The Greatness of Sri Ananthazhwan - Part 6

Continued From: http://thoughtsonsanathanadharma.blogspot.ca/2016/07/the-greatness-of-sri-ananthazhwan-part-5.html

Sri Ananthazhwan Becomes Lord Srinivasa’s Acharyan - 2

 

With the permission of the Sri Vaishnavas, Madurakavi Dasan hurried on His way and soon was nowhere to be seen. Meanwhile after a few hours, the Sri Vaishnavas finally made it to the abode of Sri Ananthazhwan. They were surprised to see that there was no one waiting to receive them. They were overcome with worry. They felt concerned about the whereabouts of Madurakavi Dasan. As soon as they arrived at the abode of Sri Ananthazhwan, they were welcomed warmly by Sri Ananthazhwan. ‘Wish I had received intimation about your trip to Tirumala so that I could have been prepared to receive you with due respect.’ 

The Sri Vaishnavas were perplexed to hear the words of Sri Ananthazhwan. ‘What had happened to Madurakavi Dasan? Didn’t He make it safely to His acharyan’s abode?’ They wondered. ‘Did He probably take a short cut through the wilderness and was lost or worst still, had been attacked by a wild animal?’

‘How can it be that, you hadn’t received news of our arrival? Your disciple Madurakavi Dasan met us at Madhurantakam and helped us to reach Tirumala safely. He left us at the base a few hours ago in order to come here ahead of us so that, he could inform you. Where is Madurakavi Dasan?’ asked the panic stricken leader. 

‘Who is Madurakavi Dasan?’ asked Ananthazhwan. His question further shocked the Sri Vaishnavas. 

‘I do not have any disciple called Madurakavi Dasan.’ 

‘How can He not be your disciple? He recited your taniyan!’

‘Could you please recite the taniyan He had sung?’ 

The Sri Vaishnavas repeated the taniyan which had been recited by Madurakavi Dasan. Tears flowed from the eyes of Sri Ananthazhwan. It dawned on the assembly that, Lord Srinivasa Himself had appeared to guide the pilgrims to Tirumala. 

‘How blessed am I to meet you!’ exclaimed Sri Ananthazhwan with tears of joy in his eyes. ‘My abode has been blessed by Bagawathas today who have been helped by Lord Srinivasa Himself!’ 

‘His main intention when He helped us was to show to the world that, He has accepted you as His acharyan. Why else would He state that He was your disciple? Moreover, He has composed a taniyan praising you!’ 

Continued On:http://thoughtsonsanathanadharma.blogspot.ca/2016/08/the-greatness-of-sri-ananthazhwan-part-7.html

The Greatness of Sri Ananthazhwan - Part 5

Continued From: http://thoughtsonsanathanadharma.blogspot.ca/2016/07/the-greatness-of-sri-ananthazhwan-part-4.html

Sri Ananthazhwan Becomes Lord Srinivasa’s Acharyan

 

The Lord's wish always comes true and He found an opportunity to fulfill His desire when a congregation of Sri Vaishnavas from Sri Rangam decided to travel on a pilgrimage to Tirupathi. They packed groceries to last till they reached Tirupathi but, by the time they reached Madhurantakam, they found out that, they didn't have any food to last them for the rest of the journey. As they were Sri Vaishnavas, they couldn't accept food from anyone who wasn't a Sri Vaishnava or dine in restaurants. They realized the predicament they were in.

'Does anyone have any relatives or friends who can help us?' asked their leader. 

It was soon determined that none of them had any contacts at Madhurantakam or the nearby regions.

'What shall we do? Shall we return to Sri Rangam?’

‘Unfortunately, this is the half way point in our journey. We do not have sufficient groceries even if we turn back.' 

'I can help you.' 

The Sri Vaishnavas turned around to face the speaker. Their eyes fell upon a lad with dark complexion and beautiful eyes. 'My name is Madurakavi Dasan,’ introduced the lad. ‘I am a Sri Vaishnava. I can supply food till we reach Tirupathi.' 

‘Where did He come from?’ asked a few people to their friends. ‘Does anyone remember seeing Him? Did He come with us from Sri Rangam?’

The Sri Vaishnavas were won over by the tejas of the newcomer who was but a lad, but, their leader wished to ascertain that, the lad was definitely a Sri Vaishnava. 

'Thank you for your kind gesture. We will accept food from you if you can tell us your acharyan's name.' 

'My acharyan is the great Ananta Suri of Thiruvengadam.' 

At the mention of Sri Ananthazhwan's name, the people felt relieved. 

‘The Lord has definitely sent this disciple of Sri Ananta Suri to help us!’ They murmured. 

The leader however wished to get proper proof that the young man was really the disciple of Sri Ananthazhwan. 'If Sri Ananthazhwan is really your acharyan, recite his taniyan.' 

