhawan” in mAnikkA mAlai. Let us atleast try to take some
of these examples and implement it in our life – to please kUrathAzhwAn and all
our pUrvacharyas.

mudhaliyANdAn
thirunakshathram: chithrai, punarpUsam
avathAra sthalam: pEttai
Works: dhAti panchakam, rahasya thrayam (not available anywhere)

Born as the son of Anandha dhIkshithar and nAchiyAramman, he was named
dhAsarathi. He is the nephew of emperumAnAr. He is also known as rAmAnujan
ponnadi, yathirAja pAdhukA, srIvaishNava dhAsar, thirumarumArbhan and becomes to
be famously known as mudhaliyANdAn (meaning “leader amongst srIvaishNavas”). He
is also known as the lotus feet of emperumAnAr (yathirAja pAdhukA) and thridhaNdam
of emperumAnAr. Note: AzhwAn and ANdAn are so dear to emperumAnAr and
inseparable from him – kUrathAzhwAn is known as the jala pavithram (flag which is tied
in emperumAnAr’s thridhaNdam) of emperumAnAr.
AzhwAn, emperumAnAr, ANdAn – from their respective avathAra sthalams
emperumAnAr had great liking for ANdAn due to ANdAn’s bhagavath/bhAgavatha

nishtai (attachment towards bhagavAn and his devotees). When emperumAnAr
accepted sannyAsam, he declares that he gives up attachment to everything else but
ANdAn – such was ANdAn’s greatness. After emperumAnAr‘s acceptance of
sannyAsAsramam, AzhwAn and ANdAn becomes his first sishyas. They both learn
sAsthram (ubhaya vEdhAntham – samskritham and arULicheyal) and its essence from
emperumAnAr himself. They also follow emperumAnAr to srIrangam when he leaves
kAnchipuram. Under emperumAnAr’s divine orders, ANdAn fully takes control of the
temple administration and ensures proper functioning of all aspects of the temple
activities.

When thirukkOshtiyUr nambi instructs the divine meanings of charama slOkam to
emperumAnAr, ANdAn requests emperumAnAr to teach him the same. emperumAnAr
asks ANdAn to go to nambi and request him. ANdAn spends 6 months at nambi’s
thirumALigai (home) and serves him patiently. At the end of 6 months, when ANdAn
requests nambi to teach the meanings of charama slOkam, nambi says emperumAnAr
himself will teach that to him once he develops Athma guNams fully. nambi places his
lotus feet and ANdAn’s head and bids him farewell. emperumAnAr seeing ANdAn’s
return, is very pleased with ANdAn’s bhAvam (mood of servitude) and at once instructs
him the divine meanings of charama slOkam.

ANdAn’s total surrender to emperumAnAr can be understood from this well known
charithram (historical incident). Once periya nambi‘s daughter aththuzhAi goes to his
mother-in-law and asks her for some one to accompany her when she goes to take bath
in the river for safety/assistance. Her mother-in-law says “you have to bring your own
srIdhana veLLAtti (assistant)”. aththuzhAi goes to his father and asks him to arrange for
an assistant. periya nambi says since they are fully dependent on emperumAnAr, she
has to go and request him for that. emperumAnAr looks around and spots ANdAn and
asks him to go with aththuzhAi as her assistant. ANdAn happily accepts his master’s
orders and follows her. He starts helping her regularly. aththuzhAi’s in-laws become
very concerned seeing ANdAn (who is a great scholar and the leader of rAmAnuja
sishyas) coming and performing lowly work of servitorship at their home and asks him to
stop that. ANdAn immediately says that it was emperumAnAr’s order and he will just do
it. They immediately go to periya nambi who sends them to emperumAnAr.
emperumAnAr says “you wanted an assistant and I have sent one – if you dont want
him, you can send him back”. aththuzhAi’s in-laws realize their mistake and ask ANdAn
to stop serving them. They realize the greatness of periya nambi, emperumAnAr,
ANdAn and aththuzhAi and take good care of her subsequently. But this incident shows
the greatness of ANdAn in fully following his AchArya’s words. We can easily
understand, if some one is to be declared as the lotus feet of emperumAnAr, they must
possess utmost auspicious qualities and ANdAn was indeed an epitome of such good
qualities.

ANdAn travels with emperumAnAr during emperumAnAr’s journey to mElkOte
(thirunArAyaNapuram) due to saiva king’s unfavourable actions. In a place named
mithulApuri sALagrAmam, there lived many people who were staunchly opposed to
vaidhIha dharmam. emperumAnAr asks ANdAn to touch the water source (river) where
everyone takes bath with his lotus feet. ANdAn obliges and when everyone takes bath
in the river which now has ANdAn’s srIpAdha sambhandham (relationship with his lotus
feet), they become purified. The next morning every one arrives to see emperumAnAr
and takes shelter of him. Thus, we can understand the greatness of a pure
srIvaishNava’s srIpAdha thIrtham which can purify anyone.
kanthAdai ANdAn who is the son of mudhaliyANdAn takes permission of emperumAnAr

and makes an archA vigraham (form) for emperumAnAr. emperumAnAr embraces this
vigraham and becomes very fond of it. This vigraham is then placed in his avathAra

sthalam (srIperumbUthUr) on thai pushyam (this day is celebrated as guru pushyam in
srIperumbUthUr even today) and is famously thAm ugantha thirumEni (the vigraham
that was liked by rAmAnujar himself).
ANdAn’s instructions and glories are identified in various places in the vyAkyAnam. Let
us see some of them now.
 thiruvAimozhi 2.9.2 – nampiLLai eedu vyAkyAnam – ANdAn’s magnanimity is

revealed in this incident beautifully. Once a sishya of ANdAn goes to embAr
when ANdAn was out of town. embAr accepts kainkaryam from that srIvaishNava
and considering that he may not have had AchArya sambhandham, he performs
pancha samskAram to him and starts imparting divine knowledge to him. When
ANdAn returns, that srIvaishNava returns to ANdAn and starts serving him.
embAr comes to know about this and he runs to ANdAn and tell him “I did not
know that he was your sishya already and please forgive me for this
apachAram”. ANdAn, peacefully replies to him “When some one falls in a well, if
two people lift him up, it will be a lot easier. Similarly, this person is in samsAram,
if two of us help him it will be beneficial only”. This kind of purity in heart is very
rare to see which is constantly manifested by ANdAn.
 thiruvAimozhi 3.6.9 – nampiLLai eedu vyAkyAnam – In this padhigam
archAvathAra emperumAn’s glories are fully revealed. ANdAn explains that “Dont
think that paramapadhanAthan takes this archAvathAra form to please his
devotees here, instead think that this archAvathAra emperumAn is more
important and he is manifesting himself as para-vAsudhEvan in paramapadham”.
 thiruvAimozhi 5.6.7 – nampiLLai eedu vyAkyAnam – In this padhigam,
emperumAn’s sarva vyApakthvam (omnipresence) is explained. Here parAngusa
nAyaki (nammAzhwAr in the bhAvam of a girl) says that emperumAn will destroy
his relatives as well. ANdAn gives a beautiful explanation that “emperumAn will
destroy (melt them completely) them (those who are attracted towards him) by
showing his divine beauty”.
 thiruvAimozhi 6.4.10 – nampiLLai eedu vyAkyAnam – ANdAn’s attachment and
concern towards archAvathAra emperumAn (namperumAL in this case) is
explained by nampiLLai here. nampiLLai identifies a narration of nanjIyar
involving embAr and ANdAn. In samsAram, there are so many people who are
unfavourable to emperumAn. archAvathAra emperumAn is tender natured and is
making himself fully dependent on his devotees. After the completion of a
brahmOthsavam, embAr and ANdAn meet, offer obeisances to each other,
embrace themselves and happily proclaim that namperumAL (srIranganAthan)
reached his AsthAnam safely after the uthsavam even in this case. He was true
to the nature of our pUrvAchAryas who are fully focussed on mangaLAsAsanam.
 thiruvAimozhi 8.10.3 – nampiLLai eedu vyAkyAnam – When bhattar asks
AzhwAn about “srirumA manisar” (siru means small and mA means big – how

does smallness and bigness exist in the same person), AzhwAn explains ANdAn,
aruLALa perumAL emperumAnAr and embAr are small in posture (and are like
us in their dependence for food for sustaining themselves) but they are greater
than nithyasUris in their bhakthi towards emperumAm – thus smallness and
bigness exist in the same persons.
 thiruvAimozhi 9.2.8 – nampiLLai eedu vyAkyAnam – During a srIjayanthi
purappAdu in srIrangam, vangippurathu nambi joins the cowherd girls group and
worship emperumAn from there. ANdAn asks him what he said when he was in
that group. nambi says “I said vijayasva”. ANdAn replies when you are there with
those girls, you should glorify him in their own language instead of this hard
samskritham.
Thus, we have seen some glimpses of the glorious life of mudhaliyANdAn. He was fully
situated in bhAgavatha nishtai and was very dear to emperumAnAr himself. Let us pray
at his lotus feet that we too get a little bit of such bhAgavatha nishtai.
mudhaliyANdAn’s thaniyan:
pAdhukE yathirAjasya kathayaNthi yadhAkyayA

thasya dhAsarathE: pAdhau chirasA dhArayAmyaham

aruLALa perumAL emperumAnAr
aruLALa perumAL emperumAnAr – thiruppAdagam
thirunakshathram: kArthigai, bharaNi
avathAra sthalam: vinjimUr
sishyAs: ananthAzhwAn, echchAn, thoNdanUr nambi, marudhUr nambi, etc

Works: jnAna sAram, pramEya sAram, etc
Born in vinjimUr (Andhra pradhEsh), he was originally known as yagya mUrthy and was
an adhvaithi. He once goes for gangA snAnam and wins many vidhwAns there and
becomes a mAyAvAdha sanyAsi. Due to his vast knowledge in sAsthram he had
acquired great fame and many disciples. Hearing about emperumAnAr‘s glories, yagya
mUrthy desires to debate with him. He prepares many granthams and have them
carried by his many disciples and arrives at srIrangam to meet emperumAnAr.
emperumAnAr welcomes yagya mUrthy and they make an arrangement to debate for
18 days. yagya mUrthy declares that if he is defeated he will change his name to reflect
emperumAnAr’s name, carry the pAdhukais of emperumAnAr on his head and become
a sishya of emperumAnAr. emperumAnAr declares that if he is defeated he will give up
touching any granthams.
The debate starts and goes on for 16 days. Both of them debate eloquently and
furiously like two elephants fighting each other. On the 17th day, it appears that yagya
mUrthy is gaining an upper hand. emperumAnAr becomes a bit worried and leaves to
his mutt at the end. In the night, he meditates on pEraruLALan (his personal
thiruvArAdhana perumAL) and asks emperumAn if he will end up losing the debate
which will lead to the downfall of the great sampradhAyam which was nourished by
NammAzhwAr to ALavandhAr. He also worries that he becomes the reason for such
downfall. pEraruLALan appears in emperumAnAr's dream subsequently and tells him
not to worry. He tells him that this was a divine leelai to bring a sishya to emperumAnAr
who is adequately intelligent and brilliant. He instructs emperumAnAr to use
ALavandhAr's refutations for mAyAvAdham and defeat yagya mUrthy in the debate.
emperumAnAr realises the greatness of emperumAn and continues to recite
emperumAn's thinAmams until early morning, performs his nithyAnushtAnams and
thiruvArAdhanam and arrives for the debate for the last (18th) day majestically. yagya
mUrthy, being an intellectual, right away recognises the thEjas in emperumAnAr, falls at
his lotus feet, keeps emperumAnAr's pAdhukas on his head and accepts his defeat.
When emperumAnAr asks if he wants to debate further, yagya mUrthy says
"emperumAnAr is non-different from periya perumAL for him, so no need to debate
further". But emperumAnAr out of his krupai, still explains emperumAn's saguNathvam
using proper pramANams. yagya mUrthy requests emperumAnAr to give him proper
sanyAsAshramam. emperumAnAr instructs him to first perform prAyachitham for giving
up the shikai and yagyOpavItham (since he was a mAyavAdha sanyAsi before) and he
obliges. After that, emperumAnAr presents thridhaNdam, kAshAyam, etc to yagya
mUrthy and names him aruLALa perumAL emperumAnAr in memory of the favours
done by pEraruLALan and to fulfill the desire of yagya mUrthy who wanted to be named
after emperumAnAr. emperuAnAr also brings aruLALa perumAL emperumAnAr to

namperumAL and his own thiruvArAdhana perumAL to show that it was their divine plan
that connected emperumAnar and aruLALa perumAL emperumAnAr.
emperumAnAr teaches aruLicheyal and their meanings to aruLALa perumAL

emperumAnAr himself over time. When ananthAzhwAn, echchAn, etc arrives to
srIrangam to become the sishyas of emperumAnAr, he asks them to undergo pancha
samskAram under aruLALa perumAL emperumAnAr. aruLALa perumAL emperumAnAr
instructs his sishyas to simply think about emperumAnAr as the upAyam always.
It is also said that aruLALa perumAL emperumAnAr’s specific kainkaryam to

emperumAnAr was to perform thiruvArAdhanam for emperumAnAr’s pEraruLALan
emperumAn.
Once when two travelling srivaishnavas ask some one in the streets of srIrangam
“where is emperumAnAr‘s mutt?”. At that time, a local person replies “which
emperumAnAr?”. The srivaishnavas ask “Are there two emperumAnAr’s in our
sampradhAyam?” and the local person replies “Yes, there is emperumAnAr and
aruLALa perumAL emperumAnAr”. The srivaishnavas finally say “Oh! we are looking for
udayavar’s mutt” and the person points them to the mutt. aruLALa perumAL
emperumAnAr happens to be there at that time and becomes very upset that since he
was living in a separate mutt with the same name this conversation happened.
Immediately he destroys his mutt, comes to emperumAnAr and tells him that he does
not want to live in a separate place anymore explaining the conversation which
happened. emperumAnAr accepts him, asks him to live in his own mutt and also
explains all rahasya arthams to aruLALa perumAL emperumAnAr.
aruLALa perumAL emperumAnAr, out of his krupai, writes two prabhandhams in

thamizh, jnAna sAram and pramEya sAram. These two prabhandhams bring out the
most beautiful meanings of our sampradhAyam, especially bringing out the glories
AchAryan in a very beautiful way. piLLai lOkAchAryar‘s srIvachana bhUshaNam closely
follows the concepts that are explained by aruLALa perumAL emperumAnAr in these
prabhandhams. mAmunigaL has done beautiful vyAkyAnams for these prabhandhams.
bhattar, when he was very young, asked AzhwAn the meaning for “sirumAmanisar”
(thiruvAimozhi 8.10.3) saying that it looks contradictory. For that, AzhwAn explains that
this means srivaishnavas like mudhaliANdAn, embAr and aruLALa perumAL
emperumAnAr who are small in physical stature but are as great as nithya sUris. This
charithram is identified by NampiLLai in his eedu mahA vyAkyAnam.
Let us remember aruLALa perumAL emperumAnAr who always remembers

emperumAnAr.

aruLALa perumAL emperumAnAr’s thaniyan
rAmAnujArya sachchishyam vEdhasAsthrArtha sampadham

chathurthAsrama sampannam dhEvarAja munim bhajE

embAr
embAr – madhuramangalam
Thirunakshathram: thai, punarpUsam
avathAra sthalam: madhuramangalam
AchAryan: periya thirumalai nambi
Sishyas: parAsara bhattar, vEdha vyAsa bhattar.
Works: vijNana sthuthi, emperumAnAr vadivazhagu pAsuram.

gOvindha perumAL was born in madhuramangalam born as the son of kamala nayana
bhattar and sridhEvi ammAL. He is also known as gOvindha bhattar, gOvindha dhAsar
and rAmAnuja padha chAyaiyAr. He eventually and popularly became to be known as
embAr. He is a cousin of emperumAnAr and was instrumental in saving emperumAnAr
from being killed during vAraNAsi yAthrai with yAdhava prakAsar.
After saving emperumAnAr, gOvindha perumAL continues his yAthrai and becomes a
siva bhakthar and settles down in kALahasthi. emperumAnAr sends periya thirumalai
nambi to reform him. When gOvindha perumAL comes to the nandhavanam to pluck
flowers for his pUjA, periya thirumalai nambi recites thiruvAimozhi pAsuram “dhEvan
emperumAnukkallAl pUvum pUsanaiyum thagumE”, i.e., only emperumAn sriman
nArAyaNan deserves to be worshipped with flowers and no one else qualifies for that.
govindha perumAL at once realises his mistake and gives up the attachment towards
the sivan and surrenders to periya thirumalai nambi. periya thirumalai nambi performs
pancha samskAram to him and teaches him sampradhAya arthams. Thereafter,
gOvindha perumAL stays with periya thirumalai nambi doing all kainkaryams to his
AchAryan.
emperumAnAr visits periya thirumalai nambi at thirupathi and learns sri rAmAyaNam
from him. A few incidents happen at that time which will make us understand the
greatness of embAr. Let us see them briefly:
 Once, gOvindha perumAL prepares the bed for periya thirumalai nambi and lies
down it first before his AchAryan lies down. When emperumAnAr sees this, he
lets periya thirumalai nambi know about this and nambi enquires from gOvindha
perumAL about the incident. gOvindha perumAL says he will get narakam for this
act but he does not mind that. He says that he was testing to ensure that the bed
will be very comfortable for his AchAryan. So he did not worry about his fate but
was more concerned about his AchAryan’s thirumEni. This relates to
mAmunigaL’s srisUkthi – thEsArum sichchan avan sIr vadivai Asaiyudan
NOkkumavan (
).
 Once emperumAnAr notices that gOvindha perumAL does something in a
snake’s mouth and takes a bath for sarIra sudhi. emperumAnAr enquires why
and gOvindha perumAL says that the snake had a thorn in its mouth and he
removed it. emperumAnAr was overwhelmed with gOvindha perumAL’s jIva
kArunyam.
 When emperumAnAr takes leave from periya thirumalai nambi, nambi says he
wants to offer something to emperumAnAr. emperumAnAr requests nambi to
send gOvindha perumAL with him. nambi happily agrees and instructs gOvindha
perumAL to treat emperumAnAr as himself. But by the time they reach

kAnchipuram, gOvindha perumAL unable to bear the separation from his
AchAryan returns to his AchAryan. periya thirumalai nambi does not let gOvindha
perumAL enter his house and says that once he was given to emperumAnAr he
has to stay with him only. gOvindha perumAL realises the heart of his AchAryan
and returns to be back with emperumAnAr.
After returning to srirangam, on the request of gOvindha perumAL’s mother,

emperumAnAr arranges for gOvindha perumAL’s marriage. gOvindha perumAL
reluctantly agrees but never gets involved in his married life with his wife. emperumAnAr
specifically instructs gOvindha perumAL to be involved in EkAntham, but gOvindha
perumAL comes back and says that he sees everywhere emperumAn only, so there is
no EkAntham. Immediately understanding the position of gOvindha perumAL,
emperumAnAr gives him sanyAsAshramam and names him embAr and orders him to
stay with him always.
Once when embAr was praised by other srivaishnavas embAr happily agrees to those
praises. emperumAnAr takes a note of that and mentions to embAr that it is not a
srivaishnava’s quality to accept praises without naichiyAnusandhAnam (humility). For
that embAr says if some one praises him, it only glorifies emperumAnAr himself since it
was emperumAnAr who reformed him from a very lowly state. emperumAnAr
acknowledges that and praises embAr for his AchArya bhakthi.
When AndAL (wife of kUrathAzhwAn) gives birth to two children by the grace of
emperumAn through his prasAdham, emperumAnAr along with embAr visits them for
the nAmakaraNam ceremony. emperumAnAr instructs embAr to bring the children and
while doing so embAr recites dhvaya mahA manthram to the children as a rakshai for
them. emperumAnAr looking at the children, was able to recognise that they had
dhvaya mahA manthrOpadhEsam by embAr immediately and order embAr to be their
AchAryan. Thus parAsara bhattar and vEdha vyAsa bhattar become the sishyas of
embAr.
While embAr was always completely detached to lOka vishayam (material things), he
was very much attached to bhagavath vishayam. He was also a great rasikar (one who
appreciates/enjoys) bhagavath vishayam. There are several incidents that are
highlighted in the vyAkyAnams about embAr’s bhagavath anubhavams. Let us see a
few here.
 In the last pAsuram of periyAzhwAr thirumozhi, when srivaishnavas ask the

meaning for “chAyai pOla pAdavallAr thAmum aNukkargaLE” - he says he has
not heard the meaning from emperumAnAr for that particular pAsuram. But he
keeps the pAdhukA of emperumAnAr on his head and meditates for a moment
and says emperumAnAr revealed it at that very moment and says it should be

read as “pAdvallAr – chAyai pOla – thAmum aNukkargaLE”, i.e., one who sings
these pAsurams will be close to emperumAn like his shadow.
 When uyntha piLLai arayar does abinayam for periyAzhwAr thirumozhi, 2.1
padhigam, which describes how kannan emperumAn scares everyone, he shows
that kannan emperumAn is keeping his eyes in a scary position to scare the
gOpa kumAras (cowherd boys). But embAr, watching from behind shows as if
kannan emperumAn showing his sangu and chakkaram to the children to scare
them, the arayar swamy understands that and shows that the next time.
emperumAnAr, on observing this, asks “gOvindha perumALE irunthIrO” (Are you
there in the gOshti?) – since he knows only embAr can give such beautiful
meanings.
 In thiruvAimozhi, minnidai madavArgaL padhigam (6.2), it is shown that, even
being a sanyAsi, embAr was able to understand the thiruvuLLam of AzhwAr who
is having vislEsham with kannan emperumAn. He was also giving wonderful
meanings for this wonderful padhigam which amazes all the srivaishnavas. This
truly shows how a srivaishnava should be “paramAthmani raktha:
aparamAthmani viraktha:” – anything related to emperumAn is enjoyable and
anything not related to emperumAn is to be shunned/given up.
 In thiruvAimozhi, 10.8.3 pAsura vyAkyAnam an interesting incident is shown.
emperumAnAr while walking in his mutt meditating on thiruvAimozhi, suddenly
turns back. embAr watching him from behind the doors and asks if
emperumAnAr is thinking about “madiththEn” in this pAsuram and emperumAnAr
acknowledges that. Just based on a simple act embAr was able to determine
exactly what emperumAnAr was thinking.
embAr during his charama dhasai, instructs parAsara bhattar to administer our
sampradhAyam from srirangam. He also says to bhattar that, bhattar should always
think that “emperumAnAr thirvadigaLE thanjam”. Deeply meditating on emperumAnAr,
embAr gives up his charama thirumEni and reaches paramapadham to be with
emperumAnAr in nithya vibhUthi.
Let us pray at the lotus feet of embAr that we also develop such attachment towards
emperumAnAr and our AchAryan.
embAr’s thanian
rAmAnuja padha chAyA gOvindhAhva anapAyinI

thadhA yaththa svarUpA sA jIyAn madh visramasthalee

kOil komANdUr iLayavilli AchAn
komANdur iLayavilli AchAn – semponseikOil, thirunAngUr
thirunakshathram: chithrai, Ayilyam
avathAra sthalam: komANdUr
Place where he attained paramapadham: thiruppErUr
komANdUr iLAyavilli AchAn is one of the maternal cousins of emperumAnAr (similar to

embAr). He is also known as bAladhanvi guru. iLAyavilli/bAladhanvi means
lakshmaNan – he served emperumAnAr like iLaya perumAL (lakshmaNan) served
srIrAmar. He is one of the 74 simhAsanAdhipathis (AchAryas) appointed by
emperumAnAr himself.

It is learnt from his thanian (invocatory verse) and vAzhi thirunAmam that he was greatly
attached to periya thirumalai nambi (srIsaila pUrNar) and served him as well.
In charama upAya nirNayam (http://ponnadi.blogspot.in/p/charamopaya-nirnayam.html),

nAyanArAchAn piLLai brings out the greatness of komANdUr iLAyavilli AchAn. Let us
see that now.
When udayavar ascended to paramapadham, many followed (gave up their lives also).
kaNiyanUr siriyAchAn left udayavar to live in kaNiyanUr for some time and some time
later he started his journey towards kOil (srIrangam) to worship his AchAryan
(udayavar) with much love. On the way, he meets a srivaishnava and he asks “Is our
AchAryan emperumAnAr living healthy?” and that srivaishnava explains about
udayavar’s ascending to paramapadham. Hearing this, immediately, kaNiyanUr
siriyAchAn said “emperumAnAr thiruvadigaLE charanNam” (
) and ascended to paramapadham. komANdUr iLayavilli
AchAn was living in thiruppErUr. One night, in his dream, he sees udayavar seated on a
brightly glowing divine chariot and in the sky. He sees, paramapadhanAthan with
thousands of nithya sUris, AzhwAr, nAthamunigaL and other AchAryas, with many
persons playing divine musical instruments to receive emperumAnAr and bring him over
to paramapadham. He sees that, after the reception, emperumAr’s chariot is leading the
journey towards paramapadham with everyone else following him. He then wakes up
and realizes what has happened. He immediately informs his neighbour “vaLLal
maNivaNNan” that “Our AchAryan emperumAnAr has climbed a divine chariot and
ascended to parampadham accompanied by paramapadhanAthan and nithyasUris. I
cannot live here anymore. emperumAnAr thiruvadigaLE charaNam” and gave up his life
and immediately ascended to paramapadham. There were many such sishyas who
gave up their lives immediately after hearing about emperumAnAr’s journey to
paramapadham. Those who stayed with emperumAnAr were strictly ordered by
emperumAnAr to not give up their lives and since emperumAn desired for those
srivaishnavas to continue their lives to serve for the sampradhAyam they unwillingly
continued their lives. Thus emperumAnAr’s greatness is such that in his separation, his
sishyas would also give up their lives.
Thus, we have seen some glimpses of the glorious life of komANdUr iLayavilli AchAn.
He was fully situated in bhAgavatha nishtai and was very dear to emperumAnAr
himself. Let us pray at his lotus feet that we too get a little bit of such bhAgavatha
nishtai.
komANdUr iLayavilli AchAn’s thaniyan:

srI kausikAnvaya mahAmbhuthi pUrNachandhram
srI bhAshyakAra jananI sahajA thanujam
srIsailapUrNa padha pankaja saktha chiththam
srIbAladhanvi guruvaryam aham bhajAmi

kidAmbi AchAn
thirunakshathram: chithrai, hastham
avathAra sthalam: kAnchipuram

He was named praNathArthiharar (one of the names of dhEva perumAL as sung by
thirukkachi nambi in his dhEvarAja ashtakam) while he was born.
He was appointed as the chief cook for emperumAnAr by thirukkOshtiyUr nambi. This
incident is beautifully explained in 6000 padi guru paramparA prabhAvam and a few
other pUrvAchArya granthams.
emperumAnAr recited gadhya thrayam and wrote nithya grantham (thiruvArAdhana

kramam) and was nurturing the srIvaishNava sampradhAyam into great heights. Still,
there were some people in srIrangam who did not agree with emperumAnAr‘s
idealogies.They were filled with anxiety and decide to do the unthinkable. They decided
to poison the food and offer them to emperumAnAr when he goes for his bhikshai
(alms). They poison the food and give to the woman of one of the houses visited by
emperumAnAr. emperumAnAr arrives there and accepts the food from that woman. The
woman who does not agree with her husband who is part of the conspiracy, wants to

indicate to emperumAnAr about the plan in a subtle manner. She puts her food
separately from the food that emperumAnAr already had and reveals great sorrow in
her face, offers obeisances to emperumAnAr and returns back. emperumAnAr
understands that there is something wrong in the food and dissolves that poisoned food
into cauvery and starts fasting from that time onwards. thirukkOshtiyUr nambi hears
about this incident and at once arrives to srIrangam. emperumAnAr along with his
sishyas goes to the banks of cauvery to welcome him in hot sun. emperumAnAr offers
his obeisances to nambi on the sand banks which is burning hot and waits for nambi to
ask him to raise (it is usualy practice to wait on the ground offering obeisances until
AchAryan/srIvaishNavas ask us to raise). nambi waits for a moment to find out who is
more attached to the divine form of emperumAnAr. kidAmbi AchAn at once lifts
emperumAnAr up and asks nambi “How can you let emperumAnAr stay on the hot sand
for so long? How can you make a fresh flower toast in the sun like this?”. Being very
pleased at kidAmbi AchAn, nambi declares “You are the most attached to
emperumAnAr’s divine form. From this day onwards, you will have the responsibility of
doing bhikshai for emperumAnAr”. kidAmbi AchAn feeling blessed, obliges and carries
out that kainkaryam for ever.
In our vyAkyAnams, a few idhihyams that show the glories of kidAmbi AchAn are seen.
Let us see some of them now.
 thiruppAvai 23 – periyavAchAn piLLai vyAkyAnam – In this pAsuram, ANdAL

says that gOpis tell kaNNan emperumAn that they have no refuge. To show that
gOpis are not refuge-less (they have emperumAn himself as the protector), one
incident is shown. Once, kidAmbi AchAn visits thirumAlirunchOlai. azhagar
emperumAn asks kidAmbi AchAn to recite something. kidAmbi AchAn start
reciting “aparAdha sahasra bhAjanam … agathim ..” (ALavandhAr‘s sthOthra
rathnam 48). In this slOkam ALavandhAr says agathim meaning “He has no
other refuge to surrender”. azhagar emperumAn chastises him saying “How can
you say you have no refuge after surrendering to emperumAnAr?”.
 thiruvirutham 99 – periyavAchAn piLLai vyAkyAnam – kUrathAzhwAn‘s
greatness is beautifully revealed through an incident here. Once kidAmbi AchAn
returns late after kAlakshEpam (lecture) by AzhwAn. emperumAnAr enquires
why he was late and AchAn replies that since he was hearing kAlakshEpam he
got held up. emperumAnAr asks him which pAsuram AzhwAn was lecturing on.
AchAn replies that he was lecturing on piRanthvArum vaLarnthavArun
(thiruvAimozhi 5.10) padhigam. emperumAnAr then asks AchAn to explain what
happened there. AchAn replies “AzhwAn recited the pAsuram first and
contemplating on the divine meanings, his heart melted and he started crying. He
said nammAzhwAr is very unique and his anubhavam is so great. How can we
explain his divine emotions? and said ‘I cant speak about this anymore’ and

stopped the kAlakshEpam”. Hearing this, emperumAnAr greatly praised
AzhwAn‘s pure heart and divine attachment towards AzhwAr and his words.
 thiruvAimozhi 4.8.2 – nampiLLai eedu vyAkyAnam – AzhwAr remembers
emperumAn’s greatness in engaging him in kainkaryam. An incident is
highlighted here to establish AzhwAr‘s divine emotions. Once kidAmbi AchAn
was serving water for the devotees during thadhIyArAdhanam (those days,
instead of placing a separate cup for everyone to drink water, a person will pour
water directly to the mouth of the ones who ask for water). When a srIvaishNava
in the gOshti requests for water, AchAn goes to him and pours water from the
side. emperumAnAr, observing this, runs to AchAn and pushes him from the
back and tells him that he should pour water standing face to face, so that there
is better control over the flow of water leading to more convenience for the ones
drinking water. At that time, kidAmbi AchAn feels ecstatic and thanks
emperumAnAr using AzhwAr‘s words “paNimAnam pizhayAmE adiyEnaip paNi
koNda” meaning “I am grateful to emperumAnAr for correcting me and engaging
me in kainkaryam even though I am totally unqualified to serve srIvaishNavas”.
 thiruvAimozhi 6.7.5 – nampiLLai eedu vyAkyAnam – AzhwAr glorifies the beauty
of dhivydhEsams and the purpose of having eyes is to see the dhivyadhEsams of
emperumAn. In this connection, an incident is highlighted. mudhaliyANdAn and
kidAmbi AchAn were going to thirukkudanthai once. On the way, they noticed
appakkudathAn temple and were mesmerized by the beauty of the temple.
 thiruvAimozhi 10.6.1 – kidAmbi AchAn was seen showing great attachment and
was very submissive when dealing with bhattar. One swamy named iLayAzhwAn
asks why AchAn was even more submissive than bhattar own sishyas towards
him. AchAn says “You were not there the other day to see what emperumAnAr
did. One day, when bhattar (who was very young) arrived to periya perumAL‘s
sannidhi in srIrangam. emperumAnAr, invited him into the inner sanctum and
asked him to recite a slOkam in front of periya perumAL. On completion,
emperumAnAr brought bhattar outside and instructed his sishyas as follows ‘All
my sishyas should treat bhattar like just how they treat me’. Thus, I also greatly
admire bhattar following the instructions of emperumAnAr“.
kidAmbi nAyanAr (a descendant of kidAmbi AchAn) teaches srI bhAshyam to

maNavALa mAmunigaL in thiruveKKA. mAmunigaL, at the request of kidAmbi nAyanAr,
reveals his Adhi sEshan form to him and since that time kidAmbi nAyanAr feels even
greater attachment towards mAmunigaL knowing his svarUpam.
Thus, we have seen some glimpses of the glorious life of kidAmbi AchAn. He was fully
kidAmbi AchAn’s thaniyan:

rAmAnuja padhAmbhOjayugaLI yasya dhImatha:
prApyam cha prApakam vaNdhE pranNathArththiharam gurum

vaduga nambi
thirunakshathram: chithrai, aswini
avathAra sthalam: sALagrAmam (karnAtaka)
Place where he attained paramapadham: sALagrAmam
Works: yathirAja vaibhavam, rAmAnuja ashtOththara satha nAma sthOthram,

rAmAnuja ashtOththara satha nAmAvaLi
During his travel to thirunArAyaNapuram, emperumAnAr goes to mithilApuri

sALagrAmam, where he instructs mudhaliyANdAn to touch the water source (river) with
his lotus feet. By the purity of mudhaliyANdAn's lotus feet, the locals who bathe in the
river become purified and become sishyas of emperumAnAr. One such swamy was
vaduga nambi who is also known as Andhra pUrNar. emperumAnAr, out of his
causeless mercy, blesses vaduga nambi, teaches him the most important principles of

our sampradhAyam and makes him fully situated in AchArya nishtai and eventually
vaduga nambi becomes inseparable from emperumAnAr.
vaduga nambi was fully situated in the AchArya nishtai. He acquires a pair of sandals
wore by emperumAnAr and was performing thiruvArAdhanam to those sandals every
day.
Once while travelling with emperumAnAr, along with emperumAnAr's thiruvArAdhana

perumALs, vaduga nambi also carried his thiruvArAdhana deity (sandals of
emperumAnAr) in the same package. emperumAnAr was shocked to notice that and he
enquired vaduga nambi why he was doing that. vaduga nambi spontaneously replied
"My worshippable deity is equally glorious to your worshippable deities, so there is
nothing wrong in me carrying them with your thiruvArAdhana perumALs".
Whenever emperumAnAr goes to perform mangaLAsAsanam, he will fully enjoy the

beautiful form of periya perumAL. The whole time, vaduga nambi will be fully enjoying
the beautiful form of emperumAnAr. emperumAnAr notices that and asks vaduga nambi
to look at the beautiful eyes of periya perumAL. vaduga nambi replies using
thiruppANAzhwAr's words "en amudhinaik kaNda kaNgaL maRRonRinaik kANAvE"
meaning "My eyes which saw the beautiful form of emperumAnAr will not see anything
else" in this case. emperumAnAr was very pleased with his AchArya nishtai and blessed
him fully.
vaduga nambi regularly accepted emperumAnAr's sEsha prasAdham (food remnants)

and after consuming them, he would just wipe of his hands on his head with reverence
(instead of washing hands) - Usually while accepting prasAdham of
emperumAn/AzhwAr AchAryas since it is pure, after consuming the same, we should
not wash our hands, we should just wipe our hands on our head. Once, emperumAnAr
became perplexed seeing this and asks him to wash his hands after consuming his food
remnants. nambi obliges and washes his hands. Next day, when emperumAnAr was
given bhagavath prasAdham, he consumes some and gives the remnants to vaduga
nambi. vaduga nambi consumes that and washes his hands. emperumAnAr is again
perplexed and asks why he is washing his hands after consuming prasAdham. vaduga
nambi, politely and smartly answers "I am just following dhEvar's instructions as given
yesterday". emperumAnAr says "You have easily defeated me" and appreciates his
nishtai.
Once vaduga nambi was boiling milk for emperumAnAr. At that time, namperumAL
arrived outside emperumAnAr's mutt in procession. emperumAnAr calls out for vaduga
nambi and vaduga nambi replies "If I come out to worship your perumAL, my perumAL;s
milk will get burnt. So I wont come".

Once vaduga nambi's relatives (who are not srIvaishNavas) come to visit him. After they
leave, vaduga nambi destroys all the pots and fully purifies the place. He then goes to
mudhaliyANdAn's thirumALigai, picks up the pots that were discarded by him and starts
using them. Thus he establishes that for the ones who have pure AchArya
sambhandham, everything related to them (even discarded ones) are fully pure and
acceptable to us.

When emperumAnAr visits thiruvananthapuram, he wants to change the Agamam of the
anantha sayanan emperumAn temple. But emperumAn had different plans. When
emperumAnAr was sleeping he lifted him up and brought him over to thirukkurungudi
dhivya dhEsam. emperumAnAr wakes up in the morning, bathes in the nearby river,
applies dvAdhasa Urdhva pundram (12 pundrams) and calls for vaduga nambi (who is
still in thiruvananthapuram) to apply the remnants on vaduga nambi. thirukkurungudi
nambi himself takes the form of vaduga nambi and accept the remnants of the thirumaN
(holy sand). emperumAnAr goes on to accept thirukkurungudi nambi as his sishya
subsequently.
After emperumAnAr ascending to paramapadham, vaduga nambi returns to his native

village, where he preaches the glories of emperumAnAr. He would not consume srI
pAdha thIrtham (charaNAmrutham) of any one other than emperumAnAr. He constantly
worships emperumAnAr's lotus feet and teaches to his sishyas/abhimAnis that
emperumAnAr's lotus feet is the ultimate goal and spends the rest of his time in
sALagrAmam and finally attains the lotus feet of emperumAnAr.
In our vyAkyAnams, a few idhihyams that show the glories of vaduga nambi are seen.
 periyAzhwAr thirumozhi 4.3.1 - maNavALa mAmunigaL vyAkyAnam - This

padhigam talks about "nAva kAriyam" (the words that are not to be uttered). An
incident in the life of vaduga nambi is identified here. Once, near vaduga nambi,
a srIvaishNava says thirumanthram. Hearing that, vaduga nambi (being fully
situated in AchArya nishtai) says that "this is nAva kAriyam" and walks away. It is
important to remember that even when we recite thirumanthram, dhvayam,
charama slOkam - we should first recite guru paramparai and then only recite
rahasya thrayam. piLLai lOkAchAryar identifies this as "japthavyam guru
paramparaiyum dhvayamum" (one must constantly recite guru paramparai and
dhvaya mahA manthram) in srIvachana bhUshaNa dhivya sAsthram (sUthram
274).
 periyAzhwAr thirumozhi 4.4.7 - maNavALa mAmunigaL vyAkyAnam - When
vaduga nambi ascends to paramapadham, one srIvaishNava informs that to
aruLALa perumAL emperumAnAr saying "vaduga nambi ascended to
paramapadham". aruLALa perumAL emperumAnAr replies "Since vaduga nambi
was AchArya nishtar, you should say that he attained the lotus feet of
emperumAnAr. You should not say he ascended to paramapadham".
 vaduga nambi wrote a beautiful grantham named yathirAja vaibhavam. In this
grantham he identifies that emperumAnAr was worshipped and accompanied by
700 sannyAsis, 12000 srIvaishNavas, many srIvaishNavis, etc.

periyavAchAn piLLai identifies in mANikka mAlai that "vaduga nambi declared that
AchArya padham (position) is very special and it perfectly fits for emperumAnAr only".
piLLai lOkAchAryar identifies the greatness of vaduga nambi in srIvachana bhUshaNa

dhivya sAshtram (sUthram 411).
vaduga nambi AzhwAnaiyum ANdAnaiyum irukaraiyar enbar (

இ )
mAmunigaL explains that vaduga nambi was like madhurakavi AzhwAr who had
nammAzhwAr as everything. kUrathAzhwAn and mudhaliyANdAn were fully
surrendered to emperumAnAr - still they were at times seen glorifying emperumAn and
requesting emperumAn to give mOksham when they were unable to bear the cruel
nature of samsAram. Thus vaduga nambi said that "Even though they are related to
emperumAnAr, they are holding on to both emperumAn and emperumAnAr".
Finally, In Arthi prabhandham (pAsuram 11), mAmunigaL establishes that vaduga

nambi's position is what he is craving for as well and he is praying to emperumAnAr to
bless him to be like vaduga nambi. vaduga nambi had unflinching faith on
emperumAnAr that he did not engage in worshipping emperumAn separately. It is
established by our pUrvAchAryas that when we worship our AchAryan, we automatically
worship emperumAn. But if we just worship emperumAn, it does not mean that we
worship our AchAryan. So, worshipping AchAryan and fully depending on him is the
most desired principle of our sampradhAyam and mAmunigaL highlights that this was
fully manifested in vaduga nambi.
Thus, we have seen some glimpses of the glorious life of vaduga nambi. He was fully
vaduga nambi's thaniyan:
rAmAnujArya sachchishyam sALagrAma nivAsinam

panchamOpAya sampannam sALagrAmAryam AsrayE

vangi purathu nambi
thirunakshathram: not known
avathAra sthalam: not known (potentially vangi puram which is his father’s native place
or srIrangam where his father vangi purathu Achi might have lived after becoming
maNakkAl nambi‘s sishya)
sishyas: siriyAthAn
Works: virOdhi parihAram
vangi purathu Achi is a sishya of maNakkAl nambi. vangi purathu nambi is the son of
vangi purathu Achi and he goes on to become a sishya of emperumAnAr.
He was instrumental in the revelation of virOdhi parihAram – one of the classic

granthams of our sampradhAyam. When vangi purathu nambi goes to emperumAnAr
and asks him what are the hurdles that a prapanna will face while in samsAram,
emperumAnAr gives a list of 83 hurdles. vangi purathu nambi documents those 83
hurdles with detailed explanation to each one of those hurdles as heard from
emperumAnAr. In this grantham, each aspect of our lives is analysed bit by bit and clear
guideline is presented for us to handle each particular aspect.
vangi purathu nambi’s son is named vangi purathu Achi and he is also highlighted in
some idhihyams.
In our vyAkyAnams, a few idhihyams that show the glories of vangi purathu nambi are
seen. Let us see some of them now.
 nAchiyAr thirumozhi 9.6 – periyavAchAn piLLai vyAkyAnam – ANdAL glorifies

emperumAn as the one who has the great wealth of srI mahAlakshmi. In this
connection, vangi purathu nambi instructs his sishya siriyAthAn that “Many
philosophies accept a supreme power, but we (srIvaishNavas) accept what is
presented in sAsthram – that srImAn nArAyaNan is the supreme god and the
only refuge for everyone”.
 periya thirumozhi 6.7.4 – periyavAchAn piLLai vyAkyAnam – In this pAsuram,
thirumangai AzhwAr talks about kaNNan emperumAn (supreme god himself) was
scared of yasOdhai and started to cry as soon as he was caught stealing the
butter. In this connection, a beautiful incident is explained. vangi purathu nambi

requests emperumAnAr to teach him thiruvArAdhana kramam (how to perform
daily worship at home). emperumAnAr was unable to spend the time and teach
him the same due to his busy schedule. But once in nambi’s absence,
emperumAnAr starts teaching thiruvArAdhana kramam to AzhwAn and mAruthi
siriyAndAn (hanumath dhAsar). At that time vangi purathu nambi enters the room
and seeing him emperumAnAr feels great emotions. He says at that time “I had
this doubt in my mind for a long time. Now I realize/understand why emperumAn
(even though being supreme) was feeling scared after being caught stealing
butter. I am going through the same emotions now – when you requested, I did
not teach you this but some how I started teaching them the same. Even though I
am AchAryan and you are sishyan and I dont have to fear for you, because of my
deed, I am feeling scared looking at you”. Such was the greatness of our
emperumAnAr that when he did a mistake, he openly accepted it and also
explained a great principle in that connection.
 thiruvirutham – nampiLLai eedu vyAkyAnam introduction – nampiLLai
establishes that nammAzhwAr was a samsAri before and by the causeless
mercy of emperumAn he became AzhwAr. But AzhwAr‘s glories are too much
that different AchAryas have seen him in different view point – Some view him as
a mukthar (one was freed from samsAram); one of aruLALa perumAL
emperumAnAr‘s sishya views him as some one who is not a mukthar but as good
as one; Some say he is a nithya sUri; vangi purathu nambi says he is
emperumAn himself.
 thiruvAimozhi 7.2.7 – nampiLLai eedu vyAkyAnam – In this padhigam (kangulum
pagalum), nammAzhwAr sings in mother bhAvam, where AzhwAr’s state is
explained by her mother. In every pAsuram, AzhwAr (mother) is calling out for
emperumAn as thiruvarangathAy but in this pAsuram, she is not doing that. vangi
purathu nambi explains that when a patient’s situation becomes very bad, the
doctor will not look at the eyes of the relatives and inform the same – instead he
will turn his face towards some other direction and inform the condition of the
patient to the relatives. Similarly, since AzhwAr‘s condition in separation from
emperumAn is really bad, so AzhwAr (mother) is not calling out emperumAn in
this pAsuram and just reveals her anguish about the situation.
 thiruvAimozhi 9.2.8 – nampiLLai eedu vyAkyAnam – During a srIjayanthi
purappAdu in srIrangam, vangippurathu nambi joins the cowherd girls group and
worship emperumAn from there. ANdAn asks him what he said when he was in
that group. nambi says “I said vijayasva”. ANdAn replies when you are there with
those girls, you should glorify him in their own language instead of this hard
samskritham.
In vArthAmAlai, a few idhihyams that show the glories of vangi purathu nambi (and his
son) are seen. Let us see them now.

 71 – vangi purathu nambi instructs yathivara chUdAmaNi dhAsar – When a
jIvAthmA (who is miniscule and incapable of anything) gets emperumAn (who is
great and omnipotent), there is no effort in jIvAthmA himself or any one else.
jIvAthmA has only 2 choices – either accept AchAryan’s grace, contemplate on
dhvaya mahA manthram and be uplifted or become a nithya samsAri and be in
this samsAram for ever.
 110 – vangi purathu Achi instructs kidAmbi AchAn – For the jIvAthmA who has
been in this samsAram since time immemorial, always be confident that periya
pirAttiyAr is there to help us reach emperumAn.
 212 – This is a beautiful incident. A srIvaishNavi named thrailOkyAL is a sishyai
of vangi purathu Achi. When ananthAzhwAn arrives to srIrangam, she goes and
serves him for 6 months. After ananthAzhwAn’s departure, she returns to Achi.
Achi enquires her about her absence and she replies that she was serving
ananthAzhwAn. Achi enquires her if he taught her any valuable principle and she
replies “I served you for so many years – you showed me that I am fully
dependent on emperumAn’s lotus feet. In six months he showed me that I should
be fully dependent on your lotus feet”. ananthAzhwAn shows her that we should
be fully dependent on AchAryan’s lotus feet and this incident beautifully reveals
that.
piLLai lOkAchAryar identifies vangi purathu nambi’s conclusion of charama slOkam in

mumukshupadi. In the last section of charama slOka prakaraNam, the glories of
charama slOkam are fully revealed. In sUthram 265, it is identified that “vangi purathu
nambi says that kaNNan emperumAn instructs arjunan the charamslOkam after fully
demonstrating his greatness through various incidents. Thus it should be easy for
arjunan to accept that principle”. In the vyAkyAnam, mAmunigaL identifies that vangi
purathu nambi is “Aptha thamar” – one who is well-situated in our spiritual well-being.
Thus, we have seen some glimpses of the glorious life of vangi purathu nambi. He was
fully situated in bhAgavatha nishtai and was very dear to emperumAnAr himself. Let us
pray at his lotus feet that we too get a little bit of such bhAgavatha nishtai.
vangi purathu nambi’s thaniyan:
bhArathvAja kulOdhbhUtham lakshmaNArya padhAsritham

vandhE vangipurAdhIsam sampUrNAyam krupAnidhim

sOmAsiyANdAn
thirunakshathram: chithrai, thiruvAdhirai
avathAra sthalam: kArAnchi
Works: srIbhAshya vivaraNam, guru guNAvaLi (which explains emperumAnAr’s

glories), shadartha sankshEpam
Born in a family which was engaged in performing sOma yAgam, he was named srI
rAma misrar. He is one of the 74 simhAsAnAdhipathis (AchAryas) appointed by
emperumAnAr himself. He is also known as sOmayAjiyAr. He was the first to write a
commentary for srI bhAshyam. His family continues to have the kainkaryam of
compiling vAkya panchAngam in srIrangam periyakOil. His srIsUkthis are referred by
sruthprakAsikA bhattar, nAyanArAchAn piLLai and vEdhAnthAchAryar in their
granthams.
In charmOpAya nirNayam, nAynArAchAn piLLai quotes sOmAsiyANdAn’s guru

guNAvaLi slOkam to establish the importance of krupAmAthra prasannAchAryas (the
AchAryas out of their mercy alone uplift the ones who just have the desire to learn the
valuable principles).
yassAparAdhAN svapadhaprapaNNAN svakIyakArunNya gunNENa pAthi

sa Eva mukyO gururapramEyas thadhaiva sadhbhi: parikIrthyadhEhi
The AchAryan out of his utmost mercy who protects and delivers the sishya who is
surrendered to him – that AchAryan is the most important one. This is identified by
trustworthy persons.
An incident involving emperumAnAr‘s divine mercy in nurturing detachment in the heart

of sOmAsiyANdAn is explained in charamOpAya nirNayam.
sOmayAjiyAr (sOmAsiyANdAn), after surrendering to emperumAnAr, performed

kainkaryam to him for some time and returned to his native place “kArAnchi” and lived
there for some time. After some time, he wants to return to emperumAnAr but since his

wife does not allow him to leave, he makes a vigraham of emperumAnAr. Since it did
not come out to his satisfaction, he uses that vigraham and again gets the AchAri
(sculptor) to make another one. That night, emperumAnAr appears in his dream and
asks him “Why are you destroying my old vigraham to make a new one? Wherever you
are, if you are not able to have full faith in my abhimAnam as uththArakam, how are you
going to develop attachment towards my vigraham?”. Suddenly woken up after the
dream, sOmayAjiyAr immediately keeps the vigraham in a safe, gives up his wife and
leaves to srIrangam. After arriving in srIrangam, he runs to emperumAnAr, falls at his
lotus feet and starts crying”. emperumAnAr asks him “what is the matter?” and he
explains the incidents and the dream. udayavar tells him with a smile “Welcome oh
ignorant! I did this to relieve you from the dependence on your wife; even if you dont
appreciate me, I will never give up on you. Wherever you are, due to my abhimAnam
towards you, your ultimate goal is guaranteed. Give up all worries and stay happily”.
This incident is explained by periyavAchAn piLLai.
In our vyAkyAnams, a few idhihyams that show the glories of sOmAsiyANdAn are seen.
 thirunedunthANdagam 27 – periyavAchAn piLLai vyAkyAnam – thirumangai

AzhwAr (as parakAla nAyaki) is sending a stork as messenger to
thirukkaNNapuram to reveal her heart to emperumAn. periyavAchAn piLLai
identifies that the way AzhwAr says “thirukkaNNapuram” is very special and no
one can match that mood. He shows other similar examples to explain this.
When ananthAzhwAn says “thiruvEnkatamudaiyAn”, that is special. When
bhattar says “azhagiya maNavALa perumAL”, that is special. When
sOmAsiyAndAn says “emperumAnArE charaNam”, that is special. When we utter
the same names/words we will not be able to manifest the mood of these great
personalities.
 thiruvAimozhi 6.5.7 – nampiLLAi eedu vyAkyAnam – The same principle that is
explained in the previous point is highlighted here with a slightly different context.
Here nammAzhwAr (as parAngusa nAyaki) is longing for association with
thulaivillimangalam emperumAn. nampiLLai identifies that when she utters the
names of emperumAn it adds to the glories of those names. nampiLLai highlights
that, this is similar to ananthAzhwAn, bhattar, sOmAsiyANdAn adding glories to
the names thiruvEnkatamudaiyAn, azhagiya maNavALa perumAL,
emperumAnAr respecitively by uttering them with such great emotions.
In vArthAmAlai, a few incidents involving sOmAsiyANdAn are identified. Let us see

them now.
 126 – Here sOmAsiyANdAn beautifully establishes that emperumAn is the only

upAyam for prapannas (the surrendered ones). For bhagavAn to help us, we

should give up our own efforts and fully accept him as the refuge. Neither bhakthi
nor prapathi are the real upAyam. bhagavAn, to whom we surrender is the real
upAyam (since he is the one who blesses us with the ultimate goal).
 279 – appiLLai (who is likely to be younger to sOmAsiyANdAn but probably a
well established srIvaishNava) advises sOmAsiyAndAn “You are very learned,
elderly, follow in the footsteps of our pUrvAchAryas and an authority in both
srIbhAshyam and bhagavath vishayam. Still, please tie a knot in your cloth to
keep reminding about not indulging in bhAgavathapachAram”. It is a common
practice to tie a knot in the cloth we wear, to remind us (when we see the knot,
we will remember why we tied it) – here appiLLai asks sOmAsiyAndAn to be
watchful not to commit any offenses towards bhAgavathas since that will destroy
our svarUpam – even great personalities could fall in that trap which is why
appiLLai is asking sOmAsiyANdAn to be watchful.
 304 – sOmAsiyANdAn advises that a srIvaishNava should not indulge in material
enjoyment due to the following reasons:
o if we understand the true nature of jIvAthmA which is totally dependent on
bhagavAn, we should not engage in material enjoyment
o if we understand the reason for our existence which is to serve bhagavAn
only, we should not engage in material enjoyment
o if we understand our relationships with bhagavAn which is the only true
and eternal relationship, we should not engage in material enjoyment
o if we understand our body which is temporary and ever changing, we
should not engage in material enjoyment
 375 – When hearing that a cow-herd who stole some milk was punished by some
one, sOmAsiyANdAn faints at once. He becomes overwhelmed with emotions
because he was reminded how yasOdhai punished kaNNan empeumAn for
stealing milk.
Thus, we have seen some glimpses of the glorious life of sOmAsiyANdAn. He was fully
sOmAsiyANdAn’s thaniyan:
naumi lakshmaNa yOgIndhra pAdhasEvaika dhArakam

srIrAmakrathunAthAryam srIbhAshyAmrutha sAgaram

piLLai uRangA villi dhAsar
thirunakshathram: mAsi, Ayilyam
avathAra sthalam: uRaiyUr

piLLai uRangA villi dhAsar was a great wrestler in the king’s court and was living in
uRaiyUr along with his wife named ponnAchiyAr. He was very attached to his wife due
to her extreme beauty (specifically her very beautiful eyes). He is originally known as
dhanurdhAsa. He was very wealthy and had great respect in the kingdom due to his
bravery.
Once when srI rAmAnuja was walking along with his sishyas, he noticed dhAsar walking
in front of ponnAchi holding up an umbrella in his one hand protecting her from the sun

and holding a cloth on the ground to comfort her feet while walking. emperumAnAr was
astonished to see dhAsar’s attachment towards this woman and called him over.
emperumAnAr asks him why dhAsar is serving that woman like that. dhAsar replies that
her eyes are so beautiful and he is completely surrendered to her beauty and will do
anything to protect her beauty. emperumAnAr being the most intelligent, immediately
asks dhAsar, if he is shown something more beautiful than his wife’s eyes if we will be
surrendered to that. dhAsar at once agrees that he will surrender to that most beautiful
entity. emperumAnAr takes him to srI ranganAthan and asks emperumAn to show
dhAsar the same beautiful eyes that was shown to thiruppANAzhwAr. emperumAn
naturally manifests the most beautiful eyes and dhAsar at once realises that he has
found the real beauty. He immediately surrenders to emperumAnAr and requests him to
accept him as his sishya. His wife too understanding the greatness of emperumAn and
emperumAnAr, immediately becomes surrenders to emperumAnAr and asks for
guidance. The couple together give up all their attachments and comes to srIrangam to
stay and serve the lotus feet of emperumAnAr and emperumAn. emperumAn blesses
dhAsar fully, and due to him constantly worshipping emperumAn like lakshmaNan who
never slept during srI rAman’s vanavAsam, he became to be famously known as piLLai
uRangA villi dhAsar.
dhAsar and ponnAchiyAr become extremely attached to emperumAnAr. They simply

spend their life by serving emperumAnAr and emperumAn. Once during namperumAL’s
thIrthavAri (final day of uthsavam), emperumAnAr while climbing up from the temple
tank, holds the hands of dhAsar. Some sishyas think that it is not appropriate for
emperumAnAr who is a sannyAsi to hold the hands of dhAsar (because of his varNam).
They reveal their mind to emperumAnAr and emperumAnAr establishes dhAsar and
ponnAchiyAr’s glories through a beautiful incident.
emperumAnAr asks them to go to dhAsar’s house and steal whatever jewels possible
from there. They go to dhAsar’s house where ponnAchiyAr was lying down. They quietly
go near her and try to remove the jewels from her. ponnAchiyAr realising that these
srIvaishnavas are trying to steal and thinking that they may be doing it due to their
poverty, she allows them to remove the jewels easily. Once they are done with one
side, she pretends to naturally turn around to allow them to remove the jewels from the
other side of her. But they become alert and afraid and run away from the place and
return to emperumAnAr. After hearing the incidents, emperumAnAr asks them to go
back to dhAsar’s house and ask them to observe what happens. When they return, they
see that dhAsar is back and he is talking to ponnAchiyAr. He is asking her why the
jewels from one side are missing. She replies to him saying that some srivasihnavas
came to steal them and she allowed them to take the jewels from one side and once
they were done with that side, she turned around to facilitate them. At that time, dhAsar
becomes very upset and tells ponnAchiyAr that she should have stayed like a stone to
let them take the jewels in whichever way and by turning around she scared them. They

both were so great that they were even trying to help the ones who were trying to steal
from them. The srivaishnavas return to emperumAnAr and explain the incidents to him
and accept the greatness of the great couple. The next morning emperumAnAr explains
the incidents to dhAsar and returns his jewels back to him.
dhAsar is glorified as mahAmathi (great intellectual) due to him being extremely

attached to emperumAn like srI vidhurar and periyAzhwAr. ponnAchiyAr’s nirvAhams
(conclusions) are also highlighted in a few incidents in pUrvAchArya works showing that
she was greatly knowledgable in sAsthram.
Many idhihyams related to dhAsar and his wife are explained in our pUrvAchArya
works. Let us see some of them now.
 6000 padi guruparamparA prabhAvam – Once emperumAnAr was lecturing on

vibhIshaNa sharaNAgathi. dhAsar stands up from the gOshti and asks “if srI
rAman is debating along with sugrIva, jAmbhavAn, etc for so long to accept
vibhIshaNa who has given up everything, how will I (who is still attached to
family, etc) get mOksham?”. emperumAnAr replies “If I get mOksham, you will
get too; if periya nambi gets mOksham, I will get too; If ALavandhAr gets
mOksham, periya nambi will get too; thus it goes on up the chain in the
paramparai; since nammAzhwAr declares he got mOksham and since periya
pirAttiyAr is recommending to emperumAn for us we will all get mOksham. Ones
who have bhAgavatha sEshathvam are sure to be redeemed – just like the 4
rAkshasas who came with vibhIshaNan were automatically redeemed by srI
rAman because of their dependence on vibhIshaNan”.
 periya thirumozhi 2.6.1 – periyavAchAn piLLai vyAkyAnam – dhAsar’s extreme
attachment towards emperumAn (like yasOdhai, periyAzhwAr, etc) is shown
here. During puRappAdu (procession) of namperumAL (srI ranganAthan),
dhAsar usually walks in front of namperumAL watching emperumAn carefully and
having his hands on his sword. If there is even a slight jerk or disturbance to
namperumAL, he will kill himself with the sword (since he did not kill himself, we
can understand that they were carrying namperumAL with great care). Because
of this attachment, dhAsar is called mahAmathi. Intelligence means worrying
about the well-being of emperumAn.
 thiruviruththam 99 – nampiLLai vyAkyAnam – Whenever kUrathAzhwAn starts
explaining thiruvAimozhi, dhAsar will become very emotional and start enjoying
about krishNa charithram. AzhwAn looking at that glorifies dhAsar very much. He
says “Unlike us who can learn bhagavath vishayam and try to explain that to
others – you just melt away thinking about bhagavAn – your nature is so
glorious”. AzhwAn himself usually melts thinking about emperumAn – if he is
saying like this about dhAsar we can understand how great dhAsar is.

 thiruviruththam 9 – nampiLLai svApadhEsam – Once emperumAnAr wanted to
leave from srIrangam and go to thirumalai. At that time he sends a srIvaishNava
to the stores (which is controlled by dhAsar) to get some rice. At that time, since
dhAsar comes to know about emperumAnAr’s plan to leave srIrangam, he was
crying very much inside the store room out of sorrow. This shows his great
attachment towards emperumAnAr. The srIvaishnava returns to emperumAnAr
and explains the incident to him and emperumAnAr understands the mood of
dhAsar and he also says that he cannot bear the separation from dhAsar.
 thiruvAimozhi 4.6.6 – nampiLLai vyAkyAnam – Once dhAsar’s 2 nephews
(named vaNdar and choNdar) were walking with a king and the king shows a jain
temple and tells them that it is a vishNu temple and asks them to offer their
respects. Seeing the similarity in architecture, they immediately do that, but the
king then tells them that he was just teasing them. But vaNdar and choNdar
immediately loses their consciousness realising that they have worshipped some
one other than srIman nArAyaNan. dhAsar hears this incident and runs to them
and applies the dust of his lotus feet and they immediately regain their
consciousness. This shows that the dust of the lotus feet of bhAgavathas is the
only cure for any dhEvathAnthara bhajanam (even when done unknowingly).
 thiruvAimozhi 1.5.11 – nampiLLai vyAkyAnam – For “pAlEy thamizhar isai kArar
paththar”, AzhwAn once said “srI parAngusa nambi is pAlEy thamizhar (great
expert in thamizh), AzhwAr thiruvaranga perumAL arayar is isai kArar (musician)
and piLLai uRangA villi dhAsar is paththar (bhakthar – great devotee)”.
There are many incidents which highlight the attachment of dhAsar towards kaNNan
emperumAn.
 thiruviruththam 95 – periyavAchAn piLLai vyAkyAnam – Once a cowherd boy

steals the milk which was going for the king and the soldiers were beating him.
Looking at that, dhAsar considered that cowherd as krishNan himself, goes to the
soldiers and tells them that he will accept whatever punishment and asks them to
release the cowherd.
 nAchiyAr thirumozhi 3.9 – periyavAchAn piLLai vyAkyAnam – dhAsar says that
“Since krishNan is very young, he cannot protect himself. His parents are also
soft natured and cannot protect him since they themselves are jailed. kamsan
and his associates are waiting to constantly kill him. It is only the dark night
(during which krishNan was born) that protected him. So, let us glorify the dark
night which protected emperumAn”.
 periyAzhwAr thirumozhi 2.9.2 – thiruvAimozhi piLLai vyAkyAnam – dhAsar
hearing about gOpis complaints to yasOdhai on krishNan stealing their butter,
argues in support of krishNan as follows. “Did he break any lock? Did he steal
any jewels/gems? Why are the complaining about krishNan? He himself has so
many cows at home which needs to be milked and there is plenty of butter at his

home itself. Why would he steal from some other place? May be he just entered
some one’s house thinking that it is his own house. Why do they keep saying he
stole butter, milk, etc?”.
ponnAchiyAr is also considered equally knowledgable and is shown in many incidents.

