udayavar sannidhi

Namaskaram

I have a few questions to be cleared

What is the speciality of udayavar sannidhi in srirangam?I would like to know

when the sannidhi will be open as it is not opened for darshan all the time.I

would also like to know about vaishnavism before ramanuja's days .Who were the

early leaders?My third question is what is the significance of samashranam?

srimathy

[for some reason this email bounced back. I am sorry if this is

email gets duplicated].

Dear Smt Srimathy

you had three questions in one of your emails: Ramanujar Sannidhi (1)

acharyas prior to Ramanuja (2) and Samashrayanam (3).

I can give some pointers on questions (2) and (3) first and then

go to question 1.

Answer to question (2)

There are a few acharyas and others important to

Sri Vaishnavam prior to Sri Ramanujar, Starting

with Nathamuni who restored the Divya Prabhandham, the

list includes:

Nathamuni

Uyakkondar (also known as Pundareekaakshar)

Kurukai kavalappan

Melai yakath aazhvaan, keezhai yakath aazhvaan (Nathamuni's nephews)

Tirukkannamangai aandaan

Manarkaal Nambi (also known as Ramamishra)

Alavandar (also known as Yamunachari, grand son of Nathamuni)

Periya nambi

Tirukkottoyur nambi.

Tirumalai aandaan

Periya tirumalai nambi

Tiruvaranga perumal araiyar

tirukkachchi nambi

(Alavanthar had 20 disciples not all listed here).

(There may be more, as this list only outlines the important

personalities

prior to Ramanujar).

For more information on some these acharyas, please refer to

http://www.srivaishnava.org

and select the "Sri Vaishnava Acharya" link

For question 3. pelase go to the same site above and select the

Customs link.

On question (1)

It is believed that the image of Ramanuja was discribed by Nammalvar

to Nathamuni when he received the 4000 DP from him.

Nathamuni got an idol created based on his recollection, and was

planning to pass iton to his grandson as per Nammalvar's command.

However since his grand son was not born at the time of his death,

he gave the idol to Uyakkondar making sure that he will pass it

on to Nathamuni's grandson. Again, when Uyakkondar was

about to reach his teacher's feet, he passed the idol on to his Sishya

Rama mishra, as Yamunacharya was not born yet. Later, after many

years, when Yamunachari was a prince, Ramamishra sought his

audience and invited him to Sirrangam temple by saying that he

would like to give him the beautiful/huge treasure that belonged to his

grandfather.

When yamunachari went to srirangam, Rama mishra took him to the

Ranganathar Sannithi. This was the turning point of Yamunachari

who later became the spiritual teacher for Ramanujar. After his

initiation, Rama mishra handed over the idol to Yamunachari.

I am not sure if the Sannidhi was built before or after Ramanujar's

time.

The above account is from a book by Smt Ranganayaki Kallaapiran.

I may have made some errors in interpreting the tamil text.

Someone else can mention about the Sannidhi timings

Thanks

--

Venkatesh K. Elayavalli Cypress Semiconductor

Data Communications Division 3901 N. First St. MS 4

Phone: (408) 456 1858 San Jose CA 95134

Fax: (408) 943 2949

http://www.srivaishnava.org

SrimathE NArAyaNAya namaha

Further to Sri Venkatesh Elayavalli's information, adiyEn would like

to add one more important feature of this sannidhi. It is said that

EmberumAnAr had 3 most distinguished thirumEnis, (1) thAnAna

thirumEni (2) thAnugandha thirumEni and (3) thamarugandha thirumEni.

I don't know much details about the 3rd one which is present at

Thirunarayana puram. Probably, Sri Rajesh Mandayam, who is hailing

from that place can throw some light.

The first one, ThAnAna thirumEni, it is the original thirumEni of

swAmi EmberumAnAr. One can even see the true nails in His fingers in

the sannidhi. This is one of the most distinguished importance of the

sannidhi at Srirangam. Additionally adiyEn heard that bhakthAs who go

to this sannidhi at Srirangam will wash their feet after coming out.

Can someone confirm this(?)

