Sri Ranganathamuni
Acharya Sriman Ranganathamuni, also known as Sri Nathamuni is accorded the principal position in the grand lineage of mentors or Acharyas of Sri Vaishnava tradition. The available annals and chronicles trace his birth year as 823 CE. It is now exactly 1200 since he descended on the earth.
Acharya Sriman Nathamuni championed the cause of the furtherance of Sri Vaishnava Sampradaya when he chanced upon some enthusiastic travellers from the western part of the current Tamil Nadu, in his hometown, Kaattu Mannar Koil.
He heard them recite 11 Tamil pasurams [slokas] wherein in the concluding pasuram the words alluded to “these 10 pasurams among the great 1000 pasurams.” The travellers, unaware of the 1000 pasurams, triggered Nathamuni’s seminal quest that led to the discovery of 4000 pasurams, called Divya Prabandham.
Acharya Sriman Nathamuni’s contribution was not limited to reviving the Divya Prabandham which was almost extinct in his time. Still, he also ensured the continuity of the legacy that came to be passed across generations. He foresaw the potential of his grandson Yamunacharya to take it forward beyond his time and instructed his direct disciple Pundareekaksha to hand over the baton.
Literary contributions by the learned Acharyas invariably use Muktakam. A Muktakam is a standalone sloka or stanza that carries a complete meaning in itself which the author wants to convey. It could be in praise of a great contributor thanking him for his contribution paying obeisance to him or in praise of his place of birth or his magnificent deeds or all of these.
Muktakam delivered by Nathamuni
Acharya Sriman Nathamuni delivered 4 Muktakams in Sanskrit and 1 in Tamil. It is interesting to note the correlation between them. He dedicated a Muktakam in Sanskrit and one in Tamil towards Madhurakavi Alwar Prabandham. It is this Alwar’s Prabandham of 11 pasurams [Kanni-nun-chiruthaambu] on Nammalwar, which led Nathamuni to get hold of the rest of the treasure. So, as an expression of a deep sense of gratitude, Nathamuni dedicated 2 muktakams.
Further, one muktakam in Sanskrit towards Nammalwar’s prabandham of 1102 pasurams for which he initially yearned. With these 3 muktakams, the thanksgiving that he set out to revive is done. But, the sheer quest of Nathamuni yielded him a fortunate stroke of serendipity, whereby he got fourfold what he was looking for.
He looked for a thousand pasurams and he got four thousand of them in the pristine Tamil language, most mellifluous to listen to, yet a mixture of intricately woven chosen words that fulfil the rules of grammar, giving the purport of profound philosophy enunciated in the Vedas.
The fourth muktakam in Sanskrit was dedicated to the bonus of 3000 pasurams he got in addition to his original search. Nathamuni dedicated this muktakam to Periyaalwar who is known to be the most benevolent among all Aalwars.
Muktakams for Kanni-nun-Chiruthaambu
In the sloka “Avidita vishayaantharah…. Mamavirasthu” Naathamuni prays that he is blessed with a heart that seats Madhurakavi Alwar, who does not know anything else other than being blissfully immersed in singing the prabandhams spelt out by Nammalwar, who also presumes Nammalwar to be his sole protector [owner of Madhurakavi Alwar’s soul]. Tanians are elaborated by Sri Pillai Lokam Jeeyar, with extensive meanings detailing the bhakti bhava of the Acharya.
This is not a mere token gesture of thanking Madhurakavi Alwar. Nathamuni manifesting the Nammalwar’s grace by reciting these 11 pasurams twelve thousand times upholds this. Nathamuni adds a Tamil tanian, the purport of which is on the similar lines and the tanian reads as “verondrum naan ariyen..”
Muktakam for Tiruvaymozhi
Sri Ranganathamuni, through the muktakam that reads as “Bhaktamrutham viswa jananumodhanam….” pays his respects to the grand ocean of Dravida Veda, the Tirvayomozhi, spelt out by Satakopa aka Nammalwar.
I worship the ocean of Tamil Vedas, the aggregate of the Upanishads which have a thousand branches, spelt out by Satakopa, the ambrosia for god-lovers, which regales all alike [the denizens of the Universe as well as the Supreme Lord].
Muktakam for Tiruppallaandu
In the sloka “Gurumukham Anadeetya…” Nathamuni says “I pay my due respects to Vishnuchitta, who despite not being initiated by any specific Guru, [by the mere spontaneous grace of Lord] in the court of King Vallabha Deva established the supremacy of Sriman Narayana by spelling out the Vedas, who then became the father-in-law of Sri Ranganatha [by offer his daughter Andal], who is also the chief among all the Dvija clan”
Muktakam on Nammalwar
Sri Ranganathamuni offers the fifth Muktakam which is a profusely simile-filled one in praise of Nammalwar in the following Sloka. He compares Alwar to the Sun.
Just like a thousand rays of the Sun dispels away the sloth, where Sriman Narayana dwells with his eternal weapons Conch and Chakra, which is elaborated in Vedas and saluted by the learned people, I offer my Namaskara to that Sun, Nammalwar, who is adorned with vakula garland. The sloka runs as “Yadgo sahasram apahanti…”
Muktakams/Slokas on Nathamuni
There is a great number of Acharyas who emerged later, who have included Nathamuni in their thanksgiving note in many slokas. Nathamuni’s, grand son, Yamunacharya invokes Nathamuni’s grace extensively in his magnum opus, Stotra Ratna.
