About Sri Nadadoor Ammal & the Nadadoor Ammal Trust

1   Please see the following appeal from the Sri Nadadoor Ammal Trust. Everyone is requested to donate any amount they are able to for maintaining the trust. More information can be found at http://www.nadadoor.org/

*******************************************************************************************

11.      About Sri Nadadoor Ammal

Sri Nadadoor Ammal (1165 -1275AD) is one of the greatest Acharyas in the Sampradaya of Shri Ramanuja. He is an Acharya held in high respect by both the Vadakalai and Tenkalai followers   of Sri Ramanuja.  Sri Nadadoor Ammal was the grandson of Sri Nadadoor Azhwan who was the son of Sri Ramanuja’s younger sister Smt. Kamala. Sri Nadadoor Azhwan was a great logician and also hailed as the “beloved nephew” of Sri Ramanuja.

Sri Ramanuja gave his “Sri Bhashya Simhasanam” to  Sri Nadadoor Azhwan on the eve of his departure to the heavenly abode in the year 1137 AD and also the responsibility of spreading   his Sri Bhashyam.

Sri Nadadoor Ammal, originally named by his parents as Varada, kept up this tradition and his discourses on Sri Bhashyam in the temple of Lord Varada at Kancheepuram attracted many scholarly students. Sri Sudarsana Bhattar, the great grandson of Sri Kooraththazhwan, was one among them. He reduced to writing the discourses of his preceptor under the title Srutaprakasika  (literally  meaning “Publication of the heard” ).

Srutaprakasika, even today,  serves as the best guide for students of Sri Bhashyam. The services of Sri Nadadoor Ammal to our Sri Vaishnava Sampradaya through Srutaprakasika is thus unique and every one of us is indebted to him on this account.

 The great and famous Vedanta Desika (1268 -1368 A.D ) was the disciple of  Sri Kidambi Appullar who was also a student of  Sri Nadadoor  Ammal.  Sri Desika obtained the blessings of his grand preceptor as a child .The incident of Sri Nadadoor Ammal blessing Swamy Desika, the boy, during his discourses has been depicted in the form of a painting in the inner roof of the eastern Praakara of Lord Varada at the very site where the incident took place. The informed and wiser ones in our Sampradaya , prostrate at this place first and only then enter the sanctum sanctorum of Lord Varada to have his Darshan.

Tradition has it that,  Sri Nadadoor Ammal obtained the name “Ammal” because Lord Varada himself called him “Mother (Ammal)”  moved by his motherly act when Sri.Nadadoor Ammal offered milk to him at a palatable temperature in the same manner a mother would to her child.

2. About the Vidwat sadas

Sri U. Ve. Villur Nadadoor Asukavi Sarvabhuoma Srinidhi Swamy (1913-2001A.D.), a reputed scholar and poet in Sanskrit, recipient of the President’s award and 24^th scion of the Sri Nadadoor Ammal  lineage had been organizing a Vidwat sadas as an annual event to commemorate the birth day of the Great Guru, since 1955. He formed a Charitable Trust to make this event eternal. The Trust, however, has only a small corpus fund of around Rs. four lakhs which fetches annually an interest of around Rs 32,000 currently.

The Vidwat sadas has been conducted for the last fifty seven years regularly. After the departure of Sri Srinidhi Swamy in 2001, his eldest son Sri S. Seshadri Swamy  took over as the Managing Trustee of the Trust and  has been continuing the service with the assistance of his younger brother Sri V.S.Karunakaran Swamy .

The scholars, participating in the Vidwat Sadas - a traditional form of Seminar- present topics from Sri Bhahsyam and discussions are held on this among the scholars present , thus promoting the study of Sri Bhashyam. Parayanam of Vedas and Divya Prabhandhas are also part of this detailed event. The scholars are honoured with   decent Sambhavanas and a set of Dhotis. Their travel expenses  are also reimbursed. Traditional Tadeeyaradhanam is also arranged during the five days.

Shri V.Lakshmi Kumar, a philanthropist from New Delhi has been bearing the cost of dhotis to the scholars since 1993.The other expenditures are met from the interest and donations from noble souls blessed by the Lord.  Shri Kesavan,  settled in the USA , came forward to bridge the gap between the expenses for other items and the income of the Trust during the year 2011 when the sadas was held at Kumbakonam. The gap between expenditure and income i.e.; the deficit is estimated to touch Rs 90,000 during the year 2012 as the total expenditure may touch Rs. 1.2 lakhs.

It will be a nice gesture in the service of Sampradaya if a few of the blessed ones reading this  note come forward to donate a sizeable amount to bridge the gap,  or even take up sponsorship of the whole event .

3. How to remit Donations to the Trust?

Donations can be sent by cheque or DD drawn favouring Sri Nadadoor Ammal Trust to the address below:

Sri Nadadoor Ammal Trust,
10 Bharathiyar Street, 
Sivakami Nagar,
Gowrivakkam, 
Chennai 600 073  
Tel : 044 22780854

Alternatively they can be remitted electronically into the S/B Account of the Trust with State Bank of India, Selaiyur Branch through NEFT.   Account No 1024 1898 720. IFS Code SBIN 000 7948.

*****