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Re: AchArya paramparA and other

From the Bhakti List Archives

Sadagopan • May 3, 1999 


At 01:18 PM 5/3/99 -0500, you wrote:
>Dear Sri Chakravarthy :

I will provide another input on your two
questions to provide the infrastructure 
for additional discussions .

>"Are the successions from vyAsar to budhAyana, and from budhAyana down to
> yAmunAchArya well known? How may I learn about those pUrvAchAryas?"

Two good sources of Information for you on AchArya paramparai 
are : (1) Sri Nadadur Madhavan 's excellent flow chart .
      (2) Sri Ahobila matam releases on AchArya paramparai & 
          anubhandham .The earlier portions deal with AchAryAs 
          prior to Ahobila Matam Jeeyars & the rest deal with
          Ahobila Matam AchAryArs . Ahobila matam home pages 
          have info on how to acquire them.

VyAsA inspite of being a maha Rishi is not considered a paramaikAnthi
(Single Minded devotion to Sriman naarAyaNA ) and hence he is not
included in the paramparai of Sri VaishNavite AchAryAs . There are
references in the literature to him being referred to as 
Vyasa Roopaya VishNave et al . Yet , in the guru paramparaa 
tradition , he is not included as an AchAryA , but as a revered 
Maharishi , who gave us many granthams including the VedAntha
SoothrAs .This is acording to the view of one of the greatest
living Sri VasihNavite AchAryA .

Here are my comments on your second question on 
the celebration of Tamil with out appearing to put down 
the other great South Indian languages is that it (Tamil ) 
is very ancient .I love Sundara Telegu and wonderful KannadA .
I may be" clobbered " for stating this . In fairness ,
None of the others have the hoary tradition of recorded 
literature or grammar . Sage AgasthyA wrote the grammar for 
Tamil .Sangha kaala Tamizh is well documented .
It was used by Jain monks and Buddhistic monks even 
in times before the AzhwArs .

That is why Tamil is held in higher esteem for the Ubhaya 
VedAntham tradition . When the AzhwArs chose to 
express the Vedic truths in this language , it 
reached even higher status .

One of the AzhwArs is ANDAL , the spouse of the Lord 
incarnating at SrivillipputthUr  , who prayed thru 
ThiruppAvai in an entirely different vein than
MaaNickka vachakar's ThiruvembhAvai . The young girls 
assembled for Paavai vratham in the case of ThiruvempAvai
sought as their goal and boon the realization of Siva BhakthAs
as their husbands . ANDAL went for the Lord Himself 
and prayed for eternal Kaimkaryam to Him .I must confess
based on my comparitive reading of the divya prabhandhams and 
ThEvAram ( the exalted outpourings of the revered naayanmArs) ,
there is nothing approaching NammAzhwAr's Thiruvaaimozhi 
in Bhagavadh anubhavam and exposition of  VedAnthic doctrines 
in  a consistent manner .This is not to minimize the greatness
of Siva BhakthAs . 

V.Sadagopan