The second one is the ThAnugandha thirumEni, which is at

Sriperumbudur, the avathaara sthalam of our swAmi. It is said that,

when the sishyAs of our swAmi made this idol, our swAmi was so

overwhelmed by its beauty and made the pratishTai of this Idol at

Sriperumbudur by Himself.

adiyEn RAmAnuja dAsan

Thirumalai Vinjamoor Venkatesh

Regards

T.V.Venkatesh

E-mail : TVV

Phone: 91-44-4960455 extn. 5218

Fax : 91-44-4960913

Visit : http://www.sanmargroup.com

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Sri T.V. Venkat wrote:

> The first one, ThAnAna thirumEni, it is the original thirumEni of

> swAmi EmberumAnAr. One can even see the true nails in His fingers in

> the sannidhi. This is one of the most distinguished importance of the

> sannidhi at Srirangam.

This is popular legend but not true. Sri Ramanuja's body

was interred in the temple temple premises and the sannidhi

was constructed over it. The image in Srirangam known as

'tAn Ana tirumEni' is therefore placed *over* the remains

of Ramanuja and is *not* the very body of Ramanuja.

The late vidvAn Sri Sathabhishekam Govinda Narasimhachariar,

Sri V.V. Ramanujam and others are authorities who have expressed

their views on this subject. The story that the image is

that of Ramanuja itself is a recent concoction that has been

espoused and promoted by the temple priests and management.

This particular image of Ramanuja is regularly covered with

some unknown treatment to give it the look that it has today.

Rest assured that it is not the very body of Sri Ramanuja.

> Additionally adiyEn heard that bhakthAs who go

> to this sannidhi at Srirangam will wash their feet after coming out.

I had sEvai of Sri Ramanuja here with a Srirangam regular

and also sat in the goshTi and to my knowledge no one

washed their feet after leaving the sannidhi.

adiyEn rAmAnuja dAsan

Mani

An addendum to my previous note on the 'tAn Ana tirumEni',

the image of Sri Ramanuja that is in the Srirangam temple

complex.

Sri Koyil Tirumanjanam S. Sundararajan, a longtime resident

of Srirangam and an informal Vaishnava historian, had this

to say about this image and its unusual appearance:

SrI rAmAnuja was the only personage whose remains were

interred inside the Great Temple precincts. The mUla image of

the AchArya was fashioned over his relics and hence it is known

as the Image per se, tAm Ana tirumEni. (This image receives,

twice a year, a coat of camphor mixed with saffron, and this

special observance had continued for the last eight centuries

and a half.)

(see http://www.best.com/~mani/sv/bhakti/archives/jun97/0056.html)

Mani

Thanks to Sri Mani for clarifying this. AdiyEn wrote, only what I had

heard from others. In fact I came to know about the facts only from

Sri Mani's post. Thanks again to Sri Mani and my sincere apologies

to all members, for my post was misleading on this issue.

adiyEn RAmAnuja dAsan

Thirumalai Vinjamoor Venkatesh

> BHAKTI@SMTP {bhakti}

> MANI@SMTP (Mani Varadarajan) {mani}

> Reply-to:

> Re: udayavar sannidhi

> 20-Apr-99 13:13:45 -0500

> Sri T.V. Venkat wrote:

> > The first one, ThAnAna thirumEni, it is the original thirumEni of

> > swAmi EmberumAnAr. One can even see the true nails in His fingers in

> > the sannidhi. This is one of the most distinguished importance of the

> > sannidhi at Srirangam.

>

> This is popular legend but not true. Sri Ramanuja's body

> was interred in the temple temple premises and the sannidhi

> was constructed over it. The image in Srirangam known as

> 'tAn Ana tirumEni' is therefore placed *over* the remains

> of Ramanuja and is *not* the very body of Ramanuja.

>

> The late vidvAn Sri Sathabhishekam Govinda Narasimhachariar,

> Sri V.V. Ramanujam and others are authorities who have expressed

> their views on this subject. The story that the image is

> that of Ramanuja itself is a recent concoction that has been

> espoused and promoted by the temple priests and management.

>

> This particular image of Ramanuja is regularly covered with

> some unknown treatment to give it the look that it has today.

>

> Rest assured that it is not the very body of Sri Ramanuja.

>

> > Additionally adiyEn heard that bhakthAs who go

> > to this sannidhi at Srirangam will wash their feet after coming out.

>

> I had sEvai of Sri Ramanuja here with a Srirangam regular

> and also sat in the goshTi and to my knowledge no one

> washed their feet after leaving the sannidhi.

>

> adiyEn rAmAnuja dAsan

> Mani

> ***** Message Was Scanned For Viruses *****

>

Regards

T.V.Venkatesh

E-mail : TVV

Phone: 91-44-4960455 extn. 5218

Fax : 91-44-4960913

Visit : http://www.sanmargroup.com

***** Message Was Scanned For Viruses *****