SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujaya nama: Srimath varavaramunayE nama:
Glories of maNavALa mAmunigaL
mAmunigaL lecturing in front of SrIranganAtha
maNavALa mAmunigaL is celebrated as ramyajAmAthru muni and varavara muni. He was born in AzhwAr thirunagari in the month of aippasi, thirumUlam. His original name was azhagiya maNavALap perumAL nAyanAr, named after the uthsava mUrthi of SrIrangam. In his youth, he lived in sikkil kidAram, his mother’s village. He learned the fundamentals in SAsthrams from his father, thirunAvIRu udaiya pirAn thAdhar aNNan. Upon hearing the glories of thiruvAimozhip PiLLai, he returned to AzhwAr thirunagari. He approached thiruvAimozhip piLLai and took refuge in him as his AchArya. thiruvAimozhip piLLai gave him upadhESams in – sampradhAya concepts/meanings, aruLichcheyals of AzhwArs (4000 dhivya prabhandham), their vyAkhyAnams, and most importantly, the 36000 padi eedu vyAkhyAnam on thiruvAimozhi (documented by vadakkuth thiruvIdhip piLLai).
He is considered an avathAram (incarnation) of AdhiSEsha. emperumAnAr did not compose vyAkhyAnams for thamizh prabandhams. To fulfill that lack, he incarnated again as maNavALa mAmunigaL and immersed himself completely in thamizh prabandhams and performed kainkaryams for AzhwArs’ works. He propagated the 36000 padi vyAkhyAnam extensively. He resided in AzhwAr thirunagari until the time of thiruvAimozhip piLLai. He stood as the finest example of AchArya bhakthi as described in SrIvachana bhUshaNam. Reflecting his deep AchArya bhakthi, maNavALa mAmunigaL himself graced the following verse in upadhESa rathina mAlai:
than Ariyanukkuth* thAn adimai seyvathu * avan
innAdu thannil irukkum nAL * – annEr
aRindhum adhil Asai inRi * AchAriyanaip
pirindhiruppAr Ar? * manamE! pEsu
Meaning : “O heart ! Please tell me. Despite a Sishya knowing well that it is his fortune that he can carry out kainkaryam to his AchAryan only until the AchAryan lives in this world, would any Sishya, without any desire in it, remain separate from his AchAryan?”
It can be said that in upadhESa rathina mAlai, he not only elucidated all the spiritual matters graced by pUrvAchAryas but also lived his life as a practical demonstration of those teachings.
After the time of thiruvAimozhip piLLai, he reached SrIrangam, where he searched for, collected, documented, and protected the aruLichcheyals (AzhwArs’ prabandhams) and granthams of AzhwArs and AchAryas. Since the vyAkhyAnams for periyAzhwAr thirumozhi by periyavAchAn piLLai was partially damaged by termites, maNavALa mAmunigaL authored a vyAkhyAnam from where the original was lost to fill the gap. Furthermore, he authored vyAkhyAnams for rahasya granthams, notably mumukshuppadi, SrIvachana bhUshaNam, and thathva thrayam by piLLai lOkAchAryar. He also provided an extensive vyAkhyAnam for AchArya hrudhayam, authored by azhagiya maNavALa perumAL nAyanAr (younger brother of piLLai lOkAchAryar). Had it not been for the upadhESams and vyAkhyAnams of maNavALa mAmunigaL, the aruLichcheyals of the AzhwArs and the rahasya granthams of the pUrvAchAryas would have remained unknown to the people of this current age.
After some time, he entered the sanyAsa Ashrama. By the divine command of SrIrangam emperumAn, he retained the thirunAmam (name) as azhagiya maNavALap perumAL nAyanAr. It appears that emperumAn, knowing he would later become a Sishya to hear kAlakshEpam from him, commanded this way so that he, as a Sishya, would also bear the same thirunAmam as his AchArya, maNavALa mAmunigaL. In accordance with emperumAn’s thiruvuLLam (divine will), he elevated the SrIvaishNava sampradhAyam to the highest state. Hearing of his great glories, many people came and took refuge in him as their AchArya.
Once, after the completion of the pavithrOthsavam of namperumAL, commanded maNavALa mAmunigaL to perform a kAlakshEpam on the eedu vyAkhyAnam for thiruvAimozhi. emperumAn, along with his parivArangaL (entourage), suspended all uthsavams for one year to listen extensively to mAmunigaL’s vyAkhyAnam. At the conclusion of the kAlakshEpam (on the day of Ani thirumUlam), emperumAn appeared as a small boy, accepted maNavALa mAmunigaL as his AchArya, submitted the thaniyan (glorificatory verse) starting with “SrISailESa dhayApAthram” and offered his own AdhiSEsha paryankam (serpent bed) as sambhAvanai (reverential offering), and celebrated him greatly. Furthermore, emperumAn, speaking through the archakar in a state of AvEsa (divine inspiration), issued a SrImukham (divine decree). He ordained that the SrIvigraham (sacred deity) of maNavALa mAmunigaL must be installed in all dhivyadhESams. He also commanded that the thaniyan “SrISailESa dhayApAthram” must be recited both at the beginning and at the end of sEvAkAlam (recitals). maNavALa mAmunigaL holds the matchless distinction of being celebrated as an AchArya by emperumAn himself.