There are four dedicated slokas in the context of Nathamuni. Yamunacharya concludes the stotra with the sloka “Akrutrima tvat…” Yamunacharya pleads with the Lord to shower His grace by overlooking his inadequacies and weighing more on the immaculate qualities of Gnaana, Bhakti and Vairaagya of his grandfather, Nathamuni.
Govinda Bhatta
Govinda Bhatta, a cousin of Sri Ramanuja, authored the following muktakam, which pictorially represents how the perennial flow of this great Sri Vaishnava Sampradaya has been flowing and the role of Nathamuni in that. The sloka reads as “Lakshminaathakhya Sindhau Shatharipu…”
The hero of Sri Mahalakshmi, Sriman Narayana is a grand ocean of mercy from which the cloud, Nammalvar, draws water (unconditional grace), bursts into rain atop the hill, Nathamuni, which took two cascades of waterfall, in the form of Pundareekaksha and Ramamisra, to reach the river called Yamunacharya.
Further, it flew (and had to be stored) into a reservoir or a lake called Ramanuja, from where it spread to the fields (the people) through the outlets (74 Simmhasanaadhipathis).
Venkatachala Ithihasamala
In Venkatachala Ithihasamala of Sri Anantarya aka Tirumalai Ananthalwan, Sri Ramanuja narrates an episode in the life of Yamunacharya wherein Yamunacharya attempts to visit the direct disciple of Nathamuni, Kurkai Kaaval Appan, who was in deep ‘dhyana’, experiencing complete unison with God with undivided attention. When Yamunacharya approaches near, he stays quiet not to disturb.
To his astonishment, Appan gets off the ‘dhyana’ to inquire if someone from “Shathamarshana” clan was around. Yamunacharya asked how Appan could sense his presence. Appan responded that in the so-far undisturbed spell of complete unison with God, suddenly he felt God’s attention was caught by someone around and he felt God nudging his shoulders anxiously to catch a glimpse of Yamunacharya.
Who else, other than someone from “Shathamarshana” clan, could grab God’s attention as much!? This was narrated to indicate the greatness of Nathamuni’s lineage. Yamunacharya proclaims about his heritage in Stotraratna as “Janitvaaham vamse…” Parasara Bhatta, a disciple of Govind Bhatta and son of Kuresa Misra, in his magnum opus Bhagavad Guna Darpana, a commentary on the 1000 names of Vishnu, Sri Vishnu Sahasranama invokes the pre-eminent Acharyas before him.
He offers his salutations to Nathamuni while he expresses different ways of thanksgiving to other Acharyas. The sloka goes as “Vande Govinda taatau…”
Srirangamrutha Kavi, in his work Ramanuja Nootrandhadhi, refers to Nathamuni as “Seelam koLNaathamuni” in respect of the magnanimous and laborious deeds of Nathamuni in bringing out the Divya Prabandham, classifying them, setting them musical meters to be sung in a mellifluous way just to help the generations after him but not for personal glory.
Vedanta Desika
Vedanta Desika in his Yathiraja Saptathi, offers his respects to Nathamuni and offers this sloka wherein he says, he will hold Nathamuni as his leader or mentor for his enormous contribution which brought out the otherwise hidden meanings of the Vedas and made them as clear as the sight of a gooseberry in one’s hand.
This is quite evident as Vedanta Desika’s Nyaya Siddhanjanam and Nyaya Parisuddhi are known to have drawn a lot of insights from the currently extinct work of Nathamuni, Nyaya Tattva. The sloka reads as “Naathena Muninaa thena…”
Manavaala Mamuni, in his Upadesa Rathnamala, questions his intellect as to who can comprehend the glory and generosity of Alwars, the greatness of their works and the blessed Acharyas like Nathamuni in the pasuram “Theruluttra Aazhwaargal seermai…”
The first pontiff of Embar Jeeyar Mutt at Sriperumbudur, belonging to the 18th century also contributed in the form of slokas in praise of the Acharyas. The Jeeyar arranges the Acharyas before and after Sri Ramanuja in a neat order and attributes each of them, a part of the Divya Mangala Vigraha of Sri Ramanuja. He says “Mastakaha Sri Shatharaathihi Naatharyo Mukha mandalam”.
While Nammalwar is Sri Ramanuja’s head, Nathamuni is the face of Sri Ramanuja. We all see Sri Ramanuja as the face of Visishtadvaita Siddhanta (Sri Ramanuja Darsana), while Nathamuni is regarded as the face of Sri Ramanuja.
Conclusion
To conclude, this is by no way an exhaustive list of all the muktakams which are like scattered pearls in the vast landscapes of Sri Vaishnava literature.
Acharya Sriman Nathamuni Mangala Sloka
Mangala Sloka of Sri Ranganathamuni is given below.
Srimadhaan Ghri Sarojaan Ghri Prapannaya Mahatmane |
Manyukshetra Nivasaya Muni Naathaaya Mangalam ||