In charamOpAya nirNayam, emperumAnAr, knowing ponnAchiyAr’s advanced intellect,
establishes his own glories through her. Please read the full incident at
http://ponnadi.blogspot.com/2012/12/charamopaya-nirnayam-ramanujar-our-saviour-
2.html.
piLLai lOkAchAryar also glorifies piLLai uRangAvillidhAsar while explaining

mangaLAsAsanam (praying for the well-being) of emperumAn in his magnum opus srI
vachana bhUshaNam.
After some time, dhAsar during his final days invites all srIvaishNavas to his
thirumALigaai, performs thadhIyArAdhanam, accepts their srIpAdha thIrtham, tells
ponnAchiyAr that he is leaving to paramapadham and she should continue to live.
Keeping emperumAnAr‘s pAdhukas on his head, he gives up his charama thirumEni.
srIvaishNavas arrange for his final journey, bring the holy water from cauvery river,
performs srIchUrNa paripAlanam (applying puNdrams), etc., to him. ponnAchiyAr
understanding the great benediction that is awaiting dhAsar in paramapadham, happily
decorates the place and takes care of the srIvaishNavas during the whole time. Finally,
after dhAsar’s thirumEni is carried on a palanquin and reaches the end of the street, she
starts crying loudly unable to bear the separation from dhAsar and at once gives up her
life as well. All srIvaishNavas become astonished at her and at once arrange for her to
be placed along with dhAsar as well. This shows the extreme level of attachment
towards bhAgavathas where they cannot bear the separation of bhAgavathas even for a
small moment.
maNavALa mAmunigaL while compiling the iyal sARRumurai (recited at the end of
iyaRpA during uthsavam times) based on various AchAryas pAsurams. The first
pAsuram was written by piLLai uRangA villi dhAsar and has the essence of our
sampradhAyam.
NanRum thiruvudaiyOm NAnilaththil evvuyirkkum

onRum kuRai illai OthinOm
kunRam eduththAn adichEr irAmAnuchan thAL
pidiththAr pidiththAraip paRRi

இ
We declare that have no worries and have the real wealth (of kainkaryam) because we
are surrendered to the srIvaishNavas who are surrendered to srI rAmAnuja who himself
is surrendered to kaNNan emperumAn the one who lifted the gOvardhana hill to protect
his dear devotees (gOpas and gOpis).
In this simple pAsuram, dhAsar has showed the following most important principles:
 srIvaishNavas have the greatest wealth – kainkaryasrI (the wealth of servitude)

 srIvaishNavas should not worry about worldly matters
 srIvaishNavas have this great wealth of kainkaryasrI by the grace of emperumAn
and emperumAnAr
 srIvaishNavas are connected to emperumAnAr through the AchArya paramparai
Time and again, our pUrvAchAryas have shown that a srIvaishNava’s greatness is not
because of his birth in a particular varNam, but only because of his devotion towards
emperumAn and other srIvaishNavas. piLLai uRangA villi dhAsar’s life and our
AchAryas’ glorification of dhAsar is a clear indication of the mood and attitude of our
AchAryas on this particular principle.
Thus, we have seen some glimpses of the glorious life of piLLai uRangA villi dhAsar
and ponnAchiyAr. Both of them were fully situated in bhAgavatha nishtai and were very
dear to emperumAnAr himself. Let us pray at their lotus feet that we too get a little bit of
such bhAgavatha nishtai.
piLLai uRangA villi dhAsar’s thaniyan:
jAgarUga dhanushpANim pANau katgasamanvidham

rAmAnujasparsavEdhim rAdhdhAnthArththa prakAsakam
bhAginEyadhvayayutham bhAshyakAra bharamvaham
rangEsamangaLakaram dhanurdhAsam aham bhajE

thirukkurugaippirAn piLLAn
thirunakshathram: ippasi, pUrAdam (AvaNi, mrugasIrsham - as understood from one
of his thanians)
Works: thiruvAimozhi 6000 padi vyAkyAnam
piLLAn is the illustrious son of periya thirumalai nambi and is also known as kurugEsar,
kurugAthinAthar. emperumAnAr himself gave this name to him and instructed him to
write the first vyAkyAnam for thiruvAimozhi which becomes to be popularly known as
6000 padi.
emperumAnAr considers piLLAn as his mAnasa puthrar (abhimAna puthrar – dear son).
Once many sishyas of emperumAnAr go to piLLAn and request piLLAN to request
emperumAnAr to write a vyAkyAnam for thiruvAimozhi. piLLAn goes to the assembly of
emperumAnAr, offers his obeisances and starts speaking. He says to emperumAnAr
“You have written srIbhAshyam and travelled everywhere and established the
visishtAdhvaitha sidhAntham. Now, we request you to write commentaries to AzhwArs’
pAsurams and protect them as well (so others dont misinterpret the same)”. Hearing
this emperumAnAr replies “Yes, that is required. But if I write a commentary to AzhwArs’
pAsurams, people with limited intelligence will consider that there is only so much in
AzhwArs works. And no one else will dare to write a commentary beyond mine. That will
be an offense towards the great works of AzhwArs which are filled with great meanings
which can be revealed by many authentic AchAryas in the future. So, I will instruct you
to write the first commentary for thruvAimozhi which is equivalent in size to vishNu
purANam (6000 slOkams – 6000 padi)”. Thus with the permission of emperumAnAr,
piLLAn wrote 6000 padi vyAkyAnam and subsequently, this was taught by bhattar to
nanjIyar.

emperumAnAr overseeing and blessing piLLAn’s marriage
piLLAn was an expert in both srI bhAshyam and bhagavath vishayam. Once when
piLLAn was at siruppuththUr, sOmAsiyANdAn learns srIbhAshyam thrice from him.
sOmAsiyANdA n asks piLLAn to give him some valuable instructions and piLLAn says
“You are an expert in explaining other philosophies and establish our philosophy
through srIbhAshyam. Instead of being proud about that, always think that the lotus feet
of emperumAnAr is our only refuge all the time”.

While ascending to paramapadham, emperumAnAr, asks kidAmbi AchAn, kidAmbi
perumAL, engaLAzhwAn, nadAthUrAzhwAn, etc to be surrendered to piLLAn and asks
piLLAn to guide them. emperumAnAr also asks bhattar to guide every one including
piLLAn and lead the sampradhAyam in his absence. Also, since piLLAn was considered
by emperumAnAr himself as his own son, he leads all the charama kainkaryams (final
rites) for emperumAnAr.
In our vyAkyAnams, quite a few idhihyams that show the glories of thirukkurugaippirAn
piLLAn are seen. Let us see some of them now.
 nAchiyAr thrumozhi 10.6 – periyavAchAn piLLai vyAkyAnam – Here ANdAL

worships the peacocks that dance like krishNan. ammaNiyAzhwAn (an AchArya)
use to offer obeisances to one of his sishyas. He says that since we worship
srIvaishNavas and since if we know our sishya fully as a proper srIvaishNava, it
is fitting to worship him as well. nanjIyar makes a point that if the sishya is not
matured enough that will lead to ahankAram for him and sishya might fall down
due to that ahankAram in his spiritual progress. But piLLAn explains that when a
sishya is blessed by an AchArya like ammaNiyAzhwAn he will naturally be fully
purified and that sishya will be fully at the disposal of ammaNiyAzhwAn – so the
AchArya’s act is proper only.
 periya thirumozhi 2.7.6 – periyavAchAn piLLai vyAkyAnam – Here parakAla
nAyaki’s (thirumangai AzhwAr in girl bhAvam) mother identifies her family as
parakAla nAyaki’s family (instead of saying our family) since parakAla nAyaki is
so glorious. piLLAn explains that this is similar to namperumAL himself naming
our sampradhAyam “emperumanAr dharisanam” and invites srIvaishNavas as
“rAmAnusan udaiyArs” (the ones who are connected to emperumAnAr).
bhagavAn likes to see his devotees as the ones who are surrendered to srI
rAmAnujar instead of being directly surrendered to him. Just like a beautiful
necklace looks even more beautiful with the center stone, our srIvaishNava
guruparamparai (http://guruparamparai.wordpress.com/2012/08/17/introduction-
contd/) looks even more beautiful because of emperumAnAr‘s presence in the
middle.
 thiruvAimozhi 1.4.7 – nampiLLai eedu vyAkyAnam – Here nammAzhwAr is in
separation from emperumAn and is calling emperumAn as “aruLAtha thirumAlAr”
meaning srIman nArAyaNan who is not merciful (which is contradictory since
when emperumAn is with thAyAr he is most merciful). nanjIyar explains this as
AzhwAr saying “You are with thAyAr who is most merciful but still you are not
blessing me with your presence”. piLLAn views it differently and explains this as
AzhwAr saying “emperumAn is fully immersed in the beauty of thAyAr; so is not
taking his eyes/thoughts of her and blessing me”.
 thiruvAimozhi 6.9.9 – nampiLLai eedu vyAkyAnam - AzhwAr cries out to
emperumAn to relieve him from the pains of this samsAram and bring him over to

paramapadham. piLLAn was in his last days was repeating the words of AzhwAr
and praying to emperumAn. Seeing that, nanjIyar starts crying. At that time
piLLAn asks nanjIyar “Why are you crying? Are you thinking that the glorious life
in parampadham that I will be getting is lower than the life here? Please stop
crying out of anguish and feel happy for me”.
In charamOpAya nirNayam (http://ponnadi.blogspot.in/p/charamopaya-nirnayam.html),

the following incident is explained. When udayavar was explaining thiruvAimozhi
meanings to thirukkurugaippirAn piLLAn (who is his abhimAna puthran), while
explaining “poliga poliga” pAsuram, piLLAn was filled with ecstasy and emotions.
Noticing that, udayavar enquired him what caused this changes in his emotions. piLLAn
replies “AzhwAr hailed ‘kaliyum kedum kaNdu koNmin‘ meaning kali will be destroyed,
with your appearance in his thiruvuLLam. Per his declaration, you have also revealed
that you are that great AchAryan everytime you explained thiruvAimozhi. Thinking about
those, I am unable to control my ecstasy and emotions thinking that I am so fortunate to
have the sambandham (relationship) with you (who is uplifting everyone per AzhwAr’s
divine revelation) and to hear the divine meanings of thiruvAimozhi from your divine self
directly”. Hearing this, udayavar was very pleased. That night, he invites piLLAn and
brings him to pEraruLALan (udayavar’s thiruvArAdhana perumAL), keeps his lotus feet
on his head, and tells him “Always depend on these lotus feet as your refuge; Always
show these as the refuge to the ones who surrender unto you as well. Tomorrow, you
start writing a commentary to thiruvAimozhi in srI vishNu purANam style (vishNu
purANam has 6000 slOkams), i.e., in 6000 lines”. Thus udayavar revealed his
uththArakathvam himself to piLLAn who is very dear to him.
In srIvachana bhUshaNa dhivya sAsthram, piLLai lOkAchAryar quotes piLLAn to

establish the most important and celebrated principles of our sampradhAyam
 sUthram 122 – limitations of bhakthi yOgam – In a golden pot which is filled with
pure water, if there is a little bit of alcohol (or any intoxicating food) mixed, that
water becomes un-drinkable. Similarly, jIvAthmA (golden pot) when filled with
bhakthi (pure water) is mixed with a tinge of ahankAram (poison) that leads to
svarUpa virOdham. While it is desired that there is no ahankAram in bhakthi, it is
impossible to expect that since by definition bhakthi yOgam means there is a
performer of that process and that performer has the attitude that he is doing
something to please bhagavAn. So, piLLAn says that bhakthi yOgam is not
natural for the jIvAthmA and only prapathi (total surrender – accepting that
emperumAn is the only upAyam) is the natural process for jIvAthmA to achieve
emperumAn.
 sUthram 177 – glories of paragatha svIkAram – i.e., emperumAn blesses
jIvAthmAs out of his own causeless mercy and it emperumAn’s own efforts which
brings us the ultimate benediction (kainkarya prApthi). Any self effort from the

jIvAthmA to achieve emperumAn will only lead to undesired effects since it is not
the nature of jIvAthmA to be independent and make his own effort. This is
explained using an example as follows: When we achieve emperumAn through
self effort, that is like giving milk that is purchased from the store. When we
achieve emperumAn through emperumAn’s grace, that is like giving mother’s
milk to the child. So, paragatha svIkAram is compared to mother’s milk which is
the most natural feed for the nourishment of a child.
As mAmunigaL identifies in upadhEsa rathina mAlai (pAsurams 40 and 41) – without

the 5 vyAkyAnams for thiruvAimozhi we can never understand the real meanings of
thiruvAimozhi. mAmunigaL glorifies piLLAn as “theLLArum gyAnath thirukkurugaippirAn
piLLAn” meaning piLLAn has absolute clear knowledge about bhagavath vishayam. He
also glorifies that piLLAn revealed the divine meanings of thiruvAimozhi with great love
and the vyAkyAnam is most relishable. Subsequently nanjIyar wrote 9000 padi on the
orders of bhattar, nampiLLai‘s kAlakshEpams were recorded as 36000 padi by vadakku
thiruvIdhi piLLai, periyavAchAn piLLai wrote 24000 padi on the orders of nampiLLai and
vAdhi kEsari azhagiya maNavALa jIyar wrote 12000 padi explaining the word by word
meanings of thiruvAimozhi pAsurams.
Thus, we have seen some glimpses of the glorious life of thirukkurugaippirAn piLLAn.
He was fully situated in bhAgavatha nishtai and was very dear to emperumAnAr
himself. Let us pray at his lotus feet that we too get a little bit of such bhAgavatha
nishtai.
thirukkurugaippirAn piLLAn’s thaniyan (recited as part of bhagavath vishayam

kAlakshEpam):
dhrAvidAgama sAragyam rAmAnuja padhAsritham

sudhiyam kurugEsAryam namAmi sirasAnhavam

kUra nArAyaNa jIyar
thirunakshathram: mArgazhi kEttai
avathAra sthalam: srIrangam
AchAryan: kUrathAzhwAn, parAsara bhattar
Place where he attained paramapadham from: srIrangam
Works: sudharsana sathakam, sthOthra rathna vyAkyAnam, srIsUktha bhAshyam,

upanishadh bhAshyam, nithya grantham (thiruvArAdhanam), etc
sishyas: chEmam jIyar, thirukkurugaip pirAn jIyar, sundhara pANdiya dhEvan, etc.
Born as the son of siRiya gOvindha perumAL (who is the brother of embAr) on
mArgazhi kEttai in srIrangam, he becomes to be known (after accepting sannyAsam) as
kUra nArAyaNa jIyar, nalam thigazh nArAyaNa jIyar, nArAyaNa muni, periya jIyar and
srI ranga nArAyaNa jIyar.
emperumAnAr, kUrathAzhwAn, bhattar
Before becoming a sannyAsi he had a son named “eduththa kai azhagiya nAyanAr”. He
was a sishya of kUrathAzhwAn first and subsequently he becomes a sishya of
AzhwAn‘s son bhattar and learns from him too.

He performed many external kainkaryams in srIrangam temple such as constructing
pArthasArathy sannidhi, garudAzhwAr sannidhi, etc and internal/confidential
kainkaryams to periya perumAL.
vEdhAnthAchAryar who appears much later to kUra nArAyaNa jIyar refers to him as
periya jIyar in his works (Note: It appears that there is another kUra nArAyaNa jIyar who
appears some time after vEdhAnthAchAryar‘s time). vEdhAnthAchAryar quotes jIyar’s
sthOthra vyAkyAnam in his own sthOthra vyAkyAnam. He also quotes jIyar’s srI sUktha
bhAshyam and nithya grantham in his rahasya thraya sAram. As kUra nArAyaNa jIyar
was a sishya of kUrathAzhwAn and thus should have been elder to nanjIyar – so to
distinguish between nanjIyar and kUra nArAyaNa jIyar – vEdhAnthAchAryar should
have identified him as periya (big) jIyar.
mAmunigaL quotes kUra nArAyaNa jIyar’s upanishadh bhAshyam in eedu pramANa

thirattu (collection of pramANams for nampiLLai‘s eedu mahA vyAkyAnam).
mAmunigaL also glorifies kUra nArAyaNa jIyar as “suddha sampradhAya nishtar” (one
who is firmly situated in our pure sampradhAyam).
kUra nArAyaNa jIyar is known to be a sudharsana upAsakar. Once kUrathAzhwAn tells

jIyar “We are born in srIvaishNava family where it is considered to be inappropriate to
engage in upAsanA – we fully depend on bhagavAn for anything instead of engaging in
self-efforts such as upAsanA”. jIyar responds “my upAsanA is not for my benefit. It is
only for the service of bhagavAn and bhAgavathas”. There are a couple of incidents in
the life of jIyar which demonstrate this principle.
 In the olden days namperumAL used to enjoy theppOthsavam (float festival) in

the cauvey river. Once during such uthsavam, there was flash floods and the
theppam (boat) was being pulled by the flood. But jIyar used his upAsana sakthi
and stopped the theppam and brought it over to the banks to safety. Seeing that,
he ordered kainkaryaparas to make a large tank within the srIrangam town and
arranged the theppam to celebrated there safely from then onwards.

namperumAL with nAchiyArs in theppam (float)
 Once thiruvarangapperumAL arayar was suffering from a disease and that was
affecting his kainkaryam to periya perumAL. At that time, kUra nArAyaNa jIyar
compiles and sings sudharsana sathakam and relieves arayar from his disease.
This is highlighted in the thanian of sudharsana sathakam clearly.
thiruvarangapperumAL arayar

Immediately after emperumAnAr‘s time, kUra nArAyaNa jIyar was given the charge of
emperumAnAr‘s mutt in srIrangam. This mutt is named “srIranga nArAyaNa jIyar mutt”
and continues to have jIyar swamys honoring the post and participating in srIrangam
temple kainkaryams.
Thus, we have seen some glimpses of the glorious life of kUra nArAyaNa jIyar. Let us
pray at his lotus feet that we too get bhagavath/bhAgavatha/AchArya kainkaryam.
kUra nArAyaNa jIyar’s thaniyan:
srIparAsara bhattArya sishyam srIrangapAlakam

nArAyaNa munim vandhE gyAnAdhi guNasAgaram
I worship srI nArAyaNa muni who is a sishya of parAsara bhattar, who protects
srIrangam and who is an ocean of gyAnam (knowledge), bhakthi (devotion), vairAgyam
(renunciation), etc.

engaLAzhwAn
engaLAzhwAn with nadAthUr ammAL at his lotus feet
thirunakshathram: chithrai, rOhiNi
avathAra sthalam: thiruveLLarai
AchAryan: emperumAnAr, thirukkurugaippirAn piLLAn
sishyas: nadAthUrammAL
Place where he attained paramapadham: kollankoNdAn (near madhurai)
Works: sArArtha chathushtayam (part of vArthAmAlai), vishNu chithIyam (vyAkyAnam

for vishNu purANam)

Born in thiruveLLarai, he was named srI vishNu chiththar by his parents. He became a
sishya of emperumAnAr and learns bhagavath vishayam and srIbhAshyam from
thirukkurugaippirAn piLLAn. It is said that, he was honoured by emperumAnAr himself
with the title engaLAzhwAn (since he was resembling kUrathAzhwAn in his gyAnam,
bhakthi, AchArya nishtai, etc).
nadAthUr ammAL (vAthsya varadhAchAryar) is one of his prime sishyas and is the
grandson of nadAthUr AzhwAn (who is also a sishya of emperumAnAr). When ammAL
wanted to learn srIbhAshyam from his grandfather, his grandfather due to his old age,
asks ammAL to go to engaLAzhwAn and learn the same. ammAL goes to
engaLAzhwAn’s thirumALigai (home) and knocks on the door. engaLAzhwAn asks
“Who is that?” and ammAL replies “I am varadhan”. engaLAzhwAn says “Come back
after the ‘I’ dies”. ammAL returns to his home and enquires from his grandfather about
the incident. nadhAthUr AzhwAn says we must always introduce ourselves as “adiyEn”
(dhAsan) with total humility and never use the terms “I”, “I am”, etc., which are the
cause of ahankAram (ego). Understanding the principle, ammAL returns to
engaLAzhwAn and knocks at the door. This time when engaLAzhwAn asks who is at
the door, ammAL replies “adiyEn varadhan is here”. Being pleased, engaLAzhwAn
welcomes ammAL, accepts him as his sishya and teaches him all the valuable
principles. engaLAzhwAn also becomes to be known as ammAL AchAryan, since he
became the AchAryan of nadAthUr ammAL who becomes to be a great scholar.
emperumAnAr during his final days, instructs engaLAzhwAn to take shelter of

thirukkurugaippirAn piLLAn.
In our vyAkyAnams, a few idhihyams (incidents) that show the glories of engaLAzhwAn
are seen. Let us see some of them now.
 periyAzhwAr thirumozhi 2.9.10 – thiruvAimozhi piLLai vyAkyAnam – In this

pAsuram periyAzhwAr reveals kaNNan emperumAn‘s great liking for nAval (rose
apple) fruit. In this connection, an incident relating engaLAzhwAn and nanjIyar is
revealed. engaLAzhwAn has a dream before going to sleep (in semi-awake
state). In that dream, a small boy appears in the dream and asks engaLAzhwAn
to give him some nAval fruit. When engaLAzhwAn asks who the boy is, the boy
replies “I am Ayar thEvu – son of nanjIyar” (Ayar thEvu is the name of the
thiruvArAdhana deity of nanjIyar). engaLAzhwAn goes to nanjIyar and informs
him that his thiruvArAdhana perumAL is not letting him sleep. nanjIyar then goes
to his thiruvArAdhanam room and asks his emperumAn not to disturb him.
 mudhal thiruvanthAdhi 44 – nampiLLai/periyavAchAn piLLai vyAkyAnams – In
this pAsuram, poigaiyAzhwAr establishes that emperumAn will accept the names
and forms which are dear to his devotees. The same incident (identified in the
previous point) is explained here. The context here is slightly different – when

emperumAn introduced himself to engaLAzhwAn he used the name that was
given to him by nanjIyar (that is Ayar thEvu). Hearing this incident from
engaLAzhwAn, nanjIyar becomes ecstatic that emperumAn introduces himself
using the name that was given by him.
In vArthA mAlai, a few incidents involving engaLAzhwAn are identified. Let us see them
now:
 17 – When ammangi ammAL goes to engaLAzhwAn and asks him to bless him
with a clear explanation of our sampradhAyam, engaLAzhwAn explains sArartha
chathushtayam (4 basic principles and 4 essential principles). They are:
o svarUpa gyAnam (knowledge about true nature of self) – Understanding
that the self is subservient to bhagavAn and should be at disposal of
bhagavAn
o svarUpa yAthAthmya gyAnam (advanced knowledge about true nature of
self) – Undertanding that the self is subservient to bhagavathas (devotees)
and should be at disposal of bhagavathas
o virOdhi gyAnam (knowledge about the hurdles) – When in separation from
bhAgavathas, carrying on our normal activities (i.e., separation from
bhAgavathas should be unbearable)
o virOdhi yAthAthmya gyAnam (advanced knowledge about the hurdles) –
After getting the association of a bhAgavatha, finding faults in him (i.e., we
should never find faults in bhAgavathas)
o pala gyAnam (knowledge about the goal) – To carry out all instructions of
bhAgavathas without any hesitation.
o pala yAthAthmya gyAnam (advanced knowledge about the goal) – To
serve bhAgavathas in this world even at the cost of giving up
paramapadham
o upAya gyAnam (knowledge about the process) – Clearly understanding
the sambhandham between bhagavAn and jIvAthmA and acting according
to that (there is very detailed explanation for this)
o upAya yAthAthmya gyAnam (advanced knowledge about the process) –
Understanding that emperumAn being the sarIrI (AthmA) of the self
(sarIram), emperumAn is doing everything for his own pleasure and giving
up all attachments towards any other process than emperumAn himself
 118 – engaLAzhwAn was explaining charama slOkam to nadAthUrammAL.
When explaining “sarva dharmAn parithyajya” – nadAthUr ammAL wonders why
is emperumAn talking with so much svAthanthriyam in disregarding all
dharmams (upAyams) that are explained in sAsthram. engaLAzhwAn replies that
it is the true nature of bhagavAn – he is fully independent – so it is fitting for him
to say that. Moreover, he says, emperumAn is relieving the jIvAthmA from
indulging in other upAyams which are against the true nature of jIvAthmA – since

the jIvAthmA is fully dependent on bhagavAn it is fitting for the jIvAthmA to
accept bhagavAn as upAyam. So, engaLAzhwAn categorically explains that
bhagavAn’s words here are most apt.
 153 – In this engaLAzhwAn beautifully brings out the qualities of an AchAryan.
AchAryan means one who has given up the bodily concept of the soul,
understood that he is fully subservient to emperumAn, given up any attachment
to other dhEvathas, understands that emperumAn is present everywhere
(omnipresent), spends his whole time in this world focussing on archAvathAra
emperumAn and finally reaches the divine abode of paramapadham. Others will
claim themselves to be the leader of the whole universe, depend on their sishyas
in collecting wealth and serving them.
 174 – When pinbhazhagarAm perumAL jIyar (who is a dear sishya of nampiLLai)
was ill, he asks other srIvaishNavas to pray to emperumAn for his speedy
recovery – now, this is considered as improper per srIvaishNava etiquette – one
should not pray to emperumAn for anything – even for recovering from illness
(what to speak about going to doctor, etc). Seeing this, sishyas of nampiLLai
come and enquire from nampiLLai on why jIyar was doing that. nampiLLai asks
his sishyas to enquire from few swamys about jIyar’s behaviour. nampiLLai first
says, go and ask engaLAzhwAn who is an expert in all sAsthram.
engaLAzhwAn replies “may be he is attached to srIrangam and he wants to stay
here for some more time”. nampiLLai then asks his sishyas to go and ask
thirunArAyaNapurathu arayar – arayar says “may be he has some unfinished
tasks which he wants to complete, so he is praying to prolonging his life here”.
nampiLLai then asks his sishyas to ammangi ammAL who says “who would want
to leave nampiLLai’s kAlakshEpa gOshti, he may be praying so he is here for
some more time to listen to nampiLLai’s kAlakshEpam”. nampiLLai then asks his
sishyas to go to periya mudhaliyAr and he says “may be he is too attached to
namperumAL that he does not want to leave from here”. nampiLLai finally asks
jIyar himself if any of these views are in line with what he himself is thinking. jIyar
replies “No. You know everything. But out of your mercy, you want to reveal this
by me. Let me say why I want to continue living here. Everyday, after you taking
bath, I get to have the divine dharshan of your form and serve you by fanning,
etc. How can I give up that service and go to parampadham just yet?”. Thus,
pinbhazhagarAm perumAL jIyar reveals the highest principle for a sishya – to be
fully attached to the divine form of ones own AchAryan. Hearing this everyone
was amazed by jIyar’s devotion towards nampiLLai. This principle is explained by
piLLai lOkAchAryar in srIvachana bhUshaNa dhivya sAsthram (sUthram 333)
and maNavALa mAmunigaL in his upadhEsa rathina mAlai as well (pAsurams 65
and 66).

Thus, we have seen some glimpses of the glorious life of engaLAzhwAn. He was fully
engaLAzhwAn’s thaniyan:
srIvishNuchiththa padha pankaja samsrayAya chEthO mama spruhayathE kimatha:

parENa
nOchEn mamApi yathisEkarabhArathInAm bhAva: katham bhavithumarhathi
vAgvidhEya:
:
:
:

ananthAzhwAn
thirunakshathram: chithrai, chithrai
avathAra sthalam: sirupuththuR/kiranganur (on bangalore-mysore route)
AchAryan: aruLALa perumAL emperumAnAr
Place from where he attained paramapadham: thiruvEnkatam

Works: vEnkatEsa ithihAsa mAlai, gOdha chathuslOki, rAmAnuja chathuslOki
ananthAzhwAn who is also known as ananthAchAryar, anantha sUri, etc., (along with
echAn, thondanUr nambi and marudhUr nambi) approaches emperumAnAr after
hearing about his glories. He reveals his great desire to take shelter of emperumAnAr’s
lotus feet. emperumAnAr, having just reformed yagya mUrthy at that time and
established him as aruLALa perumAL emperumAnAr, instructs ananthAzhwAn to
become a sishya of aruLALa perumAL emperumAnAr. They all happily oblige and follow
that instruction with great joy. aruLALa perumAL emperumAnAr declares that though
they are his sishyas they should fully depend on emperumAnAr’s lotus feet only.
emperumAnAr’s lotus feet in thirumalai is named as anathAzhwAn. ananthAzhwAn is
similar to madhurakavi AzhwAr in the following ways:
 both have thirunakshathram of chithrai – chithrai

 both are fully situated in AchArya nishtai. madhurakavi AzhwAr is fully situated in
the lotus feet of nammAzhwAr and ananthAzhwAn is fully situated in the lotus
feet of emperumAnAr.

Subsequently, while giving lectures on the nectarean pAsurams of thiruvAimozhi,
emperumAnAr started explaining “ozhivil kAlamellAm” padhigam (3.3) where
nammAzhwAr reveals his great desire to perform pure and constant service to
thiruvEnkatamudaiyAn. In that padhigam, AzhwAr reveals the liking of
thiruvEnkatamudaiyAn for fresh and abundant flowers. emperumAnAr, contemplating on
AzhwAr’s divine desire, posts a question to his audience “Is there any one who will go to
thirumalai, make a beautiful garden and serve emperumAn with beautiful flowers
everyday?”. ananthAzhwAn, at once raises upto the occasion and says he will fulfill
AzhwAr’s and emperumAnAr’s desire. emperumAnAr becomes mighty pleased and
ananthAzhwAn immediately takes leave to thirumalai. He first performs
mangaLAsAsanam to thiruvEnkatamudaiyAn, prepares a garden and names the garden
“irAmAnusan” and starts serving fresh flowers to emperumAn everyday. Hearing this,
emperumAnAr decides to visit thirumalai and have dharshan of the same. He quickly
completes his thiruvAimozhi kAlakshEpam (lectures) and leaves to thirumalai.
He arrives at thiruppathi via kAnchipuram (after performing mangaLAsAsanam to dhEva

perumAL and thirukkachi nambi). ananthAzhwAn and other srIvaishNavas come down
and welcome emperumAnAr. emperumAnAr first refuses to climb on thirumalai saying
that thiruvEnkatam hill is a form of AdhisEshan himself. But after his sishyas prolonged
requests saying that if emperumAnAr does not climb the hill how can they climb the
same, emperumAnAr agrees and with utmost devotion climbs the hill. thirumalai nambi
himself comes to the entrance of thirumalai and welcomes emperumAnAr.
emperumAnAr then visits the garden “irAmAnusan” that is maintained by
ananthAzhwAn and seeing the great variety of fresh flowers he feels blissful. As stated
by thirumangai AzhwAr “vaLarththathanAl payan peRREn” (parakAla nAyaki declares
that she was pleased/honoured by nurturing her pet parrot since the parrot repeats
emperumAn‘s names/charithram), emperumAnAr also becomes very pleased by
ananthAzhwAn’s utmost dedication.
Once, when ananthAzhwAn and his pregnant wife was working on making a pond for
the garden, emperumAn himself appears as a small boy and tries to help him.
ananthAzhwAn wanting to fulfill his AchAryan’s instructions on his own rejects the boy’s
help. ananthAzhwAn’s wife accepts the boy’s help in absence of ananthAzhwAn.
Coming to know about that, ananthAzhwAn becomes very angry and he starts chasing
the buy and finally throws his crow-bar on the boy. The crow-bar hits the chin of the boy
but the boy vanishes into the temple. thiruvEnkatamudaiyAn‘s chin itself looks hurt and
that is why even today pachai karpUram (camphor) is applied on
thiruvEnkatamudaiyAn’s chin to cool down the wound.

Once when ananthAzhwAn was bitten by a snake. When his associates become
worried, he simply says if the snake that bit me is more powerful, I will give up this body
and serve emperumAn in paramapadham after bathing in virajA river. If the snake that
was bitten (my body) is more powerful, I will continue my kainkaryam here in
thiruvEnkatam after bathing in the pushkariNi here. Such was his attachment to
kainkaryam, he did not care a bit for his body.

Once when ananthAzhwAn brought a bag of prasAdham from thiruvEnkatam during a
travel to a nearby town. When he opens the bag of prasAdham, he notices some ants,
he at once instructs his sishyas to leave them back at the hill. He says “since
kulasEkara AzhwAr has declared that he (and other devotees of emperumAn) wants to
be anything on thirumalai, this may be him, so we should not disturb their life on
thiruvEnkatam”.
Once when ananthAzhwAn was making a garland, thiruvEnkatamudaiyAn sends some

one to summon ananthAzhwAn at his sannidhi. ananthAzhwAn arrives late after
completing his kainkaryam of making the garland. thiruvEnkatamudaiyAn asks why he
was late and ananthAzhwAn replies “while the flowers are blooming I want to make the
garland, I have nothing else to do in this sannidhi other than my kainkaryam as ordered
by emperumAnAr“. emperumAn then asks “What if I ask you to leave this place then?”
and ananthAzhwAn replies “You arrived at thirumalai a little before me and I came here
at the orders of my AchAryan. How can you ask me to leave?”. emperumAn was very
pleased to see the great AchArya nishtai of ananthAzhwAn.
ananthAzhwAn’s instructions and glories are identified in various places in the

vyAkyAnams. Let us see some of them now.
 periyAzhwAr thirumozhi 4.4.1 – maNavALa mAmunigaL vyAkyAnam – In this

pAsuram, AzhwAr glorifies the srIvaishNavas of thirukkOshtiyUr that they wont
utter any other words than what is dear to their AchAryan. mAmunigaL reveals
ananthAzhwAn’s attachment towards bhattar (even though bhattar is much
younger to him). During his final days, ananthAzhwAn asks some srIvaishNavas

which name is dear to bhattar. They reply that bhattar has great attachment to
namperumAL’s name “azhagiya maNavALan”. ananthAzhwAn then says
“Though uttering husband’s name is improper etiquette, since bhattar likes this
name very much I will also say it” and says “azhagiya maNavALan” and ascends
to paramapadham. Though ananthAzhwAn wanted to say emperumAnAr‘s name
before ascending to paramapadham, because he heard the liking of bhattar for
“azhagiya maNavALan” he took up to that.
 nAchiyAr thirumozhi 7.2 – periyavAchAn piLLai vyAkyAnam – In this pAsuram,
ANdAL explains that pAnchajanyam was born in the ocean but ended up
reaching the divine hands of emperumAn. To explain this periyavAchAn piLLai
highlights an incident involving ananthAzhwAn and nanjIyar. vEdhAnthi after
being reformed by bhattar, divides his wealth in to 3 parts, gives 1 part each to
his two wives and brings 1 part to his AchAryan (bhattar). He also eventually
accepts sannyAsam and comes to srIrangam to serve his AchAryan. Hearing this
ananthAzhwAn tells him “You were nicely situated in gruhasthAshramam, you
could have just continued there with the true understanding about spiritual
matters and served your AchAryan and bhAgavathas and eventually could have
ended up any way in paramapadham. Why did you accept sannyAsam?”. Other
srIvaishNavas asked what to do then? ananthAzhwAn then explains that one
should be born in thirumanthram (true knowledge parmAthmA, jIvAthmA and
their relationship) and be nurtured in dhvaya mahA manthram (understanding
that emperumAn is both upAyam (process) and upEyam (goal)) and live their life
accordingly.
 nAchiyAr thirumozhi 12.5 – periyavAchAn piLLai vyAkyAnam – In this pAsuram,
ANdAL explains how all the gOpas and gOpis where fainting immediately after
seeing kaNNan emperumAn dancing on kALiyan the snake. ananthAzhwAn was
travelling with srI nambi guha dhAsar to meet emperumAnAr. While reaching
srIrangam, they see some EkAngis (kainkaryaparars) of emperumAnAr who had
shaven heads and were coming out of cauvery after bathing. When enquired
they inform that emperumAnAr has left this world and went to paramapadham.
Hearing this, nambi guha dhAsar climbed a near by tree wanting to jump off the
same and commit suicide. At that time ananthAzhwAn says to nambi that since
you did not give up your life as soon as you heard about emperumAnAr’s
ascending to paramapadham, even if you jump off the tree you wont die, you will
only break your legs. This incident beautifully relates the attachment of gOpas
and gOpis towards krishNan.
 perumAL thirumozhi 4.10 – periyavAchAn piLLai vyAkyAnam – In this padhigam,
kulasEkara AzhwAr manifests great attachment towards thiruvEnkatam. He
declares that he just wants to become something on the divine hill.
ananthAzhwAn explains that he would even not mind becoming
thiruvEnkatamudaiyAn himself so that there is some connection with the divine
hill.

 periya thirumozhi 5.5.1 – periyavAchAn piLLai vyAkyAnam – In this padhigam,
thirumangai AzhwAr as parakAla nAyaki cries out for thiruvEnkatam saying
“vEnkatamE vEnkatamE” showing her great attachment for the dhivya dhEsam.
nanjIyar identifies that this is similar to bhattar calling out namperumAL as
“azhaghiya maNavALan” and ananthAzhwAn calling out srInivAsan as
“thiruvEnkatamudaiyAn” – their full attachment towards those names get fully
revealed by their calling out.
nammAzhwAr shows great attachment to vaithamAnithi emperumAn and
thirukkOLUr dhivyadhEsam. nampiLLai identifies an incident where
ananthAzhwAn highlights the importance of staying in ones own dhivyadhEsam
and serving the emperumAn right there. ananthAzhwAn once meets a
srIvaishNava who is living and doing farming in a village named chOLA
kulAnthakan. He asks where the srIvaishNava is from and the srIvaishNava says
that he is from thirukkOLUr. ananthAzhwAn then asks him why he left his native
place. The srIvaishNava replies he was unable to find a job there so he left from
there. For that, ananthAzhwAn replies, you could have herded some donkeys
and earned some money and continued staying in thirukkOLUr which is very
dear to emperumAn and nammAzhwAr and served them there instead of coming
here and doing farming here in this village. He highlights that for the jIvAthmA
while in this world, its best to be in a dhivyadhEsam amidst srIvaishNavas and
engaged in kainkaryam.
nammAzhwAr as parAngusa nAyaki sends a bird as messenger to emperumAn
to convey her deep sorrow in separation. At that time AzhwAr says he will give
both this world and paramapadham to the bird for being his messenger (since
parAngusa nAyaki is emperumAn’s nAyaki/consort, she owns everything owned
by emperumAn). When some one asks if parAngusa nAyaki gives everything to
the bird, where will she stay?, ananthAzhwAn replies “she will stay in a place that
is given by the bird itself” in a beautiful way.
 thiruvAimozhi 7.2.9 – nampiLLai eedu vyAkyAnam – In this pAsuram,
nammAzhwAr says “en thirumagaL sEr mArban” about emperumAn – that he is
the abode of srI mahAlakshmi. ananthAzhwAn names his daughter “en
thirumagaL” out of great attachment to AzhwAr’s divine words.
 vArthAmAlai – 345 – bhattar once sends one of his sishyas to ananthAzhwAn to
find out how a srIvaishNava should conduct himself. He goes to ananthAzhwAn’s
thirumALigai and reaches there during thadhIyArAdhanam. Since the place was
full, he waits until every one eats. ananthAzhwAn spots him and invites him to
accept prasAdham with him in the end. ananthAzhwAn then enquires about the
srIvaishNava and the srIvaishNava mentions that he is a sishya of bhattar and
bhattar sent him to find out how a srIvaishNava should be. ananthAzhwAn says
“srIvaishNava should be like a stork, hen, salt and you”.

o Stork usually waits for the best fish and just picks that. Similarly,
srIvaishNavas should depend on bhagavAn for everything and just accept
bhAgavatha kainkaryam which is the biggest benediction.
o Hen kindles the dirt and picks up pieces of rice from there. Similarly,
srIvaishNavas should search through sAsthram (which contains many
details for variety of people) and pick up valuable principles like paragatha
svIkAram, bhAgavatha kainkaryam, etc and follow them.
o Salt mixes with food items in a subtle manner and makes the food
delicious. Also, absence of salt is easily noticeable. Similarly,
srIvaishNavas should subdue subdue their egos and bring happiness into
other srIvaishNavas lives due to their presence. And they should conduct
themselves that in their absence every one is thinking about the good
deeds of them.
o Finally, you (the srIvaishNava who asked this question) came here, waited
for everyone to have prasAdham and submissively inquired me about the
most important principle. Similarly, srIvaishNavas should also look out for
others’ happiness and be submissive in their actions.
ananthAzhwAn is honoured by thiruvEnkatamudaiyAn even today. Both during his

appearance day (chithrai/chithrai) and thIrtham day (thiruvAdi pUram),
thiruvEnkatamudaiyAn visits the garden of ananthAzhwAn and gives his own garland
and srI satagOpam to the maghizha tree (under which ananthAzhwAn’s divine form was
cremated) in the garden.

ananthAzhwAn – thirumalai
Thus, we have seen some glimpses of the glorious life of ananthAzhwAn. He was fully
ananthAzhwAn’s works can be downloaded from

http://acharya.org/anandazhvar/index.html.
ananthAzhwAn’s thaniyan:
akilAthma guNAvAsam agyAna thimirApaham

AsrithAnAm susaraNam vandhE ananthArya dhEsikam

thiruvarangathu amudhanAr:
thirunakshathram: panguni, hastham
AchAryan: kUrathAzhwAn
thiuvarangathu amudhanAr was previously known as periya kOil nambi. He was the
official guardian of srI rangam temple and was doing purOhithyam (reading purANam,
vEdha viNNappam, etc). Initially, he was not favourable towards emperumAnAr‘s

efforts to reform the activities in the temple. But, by the divine grace of srIman
nArAyaNan, he ultimately got the relationship with emperumAnAr and benedicted.
When emperumAnAr was declared by periya perumAL as udayavar (the master) and
wanted all the activities in the temple to be organized in the most optimum way, periya
kOil nambi did not allow easy access to emperumAnAr. emperumAnAr became
frustrated and first decided to remove him from his position. But one day, when
emperumAnAr was waiting for perumAL’s purappAdu, emperumAn appears in his
dream and informs him that periya kOil nambi is dear to him since he has served him for
too long.
emperumAnAr then engages AzhwAn to educate and guide periya kOil nambi so that
he becomes fit to serve him and allow his reforms. AzhwAn starts slowly making an
impact and eventually one day periya kOil nambi wants to become the sishya of
emperumAnAr. emperumAnAr advises periya kOil nambi to accept AzhwAn as his
AchArya since he was the one who reformed him. periya kOil nambi then becomes
named amudhanAr by emperumAnAr himself due to his classic ability to write nectarean
poems in thamizh. Subsequently, amudhanAr develops extreme attachment towards
AzhwAn and emperumAnAr.
amudhanAr handing over the control of periya kOil to emperumAnAr
When amudhanAr’s mother passes away, on the 11th day, a ceremony named
EkOthishtam is to be performed where a person is assumed to be the body of the
deceased person and offered a great feast. At the end of the feast, the consumer of the
feast will be asked if he is satisfied and unless he says he is fully satisfied, the
ceremony does not become complete. The main aspect of this ceremony is, the one
consuming the feast cannot participate in any temple kainkaryam for 1 full year those
days. amudhanAr wanting to have an advanced srIvaishNava approaches
emperumAnAr and asks him to identify such person. emperumAnAr at once asks
AzhwAn to go to that ceremony and AzhwAn happily accepts. Once the feast is over,
amudhanAr asks AzhwAn if he was satisfied and AzhwAn says he will be satisfied only
it the temple control is handed over to emperumAnAr. amudhanAr at once agrees and
hands the temple keys and control to emperumAnAr through AzhwAn to fulfill his
commitment. At that time, amudhanAr also gives the purOhithyam kainkaryam to
AzhwAn (thus we can see descendants of AzhwAn still continuing this kainkaryam in
srIrangam). amudhanAr becomes less attached to the temple since he gave up all his
kainkaryams. Seeing that, emperumAnAr goes to thiruvarangapperumAL arayar and
requests him to give the iyaRpA recital right to him. arayar obliges and gives the same
to emperumAnAr. emperumAnAr then teaches iyaRpA to amudhanAr and asks him to
perform iyaRpA recital in srIrangam temple permanently thus engaging him in
emperumAn’s kainkaryam as well.

appearance and glories of rAmAnusa nURRanthAdhi
After some time, amudhanAr writes rAmAnusa nURRanthAdhi (108 pAsurams) on

emperumAnAr and submits that to emperumAn and emperumAnAr. namperumAL, once
during the last day of brahmOthsavam orders emperumAnAr not to accompany him in
the procession and asks the srIvaishNavas to recite rAmAnusa nURRanthAdhi during
the procession – which eventually becomes a routine to be followed during every
uthsavam. Understanding emperumAn’s desire, emperumAnAr himself acknowledges
this great work of amudhanAr and includes that as part of iyaRpA similar to how
kaNNinuN chiru thAmbu of madhurakavi AzhwAr (which glorifies nammAzhwAr) is
included in mudhalAyiram. This prabhandham becomes to be famously known as
prapanna gAyathri and emperumAnAr also instructs all srIvaishNavas to recite this
prabhandham atleast once every day similar to gAyathri japam being mandatorily

recited everyday by the ones who have undergone brahmOpadhEsam (the ones who
wear the yagyOpavItham – sacred thread).
In rAmAnusa nURRanthAdhi, emperumAnAr‘s name is seen in every pAsuram. That is

why it became to be known as rAmAnusa nURRanthAdhi as well. It presents all that is
needed to be understood by AchArya abhimAna nishtars (one who depends on the
grace of AchAryan). This prabhandham also establishes that the one who is fully
focussed on AchAryan automatically has bhagavath sambandham (relationship with
bhagavAn) and does not need to make any special effort for the same. That is why all of
our pUrvAchAryas proclaimed that we should always fully depend on srI rAmAnujar’s
lotus feet.
nadAthUr ammAL who was the leader amongst great scholars declared that
emperumAnAr is both the means and goal for srIvaishNavas based on pERonRu
maRRillai pAsuram (45) and ninRa vaN kIrthi pAsuram (76) of this divine prabhandham
named rAmAnusa nURRanthAdhi.
periyavAchAn piLLai‘s son nAyanArAchAn piLLai extensively uses rAmAnusa

nURRanthAdhi in his work charmOpAya nirNayam
(http://ponnadi.blogspot.in/p/charamopaya-nirnayam.html) to bring out the divine glories
of emperumAnAr.
mAmunigaL has written a most beautiful and short commentary for rAmAnusa
nURRanthAdhi. In the introduction section, he is beautifully bringing out the glories of
amudhanAr and rAmAnusa nURRanthAdhi. Let us see the gist of that.
charama parva nishtai (full dependence on AchArya) is the essence of thirumanthram

and all AzhwArs‘ pAsurams. This was revealed by madhurakavi AzhwAr towards
nammAzhwAr. amudhanAr is also very similar to madhurakavi AzhwAr as he manifests
full dependance towards emperumAnAr in his prabhandham as well as acts. He was
reformed by emperumAnAr purely out of his divine mercy through AzhwAn‘s tireless
and merciful efforts. Just like madhurakavi AzhwAr revealed his nishtai through his 10
pAsurams, amudhanAr reveals his AchArya nishtai through 108 pAsurams in great
detail for the benefit of everyone in this world to understand the most important
principles for AchArya nishtars, follow the same and redeem themselves. mAmunigaL
also identifies that similar to gAyathri manthram which is recited by upavIdhIs (the ones
who wear the sacred thread) every day, this is called prapanna sAvithri and should be
recited by srIvaishNavas everyday.

amudhanAr’s expertise
amudhanAr was an expert in thamizh and samskritham. This helped him present very
beautiful meanings for many pAsurams in aruLicheyal. Let us see one example here:
In thiruvirutham 72nd pAsuram, nampiLLai brings out the beautiful narration of

amudhanAr. In this pAsuram, nammAzhwAr in the mood of parAngusa nAyaki is feeling
great anxiety in the dark night out of separation from emperumAn. Usually lovers feel
more anxiety in the night during separation. At that time, a small crescent moon appears
and shatters the darkness a little bit. While cool shade of the moon is most enjoyable
during union of lovers, it is most painful during separation. parAngusa nAyaki then
thinks that darkness was better and now with the cool crescent moon its worse for her
to control her emotions thinking about emperumAn. To explain this, amudhanAr
beautifully presents a story. Once a tender-hearted brAhmaNa was travelling through
the forest during the night. He was suddenly chased by a wild-beast and some how he
escapes and climbs on a tree. The beast waits for the brAhmaNa to climb down to feast
on him and brAhmaNa is so scared. At that time, a tiger approaches the beast, kills it
and feasts on it. After finishing that, the tiger looks up to the brAhmaNa and now waits
the brAhmaNa to climb down to feast on him as well. Now, the brAhmaNa becomes
more scared than even before and starts shivering at the prospect of being killed by the
tiger. The same way, parAngusa nAyaki was initially fearful of darkness but was more
fearful of the cool crescent moon – explains amudhanAr.
bhattar and amudhanAr
bhattar takes great pride in being born as the son of AzhwAn. He himself declares that
in his sahasranAma bhAshyam he was born to AzhwAn who has the great wealth of the
relationship to emperumAnAr. amudhanAr also has the connection of AzhwAn which he
himself declares in the 7th pAsuram of rAmAnusa nURRanthAdhi. Once, amudhanAr
out of great ecstasy informs to bhattar through another srIvaishNava that “You only
have bodily relationship with AzhwAn but I have an intellectual relationship with
AzhwAn”. bhattar replies that “thats fine! but you yourself should not boast about it”.
AzhwAn‘s relationship is so great that it leads to amudhanAr going over-board on his
pride – but the great thing about this in the matters of our pUrvAchAryas is, they dont
take these issues beyond those discussions and have any ill-feeling towards others.
Issues are resolved then and there in a magnanimous way and this is what we have to
understand from such incidents. We must also greatly appreciate our pUrvAchAryas
honesty for having recorded even such incidents instead of hiding them under the
carpet (which could have been easily done).