The youth without any hesitation recited,' Akhilatmagunavasam ajnanatimirpaham Asritanam susaranam vande Anantharyadesikam (Adiyen bows to Acharya Ananthazhwan, who is the storehouse of auspicious qualities like compassion and wisdom, the one who is capable of dispelling ignorance and is the one who is eligible to accept the surrender of his disciples )' 

The leader smiled. This is not a proper taniyan. You have shown us that, you are not used to reciting taniyans. Where are the lines which mention the acharyan of Sri Ananthazhwan?'

 'Please do not jump to conclusions; I hadn't completed my recitation,' the youth rebuked. He continued to recite the second verse of the taniyan,' Srimath Ramanujacharya Sripadamboruhadvayam Sathutha manga sandaryam Anantharyamaham Bhaje (Adiyen pays obeisance to adiyen’s Acharyar , Swami Ananthazhwan who is the lotus feet of Swami Ramanujar and who is worshipped by SrI Vaishnavas all over the world )' 

‘How beautifully He has recited the taniyan!’ applauded the Sri Vaishnavas. ‘What more do we want? We are lucky that, He has come to solve our problem.’ 

All the others who were gathered there unanimously accepted the help rendered by the lad whose dark complexion and lotus like eyes melted their hearts. The Sri Vaishnavas visited many temples on their way to Tirumala well attended by Madurakavi Dasan. Finally one day, they arrived at the base of the Thiruvengadam hills.

 

‘Adiyen seeks your permission to go ahead of you so that, adiyen could inform my acharyan that you have arrived and help him make all the necessary arrangements to receive you,’ requested Madurakavi Dasan. 

Continued On: http://thoughtsonsanathanadharma.blogspot.ca/2016/07/the-greatness-of-sri-ananthazhwan-part-6.html

The Greatness of Sri Ananthazhwan - Part 4

Continued From: http://thoughtsonsanathanadharma.blogspot.ca/2016/07/the-greatness-of-sri-ananthazhwan-part-3.html?spref=fb

The Two Snakes

Not only was Sri Ananthazhwan a faithful disciple but, he was also a great vedantin. One morning, Sri Ananthazhwan was gathering flowers from the garden. He was followed by his disciples who also helped him. Sri Ananthazhwan lectured them on the commentaries of the 4000 Divya Prabandham and on the divine qualities of the Lord. Sri Ananthazhwan would pluck the flowers while the disciples carried them in bamboo baskets. As Ananthazhwan reached out to pluck a cluster of ylang-ylang, he was bitten by a black cobra. His disciples were terrified when they found out that their acharyan had been bitten by a deadly snake. They started to panic. 

‘You are the only one who can run very fast. Hurry! See if you can find a doctor. If you are near the temple, make inquiries to see if anyone knows of someone who belongs to the tribes who live in the forest as, they know some herbs which can break the venom,' instructed a disciple to his colleague. 

'What is the reason for the panic?' asked Sri Ananthazhwan. 

The disciples were astonished by Sri Ananthazhwan’s calm demeanor.

'You have been bitten by the deadliest snake. Isn't this enough to cause panic even in the three worlds?' 

'Did you forget so soon everything I just taught you? Didn't I just teach everyone that, the most deadly snake is our body? So what if my body has been bitten by a snake? Can the venom harm me, the atma which cannot be destroyed?' 

The disciples gathered around Sri Ananthazhwan with tears in their eyes. 

'We agree with the philosophy but,...' 

‘There is no room for but, what you see here is a struggle taking place between two snakes. If the cobra wins, I will take a dip in the Viraja and serve Paramapada Nathan. If my body wins, I will continue to serve Lord Srinivasa here at Tirumala. It doesn't matter to me which snake wins as the result is the same. Come on, help me gather flowers.' 

The disciples watched Sri Ananthazhwan with apprehension, but, to their relief, he continued to serve Lord Srinivasa. Perumal was overjoyed with Sri Ananthazhwan. He found in Sri Ananthazhwan, one who lived per the instructions provided in the Bagawad Gita. 'How I wish that, I could call Sri Ananthazhwan as my acharyan!’ sighed Perumal. 

ContinuedOn:http://thoughtsonsanathanadharma.blogspot.ca/2016/07/the-greatness-of-sri-ananthazhwan-part-5.html

The Greatness of Sri Ananthazhwan - Part 3

 Continued From: http://thoughtsonsanathanadharma.blogspot.ca/2016/06/the-greatness-of-sri-ananthazhwan-part-2.html

Sri Ananthazhwan decided to keep an eye on the garden at night. He appointed one of his disciples to watch over the garden, but, the following morning, he found all the flowers plucked and scattered across the floor. Someone had walked through his sweet marjoram patch. There were faint traces of footprints around the ponds.