maNavALa mAmunigaL vAzhi thirunAmam
ippuviyil arangEsarkku eedaLiththAn vAzhiyE
ezhil thiruvAimozhippiLLai iNaiyadiyOn vAzhiyE
aippasiyil thirumUlaththavadhariththAn vAzhiyE
aravarasapperunjOdhi anandhanenRum vAzhiyE
eppuviyum SrISailam EththavandhOn vAzhiyE
ErArum ethirAsar enavudhiththAn vAzhiyE
muppurinUl maNivadamum mukkOl thariththAn vAzhiyE
mUdhariya maNavALa mAmunivan vAzhiyE
maNavALa mAmunigaL vAzhi thirunAmam – Explanation
ippuviyil arangEsarkku eedaLiththAn vAzhiyE – May maNavALa mAmunigaL, who gave upadhESam of thiruvAimozhi eedu vyAkhyAnam to SrIranganAthar in this earth, live long (pallANdu)!
ezhil thiruvAimozhippiLLai iNaiyadiyOn vAzhiyE – May maNavALa mAmunigaL, who exists as the divine thiruvadi nilai (pAdhukAs) of his beautiful AchArya, thiruvAimozhip piLLai, live long (pallANdu)!
aippasiyil thirumUlaththavadhariththAn vAzhiyE – May maNavALa mAmunigaL, who graced this world by incarnating in the month of aippasi on the day of thirumUlam, live long (pallANdu)!
aravarasap perunjOdhi anandhan enRum vAzhiyE – ‘aravu’ means serpent. The word AdhiSEshan, who is the king of serpents and possesses a great, divine radiance (periya sOdhi). ananthan signifies one who is boundless or infinite. AdhiSEshan possesses the great glory of holding the infinite emperumAn upon his lap (as a couch). This line illustrates: “May maNavALa mAmunigaL, who is considered as the incarnation of that very AdhiSEshan, live long (pallANdu)!
eppuviyum SrISailam EththavandhOn vAzhiyE – Long live maNavALa mAmunigaL, who paved the way for the fame of his AchArya, thiruvAimozhip piLLai (known as SrISailEsar), to spread across the world. Another meaning is also presented here: Once, maNavALa mAmunigaL went on a yAthrA (pilgrimage) to thirumalai (SrISailam). A thought arose in him that there should be a sthOthram for suprabhAtham (morning awakening) to the emperumAn in thirumalai. prathivAdhi bhayangaram aNNA was a great scholar who had lived in thirumalai for a long time. He was an eminent vEdhAnthi who had defeated many in debates. Upon hearing the glories of maNavALa mAmunigaL, he became his Sishya. mAmunigaL shared his intent to establish a suprabhAtham for the thirumalaiyappan (vEnkatESap perumAL) through aNNA. He carried out his AchArya’s command with great devotion and composed the SrI vEnkatESa suprabhAtham that we recite to this day. Thus, maNavALa mAmunigaL, who caused the whole world to realise the greatness of SrISailam (thirumalai) by gifting the suprabhAtham to vEnkatESap perumAL through his Sishya, live long (pallANdu)!
ErArum ethirAsar enavudhiththAn vAzhiyE – Long live maNavALa mAmunigaL, who is considered as the re-incarnation of the most glorious emperumAnAr (ethirAsar). Even though he was the punar avathAram of emperumAnAr, we know that he performed thiruvArAdhanam at the bhavishyadhAchAryar (emperumAnAr) sannidhi in AzhwAr thirunagari. If one asks, “Can someone perform thiruvArAdhanam to oneself?”, we know that perumAL SrI rAma, born in ikshvAku dynasty, worshipped SrIranganAthar who came to earth from sathya lOka. During his coronation, SrI rAma gifted the same SrIranganAthar along with the praNavAkAra vimAnam, whom he had been worshipping, to SrI vibhIshaNAzhwAn. History tells us that while taking emperumAn to lanka, vibhIshaNAzhwAn placed the deity down to rest; periya perumAL liked SrIrangam surrounded by the kAvEri so much that he decided to stay there. Just as SrI rAma, an incarnation of emperumAn, performed thiruvArAdhanam to periya perumAL, maNavALa mAmunigaL, as the re-incarnation of bhagavath rAmAnujar, demonstrated how a Sishya should perform thiruvArAdhanam to one’s AchArya.
maNavALa mAmunigaL possessed immense devotion towards bhagavath rAmAnujar. He was hailed as yathIndhra pravaNar. Just as nammAzhwAr is cited as an example for krishNa bhakthi, maNavALa mAmunigaL stands as an example for rAmAnuja bhakthi. The first grantham he composed on rAmAnujar was yathirAja vimSathi, and his final grantham was Arththi prabandham. Through this, we can understand that from the beginning to the end, mAmunigaL remained steadfast in his AchArya nishtai (complete surrender) towards emperumAnAr. Thus, maNavALa mAmunigaL, who came as the re-incarnation of ethirAsar, live long (pallANdu)!
muppurinUl maNivadamum mukkOl thariththAn vAzhiyE – maNavALa mAmunigaL wears the muppurinUl (yagnOpavIdham – sacred thread) and garlands made of thuLasi beads and lotus beads. May maNavALa mAmunigaL, who bears in his hand the mukkOl (thridhaNdam – three sticks that are bound together carried by sanyAsis), live long (pallANdu)!
mUdhariya maNavALa mAmunivan vAzhiyE – MaymaNavALa mAmunivan, who is the most ancient and rare treasure in OrAN vazhi (single lineage) of AchAryas, through whom the divine meanings of our sampradhAyam have been preserved for us today, live long (pallANdu)!
AzhwAr emperumAnAr jIyar thiruvadigaLE SaraNam
jIyar thiruvadigaLE SaraNam
appiLLai thiruvadigaLE SaraNam
adiyEn govindarAja rAmAnuja dAsan
archived in https://divyaprabandham.koyil.org
pramEyam (goal) – https://koyil.org
pramANam (scriptures) – http://granthams.koyil.org
pramAthA (preceptors) – http://acharyas.koyil.org
SrIvaishNava education/kids portal – http://pillai.koyil.org