Finally, mAmunigaL identifies in his beautiful Arthi prabhanadham 40th pAsuram that to
avoid being submerged in this sorrowful ocean of samsAram, we should surrender unto
the lotus feet of emperumAnAr, spend our time with the dear devotees of srI rAmAnujar
always and recite/meditate on rAmAnusa nURRanthAdhi constantly.
Thus, we have seen some glimpses of the glorious life of thiruvarangathu amudhanAr.
He was fully situated bhAgavatha nishtai and was very dear to both emperumAnAr and
AzhwAn. Let us pray at their lotus feet that we too get a little bit of such bhAgavatha
nishtai.
thiruvarangathu amudhanAr’s thaniyan:
srIrangE mInahasthE cha jAtham rangAryanandhanam

rAmAnujapadhAskandham ranganAthagurum bhajE

nadAthUr ammAL
engaLAzhwAn with nadAthUr ammAL at his lotus feet
thirunakshathram: chithrai, chithrai
avathAra sthalam: kAnchIpuram
AchAryan: engaLAzhwAn
sishyas: sruthaprakAsika bhattar (sudharsana sUri), kidAmbi appiLLAr, etc

Place where he attained paramapadham: kAnchIpuram
Works: thathva sAram, parathvAdhi panchakam (Discussed briefly in -

http://ponnadi.blogspot.in/2012/10/archavathara-anubhavam-parathvadhi.html),
gajEndhra mOksha slOka dhvayam, paramArtha slOka dhvayam, prapanna pArijAtha,
charamOpAya sangraham, srI bhAshya upanyAsam, pramEya mAlai, yathirAja vijaya
bhANam, etc.
Born in kAnchIpuram, he was named varadharAjan by his parents. He is the grand son
of nadhAthUr AzhwAn who is one of the srIbhAshya simhAsanAdhipathis (leader)
appointed by emperumAnAr himself.
He was serving kAnchIpuram dhEva perumAL every day by offering him warm milk. He
would prepare the milk with perfect warmth, just like how a mother would prepare milk
for her child. That is why he was fondly honoured by dhEva perumAL himself as
ammAL or vAthsya varadhAchAryar.
When ammAL wanted to learn srIbhAshyam from his grandfather, his grandfather due
to his old age, asks ammAL to go to engaLAzhwAn and learn the same. ammAL goes
to engaLAzhwAn's thirumALigai (home) and knocks on the door. engaLAzhwAn asks
"Who is that?" and ammAL replies "I am varadhan". engaLAzhwAn says "Come back
after the 'I' dies". ammAL returns to his home and enquires from his grandfather about
the incident. nadhAthUr AzhwAn says we must always introduce ourselves as "adiyEn"
(dhAsan) with total humility and never use the terms "I", "I am", etc., which are the
cause of ahankAram (ego). Understanding the principle, ammAL returns to
engaLAzhwAn and knocks at the door. This time when engaLAzhwAn asks who is at
the door, ammAL replies "adiyEn varadhan is here". Being pleased, engaLAzhwAn
welcomes ammAL, accepts him as his sishya and teaches him all the valuable
principles. engaLAzhwAn also becomes to be known as ammAL AchAryan, since he
became the AchAryan of nadAthUr ammAL who becomes to be a great scholar.
ammAL's prime sishya is sruthaprakAsika bhattar (sudharsana sUri - who is the grand
son of vEdha vyAsa bhattar) who learns srI bhAshyam from ammAL and goes on to
write the glorious commentary sruthaprakAsikai for srI bhAshyam and commentaries for
vEdhArtha sangraham and sharaNAgathi gadhyam as well.
Once ammAL was teaching srI bhAshyam to a dozen srIvaishNavas. The students say
bhakthi yOgam is very difficult to follow. He then explains prapathi to them. They further
say prapathi is even more difficult to implement. At that time, ammAL says, "Just think
that emperumAnAr's lotus feet is the only refuge and you will be redeemed".
Similar incident is revealed in charamOpAya nirNayam as well.

nadAthUr ammAL was teaching srIbhAshyam to some srivaishnavas. At that time a few
of them asked "bhakthi yOgam cannot be performed by a jIvAthmA because it is very
difficult to do (as it requires many adhikArams like being male, thrIvarNika (brAhmaNa,
kshthriya, vaisya), constant meditation and service to emperumAn, etc) and prapathi
cannot be performed because it is against the svarUpam (jIvAthmA being utterly
dependent on emperumAn, doing something himself for his ultimate goal will be against
that utter dependence). In such case, how can the jIvAthmA attain the ultimate goal?".
nadAthUr ammAL replies that "for those who are unable to do this, emperumAnAr's
abhimAnam is the ultimate path. Without this there is no other way. I am firmly confident
of this". ammAL's final instructions are explained in the following popular slOkam:
prayAnNa kAlE chathuras chvasishyAN padhAthikasthAN varadhO hi vIkshya

bhakthi prapaththi yadhi dhushkarEva: rAmANujAryam NamathEthyavAdhIth
In his final days, when his sishyas ask nadAthUr ammAL what is their refuge, he replies
"bhakthi and prapathi are not fit for your svarUpam; Simply take shelter of
emperumAnAr and fully depend on him; your ultimate goal will be accomplished".
In vArthA mAlai, a few incidents involving nadAthUr ammAL are identified. Let us see
them now:
 118 - engaLAzhwAn was explaining charama slOkam to nadAthUrammAL. When

explaining "sarva dharmAn parithyajya" - nadAthUr ammAL wonders why is
emperumAn talking with so much svAthanthriyam in disregarding all dharmams
(upAyams) that are explained in sAsthram. engaLAzhwAn replies that it is the
true nature of bhagavAn - he is fully independent - so it is fitting for him to say
that. Moreover, he says, emperumAn is relieving the jIvAthmA from indulging in
other upAyams which are against the true nature of jIvAthmA - since the
jIvAthmA is fully dependent on bhagavAn it is fitting for the jIvAthmA to accept
bhagavAn as upAyam. So, engaLAzhwAn categorically explains that bhagavAn's
words here are most apt.
 198 - When nadAthUr ammAL and a srIvaishNava named ALipiLLAn (probably
an abhrAmaNa srIvaishNava or a non-AchArya purushar) were having
prasAdham together, another srIvaishNava named perungUrppiLLai watches that
with great joy and says "Without seeing you mixing with this srIvaishNava freely,
had I just heard the general instruction that varNAsrama dharmam must be
respected all times, I would have completely lost the essence". ammAL replies
"The fact is whoever/whatever related to a true AchAryan must be

accepted/embraced by us. So, even this anushtAnam of me mixing with this
great srIvaishNava is understood to be included in the special instruction
(bhAgavatha dharmam) which is explained by our pUrvAchAryas".
In the vyAkyAnam for piLLai lOkAchAryar's thathva thrayam

(http://ponnadi.blogspot.in/p/thathva-thrayam.html) sUthram 35, maNavALa mAmunigaL
quotes a beautiful slOkam from ammAL's thathva sAram to establish the jIva
svAthanthriyam (independence given by emperumAn to jIvAthmA) in the first thought of
every action and how emperumAn guides the jIvAthmA from that first thought in every
action.
Thus, we have seen some glimpses of the glorious life of nadAthUr ammAL. He was a
great scholar and was very dear to engaLAzhwAn. Let us pray at his lotus feet that we
too get a little bit of such bhAgavatha nishtai.
nadAthUr ammAL's thaniyan:
vandhE aham varadhAryam tham vathsAbi janabhUshaNam

bhAshyAmrutha pradhAnAdhya sanjIvayathi mAmapi

parAsara bhattar
parAsara bhattar (with nanjIyar at his thiruvadi) – srirangam
Thirunakshathram: vaikAsi, anusham
AchAryan: embAr
Sishyas: nanjIyar
Place where he attained paramapadham: srirangam
Works: ashtaslOki, srirangarAja sthavam, sri guNa rathna kOsam, bhagavadh guNa
dharpaNam (vishnu sahasranAma vyAkyAnam), srirangarAja sthOthram

parAsara bhattar is the illustrious son of kUrathAzhwAn and ANdAL ammangAr. He and
his younger brother vEdha vyAsa bhattar were born out of sriranganAthan’s prasAdham
consumed by ANdAL.
Both bhattars were born to AzhwAn and ANdAL out of the prasAdham from periya
perumAL (srI ranganAthan). Once when AzhwAn and ANdAL were lying down in the
evening without consuming any prasAdham (AzhwAn was doing unja vruthi and on that
day due to rain he was unable to collect any grains), they hear the final naivEdhyam bell
ringing from the temple. ANdAL says to emperumAn “Here you have AzhwAn who is
your pure devotee without any prasAdham but you are enjoying nice bhOgam there”.
Understanding this, periya perumAL sends his prasAdham to AzhwAn and ANdAL with
all his paraphernelia through uththama nambi. Seeing the prasAdham coming in,
AzhwAn is awe-struck. Immediately, he turns to ANdAL and asks did you complain to
emperumAn and ANdAL admits her request. AzhwAn becomes upset for insisting
emperumAn to provide for their prasAdham. He accepts 2 handfuls of prasAdham
alone, consumes some and gives the remnants to ANdAL. Those 2 handfuls of
prasAdham eventually blesses them with two beautiful children.
embAr performs dhvaya mahA manthrOpadhEsam to both parAsara and vEdha vyAsa
bhattars when they were only 11 days old and emperumAnAr orders him to be the
AchAryan for both of them. emperumAnAr also instructs kUrthAzhwAn to give parAsara
bhattar as an adopted son for periya perumAL and AzhwAn does so. bhattar was also
taken care off by sriranga nAchiAr herself in her sannidhi when he was very young.
When bhattar was very young, he once comes to periya kOil for mangalAsAsanam. At
that time after bhattar worships periya perumAL, he comes out and emperumAnAr tells
ananthAzhwAn and other srivaishnavas, that bhattar should be treated just like himself.
bhattar was extremely brilliant right from his childhood. There are many incidents which
prove this fact.
 Once when he was playing in the street, a vidhwAn named sarvajna bhattan
comes in a palanquin. bhattar shocked to see some one being carried in a
palanquin in srirangam, goes straight to him and challenges him for a debate.
sarvajna bhattan considers bhattar as a child and says bhattar can ask any
question and that will be answered by him. bhattar picks a handful of sand asks
how much sand he has in his hand. sarvajna bhattan becomes speechless and
says he does not know. bhattar says that he could have just answered “its a
handful”. Amazed by bhattar’s brilliance, sarvajna bhattan at once comes down
from a palanquin and carries bhattar to his parents and glorify him.
 When he was very young during his gurukulam time, bhattar was playing in the
streets. At that time, AzhwAn comes by and asks why bhattar was playing

instead of attending the class. bhattar says “every day they are teaching the
same santhai again and again” – usually the same santhai is repeated for 15
days or so. But bhattar could grasp right in the first day itself. AzhwAn tests him
with a pAsuram and bhattar easily recites it.
 Once when AzhwAn was teaching nedumArkkadimai padhigam in thiuvAimozhi,
when the term “sirumA manisar” is encountered – bhattar asks “is it not
contradictory that the same person be small and big?”. For that AzhwAn explains
that like mudhaliAndAn, aruLaLaperumAL emperumAnAr, etc., some
srivaishnavas are small physically but their heart and intelligence are very big.
bhattar is satisfied with the logical answer.
After growing up bhattar becomes the dharisana pravarthakar of the sampradhAyam.

bhattar had many special qualities like extreme humility, magananimity and he was a
great rasikar of aruLicheyal meanings. In many vyAkyAnams, nampiLLai and other
AchAryas quote bhattar’s view point as the best opinion.
Also, similar to AzhwAn, bhattar would also get immersed in thiruvAimozhi and its
meanings. There are many such incidents that are shown in vyAkyAnams. Many times
when AzhwAr sings in the mood of parAnkusa nAyaki – bhattar would just say “no one
can understand what is going on in AzhwAr’s mind now”.
There are many incidents which portray bhattar’s humility, magnanimity, brilliance, etc.
bhattar’s humility is praised by maNavALa mAmunigaL in yathirAja vimsathi in
comparison with ALavandhAr’s and AzhwAn’s humility. Actually the vyAkyAnams is
filled with Idhihyams (incidents) and nirvAhams (instructions/conclusions) of bhattar.
 In his srirangarAja sthOthram, he identifies an incident. Once a dog some how

enters periya kOil. The archakas decide to do a lagu (small) samprOkshaNam.
Hearing this bhattar runs to periya perumAL and tells him that every day he
(bhattar) walks into the temple and no samprOskhanam is done and why are
they doing a samprOkshaNam when a dog enters the temple. Such was his
humility – even after a being such a great scholar, he considers himself lower
than a dog.
 In the same srirangarAja sthOthram, he says that he would rather be born as a
dog in the streets of srirangam than being born than dhEvalOkam as a dhEvan.
 Once in front of namperumAL, some kainkaryaparas without looking at bhattar
starts scolding him out of jealousy. Hearing this bhattar presents his grand
ornaments and shawl to him. He thanks him saying “Every srivaishnava should
do two things – sing the glories of emperumAn and also lament the faults of
oneself. I got immersed with singing the glories of emperumAn and forgot my
duty of lamenting about my faults. Now you have done me a great favour of
fulfilling my duty, so I should only reward you”. Such was his magnanimity.

 Several srivaishnavas attend bhattar’s kAlakshEpa gOshti. Once bhattar waits for
a srivaishnava who is not so learned in sAstram. Other vidhwAns in the gOshti
ask him why he was waiting and bhattar says it is because that srivaishnava
though may not be a vidhwAn knows the absolute truth. To prove his point, he
calls out one of the vidhwAn and asks “what is the upAyam?” and the scholar
replies “there are so many upAyams mentioned in the sAstram - karma, jnAna,
bhakthi yOgam, etc”. Then he asks “what is the upEyam?” and the scholar
replies “there are so many goals – isvaryam, kaivalyam, kainkaryam, etc”. bhattar
says, even after being vidhwAns – there is no clarity. When that srivaishnava
arrives bhattar asks the same questions and that swamy replies “emperumAn is
upAyam and emperumAn is upEyam”. bhattar says this is the proper nishtai of a
srivaishnava and that is why he waited for that swamy to arrive.
 When sOmAsiyAndAn asks about thiruvArAdhana kramam, bhattar teaches him
a detailed version of it. Once when sOmAsiyAndAn visits bhattar, bhattar is about
to eat his prasAdham and suddenly remembers that he had not done
thiruvArAdhanam yet. He calls for his thiruvArAdhana perumAL to be brought
over and he offers the perpared food to him and straight away starts eating the
prasAdham. When sOmAsiyAndAn asks why detailed thiruvArAdhanam for him,
bhattar says for bhattar even small thiruvArAdhanam is too much to handle
(because the moment he starts thiruvArAdhanam he will be overwhelmed with
emotions and faint) and for sOmAsiyAndAn even a big thiruvArAdhanam is not
sufficient (because he is a person who is used to performing sOma yAgam which
is very nature by big – so anything small will not satsify him).
 Once during a uriyadi purappAdu in srirangam, bhattar left the vEdha pArAyaNa
ghOsthi and joined the idayar (cowherds) gOshti. When asked he says,
emperumAn’s katAksham will be on the idayars that particular day (since this
purappAdu is specifically for them) and it is important for us to be where his
katAksham is.
 Once ananthAzhwAn asks bhattar if parampadhanAthan has two hands or four
hands. bhattar says it can be either one and says if he has two hands he will be
like periya perumAL and if he has four hands he will be like namperumAL.
 ammaNiAzhwAn comes from a long distance and requests bhattar to give some
valuable advice. bhattar explains nedumArkkadimai padhigam in thiruvAimozhi
and says knowing emperumAn means eating a little bit and knowing
bhAgavathas means eating full stomach.
 Once a king comes to bhattar after hearing his glories and tells bhattar to come
and visit him for some financial help. bhattar says even if namperumAL’s abhaya
hastham (hand in protection posture) turns the other way, he will not go to
anyone for help.
 Once when amudhanAr considers himself greater than bhattar because of his
AchArya-sishya relationship with AzhwAn (in comparison to Father-Son

relationship with bhattar), bhattar simply says “it is very valid, but amuthanAr
himself should not have said that”.
 When some one asks bhattar “how should srivaishnavas treat
dhEvathAntharams?”, bhattar responds saying the question itself is wrong and
the question should be “how should dhEvathAntharams treat srivaishnavas?”. He
says since, dhEvathAntharams are filled rajO/thamO guNam and srivaishnavas
are filled with sathva guNam, it is only natural for dhEvathAntharams to be
subservient to srivaishnavas. (This idhihyam is also explained in relation to
AzhwAn).
 bhattar’s glories are boundless, even his own mother (who has a great scholar
herself) would take the sripAdha thIrtham of her own son. When asked, she
would say just because a sculptor creates a sculpture, it does not mean that he
cannot worship/adore that sculpture once it becomes emperumAn’s thirumEni.
The same way even though bhattar is born from her, he is great and should be
worshipped.
 Once a dhEvathAntharaparar’s dhoti touches bhattar accidentally. Even being a
great scholar, bhattar gets shaken up by this simple incident of having mild
contact with a dhEvathAntharaparar. He runs to his mother and asks what to do.
His mother says the only way is to accept sripAdha thIrtham of a abrAhmaNa
srivaishnava. Bhattar locates one such srivaishnava and requests for his
sripAdha thIrtham. That srivaishnava looking at the stature (position) of bhattar
refuses to give sripAdha thIrtham but bhattar insists and accepts the same from
him.
 Once bhattar was doing thiruvAlavatta (fan) kainkaryam in a mandapam near
cauvery river. The sun is about to set, so the srivaishnavas remind him about
sandhyAvandhanam. bhattar replies since he is in antharanga kainkaryam
(confidential service) to emperumAn, chithragupthan (yaman’s administrative
incharge) will not count this as a pApam. azhagiya perumAL nAyanAr explains
this principle in AchArya hrudhayam as “aththANi chEvagaththil pothuvAnathu
nazhuvum” ( ). This
cannot be taken as an excuse for not doing nithya karmAs when we are watching
TV, etc.
 Once during adhyayana utsavam, ANdAL ammangAr reminds bhattar about
pAraNam on dhvAdhasi. For that bhattar replies, “How do we even remember
EkAdhasi/dhvAdhasi during periya uthsavam?”. This means when there is
bhagavadh anubhavam we should not think about food at all (this is mis-
interpreted by many to say that we dont have to fast on EkAdhasi which is a
karthavyam for us).
 Once bhattar instructs his disciples to develop detachment on this body and
bodily decorations. But the next day, he wears nice silk clothes, ornaments, etc.
When the disciples ask about the contradiction in his instructions and the actions,

bhattar says, he considers his body as a kOilAzhwAr – vAsasthalam (residing
place) of emperumAn. So just like we decorate a mandapam where emperumAn
stays for a short while, if we have developed that athavasAyam (strong faith) we
can also decorate our body in many beautiful ways.
 When vIrasundhara brahma rAyan, the local king and sishya of AzhwAn, wants
to build a madhiL, he decides to disturb/destroy piLLai piLLai AzhwAn’s
thirumALigai in the process. bhattar instructs him not to do that but the king does
not listen to that. bhattar leaves srirangam and goes to thirukkOshtiyUr and lives
there for some time. During those days, bhattar is unable to bear the separation
from sriranganAthan and is plunged in sorrow fully. Finally after the king dies,
bhattar returns to srirangam and srirangarAja sthavam was composed on his way
back to srirangam.
 Once bhattar defeats some vidhwAns in debate. To trick him they put a snake in
a pot and ask him what is in the pot. bhattar realizing that there is a snake, says
that “there is an umbrella inside” – the vidhwAns were puzzled by the answer and
bhattar explains since poigai AzhwAr says “chendrAl kudaiyAm” – snake
(AdhisEshan) means umbrella as well.
There are so many incidents like this in his life which are absolutely enjoyable every
second and every time we read it again and again.
bhattar is very attached to sriranga nAchiAr who is his mother. He is attached to her
even more than periya perumAL. Once when namperumAL adorns nAchiAr thirukkOlam
and asks he if looks like sriranga nAchiAr – bhatter says everything is fine, but the
karuNai in her eyes are not to be seen in the eyes of emperumAn. This also reminds us
how hanumAn compares rAman and sIthai and in the end says sIthai is asithEkshaNa
(have beautiful eyes) which is even better than rAman emperumAn’s eyes. sriguNa
rathna kOsam is his out pourings of his attachment towards sriranga nAchiAr.
Bhattar gives wonderful explanations for many pAsurams where the meanings are
difficult to understand. Let us see a couple here.
 In periya thirumozhi 7.1.1 karavA madanAgu pAsuram, piLLai amudhnAr

explains that AzhwAr is the cow and emperumAn is the calf – AzhWar is longing
for emperumAn just like the cow longing for its calf. But bhattar looks at it slightly
differently and gives a better view point which is appreciated by the
pUrvAchAryas. bhattar says “karavA mada nAgu than kanRu” should be read
together. So he says “just like the cow’s calf longs for the mother cow”, AzhwAr is
longing for emperumAn.
 In periya thirumozhi 4.4.6 vyAkyAnam it is shown that AppAn thiruvazhunthUr
arayar and other srivaishnavas request bhattar to explain the meaning of this
pAsuram. bhattar asks them to recite the pAsuram and quickly points out that

AzhwAr is saying this pAsuram speaking as rAvaNan. bhattar explains here that
rAvaNan (out of pride) is saying that “I am the king of all the 3 worlds, but a
normal human being is thinking that he is a great warrior comes to fight with me”
– but eventually he gets defeated by rAman emperumAn.
One of the highlights of bhattar’s life is him going to thirunArAyaNapuram to debate and
bring nanjIyar in to our sampradhAyam. It was emperumAnAr’s divine order that
nanjIyar should be reformed. bhattar goes all the way to thirunArAyaNapuram in his
palanquin with grand srivaishnava gOshti to debate with madhavAcharyar (nanjIyar’s
original name) on the sidhAntham. Eventually he was stopped and suggested that going
like that in a grand manner will not be favourable as the disciples of mAdhavAchAryar
will stop him and just delay him from meeting him forever. So he changes to a very
simple attire and goes to the thathiArAdhana kUtam (hall) of mAdhavAchAriar. He waits
there without eating and mAdhavAchAriar taking a note of him, comes to him and asks
him why he does not eat and what he wants. bhattar says he wants to debate with him.
mAdhavAchAriar having heard about bhattar before quickly realises this to bhattar
(since no one will have the guts to challenge him) engages with bhattar for a debate.
bhattar first uses thirunedunthAntakam to establish the parathvam of emperumAn and
subsequently presents all the meanings from sAsthram. mAdhavAchAriar accepts the
defeat and falls at the lotus feet of bhattar and accepts him as AchAryan. bhattar gives
him specific instructions to learn aruLicheyal, etc and teaches him our sampradhAya
arthams. bhattar takes leave from him and goes to srirangam on the day before the start
of adhyayana uthsavam. There is a grand welcome arranged in srirangam for bhattar.
bhattar goes to periya perumAL and he narrates in front of him the whole incidents.
periya perumAL being very pleased orders bhattar to recite thirunedunthAntagam and
this is made a custom ever after that in srirangam – the adhyayana uthsavam starts with
the recital of thirundenthAntagam there alone.
bhattar was the first to document rahasya thrayam in a grantham. His ashta slOki is a
master piece, where thirumanthram, dhvayam and charama slOkam are explained
excellently in just eight slOkams. Also, in srirangarAja sthavam, he explains most
complicated sAstra arthams in simple slOkams. In vishnu sahasranAma vyAkyAnam, he
shows that each thirunAmam relates to a particular guNam of emperumAn and his
explanations are of absolute beauty. sri guNa rathna ghOsam is a dedication to sriranga
nAchiAr which is unparallel to any other work.
bhattar leaves samsAram at a relatively young age compared to most of our

pUrvAchAryas who lived for more than 100 years. It is said that, if only he lived a few
more years he would have built a staircase to paramapadham from here. bhattar
instructs nanjIyar to write a commentary for thiruvAimozhi. He also appoints nanjIyar as
the dharisana pravarthakar.

Once bhattar recites some pAsurams and nice meanings in front of periya perumAL
who gets very pleased and says “you are given mOksham now”. bhattar is ecstatic, but
he says that if he is unable to see namperumAL in paramapadham, he will make a hole
and jump out of paramapadham and come back to srirangam. He goes to his mother
and informs this and His mother is even happier for her son getting mOksham (really,
this is the nishtai of our pUrvAchAryas – they had fully understood the purpose of our
life). When some srivaishnavas asked bhattar “periya perumAL out of his joy gave
mOksham to you. Why did you accept that? What are we going to do here? There are
so many jIvAthmAs to be reformed in this samsAram. Who is going to do that?”. bhattar
replies, “I wont fit in this samsAram. Just like high quality ghee does not fit in a dog’s
stomach – I am not a fit for this samsAram either”.
bhattar invites all srivaishnavas to his thirumALigai and performs a grand

thadhiArAdhanam. He sits in padhmAsanam, starts reciting thirunedunthAntagam and
with a big smile on his face give up his thirumEni and reach paramapadham. Every one
starts crying but eventually start doing the charama kainkaryams. ANdAL ammangar,
happily embraces bhattar’s charama thirumEni and gives him a great send off. bhattar’s
life has the power to melt even a stone.
Let us pray at the lotus feet of bhattar that we also develop such attachment towards
bhattar’s thanian
srI parAsara bhattArya srIrangEsa purOhitha:

srIvathsAnga sutha: srImAn shrEyasE mEsthu bhUyasE
:
:

vEdha vyAsa bhattar
AzhwAn with parAsara bhattar and vEdha vyAsa bhattar
thirunakshathram: vaikAsi, anusham
AchAryan: embAr
vEdha vyAsa bhattar is the illustrious son of kUrathAzhwAn and the younger brother of
parAsara bhattar. He is also known as srI rAma piLLai, srI rAma sUri, etc. sudharsana
sUri (srutha prakAsikA bhattar), the one who wrote the commentary for srI bhAshyam, is
a descendant of vEdha vyAsa bhattar.
Both bhattars were born to AzhwAn and ANdAL out of the prasAdham from periya
perumAL (srI ranganAthan). Once when AzhwAn and ANdAL were lying down in the
evening without consuming any prasAdham (AzhwAn was doing unja vruthi and on that

day due to rain he was unable to collect any grains), they hear the final naivEdhyam bell
ringing from the temple. ANdAL says to emperumAn “Here you have AzhwAn who is
your pure devotee without any prasAdham but you are enjoying nice bhOgam there”.
Understanding this, periya perumAL sends his prasAdham to AzhwAn and ANdAL with
all his paraphernelia through uththama nambi. Seeing the prasAdham coming in,
AzhwAn is awe-struck. Immediately, he turns to ANdAL and asks did you complain to
emperumAn and ANdAL admits her request. AzhwAn becomes upset for insisting
emperumAn to provide for their prasAdham. He accepts 2 handfuls of prasAdham
alone, consumes some and gives the remnants to ANdAL. Those 2 handfuls of
prasAdham eventually blesses them with two beautiful children.
On the 12th day after the birth of the two children, emperumAnAr arrives with embAr
and all his sishyas to AzhwAn‘s home. He asks embAr to bring the children over.
embAr, while bringing the children over, recites dhvaya mahA manthram in their ears
and hands over the children to emperumAnAr. emperumAnAr at once identifies that
they have had dhvaya manthrOpadhEsam and asks embAr to be their AchAryan.
embAr happily accepts that and teaches them all the divine principles of our
sidhAntham. emperumAnAr then names the children parAsara bhattar and vEdha
vyAsa bhattar in memory of sage parAsara and sage vEdha vyAsa for their contribution
for sanAthana dharmam. Thus he fulfills one of the vows to ALavandhAr where he said
he will do something which will show our gratitude to the sages parAsara and vEdha
vyAsa.
Of the two brothers, parAsara bhattar lived for a short period and left to paramapadham
out of great desire to leave samsAram. ANdAL (bhattar’s mother) was magnanimous
during the last moments of bhattar and oversees bhattar’s final rites blissfully
considering bhattar himself wanted to go to parampadham to perform eternal service to
srIman nArAyaNan there. On completion of the final rites, vEdha vyAsa bhattar returns
home and starts crying out loud out of separation from parAsara bhattar. ANdAL at once
chastises vEdha vyAsa bhattar and asks if he is jealous of parAsara bhattar ascending
to paramapadham. vEdha vyAsa bhattar realizes his mistake at once, consoles himself,
begs his mother for pardon and continues the great celebrations for parAsara bhattar.
periya perumAL invites vEdha vyAsa bhattar over to his sannidhi and tells him “Dont
think that parAsara bhattar has left you. I am here for you like your father.”. vEdha
vyAsa bhattar then leads the sampradhAyam with other stalwarts such as nanjIyar, etc.
In our vyAkyAnams, a few idhihyams (incidents) that show the glories of vEdha vyAsa
bhattar are seen. Let us see some of them now.
 thirumAlai 37 – periyavAchAn piLLai vyAkyAnam – In this pAsuram,

thoNdaradippodi AzhwAr explains that periya perumAL is the eternal relative for

us and he will protect us at all times. In connection to this, it is identified that
when vEdha vyAsa bhattar was going through some suffering, parAsara bhattar
explains to him this principle and asks him to fully depend on periya perumAL.
 mudhal thiruvanthAdhi 4 – nampiLLai/periyavAchAn piLLai vyAkyAnams –
poigaiyAzhwAr explains that rudhran was explaining bhagavath vishayam to
agasthya, pulasthya, dhaksha and mArkandEya (as if he knows everything about
emperumAn). When vEdha vyAsa bhattar sarcastically comments about rudhran,
parAsara bhattar says “rudhran becomes confused when thamO guNam
overtakes his mind, atleast now he is engaging in bhagavath vishayam – so dont
criticise him now”.
 thiruvAimozhi 1.2.10 – nampiLLai eedu vyAkyAnam – In this pAsuram,
nammAzhwAr explains the meaning of thirumanthram (ashtAkshari). A beautiful
incident is identified by nampiLLai here. The meanings of ashtAkshari must be
heard from the AchAryan only. Once during a kAlakshEpam of AzhwAn, while
explaining the meanings of this pAsuram, he observes the presence of his two
sons – parAsara bhattar and vEdha vyAsa bhattar. He asks them to go to embAr
(their AchAryan) and learn the meanings. They both oblige and starts leaving.
But AzhwAn calls them back and tells them “everything in this world is so
temporary that, you may not even reach embAr‘s mutt successfully (something
could happen on the way to both of you). So, I myself will teach you the
meanings of ashtAkshari” and explains the same to them. AzhwAn was a classic
example of how a srIvaishNava should be – most merciful towards others
spiritual welfare and most detached from others.
 thiruvAimozhi 3.2 – nampiLLai eedu vyAkyAnam (introduction section) – In this
padhigam, nammAzhwAr is unable to behold the anubhavam of
thirumAlirunchOlai azhagar. Here vEdha vyAsa bhattar raises a doubt to
parAsara bhattar. “Why is AzhwAr suffering so much and not able to enjoy
emperumAn fully in archAvathAram which is right in front of us now unlike
parampadham (which is far far away) or vibhavam (which happened long ago)?”.
parAsara bhattar replies “For less intelligent people, the 5 different forms of
bhagavAn (para, vyUha, vibhava, archai, antharyAmi) are different from each
other. But for the ones who have fully understood the principles, since all these
forms represent the same bhagavAn, all of them are full in all qualities. But now,
AzhwAr is being overwhelmed by the beauty of azhagar and he is not able to
fully enjoy and behold those emotions”.
 thiruvAimozhi 6.7.5 – nampiLLai eedu vyAkyAnam – When parAsara bhattar
explains the beauty of the gardens, etc around the thirukkOLUr temple of
vaithamAnidhi emperumAn, vEdha vyAsa bhattar reminds him about the more
detailed explanation given by embAr that AzhwAr‘s mind becomes greatly
pacified by seeing the beauty around the dhivya dhEsam.
 thiruvAimozhi 7.2 – nampiLLai eedu vyAkyAnam – When the two bhattars
became eligible for marriage, ANdAL asks AzhwAn to go and inform periya

perumAL. AzhwAn says “Why should we worry for bhagavAn’s family?” – he was
totally surrendered to emperumAn that he was not indulging in any self-efforts.
When AzhwAn goes to periya perumAL, periya perumAL himself asks if AzhwAn
wants to say something. AzhwAn replies that “Others are saying that, these two
bhattars need to get married” and emperumAn subsequently arranges for their
marriage.
Thus, we have seen some glimpses of the glorious life of vEdha vyAsa bhattar. He was
fully situated in bhAgavatha nishtai and was very dear to emperumAnAr himself. Let us
pray at his lotus feet that we too get a little bit of such bhAgavatha nishtai.
vEdha vyAsa bhattar’s thaniyan:
pauthram srIrAmamisrasya srIvathsAngasya nandhanam

rAmasUrim bhajE bhattaparAsAravarAnujam

srutha prakAsikA bhattar
thirunakshathram: not known
AchAryan: vEdha vyAsa bhattar, nadAthUr ammAL
Works: srutha prakAsikai, srutha pradhIpikai, vyAkyAnam for vEdhArtha sangraham

(thAthparya dhIpikai), vyAkyAnams for sharaNAgathi gadhyam and subhAla
upanishadh, suka pakshIyam
Born as the grand son of vEdha vyAsa bhattar and named as sudhasana sUri
(sudharsana bhattar), he becomes to be a great scholar of our sampradhAyam. He is
the one who wrote the most important/in-depth commentaries for srI bhAshyam named
srutha prakAsikai and srutha pradhIpikai. He named them such that it will be understood
that the principles are explained as heard from emperumAnAr through nadAthUr
ammAL.
bhattar went to kAnchIpuram to learn srI bhAshyam from ammAL. ammAL, appreciating
bhattar’s brilliance and intellect, use to wait for him to arrive for the kAlakshEpam and
only then he will start his lectures. Some sishyas of ammAL started saying that it is
because of bhattar’s high family background ammAL was being partial towards him.
ammAL wanting to reveal the glories of bhattar, once stops in the middle of a lecture
and asks everyone what he explained the previous day on that topic. While everyone
else is dumb-founded, bhattar beautifully explains everything word-by-word. Seeing
that, ammAL‘s sishyas understand the greatness of bhattar.
Just like nampiLLai, periyavAchAn piLLai, etc wrote commentaries for dhivya
prabhandhams and firmly established the in-depth meanings of them, bhattar wrote
commentaries for srI bhAshyam, vEdhArtha sangraham, etc and established the in-
depth meanings of samskritha vEdhAntham.
Thus, we have seen some glimpses of the glorious life of srutha prakAsikA bhattar. He
was a great scholar and was very dear to nadAthUr ammAL. Let us pray at his lotus feet
that we too get a little bit of such bhAgavatha nishtai.
srutha prakAsikA bhattar’s thaniyan:
yathIndhra krutha bhAshyArthA yadh vyAkyAnEna dharsithA:

varam sudharsanAryam tham vandhE kUra kulAdhipam

:

nanjIyar
nanjIyar – thirunArAyaNapuram
Thirunakshathram: panguni, uthram
avathAra sthalam: thirunArAyaNa puram
AchAryan: parAsara bhattar
Sishyas: nampiLLai, sri sEnAdhipathi jIyar, etc
Works: thiruvAimozhi 9000 padi vyAkyAnam, kanninun chiruthAmbu vyAkyAnam,

thiruppAvai vyAkyAnam, vyAkyAnams for thiruvandhAdhis, sharaNagathi gadhya
vyAkyAnam, thiruppallANdu vyAkyAnam, rahasya thraya vivaraNa grantham named
nURRettu (108) – most of these are not available now.
Born as sri mAdhavar, he became to be a famous adhvaitha scholar. Eventually bhattar

named him nanjIyar and he was also known as nigamAntha yOgi and vEdhAnthi.
mAdhavAchAryar was a great adhvaitha scholar who was living in

thirunArAyaNapuram. emperumAnAr wanted to reform him and bring him into our
sampradhAyam. He orders bhattar to go and reform mAdhvAchAryar. It is clear from the
guru paramparai that even emperumAnAr had good respect for mAdhavAchAryar
despite him being an adhvaithi.
mAdhavAchAryar also hears about bhattar’s glories and was longing to meet him.
Based on emperumAnAr’s desire, bhattar goes to thirunArAyaNapuram, debates with

him and accepts him as his sishya (we have already seen this in bhattar’s vaibhavam –
http://guruparamparai.wordpress.com/2012/09/11/parasara-bhattar/). After the debate,
all the srivaishnavas who came with bhattar from srirangam arrive at mAdhavAchAriar’s
place and mAdhavAchAriar was completely overwhelmed after understanding the glory
of bhattar. He says to bhattar “You have come all the way from srirangam, giving up
your glories – changed into a simple attire voluntarily and debated with me, explained
me all the true knowledge in sAsthram and reformed me. How am I going to ever repay
you for all these favours?”. bhattar simply asks him to master aruLicheyal and related
works and leaves to srirangam.
mAdhavAchAriar, getting frustrated with his wives who are unfavourable for his
kainkaryams and unable to bear the separation from his AchAryan decides to become a
sannyAsi and go to srirangam to be with his AchAryan. He divides his huge wealth into
3 parts, gives 2 parts to each of his 2 wives (since sAsthram says that wives should be
taken care off before accepting sannyAsAshramam), accepts sannyAsAshramam and
begins his journey to srirangam. On his way, ananthAzhwAn meets him and asks him
the need for taking for sannyAsAhramam. He says if he goes to bhattar and simply
serve, emperumAn will give mOksham anyway. He says to mAdhavAchAriar “let you be
born in thirumanthram (understanding the Athma svarUpam) and grow in dhvayam
(doing kainkaryam to perumAL and pirAtti)”. bhattar seeing mAdhavAchAriar and his
dedication, accepts him and calls him “you are nam jIyar” and then onwards he
becomes to be known as nanjIyar.
bhattar and nanjIyar share an ideal AchArya-sishya relationship. nanjIyar gives up

everything else in his life and stays with his AchAryan forever. bhattar teaches him
thiruvAimozhi based on 6000 padi vyAkyAnam of thirukkurugai pirAn piLLAn. bhattar
instructs him to write a vyAkyAnam for thiruvAimozhi and nanjIyar duly writes 9000 padi
vyAkyAnam. One of the speciality of nanjIyar is that he performs thiruvAimozhi
kAlakshEpam 100 times in his 100 years of life time.
nanjIyar’s AchArya bhakthi was boundless. Let us see some incidents through which we
can understand his AchArya bhakthi.
 Once during a procession of bhattar on his palanquin, nanjIyar tried to carry him
as well with his thridhandam on one shoulder and the palanquin on the other.
bhattar said “jIyA, this does not fit your sannyAsAshramam. you should not carry
me”. For that nanjIyar says “if my thridhandam becomes a hurdle for my service
to you, I will break it and give up the sannyAsAshramam”.
 Once when some EkAngis (his assistants) were complaining to nanjIyar that
there were some disturbances in the garden due to the arrival of bhattar, nanjIyar
says the purpose of the garden is to serve bhattar and his family not for
namperumAL and asks his EkAngis to always keep that in mind.

 It is customary for AchAryas to keep their heads on their sishyas’ laps while lying
down. Once, when bhattar wanted to take rest, he lied down and kept his head
on nanjIyar’s lap and rested for a long time. nanjIyar stayed put for the whole
time without moving and bhattar when woke up realized the dedication of
nanjIyar and taught the meanings of dhvayam once more (AchAryas teach
dhvayam only when they are very pleased with the sishyas).
 nanjIyar quickly learnt aruLicheyal and became a master of it. bhattar used to ask
nanjIyar to recite aruLicheyal pAsurams and will give wonderful meanings to him.
Once when nanjIyar was reciting thiruvAimozhi 7.2.9, “en thirumagaL chEr
mArvanE enRum ennudaiyAviyE enRum” (
) – he recited the whole sentence
without break. Hearing this bhattar immediately fainted. When woken up, bhattar
explains that this sentence should be recited together only since doing that we
get the real thiruvuLLam of parAnguasa nAyaki that because sriranganAthan is
having sriranganAchiAr in his heart, he is very dear to AzhwAr. If it was recited
separately as two phrases it would simply mean he is sriranganAthan who has
sriranga nAchiAr in his heart and he is very dear to me.
 bhattar also praises nanjIyar for his knowledge in aruLicheyal despite coming
from a land where Tamizh is not the mother tongue and despite being a
samskritha vEdhAnthi (adhvaithi) before.
bhattar and nanjIyar had several interesting conversations. nanjIyar, even though he
was a great scholar, he never hesitated asking doubts and clarifying them from his
AchAryan. Let us see some of his conversations here:
 nanjIyar asks bhattar why AzhwArs are very attached to kannan emperumAn.
bhattar says that everyone remembers more recent activities. It is because
krishnAvathAram is the most recent avathAram of emperumAn and the AzhwArs
missed meeting kannan emperumAn personally even being born quite recently
(relatively speaking compare to other avathArams) they are very attached to him.
 bhattar also explains that in krishnAvathAram, emperumAn is living in gOpa
kulam. Wherever he goes he meets with asuras – kamsan has his servants
waiting to kill kannan emperumAn everywhere. But in rAmAvathAram (and other
avathArams as well), emperumAn himself has learnt all weaponry. His father
dhasarathan was brave enough to even help indhran during difficulties. His
brothers (lakshmaNan, bharathan, shathrugnan) were equally brave and
capable. Thus periyAzhwAr feared for kannan emperumAn more than other
avathArams.
 kaliyan in thirumozhi “oru nal suRRam” padhigam (towards the end of thirumozhi)
does mangaLAsAsanam for many dhivyadhEsams. nanjIyar asks the reason for
that and bhattar says, a girl who is getting married and leaving to her husband’s

place would quickly go to all her friends and neighbours to take leave from them.
Like that, since AzhwAr is almost ready to go to paramapadham, he is taking
leave from all the emperumAns in this world quickly before he leaves.
 prahlAdhan curses his grandson mahAbali that all his wealth will be lost when he
is not respecting emperumAn. nanjIyar asks why prahlAdhan who does not care
about wealth cursed like that. bhattar says prahlAdhan took away what was dear
to mahAbali – just like if you want to punish a dog, you take away the dirt which it
eats.
 nanjIyar asks, why mahAbali goes to pAthALam and sukrAchAryar loses his eye
in vAmana charithram. bhattar says since sukrAchAryar stopped mahAbali from
performing his dharmam he lost his eye and since mahAbali did not listen to his
AchArya’s words he was punished to be in pAthALam.
 nanjIyar asks why dhasarathan who could not bear the separation of perumAL
and gave up his life immediately only went to svargam. bhattar says actually
since he was attached to sAmAnya dharmam (speaking truth) and gave up
emperumAn (protecting him), he should have gone to narakam only. But since he
was perumAL’s father, it would not be nice for him to go to narakam – so
emperumAn mercifully sends him to svargam.
 nanjIyar asks why sugrIvan was not in favour of accepting vibhIshaNan even
though vibhIshaNan was a bhakthan. bhattar says, just like perumAL was trying
to accept/protect his bhakthan, sugrIvan was also trying to protect his
sharaNagathan (perumAL asked the help of sugrIvan before). sugrIvan was
worried that vibhIshaNan may harm perumAL.
 When kannan emperumAn meets dhEvaki and vasudhEvar after killing kamsan,
it is said that dhEvaki had milk flowing from her breasts out of motherly affection
and kannan emperumAn accepted that (even though he is no longer a baby).
nanjIyar asks how is that possible. bhattar first jokingly says it is between a
mother and child and who are we to question? but he also explains that if
pUthanai who is neither his mother nor has any real love for kannan emperumAn
can give milk and emperumAn accepts that, what is the difficulty in
understanding that the real mother who has so much lover for emperumAn giving
milk and emperumAn accepting it.
 bhattar explains yayAthi charithram as part of a lecture. yayAthi compeletes 100
ashvamEtha yAgams and goes to svargam to share the seat of indhran. Indhran
does not like sharing his seat, so he tricks yayAthi to commit a mistake and
pushes him down from his seat. nanjIyar asks bhattar what is the purpose of this
charithram? bhattar says this charithram explains the greatness of emperumAn
and the lack of the same in other dhEvathas. emperumAn gives sAmyApathi
mOksham to every one who simply surrenders to him. But anya dhEvathas
cannot bear any one being equal to them even after performing 100 ashvamEtha
yAgams – they will some how try to push them down.

There are so many such conversations which explains the deep meanings of
aruLicheyal and sAsthram to us. Actually, these conversations lay the foundation for
nanjIyar’s expert commentaries to aruLicheyal and explanations to his sishyas.
When nanjIyar wanted to make a nice copy of his 9000 padi vyAkyAnam, nambUr
varadhAchAriar was identified as a great writer to do that. He completes the work and
eventually nanjIyar praises him and names him nampiLLai and makes him the
dharisana pravarthakar. nanjIyar also constantly glorifies nampiLLai when nampiLLai
gives a better explanation than him. This shows his magnanimity as well.
nanjIyar had excellent understanding of our sampradhAyam. He says “if a srivaishnava

looks at another srivaishnava’s sufferings and if he feels sorry for that, then he is a
srivaishnava”. He had great respect for srivaishnavas and AchAryas of his time.
In periya thirumozhi, 3.6 (thUviriya malaruzhakki padhigam), an incident is shown.

When nanjIyar is very ill towards the end of his life, a swamy named peRRi visits him
and asks him if he needs anything. nanjIyar says he wants to hear this padhigam which
is thirumangai AzhwAr’s thUthu to emperumAn (AzhwAr sends thUthu in the first 4
pAsurams and after that is unable to continue due to his soft nature) – the arayar
swamy recites the same in front of namperumAL and nanjIyar gets immersed in
emotions when he hears that.
Towards the end of his life, he requests emperumAn to show his svayam thirumEni and
namperumAL does that for him specially. Fully satisfied with that, nanjIyar gives many
final instructions to his sishyas and gives up his charama thirumEni and attains
paramapadham.
Let us pray at the lotus feet of nanjIyar that we also develop such attachment towards
nanjIyar’s thanian
namO vEdhAntha vEdhyAya jagan mangaLa hEthavE

yasya vAgAmruthAsAra bhUritham bhuvana thrayam

nampiLLai
nampiLLai – thiruvallikkENI
Thirunakshathram: kArthikai, kArthikai
avathAra sthalam: nambUr
AchAryan: nanjIyar
Sishyas: vadakku thiruvIdhi piLLai, periyavAchAn piLLai, pinbhazhagiya perumAL jIyar,

eeyuNNi mAdhava perumAL, naduvil thiruvIdhi piLLai bhattar, etc
Works: thiruvAimozhi 36000 padi eedu vyAkyAnam, kanninun chiruthAmbu

vyAkyAnam, vyAkyAnams for thiruvandhAdhis, thiruvirutham vyAkyAnam

Born as varadharAjan in nambUr, he became to be famously known as nampiLLai. He
is also known as thirukkalikanRi dhAsar, kalivairi dhAsar, lOkAchAryar, sUkthi
mahArNavar, jagathAchAryar and ulagAsiriyar.
As seen in periya thirumozhi 7.10.10, it is said that thirukkannamangai empeumAn

wanted to learn the meanings of thirumangai AzhwAr’s pAsurams from kaliyan himself –
so kaliyan descended as nampiLLai and emperumAn descended as periyavAchAn
piLLai to learn all the meanings of the aruLicheyal.
nanjIyar wanted to make a nice copy of his 9000padi vyAkyAnam. When he was
enquiring in the srivaishnava gOshti, nambUr varadharAjar’s name was proposed.
varadharAjar tells nanjIyar that he will write to the satisfaction of nanjIyar’s thiruvuLLam.
nanjIyar first gives full kAlakshEpam of 9000 padi to varadharAjar and then gives the
only original copy to him. varadharAjar decides to go across cauvery to his native place
so that he can focus on the writing and finish it quickly. While crossing the river,
suddenly floods appear and varadharAjar starts swimming across. While doing so, the
original grantham slips away from his hands and he is dhEvastated. After reaching his
native place, he meditates on his AchAryan and the meanings given by him and starts
re-writing 9000 padi vyAkyAnam. Since he was an expert in Tamizh language and
literature, he adds nice meanings wherever applicable and finally returns back to
nanjIyar and submits the same to him. nanjIyar seeing the vyAkyAnam, understands
that there are some changes from the original, enquires what happened. varadharAjar
explains the whole incident and nanjIyar is mighty pleased hearing the same. Truly
understanding varadharAjar’s glories, nanjIyar names him “nampiLLai” and
“thirukkalikanRi dhAsar”.
Like bhattar-nanjIyar relationship and conversations, nanjIyar-nampiLLai relationship

and conversations are also much enjoyable and full of excellent meanings. Let us see a
few here:
 nampiLLai asks nanjIyar while there are so many pramANams for

upAyAnthraram (karma, jnAna, bhakthi) why is there not many pramANams for
sharaNAgathi. nanjIyar first replies that we dont need pramANam for what can be
understood from prathyaksham – he says when a person is sinking in a river, he
holds on or surrenders to another person who is not sinking – we are sinking in
samsAram and emperumAn is not, so surrendering to emperumAn is the most
apt upAyam. But he also identifies some pramANams subsequently from
sAsthram to prove the validity of sharaNAgathi. He also says we cannot decide
the validity of a process based on the number of pramANams being more or less
– for example, in this world, there are many samsAris but few sannyAsis – it does
not mean that because there are more samsAris, being samsAri is better.
Hearing all these nampiLLai was very satisfied.

 nampiLLai asks nanjIyar “when will one understand that he has
srivaishnavathvam?”. nanjIyar replies one who sees parathvam in
archAvathAram, one who thinks about other srivaishnavas like his wife and
children (have the same attachment towards srivaishnavas) and one who
accepts other srivaishnavas insulting him happily can think that they have
srivaishnavathvam.
 When nampiLLai was hearing sribhAshyam under nanjIyar, nanjIyar instructs
nampiLLai to do thiruvArAdhanam for his emperumAn. nampiLLai says he does
not know exactly how to do – at that time nanjIyar instructs nampiLLai to recite
dvaya mahA manthram (interleaved with “sarva mangaLa vigrahAya” between
the first and second part of dhyavam to indicate/appreciate emperumAn’s
soulabhyam in being present everywhere in archAvirgraha form) and offer the
bhOgam to emperumAn. This clearly shows that our pUrvAchAryas were fully
dependant on dhvaya mahA manthram only for everything.
 nampiLLai asks “what is the purpose of avathArams of emperumAn?”. nanjIyar
replies that “emperumAn took up big tasks to ensure that one who committed
bhAgavatha apachAram is punished appropriately” (eg: as kannan empeumAn,
he takes up so much pain on himself to ensure that duryOdhanan who committed
many apachArams on his bhakthas gets killed eventually).
 nampiLLai then asks “what is bhAgavatha apAchAram?”. nanjIyar replies “it is to
consider other srivaishnavas to be equal to ourselves”. He quotes many
AzhwAr’s pAsurams where it says how great bhAgavathas are and based on
those, we should always think that every bhAgavatha is higher than us
irrespective of their birth, knowledge, etc. He also says that like AzhwArs and
pUrvAchAryas we should also try to constantly glorify other bhAgavathas.
 nanjIyar explains to nampiLLai that for the ones who engage in bhagavath
vishaya anubhavam, other lOka vishaya anubhavam like ishvaryam, artham,
kAmam, etc are to be completely given up. He explains this using many
AzhwAr’s pAsurams. He also quotes how thirumangai AzhwAr gave up
attachment as soon as he realized the glories of emperumAn and started his
prabhandam with “vAdinEn vAdi…nArAyaNa ennum nAmam” (I sufferred at the
hands of samsAram until I found emperumAn’s thirunAmam). Hearing this
nampiLLai became very pleased and stays with nanjIyar for ever after that
serving him continuously and hearing kAlakshEpams.
 nanjIyar performs thiruvAimozhi kAlakshEpam 100 times and nampiLLai
conducts sadhAbhishEka mahOtsavam for nanjIyar. He also gains all the
pUrvAchArya meanings from nanjIyar through these kAlakshEpams.
nampiLLai had several unique qualities and his greatness cannot be measured. He had
great command over tamizh/samskritham language and literature. In his lectures he
was able to freely quote thirukkuraL, nannUl, kamba rAmAyaNam, etc and also from
vEdhAntham, vishNu purANam, sri vAlmIkI rAmAyaNam, etc. He was also an expert in

giving satisfactory reasoning using vAlmIkI rAmAyaNam whenever a doubt/question
arises in the minds of people on any aspects of AzhwAr and aruLicheyal because
vAlmIki rAmAyaNam was universally accepted by vaidhIhas. Let us see some of the
incidents which show his greatness and his humility.
 nampiLLai regularly lectured at the eastern side (periya perumAL’s thiruvadi side)
of the pradhakshiNam around the main sanctum at periya kOil. That is why even
today we offer our praNamams there specifically after coming out of the sannidhi
in that side. Once periya perumAL stood up and tried to watch nampiLLai’s
upanyAsam. thiruviLakku pichan (a srivaishnava who took care of the lamps and
lighting in the sannidhi) looked at periya perumAL in standing posture and
pushed him down to his lying down posture saying that he cannot move in
archAvathAram. emperumAn even broke his archA samAdhi to watch and listen
to nampiLLai.
 nampiLLai’s lectures were so popular that often everyone will ask if this is
namperumAL gOshti or nampiLLai gOshti. He was able to attract people to his
lectures just like namperumAL was able to attract them for his purappAdu, etc.
 nampiLLai’s humility was unparallel. He lived like an example of
srivaishnavathvam which he learned from nanjIyar. Once in front of
namperumAL, kandhAdai thOzhappar (who comes in the lineage of
mudhaliANdAn) says some harsh words towards nampiLLai. He was not able to

appreciate the glories of nampiLLai and that came out as harsh words.
nampiLLai did not say a word, accepting the insults silently left the temple to go
to his thirumALigai. When thOzhappar went to his thirumALigai, his wife who
already heard the news from others gave him strong advice on his behaviour and
explained the glories of nampiLLai. She insists he should go and apologize at the
lotus feet of nampiLLai. Finally he realized his mistake and decides to go to
nampiLLai’s thirumALigai late in the night. When he opened the door to go, he
noticed there was a person waiting there and that was none other than
nampiLLai himself. nampiLLai seeing thOzhappar, immediately falls down and
offering his praNAmams and says that he had committed some mistake which
caused thOzhappar to be upset with him. thOzhappar was shocked to see
nampiLLai’s greatness – even though it was thOzhappar who committed the
mistake, nampiLLai was gracious enough to take up the fault on himself and
apologise. thOzhappar immediately offered his praNAmams to nampiLLai and
said from then on nampiLLai will be called “lOkAchAryar” because of his great
humility. He said only some one with great humility even after being such a great
personality can be called lOkAchAryar and nampiLLai fully fits that position.
thOzhappar also gives up his hatred towards nampiLLai and starts serving
nampiLLai with his wife and also learns all the meanings of sAsthram from him.
mAmunigaL quotes this incident in his upadhEsa rathina mAlai and glorifies both
thOzhappar and nampiLLai and from that itself we can understand nampiLLai’s
purity. We can also understand thOzhappar became pure by associating with
nampiLLai after this incident.
 naduvil thiruvIdhi piLLai bhattar who came in the thiruvamsam of bhattar seeing
nampiLLai’s glories, developed some jealousy towards nampiLLai. Once when
he was going to the king’s court, he invited pinbhazhagiya perumAL jIyar along
with him. The king invited both of them, gave them sambhAvanai and offered
them nice seats. The king asked bhattar a question from sri rAmAyaNam. He
asked when perumAl who declared he will not show his parathvam in
rAmAvathAram, how did he say to jatAyu “gachcha lOkAn uththamAn” (go to the
highest world – paramapadham)? When bhattar was not sure about the answer
and worried about his reputation, the king gets diverted by some activities.
bhattar asks jIyar how nampiLLai would have explained this and jIyar
immediately says that he would explain it using “sathyEna lOkAn jayathi” (a
truthful person will conquer the worlds). bhattar mediating on that slOkam
realises the meaning and explains to the king that since rAman was fully truthful,
he would simply use that quality to send anyone to any place with his power of
honesty. The king being very pleased with the explanation, praised bhattar for his
knowledge and presented him a huge wealth. bhattar immediately realising the
power of one statement of nampiLLai, goes to nampiLLai and offers all the
wealth to him. He also surrenders to nampiLLai and becomes a disciple of him
and thereafter serves nampiLLai forever.

There are many incidents in nampiLLai’s life were he gives valuable lessons and
instructions to his sishyas. Let us see a few here:
 Once when nampiLLai along with his sishyas was returning from thiruveLLarai on
a boat, cauvery started flooding and the boat man mentions to the gOshti that
some one should jump out to maintain the balance of the boat and save
nampiLLai. Hearing this one old lady jumped out into the floods and nampiLLai
became very sad. But when they reached the banks they heard the voice of the
old lady from a near by island and she said nampiLLai appeared in front of her
and saved her. The old lady shows how to serve AchAryan even at the cost of
giving up our own life. And nampiLLai shows how to protect the sishyas even in
dire situations.
 Once a srivaisnava lady living in the next door of nampiLLai was approached by
a srivaishnavar and he said that since her house is right next to nampiLLai’s
thirumALigai, if she gave her thirumALigai to nampiLLai that will allow
nampiLLai’s thirumALgai can be extended and that will benefit a bigger
srivaishnava gOshti. The lady first hesitates but then goes to nampiLLai and
requests that he gives a place for her in paramapadham for her offering.
nampiLLai happily writes a note for her and with that she leaves her charam
sarIram a few days later and reaches paramapadham.
 nampiLLai had two wives. He once asked his first wife how she thinks of him.
She replies that she considers nampiLLai to be an avathAram of emperumAn
and treats her as his AchAryan. nampiLLai was very pleased and asks her to be
engaged in thadhiArAdhana kainkaryam fully for the srivaishnavas who visit
nampiLLai regularly. He then asks his second wife how she thinks of him. She
replies that she considers nampiLLai as her dear husband. nampiLLai asks her
to assist his first wife and asks the second wife to accept the prasAdham of the
srivaishnavas. He says that taking srivaishnava sEsham will purify her and
increase her level of nishtai to something spiritual (AchArya-sishyai) from her
bodily views (Husband-Wife).
 When mahAbhAshya bhattar enquires nampiLLai what should be the thinking of
a srivaishnava after realising his chaithanyam (knowledge). nampiLLai replies
that such srivaishnavas should always think emperumAn is upAyam and
upEyam, should be thankful for AchAryan who cured this time immemorial
disease of samsAram, should think that emperumAnAr sidhAntham established
through sribhAshyam as the truth, should do bhagavadh guNAnusandhAnam
through sri rAmAyaNam and should spend our time fully in AzhwAr’s aruLicheyal.
Finally he also says we should have firm faith that at the end of this very life we
will see paramapadham.
 Some srivaishnavas from pandiya nAdu visits nampiLLai and asks him to give
the essence of our sampradhAyam. nampiLLai instructs them to think of the sea
shore. When they are puzzled and asks what to think about in a sea shore,

nampiLLai explains that when chakkaravarthi thirumagan was staying in the sea
shore before the war with rAvaNan, he was resting in his tent and the monkeys
were watching around the area for protection. But out of fatigue when the
monkeys fell asleep, emperumAn himself went around the place protecting them.
nampiLLai explains that emperumAn is protecting us when we are sleeping so
we should have full confidence in him that he will protect us even when we are
awake and thus we should give up sva rakshanE sva anvayam (attitude of us
trying to protect ourselves).
 We will see an excellent explanation given by nampiLLai on dhEvathAnthara
bhajanam. One person came to nampiLLai and asks “you are worshipping
dhEvathAntharams (like indhran, varuNan, agni, sUryan, etc) in your nithya
karmAs but why not in their temples?”. nampiLLai gives an instant and brilliant
reply that “Why do you worship agni in yagyam and stay away from agni frrom a
burial ground? The same way, since sAsthram says nithya karmAs must be
performed as bhagavadh ArAdhanam keeping that emperumAn is antharyAmi for
all the dhEvathAs, we do it. The same sAsthram says we should not worship
anyone but emperumAn so we dont go to other temples. Also, when these
dhEvathAs are installed in a temple, they tend to develop rajO guNam and start
thinking they themselves are supreme, and since we (srivaishnavas) are in
sathva guNam we dont worship dhEvathAs who have rajO guNam”. Can this be
any clearer than this for us to abstain from dhEvathAnthara bhajanam?
 One srivaishnava visits nampiLLai and says he looks leaner than before.
nampiLLai replies when the AthmA grows the body automatically becomes lean.
 When another srivaishnava asks nampiLLai why he does not look strong,
nampiLLai replies he has enough strength to worship emperumAn and he is not
going for a war to be so strong. This proves that a srivaishnava need not worry
too much about being very strong physically.
 When nampiLLai was ill, one srivaishnava is worried about that, nampiLLai says,
we should think that any suffering is good, since according to sAsthram it is said
that “the ones who have surrendered fully to emperumAn will wait for mruthyu
dhEvan (death) happily to arrive”.
 At that time some srivaishnavas want to tie a rakshai for nampiLLai to relieve him
from the illness out of their love towards nampiLLai and based on the instructions
from engaLazhwAn, nampiLLai says he cannot accept that. The srivaishnavas
question nampiLLai’s action and say “It is OK for a srivaishnava to not care for
himself but what is wrong with them caring for other srivaishnava’s illness”.
nampiLLai explains that if we try to cure our own illness, that means we have not
properly understood our svarUpam that we are completely dependent on
emperumAn and nothing else. And if we try to cure other’s illness that means we
have not properly understood emperumAn’s jnAnam and shakthi, that again we
should depend on him to cure his bhakthas. That was nampiLLai’s nishtai and he
lived by that. Still we should understand that it is our duty to care for other

srivaishnavas when they are suffering as did by mAranEri nambi when
ALavandhAr was suffering.
 nampiLLai had great sishyas from many AchArya purusha families and his times
in srirangam is glorified by everyone as nalladikkAlam (best times). His sishyas
naduvil thiruvIdhi piLLai bhattar (125000 padi) and vadakku thiruvIdhi piLLai
(eedu 36000 padi) both wrote commentaries for thiruvAimozhi but nampiLLai
destroyed the former’s grantham because it was too large and detailed and took
away latter’s grantham and gave it to eeyuNNi mAdhava perumAL so that it can
be revealed by none other than azhagiya maNavALa mAmunigaL to everyone in
the future. He also instructed periyavAchAn piLLai to write a commentary for
thiruvAimozhi and periyavAchAn piLLai promptly fulfilled his AchAryan’s desire
by writing 24000 padi vyAkyAnam which was praised by nampiLLai.
 When nampiLLai asks periya kOil vaLLalAr the meaning of “kulam tharum”,
vaLLalAr says “when my kulam is changed from my birth kulam to nambUr kulam
(kulam of nampiLLai), that means kulam tharum” – this is the same as
periyAzhwArs srisUkthi pandai kulam (birth based kulam) to thonda kulam
(AchArya sambandham and kainkaryamsrI). Such was nampiLLai’s greatness.
Finally to conclude, let us see what periyavAchAn piLLAi has to say about nampiLLai in
Ezhai Ethalan padhigam, Othu vAimaiyum pAsuram (periya thirumozhi 5.8.7). While
explaining the terms “anthaNan oruvan” (unique scholar), periyavAchAn takes that
opportunity to glorify his AchAryan and he says his AchAryan is the most unique scholar
using the following words: “muRpada dhvayaththaik kEttu, ithihAsa
purAnNanGgaLaiyum athigariththu, parapaksha prathkshEpaththukkudalAga
NyAyamImAmsaikaLum athigariththu, pOthupOkkum aruLicheyalilEyAmpadi
piLLaiyaippOlE athigarippikka vallavanaiyirE oruvan enbathu” (
,இ ,
,
). Simple translation: One

who hears dhvayam first, then learns purANams and ithihAsams, leanrs Nyayam and
mImAmsai to defeat bAhya/kudhrishtis and spends all his time in learning and teaching
AzhwAr’s aruLicheyal and its meanings like nampiLLai can be said as a unique scholar.
Here periyavAchAn piLLai compares sAndipani muni to be somewhat like nampiLLai
(nampiLLai is far greater than sAndipani muni actually since nampiLLai was fully
engaged in bhagavath vishayam as against sAndipani muni who asked kannan
emperumAn to bring back his dead child even after knowing kannan emperumAn as
mukundhan, one who can give mOksham).

