30.4.2026 is the most auspicious day as is the Appearance day of Madhurakavi Azhwar …………………..
Swamy Ananthazhwan …………………
and Acharyar Nadadoor Ammal
Let us recollect their devotion to Acharyar and the great Lordships on this wonderful day .
Acharyar Varadaguru the great Acharya had the deepest bhakti to Lord Varadaraja of Kanchipuram One night when he was serving ” LORD” in an ecstatic mood, the priest brought very hot milk to the Lord as offering .
Acharyar Varadaguru was deeply distressed that such hot milk would burn the tender tongue of the Lord! He stopped the priest from offering the hot milk and began cooling it down until it was warms enough to be offered.
The Lord himself was moved by the Vatsalya bhava of Varadaguru and called him ‘Amma’ – my mother!
From then onwards Varadaguru became Nadadoor Ammal.
After this episode, in a dream one night, Lord Varadaraja commanded Ammal to erect a Mantapam for His Vasantotsavam.
Accordingly Ammal fulfilled the Lord’s desire, just as a mother would fulfill the wishes of her son in spite of difficulties.
Another glorious pastime remains to be cherished .
Once Ammal and his disciples undertook a pilgrimage to Tirumalai hills.
The graceful personality and humility of Acharyar attracted the people there..
A Chieftain Kandavaran was the leader of that Lada race .
He was annoyed and irritated to see the crowd falling the the feet of Acharyar.
He decided to disturb them.
With his mantric power he made the disciples unconscious.
Ammal meditated and chanted the Sudarsana maha mantra and his own composition ‘Hetipungavastotram’ and broke the spell.
The angry Kandavaran called Ammal for a debate and when defeated surrendered to the Acharya himself.
The benevolent guru not only excused him but also made him a Srivaishnava by offering him Panchasamskaras.
With the money offered by Kandavaran, Ammal established a beautiful village and named it ‘Ladagraharam’ and continued his journey.
On the way, the Lord himself came as a young brahmachari and appeased the hunger of the pilgrims with curd and rice.
At the same time, there was a big commotion in the temple as the silver vessel with the naivedyam had suddenly disappeared.
Lord Venkateswara Himself announced to the temple authorities that He Himself fed his dear Ammal and his disciples and that they should receive Ammal with all temple honours who will be arriving shortly .
Swami Engalazhwan was Acharya of Nadathur Ammal , who was the direct disciple of Thirukkurukaippiran Pillan . All glories to our Acharyar
Acharya Nadadoor Thiruvadigale sharanam
Let us cherish the great devotee and most revered disciple of Swamy Ramanuja ………………….
Ananthazhwan vaibhavam now
The sacred TIRUMALA Hills consisting of seven peaks is considered to be seven-hooded. Blessed are the devotees who are fortunate to have his darshan .
There are countless devotees who have served the LORD since ages .
One such great devotee was Swamy Ananthazhwan an ardent disciple of Swamy Ramanuja .
As per Swamy Ramanuja’s directives he served the LORD few hundred years ago .There are several pastimes of Swamy Anathazhwan with Lord Srinivasa .
One divine pastime is memorable as Lord himself accepts to become Swamy Anathazhwans disciple .
Knowing about the initiatives taken by Swamy Anathazhwan in organising the temple rituals with religious fervor few devotees decided to trek the hills and have darshanam of Lord and seek the blessings of his dear devotee too .
The Srivaishnavites were walking from Srirangam and it was a very long journey .While ascending the Hills, coming from they were feeling tired and had to take some rest .
Completely exhausted they were perplexed how could they complete their pilgrimage. All of a sudden a young lad appeared before them .
The boy was appearing with divine tejas .
With srivaishna Urdhva pundram he was almost looking like vamana avatara brahmachari .
He offered his humble obeisances and said .
Oh swamins !
Adiyen has brought some temple prasada for all of you .Kindly honor the same and please feel comfortable .
The srivaishnavites being orthodox were initially impressed with the divine boy However one Elder person among the group wanted him to introduce his lineage and his Acharyar whom he was initiated .
The divine lad he was , smiled at the simple question .