‘Didn’t you notice anyone messing around the garden at night? Sri Ananthazhwan questioned his disciple.

The disciple had not noticed anyone. Perplexed, Sri Ananthazhwan decided to stay awake and watch over the garden at night. It was a full moon night. There was a gentle breeze mixed with faint drizzle. The perfume from the garden mixed with the herbs growing on the hills made the region seem like a beautiful wonderland. The garden seemed to transform into an enchanting, magical land in the moonlight. A nightingale broke into a song. Sri Ananthazhwan did not pay attention to the beautiful landscape. He remained oblivious to the sweet perfume which filled the breeze. That night, there was a very strong scent of tulasi leaves and yet, Sri Ananthazhwan seemed to have trained his senses only to find the person who was destroying his garden. Yonder under a magnolia tree, Sri Ananthazhwan noticed two figures. He got up from his seat and focused his eyes on the two strangers.

Upon scrutiny, he identified them as a young couple frolicking in his garden. Sri Ananthazhwan’s ears turned red with rage when he noticed the young man gather the magnolia blossom to decorate the hairdo of His companion.

‘Stop!’ yelled Sri Ananthazhwan. His voice echoed through the garden. ‘How dare you trespass in this garden which is meant to offer flowers to Lord Srinivasa?’

The young man looked at Sri Ananthazhwan who was rushing towards them, armed with a stick. ‘Run!’ He yelled at His bride and before Sri Ananthazhwan could near the magnolia tree, the man had vanished as if into thin air.

Sri Ananthazhwan fumed as he looked here and there trying to locate the mischievous stranger. The lady however had been left behind as she had been unable to run fast. ‘Come here this instant!’ commanded Sri Ananthazhwan. ‘Who are you? Don’t you know it's wrong to trespass?’

‘We didn’t think we were doing anything wrong. After all, gardens are created for the public to enjoy. How were we to know that this garden was meant for your use?’

Sri Ananthazhwan winced when he heard her utter that; the garden was there for his personal use. ‘This garden is not for my use. This place exists to serve Lord Srinivasa and Padmavathi Thayar. By trespassing you have destroyed the flowers which I had carefully grown to offer to the Divine couple. ‘He felt his anger ebb away as he looked at the young girl. He felt paternal affection creeping into his heart as he looked at her long lotus like eyes which were wet with tears.’ Poor child!’ he thought. ‘It was probably his idea.’

 ‘I do not blame you.’ He said. ‘I know it was His idea but, if I have to capture Him, I have to first tie you to this tree. If I hold you as my hostage, He will definitely come back to free you.’

‘Does it seem right to you to tie a young girl to a tree? If you are a man, you should go after Him. Why do you pick a fight against a helpless woman?’ chided the girl.

‘I do feel sorry for you. I do not want to hold you responsible but, to get Him, I must hold you as my hostage!’

In the meantime, the young man returned as soon as He realized that, He had left behind His bride. Sri Ananthazhwan focused his wrath on the man. ‘Is this the way for responsible adults to behave by destroying temple property? Look at this place! Do you know how long it took me to establish this garden? In just a few nights you have destroyed my hard work. I don’t feel sorry because my efforts have been wasted but, I feel sad because, there are no flowers left in this garden to offer to the Lord tomorrow? How do you plan to compensate me?’

‘I can’t offer you any compensation,’ uttered the young man in a subdued tone. ‘We are not very rich. We are nomads. We wander through theses hills in search of sustenance. I will leave behind my bride. She can sweep your yard and help to clean whatever mess we have created.’

Sri Ananthazhwan was moved by the young man’s speech. He felt sorry for the young girl and felt deep affection for her as if she was his daughter. He took her hand and placed it in the young man’s hand. ‘I give her in marriage to you!’ He said. ‘Take her with you and be off!’

The next moment, the couple vanished from Sri Ananthazhwan’s view and in their place stood Lord Srinivasa and Padmavathi Thayar. Sri Ananthazhwan fell down on his knees. He was speechless.  Tears of joy flowed from his eyes.

‘We had been frolicking through this garden because we thought that you had established this garden for our pleasure. May we continue to come visit this garden?’ asked Lord Srinivasa with a mischievous smile on His lovely face.

‘What a question to ask your servant? Everything here, including me belong to you! Where is the need then to ask my permission? This is your pleasure garden! Please forgive my deeds!’

Lord Srinivasa embraced Sri Ananthazhwan and revealed to him that He had performed this leelai in order to make Sri Ananthazhwan His father-in-law. To this day, an Utsavam is conducted at Tirumala in which, Sri Ananthazhwan gives the hand of Sri Padmavathi Thayar in marriage to Lord Srinivasa.

Continued On:  http://thoughtsonsanathanadharma.blogspot.ca/2016/07/the-greatness-of-sri-ananthazhwan-part-4.html