Because of his in-depth knowledge in various literature in both tamizh and samskritham
he was able to mesmerize his audience during his lectures. It is also because of him
thiruvAimozhi was propagated to new heights and aruLicheyal meanings were
understood by everyone. For thiruvAimozhi, except for 6000 padi vyAkyAnam, all the
other 4 vyAkyAnams has some connection with nampiLLai.
 9000 padi even though originally was written by nanjIyar, it was re-written by
nampiLLai with some special insights and meanings.
 24000 padi was written by periyavAchAn piLLai based on nampiLLai’s teachings
and instruction.
 36000 padi was written by vadakku thiruvIdhi piLLai based on what was lectured
by nampiLLai.
 12000 padi was written by periyavAchAn piLLai’s sishya vAdhi kEsari azhagiya
maNavALa jIyar and from the meanings presented we can easily understand that
it closely follows nampiLLai’s 36000 padi.
Not only that, nampiLLai out of his boundless mercy, laid the foundation for 2 glorious
pillars of our sampradhAyam – piLLai lOkAchAriar and azhagiya maNavALa perumAL
nAyanAr who gave us srivachana bhUshaNam and AchArya hrudhayam respectively
based on the knowledge received from our pUrvAchAryas. We will see this charithram
in our next article (vadakku thiruvIdhi piLLai vaibhavam).

nampiLLai with pinbhazhagarAm perumAL jIyar, srIrangam
nampiLLai gives up his charama thirumEni in srirangam and attains parampadham.

naduvil thiruvIdhi piLLai bhattar shaves his head fully on that occassion (sishyas and
sons generally do that when the father/AchAryan leaves to paramapadham) and when
his brother complains to namperumAL that even after being born in kUra kulam he did
that, namperumAL summons bhattar in front of him and bhattar explains to
namperumAL that he appreciates his sambandham with nampiLLai more than his
family, namperumAL gets very pleased.
Let us pray at the lotus feet of nampiLLai that we also develop such attachment towards
nampiLLai’s thanian

vEdhAntha vEdhya amrutha vArirAsEr
vEdhArtha sAra amrutha pUramagryam
AdhAya varshantham aham prapadhyE
kAruNya pUrNam kalivairidhAsam

vadakku thiruvIdhi piLLai
vadakku thiruvIdhi piLLai – kAnchipuram
Thirunakshathram: Ani, swAthi
AchAryan: nampiLLai
Sishyas: piLLai lOkAchAryar, azhagiya maNavALa perumAL nAyanAr, etc
Works: eedu 36000 padi
Born as sri krishna pAdhar, he became to be famously known as vadakku thiruvIdhi

piLLai. He was one of the prime disciples of nampiLLai.
vadakku thiruvIdhi piLLai was completely situated in AchArya nishtai and even after
entering gruhasthAshramam he was not showing any interest in begetting any children.
Worried about that, his mother goes to nampiLLai and complains about vadakku
thiruvIdhi piLLai’s nature. Hearing that, nampiLLai invites both vadakku thiruvIdhi piLLai
and his wife, blesses his wife with his krupai and instructs vadakku thiruvIdhi piLLai to

engage in the process of begetting a child. Accepting his AchAryan’s instructions
vadakku thiruvIdhi piLLai does so and soon enough vadakku thiruvIdhi piLLai’s wife
gives birth to a child. vadakku thiruvIdhi piLLai names that child piLLai lOkAchAryan
since he was born out of the mercy of nampiLLai (lOkAchAryan). Hearing that,
nampiLLai says he wanted to name the child azhagiya maNavALan. namperumAL also
heard this and blesses vadakku thiruvIdhi piLLai with another child sUn after and that
child is named azhagiya maNavALa perumAL nAyanAr since he was born out of the
grace of azhagiya maNavALan (namperumAL). Thus vadakku thiruvIdhi piLLai gives
two great gems to our sampradhAyam. He can be compared to periyAzhwAr:
 AzhwAr and vadakku thiruvIdhi piLLai both are born in Ani swAthi.
 AzhwAr wrote thirupallAndu and periyAzhwAr thirumozhi by the grace of
emperumAn. vadakku thiruvIdhi piLLai wrote eedu 36000 padi by the grace of
nampiLLai.
 AzhwAr gave ANdAL to our sampradhAyam and he raised her feeding
krishnAnubhavam. vadakku thiruvIdhi piLLai gave piLLai lOkAchAryar and
azhagiya maNavALa perumAL nAyanAr and raised them feeding bhagavath
anubhavam.
vadakku thiruvIdhi piLLai while hearing thiruvAimozhi lectures from nampiLLai, spends
the time with his AchAryan in the day time and spends the time recording them in palm
leaves regularly in the night time. Thus he writes the eedu 36000 padi vyAkyAnam
based on nampiLLai’s lectures without the knowledge of nampiLLai. Once vadakku
thiruvIdhi piLLai invites nampiLLai to his thirumAligai for thadhiyArAdhanam and
nampiLLai accepts that and visits his thirumALigai. nampiLLai himself starts the
thiruvArAdhanam and in the kOilAzhwAr he sees the bunch of palm leaves with the
vyAkyAnam. Being interested, he starts reading a few of them and asks vadakku
thiruvIdhi piLLai what is that. vadakku thiruvIdhi piLLai explains that he recorded
nampiLLai’s lectures and nampiLLai instructs vadakku thiruvIdhi piLLai to do the
thiruvArAdhanam while he starts reading the palm leaves. He also asks periyavAchAn
piLLai and eeyuNNi mAdhava perumAL to go through the same and they both read and
glorify it very much. nampiLLai asks vadakku thiruvIdhi piLLai why he did this without
his permission and also asks if he did it as a competition to periyavAchAn piLLai’s
vyAkyAnam. vadakku thiruvIdhi piLLai completely upset with himself, falls at the lotus
feet of nampiLLai and explains that he wrote that so that he can refer it for the future.
Convinced with his explanations, nampiLLai glorifies the vyAkyAnam and says vadakku
thiruvIdhi piLLai is an avathAra visEsham to be able to do such work without missing
anything from his lectures. nampiLLai also says he would give the vyAkyAnam to
eeyuNNi mAdhava perumAL (who carries nanjIyar’s pUrvAshramam name – mAdhavar)
to teach it to his descendants eventually to be revealed to every one by maNavALa
mAmunigaL. By the grace of emperumAn, nampiLLai was able to foresee the
appearance of mAmunigaL and he informs the same to eeyuNNi mAdhava perumAL

that through him and his descendants, it will reach mAmunigaL and it will be revealed to
the entire world at the right time.
vadakku thiruvIdhi piLLai became the leader of the sampradhAyam after nampiLLai
attaining paramapadham. He teaches all the meanings to both piLLai lOkAchAryar and
azhagiya maNavALa perumAL nAyanAr. In srivachana bhUshaNa dhivya sAsthram
piLLai lOkAchAryar refers to vadakku thiruvIdhi piLLai’s instructions in a few places:
 In sUthram 77, it is said that when the ahankAram is given up, AthmA can only
be called adiyAn. It is shown in yathIndhra pravaNa prabhAvam that this
instruction was explained by vadakku thiruvIdhi piLLai.
 In sUthram 443, piLLai lOkAchAryar says that vadakku thiruvIdhi piLLai explains
always that, for jIvAthmAs who have been in this samsAram since time
immemorial due to their sva svAthanthriyam, the only way to relieve themselves
from the samsAram is by surrendering to a sadhAchAryan.
After some time vadakku thiruvIdhi piLLai gives up his charama thirumEni thinking
about his Acharyan nampiLLai and attains paramapadham.
Let us pray at the lotus feet of vadakku thiruvIdhi piLLai that we also develop such
attachment towards emperumAnAr and our AchAryan.
vadakku thiruvIdhi piLLai’s thanian
sri krishna pAdha pAdhAbjE namAmi sirasA sadhA

yath prasAdha prabhAvEna sarva sidhdhirabhUnmama

periyavAchAn piLLai
periyavAchAn piLLai - sEngaNUr
thirunkaksathram: AvaNi rOhiNi

avathAra sthalam: sanganallUr (sEngaNUr).
AchAryan: nampiLLai
sishyas: nAyanArAchAn piLLai, vAdhi kEsari azhagiya maNavALa jIyar, parakAla
dhAsar, etc
Born as krishnan as the son of yAmunar in sEngaNUr, he becomes to be known as

periyavAchAn piLLai. He is one of the prime sishyas of nampiLLai and learnt all sAsthra
arthams from nampiLLai himself. periyavAchAn piLLai became an illustrious AchAryan
in our sampradhAyam by the grace of nampiLLai.

periyavAchAn piLLai - nampiLLai
As identified in periya thirumozhi 7.10.10, it is said that thirukkaNNamangai empeumAn

wanted to learn the meanings of thirumangai AzhwAr's pAsurams from kaliyan himself -
so kaliyan took the avathAram of nampiLLai and emperumAn took the avathAram of
periyavAchAn piLLai to learn all the meanings of the aruLicheyal. He is also known as
vyAkyAna chakkaravarthi, abhaya pradha rAjar, etc. He adopts nAyanArAchAn piLLai
as his son.
In his life time, he has done vyAkyAnams for:
 4000 dhiyva prabhandham - He has written vyAkyAnams for all of aruLicheyal.

vyAkyAnams for approximately 400 pAsurams for periyAzhwAr thirumozhi was
lost and mAmunigaL just wrote those missing pAsura vyAkyAnams.
 sthOthra granthams - He has written vyAkyAnams for pUrvAchArya srisUkthis
like sthOthra rathnam, chathu slOki, gadhya thryayam, etc and jithanthE
sthOthram.
 sri rAmAyaNam - He has selected important slOkams from sri rAmAyaNam and
written a detailed commentary for those in rAmAyaNa thani slOki. He was named
abhaya pradha rAjar for his masterful explanation of vibhIshaNa sharanAgathi
episode.
 He has also written many rahasya granthams such as mANikka mAlai, parantha
rahasyam, sakala prAmANa thAthparyam, etc which explains rahasya thrayam in
an excellent manner. He was a pioneer in documenting rahasya thrayam - piLLai
lOkAchAryar took the essence of nampiLLai and periyavAchAn piLLai's
teachings and wrote his astAdhasa rahasya granthams.

His expertise in aruLicheyal and sri rAmAyaNam can be understood by his grantham
called pAsurapadi rAmyAyanam where he uses words from aruLicheyal to explain the
whole of sri rAmAyaNam in a crisp manner.
The power of his grace can also be understood from the incident happened in vAdhi
kEsari azhagiya maNavALa jIyar. jIyar, in his pUrvAshramam was serving in the
thirumadappaLLi (kitchen) of periyavAchAn piLLai's thirumALigai. He was an illiterate
but had strong devotion towards his AchAryan. Once when he overheard some
srivaishnavas discussing some vEdhAntha vishayam, he enquired from them about the
topic of discussion. Them being arrogant and considering him as an illiterate said they
were discussing about a grantham called "musala kisalayam" (newly blossomed
pounder). He went and mentioned this to his AchAryan and periyavAchAn piLLai out of
his grace decided to teach everything to him. After a few years, he becomes a master of
all sAstram and goes on to become vAdhi kEsari azhagiya maNavALa jIyar and writes
several granthams himself on our sampradhAyam.
Just like periya perumAL, periya pirAtti, periya thiruvadi, periyAzhwAr and periya kOil,
AchAn piLLai also due to his greatness became to be known as periyavAchAn piLLai.
maNavALa mAmunigaL in his upadhEsa rathina mAlai dedicates two pAsurams

specifically to periyavAchAn piLLai.
pAsuram: 43
nampiLLai thammudaiya NallaruLAl Eviyidap
pin periyavAchAn piLLai athanAl
inbA varubathi mARan maRaip poruLai chonnathu
irupathu nAlAyiram
இ
இ
Simple Translation: Out of his grace, nampiLLai orders periyavAchAn piLLai to write a
commentary for thiruvAimozhi. Having that in mind, periyavAchAn piLLai wrote the most
enjoyable commentary for nammAzhwAr's thiruvAimozhi which is the essence of all
vEdhas. The commentary was written similar to sri rAmAyaNam, i.e., containing 24000
padi (similar to 24000 slOkams in sri rAmAyaNam).

pAsuram: 46
periyavAchAn piLLai pinbuLLavaikkum
theriya vyAkiyaigaL cheyvAl
ariya aruLichcheyal poruLai AriyargatkippOthu
aruLichcheyalAyth thaRiNthu
Simple Translation: It is due to periyavAchAn piLLai's commentaries for aruLicheyal, the

great teachers are able to understand and propagate the true meanings of aruLicheyal.
Without these vyAkyAnams, no one can speak about the inner meanings of aruLicheyal.
Also, mAmunigaL in pAsuram 39, identifies that periyavAchAn piLLai was one of the 5
vyAkyAna karthAs for thiruvAimozhi, there by saving it and propagating it to everyone
since without the vyAkyAnams we cannot understand the inner meanings of
aruLicheyal.
Several incidents from his life are recorded in vArthA mAlai grantham and other
pUrVAchArya granthams. Let us see some here:
 When some asks if we are target of emperumAn's krupai or leelai - periyavAchAn

piLLai says "if we think that we are caught in this samsAram, we are target of
emperumAn's krupai and if we think that we are happy in this samsAram, we are
target of emperumAn's leelai".
 When some one asks what does pArathanthriya mean? periyavAchAn piLLai
says that depending fully on emperumAn's sakthi, completely giving up
upAyAntharams (including self efforts) and ever longing for bhagavath kainkarya
mOksham is pArathanthriyam.
 When some one asks what is upAyam? Is it us giving up everything or holding on
to him? periyavAchAn piLLai says that both are not upAyam it is emperumAn
who made us give up everything and hold on to him is the upAyam.
 Once when bandhu of periyavAchAn piLLai is worried and he asks for the
reason. She says she is very worried since she has been in this samsAram since
anAdhi kAlam and with so much karma how emperumAn will give her mOksham.
For that periyavAchAn piLLai says, we are emperumAn's property and he will
take us when he wants to irrespecitve of our karmas.

 When a srivaishnava finds fault in another srivaishnava, periyavAchAn piLLai
says that yaman is asking his servants to move away from srivaishnavas without
looking at their faults, pirAtti says "na kaschin na aparAdhyathi" - dont look at
anyone's faults, perumAL says even if my bhakthas do mistakes it is good only,
AzhwAr says who ever emperumAn's bhakthas are, they have to be praised. So
sarcastically he says, some one needs to say the faults in srivaishnavas and let
that some one be this person who finds faults in the other person.
 During a discussion about the greatness about bhAgavathas, some one starts
speaking about emperumAn and periyavAchAn piLLai says why speak
sAmAnya vishyam (general matters) when speaking about visEsha vishayam
(special matters).
 periyavAchAn piLLai says every srivaishnava must have involvement in
aruLicheyal.
 and so on.
periyavAchAn piLLai's thanian
srImath krishNa samAhvAya namO yAmuna sUnavE

yath katAkshaika lakshyANam sulabha: srIdharas sadhA
I worship periyavAchAn piLLai who is the son of yAmunar and whose katAksham will
make emperumAn sriman nArAyanan's grace fall on us very easily.
Let us bow down at his lotus feet and ever remember his contribution to our
sampradhAyam.
His special glories can be read at http://ponnadi.blogspot.in/2013/08/mastery-of-

krishnas.html.

eeyuNNi mAdhava perumAL
nampiLLai kAlakshEpa gOshti - eeyNNi mAdhava perumAL seated 2nd from right
thirunakshathram: kArthigai, bharaNi (In yathIndhra pravaNa prabhAvam it is said to

be hastham)
AchAryan: nampiLLai
sishya: eeyuNNi padmanAbha perumAL (his own son)
eeyuNNi mAdhava perumAL is a dear sishya of nampiLLai. He was also known as

siriyAzhwAn appiLLai. It was through him, eedu mahA vyAkyAnam of thiruvAimozhi got
ultimately transmitted to maNavALa mAmunigaL.
"eethal" means charity in thamizh. "uNNuthal" is eating. eeyuNNi means one who is
very charitable that he will only eat after feeding other srIvaishNavas.

nampiLLai was engaged in constant delivery of bhagavadh vishaya kAlakshEpams.
That was the golden period of srIvaishNavam in srIrangam where everyone was fully
getting drenched in bhagavadh anubhavam through the supreme intellect of nampiLLai.
By the divine grace of emperumAn and his AchAryan (nanjIyar), nampiLLai was a
classy intellectual who was able to expertly explain the beautiful principles that are seen
in AzhwArs pAsurams through examples from srI rAmAyaNam mainly and many other
purANa/ithihAsa incidents.
vadakku thiruvIdhi piLLai was a dear sishya of nampiLLai. While hearing thiruvAimozhi
kAlakhsEpams from nampiLLai during the day time, he was recording them in the night
regularly. After completing the lecture series once, nampiLLai visits vadakku thiruvIdhi
piLLai‘s home once. He notices the palm leaves containing the words which are uttered
by him during his thiruvAimozhi kAlakshEpams. He reads them fully and was greatly
pleased with the manner in which everything was recorded to perfection. Still, he was
upset that vadakku thiruvIdhi piLLai wrote this without his permission. He shows his
dissent but eventually gets convinced by vadakku thiruvIdhi piLLai’s great dedication.
This vyAkyAnam of thiruvAimozhi becomes to be famously known as eedu 36000 padi.
He hands over the palm leaves to eeyuNNi mAdhava perumAL and asks him to teach
the same to his descendants. This charithram is explained in
http://guruparamparai.wordpress.com/2012/09/17/vadakku-thiruveedhi-pillai/.
eeyuNNi mAdhava perumAL teaches this to his son eeyuNNi padhmanAbha perumAL.
eyuNNi padhmanAbha perumAL’s thirunakshathram is svAthi. eeyuNNi padhmanAbha
perumAL teaches this to his dear sishya nAlur piLLai.
nAlur piLLai is a descendant of nAlurAn (sishya of kUrathAzhwAn). He was born in

mElpAdagam (thoNdai nAdu). His thirunakshathram is pUsam (pushyam). He is also
known as sumana:kOsElar, kOla varAha perumAL nAyanAr, rAmAnujArya dhAsar,
aruLALar thiruvadi UnRiyavar. His sishyas include nAlUrAchAn piLLai, thiruppuLingudi
jIyar and thirukkaNNangudi jIyar.
thiruppuLingudi jIyar has written a grantham named srIvaishNava charitham.
nAlUrAchAn piLLai is the son and dear sishya of nAlUr piLLai. His thirunakshathram is
mArgazhi bharaNi. He is also known as dhEvarAjAchAn piLLai, dhEvEsar, dhEvAdhipar
and mElnAdu AchAn piLLai. nAlUrAchAn piLLai learns eedu 36000 padi under the lotus
feet of his father. His sishyas include thirunArAyaNapurathu Ay, iLampiLichaipiLLai and
thiruvAimozhi piLLai.
Both nAlUr piLLai and nAlUrAchAn piLLai were living in thirunArAyaNapuram.

thiruvAimozhi piLLai travels to kAnchIpuram to learn the meanings of thiruvAimozhi
under the orders of kUra kulOthuma dhAsar. At the same time, nAlUr piLLai and
nAlUrAchAn piLLai also arrive at kAnchipuram. They all meet in front of dhEva
perumAL. dhEva perumAL speaks through the archakar at that time, reveals that piLLai
lOkAchAryar is none other than emperumAn himself and orders nAlUr piLLai to teach
eedu vyAkyAnam to thiruvAimozhi piLLai. But nAlUr piLLai asks dhEva perumAL if he
can teach him effectively (due to his old age). dhEva perumAL then says “Your son
(nAlUrAchAn piLLai) can teach him then. If he teaches its as good as you yourself
teaching him”. Thus thiruvAimozhi piLLai along with others learns eedu vyAkyAnam
under nAlUrAchAn piLLai and eventually he returns to AzhwAr thirunagari and teaches
the same to maNavALa mAmunigaL who becomes to be famously known as eettu
perukkar (one who nourishes eedu vyakyAnam).
nAlUr piLLai or nAlUrAchAn piLLai is said to have written vyAkyAnams for thirumozhi
and periyAzhwAr thirumozhi.
mAmunigaL, in his upadhEsa rathina mAlai, explains the transmission of eedu

vyAkyAnam beautifully in pAsurams 48 and 49.
 In the 48th pAsuram, he says vadakku thiruvIdhi piLLai documented eedu 36000
padi vyAkyAnam and nampiLLai took that away from him and handed it over to
eeyuNNi mAdhava perumAL.
 In the 49th pAsuram, he says from eeyuNNi mAdhava perumAL, his son
eeyuNNi padhmanAbha perumAL learns it and subsequently its transmitted to
nAlUr piLLai and nAlUrAchAn piLLai. Subsequently it is then taught to
thiruvAimozhi piLLai, thirunArAyaNapurathu Ay, etc.
Thus, we have seen some glimpses of the glorious life of eeyNNi mAdhava perumAL.
He was a great scholar and was very dear to nampiLLai. Let us pray at his lotus feet
that we too get a little bit of such bhAgavatha nishtai. We have also seen how eedu was
transmitted from nampiLLai to maNavALa mAmunigaL in this article.
eeyNNi mAdhava perumAL’s thaniyan:
lOkAchArya padhAmbhOja samsrayam karuNAmbhudhim

vEdhAntha dhvaya sampannam mAdhavAryam aham bhajE

eeyuNNi padhmanAbha perumAL’s thaniyan:
mAdhavAchArya sathputhram thathpAdhakamalAsritham

vAthsalyAdhi guNair yuktham padhmanAbha gurum bhajE
nAlUr piLLai’s thaniyan:
chathurgrAma kulOdhbhUtham dhrAvida bhrahma vEdhinam

yagyArya vamsathilakam srIvarAhamaham bhajE
nAlUrAchAn piLLai’s thaniyan:
namOsthu dhEvarAjAya chathurgrAma nivAsinE

rAmAnujArya dhAsasya suthAya guNasAlinE

naduvil thiruvIdhi piLLai bhattar
nampiLLai kAlakshEpa gOshti – naduvil thiruvIdhi piLLai bhattar seated 3rd from left
thirunakshathram: ippasi, avittam
AchAryan: His own father (bhattar), nampiLLai
sishya: vaLamazhagiyAr
Works: thiruvAimozhi 125000 padi vyAkyAnam, pishtapasu nirNayam, ashtAkshara

dhIpikai, rahasya thrayam, dhvaya pItakkattu, thathva vivaraNam, srIvathsa vimsathi,
etc.
He is said to be the son or the grand son of parAsara bhattar. He was named as
uththaNda bhattar and later becomes to be famously known as naduvil thiruvIdhi piLLai
bhattar. Note: It is stated that he is the son of parAsara bhattar in periya thirumudi

adaivu and he is identified as the grand son of kUrathAzhwAn in 6000 padi guru
paramparA prabhavam. In pattOlai, he is identified as the great grand-son of vEdha
vyAsa bhattar. There is lack of clarity about his identity – neverthless he becomes to be
a dear sishya of nampiLLai.
nampiLLai‘s period in srIrangam is said to be the most glorious and golden period for
srIvaishNavam in srIrangam due to continuous bhagavath anubhavam without any
disturbance. nampiLLai had great number of sishyas and followers who were regularly
attending his kAlakshEpams. naduvil thiruvIdhi piLLai bhattar did not have a favourable
attitude towards nampiLLai though. Due to his rich family heritage he developed pride
and did not respect nampiLLai initially.
Once, naduvil thiruvIdhi piLLai bhattar was going to the king’s court. He meets
pinbhazhagiya perumAL jIyar on the way and invites him along to attend the king’s
court. Since jIyar had great respect for bhattar for his family heritage, he accompanied
him. The king receives them, honours them and offers them a nice seat. The king being
well learned, wanting to test the intelligence of bhattar, asks him a question from srI
rAmAyaNa. He says “srI rAman himself claims that ‘He is just a human being and is the
dear son of dhasarathan’. But during the last moments of jatAyu, srI rAman benedicts
him to reach srIvaikuntam.So, is this not contradictory?”. bhattar was speechless and
could not respond with any meaningful explanation. Incidentally, the king gets distracted
by some other task. At that time, bhattar turns to jIyar and asks him “How would
nampiLLai explain this?”. jIyar replies “nampiLLai explains this using ‘sathyEna lOkAn
jayathi‘ slOkam” which means a fully truthful person can control all worlds – so just by
truthfulness alone he was able to conquer all worlds. bhattar, himself being intelligent,
explains that to the king, when the king focusses back on them. The king, being
intelligent as well, at once agrees to the principle and honours bhattar with great wealth.
bhattar, with great gratitude/reverence towards nampiLLai, asks jIyar to connect him
with nampiLLai, at once goes to nampiLLai’s residence and submits all the wealth given
by the king at the lotus feet of nampiLLai. bhattar says to nampiLLai that “I received all
these wealth for just 1 small explanation from your teachings” and offers them all to
nampiLLai himself. He then tells nampiLLai that “all along I have lost the valuable
association/guidance of yourself. From now on, I will ensure that I will serve you well
and learn the sampradhAyam principles from you”. nampiLLai embraces bhattar and
teaches him all the essence of our sampradhAyam.
nampiLLai teaches thiruvAimozhi to bhattar fully. bhattar hears them in the morning,
contemplates on the meanings and documents them in detail every night. Once the
lecture series is over, he submits his writing at the lotus feet of nampiLLai. nampiLLai,
observes the detailed documentation of thiruvAimozhi to the length of 125000 padi
(similar in size to mahAbhAratham). nampiLLai becomes worried that if there was such
detailed documentation, people will ignore the guru-disciple teaching/learning

methodology and will just read the book and start coming to their own conclusions.
nampiLLai explains to bhattar that when piLLAn did 6000 padi (similar in size to vishNu
purANam) vyAkyAnam, he first took the permission of emperumAnAr. But in this case,
bhattar did not get the permission from nampiLLai to write the vyAkyAnam. Though
bhattar replies saying he only documented what was said by nampiLLai and did not
write anything on his own. Finally, nampiLLai does not agree to release that grantham
and destroys the same.
(Note: According to this incident here identified in yathIndhra pravaNa prabhAvam,

when AchAryan passes away, sishyas/sons are supposed to shave their heads while
others who are surrendered to him (not direct sishyas) are supposed to shave facial and
bodily hair). When nampiLLai ascends to paramapadham, naduvil thiruvIdhi piLLai
bhattar shaves his head as sishyas are supposed to do. A brother of bhattar becomes
upset at his act and complains to him saying why should some one born the family of
kUrathAzhwAn, shave the head for nampiLLai’s ascending to paramapadham. bhattar
replies to his brother sarcastically “Oh! I have insulted the lineage of kUrEsar. How are
you going to rectify this?”. bhattar’s brother, unable to take those sarcastic words, goes
to namperumAL and complains to him about bhattar’s act. namperumAL summons
bhattar and asks him through the archaka “When I am alive why did you do this?”
(perumAL considers himself the father to parAsara bhattar and his descendants).
bhattar responds “Please forgive me for my act”. He continues “Actually, I should have
shown total surrender to nampiLLai which is the natural quality of any one coming in the
lineage of kUrEsar (to be surrendered to srIvaishNavas) and shaved my facial/bodily
hair. Instead I only shaved my head which shows that I am just doing the minimal
anushtAnam for a sishya/son. Are you being upset with me for just doing the minimum
respects?”. Hearing this, namperumAL becomes very pleased on the dedication of
bhattar towards nampiLLai and honours bhattar with thIrtham, garlands and vasthrams.
Such was the glories of naduvil thiruvIdhi piLLai bhattar.
In the vyAkyAnams, the following incident involving naduvil thiruvIdhi piLLai bhattar is
identified. Let us see them now:
 thiruvAimozhi – 9.3 – nampiLLai eedu pravEsam (introduction) – In this

padhigam, nammAzhwAr brings out the glories of nArAyaNa nAmam (and
manthram). There are mainly 3 vyApaka manthrams (those manthrams that
exhibit bhagavAn‘s omni-presence) namely ashtAksharam (Om namO
nArAyANAya), shadaksharam (Om namO vishNavE) and dhvAdhasAksharam
(Om namO bhagavathE vAsudhEvAya). naduvil thiruvIdhi piLLai bhattar says
that the meaning of praNavam, the meaning of nama:, bhagavAn‘s omni-
presence, etc are revealed in all 3 vyApaka manthrams but AzhwAr‘s heart is
close to nArAyaNa manthram. Note: This importance of nArAyaNa manthram is
further emphasised by piLLai lOkAchAryar in the beginning of mumukshuppadi.

In vArtha mAlai, a couple of incidents involving naduvil thiruvIdhi piLLai bhattar are
identified.
 216 – naduvil thiruvIdhi piLLai bhattar quotes a beautiful conversation between

nampiLLai and pinbhazhagiya perumAL jIyar. jIyar asks a question “Every
mumukshu should be like AzhwAr (fully depending on emperumAn and
contemplating on emperumAn only). But we still have material desires. How will
we get the same result (kainkarya prApthi in paramapadham) that AzhwAr got?”.
nampiLLai answers “Even though we may not have the same advancement like
AzhwAr in this sarIram, by the grace of our AchAryan who is pure, bhagavAn will
create that same desire (as that of AzhwArs) in us between the time we die and
we reach paramapadham. So, by the time we reach parampadham we will be
fully purified and will only have the desire to do kainkaryam to emperumAn
eternally.
 410 – naduvil thiruvIdhi piLLai bhattar explains how a srIvaishNava should be:
o When observing faults in samsAris (materialistic people), since we are not
all-capable like bhagavAn to reform them, we should simply ignore them.
o When observing faults in sAthvikas (srIvaishNavas), since they are fully
dependent on bhagavAn and so they are capable of curing their faults by
the grace of bhagavAn, we should simply ignore them.
o Just like a person applying chemicals on his body can behold fire without
getting hurt, we should be covered with bhagavadh gyAnam so we are not
affected by the material desires and issues.
o We should have two aspects of knowledge – a) we should have great
desire to reach paramapadham which is fully spiritual and b) we should
have great desire to be fully relieved from this samsAram (which is the
place holder of ignorance). Still, our knowledge about this samsAram
being the place of ignorance is most important, since even if we have a
tinge of attachment in samsAram, that will pull us down and keep us here
itself.
Thus, we have seen some glimpses of the glorious life of naduvil thiruvIdhi piLLai
bhattar. He was a great scholar and was very dear to nampiLLai. Let us pray at his lotus
feet that we too get a little bit of such bhAgavatha nishtai.
naduvil thiruvIdhi piLLai bhattar’s thaniyan:
lOkAchArya padhAsaktham madhyavIdhi nivAsinam

srIvathsachihnavamsAbdhisOmam bhattAryamAsrayE

pinbhazhagiya perumAL jIyar
nampiLLai kAlakshEpa gOshti – pinbhazhagiya perumAL jIyar seated 2nd from left

pinbhazhagiya perumAL jIyar at the lotus feet of nampiLLai, srIrangam
thirunakshathram: ippasi, sathayam
avathAra sthalam: thirupputkuzhi
AchAryan: nampiLLai
Works: 6000 padi guru paramparA prabhAvam. He is also said to be the author of
vArthA mAlai but there is lack of clarity in that.
pinbhazhagiya perumAL jIyar is a dear sishya of nampiLLai and is also known as

pinbhazhagarAm perumAL jIyar. He documents the historical accounts of our
AzhwAr/AchAryas lives in his 6000 padi guru paramparA prabhAvam. Similar to
nanjIyar (a sannyAsi) serving bhattar (gruhastha), pinbhazhagiya perumAL jIyar
(sannyAsi) served nampiLLai (gruhastha).

When pinbhazhagiya perumAL jIyar was ill, he asks other srIvaishNavas to pray to
emperumAn for his speedy recovery – this is considered as improper per srIvaishNava
etiquette – one should not pray to emperumAn for anything – even for recovering from
illness (what to speak about going to doctor, etc). Seeing this, sishyas of nampiLLai
come and enquire from nampiLLai on why jIyar was doing that. nampiLLai asks his
sishyas to enquire from few swamys about jIyar’s behaviour. nampiLLai first says, go
and ask engaLAzhwAn who is an expert in all sAsthram. engaLAzhwAn replies “may be
he is attached to srIrangam and he wants to stay here for some more time”. nampiLLai
then asks his sishyas to go and ask thirunArAyaNapurathu arayar – arayar says “may
be he has some unfinished tasks which he wants to complete, so he is praying to
prolonging his life here”. nampiLLai then asks his sishyas to ammangi ammAL who says
“who would want to leave nampiLLai’s kAlakshEpa gOshti, he may be praying so he is
here for some more time to listen to nampiLLai’s kAlakshEpam”. nampiLLai then asks
his sishyas to go to periya mudhaliyAr and he says “may be he is too attached to
namperumAL that he does not want to leave from here”. nampiLLai finally asks jIyar
himself if any of these views are in line with what he himself is thinking. jIyar replies “No.
You know everything. But out of your mercy, you want to reveal this by me. Let me say
why I want to continue living here. Everyday, after you taking bath, I get to have the
divine dharshan of your form and serve you by fanning, etc. How can I give up that
service and go to parampadham just yet?”. Thus, pinbhazhagarAm perumAL jIyar
reveals the highest principle for a sishya – to be fully attached to the divine form of ones
own AchAryan. Hearing this everyone was amazed by jIyar’s devotion towards
nampiLLai.
He was instrumental in making naduvil thiruvIdhi piLLai bhattar a sishya of nampiLLai.

This incident can be fully seen at
http://guruparamparai.wordpress.com/2013/04/20/naduvil-thiruvidhi-pillai-bhattar/.
In the vyAkyAnams, the following incident involving pinbhazhagiya perumAL jIyar are
identified.
 upadhEsa rathina mAlai 65 and 66 – piLLai lOkam jIyar vyAkyAnam – The

principle of total surrender and attachment towards AchAryan’s divine form is
explained by piLLai lOkAchAryar in srIvachana bhUshaNa dhivya sAsthram
(sUthram 333) and maNavALa mAmunigaL in his upadhEsa rathina mAlai as
well (pAsurams 65 and 66). In the 66th pAsuram, mAmunigaL identifies that
pinbhazhagiya perumAL jIyar was so attached to nampiLLai that he will even
discard the thought of going to paramapadham. piLLai lOkam jIyar compares
pinbhazhagiya perumAL jIyar’s AchArya nishtai on nampiLLai to madhurakavi
AzhwAr – nammAzhwAr, ANdAL – periyAzhwAr, vaduka nambi – emperumAnAr
and mAmunigaL – thiruvAimozhi piLLai. These were the great stalwarts who
were fully situated in AchArya nishtai which is the top most aspiration for a

prapanna. piLLai lOkam jIyar also quotes appiLLai’s yathirAja vimsathi
vyAkyAnam where he says “pinbhazhagiya perumAL jIyar had nampiLLai as his
master, refuge and goal and was always fully focussed on nampiLLai”.
In vArtha mAlai, a few incidents involving pinbhazhagiya perumAL jIyar are identified.
 2 – pinbhazhagiya perumAL jIyar once asks nampiLLai about the svarUpam

(nature of jIvAthmA), upAyam (process) and upEyam (goal). nampiLLai replies
that jIvAthmA’s icchai (இ – desire) is svarUpam, bhagavAn’s irakkam
(இ – mercy) is upAyam and inimai (இ – bliss) is upEyam. jIyar
says he thinks otherwise and nampiLLai wonders if he has a different philosophy.
jIyar goes on to say “I consider the following as taught by you. To be surrendered
to srIvaishNavas is my svarUpam; their attachment towards us is my upAyam;
their bliss is my goal”. nampiLLai becomes greatly pleased by jIyar’s words. Thus
he establishes the most important principle “bhAgavatha sEshathvam” in front of
his AchAryan.
 69 – jIyar asks the meanings of dhvaya mahA manthram from nampiLLai.
nampiLLai explains that in the first part we accept that srIman nArAyaNan is the
total refuge and in the second part we crave to serve both of them (perumAL and
pirAtti) and pray that srIman nArAyaNan is the ultimate enjoyer and we have no
tinge of self-interest in that bliss. The sishyas who were blessed by the Acharya
to have such strong faith should have great gratitude towards the AchArya.
Further jIyar asks, if pirAtti is always engaged in contemplating about
emperumAn, how will she help the jIvAthmAs? nampiLLai replies, just like
bhagavAn is constantly engaged in enjoying pirAtti‘s beauty yet takes care of
creation, etc., thAyAr will also constantly engage in enjoying bhagavAn yet will
recommend to emperumAn for suffering jIvathmAs to be uplifted being true to her
nature of purushakAra bhUthai (recommendation authority).
 174 – This incident of pinbhazhagiya perumAL jIyar praying for his well-being to
continue serving nampiLLai is already discussed in this article.
 216 – naduvil thiruvIdhi piLLai bhattar quotes a beautiful conversation between
nampiLLai and pinbhazhagiya perumAL jIyar. jIyar asks a question “Every
mumukshu should be like AzhwAr (fully depending on emperumAn and
contemplating on emperumAn only). But we still have material desires. How will
we get the same result (kainkarya prApthi in paramapadham) that AzhwAr got?”.
nampiLLai answers “Even though we may not have the same advancement like
AzhwAr in this sarIram, by the grace of our AchAryan who is pure, bhagavAn will
create that same desire (as that of AzhwArs) in us between the time we die and
we reach paramapadham. So, by the time we reach parampadham we will be
fully purified and will only have the desire to do kainkaryam to emperumAn
eternally.

 332 – pinbhazhagiya perumAL jIyar asks nampiLLai “When some one has some
trouble, he goes and prays to a srIvaishNava for relief and eventually he gets
relieved. Is this by the power of bhagavAn or the srIvaishNava?”. nampiLLai
replies “It is by the power of bhagavAn only”. jIyar further asks “Can we not pray
to bhagavAn directly to be be relieved of our suffering then?”. nampiLLai replies
“No, we cannot do that. We should always go through a srIvaishNava when we
approach bhagavAn”. jIyar further asks “Is there an example where bhagavAn
fulfilled the desire of a vaishNava?”. nampiLLai replies “When arjuna vowed that
he will kill jayathrathan before the sun-set, sarvEsvaran gave up his own vow of
not touching any weapons during the battle, took up his sudharsana chakram
and hid the sun. Seeing that jayathrathan came out in the open and bhagavAn
withdrew his chakram indicating the sun had not set and thus arjunan was able to
kill him. From this incident, we can understand emperumAn will fulfill a
srIvaishNava’s words and so, we should always go through a srIvaishNava to
emperumAn”.
Thus, we have seen some glimpses of the glorious life of pinbhazhagiya perumAL jIyar.
He was a great scholar and was very dear to nampiLLai. Let us pray at his lotus feet
pinbhazhagiya perumAL jIyar’s thaniyan:
gyAna vairAgya sampUrNam paschAth sundhara dhEsikamm

dhravidOpanishadh bhAshyathAyinam madh gurum bhajE

piLLai lOkAchAryar
piLLai lOkAchAryar – srirangam
Thirunakshathram: ippasi, thiruvONam
AchAryan: vadakku thiruvIdhi piLLai
Sishyas: kUra kuLothama dhAsar, viLAn chOlai piLLai, thiruvAimozhi piLLai,

maNappAkkathu nambi, kOttur aNNar, thirupputkuzhi jIyar, thiurkannangudi piLLai, kolli
kAvala dhAsar, etc
Place where he attained paramapadham: jyOthishkudi (near madhurai)

Works: yAdhrichika padi, mumukshupadi, sriya:pathi padi, parantha padi, thani
praNavam, thani dhvayam, thani charamam, artha panchakam, thathva thrayam,
thathva sEkaram, sAra sangraham, archirAdhi, pramEya sEkaram, samsAra
sAmrAjyam, prapanna parithrANam, navarathina mAlai, nava vidha sambandham, sri
vachana bhUshanam and many more.
piLLai lOkAchAryar was born in srirangam to vadakku thiruvIdhi piLLai by the grace of
nampiLLai (we have seen this in vadakku thiruvIdhi piLLai idhihyam -
http://guruparamparai.wordpress.com/2012/09/17/vadakku-thiruveedhi-pillai/ already).
He and his younger brother azhagiya maNavALa perumAL nAyanAr grew up in
srirangam like perumAL and iLaya perumAL in ayOdhya and kannan emperumAn and
nambi mUtha pirAn in gOkulam. They both were blessed to have the katAksham and
guidance of great AchAryas of our sampradhAyam like nampiLLai, periyavAchAn
piLLai, vadakku thiruvIdhi piLLai, etc at the same time. They learnt our sampradhAyam
under the lotus feet of their father vadakku thiruvIdhi piLLai. Also, one of the unique
quality of these two AchArya simhams is that they both took the vow of naishtika
bramhacharyam and lived by that throughout their life.
piLLai lOkAchAryar out of his boundless kAruNyam towards all the suffering jIvAthmAs
in this samsAram and also out of the order he received from periya perumAL in his
svapnam, wrote many granthams to reveal the most valuable meanings of our
sampradhAyam which was mostly done through AchAryan to sishyan on an individual
basis.
piLLai lOAchAryar became the leader of our sampradhAyam and he was teaching to his
disciples regularly in srirangam. A srivaishnava named maNappAkkathu nambi went to
dhEvaperumAL and dhEvaperumAL gives him valuable instructions on our
sampradhAyam. But dhEvaperumAL without fully completing the instructions tells nambi
to go to srirangam where he will continue to teach the same. When nambi travels to
srirangam and arrives at kAttazhagiya singhar temple, he sees the kAlakshEpa gOshti
of piLLai lOkAchAryar. Hiding behind a pillar, he starts listening to piLLai lOkAchAryar
and is amazed to hear that he is hearing the same thing and continuation of what dhEva
perumAL was teaching him. He comes out of his hiding place, falls flat at the lotus feet
of piLLai lOkAchAryar and asks “avarO nIr” (Are you dhEva perumAL?) and piLLai
lOkAchAryar replies “Avathu; yEthu?” (Yes, what to do now?). Thus we can clearly see
that piLLai lOkAchAryar is none other than dhEva perumAL himself.

Another incident is also identified in yathIndhra pravaNa prabhAvam to prove that piLLai
lOkAchAryar is dhEva perumAL himself. piLLai lOkAchAryar during his final days at
jyOthishkudi, instructs nAlUr piLLai to teach vyAkyAnams to thirumalai AzhwAr
(thiruvAimozhi piLLai). When thirumalai AzhwAr visits dhEva perumAL for
mangaLAsAsanam, dhEva perumAL speaks directly to nAlUr piLLai who was standing
nearby and says “as I mentioned in jyOthishkudi you should teach thirumalai AzhwAr all
the meanings of aruLicheyal”.
piLLai lOkAchAryar has written many granthams for the ujjIvanam of mumukshus (one
who desires to get bhagavath kainkarya mOksham). He wrote 18 rahasya granthams
mainly addressing the important aspects of our sampradhAyam such as rahasya
thrayam, thathva thrayam, artha panchakam and deep sampradhAya meanings based
on thiruvAimozhi. Of those the following are considered most important:
 mumukshupadi – rahasya thrayam is excellently explained in this grantham.

mAmunigaL has done a detailed vyAkyAnam for this grantham. This is the
fundamental grantham for any srivaishnava without which we can not easily
understand the glories of thirumanthram, dhvayam and charama slOkam.
 thathva thrayam – this is also called as kutti bhAshyam (small sri bhAshyam).
piLLai lOkAchAryar masterfully takes us through the three entities chith, achith
and Ishvaran explaining them fully based on sribhAshyam. Again, without
mAmunigaL’s vyAkyAnam we cannot fully understand the glories of this
grantham.
 srivachana bhUshaNa dhivya sAsthram – this grantham is fully written using the
words of AzhwArs and AchAryas. This is the magnum opus of piLLai
lOkAchAryar and is a detailed grantham explaining the sath sampradhAya
arthams. This brings out the inner meanings of our sampradhAyam which is

magnificiently explained by mAmunigaL in his vyAkyAnam.
ThirunArAyaNapurathu Ayi has also done a vyAkyAnam for this grantham.
srivaishnavas must hear these granthams as kAlakshEpam at least once in their lifetime
to fully appreciate our sampradhAyam.
The greatness of piLLai lOkAchAryar is that, he documented these granthams in simple

tamizh (maNi pravALam) language which can be understood by anyone who has the
desire. Looking at the difficulties of mumukshus in understanding the sacred
sampradhAya meanings, he mercifully documented what he heard from his AchAryas –
all the meanings that are seen in his granthams can be directly seen in pUrvAchArya
vyAkyAnams like eedu 36000 padi and vyAyAnams for other granthams by our
pUrvAchAryas (before piLLai lOkAchAryar). He mercifully consolidated them and gave
them in simple granthams written in simple/crisp language. Thus we can understand
that he was the main AchAryan who did pramANa rakshaNam (protecting/nourishing
the knowledge base).
Not only he did pramANa rakshaNam, he was fully involved in pramEya rakshaNam
(protecting/nourishing emperumAn). When everything was going good in srirangam,
suddenly the news of muslim invasion spread like wild fire. Everyone got very worried
since these muslim kings are well known to target temples for the abundant wealth that
are in temples. So, immediately piLLai lOkAchAryar (being the senior most srivaishnva
AchArya those times) took control of the situation. He instructed the srivaishnavas to
raise a wall in front of periya perumAL and left with namperumAL and ubhaya nAchiArs
towards south India. He was much older at that time but did not care for himself and he
travelled along with namperumAL in the journey. When they were going through the
forests, some thieves came and robbed all the jewels of namperumAL. piLLai
lOkAchAryar was going a little bit ahead and when he heard about this he came back
and the thieves being instructed by piLLai lOkAchAryar changes their mind, surrenders
to him and offers the jewels back.
After this, they reach a spot named jyOthiskudi (near madhurai – backside of Anai malai
region). piLLai lOkAchAryar due to his vayOthigam (old age) becomes ill and decides to
leave to paramapadham. He thinks about thirumalai AzhwAr (thiruvAimozhi piLLai) who
is one of his sishyas to be groomed to be the next leader of the sampradhAyam. He
asks his sishyas (especially kUra kulOthama dhAsar) to go and relieve him from his
administrative duties and reform him to be our dharisana pravarthakar. And finally he
gives up his charama thirumEni and reaches paramapadham there itself.

jyOthishkudi – place where piLLai lOkAchAryar attained paramapadham
maNavALa mAmunigaL writes upadhEsa rathina mAlai to glorify piLLai lOkAchAryar

and his srivachana bhUshaNa dhivya sAsthram. He explains about AzhwArs’
avathAram, AchAryas’ avathAram, emperumAnAr’s krupai in opening up our
sampradhAyam to everyone who desires, thiruvAimozhi vyAkyAna avathArams, etc and
starts explaining the avathAram of piLLai lOkAchAryar and the glories of srivachana
bhUshaNa dhivya sAsthram and the meanings that are present in that grantham and
finally says that we must live by those meanings and by doing that we will become the
sath pAthram (holder) of emperumAnAr’s mercy easily. He also says without having
faith in our pUrvAchAryas jnAnam and anushtAnam (instructions and pure life), if we try
to create our own meanings based on our own understandings, interpretations and
logic, we will only be called fuls. mAmunigaL who never uses any apa sabdhams (words
like fuls, etc) anywhere uses a strong word (mUrkar) here to indicate the cruelty of
speaking/acting without faith in our pUrvAchAryas. And this is the essence of
srivachana bhUshaNa dhivya sAsthram as presented by mAmunigaL in his wonderful
upadhEsa rathina mAlai prabhandham.

vEdhAnthAchAryar (also known as nigamAntha mahA dhEsikan) has a written a
wonderful prabhandham named lOkAchArya panchAsath glorifying piLLai lOkAchAryar.
vEdhAnthAchAryar was atleast 50 years younger to piLLai lOkAchAryar and had great
admiration for piLLai lOkAchAryar which can be easily understood from this grantham
which is recited regularly in thirunArAyaNapuram even today. A simple English
translation to lOkAchArya panchAsath written by Shri U.Ve T C A Venkatesan swamy
based on Shri U.Ve V V Ramanujam swamy can be downloaded from
http://acharya.org/books/eBooks/vyakhyanam/LokacharyaPanchasatVyakhyanaSaram-
English.pdf.
Thus we can understand the unbounded glories of piLLai lOkAchAryar who dedicated
his whole life for pramANa rakshaNam and pramEya rakshaNam. Any one claiming to
be a srivaishnava must have gratitude (upakAra smrithi) towards piLLai lOkAchAryar
always, because without him we would neither see namperumAL nor understand the in-
depth meanings of our emperumAnAr dharisanam.
Let us pray at the lotus feet of piLLai lOkAchAryar that we also develop such
piLLai lOkAchAryar’s thanian
lOkAchArya guravE krishNa pAdhasya sUnavE

samsAra bhOgi santhashta jIva jIvAthavE nama:
mangaLAsAsanam to piLLai lOkAchAryar and his gOshti
vAzhi ulagAsiriyan vAzhi avan mannu kulam

vAzhi mudumbai ennu mAnagaram
vAzhi manam chUzhntha pErinba malgumigu nallAr
inam chUzhnthu irukkum iruppu

azhagiya maNavALa perumAL nAyanAr
Thirunakshathram: mArgazhi, avittam
AchAryan: vadakku thiruvIdhi piLLai

Works: thiruppAvai 6000padi vyAkyAnam, kaNNinuN chiruthAmbu vyAkyAnam,

amalanAdhipirAn vyAkyAnam, aruLicheyal rahasyam (rahasya thrayam explanation
using AzhwAr words), AchArya hrudhayam, pattOlai (his own explanation for AchArya
hrudhayam which is not found anymore), etc.
azhagiya maNavALa perumAL nAyanAr was born in srirangam to vadakku thiruvIdhi

piLLai by the grace of namperumAL (we have already seen this in vadakku thiruvIdhi
piLLai idhihyam - http://guruparamparai.wordpress.com/2012/09/17/vadakku-
thiruveedhi-pillai/). He and his elder brother piLLai lOkAchAryar grew up in srirangam
like perumAL and iLaya perumAL in ayOdhya and kannan emperumAn and nambi
mUtha pirAn in gOkulam. They both were blessed to have the katAksham and guidance
of great AchAryas of our sampradhAyam like nampiLLai, periyavAchAn piLLai, vadakku
thiruvIdhi piLLai, etc at the same time. They learnt our sampradhAyam under the lotus
feet of their father vadakku thiruvIdhi piLLai. Also, one of the unique quality of these two
AchArya simhams is that they both took the vow of naishtika bramhacharyam and lived
by that throughout their life.
mAmunigaL, in his upadhEsa rathina mAlai pAsuram 47, glorifies nAyanAr and his
contributions.
NanYchIyar cheytha vyAkkiyaigaL NaliranNdukku (

)
enYchAmai yAvaikkum illaiyE ( இ )
tham chIrAl vaiyaguruvin thambi mannu manNavALamuni (
)
cheyyumavai thAmum chila ( )
Simple translation:
NanjIyar did vyAkyAnams for a few prabhandhams in aruLicheyal (even before
periyavAchAn piLLai). After periyavAchAn piLLai, azhagiya maNavALa perumAL
nAyanAr who is filled with divine qualities and the dear brother of piLLai lOkAchAryar
wrote vyAkyAnams for some prabhandhams in aruLicheyal as well.
In the vyAkyAnam piLLai lOkam jIyar brings out the glories of nAyanAr.
 For “tham chIr”, he brings out one of the important glories of nAyanAr. He
identifies that nAyanAr’s expertise in aruLicheyal is far greater than all other

AchAryas. This can be understood by studying AchArya hrudhayam which is fully
built using the words from aruLicheyal (with some words from ithihAsa,
purANams as well).
 When explaining “vaiya guruvin thambi”, it is show that nAyanAr’s greatness is
due to him being born as the younger brother of piLLai lOkAchAryar. He is
popularly glorified as “jagath guruvarAnuja” (brother of jagath guru piLLai
lOkAchAryar).
While nAyanAr has done vyAkyAnams for thiruppAvai, kaNNinun chiruthAmbu,

amalanAdhipirAn, etc., which are all greatly relishable, his master piece is AchArya
hrudhayam.
His vyAkyAnams/works:
 His thiruppAvai 6000 padi vyAkyAnam is very detailed and most beautiful. In the
vyAkyAnam, the essence of our sampradhAyam is beautifully presented.
Principles like emperumAn’s upAyathvam/upEyathvam, emperumAn’s
nirhEthuka krupai, pirAtti’s purushakAram, paragatha svIkAram, kainkaryathil
kaLai (virOdhi), etc are most eloquently explained by nAyanAr in his thiruppAvai
vyAkyAnam.
 His amalanAdhipirAn vyAkyAnam is one of the best renderings of our
sampradhAyam. He beautifully bridges the thirumEni anubhavam of emperumAn
and the sidhAntham in his vyAkyAnam. We have already seen this as part of
thiuppANAzhwAr’s archavathAra anubhavam in
http://ponnadi.blogspot.in/2012/10/archavathara-anubhavam-
thiruppanazhwar.html.
 His kaNNinuN chiruthAmbu vyAkyAnam beautifully reveals the glories of
panchamOpAyam (accepting AchAryan as everything) and AchArya kainkaryam.
 His aruLicheyal rahasyam beautifully explains rahasya thrayam – thirumanthram,
dhvayam and charamaslOkam through words from aruLicheyal. This is one of
the most classic works which will be fully relished by experts of aruLicheyal.
 Finally, AchArya hrudhayam, his master piece, brings out the true emotions of
NammAzhwAr and his thiruvAimozhi dhivya prabhandham. This grantham
explains the principles that are presented in srivachana bhUshaNa dhivya
sAsthram (that was written by piLLai lOkAchAryar) in further detail. We have
already seen the archAvathAra anubhavam of nAyanAr through AchArya
hrudhayam in http://ponnadi.blogspot.in/2012/11/archavathara-anubhavam-
nayanar-anubhavam.html.
To understand some one’s greatness, one has to see the words of other great
personalities on that person. nAyanAr decided to leave his thirumEni at an early age
and ascended to paramapadham leaving behind piLLai lOkAchAryar. piLLai

lOkAchAryar fell in an ocean of sorrow and cried out keeping nAyanAr’s thirumudi in his
lap and said:
mAmudumbai mannu manNavALa anNnNalodu (

)
chEmamudan vaikuNtham chenRakkAl ( )
mAmenRu thotturaiththa chollum thuyam thanninAzh poruLum (
)
ettezhuththum inGguraippArAr ( இ )
Simple translation:
After nAyanAr ascending to paramapadham with all glories, who is present here to
explain the rahasya thrayam – thirumanthram, dhvayam and charama slOkam (where
emperumAn touched his heart and said “mAm” – I am the protector).
Such is nAyanAr’s glories that piLLai lOkAchAryar himself glorifies him.
Let us pray at the lotus feet of azhagiya maNavALa perumAL nAyanAr that we also
develop such attachment towards emperumAnAr and our AchAryan.
azhagiya maNavALa perumAL nAyanAr’s thanian
dhrAvidAmnAya hrudhayam guruparvakramAgatham

ramyajAmAthrudhEvEna dharsitham krishNasUnunA
glorifications to azhagiya maNavALa perumAL nAyanAr (usually recited after

AchArya hrudhayam)
thantharuLavENum thavaththOr thavappayanAy

vantha mudumbai maNavALa – chinthaiyinAl
nIyuraiththa mARan ninaivin poruLanaiththen
vAyuraiththu vAzhum vagai
His archAvathara anubhavam can be read at

http://ponnadi.blogspot.in/2012/11/archavathara-anubhavam-nayanar-anubhavam.html.

nAyanArAchAn piLLai
thirunakshathram: AvaNi, rOhiNi (In yathIndhra pravaNa prabhAvam it is shown as
chithrai)
AchAryan: periyavAchAn piLLai
sishyas: vAdhi kEsari azhagiya maNavALa jIyar, srI rangAchAryar, parakAla dhAsar,
etc
Works: charamOpAya nirNayam (http://ponnadi.blogspot.in/p/charamopaya-

nirnayam.html), aNuthva purushakArahtva samarthanam, jnAnArNavam, muktha
bOgAvaLi, vyAkyAnam for ALavandhAr‘s chathu: slOki, vyAkyAnam for vishNu sEshi
slOkam of periyavAchAn piLLai, thatva thraya vivaraNam, kaivalya nirNayam, etc
nAyanAr AchAn piLLai is the adopted son of periyavAchAn piLLai. He was named as
azhagiya maNavALa perumAL nAyanAr (sundhara vara rAjAchAryar). He was also
identified as saumyavarEswarar by parakAla dhAsar in his work parakAla nallAn
rahasyam. He was also known as “srI rangarAja dhIkshithar” and identified to be a very
scholarly personality. He wrote many granthams establishing sath sampradhAya
principles in a very authoritative way. He lived along the likes of piLLai lOkAchAryar and
azhagiya maNavALa perumAL nAyanAr.
His works bring out the core essence of our sampradhAyam. He wrote charamOpAya
nirNayam which highlights the true glories of emperumAnAr and his special position in
our sampradhAyam. In his chatu: slOki vyAkyAnam, he has given a detail account of
the nature of periya pirAttiyAr very clearly.
In pramEya rathnam (written by yAmunAchAryar who is a sishya of vAdhi kEsari

azhagiya maNavALa jIyar), it is shown that nAyanArAchAn piLLai writes muktha
bhOgAvaLi when he was very young and shows that to periyavAchAn piLLai. Looking at
the great depth in it, periyavAchAn piLLai greatly glorifies it and starts teaching him the
essence of our sampradhAyam in detail.
Though vAdhi kEsari azhagiya maNavALa jIyar, srI rangAchAryar, parakAla dhAsar are
sishyas of periyavAchAn piLLai, they learn bhagavath vishayam, etc from
nAyanArAchAn piLLai.

