Sri Ramanuja Journal Volume 3 Issue 4

12-25-2006, 03:18 PM

* SrimathE rAmAnujAya
namaH*

* SrimathE varavaramunaye
namaH*

* *

*Margazhi, Vyaya
Azhvar 3, Acharya 4*

* *

*Periya nambikaL*

*Thirunakshatram : Margazhi kETTai*

* *

*kamalApathi kalyANa GuNAmrutha niShEvayA *

*pUrNa kAmAya sathatham pUrNAya mahathE namaH*

*Even though emperumanar had 5 acharyas periya nambikal only finds his place
in the OrAnvazhi acharya paramparai, because of his uniqueness as the
acharya who did pancha samskaram to swami emperumanar. Periya nambikal's
thirunamam was paraankusa dasa and is also known as mahApUrNar. *

*In the ARU VARTTHai (6 words) of DevaperumAL to emperumanar the last
command was*

*PURnAchArya samASRayaH : Surrender to periya nambikaL*

*And akin to this by the command of swami alavandar, periyanambikaL, did
pancha samskaram to swami emperumanar at the wonderful divya kshetram of
madhuranthakam. *

* *

*This year marks the 1010th Thirunakshtram of this Great Acharya, who is a
martyr for our sampradayam during the AbhayavadEsyan's (He that shall not be
named) doomed acts against emperumanar and to the srivaishnava sampradayam.
*

*Idhihyams about Sri periyanambikal found its place in many paasurams
commentaries. And we will focus on few instances among them. *

*In the commentary of the ThirunedunthAndakam pasuram "vaLArtthathanAl payan
peRREn varukavenni maDakkiLiyai kaikUPPi vaNanginALE " swami PVP recollects
the incident that once when emperumanar was on the streets of srirangam,
going for his sacramental bath in kaveri, the complete sishya goshti was
following him. Seeing empeurmanar amidst this grand goshti periyanambikal
even though he was the acharya to emperumanar, he immediately prostrated
emperumanar. Emperumanar understood the feeling of periyanambikal so he did
not respond to the prostration neither accepted it nor did prathiabhivadanam
(reciprocation) but just moved without any response. When asked by the
sishyas, emperumanar turned to periyanambikal and asked nammai ippadi
seyvathen ? (why did devareer do this?)*

*For that periya nambikal replied : ALavanthar entru ninaitthEn (Thought
that you were Alavandaar)*

*PVP adds a wonderful line in the commentary which goes like this*

*"puthrarkalAhavumAm sishyarkaL AhavumAm bhagavad vishayatthil Oradi
ittavarkaL gauravyarkaLirE " (Whether it is son or shisya those who have a
placed a step in bhagavat vishayam are to be respected)*

*In the unthumathakaLitthan paasuram commentary another wonderful aidhihyam
is presented. The thirunamam thiruppavai jeeyar was given to emperumanar by
periyanambikal himself. Emperumanar used to chant thiruppavai always and
once it happened that he went in front of periyanambi thirumaligai while
knocking the door, he was chanting unthumadhakalitthan pasuram. Suddenly he
heard the sound of bangles on the other side of the door and it was opened
to him by athhuzhay, daughter of periyanambikal the coincidence of the
pasuram and door opening was so much that the moment emperumanar saw
athuzhai he fell prostrated. Athuzhay was wonderstruck and she ran to
periyanambikal telling "Ayya jeeyar ennai sevitthAr" (Oh! father jeeyer
prostrated me)periyanambikal immediately understood the mood of his sishya
and asked "Oh! thiruppavai jeeyar! you are having unthumathakalitthan
paasuram in mind isn't it" such was the understanding between the acharya
and sishya. (There is also a school of interpretation that this is
ThirukOshTiyUr nambi)*

*The most befitting tribute to periyanambikal is written in the golden
letters of SrivachanabhUshanam and AchArya hridayam*

* *

*mAraneri nambi vishyamAka periyanambi uDayavarkkaruLiccheytha vArtthaye
smarippathu 234 SrivachanabhUshanam *

* *

*mLEchchhanum bhakthanAnAl ……………aivaril nAl_varil mUvaril murpaTTavarkaL
sandEhiyAmal sahajarOTE purODASamAka cheytha puthrakrthyavum,……. aRivArkkirE
janmOthkarshApakarshankaL therivathu. 85 AchAryahridayam *

* *

*The incident goes like this:*

*Sri MAranEri nambi who was by birth not a high caste was a devout
srEvaishNavite. When he left this world to ThirunADu, Sri Periya Nambi,
performed the last rites for him. *

*To reveal the greatness to the society, EmperumAnAr approached Sri Periya
Nambi and asked him 'When I am meticulously laying fence for our faith on
one side, are you not removing it from the other side?" How can a high caste
person perform last rites to a low caste born. *

*Sri Periya Nambi quotes precedences. Sri Chakravarthith Thirumagan
performing to Periya vudaiyAr, Sri dhArmarajar performing last rites to
Vidhurar and zeroing in aruLichyeal : *

*'payilum sudaroli' and nedumARkadimai' kadal OsaiyOA! The sound of the
waves in a ocean goes a waste. If we are not going to follow what AzvAr's
have preached us, these aruLicheyal will also become like that. AzvAr-s
preached, devotion to devotees of ThirumAl is the ultimate in 'payilum
sudaroli' thiruvAimozhi 3-7 and 'nedumArkadimai' 8-10; *

*One should practise what one preaches and Sri Periya Nambi demonstrated
what cannot be dreamt those days.*

*When ritualistic practices are still considered to be a prime act even
today, think of those days.*

*Periya Nambi a great reformer indeed.*

* *

*VaravaramunidasargaL*