Thus, we have seen some glimpses of the glorious life of nAyanArAchAn piLLai. He
was a great scholar and was very dear to periyavAchAn piLLai. Let us pray at his lotus
feet that we too get a little bit of such bhAgavatha nishtai.
nAyanArAchAn piLLai’s thaniyan:
sruthyarthasArajanakam smruthibAlamithram
padhmOllasadh bhagavadhangri purANabhandhum
gyAnAdhirAjam abhayapradharAja sUnum
asmath gurum paramakAruNikam namAmi

vAdhi kEsari azhagiya manavALa jIyar
thirunakshathram: Ani, swAthi
avathAra sthalam: mannAr kOil (brahma dhEsam), near ambA samudhram
AchAryan: periyavAchAn piLLai (samAsrayaNam), nAyanArAchAn piLLai (grantha

kAlakshEpam)
sishyas: yAmunAchAryar (author of pramEya rathnam, thathva bhUshaNam),

pinchenRa villi, etc

Works: thiruvAimozhi 12000 padi vyAkyAnam (word-by-word meaning), thiruviruththam

svApadhEsa vyAkyAnam, dhramidOpansishadh sangathi – thiruvAimozhi sangathi
slOkams,adhyAthma chinthai, rahasyathraya vivaraNam, dhIpa sangraham, thathva
dhIpam, dhIpa prakAsikai, thathtva nirUpaNam, bhagavath gIthai veNbA – thamizh
pAsurams for each slOkam in srI bhagavath gIthai, vyAkyAnam for srI bhagavath gIthai,
etc
He was named varadharAjar by his parents while he was born. He becomes a sishya of
periyavAchAn piLLai at a young age and starts serving him at his thirumadappaLLi
(kitchen). Once when he was about 32 years old, he observes a few vidhwAns
discussing philosophy. Out of curiosity, he goes and asks them what they are
discussing about. Those vidhwAns, knowing that varadharAjar is not knowledgable in
basics, sarcastically say that they are discussing musalakisalayam (a non-existing
grantham). They also chastise him saying that he does not understand any sAsthram
since he was illiterate. varadharAjar goes to periyavAchAn piLLai and explain this
incident. periyavAchAn piLLai says “since you are illiterate, they chastised you”. Being
ashamed of himself, varadharAjar prays to periyavAchAn piLLai to teach him sAsthram.
periyavAchAn piLLai, being most merciful, at once initiates him in to sAsthram and
starts teaching him kAvya, nAtaka, alankAra, shabdha, tharkka, pUrva mimAmsa,
uththara mImAmsa, etc. Within a short time frame, by the mercy of his AchAryan,
varadharAjar becomes a great expert in sAsthram and writes a grantham named
“musalakisalayam” and gives that back to the vidhwAns who chastised him to be
illiterate before. He learns bhagavath vishayam, etc from nAyanArAchAn piLLai. His life
is a perfect example of how AchArya katAksham can bring one up to great heights.
Soon, he develops total detachment and accepts sannyAsa Ashramam and accepts the
name azhagiya maNavALa jIyar (sundhara jAmAthru muni). He also defeats many
scholars of other philosophies through debates and gets the title “vAdhi kEsari” (lion
among debators).
He writes many granthams which are of great value in our samrpadhAyam. He writes
word-by-word meaning for thiruvAimozhi named 12000 padi (similar in size to srI
bhAgavatham which has 12000 slOkams). This is a great work – in all other
vyAkyAnams of thiruvAimozhi the overall flow of the pAsuram and the divine emotions
of nammAzhwAr is explained. But no other vyAkyAnam, explains the word-by-word
meaning which is very essential to understand the pAsurams in a crystal clear manner.
His other notable grantham is the thamizh pAsuram for each slOkam in gIthai. He
explains the principles explained in gIthai slOkams in simple thamizh pAsuram. He has
also done a number of rahasya granthams.

His sishya yAmunAchAryar (who is a descendant of thirumAlai ANdAn) writes a couple
of excellent rahasya granthams (thathva bhUshaNam and pramEya rathnam) – both are
filled with valuable sampradhAyam principles.
maNavALa mAmunigaL, while discussing the various vyAkyAnams for thiruvAimozhi,

glorifies vAdhi kEsari azhagiya maNavALa jIyar and his 12000 padi vyAkyAnam in great
detail. Let us see upadhEsa rathina mAlai 45th pAsuram in detail.
anbOdu azhagiya manNavALach chIyar

pinbOrum kaRRaRiNthu pEchukaikkAth
tham periya pOthamudan mARan maRaiyin poruL uRaiththathu
Ethamil pannIrAyiram
Simple translation: With great love, azhagiya maNavALa jIyar explained the (word-by-
word) meanings of thiruvAimozhi in his 12000 padi which is pure (blemishless) using his
great intellect, so that every one can speak about thiruvAimozhi in the future.
In the vyAkyAnam, piLLai lOkam jIyar identifies the following points:
 love here means – a) attachment/devotion towards thiruvAimozhi and b) mercy

towards jIvAthmAs (he blessed this vyAkyAnam for the upliftment of jIvAthmAs).
 Even though there are 4 other vyAkyAnams, if there is any doubt in actual
meaning for a particular word in the pAsuram, one has to depend on this 12000
padi only. So this is considered as an important vyAkyAnam.
 vAdhi kEsari azhagiya maNavALa jIyar’s knowledge/intellect is greatly glorified
by mAmunigaL since he was such an expert in thiruvAimozhi and presented the
most valuable meanings in a crisp manner.
 AzhwAr‘s divine emotions are beautifully revealed in this vyAkyAnam as it is. It
also perfectly lines up with other vyAkyAnms. For example, where it is brief in
piLLAn‘s 6000 padi, this will explain it in detail. Whatever is explained in
periyavAchAn piLLai‘s 24000 padi or nampiLLai‘s 36000 padi, this will explain the
same in brief.
 Just like AzhwAr himself declares his pAsurams are Ethamil (pure/blemishless),
mAmunigaL declares 12000 padi is pure/blemishless.

Thus, we have seen some glimpses of the glorious life of vAdhi kEsari azhagiya
manavALa jIyar. He was fully situated in bhAgavatha nishtai and was very dear to
periyavAchAn piLLai and nAyanArAchAn piLLai. Let us pray at his lotus feet that we too
get a little bit of such AchArya nishtai.
vAdhi kEsari azhagiya manavALa jIyar’s thaniyan:
sundharajAmAthrumunE: prapadhyE charaNAmbhujam

samsArArNava sammagna janthu santhArapOthakam

kUra kulOthama dhAsar
thirunakshathram: ippasi, thiruvAdhirai
AchAryan: vadakku thiruveedhi piLLai (heard kAlakshEpams from piLLai lOkAchAryar

and azhagiya maNavALa perumAL nAyanAr)
Also known as kUra kulOthama nAyan, he was born in srirangam and was living there.
kUra kulOthama dhAsar is instrumental in bringing thirumalai AzhwAr (thiruvAimozhi

piLLai) back into our sampradhAyam. He is one of the close associates of piLLai
lOkAchAryar and he travelled with him during thiruvarangan ulA (nampermAL’s journey
during kalAba kAlam). At jyOthishkudi, during his last moments, piLLai lOkAchAryar
instructs kUra kulOthama dhAsar, thirukkaNNankudi piLLai, thirupputkuzhi jIyar, nAlur
piLLai and viLAnchOlai piLLai to give all the divine knowledge in our sampradhAyam to
thirumalai AzhwAr (who had pancha samskAram under the lotus feet of piLLai
lOkAchAryar at a very young age) and make him the leader of our sampradhAyam.

kUra kulOthama dhAsar first goes to meet thirumalai AzhwAr who is the minister in the
mathurai kingdom. Because of thirumalai AzhwAr’s expertise in administration and
thamizh language and because the king died at a young age, he was taking care off the
king’s responsibilities and nurturing the prince. When he first went there, he started
reciting nammAzhwAr’s thiruvirutham. thirumalai AzhwAr was doing his rounds in his
palanquin and noticed him at that time. Without stepping down from the palanquin he
asked kUra kulOthama dhAsar to teach the meanings of the same and in return he spit
at him. Looking at this thirumalai AzhwAr’s servants became angry and try to punish
kUra kulOthama dhAsar but was stopped by thirumalai AzhwAr who realised the
greatness of him.
When thirumalai AzhwAr returned to his palace and explained the incident to his step-
mother who was guiding him, she reminded his relationship with piLLai lOkAchAryar
and glorified kUra kulOthama dhAsar. He started to look for kUra kulOthama dhAsar
again.
Once, when thirumalai AzhwAr was going on an elephant, kUra kulOthama dhAsar,
climbed on a high place so he is visible to him. thirumalai AzhwAr noticed him and
immediately stepped down from his elephant and fell flat on the lotus feet of kUra
kulOthama dhAsar and started glorifying him. He then brought kUra kulOthama dhAsar
to his palace and learnt all the valuable instructions of piLLai lOkAchAryar briefly from
him. Being purified by those instructions, he requested kUra kulOthama dhAsar to visit
him every day during this morning anushtAnam and teach all the sampradhAya
vishayam since he is busy otherwise. He also arranges a residence for kUra kulOthama
dhAsar along the banks of vaigai river, provides all necessary items (provisions, etc) for
his livelihUd.
kUra kulOthama dhAsar starts visiting thirumalai AzhwAr every day. He notices
thirumalai AzhwAr reciting piLLai lOkAchAryar‘s thanian while applying thirumaN kAppu
(we are suppose to recite the guru paramparai thanians while applying thirumaN kAppu)
and becomes very pleased. He starts teaching all the meanings but one fine morning he
does not arrive. When thirumalai AzhwAr sends his servants to kUra kulOthama
dhAsar, there is no response. So, he himself goes directly with great attachment to his
AchAryan and kUra kulOthama dhAsar makes him wait for some time. Finally he goes
and falls flat at the lotus feet of kUra kulOthama dhAsar and asks for forgiveness for any
mistakes he committed. Since he arrived during kAlakshEpam time, he also attends the
same and accepts sripAdha thIrtham and sEsha prasAdham of kUra kulOthama
dhAsar. The sEsha prasAdham of bhagavath adiyArs have great ability to purify any
one and it brought in a great change in thirumalai AzhwAr also. After consuming it,
thirumalai Azhwar started saying “kUra kulOthama dhAsa nAyan thiruvadigaLE
sharaNam” repeatedly and showed great detachment to the kingdom and worldly
affairs.

kUra kulOthama dhAsar then left to sikkil (a place near thiruppullANi). thirumalai
AzhwAr gave up his duties in the kingdom and went and stayed with kUra kulOthama
dhAsar and served him fully. During his last days, kUra kulOthama dhAsar instructs
thirumalai AzhwAr to go and learn further sampradhAya vishayams from viLAnchOlai
piLLai and thirukkaNNankudi piLLai. He finally left his charama thirumEni meditating on
piLLai lOkAchAryar and reached paramapadham.
mAmunigaL glorifies kUra kulOthama dhAsar as “kUra kulOthama dhAsam udhAram”

(one who is very merciful and generous), because of his unlimited krupai of taking many
efforts to reform thirumalai AzhwAr and for transmitting the divine knowledge that was
learnt from piLLai lOkAchAryar. He has an important place in our rahasya grantha
kAlakshEpa paramparai and he is glorified in many of the thanians for the rahasya
granthams.
In srivachana bhUshaNa dhivya sAsthram, it is concluded that for a sishya “AchArya

abhimAnamE uththAragam” ( ). In the
vyAkyAnam mAmunigaL explains that, for a prapanna who has given up all other
upAyams, it is the nirhEthuka krupai of AchAryan and that AchAryan’s thought that “this
is my sishyan” is the only way for salvation. In the charithram of piLLai lOkAchAryar,
kUra kulOthama dhAsar and thiruvAimozhi piLLai, we can see this clearly. It was piLLai
lOkAchAryars abhimAnam towards thiruvAimozhi piLLai and kUra kulOtham dhAsar’s
abhimAnam and tireless efforts which gave us the great AchAryan thiruvAimozhi piLLai
who eventually gave us azhagiya maNavALa mAmunigaL.
Let us remember kUra kulOthama dhAsar who always remembers piLLai lOkAchAryar.
kUra kulOthama dhAsar’s thaniyan:
lOkAchArya krupApAthram kauNdinya kula bhUshaNam

samasthAthma guNAvAsam vandhE kUra kulOthamam

viLanchOlai piLLai
AzhvAr EmperumAnAr jIyar thiruvadigaLE charaNam
Taken from Sri Raghuram swamy’s blogsite

(http://acharyar.wordpress.com/2012/10/26/vilancholai-pillai-vaibhavam/) with his
permission and applied minor formatting changes.
sri viLAnchOlai piLLai is one of the sishyAs of sri piLLai lOkAchAriar.
His dAshya nAmam is ‘nalam thigazh nArAyANa dhAsar’.
His place of birth is the village of ‘ARanUr’ near thiruvanandhapuram.
This is in the shores of a river called ‘karaimanai’.
His thirunakshathiram falls on aippasi uthirattAdhi.
He was born in EEzhava kulam. Due to his kulam he was not able to go inside the
temple, so he used to climb ‘viLam’ trees in his village to get darshan of the gOpuram of
thiruvanandhapuram anantha padmanABhan temple, and do mangaLasAsanam.

Thaniyans
thulA..hirbuDhnya samBhootham srIlOkArya padhAshritham
sapthagAThA pravakthAram nArAyaNa maham BhajE
3 4 4 3
S
3 2 4
srI lOkArya padhAravindhamakilam SruthyarthTha kOSAmsthaThA

gOshTInjchApi thadhEka lIna manasA sanjithayantham mudhA
srI nArAyaNa dhAsamAryamamalam sEvE sathAm SEvDhim
srI vAgBhUshaNa gUDaBhAva vivruthim yas sapthagAThAm vyaDhath
3 3 2 2 2
3 2 3 3
3 4
3 4 3 4 4 3 2 4
More about viLAnchOlai piLLai
viLanchOlai piLLai learned EEdu, sri bhAshyam, etc., thathvathrayam and other
rahasya granthams, etc., from sri azhagiya maNavALa pErumAL nAyanArAcharyar,
who is the younger brother of sri piLLai lOkachariar.
He learned srI vachana bhUshaNam from his AchAryan sri piLLai lOkAchariar, and was
considered an expert in its meanings (adhikAri).
sri viLAnchOlai piLLai wrote ‘saptha gAThai’, which gives us the essence of his
Acharyan’s sri vachana bhUshaNam.
Note: mUlam for saptha gAThai is available in Sanskrit, English, and Thamizh at:
http://acharya.org/sloka/vspillai/index.html
One of the biggest kainkaryams he did to his AchAryan is to follow his AchAryan’s
instructions which was given during his Acharyan’s charama dhasai - sri piLLai
lOkAchAriar wanted his sishyAs to reach out to thiruvoimOzhi piLLai (then thirumalai
AzhvAr) and prepare him to be the next AchAryar in this golden lineage; Sri

piLLailOkAchAriar instructed viLAnchOlai piLLai to teach thirumalai AzhvAn (Sri
thiruvoimOzhi piLLai), the meaning of srI vachana bhUshaNam.
viLanchOlai piLLai and thiruvAimOzhi piLLai
When thiruvAimOzhi piLLai reached thiruvananthapuram, he was welcomed by the

namboodhiries, and did mangaLasAsanam to ananthapadhmanAbhan through the three
windows, and then looked for srI viLAnchOlai piLLai.
When he found his place and reached there he was in for a big surprise! viLanchOlai
piLLai was in yOga meditating on his AchAryan piLLai lOkAchAriar’s thirumEni, and
about the greatness of all his sishyAs and their whole presence in thiruvarangam during
those days.
viLAnchOlai piLLai’s thirumEni (divine body) was covered in spider webs.
thiruvAimOzhi piLLai fell on his feet and stood silently in front of him. viLanchOlai piLLai
immediately opened his eyes and his grace fell on thiruvAimOzhi piLLAi. He was happy
to see the sishyA that he has been waiting for.
He gave the deep meanings of srI vachana BhUshaNam to thiruvAimOzhi piLLai. In

addition he wrote 7 pasurams that is saptha gAThai which gives the essence of srI
vachana bhUshaNam, and explained about saptha gAthai too to thiruvAimOzhi piLLai.
This was a prime example for ‘kodumin koNmin’ as said by thONdaradi podi AzhVar –
viLanchOlai piLLai of EEzha kulam gave, and thiruvAimOzhi piLLai of brahmin kulam
received, the essence of sri vaishNavam.
After some time, thiruvAimOzhi piLLai took leave from viLAnchOlai piLLai, and went on
to become a dharsana pravarthakar of srI rAmAnuja dharisanam.
viLanchOlai piLLai’s charamam
One day namboodhris were doing thiruvArAdhanam to anantha padmanAbhan, and

viLanchOlai piLLai entered the temple through east entrance; cross the dhwaja
sthambham; went past narasimhar, and entered through the north entrance of sanctum
sanctOrum (garbha gruham), climbed the stairs near ‘ORRai kal maNdapam’, and out of

the three windows that give sEvai to peruman, he stood near the window that gives
dharshan to His lotus feet.
When namboodhiris saw this, according to the custom of the time, did not want to be in
the sanctum sanctorum due to the cast of viLanchOlai piLLai and so they closed the
doors of the sannidhi, and started to go out of the temple.
At the same time, some of the local sishyas of viLanchOlai piLLai approached the
temple and announced that their AchAryan viLAnchOlai piLLAi has reached the
thiruvadi of his AchAryar piLLai lOkachariar!! And they wanted ‘thiru pariyattam, and
flower garlands’ from perumAn, for the charama thirumEni of viLAnchOlai piLLai!! They
stood near the temple entrance and were reciting irAmanusa nUtrandhAdhi iyal etc.
When namboodhris saw this, they were surprized about the happenings earlier near the
sanctum sanctOrum and informed about this to every one!
Like how thiruppANAzhvAr reached the thiruvadi of pEriya pErumAL in pEriya kOil, here
viLAnchOlai piLLai had reached the thiruvadi of anantha padmanAbhan!
thiruvAimOzhi piLLai after hearing this news, did all charama kainkaryams that sishyas
would do for their AchAryan, and did thiruvadhyayanam too in a complete manner.
Reminds us of pEriya nambi’s kainkaryam to mAranEri nambi.
Following was given by the sishyas who celebrated the greatness of thiruvAimozhi
piLLAi having sishya bhAvam towards viLAnchOlai piLLai.
patRAdha engaL maNavALa yOgi padham paNindhOn

naRREvarAsa-nalanthigazh nArNa thAdharudan
kaRRArenkUrakulOthama thAdhan kazhal paNivOn
maRRArum ovvA thiruvAimozhip piLLai vAzhiyavE

Following vAzhi was given by thiruvAimozhi piLLAi on viLanchOlai piLLai.
vAzhi nalam thikazh nAraNathAdhan aruL

vAzhi avan amudha vAymozhigaL – vAzhiyave
ERu thiruvudaiyAn enthai ulagAriyan sol
thERu thiruvudaiyAn sIr
Sources:
1. “mannu pugazh maNavALa mAmunivan”, irA. arangarAjan, 2011.
2. “nithAyAnusandhAnam” from srI vaishnava srI; srI sudharsanar trust.
3. yathIndrapravaNa prabhAvam by srI piLLailOkam jIyar, published by Sri. U.Ve. Dr.

V.V. Ramanujan, 1992, 2000, 2006.
4. mUlam of saptha gAThai found at http://acharya.org/sloka/vspillai/index.html

taken on Oct 27, 2012.
5. ‘srI Ramanuja E-Journal’ edition found at http://www.docstoc.com/docs/2437367/Sri-

Ramanuja-E-Journal – taken on Oct 27, 2012.
6. Picture courtesy through Sri Sarathy Thothadri swami.

thiruvAimozhi piLLai
thiruvAimozhi piLLai – kunthInagaram (konthagai)
Thirunakshathram: vaikAsi, visAkam
avathAra sthalam: kunthInagaram (konthagai)
AchAryan: piLLai lOkAchAryar
Sishyas: azhagiya maNavALa mAmunigaL, satagOpa jIyar (bhavishyadhAcAryan

sannidhi), thathvEsa jIyar, etc

Place where he attained paramapadham: AzhwAr thirunagari
Works: periyAzhwAr thirumozhi svApadhEsam
Born as thirumalai AzhwAr, he is also known as srisailEsar, satagOpa dhAsar and

eventually became to be famously known as thiruvAimozhi piLLai due to his interest and
propagation of AzhwAr’s thiuvAimozhi.
thirumalai AzhwAr had his pancha samskAram done at a young age at the lotus feet of
piLLai lOkAchAryar. He was a great scholar in tamizh and also a great administrator. He
drifted off from the sampradhAyam and became the chief advisor of the madhurai
kingdom as the king died at an early age leaving behind his young sons at the care of
thirumalai AzhwAr. piLLai lOkAchAryar during his final days, had his divine mercy on
thirumalai AzhwAr and instructed kUra kulOthama dhAsar and other sishyas to reform
thirumalai AzhwAr and make him the leader of our sampradhAyam. kUra kulOthama
dhAsar then ventured out to meet thirumalai AzhwAr to reform him.
During this time (little after when the muslim invasion happens), nammAzhwAr travels
from AzhwAr thirunagari and stays with namperumAL in kOzhikOde for some time. But
when namperumAL leaves from there, due to some internal disagreements between the
local people, AzhwAr does not travel with him. At that time, AzhwAr is taken to the south
west region into the mountaneous areas and fearing for thieves and robbers he was
placed in a box and kept under a cliff for safety. After some time, a srivaishnava named
thOzhappar who was very attached to nammAzhwAr, comes to thirumalai AzhwAr,
requests for a bunch of soldiers for protection to go and rescue nammAzhwAr.
thirumalai AzhwAr gladly arranges the same and thOzhappar guides the soldiers to the
cliff. When everyone was scared to go down the cliff thOzhappar volunteers to go down.
At that time, the srivaishnavas from AzhwArthirungari appreciates thOzhappar and tells
him that from that day onwards he will get special mariyAdhai/prasAdham from AzhwAr
for his efforts. He goes down in a winch kind of arrangement, places nammAzhwAr
safely and sends him up. When the second time the winch was sent down to bring
thOzhappar he some how slips and falls down the cliff and attains paramapadham
immediately. nammAzhwAr immediately pacifies thOzhappar’s son and says to him that
he himself will be the father of thOzhappar’s son. Thus thOzhappar’s efforts (with the
help of thirumalai AzhwAr) help bring nammAzhwAr back to thirukkaNAmbi where he
stays from then onwards.
On to thirumalai AzhwAr now. Once when thirumalai AzhwAr is doing his routine rounds
in his palanquin, he comes across kUra kulOthama dhAsar who was reciting AzhwAr’s
thiruvirutham. Since thirumalai AzhwAr had the blessings of piLLai lOkAchAryar, he was
able to immediately understand the greatness of dhAsar and stepped down from his
palanquin and requested dhAsar to teach him the meanings of thiruvirutham. But

dhAsar says he wont teach him the meanings yet and spat at him. Since thirumalai
AzhwAr was blessed to be a sAthvikar, he stopped his servants to harm dhAsar for his
action and left the place. He later informed his foster-mother about the incident who
reminds him about his relationship with piLLai lOkAchAryar. thirumalai AzhwAr
immediately realizes what he has been missing and feels for that. Again, when
thirumalai AzhwAr is travelling on an elephant, he sees dhAsar. This time he
immediately steps down and falls flat at the lotus feet of dhAsar. dhAsar accepts him
and agrees to teach all the meanings then. thirumalai AzhwAr establishes an
agrahAram (area) specifically for dhAsar with all arrangements for his thiruvArAdhanam,
etc. Since he is extremely busy with administrative activities, thirumalai AzhwAr
requests dhAsar to visit him daily while he applies thirumaN kAppu and dhAsar agrees.
When dhAsar arrives the first time he notices that thirumalai AzhwAr is reciting piLLai
lOkAchAryar’s thanian while applying thirumaN kAppu and is very pleased with that.
From then onwards he regularly teaches thirumalai AzhwAr all the knowledge that he
learnt from piLLai lOkAchAryar. Once when thirumalai AzhwAr was busy and unable to
attend the class, dhAsar does not visit on the subsequent days. When thirumalai
AzhwAr visits dhAsar and asks for aparAdha kshAmanam, dhAsar accepts him and
gives him his sEsha prasAdham. From then onwards, thirumalai AzhwAr completely
becomes detached from the loukIka activities, transfers the powers to the young prince
and leaves the kingdom and stays with dhAsar all the time.
During the final days of dhAsar, dhAsar instructs thirumalai AzhwAr to go to

thirukkaNNangudi piLLai to learn thiruvAimozhi in detail and viLanchOlai piLLai to learn
all rahasya arthams. dhAsar also appoints him as the leader of our sampradhAyam.
After dhAsar attaining paramapadham meditating on piLLai lOkAchAryar, thirumalai
AzhwAr does all the charama kainkaryamas for him in a grand manner.
thirumalai AzhwAr goes to thirukkaNNangudi piLLai and starts learning thiruvAimozhi.

While piLLai teaches him the essence, thirumalai AzhwAr also wants to know word by
word meanings. piLLai sends him to thirupputkuzhi jIyar to learn the same. thirumalai
AzhwAr then goes to thirupputkuzhi, but unfortunately just before his arrival jIyar had
attained paramapadham. thirumalai AzhwAr becomes very upset but he then decides to
do mangaLAsAsanam to dhEva perumAL. When he arrives he was welcomed by every
one there and dhEva perumAL gives his sri satagOpam, mAlai, sARRupadi, etc to him.
At that time nAlUr piLLai was also present in the sannidhi. (Note: nampiLLai gave the
eedu vyAkyAnam to eeyuNNi mAdhava perumAL who in turn taught it to his brother
eeyuNNi padmanAbha perumAL. nAlUr piLLai is the direct sishya of eeyuNNi
padmanAbha perumAL who has learnt eedu vyAkyAnam fully and has also taught the
same to his son nAlUr AchAn piLLai.) dhEva perumAL directly speaks to nAlUr piLLai
and says “as I mentioned in jyOthishkudi (as piLLai lOkAchAryar) you should teach
thirumalai AzhwAr all the meanings of aruLicheyal including thiruvAimozhi eedu
vyAkyAnam which he could not hear from thirupputkuzhi jIyar”. Hearing that nAlUr

piLLai says he will be fortunate to do that, but his old age would not allow him to teach
thirumalai AzhwAr properly. Then dhEva perumAL says “If your son nAlUr AchAn piLLai
teaches its as good as you teaching”. Hearing this divine order, nAlUr piLLai accepts
thirumalai AzhwAr with great joy and brings him to nAlUr AchAn piLLai and instructs him
to teach eedu along with other aruLicheyal meanings.
nAlUr AchAn piLLai (also known as dhEvarAjar) starts teaching him the meanings and
hearing about these incidents thirunArAyaNapurathu Ayi, thirunArAyaNapurathu piLLai
and others request nAlUr AchAn piLLai and thirumalai AzhwAr to come and live at
thirunArAyaNa puram and continue the kAlakshEpam there so they can also learn this
in detail. They accept the invitation and reach thirunArAyaNa puram, performs
mangaLAsAsanam to emperumAnAr, yathugiri nAchiAr, selva piLLai and thirunAraNan
and performs the kAlakshEpam fully there. There thirumalai AzhwAr learns eedu in full
depth and being pleased with him and his service attitude, nAlUr AchAn piLLai presents
his thiruvArAdhana perumAL (inavAyar thalaivan) to thirumalai AzhwAr. Thus eedu
36000 padi gets propagated from nAlUr AchAn piLLai through 3 great scholars –
thirumalai AzhwAr, thirunArAyanapurathu Ayi and thirunArAyanapurathu piLLai.
thirumalai AzhwAr then decides to go to AzhwAr thirunagari to live there permanently.

He finds out that AzhwAr thirunagari has become like a forest since nammAzhwAr left
the place. He first arrives there and clears all the bushes and woods. He becomes to be
known as kAdu vetti guru (because he is the AchAryan who cleared the forest) for his
kainkaryam of bringing AzhwAr thirunagari back to its beautiful shape. He then brings
nammAzhwAr over from thirukkaNambi (in kerala) to AzhwAr thirunagari and re-
establishes the temple worship there. He also establishes a temple for emperumAnAr
(bhavaishyadhAchAryan thirumEni which was given by nammAzhwAr himself long ago)
in AzhwAr thirunagari in the western part of the town, builds a chathurvEdhi mangalam
(4 streets around the temple) and establishes a set of 10 families and a srivaishnava
ammaiyAr who was a widow to look after the kainkaryams in that temple. Since he was
always engaged in glorifying nammAzhwAr and teaching thiruvAimozhi piLLai he
became to be known as thiruvAimozhi piLLai.
After a while, thiruvAimozhi piLLai decides to go to thiruvananthapuram and meet with

viLAnchOlai piLLai who was one of the dear sishyas of piLLai lOkAchAryar to learn all
the rahasya granthams. viLAnchOlai piLLai was always meditating on his AchAryan and
was happy to receive thiruvAimozhi piLLai. viLAnchOlai piLLai teaches him all the in-
depth meanings to thiruvAimozhi piLLai and blesses him completely. After that
thiruvAimozhi piLLai returns to AzhwAr thirunagari. Later viLAnchOlai piLLai decides to
give up his charama thirumEni to serve his AchAryan permanently in nithya vibhUthi
and does so. Hearing this, thiruvAimozhi piLLai performs all the charama kainkaryams
for him.

After some time periya perumAL orders AdhisEshan to re-appear in this samsAram to
bring many jIvAthmAs to paramapadham. thiruvananthAzhwAn accepts his swamy’s
orders and takes birth as azhagiya maNavALa perumAL nAyanAr (who eventually
becomes azhagiya maNavALa mAmunigaL) as the son of thigazha kidanthAn
thirunAvIrudaya pirAn (coming in the lineage of gOmadathAzhwAn who was one of the
74 simhAsanAdhipathis established by emperumAnAr) and sriranga nAchiAr on ippasi
thirumUlam in AzhwAr thirunagari. He was raised in his mother’s place in sikkil kidAram
for a while where he learns all the sAmAnya sAsthram and does vEdha adhyayanam
under his father. Hearing about thiruvAimozhi piLLai, azhagiya maNavALa perumAL
nAyanAr returns to AzhwAr thiunagari, becomes a sishya of him, starts serving him and
learning aruLicheyal and its meanings from him fully. Under the guidance of
thiruvAimozhi piLLai, he performs thiruvArAdhanam to bhavaishyadhAchAryan with
utmost love and dedication and also composes yathirAja vimsathi glorifying
emperumAnAr. When some of thiruvAimozhi piLLai’s sishyas wonder why their
AchAryan is so attached to azhagiya maNavALa perumAL nAyanAr, thiruvAimozhi
piLLai understands that and explains to them that he is none other than AdhisEshan
himself.
Towards the end of his life, thiruvAimozhi piLLai, starts worrying about a successor to
carry our sampradhAyam after his time. At that time, azhagiya maNavALa perumAL
nAyanAr vows that he will take up that responsibility and fulfill his desires. Very pleased
with that, thiruvAimozhi piLLai instructs him that he should learn sribhAshyam once but
focus fully on thiruvAimozhi and its vyAkyAnams for the rest of his life with the mind
fixed on doing mangaLAsAsanam to periya perumAL at srirangam. thiruvAimozhi piLLai
tells his sishyas that they should have great respect towards azhagiya maNavALa
perumAL nAyanAr and consider him to be a special avathAram. After that, mediating on
piLLai lOkAchAryar’s thiruvadi, thiruvAimozhi piLLai gives up his charama thirumEni
and reaches paramapadham. azhagiya maNavALa perumAL nAyanAr and other
sishyas perform the charama kainkaryams in a grand manner.
Like emperumAnAr who took shelter of periya nambi (parAngusa dhAsar), azhagiya
maNavALa perumAL nAyanAr took shelter of thiruvAimozhi piLLai (satagOpa dhAsar).
It is by his efforts we see AzhwAr thirunagari in its current shape with AthinAthar
AzhwAr temple and bhavishyadhAchAryan (emperumAnAr) temple. He dedicated his
life for nammAzhwAr and thiruvAimozhi, he went to so many places to gather all the
instructions from many AchAryas according to the instructions of piLLai lOkAchAryar
and finally gave all of them to azhagiya maNavALA perumAL nAyanAr who will soon
become azhagiya maNavALa mAmunigaL. Also, It is by the efforts of thiruvAimozhi
piLLai we have received the eedu 36000 padi vyAkyAnam which was propagated to
great heights by azhagiya maNavALa mAmunigaL subsequently.

Let us pray at the lotus feet of thiruvAimozhi piLLai that we also develop such
thiruvAimozhi piLLai’s thanian
nama srIsailanAthAya kunthI nagara janmanE

prasAdhalabdha parama prApya kainkaryasAlinE

vEdAnthAchAriar
Taken from Sri Raghuram swamy’s blogsite

(http://acharyar.wordpress.com/2012/09/25/sri-vedanthachariar-vaibhavam/) with his
permission and applied minor formatting changes.

srImAn vEnkatanAthArya: kavithArkkika kEsarI
vEdhAnthAchAryavaryO mE sannidhhaththAm sadhA hrudhi
[One who is like a lion to any opposing pundits and debaters, one who possesses
wonderful wealth (of gyAnam, bHakthi, vairAgyam, and more), and whose thiru nAmam
is ‘vEnkatanathan’, such Sri vEdhAnthAchAryar shall always live in my heart.]
Thiru avathAram
Name at birth vEnkatanAthan
Year of birth kali yuga year of 4370 (1268 CE)
Month & thirunakshathram purattasi, thiruvONam (same as that of

thiruvEngadamUdaiyAn )
Place of birth Kancheepuram, thiruththanka
gOthram vishvAmithra gOthram
Incarnation Holy bell of thiruvEnkadamudaiyAn (as

he also mentions this in his grantham
‘sankalpa sUryOdhaya’
Parents anantha sUri and thOthArambai

Age when leaving this vibhUthi About a hundred years.
He left this vibhUthi in about the Kali
yuga year of 4470 (1368 CE) from
Srirangam.
He got the name ‘vEdhAnthAchAriar’ from Sri ranganAthan, and the name
‘kavithArkika kEsari’ and ‘sarvathanthra swathanthrar’ by Sri ranga nAchiar.
He had a son named ‘varadhAchariar’. Sri varadhAchariar and a jIyar named

‘brahmathanthra swathanthrar jIyar’ were his sishyas.
KidAmbi AchAn’s grandson kidAmbi appuLLAr is one of the sishyas of Sri NadAdhUr
ammAL.
“appUL” as mentioned in Thiruviruththam 3 refers to Garuda. The term ‘appuLLAr’ in his

name is based on him being likened to Garuda in qualities. Another name given to him
is ‘vAdhi hamsAmbuvAhar” – like a cloud that defeats hamsas, he defeats the opposing
debaters. His given name was ‘RAmAnujar’.
Sri kidAmbi appuLAr’s nephew and sishyar is the world famous Sri VedhAnthachAriar.
When vEdAnthAchAriar was young he went with his maternal uncle (Sri kidAmbi
appuLAr) to attend Sri nadAdhUr ammAL’s kAlakshEpa goshti. vEdAnthAchAriar refers
to this and says that Sri nadAdhUr ammAL had blessed him at that time that he will
establish well and clear all the oppositions of vishishtAdhvaitha Srivaishnava
sidhAntham.
Granthams
As blessed by nadAdhUr ammAL, Sri vEdhAnthachAriar wrote innumerable granthams,

won many philosophers and debaters who are against vishishtAdhvaitham.
Sri vEdhandhachAriar has written more than a hundred granthams, and they are in
Sanskrit, Tamil, and maNipravALam (mixture of Sanskrit and Tamil).
Following are some of the most important of his granthams.
o thAthparya chandhrikai which is a gIta bhAshya vyakyAnam

o thathvateekai, vyakyAnam for a part of Sri Bhashyam
o nyAya sidhdHanjanam, which analyses the philosophy our sampradhAyam
o sadha dhUshani which argues against adhvaitha philosophy
o adHikarNa sArAvaLi related to groupings in Sri Bhashya
o thathva mukthAkalApam that explains our thathvam; its vyAkyAnam named

‘sarvArtHa sidhdHi’
o bhAshyams in Sanskrit for sthOthra chatuslOki and gadhya thrayam
o sankalpa sUryOdhayam which is in the form of drAmA
o dhayA sathakam, pAdhukA sahasram, yAdhavabhyudhayam,

hamsasandhEsam;
o rahasyathraya sAram, sampradhAya parisudhdhi, abhayapradhAna sAram,

para matha bhangam
o munivAhana bhOgam which is a vyAkyAnam on amalanAdhipirAn
o AhAra niyamam, a tamil text on recommended food habits
o sthothras like dasAvathAra sthothram, godha sthuthi, srI sthuthi, yathiraja

sapthathi
o dhramidOpanishad thAthparya rathnAvaLi, dhramidOpanishad sAram, that

provide meanings on thiruvoimozhi, and so on and more.
The content so far in this article is mostly based on a malar published by Puthur Swami.

kAnchi Sri Thoopul vEdAnthAchAriar during avathAra uthsavam
vEdAnthachariar and other Acharyars
0 vEdAnthAchAriar has a written a wonderful prabhandham named lOkAchArya

panchAsath glorifying piLLai lOkAchAryar. vEdhAnthAchAryar was atleast 50 years
younger to piLLai lOkAchAryar and had great admiration for piLLai lOkAchAryar which
can be easily understood from this grantham; this grantham is recited regularly in
thirunArAyaNapuram (Melkote, Karnataka) even today. A simple English translation to
lOkAchArya panchAsath written by Shri U.Ve T. C. A. Venkatesan swamy based on
Shri U.Ve V. V. Ramanujam swamy can be downloaded from
English.pdf.
0 vAdhikEsari azhagiya maNavaLa jIyar in his grantham ‘Tatvadeepa’ and others,

has referred to vEdAnthAchAriar’s granthams 2.

0 Sri maNavALa mAmunigaL in his vyakyanam for thathvathrayam and
mumukshupadi (which were written by Sri piLLai lOkAchAriar), refers to the words of
vEdanthAchariAr; and maNavALa mAmunigaL fondly refers to vEdhAnthAchAriar as
‘abhiyukthar’3.
0 Sri ErumbiappA, one of the ashta dikgajangaL of maNavALa mAmunigaL, in his

‘vilakshaNamOkshAdhikAri nirNayam’ references vEdhAnthAchariar’s
‘nyAyavimsathi’, and provides summary of its meaning as well3.
0 Swami Dhoddachariar of Cholasimhapuram (Sholingur) wrote a commentary on

vedAntha dEsika’s ‘SatadhooshaNi’, called ‘ChandamArutham’. Hence he was
referred to as ‘ChandamArutham Dhoddachar’, and his descendent AcharyAs are also
referred so to this date.
0 The devotion of PrativAthi bhayankaram aNNa and his sishyas and descendents
for vEdAnthAchAriar is well known. The descendents living in ThiruvindhaLUr and other
southern centres even bear the name of vEdanthAchAriar’s son referred to as
‘nAyinAchAriar’, thus extending their devotion down to his son.
0 Many other AchAryAs and vidwAns have written commentaries on or referenced

vEdAnthAchAriar’s granthams.
. . . . . narasimharAjAcharya swami who is Sri dhoddAchAriar’s disciple has written

commentaries on ‘nyAya parisuddhi’;
. . . . . Mysore (maNdayam) ananthAzhvAn who lived in the early part of nineteenth

century has made several references to vEdAnthAchAriar’s granthams in his writings;
. . . . . KunrappAkkam swami who lived in Kancheepuram in latter part of nineteenth

century has in his work ‘Tatwa-RatnAvaLi’ has fondly referred to vEdAnthAchAriar as
‘Jayati Bhagavan Vedantarayas sa tharkika-kesari’.
() Sri vEdanthAchAriar too, had a deep love and regard to purvAchAryas and
contemporary achAryAs, as evidenced in his ‘abhithistavam’, “Kvachana rangamukyE
vibhO! paraspara-hithaishiNAm parisarEshu mAm varthaya” , (O Lord!, let me reside in
Srirangam at the feet of the great ones who are mutual well-wishers)2.
() “In the last verse of his ‘bhagavad-dhyAna sOpanam’, Sri vEdAnthAchAriar pays a
glowing tribute to the erudite scholars and art-lovers of Srirangam, who imparted clarity
in his thoughts and enabled him to develop a facile and pleasing style”. 2

() Sri vEdAnthAchAriar’s devotion to Sri rAmanujar is very well known; in his ‘nyAsa
tilakA’ in the verse starting ‘ukthya dhananjaya…’ he pacifies perumAL for having
indirectly told him that mOksham need not be granted by Him, as it had already been
guaranteed to him by his connection with Sri rAmAnujar.
These go to show that vEdanthAchAriar and other scholars held mutual respect, love,
and reverence for each other, and paved ways for harmonious discussions on our
srivaishnava sampradhAyam.
AchArya-champu
Sri. S. Satyamurthi Iyengar, Gwalior (also referred to as ‘Gwalior swami’), mentions in

his 1967 book “A critical appreciation of Sri Vedanta Desika Vis-à-vis the Srivaishnavite
World”, about other sources of information to learn about Sri vedhAnthachAriar. Most of
the following text is attributed to the mentioned book.
He refers to a work called ‘VedAntAcharya Vijaya’ also known as ‘AchArya-champu’,

written in Sanskrit in the form of prose and verse, by a great scholar and poet named
‘Kousika KavitArkikasimha VedanthAchariAr’, who lived around 1717 CE. This work
is considered the oldest historic record of VEdAnthAchAriar’s life history and most
authentic.
This work starts in first Stabaka (Chapter, or Section) with a benediction, then speaks
about author’s family, about the city of Kancheepuram, and about Sri Pundarika Yajwa,
grandfather of VEdAnthAchAriar.
The second Stabaka deals with the birth and marriage of Ananta-Suri (Sri Desika’s
father) and the entry of divine Bell into his wife’s womb.
The third Stabaka describes the birth of VEdAnthAchAriar, his childhood, his
accompanying his maternal uncle to Sri Vatsya Varadacharya’s school, and securing
the latter’s blessings, getting the sacred thread, initiation to the study of literature,
vedhas, and more; marriage, winning the grace of Lord HayagrIva, composition of
various works including ‘nyAya sidhdhAnjana’, and gaining the title of Kavitarkikasimha.
The fourth Stabaka describes the Uthsavam at Kanchi, the composition of ‘VaradarAja
panchAsat’ by VEdAnthAchAriar, his encounter with Advaitha scholar named
Vidyaranya and winning him; and pilgrimage to vEnkatAdri.
The fifth Stabaka provides details of the pilgrimage, his composing ‘dayAsatakA’, and
his ‘Vairagya-panchaka’ as a scoring-of-the-riches reply to an invitation to royal court by

Vidyaranya; pilgrimage to kshethras in the north; return to Kancheepuram; delivering
judgment in the debate between Vidyaranya and Akshobhya muni a Dwaita scholar);
pilgrimage to shrines in the south; his living in ThiruvEndhipuram for some time; his
bringing out several works; pilgrimage to sri mushnam; and getting invitation to visit
Srirangam.
The final and sixth Stabaka of ‘AchArya-champu’ describes vEdAnthAchAriar’s journey

to Srirangam, his having darsan of Sri Ranganathan; composing of ‘Bhagavad dhyana
sopana’ etc.; winning an advaithi named Krishnamisra after a long debate of 18 days
and earning the title of ‘vEdAnthAchAryA’ , ‘Sarvatantra-Swatantra’, etc.; composing
‘pAduka sahasram’ when challenged by a vain Poet; the sack of Srirangam by Muslims,
VEdAnthAchAriar’s stay in the western part of the country, composing Abhitistava; his
visit to other kshetrams; composing ‘GaruadAndaka’ to meet the challenge of a snake-
charmer, birth of a son to VEdAnthAchAriar; and composing of ‘RahasyatrayasAra’.
This book ‘AchArya-champu’ commanded wide popularity, eagerly studied by Sanskrit

scholars of yore; there is not much attempt to bring out a reprint of this valuable book.
—————
Sources:
1. Puthur Swami’s pOn vizhA malar
2. Sri. S. Satyamurthi Iyengar, Gwalior; “A critical appreciation of Sri Vedanta Desika

Vis-à-vis the Srivaishnavite World”; c 1967.
3. ‘Thamizhar thozhu vedhanthavAsiriyan’ (Tamil) by Sri P.B.Annangarachariar swami.
4. English translation to ‘lOkAchArya panchAsath’ written by Shri U.Ve T. C. A.

Venkatesan swamy based on Shri U.Ve V. V. Ramanujam swamy’s work in Tamil
English.pdf taken on Sep 25, 2012.
5. Photo courtesy an informative email from Koil Aaththan Kasthurirangan swami,

ThiruvallikENi.
6. Logo courtesy from blog of Sarathy Thothathri swami, ThiruvallikENi:

http://guruparamparai.wordpress.com – taken on Sep 25, 2012.
7. Additional photos courtesy https://picasaweb.google.com/113539681523551495306/

– taken on Sep 25, 2012.

thirunArAyaNapurathu Ay
thirunakshathram: ippasi, pUrAdam
avathAra sthalam: thirunArAyaNapuram
AchAryan: His own father lakshmaNAchAryar (pancha samskAram), nAlUrAchAn

piLLai (grantha kAlakshEpam)
Place where he attained paramapadham: thirunArAyaNapuram

Works: thiruppAvai vyAkyAnams (2000padi and 4000padi) and svApadhEsam,
thirumAlai vyAkyAnam, vyAkyAnams for AchArya hrudhayam and srIvachana
bhUshaNam, thamizh pAsuram glorifying mAmunigaL, etc
When he was born, He was named dhEvarAjar by his parents. He is also known as
dhEva perumAL, AsUri dhEvarAyar, thiruththAzhvarai dhAsar, srIsAnu dhAsar, mAthru
guru, dhEvarAja munIndhrar and jananyAchAryar.
Ay means Mother. He was performing the kainkaryam of preparing and offering milk to
thirunAraNan emperumAn. Once when he was late for his kainkaryam, emperumAn
asked “Where is my Ay (mother)?” revering Ay’s motherly affection towards him. From
that time onwards, he was famously called as Ay or jananyAchAryar. This is very similar
to nadAthUr ammAL‘s relationship with dhEva perumAL.
He was a great scholar and an expert in both samskritha and dhrAvida

vEdham/vEdhAntham.
Along with thiruvAimozhi piLLai and thiruvAimozhi AchAn (iLampiLichai piLLai), he

heard nampiLLai‘s eedu vyAkyAnam from nAlUrAchAn piLLai (the full history of eedu
can be read at http://guruparamparai.wordpress.com/2013/04/21/eeynni-madhava-
perumal/). He is also glorified as part of the AchArya hrudhaya paramparai (azhagiya
maNavALa perumAL nAyanAr – peRRAr (1) – peRRAr (2) – Ay jananyAchAryar –
maNavALa mAmunigaL).
mAmunigaL starts writing a vyAkyAnam for AchArya hrudhayam. While writing the
vyAkyAnam for 22nd chUrNikai, mAmunigaL wants to have some clarification. He
decides to discuss the particular chUrNikai with Ay jananyAchAryar who is
thiruvAimozhi piLLai‘s saha adhyAyi (classmate) since mAmunigaL considers Ay as his
AchAryan as well. mAmunigaL requests permission from nammAzhwAr to go to
thirunArAyaNapuram and leaves AzhwAr thirunagari. About the same time, hearing
about mAmunigaL’s glories and great fame, Ay jananyAchAryar leaves
thirunArAyaNapuram and approaches AzhwAr thirunagari. They both meet outside
AzhwAr thirunagari and offer obeisances to each other and embrace each other with
great joy. mAmunigaL‘s sishyas consider the meeting of these great souls as the same
as the meeting of periya nambi and emperumAnAr and become ecstatic seeing the
mutual reverence between each other. They both return to AzhwAr thirunagari and
mAmunigaL hears AchArya hrudhayam kAlakshEpam from Ay fully once. At the end of
the lecture series, mAmunigaL renders a beautiful thanian for Ay and submits the same
to him. Ay, considering himself not qualified for that, in response, offers the following
beautiful thamizh pAsuram glorifying mAmunigaL.

pUthUril vandhudhiththa puNNiyanO?
pUnGkamazhum thAthArumagizhmArbhan thAnivanO?
thUthUra vantha nedumAlO?
maNavALamAmunivan enthaiyivar mUvarilum yAr?
?
?
?
?
Simple translation:
Is he emperumAnAr who appeared in srIperumbUthUr and is the most virtuous?
Is he nammAzhwAr who adorns the maghizham garland?
Is he kaNNan himself who went as a messenger for the sake of pANdavas –
manifesting saulabhyam (easy accessibility)?
Who is mAmunigaL among the above three who show fatherly affection towards me?
Thus Ay spent some time in AzhwAr thirungari and finally returned to thirunArAyaNa
puram. But in his absence, some people who were jealous of him, declared that he
attained parampadham (since he did not return for a long time) and annexed all his
wealth to the temple’s control. Seeing this, Ay becomes very happy and says
“bhagavAn says that he takes away the wealth of ones who are dear to him, so this is a
great blessing” and leads a simple life. He requests his thiruvArAdhana perumAL
vigraham (gyAna pirAn) which was given to him by his AchAryan and continues his
kainkaryam. Subsequently, he accepts sannyAsa Ashramam and finally he leaves to
paramapadham to eternally serve emperumAn in parampadham.
Thus, we have seen some glimpses of the glorious life of thirunArAyaNapurathu Ay. He
was a great scholar and was very dear to his AchAryan and maNavALa mAmunigaL.
Let us pray at his lotus feet that we too get a little bit of such bhAgavatha nishtai.
thirunArAyaNapurathu Ay’s thaniyan:
AchArya hrudhayasyArththA: sakalA yEna dharsithA:

srIsAnudhAsam amalam dhEvarAjam thamAsrayE
: :

azhagiya maNavALa mAmunigaL

Thirunakshathram: ippasi, thirumUlam
AchAryan: thiruvAimozhi piLLai
Sishyas: ashta dhik gajangaL – ponnadikkAl jIyar, kOil aNNan, pathangi paravasthu
pattarpirAn jIyar, thiruvEnkata jIyar, eRumbiappA, prathivAdhi bhayankaram aNNan,
appiLLai, appiLLAr. nava rathnangaL – sEnai muthaliAndAn nAyanAr, satagOpa
dhAsar (nAlUr siRRAththAn), kanthAdai pOrERRu nAyan, yEttUr singarAchAryar,
kanthAdai aNNappan, kanthAdai thirukkOpurathu nAyanAr, kanthAdai nAraNappai,
kanthAdai thOzhapparappai, kanthAdai azhaiththu vAzhviththa perumAL. He had many
other sishyas from various thiruvamsams, thirumALigais and dhivya dhEsams.
Works: prabhandhams: sri dhEvarAja mangaLam, yathirAja vimsathi, upadhEsa

rathina mAlai, thiruvAimozhi nURRanthAdhi, Arthi prabhandham. vyAkyAnams for:
mumukshupadi, thathva thrayam, srivachana bhUshaNam, AchArya hrudhayam,
periyAzhwAr thirumozhi (for the portion which was missing from periyavAchAn piLLai’s
vyAkyAnam), rAmAnusa nURRanthAdhi. pramANa thirattu (compilation of all
slOkams, sAsthra vAkhyams in a particular gratham) for: eedu 36000 padi, jnAna
sAram, pramEya sAram, thathva thrayam, srivachana bhUshaNam.
azhagiya maNavALa perumAL nAyanAr was born in AzhwAr thirunagari to thigazha

kidanthAn thirunAvIrudaya pirAn and sri ranga nAchiAr as an avathAram of AdhisEshan
and a punar avathAram of anaiththulagum vAzhappiRaNtha yathirAjar
( ) and is also known by many other
names such as
azhagiya maNavALa mAmunigaL, sundhara jAmAthru muni, ramya jAmAthru muni,
ramya jAmAthru yOgi, varavaramuni, yathIndhra pravaNar, kAnthopayanthA,
rAmAnujan ponnadi, soumya jAmAthru yOgIndhrar, kOil selva maNavALa mAmunigaL,
etc. He also has the titles periya jIyar, veLLai jIyar, visthavAk sikAmaNi, poi illAtha
maNavALa mAmuni, etc.
Brief life history
 Born in AzhwAr thirunagari by the grace of periya perumAL as an avathAram of

AdhisEshan.

mAmunigaL -AzhwAr thirunagari, with ashta dhik gajangaL under his thiruvadi
 He learns all the sAmAnya sAsthram and does vEdha adhyayanam under his
father’s guidance in his mother’s place sikkil kidAram. He also gets married in
due course.
 Hearing about thiruvAimozhi piLLai’s vaibhavam, he returns to AzhwAr
thirunagari and surrenders to him. We have already seen this in the previous
article.
 His wife gives birth to a son and he requests thiruvAimozhi piLLai to give a
suitable name. thiruvAimozhi piLLai says rAmAnujan is repeated 108 times (in
rAmAnuja nURRanthAdhi), so that must be the best. Based on that he names his
son “emmaiyan irAmAnusan”.
 After thiruvAimozhi piLLai attaining paramapadham, he becomes the dharisana
pravarthakar.
 He becomes an expert in aruLicheyal especially thiuvAimozhi and eedu 36000
padi vyAkyAnam. He also starts collecting all the supporting pramANams for
eedu vyAkyAnam and documents them.

 Hearing about his glories, azhagiya varadhar (from vAnamAmalai) becomes the
first sishya of azhagiya maNavALa perumAL nAyanAr and immediately accepts
sannyAsAshramam to render continuous service to his AchAryan. He gets to be
named as vAnamAmalai jIyar (because of his native place) and ponnadikkAl jIyar
(because he becomes the first sishya of nAyanAr and lays the foundation for
many more to follow – pon adikkAl means golden foundation).
 Recollecting his AchAryan’s niyamanam to go and live in srirangam to propagate
our sampradhAyam, he goes to AzhwAr and takes permission from him to travel
to srirangam.
 On the way to srirangam, he performs mangaLAsAsanam to srivilliputhur ANdAL
rangamannAr and thirumAlirunchOlai azhagar.
 He reaches srirangam, performs his nithyakarmAnushtAnam at the banks of
cauvery river. All the srivaishnavas from srirangam comes out to welcome him
and with the purushakAram of the local srivaishnavas he does
mangaLAsAsanam to emperumAnAr, nammAzhwAr, periya pirAttiAr, sEnai
mudhaliAr, periya perumAL and namperumAL with his nAchiArs in order.
perumAL welcomes him as he welcomed emperumAnAr and gives him special
prasAdhams and sri satagOpam.
 After that he visits piLLai lOkAchAryar’s thirumALigai and glorifies piLLai
lOkAchAryar and his younger brother azhagiya maNavALa perumAL nAyanAr for
their contributions for our sampradhAyam.
 He stays in srirangam for a while and one day namperumAL instructs him to do
nithyavAsam (stay permanently) in srirangam teaching all the in-depth meanings
of our sampradhAyam. He accepts that order happily and thereafter starts
collecting all the granthams which were lost during the muslim invasion.
 Once, when ponnadikkAl jIyar complains to him about uththama nambi about his
services, he instructs jIyar to reform him and engage in emperumAn’s service
properly.
 Then he desires to visit thiruvEnkatam and starts his journey along with
ponnadikkAl jIyar. On the way, he performs mangaLAsAsanam at thirukkOvalUr
and thirkkadigai.
 In thirumalai, periya kELvi appan jIyar (who was established by emperumAnAr)
sees a svapnam where he says a srivaishnava (gruhasthar) who looks like periya
perumAL lying down and a sannyAsi standing at the lotus feet of the
srivaishnava. In the svapnam he asks the people who are passing by about them
and they say they are “thiruvAimozhi eettu perukkar azhagiya maNavALa
perumAL nAyanAr and his prAna sukruth (life breath/well wisher) and sishyar
ponnadikkAl jIyar”. Waking up he is thinking about the auspicious svapnam and
finds out that they both are arriving to thirumalai shortly. nAyanAr arrives at
thirupathi, worships the thiruvEnkata malai, gOvindharAjar, narasimhar (at the
bottom of the hill) and finally reaches thirumalai. periya kElvi appan jIyar
arranges for a grand welcome to nAyanAr and ponnadikkAl jIyar and brings them

to thiruvEnkatamudaiyAn for mangaLAsAsanam. thiruvEnkatamudaiyAn being
very pleased to see them, gives them his prasAdhams and sri satagOpam and
finally they take leave from him.
 He arrives at kAnchipuram and performs mangaLAsAsanam to dhEva
perumAL.and dhEva perumAL proclaims him to be the same as emperumAnAr
himself and gives his prasAdhams and sri satagOpam.
mAmunigaL – kAnchipuram
 He then reaches sriperumpUdhUr and completely immerses into emperumAnAr’s

anubhavam and performs mangaLAsAsanam.
 He returns back to kAnchipuram and starts hearing sri bhAshyam from kidAmbi
nAyanAr (who is a descendant of kidAmbi AchAn). When srivaishnavas come to
do tharkam with him on certain matters, he first refuses citing his AchAryan’s
orders on only indulging in bhagavath vishayam but later when convinced by his
well wishers, he takes up the task and gives fitting explanations to the ones who
came for debate and they finally fall at his lotus feet and praise him very much.

 kidAmbi nAyanAr being amazed by azhagiya maNavALa perumAL nAyanAr’s
intelligence requests him to show his real svarUpam. Since kidAmbi nAyanAr
was in his AchArya sthAnam teaching sri bhAshyam, azhagiya maNavALa
perumAL nAyanAr obliges and shows him his AdhisEsha svarUpam. kidAmbi
nAyanAr becomes very much ecstatic and then onwards shows great attachment
towards him. Finally after completing the sribhAshyam kAlakshEpam he takes
leave and returns to srirangam.
 Seeing his return periya perumAL becomes joyful and instructs him to stay in
srirangam without taking up any more yAthrais.
 During that time, his relatives inform about some Asoucham which interrupts his
kainkaryam. He accepts sannyAsAshramam from a satagOpa jIyar (who is a
sishya of thiruvAimozhi piLLai and studied with him in AzhwAr thirunagari) and
immediately goes to periya perumAL to inform about that. periya perumAL
welcomes him and instructs him to keep the same thirunAmam (due to the divine
reason of him wanting to maintain his future AchAryan’s name) and gives him
pallava rAyan mutt for him to stay and conduct his kAlakshEpams, etc. Thus
azhagiya maNavALa perumAL nAyanAr becomes azhagiya maNavALa
mAmunigaL. All the srivaishnavas under the leadership of uththama nambi went
with him to his mutt and sang “manavALa mAmuniyE innumoru nURRAndirum”
out of joy.
 He instructs his sishyas under the leadership of ponnadikkAl jIyar to repair the
mutt fully. A beautiful mandapam is built with the sand from piLLai lOkAchAryar’s
thirumALigai and is named thirumalai AzhwAr where he performs his
kAlakshEpam regularly. He spends his day giving lectures on thiruvAimozhi
(eedu) and other prabhandhams, emperumAnAr’s glories and srivachana
bhUshaNa dhivya sAsthram, etc to all his disciples and abhimAnis.
 His glories spread everywhere like wild fire and many srivaishnavas come and
take shelter of mAmunigaL. thirmanjanam appA (who is a nithya kainkaryaparar
to periya perumAL), her daughter (AychiyAr) and pattarpirAn jIyar become his
sishyas.
 One swamy from vaLLuva rAjEndhram (a nearby village) named singaraiyar
supplies some vegetables to mAmunigaL’s mutt and emperumAn being pleased
with his action show in his svapnam that “mAmunigaL is none other than
AdhisEshan himself and he should go and take shelter of mAmunigaL”. So he
travels to srirangam and stays at (kOil) kandhAdai aNNan thirumALigai and
shares this incident with aNNan. aNNan thinking about this and lies down to
sleep and he sees emperumAnAr and mudhaliANdAn in his dream where
emperumAnAr says mAmunigaL is none other than himself. In the dream,
mudhaliANdAn instructs kOil aNNan (and uththama nambi) to surrender to
mAmunigaL. After waking up, kOil aNNan along with his brothers goes to
mAmunigaL’s mutt, takes the purushakAram (recommendation) of ponnadikkAl

jIyar and submits himself to mAmunigaL. mAmunigaL gladly accepts him and
performs panchasamskAram to him.
 Then AychiyAr’s (thirumanjanam appA’s daughter) son appAchiAraNNa wants to
take shelter of mAmunigaL. mAmunigaL was very happy to hear that but he
invites ponnadikkAl jIyar who he considers as his life breath and well wisher,
offers his own simhAsanam, presents his own thiruvAzhi and thiruchakkaram and
asks him to do panchasamskAram. While ponnadikkAl jIyar first refuses, he has
no other choice than accepting his AchAryan’s thiruvuLLam and performs
pancha samskAram for appAchiAraNNA.
 emmaiyan irAmAnusan (pUrvAshramam son of mAmunigaL) lives in AzhwAr
thirunagari, gets married and gives birth to two sons – azhagiya maNavALa
perumAL nAyanAr (who becomes to be known as jIyar nAyanAr for his
attachment and kainkaryam to mAmunigaL subsequently) and periyAzhwAr
aiyan.
 mAmunigaL decides to do mangaLAsAsanam to nammAzhwAr and takes
permission from periya perumAL to go there. He reaches AzhwAr thirunagari,
performs his nithya karmAnushtAnams on the banks of the holy thAmirabharaNi
river, and does mangaLAsAsanam to bhavishyadhAchAryan (emperumAnAr),
thiruvAimozhi piLLai and his thiruvArAdhana perumAL inavAyar thalaivan,
nammAzhwAr and polindhu ninRa pirAn.
 When he has a doubt for one of the chUrNikais in AchArya hrudhayam, he thinks
about thirunArAyaNapurathu Ayi who was a sa-brahmachAri (class-mate) of his
AchAryan thiruvAimozhi piLLai. He starts his journey to meet him, but right
outside AzhwAr thirunagari, he meets Ayi who has travelled all the way from
thirunArAyaNapuram to meet mAmunigaL. Both embrace each other with joy and
glorify each other. While mAmunigaL writes a thanian glorifying Ayi, Ayi in turn
writes a pAsuram which asks if mAmunigaL is emperumAnAr himself or
nammAzhwAr or emperumAn himself. After some time Ayi returns to
thirunArAyaNapuram and mAmunigaL continues his stay in AzhwAr thirunagari.
 Some people who were jealous of mAmunigaL’s glories, sets fire to his mutt. But
mAmunigaL takes his snake form and comes out of the mutt and takes his form
back and stands in the middle of the srivaishnavas looking from outside. When
the king decides to punish the miscreants mAmunigaL asks him to forgive them
and looking at his kAruNyam they also take shelter of him. The king of the region,
looking at mAmunigaL’s glories, accepts pancha samskAram from him and
performs many kainkaryams in AzhwAr thirunagari and thirukkurungudi dhivya
dhEsams.
 mAmunigaL returns to srirangam and continues his kainkaryams there. At that
time eRumbiappA from eRumbi village hears about mAmunigaL and visits him.
After the visit, he leaves without taking the prasAdham of mAmunigaL. After
reaching his village, when he tries to open his emperumAn chakkaravarthi
thirumagan’s sannidhi door, it does not open. emperumAn tells him that he

committed apachAram at the lotus feet of mAmunigaL who is none other
AdhisEshan and instructs him to take shelter of mAmunigaL, perform kainkaryam
to him and accept his prasAdham – only then the door will be opened.
eRumbiappA returns to srirangam and submits himself to mAmunigaL. He writes
a wonderful prabhandham named dhinacharyA which has two parts – pUrva
dhinacharyA (morning activities of mAmunigaL) and uththara dhinacharyA
(evening activities of mAmunigaL).
 jIyar appreciates kandhAdai nAyan who shows masterful brilliance even at a very
young age.
 appiLLai and appiLLAr takes shelter of mAmunigaL through the purushakAram of
ponnadikkAl jIyar. eRumbiappA takes leave from mAmunigaL and returns to his
village to propagate mAmunigaL’s glories in his region.
 Once, uththama nambi who is one of the prominent srivaishnavas was doing
thiruvAlavattam kaikaryam to periya perumAL privately. At that time mAmunigaL
enters there to do his mangaLAsAsanam. uththama nambi asks him to leave
quickly and mAmunigaL accepts his words and left quickly. When nambi
becomes tired and lies down for a while near periya perumAL in his svapnam,
periya perumAL points his fingers to AdhisEshan and tells nambi that
mAmunigaL is none other than AdhisEshan himself. Waking up, he realises his
apachAram and runs to mAmunigaL’s mutt and takes aparAdha kshAmanam and
serves him with love after that.
 A srivaishnavi named satagOpa koRRi learns aruLicheyal from AychiAr. In the
noon time, when mAmunigaL was resting privately, this ammaiyAr peeks through
the key hole and finds mAmunigaL in his svarUpam (AdhisEshan form). Hearing
the noise mAmunigaL comes out and enquires what she observed. ammaiyAr
explains what she saw and mAmunigaL with a smile asks her to keep that a
secret.
 mAmunigaL then decides to write commentaries to rahasya granthams. He first
writes expert commentaries to mumukshupadi, thathva thrayam and srivachana
bhUshaNam with many references from vEdham, vEdhAntham, ithihAsam,
purANams, aruLicheyal, etc. Then he writes commentaries to rAmAnuja
nURRanthAdhi, jnAna sAram and pramEya sAram which gives the charama
upAya nishtai – i.e., understanding AchAryan is everything.
 When the srivaishnavas request him to write something crisp and clear for
thiruvAimozhi, he writes thiruvAimozhi nURRanthAdhi. This is an unparallel
grantham which is written in venpA (a type of poem that is easy to memorize but
difficult to write), with one pAsuram for each padhigam in thiruvAimozhi where
the starting/ending words of the pAsuram matches that of the padhigam, giving
the meanings of the whole padhigam in just 2 lines and glorifying nammAzhwAr
in the remaining 2 lines.
 When the srivaishnavas ask him to record the valuable teachings of our
pUrvAchAryas, he writes upadhEsa rathina mAlai which gives an account of the

birth stars of AzhwArs, their birth places and glories, emperumAnAr’s apAra
kAruNyam, thiruvAimozhi vyAkyAnams and eedu avathAram/propagation details,
avathAram of piLLai loKAchAryar and his magnum opus srivachana
bhUshaNam, establishes that the essence of thiruvAimozhi is srivachana
bhUshaNam and finally explaining the meanings of the same in detail.
 When some mAyAvAdhis come for a debate, he refuses to debate with them
sticking to his “no debate” principle, but asks his sishya vEdalappai to debate
with them. vEdalappai does so and easily defeats them. But vEdalappai decides
to leave his native place shortly.
 At this time prathivadhi bhayankaram aNNA who is an expert scholar from
kAnchipuram along with his wife, is serving in thirumalai because of his
attachment towards thiruvEnkatamudaiyan by doing thirumanjana thIrtha
kainkaryam. Once a srivaishnava from srirangam arrives in thirumalai and meets
aNNA during his kainkaryam and explains the glories of mAmunigaL. Hearing
about mAmunigaL, aNNA becomes very pleased and his desire grows very much
to meet him. But in the process, he forgets to add thIrtha parimaLam
(cardomom/yElakkAi, etc) and offers the thIrtham to the archakar. He later
remembers that and runs to the archakar with the thIrtha parimaLam but
archakar says the thIrtham was smelling more pleasant than ever before. aNNA
understands the glories of just hearing about mAmunigaL making the thIrtham
smell great and travels to srirangam. When he arrives at mAmunigaL’s mutt,
mAmunigaL was explaining “onRum dhEvum” (thiruvAimozhi 4.10) padhigam
which establishes emperumAn’s parathvam. mAmunigaL was fluently referring to
all sAsthrArthams and explaining the pAsurams and aNNA becomes amazed by
mAmunigaL’s knowledge and presentation. mAmunigaL stops at the 3rd
pAsuram and says aNNA can hear only when he has sambandham with AzhwAr
(through the OrAN vazhi AchArya paramparai). aNNA then goes to perform
mangaLAsAsanam to periya perumAL. periya perumAL through his archakar
instructs aNNA to surrender to mAmunigaL to get vilakshaNa sambandham.
aNNA through the purushakAram of ponnadikkAl jIyar takes shelter of
mAmunigaL and stays there for some time.
 Again mAmunigaL goes on a yAthrai to thirumalai. On the way, he performs
mangaLAsAsanam to kachi pEraruLALan and stays in kAnchipuram for some
time to reform many srivaishnavas there. He instructs appAchiAraNNA to stay in
kAnchipuram as his representative. He then proceeds to thirumalai via
thirukadigai, eRumbi, thirupputkuzhi, etc and reaches thirumalai. After performing
mangaLAsAsanam there, he appoints a siriya kELvi appan jIyar to help periya
kELvi appan jIyar (who was appointed by emperumAnAr himself) in his
kainkaryams. On his way back he performs mangaLAsAsanam to thiruevvuL
vijaya rAghavan, thiruvallikkENi vEnkata krishnan and many other
dhivyadhEsams. He arrives at madhurAnthagam and worships the place where
periya nambi performed pancha samskAram to rAmAnujar. He then reaches

thiruvAli thirunagari and enjoys thirumangai AzhwArs and submits of
vadivazhagu pAsuram and performs mangaLAsAsanam to all the emperumAns
in the region. He then reaches thirukkaNNapuram, enjoys the sarvAnga
sundhara (sourirAja) emperumAn and establishes a thirumEni for thirumangai
AzhwAr there. After visiting many other dhivya dhEsams he finally returns to
srirangam and stays there.
 He then instructs appAchiAraNNA to go to kAnchipuram as instructed before. At
that time aNNA is very sad that he has to leave this wonderful gOshti and looking
at that he orders two small thirumEnis of himself to be made out of his sombu
rAmAnujam that was worshipped by ponndikkAl jIyar. He gives one of them to
ponndikkAl jIyar and another one to aNNA (these thirumEnis of mAmunigaL can
still be seen in vAnamAmalai mutt, vAnamAmalai and mudhaliAndAn
thirumALigai in singa perumAL kOil respectively). He also gives “ennai thImanam
keduthAi” emperumAn from his thiruvArAdhanam to aNNA (this emperumAn can
still be seen in mudhaliAndAn thirumALigai in singa perumAL kOil).
 mAmunigaL crowns prathivAdhi bhayankaram aNNA as sribhAshya AchAryar,
kandhAdai aNNan and sudhdha sathvam aNNan as bhagavath vishaya
AchAryars. He also instructs kandhAdai nAyan to write an arumpadham for eedu
36000 padi.
 periya perumAL starts longing to hear bhagavath vishayam from mAmunigaL
without any interruption and also starts thinking about accepting him as his
AchAryan out of his own desire. Once during pavithrOthrasavam sARRumarai,
when namperumAL goes to thiruppavithrOthsava mandapam and stays there
mAmunigaL enters the mandapam to perform mangaLAsAsanam to him. At that
time namperumAL orders to mAmunigaL in front of all the kainkaryaparars,
AchArya purushas, jIyars, srivaishnavas, etc., to perform kAlakshEpam of
nammAzhwAr’s thiruvAimozhi with eedu 36000 padi vyAkyAnam. He orders this
to continue without any disruption/disturbance until the kAlakshEpam completes.
mAmunigaL being very pleased and thinking with great humility that emperumAn
has chosen him to do this, accepts emperumAn’s order.
 The next day when he arrives to the periya thirumandapam (outside periya
perumAL sannidhi dvAra pAlakars), namperumAL with his nAchiArs,
thiruvananthAzhwAn, periya thiruvadi, sEnai mudhaliAr, all AzhwArs and
AchAryas is waiting for him to begin the kAlakshEpam series. mAmunigaL feeling
blessed starts the kAlakshEpam of eedu 36000 padi vyAkyAnam with all the
other vyAkyAnams (6000 padi, 9000 padi, 12000 padi and 24000 padi) and
explains the deep meanings from sruthi perspective, sribhAshyam perspective,
sruthprakAsikA perspective sri gIthA bhAshyam perspective, sri pAncharAthram
perspective, sri rAmAyaNam perspective, sri vishNu purANam perspective, etc.
He also explains word by word meanings, inner meanings, etc. This goes on for
close to 10 months and finally they reach the date of sARRumurai on Ani
thirumUlam. Once the sARRumurai is complete, namperumAL takes the form of

a small child named aranganAyakam comes into the front of the gOshti even
when others stop him. Keeping anjali mudhrai, he starts saying “srisailEsa
dhayApAthram” and when asked to say more he says “dhIbhakthyAdhi
guNArNavam” and when requested to say more again he says “yathIndhra
pravaNam vandhE ramya jAmAtharam munim” and runs away. When the sishyas
record the slOkam and bring the child back to the gOshti he is unable to read
anything from the palm leaf and runs away again. Every one understands that it
is none other than namperumAL himself offering the thanian to his AchAryan. At
the same time, emperumAn sends this thanian to all the dhivya dhEsams – every
where this spreads like wild fire. At that time, a vAzhi thirunAmam is also written
by appiLLai by the orders of the srivaishnavas glorifying mAmunigaL.
 thiruvEnkatamudayAn, thirumAlirunchOlai azhagar also instructs that this thanian

is recited at the beginning and end of any aruLicheyal anusandhAnam. Other
dhivya dhEsams like bhadhrikAshram also gets emperumAn’s niyamanam to
glorify mAmunigaL.
 mAmunigaL starts thinking about vada nAttu dhivya dhEsams and his sishyas
take up vada dhEsa yAthrai on his behalf.
 mAmunigaL gives eRumbiappA his dhivya pAdhugas.

 mAmunigaL gives aranganagarappan (his thiruvArAdhana perumAL) to
ponnadikkAl jIyar and instructs ponnadikkAl jIyar to go and establish a mutt in
vAnamAmalai to do uninterrupted service to dheivanAyaka perumAL.
 mAmunigaL goes on a pAndiya nAttu dhivya dhEsa yAthrai once again. On his
way, the king of that region becomes his sishya and performs many dhivya
dhEsa kainkaryams based on his orders.
 When he is travelling near madhurai he stays under a tamarind tree to take rest
and while leaving he touches the tree and gives mOksham to the tree. He goes
on to perform mangaLAsAsanam in many dhivya dhEsams and finally returns
back to thiruvarangam.
 Through his sishyas he performs various kainkaryams. He sends a jIyar swamy
to go and serve thirumAlirunchOlai azhagar.
 He writes vyAkyAnam for periyAzhwAr thirumozhi for the part that was lost.
periyavAchAn piLLai had already written a vyAkyAnam but part of that gets lost –
so writes exactly up to the word where periyavAchAn piLLai’s vyAyAnam was not
there.
 He becomes ill and still continues to write. When he was writing AchArya
hrudhayam vyAkyAnam with great difficulty, many of his sishyas ask him why he
was doing that. mAmunigaL replies that he is doing it for their sons and
grandsons and generations to come.
 He develops great desire to give up his thirumEni and go to paramapadham. He
writes Arthi prabhandham crying out to emperumAnAr to accept him and relieve
him of this charama thirumEni. He is simply showing us how to do that, since he
was emperumAnAr himself anyway.
 Finally he ends his dealings in the leela vibhUthi and decides to return to
paramapadham to do eternal service to emperumAn. He desires to hear all the
aruLicheyal once and all his sishyas arrange for that with great love and
dedication. mAmunigaL becomes so pleased and performs a grand
thadhiArAdhanam and asks for aparAdha kshAmaNam from everyone. Everyone
replies that he was blemishless and no need to ask for any kshAmaNam. He
then requests everyone to ensure that all the kainkaryams for periya perumAL
and namperumAL were done with full love and full focus on them alone.
 He then says “piLLai thiruvadigaLE sharaNam”, “vAzhi ulagAsiriyan” and
“emperumAnAr thiruvadigaLE sharaNam”. With wide open eyes he desires to
see emperumAn and emperumAn immediately appears in front of him on
garudan and carry him along – thus he ends his leelai in this vibhUthi in the most
glorious way. Seeing this all the srivaishnavas starts crying so much. periya
perumAL feels the void so much and refuses to accept any bhOgam. Finally all
the srivaishnavas console themselves and each other and start the final
kainkaryams. The thiruvadhyayana mahOthsavam was celebrated in the most
grandeur way – even grander than periya perumAL’s brahmOthsavam based on
periya perumAL’s orders.

 ponnadikkAl jIyar returns from his vada nAttu dhivya dhEsa yAthrai and also
completes all the charama kainkaryams of mAmunigaL.
mAmunigaL’s instructions (jnAna/anushtAna pUrthi)
 Once two srivaishnavas are having some misunderstanding with each other. At
that time when two dogs are fighting in the street in the presence of those two
srivaishnavas – he looks at the dogs and asks the dogs “Have you also learnt
srivachana bhUshaNam, etc like these two srivaishnavas to have so much
ahankAram?”. Immediately they realize their mistake and become pure after that.
 When some one from vada dhEsam submits some wealth and when he
understands that the wealth was not properly earned, he immediately sends that
out. He shows no interest in material wealth, etc. Even when it comes to
kainkaryam he ensures that he get money/material that are connected to
srivaishnavas only.
 Once when an old lady comes to his mutt and requests him to stay there for the
night. He insists to her that she cant stay in the mutt – he says “even an old
squirrel can climb a tree” meaning even when an old lady stays in the mutt, some
one may find a fault in mAmunigaL’s vairAgyam. So completely avoids anything
which could cause doubt in anyone’s mind.
 Once when a srivaishnava ammaiyAr is helping in cutting vegetables, etc., she is
not doing it with proper bhakthi bhAvam – so mAmunigaL asks her to stay away
for 6 months as punishment as he wants the kainkarayaparars to be 100%
staying in bhagavath/bhAgavatha nishtai.
 Once when one srivaishnava named “varam tharum piLLai” comes to
mAmunigaL alone, he says srivaishnavas should never go to emperumAn or
AchAryan alone and we should always go with other srivaishnavas.
 He reveals many times the cruel nature of doing bhAgavatha apachAram and
always ensures srivaishnavas develop mutual respect for each other.
 When one bhattar (archakar) in the temple complains to mAmunigaL that his
sishyas are not respecting him properly, he insists that they should always offer
proper respect to him thinking that perumAL and pirAtti are present in him
always.
 When one wealthy srivaishnava from vada nAttu dhivya dhEsam comes and
asks him about srivaishnava lakshaNam, mAmunigaL gives him a detailed
explanation as follows. For a real srivaishnava:
o It is not sufficient to just to go and take shelter of emperumAn.
o it is not sufficient to just accept sambhandham of emperumAn thru
shanka/chakra lAnchanam.
o It is not sufficient to just do thiruvArAdhanam to emperumAn.

o It is not sufficient to just be parathanthran (completely subservient) to ones
own AchAryan.
o It is not sufficent to just do kainkaryams to bhAgavathas.
o We should have all of these but beyond these we need:
 to do the kainkaryams which are pleasing to emperumAn and what
is needed at that specific time.
 to keep ones home open for srivaishnavas to enter and do
whatever they want and whenever they want
 to keep oneselves as said by periyAzhwAr “en thammai viRkavum
peruvArgaLE” (we should keep ourselves so that srivaishnavas can
even sell us to others).
o Once we delveop our bhAgavatha sEshathavam then we will easily learn
all the sampradhAya arthams by the grace of emperumAn and
AzhwAr/AchAryas. For a srivaishnava who is in this nishtai – there is no
necessity for them to learn anything specifically/explicitly because they are
already following that charama nishtai.
o If we try to preach anything that we are not following it will be completely
useless. It is compared to be like a prostitute preaching others how to be
pure in their conduct.
o There is no greater service than worshipping srivaishnavas and there is no
greater fault than doing apachArams to srivaishnavas.
Hearing these instructions that srivaishnava become very much devoted to mAmunigaL
and was constantly thinking about him and worshipping him even after returning to his
native place.
mAmunigaL’s unique position in our sampradhAyam
It is easy to speak about and summarize any AchArya’s vaibhavam but mAmunigaL’s
vaibhavam is unlimited. Even he himself with his thousand tongues (as AdhisEshan)
cannot speak his glories, so how can we do that to our full satisfaction. We just have to
satisfy ourselves saying that some how we benefited immensely by speaking (and
reading) about him today.
 He was accepted by periya perumAL as his own AchAryan and completes the
AchArya rathna hAram and the OrAN vazhi guru paramparai.
 periya perumAL being his sishya, offers his own sEsha paryankam to
mAmunigaL which we can observe even today – except mAmunigaL no other
AzhwAr/AchAryan has sEsha paryankam/pItam.
 periya perumAL being his AchAryan, composes a thanian, offers it to
mAmunigaL and instructs that this thanian should be chanted in the beginning

and ending of any aruLicheyal gOshti in any place – temples, mutts,
thirumALigais, etc.
 In AzhwAr thirunagari, during ippasi thirumUlam (mAmunigaL’s
thirunakshathram), AzhwAr, after his thirumanjanam, sends all his own pallakku,
kudai, chAmaram, vAdhyam, etc to mAmunigaL’s sannidhi to bring him over.
Only mAmunigaL’s arrival, he adorns the thirumaNN kAppu and gives the
prasAdham to mAmunigaL.
 mAmunigaL is the only AchAryan from our pUrvAchAryas whose
thiruvadhyayanam is celebrated. Usually thiruvadhyayanam is celebrated by
sishyas and sons. In this case, sri ranganAthan is the living sishya of mAmunigaL
who celebrates his AchAryan’s thIrtham in a grand manner even today. He sends
his own archakas, parichArakas, paraphernelia (all his vattil, kudai, chAnaram,
etc), etc for the mahOthsavam. For detailed information in this mahOthsavam
please view http://www.kArimAran.com/thiruadhyayanam.html.
 mAmunigaL was so focussed on not having any glories/celebrations for himself –
both in srirangam and AzhwAr thirunagari, he insisted that his archA thirumEnis
should be very small and not have any purappAdu, etc., since the focus is on
namperumAL and AzhwAr respectively. That is why we see him in very small and
beautiful thirumEnis in both these dhivyadhEsams.
 mAmunigaL was so polite and humble that he would not write ill of any one. Even
when there are seemingly contradictory words/meanings in pUrvAchArya
vyAkyAnams – mAmunigaL will never harp on it and find fault in one side or the
other.
 mAmunigaL focussed on aruLicheyal and explained vEdhAntham through
aruLicheyal pAsurams. Without his advent it is said that thiruvAimozhi and its
meanings would have become like tamarind soaked in a river i.e., it would have
completely vanished.
 mAmunigaL collected all the available granthams and wrote them personally and
preserved them so many generations later we can still get them.
 He had apAra kAruNyam even to the ones who troubled/insulted him, he would
never show any anger. He would always respect them and treat them nicely.
 It is said that when we are ready to hold his thiruvadis on our head, amAnavan
(the one who helps us cross virajai river) is guaranteed to hold our hand and
relieve us from this samsAram.
 His dedication towards emperumAnAr was unparallel and he showed us how to
worship emperumAnAr by practically demonstrating that himself.
 His life was an example for the writings of our pUrvAchAryas on how a
srivaishnava should conduct himselves. This was discussed in detail in adiyen’s
ebook named srivaishnava lakshaNam. Click here to see this series of articles
and ebook – http://ponnadi.blogspot.in/p/srivaishnava-lakshanam.html.
mAmunigaL’s thanian

srIsailEsa dhayA pAthram dhIbhakthyAdhi guNArNavam
yathIndhra pravaNam vandhE ramya jAmAtharam munim
Simple translation: I (sri ranganAthan) worship maNavALa mAmunigaL who is the target
of thiruvAimozhi piLLai’s dhayai, who is an ocean of jnAnam, bhakthi, vairAgyam, etc
and who has great attachment towards emperumAnAr.
With this we have completed the OrAN vazhi AchArya paramparai. It is said that we
should end everything in a sweet manner. That is why our OrAN vazhi paramparai also
ends with mAmunigaL and his charithram are sweeter than anything else in both the
worlds (nithya vibhUthi and leelA vibhUthi).
mAmunigaL’s thirunakshathra mahOthsavam is celebrated in a grand manner in many

dhivyadhEsams like AzhwAr thirunagari, srirangam, kAnchipuram, srivilliputhUr,
thiruvahidhrapuram, vAnamAmalai, thirunAryaNapuram, etc. We can all participate and
have ourselves purified by being present infront of our AchAryan who was the beloved
AchAryan of sri ranganAthan himself.
Let us understand the glories of ponnadikkAl jIyar who is the thiruvadi nilai of
mAmunigaL and was considered by mAmunigAL as his life breath and well wisher. So,
let us enjoy ponnadikkAl jIyar vaibhavam in the next article.

ponnadikkAl jIyar
ponnadikkAl jIyar – vAnamAmalai

ponnadikkAl jIyar – thiruvallikkENi
Thirunakshathram: purattAsi, punarpUsam
avathAra sthalam: vAnamAmalai
AchAryan: azhagiya maNavALa mAmunigaL
Sishyas: chOlasimhapuram mahAryar (dhoddAchAryar), samarabhungavAchAryar,

sudhdha saththvam aNNA, jnAnakkaNNAththAn, rAmAnujam piLLai, paLLakkAl
sidhdhar, gOshti puraththaiyar and appAchiArANNA and many more.
Place where he attained paramapadham: vAnamAmalai
Works: thiruppAvai svAbhadhEsa vyAkyAnam, etc
Born as azhagiya varadhar, he became to be famously known as ponnadikkAl jIyar. He

is also known as vAnamAmalai jIyar, vAnAdhri yOgI, rAmAnuja jIyar, rAmAnuja muni,
etc. He was the first and the prime disciple of azhagiya maNavALa mAmunigaL.
azhagiya varadhar became the first disciple of azhagiya maNavALa mAumingaL when
mAmunigaL was a gruhasthar. azhagiya varadhar immediately accepted

sannyAsAshramam and stayed with mAmunigaL most of his life. ponnadikkAl means
the one who laid the foundation of mAmunigaL’s sishya sampath. He established many
thOthAdhri mutts all over the bhAratha dhEsam and propagated our sampradhAyam in
many regions.
When mAmunigaL goes for thiumalai yAthrai for the first time, periya kELvi appan jIyar
sees a dream, where a gruhasthar is lying down and a sannyAsi is at his lotus feet. jIyar
asks the people who are there about these two personalities and they say one is “eettu
perukkar” azhagiya maNavALa perumAL nAyanAr and the other is ponnadikkAl jIyar as
called by nAyanAr himself.
ponnadikkAl jIyar was always held as purushakAram by many AchAryas to approach

mAmunigaL. In yathIndhra pravaNa prabhAvam it is seen that many srivaishnavas
comes through ponnadikkAl jIyar and he gladly establishes the connection for them with
mAmunigaL and helps them engage in kainkaryam.
After kandhAdai aNNan and his relatives become shishyas of mAmunigaL, mAmunigaL
says ponnadikkAl jIyar is his prANa sukruth and he should get all the glories which
mAmunigaL himself has. Looking at appAchiAraNNA who approached mAmunigaL to
become his sishya, mAmunigaL called for ponnadikkAl jIyar, seated him in his own
Asanam, gave him his own shankam and chakram and instructed ponnadikkAl jIyar to
do samAshrayaNam for appAchiArANNA. ponnadikkAl jIyar, initially refuses out of
humility, but seeing mAmunigaL’s determination, he accepts and performs
samAshrayaNam to appAchiAraNNA and a few others at that time. mAmunigaL also
appoints an ashta dig gajangaL (just like he had eight prime sishyas) to ponndikkAl jIyar
as well namely – chOlasimharpuram mahAryar (dhoddAchAryar),
samarabhungavAchAryar, sudhdha saththvam aNNA, jnAnakkaNNAththAn, rAmAnujam
piLLai, paLLakkAl sidhdhar, gOshti puraththaiyar and appAchiArANNA.
When appAchiAraNNA was instructed to leave srirangam to go to kAnchipuram by

mAmuingaL, he feels very much upset. At that time mAmunigaL asks appAchiAraNNA
to accept his old rAmunujan (thIrtha sombu is usually called as rAmAnujan in our
sampradhAyam) which was worshipped by ponnadikkAl jIyar for a long time and asks
him to make two small archA thirumEnis of himself (mAmunigaL) and keep one for
appAchiAraNNA and give the other to his AchAryan ponnadikkAl jIyar.
After some time dheivanAyakan emperumAn (vAnamAmalai) sends a srImukam (an

instruction) through sEnai mudhaliAr to mAmunigaL that ponnadikkAl jIyar should be
sent to vAnamAmalai dhivya dhEsam to look after the kainkaryam there. mAmunigaL
instructs ponnadikkAl jIyar to accept that and go to vAnamAmalai. mAmunigaL then
orders everyone to recite 4000 dhivya prabhandham in front of periya perumAL in 100
pAsurams per day kramam. During periya thirumozhi sARRumurai, when “aNiyAr pozhil

sUzh aranganagarappA” is recited, emperumAn being very pleased, gives
aranganagarappan (a lakshmi nArayaNan vigraham) from his sannidhi to ponnadikkAl
jIyar to be carried along to vAnamAmalai. periya perumAL then gives special
prasAdham and srI satagOpam to ponnadikkAl jIyar and gives him a nice send off.
mAmunigaL also brings ponnadikkAl jIyar to his mutt, performs a grand
thadhiArAdhanai and sends him off to vAnamAmalai.
ponnadikkAl jIyar then stays at vAnamAmalai, performs many kainkaryams in

vAnamAmalai and the nearby dhivyadhEsams like nava thiruppathi, thirukkurungudi, etc
and also in places like bhadharikAsramam during his yAthrais. He also gets many
disciples and gives them kAlakshEpams and instructions for them to conduct their
kainkaryam.
ponnadikkAl jIyar then goes on a lengthy yAthrai to all northern dhivyadhEsams. In the
mean time mAmunigaL finishes his leelai in samsAram and leaves to paramapadham.
While returning from his yAthrai, after reaching thirumalai he hears about the
mAmunigaL’s decision to go to paramapadham and out of great sorrow stays some time
in thirumalai. He brings all the wealth accumulated during his yAthrai to srirangam,
meets with jIyar nAyanAr (grand son of mAmunigaL in his pUrvAshramam) and all the
other srivaishnavas and share the grief of his separation from his AchAryan. At that
time, according to the orders of mAmunigaL, mAmunigaL’s upadhaNdam (extra
dhaNdam), ring (thirvAzhi mOdhiram) and pAdhukAs are given to ponnadikkAl jIyar.
Even today this upadhaNdam is tied to the vAnamAmalai jIyars’ thridhaNdam. Also,
even today vAnamAmalai jIyars wear mAmunigaL’s ring on special occasions. He then
returns to vAnamAmalai and continues his kainkaryam there.
At that time, there was no uthsava vigraham for srivaramangai nAchiAr in

vAnamAmalai. Once in ponnadikkAl jIyar’s svapnam dheivanAyakan appears and
instructs him to bring the nAchiAr vigraham (thirumEni) from thirumalai. So, he travels to
thirumalai to fulfill the orders of emperumAn. In his dream, nAchiar appears and says
“dear father, please take me to vAnamAmalai and perform my marriage with
dheivanAyakan”. She also appears in the dream of the thirumalai jIyar swamys and
instruct them to hand over the vigraham to ponnadikkAl jIyar. The jIyars accepted her
order and arranged nAchiAr to be sent along with ponnadikkAl jIyar. ponnadikkAl jIyar
having brought her over to vAnamAmalai, arranged for a grand wedding and he himself
performs kannikAdhAnam. dheivanAyakan also claims that “like periyAzhwAr,
ponnadikkAl jIyar is also his father-in-law” and even today this custom is respected and
followed in vAnamAmalai dhivyakshEthram.
After living for many years giving valuable instructions to every one, ponnadikkAl jIyar
gives up his charama thirumEni meditating on his Acharyan azhagiya maNavALa

mAmunigaL and attains paramapadham. He appoints the next jIyar of the vAnamAmalai
mutt and this AchArya paramparai is continuing even today without any break.
Let us pray at the lotus feet of ponnadikkAl jIyar that we also develop such attachment
towards emperumAnAr and our AchAryan.
ponndaikkAl jIyar’s thanian (submitted by dhoddAchAryar)
ramya jAmAthru yOghIndhra pAdharEkhA mayam sadhA

thathA yaththAthma saththAdhim rAmAnuja munim bhajE
Let us see a couple of great samskritham works on ponnadikkAl jIyar by

dhoddAchAryar. These two works bring out the greatness of ponnadikkAl jIyar in a
wonderful way. The original verses by dhoddAchAryar and a simple translation of these
works in Thamizh by sri U.Ve. thenthiruppErai aravindhalOchanan swamy are archived
in (http://www.kArimAran.com/downloads/PrapathiMangalasasanam.pdf).
vAnamAmalai jIyar mangaLAsAsanam
1. I worship vAnamAmalai jIyar, who is the holder of mAmunigaL’s grace, who is an

ocean of mercy himself, pure in heart, full of good qualities right from his birth
and was originally known as azhagiya varadhar.
2. My worships always belong to our rAmAnuja jIyar who is the leader of the the
jIyar swamys and our kulam and is full of all great qualities that were blessed by
mAmunigaL.
3. I worship rAmAnuja jIyar who he is like a honey-bee in the lotus feet of
mAmunigaL and is pleasing to my heart like the full moon.
4. I worship rAmAnuja jIyar who is an ocean of good qualities like vAthsalyam,
seelam, jnAnam and one who is considered by mAmunigaL as his life breath.
5. I worship vAnamAmalai jIyar who directly went from brahmacharyam to
sannyAsam, there by making other two Ashramams (gruhasthAshramam and
vAnaprastham) look embarassed.
6. I worship vAnamAmalai jIyar who was the first to be blessed by mAmunigaL and
who can remove our dhOshams (defects) like kAmam (lust), etc.
7. I worship vAnamAmalai jIyar who is holder of all good qualities and who is free of
likes and dislikes in material things and who has lotus like beautiful eyes.

8. vairAgam first manifested in hanumAn. Then it grew well in bhIshma pithAmahar.
Finally it glows in vAnamAmalai jIyar now. We will enjoy looking at such glorious
vAnamAmalai jIyar.
9. I worship vAnamAmalai jIyar whose explanations to ubhaya vEdhAntham attracts
great vidhwAns, whose anushtAnam is hailed and followed by all sannyAsis, who
is blemishless and full of knowledge and other good qualities, and one who
surrendered to the lotus feet of mAmunigaL.
10. I worship vAnamAmalai jIyar, where even birds near his kAlakshEpa gOshti
proclaims that “only sriman nArAyaNan is supreme, eternal truth, etc and all the
dhEvathAs are his servants”.
11. I worship vAnamAmalai jIyar, whose katAksham is powerful enough to give artha
panchaka jnAnam easily and who is like kalpa vruksham for his sishyas and who
have done many kainkaryams in vAnamAmalai.
12. I worship vAnamAmalai jIyar, who reformed me (who was interested in material
things only and was not showing any interest in srivaishnavas) out of his pure
mercy and who is the wealth of vAnamAmalai dhivya kshEthram.
13. I worship vAnamAmalai jIyar, who is full of knowledge, where vairAgyam is
resting peacefully and is like a box containing expensive jewels and is fully
determined to take care of the AchArya pItam that was established by
emperumAnAr himself.
14. I worship vAnamAmalai jIyar, who is the place holder of mAmunigaL’s mercy,
who is an ocean of all good qualities like jnAnam, etc and has great attachment
for sri dheivanAyakan emperumAn.
vAnamAmalai jIyar prapaththi
1. I surrender at the lotus feet of vAnamAmalai jIyar who is as beautiful as freshly

bloomed lotus flower, one who gives happiness to the ones who look at him and
one who can help us this samsAram which is a ocean of miseries.
2. I surrender at the lotus feet of vAnamAmalai jIyar who gained glories by the
blessings of mAmunigaL, who is capable of destroying our defects, who is an
ocean of good qualities and who is like kalpa vruksham for his sishyas.
3. I surrender at the lotus feet of vAnamAmalai jIyar who surrendered to
mAmunigaL and did not entangle himself in married life thinking that it will bind
him in this jail of samsAram more and more.
4. I surrender at the lotus feet of vAnamAmalai jIyar – first the creeper of virakthi
started from hanuman but now it has spread on vAnamAmalai jIyar fully and
manifests nicely.
5. I surrender at the lotus feet of vAnamAmalai jIyar who built many mandapams,
etc in vAnamAmalai like AdhisEshan (who works to please emperumAn always)
to please his AchAryan mAmunigaL.

6. I surrender at the lotus feet of vAnamAmalai jIyar who explained excellently the
deep vEdhAntha meanings that are given by nammAzhwAr.
7. I surrender at the lotus feet of vAnamAmalai jIyar whose name is powerful
enough to remove the poison of the snake called samsAram and will raise the
jIvAthmAs to the level of emperumAn himself.
8. I surrender at the lotus feet of vAnamAmalai jIyar which will relieve us from the
sins that were accumulated due to time immemorial existence in samsAram, and
that which are worshipped by all sAdhus and that which are very pure.
9. I surrender at the lotus feet of vAnamAmalai jIyar whose sripAdha thItham will
purify any one and will destroy the fire called thApa thrayam immediately.
10. I surrender at the lotus feet of vAnamAmalai jIyar who was surrendered fully by
appAchiAraNNA who was very pure and an ocean of good qualities.
11. I surrender at the lotus feet of vAnamAmalai jIyar who was surrendered by
samarabhungavAchAryar who worshipped vAnamAmalai jIyar and who was the
peak of all good qualities and who was worshipped by sAdhus.
12. There is no one equal to vAnamAmalai jIyar since his vairAgyam is greater than
that of hanuman, bhIshmar, etc. His bhakthi is in line with the oRAN vazhi
AchAryas starting with nammAzhwAr. His jnAnam is the same as nAthamuni,
yAmuna muni, etc. So, who can be considered greater than vAnamAmalai jIyar
based on these facts?
13. He served sri dheivanAyakan emperumAn like Adhi sEshan. He glorified
emperumAn’s bhakthas as kulasEkara AzhwAr did. He worshipped his AchAryan
mAmunigaL like mathurakavi AzhwAr worshipped nammAzhwAr. He was
following the footsteps of our pUrvAchAryas and was the place holder for all
good qualities.
14. Long ago, emperumAn descended as nArAyaNan and naran. Now the same
emperumAn has appeared like mAmunigaL and ponnadikkAl jIyar. Such is the
glory of vAnamAmalai jIyar.

paravasthu pattarpirAn jIyar
thirunakshathram: kArthikai punarpUsam
avathAra sthalam: kAnchipuram (thirumalai according to periya thirumudi adaivu)
AchAryan: maNavALa mAmunigaL

sishyas: kOilappan (his own pUrvAsrama son), paravasthu aNNan, paravasthu
azhagiya maNavALa jIyar, aNNarAya chakkaravarthi, mElnAttu thOzhappar nAyanAr,
etc
Works: anthimOpAya nishtai
Place where he attained paramapadham: thirumalai
Born as gOvindhar to madhurakavi ayyar (who comes in the lineage of

araNappurathAzhwAn, it is also said that he comes in naduvil AzhwAn thiruvamsam) in
the patthangi paravasthu family, he was also known as gOvindhadhAsarappan,
bhattanAthar in his pUrvAshramam. After accepting sannyAsam, he becomes to be
known as pattarpirAn jIyar, bhattanAtha muni, etc. He is one of the ashta dhik gajangaL
(eight prime disciples and leaders of our sampradhAyam) of mAmunigaL. piLLai lOkam
jIyar who performed many valuable literary kainkaryams is his great-grand son.
mAmunigaL himself glorifies gOvindhadhAsarappan (pattarpirAn jIyar) in the assembly

of his sishyas. Once, while every one is present, mAmunigaL says srI
gOvindhadhAsarappan is the only one qualifies to be like madhurakavi AzhwAr who
said dhEvumaRRaRiyEn (I dont know any other god than nammAzhwAr). pattarpirAn
jIyar is thus compared to be madhurakavi AzhwAr for nammAzhwAr, dheivavAriyANdAn
for ALavandhAr and vaduka nambi for emperumAnAr. He stayed with mAmunigaL
without ever separating from him just like embAr who always stayed with
emperumAnAr. Thus, he learns all the essence of sAsthram from mAmunigaL directly
and constantly serve him.
For 30 years (in his pUrvAshramam), he ate the sEsha prasAdham (remnants) of
mAmunigaL. He is famously known as "mOr munnAr ayyar" (the respected one who
consumed curd rice first). In a traditional meal, we would first eat rice with dhAl,
vegetables, etc. In the end will finish with curd rice. pattarpirAn jIyar, consumes his
prasAdham on the same banana leaf on which mAmunigaL eats. As mAmunigaL
finishes with curd rice and since gOvindhadhAsarappan wants to consume prasAdham
without changing the taste (from curd to dhAl), he first consumes curd rice everyday.
Thus, he becomes to be known popularly as "mOr munnAr ayyar".
mAmunigaL's sishyas identify mAmunigaL as "bhattanAtha munivara abhIshta

dhaivatham", meaning "the one who is the dear master of pattarpirAn jIyar". They also
glorify pattarpirAn jIyar as the one who is in the AchArya nishtai of madhurakavi AzhwAr
towards mAmunigaL.
During the final days of mAmunigaL, aNNarAya chakkaravarthi (who comes in the
lineage of thirumalai nallAn chakkaravarthi) visits srIrangam from thirumalai. After his

mangaLAsAsanam at periya kOil, by the advise of his mother, goes to periya jIyar
(mAmunigaL) mutt to pay his obeisances and respects to him. While going there with
his whole family, he approaches mAmunigaL through pattarpirAn jIyar. periya jIyar
places his divine lotus feet on the head of aNNarAya chakkaravarthi and blesses him
fully. He glorifies aNNarAya chakkaravarthi's kainkaryams in thirumalai and invites
pattarpirAn jIyar to accept aNNarAya chakkaravarthi as his sishya. mAmunigaL says
like "rAmasya dhakshiNo bhAhu:" (lakshmaNan is right hand for srI rAman), pattarpirAn
jIyar is my right hand - so, let him perform pancha samskAram to you, accept you as his
sishya and establish you as a leader in our sampradhAyam. aNNarAya chakkaravarthi
happily obliges and accepts pattarpirAn jIyar as his AchArya.
Finally, after mAmunigaL ascending to paramapadham, pattarpirAn jIyar settles down at

thirumalai and purify many jIvAthmAs there. He writes a grantham named anthimOpAya
nishtai, which fully brings out the glories of our AchArya paramaparai and how our
pUrvAchAryas fully depended on their respective AchAryans. He declares in the
beginning of the grantham that the whole of the incidents/principles in the grantham are
explained by mAmunigaL himself and he is just like the pen and paper to document
those valuable instructions.
Thus, we have seen some glimpses of the glorious life of paravasthu pattarpirAn jIyar.
He was a great scholar and was very dear to mAmunigaL. Let us pray at his lotus feet
paravasthu pattarpirAn jIyar's thaniyan:
ramyajAmAthruyOgIndhra pAdhasEvaika dhArakam

bhattanAtha munim vandhE vAthsalyAdhi guNArNavam

kOil kandhAdai aNNan
kOil kandhAdai aNNan – srIrangam aNNan thirumALigai
thirunakshathram: purattAsi (kanni) pUrattAdhi
sishyas: kandhAdai nAyan (his own son), kandhAdai rAmAnuja aiyangAr, etc.
Works: srI parAngusa pancha vimsathi, varavaramuni ashtakam, mAmunigaL

kaNNinuN chiruthAmbu
Born in the illustrious family lineage of mudhaliyANdAn (who is called yathirAja

pAdhukA – the sandals of the lotus feet of emperumAnAr), as the son of dhEvarAja
thOzhappar and the elder brother of kOil kandhAdai appan, he was named varadha
nArAyaNan by his parents. He goes on to become one of the dearest disciples and
ashta dig gajas (eight main personalities/disciples to propagate the sath
sampradhAyam) of maNavALa mAmunigaL.

kOil aNNan (as popularly known) was living in srIrangam with many sishyas. At that
time, azhagiya maNavALa perumAL nAyanAr (mAmunigaL in gruhasthAsramam)
arrives at srIrangam and was greatly welcomed by srI ranganAthan and his
kainkaryapararars (servitors). nAyanAr accepts sannyAsAsramam and srI ranganAthan
gives him the name azhagiya maNavALa mAmunigaL (insisting that mAmunigaL keeps
the same name as himself – azhagiya maNavALan is one of the cherished names of srI
ranganAthan). emperumAn asks him to have pallavarAyan mutt (which is a historical
mutt from emperumAnAr‘s times) as his residence and live in srIrangam until he
ascends to paramapadham just like he ordered emperumAnAr to do so. mAmunigaL
instructs ponnadikkAl jIyar and other sishyas to renovate the mutt and builds a hall for
his regular kAlakshEpams (lectures). While building the hall, he builds with the soil
retrieved from piLLai lOkAchAryar‘s residence – as piLLai lOkAchAryar was the pioneer
in documenting the rahasya arthams (confidential principles). mAmunigaL spends his
time fully on re-establishing the sath sampradhAyam principles since during the
previous generations there were lots of turbulence in srIrangam due to invaders
attacking the town and destroying people and literature. Hearing his glories and
benevolence, many people approach mAmunigaL and become his sishyas.
Once mAmunigaL blesses AychiyAr who is the daughter of thirumanjanam appA.

AychiyAr being greatly devoted to mAmunigaL (who is the AchArya of her father),
requests mAmunigaL to accept her as his disciple. mAmunigaL initially hesitates but
later accepts her as his disciple seeing AychiyAr’s total dedication. She does not reveal
this to anyone including her husband kandhAdai siRRaNNar. She stays at her father’s
residence for some time. At that time kOil aNNan’s father’s srArdhdham occurs where
she is requested to cook for the occassion. She performs that kainkaryam with a pure
attitude and after the srArdham is completed everyone is resting at the porch (near
entrance).
At that time, kOil aNNan notices a srIvaishNava coming from periya jIyar‘s
(mAmunigaL) mutt. aNNan enquires the wherabouts and the purpose of his visit. The
srIvaishNava mentions that his name is singaraiyyar he is from vaLLuva rAjEndhram
(near by village) and he has come to become the disciple of mAmunigaL but his desire
is yet not fulfilled. aNNan says to him that there are many AchAryas in srIrangam and
he can become a sishya of any one. The srIvaishNava replies that it is per the order of
bhagavAn himself that he becomes a sishya of mAmunigaL. aNNan becomes
astonished and wants to know more, but singaraiyyar says its confidential and wont
reveal the details yet. aNNan invites him inside to accept prasAdham and thAmbUlam
and asks him to rest there for the night. In the night when aNNan and his brothers were
lying outside, AychiyAr who is inside the house, lies down to go to sleep. She says “jIyar
thiruvadigaLE charaNam, piLLai thiruvadigaLE charaNam, vAzhi ulagAsiriyan”
(salutations to mAmunigaL, thiruvAimozhi piLLai and piLLai lOkAchAryar). aNNan and

his brothers hear this and one of them go inside to find out the matter. But aNNan and
appan retains him and says we can check in the morning.
aNNan becomes reverential towards mAmunigaL and could not sleep. He goes back to
singaraiyyar and enquires in the night. singariyyar explains a long incident – I
periodically collect vegetables, etc from my village and submit them to the
mutts/thirumALigais of AchAryas. Once, a srIvaishNava instructed me to submit this
to periya jIyar mutt. I considered it a great fortune and went to jIyar mutt with the
vegetables. jIyar asked me many questions such as where did these grow?, who
watered them?, etc. I humbly replied to him that these were grown in pure lands and
were nurtured by his sishyas only. periya jIyar became happy hearing that and accepted
the vegetables. He also instructed me to go to periya perumAL and worship him before
leaving. The archakar (priest) enquired me about the vegetables and to whom I offered
them this time. I replied to him that they were submitted to periya jIyar mutt. The
archakar became very happy hearing that and told me that I am most fortunate and I am
going to get great AchArya sambandham. He also blessed me and gave thIrtham
(charaNamritham – holy water), srI satagOpam, garland, abhaya hastham, etc and I felt
very blessed. I returned to jIyar mutt and informed periya jIyar that periya perumAL
greatly blessed me by your grace and informed him that I am returning. The
kainkaryaparars (servitors) in the mutt gave me some prasAdham and I had it on my
way and that purified my consciousness greatly. In the night I saw a dream. I was in
periya perumAL‘s sannidhi. periya perumAL pointed towards Adhi sEshan and told me
“azhagiya maNavALa jIyar is the same as Adhi sEsha. You become his sishya”. From
that time onwards, I am waiting to become the sishya of mAmunigaL. Hearing these
incidents, aNNan starts deep contemplation and goes to sleep.
aNNan sees a dream during his sleep. A srIvaishNava steps down from upstairs with a
whip on his hand and starts giving lashes to aNNan. aNNan, even though had the
power to stop him, does not do so and understands that the srIvaishNava is punishing
him for his wrong-doings. The whip broke after a while and the srIvaishNava pulls
aNNan by his hand. aNNan asks what to do and the srIvaishNava instructs aNNan to go
upstairs. Both aNNan and the srIvaishNava climbs up. There he observed a sannyAsi
who looked very angry and he too started giving lashes to aNNan and finally that whip
breaks too. The srIvaishNava prays to the sannyAsi and tells him “He is a small boy and
does not know what he is doing, please stop the beatings and bless him now”. The
sannyAsi then takes aNNan and keeps him on his lap and affectionately speaks to him.
He says “Both you and uththama nambi committed offenses”. aNNan replies “I did not
truly understand the glories of azhagiya maNavALa jIyar and became confused –
please forgive me now”. The sannyAsi replies affectionately “I am bhAshyakArar (srI
rAmAnuja) and this srIvaishNava is mudhaliyANdAn (your ancestor). You reform
yourself and dont misuse the relationship with mudhaliyANdAn. I am Adhi sEshan and
have come again as maNavALa mAmunigaL. You and your relatives become the

disciple of mAmunigaL and be uplifted”. The dream stops and aNNan wakes with shock
and awe. He explains the incidents to his brothers with great emotions. He goes to
AychiyAr who is sleeping inside and informs her about the dream. She also informs him
about how mAmunigaL purified her and blessed her with divine knowledge. He
becomes happy to hear about it and returns to singaraiyyar and informs him about the
dream to. Then he goes to cauvery river and performs his daily anushtAnams.
He then returns to this residence and invites uththama nambi and many other
kandhAdai family members (descendants of mudhaliyANdAn). Many arrive at his
residence and they are all surprised to hear that every one saw the same dream. They
all go to embA who is the grandson of a famous AchArya lakshmaNAchAryar. embA
becomes angry hearing about the dream and tells them that it is not befitting for their
family background to go an take shelter of another jIyar. A few others also same the
same and does not want to take shelter of periya jIyar.
aNNan along with many other kandhAdai family AchArya purushas go to jIyar mutt to
take shelter of mAmunigaL. aNNan takes the help of his own sishya thiruvAzhiyAzhwAr
and mAmunigaL’s dear sishya sudhdha saththvam aNNan to approach mAmunigaL.
sudhdha sathvam aNNan used to often explain the glories of mAmunigaL to kOil
aNNan. So, kOil aNNan takes the help of him to approach mAmunigaL. kOil aNNan
then goes to mAmunigaL’s mutt along with many of his family members. mAmunigaL is
giving a lecture at thirumalai AzhwAr maNdapam. aNNan, not wanting to disturb
mAmunigaL, informs AychiyAr about their arrival and AychiyAr sends a srIvaishNava
inside to let mAmunigaL know about their arrival at the right time. That srIvaishNava
misunderstands the intentions of kOil aNNan and his family members and informs to
mAmunigaL in the wrong sense (as if they are coming for a debate/argument or
something). mAmunigaL, not wanting to cause any confusion, leaves to the backside of
the mutt. In the mean time, aNNan and his relatives approach vAnamAmalai jIyar and
offers their respects to him. AychiyAr following the srIvaishNavar to find out what
happened explains the intentions of kOil aNNan to mAmunigaL. mAmunigaL then
chastises the srIvaishNavar and welcomes kOil aNNan and his relatives with great
respect. kOil aNNan and his relatives fall at his lotus feet, offers prayers and
glorifications to periya jIyar and offers fruits, etc. mAmunigaL gives a short lecture on
thiruppallANdu and poliga poliga padhigam (decade) in thiruvAimozhi briefly. aNNan
requests mAmunigaL through ponnadikkAl jIyar to acknowledge them and accept them
all as his disciples. mAmunigaL at once goes inside to a private place and invites
aNNan inside through ponnadikkAl jIyar. mAmuniaL asks aNNan “You already belong to
vAdhula clan (of mudhaliyANdAn) which is already well established and an AchArya
purusha family. Why is this (becoming my sishya) required?”. aNNan insists that he
needs to be accepted, asking forgiveness for his previous state of not giving proper
respect to mAmunigaL and explaining the divine dreams. mAmunigaL accepts the
request and tells aNNan that there are few other fortunate souls who would be directed

by emperumAn through their dreams and instructs that every one assemble after 3 days
for the pancha samskAram. aNNan happily accepts the proposal and leaves along with
his relatives.
emperumAn appears in the dreams of many others and breaking the shackles of archA
samAdhi (his own vow of “not interacting” with anyone in archAvathAram/deity form)
instructs that mAmunigaL is non-different from bhagavAn himself and everyone should
take shelter of his lotus feet to be uplifted.

mAmunigaL and kOil aNNan – aNNan thirumALigai, srIrangam
After 3 days, everyone assembles at periya jIyar mutt. aNNan, without any pride about
his family heritage and fully wanting to become surrendered to mAmunigaL, goes to
mAmunigaL and requests him to perform pancha samskAram to everyone. mAmunigaL
instructs vAnamAmalai (ponnadikkAl) jIyar to prepare the necessary aspects and
performs pancha samskAram (thApam – shanka/chakram imprint on the shoulders,
puNdra – Urdhva puNdram, nAma – giving a dhAsya nAmam (name), manthra – the
rahasya thraya manthrams and yAga – thiruvArAdhanam procedure) to kOil aNNan and
divinely blesses him.
Immediately, mAmunigaL thinks about ponnadikkAl jIyar and points towards him and
announces in the big assembly “ponnadikkAl jIyar is like my life breath and well wisher.
Whatever glories I have, he should also get the same”. aNNan understands
mAmunigaL’s emotions and says “You should have made me a disciple of ponnadikkAl
jIyar” and mAmunigaL shows his special attachment towards aNNan saying “How can I
give up some one who is destined to me (by the divine orders of periya perumAL
himself)?”. AychiyAr’s son appAchiyAraNNA then raises and requests mAmunigaL to
make him a disciple of ponnadikkAl jIyar. mAmunigaL becomes very pleased and hails
him as “nam appAchiyAraNNAvO?” (Is this our appAchiyAraNNA?). mAmunigaL then
seats ponnadikkAl jIyar in his own simhAsanam (throne) and forcefully places the
shankam and chakram in his hands and asks him to perform pancha samskAram to
appAchiyAraNNA. ponnadikkAl jIyar at first humbly refuses, but mAmunigaL insists him
to do it as it will be very pleasing for him. After appAchiyAraNNA, his brother dhAsrathi
appai also becomes a sishya of ponnadikkAl jIyar. ponnadikkAl jIyar, out of humility
withdraws from the Asanam (seat) and offers his praNAmams to mAmunigaL out of
great respect. After that, aNNan’s brother kandhAdai appan and many others become
sishyas of mAmunigaL. At that time, periya perumAL‘s prasAdham arrives and
mAmunigaL accepts the same with great reverence. Everyone then goes to the temple
and performs mangaLAsAsanam and returns to the mutt for a grand
thadhIyArAdhanam.
One day, mAmunigaL hails the attachment of sudhdha sathvam aNNan towards kOil
aNNan. He also instructs ANda perumAL (who is a great scholar coming in the family
lineage of komANdUr iLayavilli AchAn) to become the sishya of aNNan and fully serve
aNNan in spreading the sath sampradhAyam.
eRumbi appA who is a relative of kOil aNNan, approaches mAmunigaL through the
purushakAram (recommendation) of kOil aNNan and becomes a dear disciple of
mAmunigaL.

kandhAdai nAyan (who is the son of kandhAdai aNNan) was most intelligent and
knoweldgable even at an young age. When mAmunigaL was explaining some meanings
from dhivya prabhandha pAsurams, kandhAdai nAyan nicely gives an interpretation.
mAmunigaL lifts him up and places him on his lap and greatly glorifies him and blesses
him to be a leader of our sampradhAyam. kandhAdai nAyan is the author of periya
thirumudi adaivu.
prathivAdhi bhayankaram aNNan approaches mAmunigaL and becomes his sishya. He

too first visits kOil aNNan’s thirumALigai first and had great respect for each other.
mAmunigaL instructs kOil aNNan to explain bhagavath vishayam to kandhAdai appan,

thirukkOpuraththu nAyanAr bhattar, sudhdhasathvam aNNan, ANda perumAL nAyanAr
and ayyanappA and gives him the title “bhagavath sambandha AchAryar” and makes
him the main AchArya for bhagavath vishayam. Once, mAmunigaL observes kandhAdai
nAyan (son of aNNan) and jIyar nAyanAr (mAmunigaL’s own grand-son from his
pUrvAsramam) discussing bhagavath vishayam in a detailed manner and instructs them
to write an arumpadham (detailed explanation) in samskritham for eedu vyAkyAnam.
After mAmunigaL performing bhagavath vishaya kAlakshEpam in srIrangam in front of

srI ranganAthan, emperumAn himself appears on the final day of Ani thirumUlam,
submits the “srIsailEsa dhayApAthram” thanian and accepts mAmunigaL as his
AchAryan. Immediately emperumAn instructs to all dhivyadhEsams that this thanian be
recited as part of daily routines in the beginning and in the end. At the same time, in kOil
aNNan’s thirumALigai (residence), aNNan’s wife and other srIvaishNavis are discussing
about mAmunigaL’s glories. A small boy arrives there and submits a chit with the same
thanian and vanises. Every one understands this to be a divine act of emperumAn.
Once, mAmunigaL asks kOil aNNan if we wants to go and perform mangaLAsAsanam

to thiruvEnkatamudaiyAn. At that time, appiLLai glorifies aNNan as “kAvEri kadavAtha
kandhAdai aNNananRO” (one who does not cross the river cauvery – one who never
leaves srIrangam). But mAmunigaL highlights that srI ranganAthan stays at the top of
the thirumalai being worshipped by nithyasUris. aNNan becomes very pleased and asks
permission from mAmunigaL to go for thirumalai yAthrai. mAmunigaL brings him
to periya perumAL sannidhi and gets his permission/blessings to leave and sends
uththama nambi (dear kainkaryaparar of periya perumAL) along with aNNan. aNNan is
accompanied by many srIvaishNavas. When offered a palanquin, aNNan rejects that
and he walks along with the srIvaishNavas manifesting great humility. Once he reaches
the foot-hills of thirumalai, ananthAzhwAn (servitor of thiruvEnkatamudaiyAn coming in
the family lineage of thirumalai ananthAzhwAn), periya kELvi jIyar, AchArya purushas
and many srIvaishNavas welcome aNNan and the srIvaishNavas with great pomp.

aNNan participates in the rathOthsavam and performs mangaLAsAsanam to
emperumAn. He meets ayOdhya rAmAnuja aiyyangAr who was serving in srI
bhadhrikAsramam. ayOdhyA rAmAnuja aiyyangAr wants to take shelter of mAmunigaL,
but ananthAzhwAn explains that aiyyangAr should take shelter of aNNan which will be
more pleasing to mAmunigaL. aiyyangAr happily obliges and requests aNNan to accept
him as his disciple. aNNan accepts his request and performs pancha samskAram to
aiyyangAr. thiruvEnkamudaiyAn acknowledging aiyyangAr’s relationship with aNNan,
declares that he will be known as “kandhAdai rAmAnuja aiyyangAr”. kandhAdai
rAmAnuja aiyyangAr goes on to perform many notable kainkaryams.
aNNan decides to return to srIrangam and goes to thiruvEnkatamudaiyAn to seek for

permission to leave. emperumAn gives his own vasthram to aNNan and aNNan happily
accepts the same. emperumAn also instructs aNNan to return in the palanquin
submitted by kandhAdai rAmAnuja aiyyangAr and returns to srIrangam. On the way, he
performs mangaLAsAsanam to many dhivyadhEsams and also visits eRumbi appA and
his elders at eRumbi. At kAnchIpuram, aNNan desires to bring water from sAlaikkiNaRu
(well from which emperumAnAr brought water for dhEva perumAL’s kainkaryam).
aNNan happily performs this kainkaryam and instructs appAchiyAraNNA to continue
this kainkaryam.
aNNan plans to leave kAnchIpuram to go to srIperumbUthUr and other near by

dhivyadhEsams. He goes to dhEva perumAL to seek his permission to leave. At that
time dhEva perumAL was enjoying thiruvArAdhanam. After thaLigai (bhOgam) is
offered to dhEva perumAL, dhEva perumAL invites aNNan to the front and blesses him
with his vasthrams, garlands, sandal wood and fragrance applied to him, etc and gives
them to aNNan saying that all these for for periya jIyar and gives him a nice farewell.
aNNan comes out and seated across kachchikku vAyththAn maNdapam and starts
lecturing mAmuigaL’s glories. A few elders highlight dhEva perumAL himself saying
mAmunigaL as “aNNan jIyar” (kOil aNNan’s AchAryan mAmunigaL) and glorify that very
much. They also remind him how periya perumAL identified kOil aNNan as “jIyar
aNNan” (periya jIyar‘s sishya kOil aNNan). At that time, a message comes from
mAmunigaL to return to srIrangam since it had been long since he left. kOil aNNan at
once accepts that invitation from his AchArya, offers his praNAmams towards the
direction of srIperumbUthUr and other dhivyadhEsams and returns to srIrangam.
periya jIyar arrives at kOil aNNan’s residence and thirumAlai thantha perumAL bhattar
arrives along with temple kainkaryaparars with periya perumAL‘s garlands and
prasAdham. Every one welcomes aNNan with great delight and mAmunigaL fully
blesses aNNan on his arrival. The srIvaishNavas mention to mAmunigaL that dhEva
perumAL glorified him as “aNNan jIyar”. mAmunigaL becomes very pleased hearing
that and says that he was blessed to have such connection with aNNan. prathivAdhi
bhayankaram aNNan highlights that aNNan jIyar sounds similar to sriya:pathi – just like

both emperumAn and pirAtti enhance each others glories, kOil aNNan and mAmunigaL
enhance each others glories too.
Towards the end of his time in this world, mAmunigaL was writing the vyAkyAnam for
AchArya hrudhayam with great personal discomfort. When aNNan goes and asks
mAmunigaL why he was putting himself under so much trouble, mAmunigaL
magnanimously replies that he is writing these commentaries for the benefit of his sons
and grandsons (future generations to come).
mAmunigaL was instrumental in re-establishing the rights and privileges for kOil aNNan
which were lost during the bad times of srIrangam when the invaders destroyed
everything.
eRumbi appA (another sishya of mAmunigaL) highlights a beautiful incident in his pUrva
dhinacharyA (a divine grantham narrating the daily activities of mAmunigaL) slOkam 4.
pArsvatha: pANipadhmAbhyAm parigruhya bhavathpriyau

vinyasyantham sanair angrI mrudhulau mEdhinIthalE
Simple translation: eRumbi appA to mAmunigaL – “Your highness is having your two
dear sishyas (kOil aNNan and kOil appan) on either side and holding on to them tightly
with your lotus like tender hands and walking with your tender (lotus) feet on mEdhinI
(earth)”.

mAmunigaL with aNNan and appan on either side (portrait from appan swamy
thirumALigai, kAnchIpuram)
thirumazhisai aNNAvappangAr, in his vyAkyAnam for dhinacharyA, highlights that here

the two dear sishyas mean “kOil aNNan and kOil appan”. A question arises here –
should mAmunigaL not be holding on to his thridhaNdam as it is said in pAncharAthra
thathvasAra samhithai that ‘a sannyAsi should always be holding on to thridhaNdam’?
aNNAvappangAr nicely explains this in a few ways:
 For a sannyAsi who is fully realised – if he does not carry his thridhaNdam for
some reason – there is no defect.
 A sannyAsi who is in constant meditation of bhagavAn, who is well-behaved and
who has properly heard the meanings of sAsthram from his AchAryas, one who
is knowledgable in bhagavAth vishayam and one who has control over his own
senses and the whole world – for such sannyAsis their thridhaNdam, etc., are not
required.
 When prostrating before emperumAn fully, since the thridhaNdam may be a
hinderance to perform such full prostration, he may not carry the thridhaNdam at
that time.
mAmunigaL himself glorifies kOil aNNan through a beautiful pAsuram:
ekkuNaththOr ekkulaththOr evviyalvOr Ayidinum

akkaNaththE nammiRaivarAvarE
mikkapughazhk kArAr pozhil kOyil kandhAdai aNNanennum
pErALanai adaintha pEr
Simple translation: If one takes shelter of kOil kandhAdai aNNan (who is most popular
due to his merciful nature), whatever may be his qualities, creed or nature - he will
become my master at once.

Thus, we have seen some glimpses of the glorious life of kOil kandhAdai aNNan. He
was very dear to mAmunigaL. Let us pray at his lotus feet that we too get a little bit of
such abhimAnam of AchAryan.
kOil kandhAdai aNNan’s thaniyan:
sakala vEdhAntha sArArtha pUrNAsayam

vipula vAdhUla gOthrOdhbhavAnAm varam
ruchira jAmAthru yOgIndhra pAdhAsrayam
varadha nArAyaNam madh gurum samsrayE

prathivAdhi bhayankaram aNNan
thirunakshathram: Adi pUsam
avathAra sthalam: kAnchIpuram (near thirutthaNkA dhIpa prakAsar sannidhi)
sishyas: His own sons aNNanappA, ananthAchAryar, azhagiya maNavALa perumAL

nAyanAr
Works:
 short vyAkyAnams (commentaries) for srI bhAshyam, srI bhAgavatham,

subhAlOpanishad
 vyAkyAnam for bhattar’s ashtaslOkI
 srI vEnkatEsa suprabhAtham, sthOthram, prapathi, mangaLAsAsanam per the
divine orders of mAmunigaL – http://acharya.org/books/eBooks/index-all.html
(see sri venkatesa suprabatham)
 varavaramuni sathakam (100 slOkas in samskritham in glorification of
mAmunigaL)
 varavaramuni mangaLam – http://acharya.org/sloka/pb-anna/index.html
 varavaramuni suprabhAtham – http://acharya.org/sloka/pb-anna/varavaramuni-
suprabhatam-tml.pdf
 “cheyya thAmarai thALiNai vAzhiyE…” – vAzhi thirunAmam of mAmunigaL
(recited at the end of aruLicheyal gOshti)
 Other slOka/sthOthra granthams

Born as hasthigirinAthar in the lineage of mudumbai nambi thiruvamsam, he was also
known as aNNA and becomes to be popularly known as paravAdhi bhayankarar.
Similar to kUrathAzhwAn who appeared before emperumAnAr but became a dear

sishya of emperumAnAr subsequently, aNNA appeared before mAmunigaL but became
a dear sishya of mAmunigaL. He is also one of the ashta dhig gajas (eight main sishyas
of mAmunigaL).
In the early part of his life, he lived in kAnchIpuram and was blessed by
vEdhAnthAchAryar. He studied under the guidance of kumAra nayanAchAryar (the son
of vEdhAnthAchAryar). He becomes a great scholar and wins over many scholars of
other sampradhAyams by his expertise in debating. He becomes to be known as
prathivAdhi bhayankaram aNNA, highlighting his ability to bring terror in the minds of
the opponents by his ability to debate clearly and establish the sidhAntham.
After entering gruhasthAsramam, aNNA goes to thirumalai (thiruvEnkatam) to serve

thiruvEnkatamudaiyAn. His wife who is equally knowledgable in sAsthram and
comparable to kUrathAzhwAn‘s dharma pathni (wife) ANdAL in knowledge/vairAgyam
(AzhwAn’s wife was very knowlegable in the essential principles of sAsthram and is
seen as an ideal example for how a woman should live her life in total dedication to
bhagavAn/bhAgavathas), gives birth to 3 sons who also grow up to be great scholars.
aNNA, who develops great detachment in sensual pleasures, goes to
thiruvEnkatamudaiyAn and requests emperumAn to engage him in blemishless service
(like AzhwAr prayed in ozhivil kAlamellAm padhigam – thiruvAimozhi 3.3). Accepting his
request, thiruvEnkatamudaiyAn instructs aNNA through thOzhappar (a srIvaishNava
AchArya in thirumalai) to engage in the kainkaryam of bringing water for thirumanjanam
(holy bathing) and thiruvArAdhanam (pUja). thOzhappar says to aNNA that emperumAn
is most easily pleased and fetching water for his daily routines will itself be most-
pleasing for emperumAn. thOzhappar hands over a silver pot to aNNA and instructs him
to bring water from AkAsa gangai and add fragrances (cardamom, clove, etc) to the
water before submitting the same to the archaka (priest) for thiruvArAdhanam. aNNA
happily obliges and starts doing that kainkaryam since then with great love thus
manifesting his servitorship towards bhagavAn.
One day, a srIvaishNava from srIrangam arrives at thirumalai. aNNA brings him to
emperumAn and arranges for his dharshan. After that aNNA hears from the
srIvaishNava about the glorious activities in srIrangam for srI ranganAthan, srI
ranganAchiyAr, AzhwArs and AchAryas. He also hears about the glories of maNavALa
mAmunigaL, his divine activities at srIrangam and becomes very attracted towards his
compassion, scholarship, etc. Subsequently a few days later, aNNA brings the
srIvaishNava to AkAsa gangai for his kainkaryam. Both on the way and during the
return, he fully drenches himself in mAmunigaL’s anubhavam through the srIvaishNava.

He realizes he did not add the fragrances in the water and prepares to do that – but an
EkAngi (dedicated servitor of bhagavAn) grabs the pot of water since it was getting late
for the thiruvArAdhanam. aNNA tries to inform him that the fragrances have not been
added but the EkAngi does not hear it. With anxiety, aNNA runs to the sannidhi and
observes that the thiruvArAdhanam is already started and he presents the fragrances to
the archaka. The archakar says “Today, I see that the fragrances are most pleasing
than ever”. aNNA realises that it was due to his hearing of mAmunigaL‘s glories which
lead to emperumAn’s pleasure and by grace the grace of emperumAn, the water
acquired fragrance automatically. He thanks the srIvaishNava for sharing such beautiful
matters and informs him that he wants to have the dharshan of mAmunigaL soon. After
a few days he takes permission from thiuvEnkatamudaiyAn and leaves to srIrangam
along with his family to take shelter of maNavALa mAmunigaL.
After reaching srIrangam, he goes to worship periya perumAL in proper order (ANdAL,
emperumAnAr, sEnai mudhaliyAr, etc leading up to periya perumAL and periya pirAtti).
But before having dharshan of periya perumAL, he observes mAmunigaL giving a divine
discourse on nammAzhwAr‘s thiruvAimozhi 4.10 padhigam – onRum dhEvum. AzhwAr
establishes bhagavAn’s supremacy in archAvathAram specifically in Athi nAthan
emperumAn of AzhwAr thirunagari. aNNA prostrates in front of the gOshti and
mAmunigaL joyfully embraces aNNA and enquires about the well-being of him.
mAmunigaL reveals that he is very happy to meet aNNA. mAmunigaL lectures the first 3
pAsurams of the padhigam and stops at that. A visually ecstatic aNNA being amazed at
mAmunigaL‘s expertise in ubhaya vEdhAntham (samskritha vEdhAntham and dhrAvida
vEdhAntham) says that unless he becomes a sishya of mAmunigaL he cannot get the
full mercy of mAmunigaL and understand these most important principle of “supremacy
in archAvathAram” clearly. mAmunigaL stops the lecture and brings him over to periya
perumAL. periya perumAL blesses aNNA with thIrtham, srI satagOpan, garlands, etc.,
and speaks to aNNA through the archaka. He says “Oh prathivAdhi
bhayankarAchAryar! Remember, once you brought water from AkAsa gangai in
thirumalai, you heard the glories of mAmunigaL and automatially the water became
pure with divine fragrance. You have come here to perform an act that will give pleasure
to me – you will now have the unique and divine relationship with mAmunigaL” and
points him towards mAmunigaL. periya jIyar then leaves to his mutt after that.
aNNA being very pleased goes to kanthAdai aNNan’s residence and both aNNA and
kanthAdai aNNAn pay mutual obeisances as it is the normal practice. “vaishNavO
vaishNavam dhrustvA dhandavath praNamEdh bhuvi” says sAsthram – when a
vaishNava meets another vaishNava mutual prostration must happen. They enquire
about the spiritual well-being of each other and enter the residence of aNNan.
Incidentally, ponnadikkAl (vAnamAmalai) jIyar was also there at that time. aNNA
glorifies ponnadikkAl jIyar as “aruL koNdAdum adiyavar” (kaNNinuN chiruthAmbu – 7) –
one who is constantly engaged in enjoying/glorifying the mercy of mAmunigaL and

offers his obeisances unto him. ponnadikkAl jIyar embraces aNNA and discuss the
divine glories of yathi punaravathAram (mAmunigaL – the second coming of yathirAja).
aNNA (along with his wife and children) then goes to periya jIyar mutt with the guidance
of ponnadikkAl jIyar and kanthAdai aNNan. They all reach out to jIyar and accept him as
the only refuge by undergoing pancha samskAram from him. He then accepts the
srIpAdha thIrtham and prasAdham of mAmunigaL. mAmunigaL asks aNNA “You are
prathivAdhi bhayankarAchAryar. How can you accept me as your AchArya?” and aNNA
replies with great humility that “He is prathivAdhi bhayankarAchAryar for the ones who
oppose the srIvaishNava sidhAntham but a pure servant at the lotus feet of
srIvaishNavas”. mAmunigaL is very pleased to hear this and also identifies aNNA as
“srIvaishNava dhAsan”. Being situated fully in AchArya nishtai, he spends his life
glorifying mAmunigaL. Just like kUrathAzhwAn assisted emperumAnAr in establishing
the sidhAntham, aNNA assisted mAmunigaL throughout his time in establishing the sath
sampradhAya sidhAntham.
mAmunigaL goes on a yAthrai to thirumalai via kAnchIpuram, chOLasimhapuram,

eRumbi, etc. aNNA also accompanies him in the yAthrai. Observing the lack of
suprabAtham for thiruvEnkatamudaiyAn in thirumalai, mAmunigaL instructs aNNA to
submit one for emperumAn. aNNA, meditating on his AchAryan with gratitude, compiles
srI vEnkatEsa suprabhAtham, sthOthram, prapathi and mangaLA slOkams. mAmunigaL
is greatly pleased with aNNA’s work and instructs that these are recited every day in
thirumalai for the pleasure of thiruvEnkatamudaiyAn.
After returning to srIrangam, once, mAmunigaL invites aNNA and instructs him to teach
srI bhAshyam to kanthAdai aNNan, pOrERRu nAyanAr, anantthayyanappai,
emperumAnAr jIyar nAyanAr, kanthAdai nAyan and all. mAmunigaL then blesses aNNA
with the title “srIbhAshyAchAryar” and anoints him as the leader of srIbhAshya
simhAsanam.
aNNA compiles many literary works in glorification of mAmunigaL. “cheyya thAmarai

thAzhiNai vAzhiyE….” is his divine narration of mAmunigaLs beautiful form and his
unlimited mercy. There are many such works which are so beautiful and brings out
mAmunigaL’s glory fully. Let us see a couple of such glorification:

srInivAsan with ubhaya nAchiyAras, mAmunigaL, aNNA (thirupathi)
srI vEnkatEsa prapathi (slOkam 15)

sathvOttharais sathatha sEvya padhAmbujEna
samsAra thAraka dhayArdhra dhruganchalEna
saumyO payanthru muninA mama dharshithau thE
srIvEnkatEsa charaNau sharaNam prapadhyE
I surrender unto the lotus feet of srIvEnktatEsan which is shown to me by maNavALa

mAmunigaL out of great compassion. mAmunigaL is worshipped and served by parama
sAthvikas with pure heart. Such mAmunigaL showed me that it is the divine lotus feet of
emperumAn which uplifts us from this samsAram and places us in paramapadham.
srIvEnkatEsa mangaLam (slOkam 13)

srImath sundharajAmAthrumuni mAnasa vAsinE
sarvalOkanivAsAya srInivAsAya mangaLam

Let all auspiciousness prevail on thiruvEnkatamudaiyAn who is omni present, whose
chest is the residence of srImahAlakshmi and he is the one who eternally lives in the
heart of azhagiya maNavALa mAmunigaL.
All the sthOthrams of prathivAdhi bhayankaram aNNan on thiruvEnkatamudaiyAn are

available in different languages at http://acharya.org/acharya/pbanna/index.html.
Thus, we have seen some glimpses of the glorious life of prathivAdhi bhayankaram
aNNan. He was a great scholar in ubhaya vEdhAntham, fully situated in AchArya nishtai
and was very dear to mAmunigaL. Let us pray at his lotus feet that we too get a little bit
of such bhAgavatha nishtai.
prathivAdhi bhayankaram aNNan’s thaniyan:
vEdhAntha dhEsika katAksha vivrudhdhabhOdham

kAnthOpayanthru yamina: karuNaika pAthram
vathsAnvavAyamanavadhya guNairupEtham
bhakthyA bhajAmi paravAthi bhayankarAryam

eRumbi appA
eRumbi appA - kAnchIpuram appan swamy thirumALigai
thirunakshathram: ippasi, rEvathi
avathAra sthalam: eRumbi
AchAryan: azhagiya maNavALa mAmunigaL
sishyAs: periyavappA (his own son), sEnApathi AzhwAn
Works: pUrva dhinacharyai, uththara dhinacharyai, varavaramuni sathakam,

vilakshaNa mOksha adhikAri nirNayam, last pAsuram of upadhEsa raththina mAlai
(mannuyirgAL …)
eRumbiappA is one of the ashta-dik-gajangaL (eight primary disciples who were

established to protect/develop our sampradAyam) of maNavALa mAmunigaL. His
original name is dhEvarAjan.

While living and performing his dharmam at his village, eRumbiappA hears about
maNavALa mAmunigaL and gets attracted towards him. This time period (of maNavALa
mAmunigaL) is called NalladikkAlam (golden period) by our pUrvAchAryas. It is
because of the fact that, during this period, srivaishnavas could uninterruptedly enjoy
the kalyAna guNams (divine qualities) of emperumAn through our acharyas (mainly
maNavALa mAmunigaL) without any disturbance from external forces. For example:
During emperumAnAr’s time, he had to leave srirangam to go to thirunArAyaNapuram
due to the disturbances from saiva king. During bhattar‘s time, he had to leave to
thirukkOttiyur due to the disturbances from a disobedient king who was AzhwAn’s
sishyan himself. During piLLai lOkAchAryar’s time, he had to leave srirangam to go to
down south due to muslim invasion. But when maNavALa mAmunigaL arrived to
sriranga he re-established the temple worship, revived the AchArya purushas and most
importantly collected all the lost granthams and documented them properly. He was
also constantly engaged in performing kAlakshEpams of aruLicheyal based on
pUrvAchArya vyAkyAnams.
When eRumbiappA hears about maNavALa mAmunigaL‘s vaibhavam, he comes to

srirangam to meet him. When he enters the mutt, mAmunigaL is explaining
thiruvAimozhi 1st pAsuram – “uyarvara uyar nalam …”. eRumbiappA is mesmerized by
the way mAmunigaL explains the great meanings of vEdham and vEdhAntham to
explain emperumAn’s parathvam. After that mAmunigaL welcomes him and requests
him to participate in the thadhiyArAdhanam. But eRumbiappA refuses to accept
prasAdham at the mutt citing sAmAnya sAsthram which says one should not accept
sannyAsi’s food, food from the plate of a sannyAsi and food that was sent by a
sannyAsi – accepting this one has to do chAndhrAyaNa vratham. He did not realize the
visEsha sAsthram like in thirumAlai 41st pAsuram – “tharuvarEl punidhamanRE” (if the
great srivaishnavas mercifully give their prasAdham, it is very purifying and we should
accept the same).

srI rAma parivAr - appA's thiruvArAdhana perumAL (as seen in kAnchIpuram appan
swamy thirumALigai)
When he returns to his home town, in the morning after completing his anushtAnams,
he tries to open the kOvil AzhwAr (thiruvArAdhanam room) and his thiruvArAdhana
perumAL chakkaravarthi thirumagan (sri rAman) does not let him open the doors. Out of
sorrow and anxiety he does not take any food and goes to sleep. In his svapnam,
chakkaravarthi thirumagan appears and instructs him to take shelter of maNavALa
mAmunigaL. He says mAmunigaL is none other than AdhisEshan who descended as
iLaya perumAL during rAmAvathAram. He says now mAmunigaL has appeared again to
give benediction to the suffering samsAris. He instructs him to go and take shelter of
mAmunigaL and develop proper thathva jnAnam. Hearing this eRumbiappA runs back
to srirangam and with the purushakAram of kOil kandhAdai aNNan, he takes shelter of
maNavALa mAmunigaL and eventually becomes one of the ashta-dik-gajangaL.
It is at this juncture (while taking shelter), he glorifies mAmunigaL’s daily activities

through many slOkams which are compiled by him eventually as dhinacharyais.
eRumbiappA stays with mAmunigaL for some time, learns all the rahasya granthams
and finally returns to his village and continues his kainkaryam there. He is constantly
thinking about his AchAryan and compiles pUrva and uththara dhinacharyai (which
summarizes mAmunigaL’s daily activities) and sends them to mAmunigaL through a
srivaishnava. mAmunigaL is very pleased to see eRumbiappA’s nishtai and glorifies

him. He also sends an invitation to eRumbiappA to come and visit him. eRumbiappA
stays with his AchAryan for a while and participates in the bhagavath vishaya
kAlakshEpam of mAmunigaL in front of namperumAL. He finally returns to his village
again.
eRumbiappA hears the news about mAmunigaL reaching paramapadham and is filled
with the sorrow of separation from his AchAryan. He glorifies the benedictions that was
given to him by his AchAryan and prays to emperumAn to accept him also as soon as
possible.
One of the most important contributions of eRumbiappA is “vilakshaNa mOksha

adhikAri nirNayam”. This is a compilation of conversations between eRumbiappA and
his sishyas like sEnApathi AzhwAn, etc. In this beautiful grantham eRumbiappA expertly
clarifies many of the doubts that arises out of misunderstanding our AzhwAr/AchArya
srisUkthis. The importance of developing vairAgyam in samsAram and attachment
towards our pUrvAchArya’s jnAnam and anushtAnam and ourselves putting them into
practice (without this being just theoretical knowledge) is greatly emphasized by him
based on pUrvAchArya srisUkthis.
It is stated by our pUrvAchAryas that, one should not eat prasAdham without chanting
pUrva and uththara dinacharyais (remembering the most exalted/uncomparable lifestyle
of maNavALa mAmunigaL). It is such wonderful composition which makes even a stone
melt after hearing these dinacharyais. The dinacharyais (text) can be downloaded in
different languages from http://acharya.org/sloka/erumbiyappa/index.html.
Let us remember eRumbiappA who always remembers maNavALa mAmunigaL.
eRumbiappA’s thaniyan (pUrva/uththara dinacharayais thaniyan):
saumya jAmAthru yOgIndhra sharanAmbhuja shatpadham

dhEvarAja gurum vandhE dhivya jnAna pradham shubham

appiLLai
appiLLai – a portrait
thirunakshathram: unknown
avathAra sthalam: unknown
Works: vyAkyAnam for all thiruvanthAdhis in iyarpA, vyAkyAnam for thiruvirutham (first
15 pAsurams), vyAkyAnam for yathirAja vimsathi, vAzhi thirunAmams

Originally named praNathArththiharar, he becomes to be popularly known as appiLLai.
He goes on to become one of the dear disciples of maNavALa mAmunigaL and one of
ashta dhik gajas.
mAmunigaL resides in srIrangam per periya perumAL‘s orders and spends his time
spreading the glories of our sath sampradhAyam. Seeing his greatness, many AchArya
purushas and scholars become his sishyas.
eRumbi appA visits srIrangam and becomes a sishya of mAmunigaL. He stays with
mAmunigaL for some time and wants to leave srIrangam. He wants to return to eRumbi
(his native village) after serving mAmunigaL for some time. He sees some inauspicious
signs/omens, so he does not leave. When he comes back to mAmunigaL, mAmunigaL
says “You wait and see – something auspicious is going to happen. We will let you
leave after that”. Others hearing this become ecstatic and are waiting for the auspicious
incident.
At that time, appiLLai and appiLLAr arrive at srIrangam with their families and
associates to worship srIranganAthan. Though they have heard about mAmunigaL they
dont have great attachment towards him. Being great scholars, they arrive with their
sishyas and great wealth (acquired from winning debates) at the banks of cauvery river
and stay put there for a couple of days. While staying there, they hear about the glories
of mAmunigaL and hear that many great personalities such as kandhAdai aNNan,
eRumbi appA, etc have taken shelter of mAmunigaL. They become amazed and
wonder if such great AchAryas can become sishyas of mAmunigaL. appiLLAr knowing
eRumbi appA‘s expertise in sAsthram, wonders if such experts in sAsthram takes
shelter of mAmunigaL there must be something special in him. appiLLAr then goes
inside srIrangam with his close associate who is intelligent and goes near jIyar’s mutt.
Staying outside, he sends his associate inside and asks him to announce that
“appiLLAn has arrived” and if eRumbi appA is present in the gOshti he will recognize
him and welcome him. His associate goes inside, spots eRumbi appA and says
“appiLLAn has arrived” and hearing that eRumbi appA feels happy and thinks that “this
is a good dawn for appiLLAr”. eRumbi appA comes out immediately to meet
appiLLAr. appiLLAr notices the shankam (conch) and chakram (disc) marks in the
shoulders of eRumbi appA and understands that he has recently become a sishya of
mAmunigaL. appiLLAr offers his obeisances to eRumbi appA and they both enquire
their mutual well-being. eRumbi appA explains the whole set of incidents through which
emperumAn directed him to become the sishya of mAmunigaL. appiLLAr slowly realises
the glories of mAmunigaL and tells eRumbi appA that appiLLai and many others have
arrived and they are waiting at the banks of cauvery. He also requests eRumbi appA to
visit them all (to explain the glories of mAmunigaL and reform them all). eRumbi appA
feeling delighted to hear appiLLAr‘s intentions, goes to vAnamAmalai jIyar and informs
him. He requests vAnamAmalai jIyar to bless him to reform everyone to accept

mAmunigaL as their AchArya. He then leaves to the banks of cauvery and explains the
essential principles to everyone.
In the meantime vAnamAmalai jIyar goes to mAmunigaL and informs him about the
arrival of the great scholars appiLLAr and appiLLai. He tells mAmunigaL that they are
ready for AchArya sambandham. It is highlighted that there are 6 things that happen
before AchArya sambandham and this principle is explained in the following slOkam.
Isvarasya cha sauhArdham yathruchchA suhrudham thathA vishNO: katAksham

adhvEsham Abhimukhyam cha sAthvikai: sambhAshaNam shadEthAni
:
:
 At first, as bhagavAn is kind-hearted, he looks out for the well being of every one.
 Second, there is incidental desire/action for goodness.
 Third, bhagavAn‘s merciful vision falls on the jIvAthmA.
 Fourth, jIvAthmA manifests adhvEsham – he does not stop bhagavAn‘s mercy.
 Fifth, jIvAthmA manifests Abhimukyam – he turns towards bhagavAn.
 Sixth, he gets into discussion of bhagavath vishayam with bhAgavathas who will
promptly reform him and send him to an AchAryan.
ponnadikkAl jIyar says to mAmunigaL that they have been blessed with discussions
with eRumbi appA and they have all the qualification to become your sishyas. So, you
too, who are constantly thinking about the upliftment of jIvAthmAs should accept them
and bless them to fulfill the desire of eRumbi appA and myself. mAmunigaL accepts his
request and says “emperumAnAr has revealed his divine heart to me” and says
to ponnadikkAl jIyar that one of them will have his dhAsya nAmam (name after
panchasamskAram) of emperumAnAr. ponnadikkAl jIyar seeks the permission of
mAmunigaL to go and welcome
them and mAmunigaL accepts for that. ponnadikkAl jIyar sends a srIvaishNava to
appiLLAr to inform about their arrival.
Hearing about the arrival of ponnadikkAl jIyar and other sishyas of mAmunigaL,
appiLLAr becomes ecstatic and asks his associates to spread his favourite green shawl
on the ground to have ponnadikkAl jIyar and others step on it, collect the dust of the
lotus feet and bring him the same to decorate his head with that. He then brings fruits
and thAmbUlam (beetle leaves and nuts) and welcomes ponnadikkAl jIyar with prayers.
He offers his full obeisances and accepts the dust of their lotus feet on his head. After

enquiries about mutual well-being, ponnadikkAl jIyar brings everyone to kOil aNNan‘s
thirumALigai (residence). kOil aNNan elaborately explains mAmunigaL‘s glories, that he
is the re-incarnation of srI rAmanuja himself. Hearing this, appiLLAr and appiLLAi wants
to take shelter of mAmunigaL and they all reach jIyar mutt with fruits, thAmbUlam and
many other offerings. They reach thirumalai AzhwAr maNdapam where mAmunigaL is
seated in a radiant manner. mAmunigaL looks in a unique shining form with beautiful
and broad shoulders, chest, eyes, etc. He is wearing clean saffron clothes and holding
on to his thridhaNdam. With a beautiful smile on his face, he welcomes everyone.
Seeing this beautiful form, appiLLai and appiLLAr falls at his lotus feet and wait for his
acknowledgement. mAmunigaL affectionately accepts their offerings and explains them
the divine essential principles which amazes the two great scholars. They immediately
request mAmunigaL to perform pancha samskAram to them. mAmunigaL accepts their
request, performs pancha samskAram and accepts them as his disciples. He then
brings them to periya perumAL‘s sannidhi in the proper sequence (This is the sequence
mAmunigaL follows while going for his mangaLAsAsanam at srIrangam temple as
outlined in pUrva dhinacharyai – ANdAL, emperumAnAr, nammAzhwAr, sEnai
mudhaliAr, garudAzhwAr, srI ranganAthan, srI ranganAchiyAr, paramapadha nAthan)
and submits the great scholars to emperumAn. After mangaLAsAsanam to emperumAn,
they return to the mutt and appiLLai and appiLLAr accepts the food remnants of
mAmunigaL as stated in the sAsthram that a sishya should accept food remnants of his
AchArya.
appiLLai writes vyAkyAnams for thiruvanthAdhis per mAmunigaL’s divine instructions

and assists mAmunigaL in his many dhivya prabhandham related kainkaryams.
Thus, we have seen some glimpses of the glorious life of appiLLai. He was very dear to
mAmunigaL. Let us pray at his lotus feet that we too get a little bit of such abhimAnam
of AchAryan.
appiLLai’s thaniyan:
kAnthOpayanthru yOgIndhra charaNAmbhuja shatpadham

vathsAnvayabhavam vandhE praNathArrhthiharam gurum

appiLLAr
appiLLAr – a portrait
thirunakshathram: unknown
Works: sampradhAya chandhirkai, kAla prakAsikai

Also known as appiLLAn, appiLLAr was a great scholar. He is said to be coming in the
lineage of kidAmbi AchAn who is a dear sishya of emperumAnAr. He goes on to
become one of the dear disciples of maNavALa mAmunigaL and one of the ashta dhik
gajas.
mAmunigaL resides in srIrangam per periya perumAL‘s orders and spends his time
spreading the glories of our sath sampradhAyam. Seeing his greatness, many AchArya
purushas and scholars become his sishyas.
appiLLAr was a great vidhwAn who won over many scholars in northern part of
bhAratha dhEsam. He was filled with pride about his knowledge and arrives at eRumbi
to debate with eRumbi appA. But, seeing eRumbi appA‘s greatness, he submits to him
and learns the essential principles from him. After a few days, he decides to leave.
While sending him off, eRumbi appA asks where he was going. appiLLAr says, he is
planning to go to srIrangam to debate with jIyar (mAmunigaL). eRumbi appA wanting to
give good advice to him, says “You should not do that. I know the glories of jIyar. He
studied srI bhAshyam under kidAmbi nAyanAr in kAnchIpuram. At that time kidAmbi
nAyanAr asked me to enquire previous lessons from jIyar to verify jIyar’s memory and I
was amazed to his sharp intellect. He is well aware of the entire principles. No one can
debate with him. More over he is a leader among sannyAsis and the one who
rejuvenates srIvaishNava sampradhAyam. We should only have reverence towards
him. I will explain more about him in the future”. Hearing this appiLLAr leaves eRumbi
with some understanding about mAmunigaL.
After that eRumbi appA visits srIrangam and becomes a sishya of mAmunigaL. He
stays with mAmunigaL for some time and wants to leave srIrangam. He wants to return
to eRumbi (his native village) after serving mAmunigaL for some time. He sees some
inauspicious signs/omens, so he does not leave. When he comes back to mAmunigaL,
mAmunigaL says “You wait and see – something auspicious is going to happen. We will
let you leave after that”. Others hearing this become ecstatic and are waiting for the
auspicious incident.
At that time, appiLLai and appiLLAr arrive at srIrangam with their familes and associates
to worship srIranganAthan. Though they have heard about mAmunigaL they dont have
great attachment towards him. Being great scholars, they arrive with their sishyas and
great wealth (acquired from winning debates) at the banks of cauvery river and stay put
there for a couple of days. While staying there, they hear about the glories of
mAmunigaL and hear that many great personalities such as kandhAdai aNNan, eRumbi
appA, etc have taken shelter of mAmunigaL. They become amazed and wonder if such
great AchAryas can become sishyas of mAmunigaL. appiLLAr knowing eRumbi appA‘s
expertise in sAsthram, wonders if such experts in sAsthram takes shelter of mAmunigaL
there must be something special in him. appiLLAr then goes inside srIrangam with his

close associate who is intelligent and goes near jIyar’s mutt. Staying outside, he sends
his associate inside and asks him to announce that “appiLLAn has arrived” and if
eRumbi appA is present in the gOshti he will recognize him and welcome him. His
associate goes inside, spots eRumbi appA and says “appiLLAn has arrived” and
hearing that eRumbi appA feels happy and thinks that “this is a good dawn for
appiLLAr”. eRumbi appA comes out immediately to meet appiLLAr. appiLLAr notices
the shankam (conch) and chakram (disc) marks in the shoulders of eRumbi appA and
understands that he has recently become a sishya of mAmunigaL. appiLLAr offers his
obeisances to eRumbi appA and they both enquire their mutual well-being. eRumbi
appA explains the whole set of incidents through which emperumAn directed him to
become the sishya of mAmunigaL. appiLLAr slowly realises the glories of mAmunigaL
and tells eRumbi appA that appiLLai and many others have arrived and they are waiting
at the banks of cauvery. He also requests eRumbi appA to visit them all (to explain the
glories of mAmunigaL and reform them all). eRumbi appA feeling delighted to hear
appiLLAr’s intentions, goes to vAnamAmalai jIyar and informs him. He requests
vAnamAmalai jIyar to bless him to reform everyone to accept mAmunigaL as their
AchArya. He then leaves to the banks of cauvery and explains the essential
principles to everyone.
In the meantime vAnamAmalai jIyar goes to mAmunigaL and informs him about the
arrival of the great scholars appiLLAr and appiLLai. He tells mAmunigaL that they are
ready for AchArya sambandham. It is highlighted that there are 6 things that happen
before AchArya sambandham and this principle is explained in the following slOkam.
Isvarasya cha sauhArdham yathruchchA suhrudham thathA vishNO: katAksham

adhvEsham Abhimukhyam cha sAthvikai: sambhAshaNam shadEthAni
:
:
 At first, as bhagavAn is kind-hearted, he looks out for the well being of every one.
 Second, there is incidental desire/action for goodness.
 Third, bhagavAn‘s merciful vision falls on the jIvAthmA.
 Fourth, jIvAthmA manifests adhvEsham – he does not stop bhagavAn‘s mercy.
 Fifth, jIvAthmA manifests Abhimukyam – he turns towards bhagavAn.
 Sixth, he gets into discussion of bhagavath vishayam with bhAgavathas who will
promptly reform him and send him to an AchAryan.

ponnadikkAl jIyar says to mAmunigaL that they have been blessed with discussions
with eRumbi appA and they have all the qualification to become your sishyas. So, you
too, who are constantly thinking about the upliftment of jIvAthmAs should accept them
and bless them to fulfill the desire of eRumbi appA and myself. mAmunigaL accepts his
request and says “emperumAnAr has revealed his divine heart to me” and says
to ponnadikkAl jIyar that one of them will have his dhAsya nAmam (name after
panchasamskAram) of emperumAnAr. ponnadikkAl jIyar seeks the permission of
mAmunigaL to go and welcome
them and mAmunigaL accepts for that. ponnadikkAl jIyar sends a srIvaishNava to
appiLLAr to inform about their arrival.
Hearing about the arrival of ponnadikkAl jIyar and other sishyas of mAmunigaL,
appiLLAr becomes ecstatic and asks his associates to spread his favourite green shawl
on the ground to have ponnadikkAl jIyar and others step on it, collect the dust of the
lotus feet and bring him the same to decorate his head with that. He then brings fruits
and thAmbUlam (beetle leaves and nuts) and welcomes ponnadikkAl jIyar with prayers.
He offers his full obeisances and accepts the dust of their lotus feet on his head. After
enquiries about mutual well-being, ponnadikkAl jIyar brings everyone to kOil aNNan‘s
thirumALigai (residence). kOil aNNan elaborately explains mAmunigaL‘s glories, that he
is the re-incarnation of srI rAmanuja himself. Hearing this, appiLLAr and appiLLAi wants
to take shelter of mAmunigaL and they all reach jIyar mutt with fruits, thAmbUlam and
many other offerings. They reach thirumalai AzhwAr maNdapam where mAmunigaL is
seated in a radiant manner. mAmunigaL looks in a unique shining form with beautiful
and broad shoulders, chest, eyes, etc. He is wearing clean saffron clothes and holding
on to his thridhaNdam. With a beautiful smile on his face, he welcomes everyone.
Seeing this beautiful form, appiLLai and appiLLAr falls at his lotus feet and wait for his
acknowledgement. mAmunigaL affectionately accepts their offerings and explains them
the divine essential principles which amazes the two great scholars. They immediately
request mAmunigaL to perform pancha samskAram to them. mAmunigaL accepts their
request, performs pancha samskAram and accepts them as his disciples. He then
brings them to periya perumAL‘s sannidhi in the proper sequence (This is the sequence
mAmunigaL follows while going for his mangaLAsAsanam at srIrangam temple as
outlined in pUrva dhinacharyai – ANdAL, emperumAnAr, nammAzhwAr, sEnai
mudhaliAr, garudAzhwAr, srI ranganAthan, srI ranganAchiyAr, paramapadha nAthan)
and submits the great scholars to emperumAn. After mangaLAsAsanam to emperumAn,
they return to the mutt and appiLLai and appiLLAr accepts the food remnants of
mAmunigaL as stated in the sAsthram that a sishya should accept food remnants of his
AchArya.
appiLLAr is given the responsibility of taking care of jIyar mutt’s all daily activities such
as thadhIyArAdhanam, etc. Just like kidAmbi AchAn served emperumAnAr by fully
taking care of mutt responsibilities, mAmunigaL was served by appiLLAr.

During the final days of mAmunigaL, appiLLAr and jIyar nAyanAr (the grand son of
mAmunigaL from his pUrvAsramam) prays to mAmunigaL and requests him to bless
him with archA vigraham (deity) of mAmunigaL for their daily worship. mAmunigaL gives
the sombu (vessel) which he uses daily and they use that to prepare two vigrahams
(deities) and each keep one vigraham (deity) of mAmunigaL for their daily worship.
Thus, we have seen some glimpses of the glorious life of appiLLAr. He was very dear to
mAmunigaL. Let us pray at his lotus feet that we too get a little bit of such abhimAnam
of AchAryan.
appiLLAr’s thaniyan:
kAnthOpayanthru yOgIndhra sarva kainkaryadhUrvaham

thadhEka dhaivatham saumyam rAmAnuja gurum bhajE

kOil kandhAdai appan
kOil kandhAdai appan – kAnchIpuram appan swamy thirumALigai
thirunakshathram: purattAsi (kanni) magam
thIrtham: kArthikai shukla panchami
Works: varavaramuni vaibhava vijayam
Born in the illustrious family lineage of mudhaliyANdAn (who is called yathirAja

pAdhukA – the sandals of the lotus feet of emperumAnAr), as the son of dhEvarAja
thOzhappar and the younger brother of kOil kandhAdai aNNan, he was named
srInivAsan by his parents. He goes on to become one of the dear disciples of
maNavALa mAmunigaL.

When maNavALa mAmunigaL arrives to srIrangam from AzhwAr thirunagari, srI
ranganAthan orders him to reside in srIrangam and nurture/nourish the sath
sampradhAyam from the head quarters of our sath sampradhAyam. mAmunigaL then
starts gathering all the pUrvAchArya granthams, documents them fully and performs
grantha kAlakshEpam regularly. Being attracted towards mAmunigaL‘s divine glories,
many persons (including AchArya purushas) come and take shelter of his lotus feet
Through the divine will of bhagavAn, kOil kandhAdai aNNan (a prominent AchArya
coming in the lineage of mudhaliyANdAn) becomes the sishya of mAmunigaL and goes
on to become one of the ashta dik gajas (eight prominent leaders appointed by
mAmunigaL for sath sampradhAya pravarththanam) of mAmunigaL. When he comes to
take shelter of mAmunigaL’s lotus feet, he brings along many of his relatives and all of
them become sishyas of mAmunigaL. One such brother of him is kOil kandhAdai appan
who is blessed by mAmunigaL at that time. From his thanian we can understand that he
was fully situated in charama parva nishtai (serving bhAgavathas and AchAryas).
eRumbi appA (another sishya of mAmunigaL) highlights a beautiful incident in his pUrva
dhinacharyA (a divine grantham narrating the daily activities of mAmunigaL) slOkam 4.
pArsvatha: pANipadhmAbhyAm parigruhya bhavathpriyau

vinyasyantham sanair angrI mrudhulau mEdhinIthalE
Simple translation: eRumbi appA to mAmunigaL – “Your highness is having your two
dear sishyas (kOil aNNan and kOil appan) on either side and holding on to them tightly
with your lotus like tender hands and walking with your tender (lotus) feet on mEdhinI
(earth)”.

mAmunigaL with aNNan and appan on either side (portrait from appan swamy
thirumALigai, kAnchIpuram)
thirumazhisai aNNAvappangAr, in his vyAkyAnam for dhinacharyA, highlights that here

the two dear sishyas mean “kOil aNNan and kOil appan”. A question arises here –
should mAmunigaL not be holding on to his thridhaNdam as it is said in pAncharAthra
thathvasAra samhithai that ‘a sannyAsi should always be holding on to thridhaNdam’?
aNNAvappangAr nicely explains this in a few ways:
 For a sannyAsi who is fully realised – if he does not carry his thridhaNdam for
some reason – there is no defect.
 A sannyAsi who is in constant meditation of bhagavAn, who is well-behaved and
who has properly heard the meanings of sAsthram from his AchAryas, one who
is knowledgable in bhagavAth vishayam and one who has control over his own
senses and the whole world – for such sannyAsis their thridhaNdam, etc., are not
required.
 When prostrating before emperumAn fully, since the thridhaNdam may be a
hinderance to perform such full prostration, he may not carry the thridhaNdam at
that time.
Thus, we have seen some glimpses of the glorious life of kOil kandhAdai appan. He
was very dear to mAmunigaL. Let us pray at his lotus feet that we too get a little bit of
such abhimAnam of AchAryan.
kOil kandhAdai appan’s thaniyan:
varadhaguru charaNam varavaramunivarya ganakrupA pAthram

pravaraguNa rathna jaladhim praNamAmi srInivAsa guruvaryam

srIperumbUthUr Adhi yathirAja jIyar
thirunakshathram: aippasi pUsam (pushyam)
Place where he attained paramapadham from: srIperumbUthUr
yathirAja jIyar mutt, srIperumbUthUr (avathAra sthalam of emperumAnAr) was

established by Adhi (first) yathirAja jIyar.
srIperumbUthUr yathirAja jIyar mutt, srIperumbUthUr
This yathirAja jIyar mutt is very unique in the sense that, this is one of the very few
mutts established in AzhwAr/AchArya avathAra sthalams for performing kainkaryams at

the temple and over-seeing kainkaryams that are done in the temple. emperumAn and
emperumAnAr visit this mutt quite often through out the year.
yathirAja jIyar – srIperumbUthUr yathirAja jIyar mutt
From his thanian we can understand that he had wonderful relationship with
mAmunigaL and other AchAryas such as ponnadikkAl (vAnamAmalai) jIyar, koil
kanthAdai aNNan and dhoddAchAryar. yathirAja jIyar studied under the lotus feet of
these many great AchAryas.
From his vAzhi thirunAmam we can understand that he had great attachment towards
emperumAnAr. His vAzhi thirunAmam also closely resembles mAmunigaL‘s vAzhi
thirunAmam.

In yathIndhra pravaNa prabhAvam, it is said that, per the orders of paramasvAmy
(thirumAlirunchOlai kaLLazhagar), mAmunigaL sent one of his confidential
kainkaryaparars named yathirAja jIyar to reform and set up the thirumAlirunchOlai
temple. While some consider this yathirAja jIyar as the srIperumbUthUr Adhi yathirAja
jIyar, others consider that he is a different jIyar who goes on to become the first jIyar of
thirumAlirunchOlai jIyar mutt.To learn further about this, one can inquire about this from
learned scholars.
Thus, we have seen some glimpses of the glorious life of srIperumbUthUr Adhi yathirAja
jIyar. Let us pray at his lotus feet that we too get bhagavath/bhAgavatha/AchArya
kainkaryam.
srIpeurmbUthUr Adhi yathirAja jIyar’s thaniyan:
srImath rAmAnujAngri pravaNa varamunE: pAdhukam jAthabrungam

srImath vAnAdhri rAmAnuja gaNaguru sathvaibhava sthOthra dhIksham
vAdhUla srInivAsArya charaNasharaNam thath krupA labhdha bhAshyam
vandhE prAgyam yathIndhram varavaradhagurO: prAptha bhakthAmruthArththam
archived in http://guruparamparai.wordpress.com, also visit

http://ponnadi.blogspot.com/, http://sriperumbuthur.wordpress.com
Sources: yathirAja jIyar mutt thanian and vAzhi thirunAmam book, yathIndhra pravaNa
prabhAvam

appAchiyAraNNA
appAchiyAraNNA – mudhaliyANdAn swamy thirumALigai, singapperumAL kOil
thirunakshathram: AvaNi hastham
AchAryan: ponnadikkAl jIyar
Sishyas: aNNAvilappan (his own son), etc
Born in srIrangam, he was named varadharAjan by his father siRRaNNar. He was born
in the glorious vAdhula lineage of mudhaliyANdAn and is 9th in the lineage of ANdAn
famly. He is also the son of AychiyAr who is the daughter of thirumanjanam appA. He
was named by appAchiyAraNNA by maNavALa mAmunigaL who consider him very
dear and hailed him as “nam appAchiyAraNNAvO” ( –
Is this our appAchiyAraNNA?). He is also the dear sishya of ponnadikkAl jIyar and is
hailed as the lotus feet of ponnadikkAl jIyar (just like ponnadikkAl jIyar is hailed as the
lotus feet of mAmunigaL).
thrirumanjanam appA was a self-less kainkaryaparar at srIrangam periya kOil and had
great attachment towards mAmunigaL. Understanding mAmunigaL’s glories, he
regularly followed mAmunigaL while mAmunigaL went for his bathing everyday. He
would bath in the water that flows from where mAmunigaL bathes and he becomes

blessed with pure knowledge by that divine water that was used by mAmunigaL to
bathe. He then fully takes shelter of mAmunigaL and starts serving mAmunigaL fully.
Once when mAmunigaL was going for his bathing. At that time, it starts raining. So, he
takes shelter at the front porch of a vaishNava house. The lady of the house comes out
rushing seeing jIyar and prepares a seat for him to sit. She also takes the wet pAdhukas
(sandals) of mAmunigaL, places them at her head with the water dripping from them.
She then wipes off the water and places the same again on her head with great
devotion. By that contact, she becomes fully blessed and wants to accept mAmunigaL
as her AchArya. When jIyar asks her about her identity, she reveals that her name is
“Achi” she is the daughter of thirumanjanam appA and mAmunigaL was happy to hear
about her connection with thirumanjanam appA. She also says that she is married to
kandhAdai siRRaNNar (mudhaliyANdAn lineage). When the rain stops, mAmunigaL
leaves from there to cauvery.
After some time, she reveals her desire to her father and her father arranges for her
pancha samskAram by mAmunigaL in a secret fashion (since she was married into an
AchArya purusha family, she was scared to do it publicly). While mAmunigaL hesitates
initially due to her existing sambandham (connections), seeing her extreme devotion,
she performs pancha samskAram for her.
Eventually, most of the kandhAdai family AchAryas take shelter of mAmunigaL through
the divine arrangement of emperumAn. kOil kandhAdai aNNan who is the main
AchArya sees a divine dream which guides him to approach mAmunigaL
through ponnadikkAl jIyar and takes shelter of him. He brings along most of the
AchArya purushas of kandhAdai thiruvamsam and they all take shelter of mAmunigaL.
After performing pancha samskAram to kOil aNNan and others, mAmunigaL reveals his
divine attachment towards ponnadikkAl jIyar. He says to everyone in the gOshti that
“ponnadikkAl jIyar is my life breath and well-wisher. Whatever glories are present for
me, he should also have the same. Just like I now have the connection (as AchArya) for
the descendants of mudhaliyANdAn, he should also have some sishyas from the same
family”. kOil aNNan, understanding the divine emotions of mAmunigaL, at once says
“You should have shown me the lotus feet of ponnadikkAl jIyar and I would have taken
shelter” and mAmunigaL replies “How can I give up, what is to be accomplished by
me?”. kOil aNNan then looks around his relatives and appAchiyAraNNA stands up and
humbly says “Please give me the shelter our lord vAnamAmalai rAmAnuja jIyar“. jIyar
becomes very pleased and says “nam appAchiyAraNNAvO?” (Is this our
appAchiyAraNNa?). mAmunigaL raises from him Asanam and asks ponnadikkAl jIyar to
sit in his own Asanam and hands over thiruvAzhi (chakkaram) and thiruchangu (sangu)
and instructs him to perform pancha samskAram to appAchiyAraNNA. ponnadikkAl jIyar
at first refuses to do that out of humility but mAmunigaL insists that he must do that

since that is very dear to him. So, ponnadikkAl jIyar obliges and accepts
appAchiyAraNNA as his sishya.
mAmunigaL (srIrangam) – ponnadikkAl jIyar (vAnamAmalai) – appAchiyAraNNA
Thereafter appAchiyAraNNA constantly engages in serving ponnadikkAl jIyar and

mAmunigaL in srIrangam.
Once when mAmunigaL goes on thiruvEnkata yAthrai, all his sishyas accompany him.
They first reach kAnchipuram and perform mangaLAsAsanam to dhEva perumAL. At
that time jIyar and his entourage worships dhEva perumAL’s vaikAsi mahOthsavam and
perform mangaLAsAsanam to emperumAn in garuda vAhanam.

dhEva perumAL on garuda vAhanam – mAmunigaL
The srIvaishNavas of kAnchipuram approach mAmunigaL and glorify mAmunigaL.

mAmunigaL highlights them the importance of srIvaishNava etiquette and principles and
asks them to be well-versed in dhiyva prabhandham, etc. They happily agree to his
suggestions and request him to appoint some one to stay there permanently and guide
them. mAmunigaL requests ponnadikkAl jIyar to bring appAchiyAraNNA and he does
so. He then says “Consider appAchiyAraNNA as myself” to the srIvaishNavas and
instructs appAchiyAraNNA “Since you come in the lineage of mudhaliyANdAn, you
guide everyone here as a representative of me and thus please your ancestors like
ANdAn, kandhAdai thOzhappar, etc and perform mangaLAsAsanam to dhEva perumAL
every day. hasthigiri nAthan will bring all auspiciousness to you”. appAchiyAraNNA
accepts mAmunigaL’s instructions but follows jIyar in his thirumalai yAthrai. After visiting
many dhivya dhEsams, they return to srIrangam finally.
At that time, mAmunigaL invites appAchiyAraNNA and reminds him about his
responsibility to return to kAnchipuram. appAchiyAraNNA reveals his sorrow in leaving
the wonderful company of srIvaishNava gOshti at the lotus feet of mAmunigaL.
mAmunigaL understanding appAchiyAraNNA’s emotions, brings him over to his
perumAL sannidhi. He was having a sombu (small pot) which was named “srI
rAmAnujam” but he handed over the same to ponnadikkAl jIyar who kept that in a
basket and worshipped the same with devotion everyday as prasAdham of his AchArya.

mAmunigaL ordered ponnadikkAl jIyar to bring that sombu, collects that, hands over the
same to appAchiyAraNNA and says “As the engraved thirumaN, sangu, chakram and
the name srIrAmAnujam have all vanished, please create two small vigrahams of me
out of this metal and you submit one to your AchAryan (ponnadikkAl jIyar) and keep one
for your thiruvArAdhanam”. He also presents a divine vigraham named “ennaith
thImanam keduththAr” ( – one who purified my mind
– this divine name is from nammAzhwAr‘s thiruvAimozhi 2.8 padhigam) from his own
thiruvArAdhanam to appAchiyAraNNA.
ennaith thImanam keduththAr – mudhaliyANdAn swamy thirumALigai, singapperumAL

kOil
This emperumAn was worshipped by AtkoNdavilli jIyar (who is a sishya of

emperumAnAr) and kandhAdai ANdAn (son of mudhaliyANdAn) was very dear to
AtkoNdavilli jIyar. mAmunigaL says “As you also come in the lineage of kandhAdai
ANdAn and you also deserve to worship this emperumAn, you place him in your
thiruvArAdhanam and worship him daily”. mAmunigaL also reveals out of great
attachment towards appAchiyAraNNA that appAchiyAraNNA is an amsam of dhEva
perumAL himself. Accepting mAmunigaL’s orders, appAchiyAraNNA settles down in
kAnchipuram and guides all the srIvaishNavas there.
Thus, we have seen some glimpses of the glorious life of appAchiyAraNNA. He was
very dear to mAmunigaL and his AchAryan ponnadikkAl jIyar. Let us pray at his lotus
feet that we too get a little bit of such abhimAnam of our AchAryan.
appAchiyAraNNA’s thaniyan:

srImath vAnamahAsaila rAmAnuja munipiryam
vAdhUla varadhAchAryam vandhE vAthsalya sAgaram

piLLai lOkam jIyar
piLLai lOkam jIyar, thiruvallikkENi
thirunakshathram: chithrai, thiruvONam (sravaNam)
avathAra sthalam: kAnchIpuram
AchAryan: satakOpAchAryar
Works: thanian vyAkyAnams, rAmAnujArya dhivya charithai, yathIndhra pravaNa

prabhAvam, vyAkyAnam for rAmAnusa nURRanthAdhi, vyAkyAnams for most of
mAmunigaL's srIsUkthis, vyAkyAnams for some rahasya granthams, vyAkyAnam for
cheyya thAmarai thAzhinai (mAmunigaL vAzhi thirunAmam), srI vaishNava
samayAchAra nishkarsham
Born in kAnchipuram, he was the great-grandson of paravasthu pattarpirAn jIyar (who is

one of the ashta-dik-gajangaL (eight prime sishyas) of mAmunigaL) and was named
varadhAchAryar. He became to be popularly known as piLLai lOkam jIyar and piLLai
lOkAchArya jIyar.

He renovated the sthalasayana perumAL temple in thirukkadalmallai (mahAbalipuram -
mAmallapuram) and re-established proper code of worship in this temple. He was
honoured by the king for his contribution and his descendants are continuing to enjoy
special honours at the temple even today.
He was a great scholar and a great historian as well. Not much is known about his life.
But his works are of great importance to our sampradhAyam.
A few inscriptions are found showing his contribution to dhivyadhEsams.
 A copper plate of year 1614 CE (AD) relating to thirukkadalmallai dhivyadhEsam

refers to jIyar as yathIndhra pravaNa prabhAvam piLLai lOkam jIyar (which
indicates that by that time itself he was popularly and widely known by his
biography on maNavALa mAmunigaL).
 A stone inscription of year 1614 CE (AD) is found in srIrangam 2nd prAkAram
where a sishya of piLLai lOkam jIyar has contributed 120 gold coins as capital to
offer sweet rice during emperumAnAr thirunakshathram day.
He has written vyAkyAnams (commentaries) to most of the thaniyans (invocatory verses

of dhivya prabhandhams). These vyAkyAnams bring out the most important aspects of
the particular dhiyva prabhandham and gives us an insight into the heart/mood of the
author of the particular dhivya prabhandham.

emperumAnAr - srIperumbUthUr
His rAmAnujArya dhivya charithai is a beautiful depiction of emperumAnAr's life history.

emperumAnAr's various journeys, his history along with many of his sishyas are nicely
captured in this grantham.

namperumAL offering srIsailEsa thanian to mAmunigaL
His yathIndhra pravaNa prabhAvam brings out the glorious life history of periyavAchAn
piLLai, vadakku thiruvIdhi piLLai, piLLai lOkAchAryar, azhagiya maNavALa perumAL
nAyanAr, thiruvAimozhi piLLai and maNavALa mAmunigaL among few others.
mAmunigaL's life history is depicted in a detailed manner and his many glorious
instructions are narrated beautifully in this grantham as well.
Both rAmAnujArya dhivya charithai and yathIndhra pravaNa prabhAvam are filled with
so many thamizh pAsurams (poems) which show his deep knowledge in thamizh.
He has done vyAkyAnam for some rahasya granthams as well.
He has done a beautiful vyAkyAnam for viLAnchOlai piLLai's saptha kAthai. saptha
kAthai brings out the essence of piLLai lOkAchAryar's srIvachana bhUshaNa dhivya
sAsthram, i.e., AchArya nishtai.

He has also written comprehensive vyAkyAnams for mAmunigaL's srI sUkthis
upadhEsa rathina mAlai, thiruvAimozhi nURRanthAdhi and Arthi prabhandham.
He has written a beautiful prose grantham named srIvaishNava samayAchAra

nishkarsham which authoritatively establishes the important principles of emperumAnAr
dharisanam (our sath sampradhAyam). There are so many pramANams referred in this
grantham which shows the deep knowledge of piLLai lOkam jIyar in sAsthram.
Thus, we have seen some glimpses of the glorious life of piLLai lOkam jIyar. He has
done great favours to the srIvaishNava sampradhAyam by writing detailed
commentaries for the srIsUkthis of our pUrvAchAryas and also recorded the illustrious
lives of emperumAnAr and maNavALa mAmunigaL. Let us pray at his lotus feet that we
also develop such attachment towards emperumAnAr and mAmunigaL.
piLLai lOkam jIyar's thaniyan (as seen in yathIndhra pravaNa prabhAvam):
srIsatAri gurOrdhivya srIpAdhAbhja madhuvratham

srImathyathIndhrapravaNam srI lOkArya munim bhajE

thirumazhisai aNNavappangAr
thirunakshathram: Ani avittam
avathAra sthalam: thirumazhisai
AchAryan: narasimhAchAryar (His own father)
Born in thirumazhisai (mahIsAra kshEthram), he was named vIrarAghavan by his father

narasimhAchAryar. He was born in the glorious vAdhula lineage of mudhaliyANdAn. His
grand father is identified by himself as raghuvarAchAryar in his sthOthra grantham
named bhakthisArOdhayam. He is also known as vAdhUla vIrarAgavaAchAryar. He
was born in the year 1766 CE.
He was most intelligent and completed his own yajUr vEdha shAkais by the time he
became 15 years old along with completing tharkam, vyAkaraNam, mImAmsam,
sAnkhyam, pAthanjali yOgam, etc and became an expert in jyOthisham, sangItham,
bharatha nAtyam, etc. By the time he became 20 years old, he was an expert and
authority in all sAsthrams. He also learns rahasya granthams, etc., from his father and
started writing divine literature establishing the essential principles of our sath
sampradhAyam. He also learnt under vAdhUla varadhAchAryar and srIrangAchAryar
(who went on several dhivyadhEsa yAthrais and defeated many pseudo-scholars in
debates).
He lived for a very short period of 51 years and ascended to paramapadham on Ishwara
year, ippasi month, shukla paksha chathurdhasi.
One of his most important works is the arumpadham (detailed commentary) for
mAmunigaL‘s vyAkyAnam for piLLai lOkAchAryar‘s srIvachana bhUshaNam. His other
grantham, bhakthisArOdhayam beautifully depicts the life of thirumazhisai AzhwAr.
Works:
In his short life span, he has contributed quite a bit of literary works. Here is the list of
his works:
1. srI bhakthisArOdhayam
2. vEdhavalli sathakam
3. hEmalathAshtakam
4. abIshta dhaNdakam
5. suka sandhEsam

6. kamalA kalyANa nAtakam
7. malayajApariNaya nAtikA
8. nrusimhAshtakam
9. arumpadham explanation for mAmunigaL‘s srIvachana bhUshaNa vyAkyAnam
10. thirucchantha viruttha prathipadham
11. srIrangarAja sthava vyAkyAnam
12. mahAvIracharitha vyAkyA
13. utthararAmachairtha vyAkyA
14. sathaslOki vyAkyA
15. rAmAnujAshtaka vyAkyA
16. nakshathramAlikA vyAkyA
17. dhEvarAjaguru virachitha varavaramunisathaka vyAkyA
18. dhushkaraslOka tippaNi
19. dhinacharyA
20. shaNmatha dharsinI
21. lakshmyA: upAyathva nirAsa:
22. lakshmIvibuthva nirAsa:
23. sUkthisAdhuthvamAlA
24. thatvasudhA
25. thathvasAra vyAkyA-rathnasAriNI
26. saccharithra parithrANam
27. pazhanadai viLakkam
28. thrimsathprashNOttharam
29. lakshmImangaLadhIpikA
30. rAmAnuja athimAnusha vaibava sthOthram
31. anupravEsa sruthi vivaraNam
32. “sailOgnischa” slOka vyAkyA
33. mahIsAravishaya chUrNikA
34. ‘svAnthE mE madhanasthithim parihara’ ithyAdhi slOka vyAkyAnam
35. saccharyAkshakam
36. prApyaprapanchana panchavimsathi:
37. nyAyamantharam
38. thAthparya sacchrIkaram
39. vachassuthAmImAmsA
40. vachassuthApUrvapakshOththAram
41. brahmavathvatangam
42. lakshmIsthOthram
43. varaNapanchavimsathi:
Thus, we have seen some glimpses of the glorious life of thirumazhisai

aNNavappangAr. He was a great scholar and has contributed greatly to our

sampradhAyam through his literary works. Let us pray at his lotus feet that we too get a
little bit of such gyAnam in bhagavath vishayam.
thirumazhisai aNNavappangAr’s thaniyan:
srImadh vAdhula narasimha gurOsthanUjam

srImath thadhIya padhapankaja brungarAjam
srIrangarAja varadhArya krupAththa bhAshyam
sEvE sadhA raguvarAryam udhAracharyam
Sources: recent publication on thirumazhisai aNNavappangAr and his works by puthur

raghurAm swamy
(https://docs.google.com/file/d/0ByVemcKfGLuccnU3QkJlbEFtZkk/edit?pli=1)

thiruvEnkata rAmAnuja embAr jIyar
thirunakshathram: AvaNi rOhiNi
avathAra sthalam: madhuramangalam
AchAryan: kOil kanthAdai rangAchAryar swamy (chaNdamArutham dhoddAchAryar

thiruvamsam)
Sishyas: Many

Place where he attained paramapadham from: srIperumbUthUr
Born in madhuramangalam, he was named krishNan by his parents rAgavAchAryar and

jAnaki ammAL since he was born on the same thirunakshathram as krishNa and
periyavAchAn piLLai. He was born in the glorious srIvathsa lineage. He was born in the
year 1834 CE.
His parents performed all applicable vaidhIka samskArams for him at the right ages.
Even at a young age, he had great attachment towards emperumAn. In his childhood,
He was always playing with divine vigrahams of emperumAn and showed great
attachment towards bhagavath vishayam.
After some time, his father wanted to look for a bride for him to have him married. His
father set out on a journey and krishNamAchAryar accompanied him in the journey. On
the way, he observes a couple with their child also travelling at the same time. He sees
that the husband is carrying lots of luggage and the child as well and is often seen
quarelling with the wife but was also being submissive towards her due to his
attachment towards her. krishNamAchAryar was struck with the miseries of married life
and at once calls out his father and says that he never wants to get married. He was
then blessed with AchArya sambandham when his AchAryan visits his village
(kappiyamUr). kOil kanthAdai rangAchAryar performs pancha samskAram to him and
teaches the essential principles of sath sampradhAyam. He also starts going to many
yAthrais along with his AchAryan and serves him constantly.
Once when he was in thiruvEnkatam, embAr appears in his dream and invites him to
madhuramangalam and instructs him to bring a shawl as he was feeling very cold.
krishNamAchAryar goes to thiruvEnkatamudaiyAn to request his permission to leave
and thiruvEnkatamudaiyAn blesses with his own shawl which is carried by him and
submitted to embAr at madhuramangalam. Subsequently, by the grace of embAr,
krishNamAchAryar develops great desire to accept sannyAsAsramam. He returns to
thiruvEnkatam and requests vakuLAbharaNa jIyar (periya jIyar) to bless him with
sannyAsAsramam. vakuLAbharaNa jIyar feels krishNamAchAryar is too young and
informs him to wait for some more time. But krishNamAchAryar insists that by the grace
of embAr he has become totally detached and cannot continue without the
sannyAsAsramam. vakuLAbharaNa jIyar then says, if perumAL sanctions it, he will
proceed. jIyar then leaves to thirumalai and on his way he observes a properly prepared
thridhaNdam and collects that. When he lies down to rest, emperumAn appears in his
dream and instructs him to bless krishNamAchAryar with that thridhaNdam and crown
him with sannyAsAsramam.

A painting of thirumalai jIyar with embAr jIyar in the side – as seen in thirumalai jIyar
mutt
periya jIyar then happily invites him and blesses him with sannyAsAsramam. Since
vakuLAbharaNa jIyar knew the great attachment of krishNamAchAryar towards
thiruvEnkatamudaiyAn, he names krishNamAchAryar as thiruvEnkata rAmAnuja jIyar.
He returns to madhuramangalam and serves embAr for some time and becomes to be
popularly known as madhuramangalam embAr jIyar.
He travelled to many dhivya dhEsams and finally arrived at srIperumbUthUr to stay

there and serve emperumAnAr at his avathAra sthalam. His sishyas arranged for a mutt
for him to stay in the south side of the temple and he started living in that mutt.

Adhi kEsava perumaL – bhAshyakArar temple, srIperumbUthUr

embAr jIyar mutt, maNavALa mAmunigaL kOil street, srIperumbUthUr
Several srIvaishNavas approached him and studied the pure principles of our sath
sampradhAyam during his times at srIperumbUthUr. He expertly explained the
principles in our pUrvAchArya srIsUkthis and nurtured many vidhwAns (scholars) during
his time.
He lived for a short period of time (48 years) in this leelA vibhUthi and ascended to
paramapadham on vishu varsham thai month krishNa paksham thrayOdhasi thithi.
One of his most important works is the arumpadham (detailed explanations) for
mAmunigaL‘s vyAkyAnam for piLLai lOkAchAryar‘s srIvachana bhUshaNam. Not only
he wrote a commentary for the magnum opus of our sath sampradhAyam (srIvachana
bhUshaNa dhivya sAsthram) , he also lived a life of total dedication to
bhagavath/bhAgavatha kainkaryam as highlighted in srIvachana bhUshaNam. He had
also written several other granthams to establish the principles of our sath
sampradhAyam.
He also explained the structure of the brahmANdam very nicely based on the
descriptions in vishNu purANam, thathva thrayam, yathIndhram matha dhIpikA, etc.

This structure was represented in a pictorial form and was recently re-published by the
sincere efforts of one srIvaishNava named Sri Ravi.
A portrait of thiruvEnkata rAmAnuja embAr jIyar swamy.

brahmANdam – pictorial representation of one brahmA’s universe
Works:
Here is the list of his literary works:
1. arumpadham for srIvachana bhUsaNam

2. sidhOpAya sudharisanam
3. sadhdharisana sudharisanam
4. dhudhdharisana karisanam
5. viprathipaththi nirasanam
6. vyAkyAnam for “cheththaththin …” srIsUkthi (of nammAzhwAr)
7. sharaNAgathikku adhikAri visEshaNathva samarththanam
8. jyOthisha purANangaLukku aika kantya samarththanam
9. dhurupadhEsadhikkAram
10. sharaNa sabdhArththa vichAram
11. shruthaprakAchikA vivaraNam
12. mukthipadhashakthi vAdham

13. brahmapadhashakthi vAdham
14. bhUkOLa nirNayam
15. thyAgasabdhArththa tippaNi
16. gIthArththa tippaNi
17. kaivalya sathadhUshaNi
18. srIrAmAnuja ashtapathi
19. sidhAntha thUlikai
20. sidhOpAya mangaLa dhIpikai
21. dharmagyA prAmANya prakAchikai
22. sidhAntha paribhAshai
23. immersing in srIrAmAnuja’s divine form – thirumanjana kattiyam , etc
Thus, we have seen some glimpses of the glorious life of appan thiruvEnkata rAmAnuja
embAr jIyar. He was a great scholar and has contributed greatly to our sampradhAyam
through his literary works. Let us pray at his lotus feet that we too get a little bit of such
gyAnam/bhakthi in bhagavath/bhAgavatha/AchArya vishayam.
appan thiruvEnkata rAmAnuja embAr jIyar’s thaniyan:
srIvAdhUla ramApravALa ruchira sraksainya nAthAmchaja

srIkurvIndhram mahArya labhdha nijasath saththam chruthA bhIshtatham
srIrAmAnuja mukya dhEsikalasath kainkarya samsthApakam
srImathvEnkatalakshmaNArya yaminam thamsathguNam bhAvayE
Sources: an old publication named “thiruvEnkata rAmAnuja embAr jIyar prabhAvam” –

full grantham can be viewed online at
https://drive.google.com/?tab=go&authuser=0#folders/0ByVemcKfGLucZnZBMjlIa1JHd
Fk

Annexure – thanians
thanian is an invocatory verse of glorification to an AchArya which is usually
composed/submitted by a sishya. kUrathAzhwAn explains our guru paramparai in a
beautiful slOkam (which is recited as part of our nithyAnusandhAnam).
lakshmInAtha samArambAm nAtha yAmuna madhyamAm

asmadhAchArya paryanthAm vandhE guru paramparAm
Simple translation: I worship our guru paramparai which starts with srIman nArAyaNan
(who is the husband of srI mahAlakshmi), has nAthamunigaL and yAmunAchAryar in
the middle and ends with my own AchArya. For AzhwAn, asmadhAchArya means
emperumAnAr (srI rAmAnujar) who was his own AchArya and for all of us its own
samAsrayaNa AchAryan (the one who performs pancha samskAram to us).

Let us see the thanian for all our pUrvAchAryas. We will start with the OrAN vazhi guru
paramaparai (which starts with periya perumAL and ends with maNavALa mAmunigaL).
Subsequently, we will see the thanians for AzhwArs and all other pUrvAchAryas in our
sath sampradhAyam.
 periya perumAL (AvaNi – rOhiNi)

srI sthanAbharaNam thEja: srIrangEsayam AsrayE
chinthAmaNi mivOthvAntham uthsangE ananthabhOgina:
:
இ :
I reach out to srI ranganAthan who is a beautiful ornament decorating srI

mahAlakshmi’s breasts, who is a great radiance himself, who is resting in srI rangam
and who is like a crown jewel on the lap of Adhi sEshan.
 periya pirAtti (panguni – uthram)
nama: sriranga nAyakyai yath brO vibhrama bhEthatha:

IsEsithavya vaishamya nimnOnnatham itham jagath
: :
இ
I worship srI ranganAchiyAr whose eyebrow movements (her desire and reaction
revealed through that) determines the fate of jIvAthmAs (whether one is rich or poor,
learned or illiterate, etc).
 sEnai mudhaliAr (ippasi – pUrAdam)
srIrangachandhramasam indhirayA viharthum

vinyasya visvachidha chinnayanAdhikAram
yO nirvahathya nisamanguLi mudhrayaiva
sEnAnyam anya vimukAs thamasi sriyAma
vishwaksEnar is the one who controls all jIvAthmAs and achEthanams (matter) through
the powers given by emperumAn, after letting the beautiful moon of srI rangam (periya
perumAL – srI ranganAthan) enjoy divine pastimes with srI ranganAchiyAr. We accept
such vishwaksEnar as our sole refuge.

 nammAzhwAr (vaikAsi – visAkam)
mAthA pithA yuvathayas thanayA vibhUthi:

I bow my head down at the lotus feet of nammAzhwAr who is our

(srIvaishNavas/prapannas) leader and the head of our clan, who is decoared with
maghizham flowers and whose lotus feet are filled with srIvaishNava srI (divine wealth).
For my descendants, he is everything – mother, father, consort, children, great wealth
and everything else.
 nAthamunigal (Ani – anusham)
nama: achinthya adhbudha aklishta jnAna vairAgya rAsayE

nAthAya munayE agAdha bhagavadh bhakthi sindhavE
I offer my obeisances to nAthamunigaL who is filled with knowledge about bhagavAn

and detachment from wordly matters that cannot be quantified and are extraordinary,
who is constantly meditating on bhagavAn and is an ocean of deep devotion towards
bhagavAn.
 uyyakkondAr (chithrai – kArthigai)
nama: pankaja nEthrAya nAtha: sri pAdha pankajE

nyastha sarva bharAya asmath kula nAthAya dhImathE
: :

I offer my obeisances to puNdarikAkshar who was totally surrendered to
nAthamunigaL’s lotus feet, who is the leader of our prapanna kulam and who is most
knowledgable.
 maNakkAl nambi (mAsi – magam)
ayathnathO yAmunam Athma dhAsam alarkka pathrArppaNa nishkrayENa

ya: krIthvAnAsthitha yauvarAjyam namAmitham rAmamEya sathvam
I worship maNakkAl nambi who is named srI rAma misra and was greatly intelligent in
easily reforming the princely yAmunAchArya simply by giving him thUthuvaLai leaves.
 ALavandhAr (Adi – uthrAdam)
yath padhAmbhOruhadhyAna vidhvasthAsEsha kalmasha:

vasthuthAmupayA dhOham yAmunEyam namAmitham
I worship yAmunAchAryar by whose mercy my defects have been removed and I have
become an identifiable object, i.e., previously I was like asath (matter) and now I have
realized that I am sath (soul) after meditating on the lotus feet of yAmunAcharya.
 periya nambi (mArgazhi – kEttai)
kamalApathi kalyANa guNAmrutha nishEvayA

pUrNa kAmAya sathatham pUrNAya mahathE nama:
I offer my obeisances to mahA purNa who is always self-satisfied by constantly enjoying

the divine auspicious qualities of srIman nArAyaNan.
 emperumAnAr (chithrai – thiruvAdhirai)

yOnithyam achyutha padhAmbuja yugma rukma
vyAmOhathas thathitharANi thruNAya mEnE
asmadhgurOr bhagavathOsya dhayaikasindhO:
rAmAnujasya charaNau sharaNam prapadhyE
I take shelter at the lotus feet of srI rAmAnuja who out of great attachment for the
lotus/golden feet of achyutha (srIman nArAyaNa) considers everything else as a blade
of grass (not worthy), who is my AchArya, who is perfect in divine qualities such as
knowledge, devotion, etc., and who is an ocean of mercy.
 embAr (thai – punarpUsam)
rAmAnuja padha chAyA gOvindhAhva anapAyinI

thadhA yaththa svarUpA sA jIyAn madh visramasthalee
gOvindha bhattar who is inseparable from srI rAmAnuja like the shadow of the lotus feet
and the one who realised his true nature by taking refuge at srI rAmAnuja’s lotus feet, is
the shade giving abode for me (where I can be relieved from my miseries). Let that
embAr be victorious.
 bhattar (vaikAsi – anusham)
srI parAsara bhattArya srIrangEsa purOhitha:

srIvathsAnga sutha: srImAn shrEyasE mEsthu bhUyasE
:
:

Let srI parAsara bhattar bestow me with all auspiciousness. He is the purOhith of srI
ranganAthan, the son of srIvathsAngar (AzhwAn) and is greatly filled with kainkaryasrI
(wealth of servitude).
 nanjIyar (panguni – uthram)
namO vEdhAntha vEdhyAya jagan mangaLa hEthavE

yasya vAgAmruthAsAra bhUritham bhuvana thrayam
My obeisances belong to vEdhAnthi nanjIyar whose nectarean words have filled the 3
worlds and who brings auspicious to all 3 worlds.
 nampiLLai (kArthigai – kArthigai)
vEdhAntha vEdhya amrutha vArirAsEr

vEdhArtha sAra amrutha pUramagryam
AdhAya varshantham aham prapadhyE
kAruNya pUrNam kalivairidhAsam
I take shelter of kalivairidhAsar (nampiLLai) who extracted (and is teaching) the glorious
essence of the nectarean vEdham from vEdhAnthi nanjIyar who himself is an ocean of
nectarean principles, who is filled with mercy (like a cloud filled with water).
 vadakku thiruvIdhi piLLai (Ani – swAthi)
sri krishna pAdha pAdhAbjE namAmi sirasA sadhA

yath prasAdha prabhAvEna sarva sidhdhirabhUnmama

I constantly bow down at the lotus feet of srI krishNa (vadakku thiruvIdhi piLLai) through
whose mercy I acquired knowledge, devotion, detachment, etc.
 piLLai lOkAchAryar (ippasi – thiruvONam)
lOkAchArya guravE krishNa pAdhasya sUnavE

samsAra bhOgi santhashta jIva jIvAthavE nama:
I offer my obeisances to piLLai lOkAchAryar who is the son of srI krishNa (vadakku
thiruvIdhi piLLai), who has a fully qualified AchArya, who is the medicine for the
jIvAthmAs who are bitten by the poisonous snake called samsAram.
 thiruvAimozhi piLLai (vaikAsi – visAkam)
nama srIsailanAthAya kunthI nagara janmanE

prasAdhalabdha parama prApya kainkaryasAlinE
My obeisances belong to srIsaila nAtha (thirumalai AzhwAr – thiruvAimozhi piLLai) who

was born in kunthI nagar, one who achieved the ultimate kainkaryam (by the grace of
his AchAryan).
 azhagiya manavALa mAmunigal (ippasi – thirumUlam)
srIsailEsa dhayA pAthram dhIbhakthyAdhi guNArNavam

yathIndhra pravaNam vandhE ramya jAmAtharam munim
I glorify azhagiya maNavALa mAmunigaL who is the target of thirumalai AzhwAr’s

mercy, who is an ocean of auspicious qualities such as knowledge, devotion, etc. and
who is greatly attached to yathIndhra (srI rAmAnuja).

AzhwArs and several other AchAryas also are considered to be part of our srivaishnava
guru paramparai.
The AzhwArs in order are:
 poigai AzhwAr (ippasi – thiruvONam)
kAnchyAm sarasi hEmAbjE jAtham kAsAra yOgiNam

kalayE ya: sriya:pathi ravim dhIpam akalpayath
: :
I meditate on poigai AzhwAr who was born in the pond in thiruvekkA (kAnchIpuram) out
of a golden lotus flower and who lit the divine lamp using the radiant sun to have the
vision of srIman nArAyaNan.
 bhUdhathAzhwAr (ippasi – avittam)
mallApura varAdhIsam mAdhavI kusumOdhbhavam

bhUtham namAmi yO vishNOr gYAnadhIpam akalpayath
I worship bhUthathAzhwAr who is the leader of thirukkadalmallai (mAmallapuram) and

was born out of a mAdhavI (spring) flower and who lit the lamp of knowledge to have
the vision of the supreme lord.
 pEyAzhwAr (ippasi – sathayam)
dhrushtvA hrushtam thadhA vishNum ramayA mayilAdhipam

kUpE rakthOthpalE jAtham mahathAhvayam AsrayE

I surrender unto pEyAzhwAr who is the leader of mylApUr and was born out of a red lilly
flower in a well and who attained great bliss by having the divine vision of srIman
nArAyaNan with srI mahAlakshmi.
 thirumazhisai AzhwAr (thai – magam)
sakthi panchamaya vigrahAthmanE sUkthikArajatha chiththa hAriNE

mukthidhAyaka murAri pAdhayOr bhakthisAra munayE namO nama:
My obeisances unto thirumazhisai AzhwAr who resembles the essence of bhakthi

towards the lotus feet of murAri (emperumAn who killed mura) who can bestow us the
divine mOksham. He holds the divine form of emperumAn which is made of divine
matter (In this material world, our form/body is made of pancha bhUthams – earth,
water, fire, air and ether. But bhagavAn’s form is made of pancha upanishadh –
vishwam, nivruththa:, sarva:, paramEshti, pumAn) in his heart and is most attractive to
view. Another interpration is, the one wearing the necklace won over from king sUkthri
hAran.
 madhurakavi AzhwAr (chithrai – chithrai)
avidhitha vishayAntharas chatArEr upanishadhAm upagAna mAthra bOga:

api cha guNa vachAth thadhEka sEshi madhurakavir hrudhayE mamAvirasthu
Let madhurakavi AzhwAr be firmy established in my heart. He did not know any one
other nammAzhwAr, considered singing nammAzhwAr’s pAsurams as the only
enjoyable activity and naturally considered nammAzhwAr as his only master.
 nammAzhwAr (vaikAsi – visAkam)
mAthA pithA yuvathayas thanayA vibhUthi:


:
I bow my head down at the lotus feet of nammAzhwAr who is our

(srIvaishNavas/prapannas) leader and the head of our clan, who is decoared with
maghizham flowers and whose lotus feet are filled with srIvaishNava srI (divine wealth).
For my descendants, he is everything – mother, father, consort, children, great wealth
and everything else.
 kulasEkarAzhwAr (mAsi – punarpUsam)
gushyathE yasya nagarE rangayAthrA dhinE dhinE

thamaham sirasA vandhE rAjAnam kulasEkaram
I bow my head down and worship kulasEkara AzhwAr in whose capital city there is
constant hailing about srIranga yAthrai (travelling to srIrangam).
 periyAzhwAr (Ani – swAthi)
gurumukam anadhIthya prAhavE thAn asEshAn

narapathi parikluptham sulkamAdhAthu kAma:
svasuram amara vandhyam ranganAthasya sAkshAth
dhvija kula thilakam vishNuchiththam namAmi
I worship periyAzhwAr who proclaimed the essence of vEdham (without learning it from
an AchArya methodically – he was directly blessed by bhagavAn with divine
blemsishless knowledge) to win over pouch containing gold at the pAndiya king’s

assembly and who is the direct father-in-law of srI ranganAthan (due to him being the
father of ANdAL nAchiyAr) and who is the leader of brAhmaNas.
 ANdAL (Adi – pUram)
nILA thunga sthanagiri thatI suptham uthpOdhya krishNam

pArArthyam svam shruthi shatha shiras sidhdham adhyApayanthI
svOchishtAyAm srajinikaLitham yAbalAth kruthya bhungthE
gOdhA thasyai nama itham itham bhUya EvAsthu bhUya:
இ இ :
I offer my obeisances to gOdhA dhEvi again and again. She is the one who woke up
krishNa who was resting on the breasts of nILA dhEvi, the one who announced her
pArathanthriyam (which is the ultimate principle highlighted in vEdham) to bhagavAn
himself and the one who fully enjoyed emperumAn who wore the garlands that were
once worn by her.
 thondaradippodi AzhwAr (mArgazhi – kEttai)
thamEva mathvA paravAsudhEvam rangEsayam rAjavadharhaNiyam

prAbhOdhikIm yOkrutha sUkthimAlAm bhakthAngrirENum bhagavanthamIdE
I glorify thoNdaradippodi AzhwAr who composed thiruppaLLiyeLuchi to awake srI

ranganAthan considering him the same as paravAsudhEvan and who is to be pampered
like an emperor.
 thiruppANAzhwAr (kArthigai – rOhiNi)
ApAtha chUdam anubhUya harim chayAnam

madhyE kavEra hithur mudhithAnthrAthmA
adhrashtruthAm nayanayOr vishayANtharANAm
yO nischikAya manavai munivAhananm tham

We meditate on thiruppANAzhwAr who is named munivAhanar (one who was carried by
lOka sAranga mahAmunivar on his shoulders), who acquired great bliss by enjoying srI
ranganAthan who is resting in srIrangam that is covered by the two cauvery rivers
(kAviri and koLLidam) and who proclaimed that his eyes would not see anything other
than srI ranganAthan’s divine form.
 thirumangai AzhwAr (kArthigai – kArthigai)
kalayAmi kalidhvamsam kavim lOka dhivAkAram

yasya gObi: prakAsAbir Avidhyam nihatham thama:
: :
I meditate on thirumangai AzhwAr who is named kalikanRi, who is a radiant sun among
poets and through whose radiant words the ignorance in the mind was dispelled
completely.
The AchAryas (who are not in OrANvazhi guru paramparai) include (but not limited to):
 kurugai kAvalappan (thai – visAkam)
nAthamauni padhAsaktham gyAnayOgAthi sampadham

kurugAthipa yOghIndhram namAmi sirasA sadhA
I constantly bow down at the lotus feet of kurugai kAvalappan who is greatly attached to
the lotus feet of nAthamunigaL, who has the great wealth of gyAna yOgam and bhakthi
yOgam and who is the best amongst yOgis.
 thiruvarangapperumAL arayar (vaikAsi, kEttai)

srIrAmamisra padha pankaja sancharIkam
srIyAmunArya vara puthram aham guNAdyam
I glorify thiruvarangapperumAL arayar who stayed like a beetle in the lotus feet of
maNakkAl nambi, who is the divine son of yAmunAchAryar, who is filled with auspicious
qualities, who was born by the divine grace of srI ranganAthan and who had srI
bhAshyakArar as his sishya.
 thirukkOshtiyUr nambi (vaikAsi, rOhiNi)
srIvallabha padhAmbhOja dhIbhakthyamrutha sAgaram

srImadhgOshtIpurIpUrNam dhEsikEndhram bhajAmahE
We take refuge at the lotus feet of thirukkOshtiyUr nambi who is an ocean of nectar for
knowledge and devotion at the lotus feet of srIman nArAyaNan who is the consort of srI
mahAlakshmi and who is best among AchAryas.
 periya thirumalai nambi (vaikAsi, swAthI)
pithAmahasyApi pithAmahAya prAchEthasAdhEchapalapradhAya

srIbhAshyakArOththama dhEchikAya srIchailapUrNAya namO nama: sthAth
I repeatedly worship srIsaila pUrNa who is the grand father of brahmA who is the grand
father of the entire creation (as nambi was called “father” by thiruvEnkatamudaiyAn who
is the father of brahmA), who is a wonderful AchArya for srI bhAshyakAra and who
instructed the deep meanings of vAlmIki rAmAyaNa to srI bhAshyakAra.
 thirumAlai ANdAn (mAsi, magam)

rAmAnuja munIndhrAya dhrAmidI samhithArththadham
mAlAdhara gurum vandhE vAvadhUkam vipaschitham
I worship the AchArya named thirumAlai ANdAn who expertly explained the divine
meanings of thiruvAimozhi which is hailed as dhrAvida vEdham to srI rAmAnuja muni
and who was most intelligent.
 thirukkachi nambi (mAsi, mrugasIrsham)
dhEvarAja dhayApAthram srI kAnchi pUrNam uththamam

rAmAnuja munEr mAnyam vandhEham sajjanAsrayam
I worship thirukkachi nambi who is the object of srI varadharAja’s mercy, who is best
among vaishNavas, who was greatly respected by srI rAmAnuja muni and who was
flocked by many srIvaishNavas.
 mARanEri nambi (Ani, Ayilyam)
yAmunAchArya sachchishyam rangasthalanivAsinam

gyAnabhakthyAdhijaladhim mARanErigurum bhajE
I worship mARanEri nambi who is a dear sishya of yAmunAchArya, who lives in

srIrangam periyakOil and who is an ocean of knowledge, devotion, etc.
 kUrathAzhwAn (thai – hastham)
srIvathsa chinna misrEbyO nama ukthima dhImahE:

yadhukthayas thrayi gaNtE yaanthi mangaLa sUthradhAm:

:
:
We offer our obeisances towards srIvathsAnga misra whose divine sthOthrams are like
mangaLasUthram for vEdham, i.e., they reveal that srIman nArAyaNan is the supreme
clearly.
 mudhaliyAndAn (chithrai – punarpUsam)
pAdhukE yathirAjasya kathayaNthi yadhAkyayA

thasya dhAsarathE: pAdhau chirasA dhArayAmyaham
I decorate my head with mudhaliyANdAn’s lotus feet. He is named dhAsarathi and srI
yathirAja’s sandals are named after him as mudhaliyANdAn.
 aruLaLa permAL emperumAnAr (kArthigai – bharaNi)
rAmAnujArya sachchishyam vEdhasAsthrArtha sampadham

chathurthAsrama sampannam dhEvarAja munim bhajE
I take refuge of dhEvarAja muni (aruLALa perumAL emperumAnAr) who is a dear

sishya of emperumAnAr, who has the great wealth of having understood the in-depth
meanings of vEdham and who is situated in sannyAsAsramam.
 kOil komANdUr iLayavilli AchAn (chithrai – Ayilyam)
srI kausikAnvaya mahAmbhuthi pUrNachandhram

srI bhAshyakAra jananI sahajA thanujam
srIsailapUrNa padha pankaja saktha chiththam
srIbAladhanvi guruvaryam aham bhajAmi

I worship srI bAladhanvi guru who is like a shining moon for the ocean of kausika clan,
who is the son of srI bhAshyakAra’s mother’s sister, who has his mind fully attached to
the lotus feet of srI saila pUrNa.
 kidAmbi AchAn (chithrai – hastham)
rAmAnuja padhAmbhOjayugaLI yasya dhImatha:

prApyam cha prApakam vaNdhE pranNathArththiharam gurum
I worship the most intelligent praNathArthihara guru who considered the lotus feet of srI
rAmAnuja as his means and ultimate goal.
 vaduga nambi (chithrai – aswini)
rAmAnujArya sachchishyam sALagrAma nivAsinam

panchamOpAya sampannam sALagrAmAryam AsrayE
I take shelter of vaduga nambi who is a dear sishya of emperumAnAr, who lived in
sALagrAmam and who was an expert in panchamOpAyam (AchArya nishtai).
 vangi purathu nambi
bhArathvAja kulOthbhUtham lakshmaNArya padhAsritham

vandhE vangipurAdhIsam sampUrNAyam krupAnidhim

I worship vangi purathu nambi who is born in bhArathwAja clan, who has taken shelter
of srI rAmAnuja, who is filled with mercy and who is the leader of vangipuram.
 sOmAsi ANdAn (chithrai, thiruvAdhirai)
naumi lakshmaNa yOgIndhra pAdhasEvaika dhArakam

srIrAmakrathunAthAryam srIbhAshyAmrutha sAgaram
I worship sOmAsiyANdAn who performed menial services (with great joy) to srI
rAmAnuja to sustain himself, who is an ocean of knowledge in srIbhAshyam and who is
named “srI rAma”.
 piLLai uRangAvilli dhAsar (mAsi – Ayilyam)
jAgarUga dhanushpANim pANau katgasamanvidham

rAmAnujasparsavEdhim rAdhdhAnthArththa prakAsakam
bhAginEyadhvayayutham bhAshyakAra bharamvaham
rangEsamangaLakaram dhanurdhAsam aham bhajE
I take shelter of piLLai uRangAvilli dhAsar who never sleeps, who holds bow in one
hand, who holds sword in another hand, who is like a magical pill (which converts iron
into gold when touched), who revealed the essential principles during his lifetime, who
has two nephews (who were great devotees), who managed srI rAmAnuja’s mutt and
who performs mangaLAsAsanam to srI ranganAthan.
 thirukkurugaippirAn piLLAn (ippasi – pUrAdam)

dhrAvidAgama sAragyam rAmAnuja padhAsritham
sudhiyam kurugEsAryam namAmi sirasAnhavam
I worship kurugEsAchArya (everyday) who is a well-versed in the essence of dhrAvida

vEdham, who took shelter of srI rAmAnuja’s lotus feet and who is most intelligent.
 engaLAzhwAn (chithrai – rOhiNi)
srIvishNuchiththa padha pankaja samsrayAya chEthO mama spruhayathE kimatha:

parENa
nOchEn mamApi yathisEkarabhArathInAm bhAva: katham bhavithumarhathi
vAgvidhEya:
:
:
:
My heart desires to become attached to srI vishNuchiththa. What is the use of anything
but those lotus feet? How would I have mastered yathirAja’s divine words had I not
taken shelter of those lotus feet of engaLAzhwAn?
 ananthAzwAn (chithrai – chithrai)
akilAthma guNAvAsam agyAna thimirApaham

AsrithAnAm susaraNam vandhE ananthArya dhEsikam
I bow down to the AchArya named ananthAzhwAn who is the abode of all auspicious
qualities, who is the one who dispels the darkness of ignorance and who is the means
for the ones who have taken shelter of him.
 thiruvarangathu amudhanAr (panguni – hastham)

srIrangE mInahasthE cha jAtham rangAryanandhanam
rAmAnujapadhAskandham ranganAthagurum bhajE
I take shelter of srIranganAtha guru (amudhanAr) who was born on panguni hastham as
the son of rangAryar (aNi arangathamudhanAr) and who has taken shelter of srI
rAmAnuja’s lotus feet.
 nadAthur ammaL (chithrai – chithrai)
vandhE aham varadhAryam tham vathsAbi janabhUshaNam

bhAshyAmrutha pradhAnAdhya sanjIvayathi mAmapi
I offer my obeisances to varadhAchAryar (nadAthUrammAL) who is the shining jewel of

srIvathsa clan and who awakened my true spirit by teaching me the nectar of
srIbhAshyam.
 vEdha vyAsa bhattar (vaikAsi – anusham)
pauthram srIrAmamisrasya srIvathsAngasya nandhanam

rAmasUrim bhajE bhattaparAsAravarAnujam
I take shelter of srI rAma piLLai (vEdha vyAsa bhattar) who is the grand son of srI rAma
misra (kUrathAzhwAr – AzhwAn’s father), who is the son of srIvathsAngar (AzhwAn)
and the younger brother of srI parAsara bhattar.
 kUra nArAyaNa jIyar
srIparAsarabhattArya sishyam srIrangapAlakam

nArAyaNamunim vandhE gyAnAdhiguNasAgaram

I worship nalam thigazh nArAyaNa jIyar who is a disciple of parAsara bhattar, who
protects srIrangam and who is an ocean of auspicious qualities such as gyAnam, etc.
 srutha prakAsikA bhattar (sudharsana sUri)
yathIndhra krutha bhAshyArthA yadh vyAkyAnEna dharsithA:

varam sudharsanAryam tham vandhE kUra kulAdhipam
I offer my obeisances to sudharsana bhattar who is a leader among the descendants of

kUrathAzhwAn, in whose sruthaprakAsikA vyAkyAnam (commentary) yathirAja’s srI
bhAshyam meanings are fully explained and who is glorious.
 periyavAchAn piLLai (AvaNi – rOhiNi)
srImath krishNa samAhvAya namO yAmuna sUnavE

yath katAkshaika lakshyANam sulabha: srIdharas sadhA
My worships belong to srI krishNa (periyavAchAn piLLai) who is the son of

yAmunAchArya and by whose mercy srIman nArAyaNan is easily achievable.
 eeyuNNi mAdhava perumAL (kArthigai – bharaNi)
lOkAchArya padhAmbhOja samsrayam karuNAmbhudhim

vEdhAntha dhvaya sampannam mAdhavAryam aham bhajE

I worship (eeyuNNi) mAdhavAchAryar who has taken shelter at the lotus feet of
lOkAchArya (nampiLLai), who is an ocean of mercy and who has the great wealth of
both samskritha vEdhAntham and dhrAvida vEdhAntham.
 eeyuNNi padhmanAbha perumAL (svAthi)
mAdhavAchArya sathputhram thathpAdhakamalAsritham

vAthsalyAdhi guNair yuktham padhmanAbha gurum bhajE
I worship (eeyuNNi) padhmanAbhAchAryar who is a good son of mAdhavAchAryar,

who has taken shelter of mAdhavAchAryar and who is the abode of auspicious qualities
such as vAthsalyam (motherly forbearance), etc.
 nAlUr piLLai (pUsam)
chathurgrAma kulOdhbhUtham dhrAvida bhrahma vEdhinam

yagyArya vamsathilakam srIvarAhamaham bhajE
I worship srI varAhar (nAlUr piLLai) who is a descendant of nAlUrAn (kUrathAzhwAn’s

sishya), who is an ornament among the descendants of echchAn (emperumAnAr’s
sishya) and who fully knows the essence of dhrAvida vEdham.
 nAlUrAchAn piLLai (mArgazhi – bharaNi)
namOsthu dhEvarAjAya chathurgrAma nivAsinE

rAmAnujArya dhAsasya suthAya guNasAlinE
I offer my obeisances to dhEvarAar (nAlUrAchAn piLLai) who lives in chathurgrAma

(nAlUr), who is the son of rAmAnujArya (another name of nAlUr piLLai) and who is filled
with auspicious qualities.

 naduvil thiruvIdhi pillai bhattar (ippasi – avittam)
lOkAchArya padhAsaktham madhyavIdhi nivAsinam

srIvathsachihnavamsAbdhisOmam bhattAryamAsrayE
I take shelter of naduvil thiruvIdhi piLLai bhattar who is greatly attached to the lotus feet
of nampiLLai, who lived in naduvil thiruvIdhi (a street in srIrangam), who is like a moon
for the ocean of kUrathAzhwAn’s clan.
 pinbhazhagiya perumAL jIyar (ippasi – sathayam)
gyAna vairAgya sampUrNam paschAth sundhara dhEsikamm

dhravidOpanishadh bhAshyathAyinam madh gurum bhajE
I worship my AchArya paschAth sundhara dhEsika (pinbhazhagiya perumAL jIyar) who

is filled with knowledge and detachment (from worldly matters), who explained the
principles of thiruvAimozhi which is called dhrAvida vEdham.
 azhagiya manavALa perumAL nAyanAr (mArgazhi – avittam)
dhrAvidAmnAya hrudhayam guruparvakramAgatham

ramyajAmAthrudhEvEna dharsitham krishNasUnunA
azhagiya maNavALa perumAL nAyanAr who is the son of srI krishNa (vadakku
thiruvIdhi piLLai) revealed the divine meanings of thiruvAimozhi (nammAzhwAr’s divine
heart) which are received through the AchArya paramparai.
 nAyanArAchAn piLLai (AvaNi – rOhiNi)

sruthyarthasArajanakam smruthibAlamithram
padhmOllasadh bhagavadhangri purANabhandhum
gyAnAdhirAjam abhayapradharAja sUnum
asmath gurum paramakAruNikam namAmi
I worship my most merciful AchAryan who extracts the essence of vEdham, who is like
a sun for the lotus of smruthi, who is eternally related to the lotus feet of srIman
nArAyaNan, who is an emperor of knowledge and is the dear son of abhyapradha rAjar
(periyavAchAn piLLai).
 vAdhi kEsari azhagiya maNavALa jIyar (Ani – swAthi)
sundharajAmAthrumunE: prapadhyE charaNAmbhujam

samsArArNava sammagna janthu santhArapOthakam
I surrender unto the lotus feet of vAdhi kEsari azhagiya maNavALa jIyar whose lotus
feet are like a boat that will deliver the jIvAthmAs who are drowning in the ocean of
samsAram.
 kUra kulOthama dhAsar (ippasi – thiruvAdhirai)
lOkAchArya krupApAthram kauNdinya kula bhUshaNam

samasthAthma guNAvAsam vandhE kUra kulOthamam
I worship kUra kulOthama dhAsar who is the target of the mercy of piLLai lOkAchAryar,
who is a crown jewel that decorates the kauNdinya clan and who is the abode of all
auspicious qualities.

 viLAn chOlai pillai (ippasi – uthrattAdhi)
thulAhirbuDhnya samBhUtham srIlOkArya padhAshritham

sapthagAThA pravakthAram nArAyaNa maham BhajE
I worship nArAyaNa (viLAnchOlai piLLai) who was born on thulA (aippasi) month
ahirbhudhnya (uthrattAdhi) nakshathram, who is surrendered to piLLai lOkAchAryar and
who composed saptha kAthai (which is the essence of srI vachana bhUshaNam).
 vedhAnthAchAryar (purattAsi – thiruvONam)
srImAn vEnkatanAthArya: kavithArkkika kEsarI

vEdhAnthAchAryavaryO mE sannidhaththAm sadhA hrudhi
Let vEdhAnthAchArya live in my heart eternally. He is like a lion for the (opposing) poets
and debators, abode of knowledge, devotion, detachment (from worldly pleasures), etc.
and is known as vEnkatanAtha.
 thirunArAyaNapurathu Ay jananyAchAryar (ippasi – pUrAdam)
AchArya hrudhayasyArththA: sakalA yEna dharsithA:

srIsAnudhAsam amalam dhEvarAjam thamAsrayE
After (and during) the period of ManavALa mAmunigal, many glorious AchAryas lived in
our sampradhAyam including (but not limited to):
I take shelter of thirunArAyaNapurathu Ay who explained all the divine meanings of

AchArya hrudhayam, who is blemishless and is also known as srIsAnu dhAsa and
dhEvarAja.

AchAryas after mAmunigaL’s time period.
 ponnadikkAl jeeyar (purattAsi – punarpUsam)
ramya jAmAthru yOghIndhra pAdharEkhA mayam sadhA

thathA yaththAthma saththAdhim rAmAnuja munim bhajE
I worship vAnamAmalai jIyar who is like the imprints of mAmunigaL’s lotus feet and who
fully depends on mAmunigaL to establish his true nature (as a servant of mAmunigaL),
sustenance, activities, etc.
 pathangi paravasthu pattarpirAn jIyar (kArthigai – punarpUsam)
ramya jAmAthru yOgIndhra pAdha sEvaika dhArakam

bhattanAtha munim vandhE vAthsalyAdhi guNArNavam
I worship bhattanAtha muni (paravasthu pattarpirAn jIyar) who sustains himself by

serving mAmunigaL’s lotus feet and who is an ocean of auspicious qualities such as
vAthsalyam (motherly forbearance), etc.
 kOil kandhAdai aNNan (purattAsi – pUrattAdhi)
sakala vEdhAntha sArArtha pUrNAsayam

vipula vAdhUla gOthrOdhbhavAnAm varam
ruchira jAmAthru yOgIndhra pAdhAsrayam
varadha nArAyaNam madh gurum samsrayE

I take shelter of my AchArya srI varadha nArAyaNa (kOil kanthAdai aNNan) who
beholds all the principles of vEdhAntham in his heart, who is best among the
descendants of the great vAdhUla clan, one who take shelter of the lotus feet of
mAmunigaL.
 prathivAdhi bhayankaram aNNan (Adi – pUsam)
vEdhAntha dhEsika katAksha vivrudhdhabhOdham

kAnthOpayanthru yamina: karuNaika pAthram
vathsAnvavAyamanavadhya guNairupEtham
bhakthyA bhajAmi paravAthi bhayankarAryam
With devotion, I take shelter of prathivAdhi bhayankaram aNNA whose knowledge

blossomed by the grace of vEdhAntha dhEsika, who is full target of mAmunigaL’s
mercy, who was born in srIvathsa clan and who has blemishless and auspicious
qualities.
 eRumbiappA (ippasi – rEvathi)
saumya jAmAthru yOgIndhra sharanAmbhuja shatpadham

dhEvarAja gurum vandhE dhivya jnAna pradham shubham
I worship dhEvarAja guru who is like a beetle in the lotus feet of mAmunigaL, who
blesses us with divine knowledge and is most auspicious in nature.
 appiLLai
kAnthOpayanthru yOgIndhra charaNAmbhuja shatpadham

vathsAnvayabhavam vandhE praNathArrhthiharam gurum

I worship praNathArthiharar (appiLLai) who is like a beetle at the lotus feet of
maNavALa mAmunigaL and who is born in srIvathsa clan.
 appiLLAr
kAnthOpayanthru yOgIndhra sarva kainkaryadhUrvaham

thadhEka dhaivatham saumyam rAmAnuja gurum bhajE
I worship rAmAnujar (appiLLAr) who performed all kainkaryams to mAmunigaL and who
considered mAmunigaL as the only Lord and master.
 kOil kandhAdai appan (purattAsi (kanni) – magam)
varadhaguru charaNam varavaramunivarya ganakrupA pAthram

pravaraguNa rathna jaladhim praNamAmi srInivAsa guruvaryam
I worship srInivAsAchAryar (kOil kanthAdai appan) who considers the lotus feet of
varadha nArAyaNa guru (kOil kanthAdhai aNNan) as the only means, who is the target
of the great compassion of mAmunigaL and who is an ocean of many auspicious
qualities which are like gems.
 srIperumbUthUr Adhi yathirAja jIyar (aippasi – pUsam)
srImath rAmAnujAngri pravaNa varamunE: pAdhukam jAthabrungam

srImath vAnAdhri rAmAnuja gaNaguru sathvaibhava sthOthra dhIksham
vAdhUla srInivAsArya charaNasharaNam thath krupA labhdha bhAshyam
vandhE prAgyam yathIndhram varavaradhagurO: prAptha bhakthAmruthArththam

I worship the most intelligent Adhi yathirAja jIyar who was like a beetle at the lotus feet
of yathIndhra pravaNar (mAmunigaL), who was constantly glorifying the greatness of
vAnamAmalai (ponnadikkAl) jIyar, who learnt srI bhAshyam by the mercy of vAdhUla
srInivAsAchAryar and who learnt thiruvAimozhi (and its meanings) from vAdhula
varadhAchAryar (kOil aNNan).
 appAchiyAraNNA (AvaNi – hastham)
srImath vAnamahAsaila rAmAnuja munipiryam

vAdhUla varadhAchAryam vandhE vAthsalya sAgaram
I worship vAdhUla varadhAchArya (appAchiyAraNNA) who is very dear to

vAnamAmalai rAmAnuja jIyar (ponnadikkAl jIyar) and who is an ocean of vAthsalyam
(motherly forbearance).
 piLLai lOkam jIyar (chithrai – thiruvONam)
srIsatAri gurOrdhivya srIpAdhAbhja madhuvratham

srImathyathIndhrapravaNam srI lOkArya munim bhajE
I worship piLLai lOkAchArya jIyar who is like a beetle at the divine lotus feet of srI
satagOpa guru and who is the author of yathIndhra pravaNam (which fully elaborates
the history of maNavALa mAmunigaL).
 thirumazhisai aNNAvappangAr (Ani – avittam)

srImadh vAdhula narasimha gurOsthanUjam
srImath thadhIya padhapankaja brungarAjam
srIrangarAja varadhArya krupAththa bhAshyam
sEvE sadhA raguvarAryam udhAracharyam
I constantly serve raghuvarArya (vAdhUla vIra rAgavachAryar – aNNAvappangAr) who

is the son of vAdhUla narasimhAchArya, who is always focused on the lotus feet of
narasimhAchArya like a beetle, who learnt srI bhAshyam under both srirangarajAchArya
and varadhAchArya and who is most generous (in blessing others).
 appan thiruvEnkata rAmAnuja embAr jIyar
srIvAdhUla ramApravALa ruchira sraksainya nAthAmchaja

srIkurvIndhram mahArya labhdha nijasath saththam chruthA bhIshtatham
srIrAmAnuja mukya dhEsikalasath kainkarya samsthApakam
srImathvEnkatalakshmaNArya yaminam thamsathguNam bhAvayE
I relish in my heart the auspicious qualities of thiruvEnkata rAmAnuja jIyar who is a

brilliant pearl in the garland of srI vAdhUla AchAryas and an amsam of sEnai
mudhaliyAr (it can also be understood as a brilliant AchArya of vAdhUla clan as an
amsam of sEnai mudhaliyAr who is part of the beautiful AchArya rathna mAlai), who is
best among the AchAryas who can bestow whatever is desired by the ones who
approach them and who firmly established many kainkaryams (like thirumanjana
kattiyam, nithya/leelA vibhUthi proclamation during chithrai thiruvAdhirai uthsavam, etc)
for srI rAmAnuja who is the chief among our AchArya paramparai.
bhagavath vishayam thanians (thanians to be recited during bhagavath vishaya

kAlakshEpam) can be viewed at http://nirhetukam.blogspot.in/2013/04/blog-post.html.

Sources: 6000 padi guru paramparA prabhAvam, yathIndhra pravaNa prabhAvam,

periya thirumudi adaivu
Sincere gratitude to puthUr srI .U.vE. krishNaswamy iyengar for thanian translations (all
of thanians with simple thamizh meanings are present in a his 6000 padi guru
paramparA prabhAvam, periya thirumudi adaivu and AchAryargaL vaibhavam
publishings). Thanks to srIperumbUthUr Nandakumar swamy for helping in thirumazhisai
aNNAvappangAr and srI perumbUthUr thiruvEnkata rAmAnuja (embAr) jIyar thanians.

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srIvaishNava guru paramparai – Understanding our

lakshminAtha samArambhAm nAtha yAmuna madhyamAm

“thaththva jnAnan mOksha lAbha:” declares sAsthram. By acquiring real knowledge we

adiyen sarathy ramanuja dasan

periya perumAL ..................................................................................................................................... 14

sEnai mudhaliAr (vishwaksEnar) ............................................................................................................ 17

madhurakavi AzhwAr ............................................................................................................................ 44

kulasEkara AzhwAr ................................................................................................................................ 53

thoNdaradippodi AzhwAr ...................................................................................................................... 80

thirumangai AzhwAr .............................................................................................................................. 94

dhivya prabhandha prAmANya samarthanam...................................................................................... 109

nAthamunigaL ..................................................................................................................................... 132

uyyakkondAr ....................................................................................................................................... 136

kurugai kAvalappan ............................................................................................................................. 138

thirukkaNNamangai ANdAn ................................................................................................................. 140

maNakkAl nambi ................................................................................................................................. 146

ALavandhAr ......................................................................................................................................... 149

thiruvarangapperumAL arayar ............................................................................................................. 154

thirukkOshtiyUr nambi ........................................................................................................................ 163

periya thirumalai nambi ...................................................................................................................... 168

thirumAlai ANdAn ............................................................................................................................... 173

thirukkachi nambi .............................................................................................................................. 177

mARanEri nambi .................................................................................................................................. 183

kUrathAzhwAn .................................................................................................................................... 196

mudhaliyANdAn .................................................................................................................................. 207

aruLALa perumAL emperumAnAr ........................................................................................................ 214

embAr ................................................................................................................................................. 218

kOil komANdUr iLayavilli AchAn........................................................................................................... 222

kidAmbi AchAn .................................................................................................................................... 225

vaduga nambi ...................................................................................................................................... 230

vangi purathu nambi ........................................................................................................................... 235

sOmAsiyANdAn ................................................................................................................................... 238

piLLai uRangA villi dhAsar .................................................................................................................... 241

thirukkurugaippirAn piLLAn ................................................................................................................. 249

kUra nArAyaNa jIyar ............................................................................................................................ 254

ananthAzhwAn .................................................................................................................................... 263

thiruvarangathu amudhanAr: .............................................................................................................. 272

nadAthUr ammAL ................................................................................................................................ 278

vEdha vyAsa bhattar ............................................................................................................................ 290

srutha prakAsikA bhattar ..................................................................................................................... 294

nanjIyar ............................................................................................................................................... 296

nampiLLai ............................................................................................................................................ 301

vadakku thiruvIdhi piLLai ..................................................................................................................... 312

periyavAchAn piLLai ............................................................................................................................ 315

eeyuNNi mAdhava perumAL................................................................................................................ 320

naduvil thiruvIdhi piLLai bhattar .......................................................................................................... 324

pinbhazhagiya perumAL jIyar............................................................................................................... 329

piLLai lOkAchAryar .............................................................................................................................. 334

azhagiya maNavALa perumAL nAyanAr................................................................................................ 340

nAyanArAchAn piLLai........................................................................................................................... 344

vAdhi kEsari azhagiya manavALa jIyar .................................................................................................. 346

kUra kulOthama dhAsar ...................................................................................................................... 350

viLanchOlai piLLai ................................................................................................................................ 353

thiruvAimozhi piLLai ............................................................................................................................ 358

vEdAnthAchAriar ................................................................................................................................. 364

thirunArAyaNapurathu Ay ................................................................................................................... 372

azhagiya maNavALa mAmunigaL ......................................................................................................... 375

ponnadikkAl jIyar................................................................................................................................. 392

paravasthu pattarpirAn jIyar ................................................................................................................ 399

kOil kandhAdai aNNan......................................................................................................................... 402

eRumbi appA....................................................................................................................................... 421

appiLLai ............................................................................................................................................... 425

appiLLAr .............................................................................................................................................. 429