He proudly replied that his name was Madhurakavidasa and his Acharyar was Swamy Anathazhwan who is serving Lord in all ways .
It was his Acharyars instructions , he had walked down the sacred hills to handover the prasada coming to know about their visit .
He further expressed that the Prasada was coming directly from the temple which was handed over to him by Swamy Anathazhwan to be given to them .
A bit surprised , the elders said ..
Oh swamin ……
Its nice to know about your association to Swamy Anathazhwan .
But we wish to hear from you about his glories .
Can we hear your swamys Thanian ? as this a custom for the srivaishnavas to recite their Acharyars glories in the form of Thanians .
The divine boy majestically recited the thanian about Swamy Anathazhwan in the seven hills which vibrated
(I bow to Acharya Ananthazhvan, who is the repository of knowledge, mercy and wisdom, the one Acharyar who removes ignorance and is eminently eligible for surrender by disciples)
They liked the divine lads confident answer .
However the Srivaishnavas then questioned the youngster how his taniyan made no reference to Ananthazhvan’s relation to Swamy Ramanuja.
The divine boy smiled and replied Swamins !
Actually there are two Thaniyans in praise of adiyens Acharyar Swamy Ananthazhvan, one referring to the glory of his divine personality and another referring to his connection with Swamy Ramanuja.
And please listen to the second verse of the Thanian ‘Srimath Ramanujacharya Sripadamboruhadvayam Sathutha manga sandaryam Anantharyamaham Bhaje..
( I prostrate before adiyens Acharyar Swamy Ananthalvan who is the lotus feet of Swamy Ramanuja and who is worshipped by Srivaishnavas all over the earth )
The Srivaishnavas were convinced that the divine boy was a true disciple of Swamy Ananthalvan . They honoured the prasada with relish .
They thanked the boy for his affection and love and blessed him .
The divine boy took leave of them and ascended the Hills welcoming them to join him . Slowly, the Srivaishnavas ascended the Hills and walked into Swamy Anathazhwans ashram .
Swamy Anathazhwan was overjoyed to receive the guests from Srirangam .
They offered their obeisances and thanked him for the kind courtesy in sending the maha prasada down to the Hills They appreciated the young boy for his kindness and hospitality .
They praised the boys intellect and kindness and expressed their gratefulness to Swamy Ananthazhvan for having sent prasada through one of his bright young disciples.
Swamy Ananthalvan was bewildered. Amazed to note the divine leela , he was in total dark .
He realised that it was his LORD who took the pains to walk down with the mahaprasada to his devotees .
With tears , he wished to know about the divine lad .The Srivaishnavas explained about the divine glow the boy exhibited .
His majestic recitation of the Thanians was memorable ..
The boy was so down to earth serving the prasada They informed that the boy introduced himself as Madhurakavidasa and had recited two slokas in his praise and as they were just trekking behind him up to the hills safely .
They said that the boy went inside the temple citing some pending works.Swamy Anathazhwan pleaded them to recite the verses the boy had sung ..
They recited the two verses before Swamy Ananthazhvan.
The entire assembly was wonder struck. Swamy Anathazhwan was in tears .
They realised that the Lord had declared himself as Ananthalvan’s disciple and had chosen the name Madhurakavidasa
.Even though there were so many other Acharyas the second verse showed that it was Ananthazhvan who could be fittingly considered equal to the Lotus feet of Swamy Ramanuja.
Since then the paduka (sathari) at the shrine of Swamy Ramanuja sanctorium up the Hills came to be known as Ananthazhvan since then the two verses became famous as the Thaniyans in praise of Swamy Ananthazhvan….
Swamy Ananthazhvan thiruadigale sharanam
Our next great Acharyar is Madhurakavi (meaning in sanskrit the sweet poet ) who appeared at a holy place in Thirukolur, Tamilnadu
Once Madhurakavi Azhwar undertook an pilgrimage to Ayodhya.
He was very moved by the beauty of deities of Lord Rama, Sita Devi, Lakshmana & Anjaneya and decided to stay in Ayodhya for sometime.
During his stay, one night he saw a bright light in the sky emitting from the southern direction .
He couldn’t comprehend if it was a bright star, a forest fire or anything else.
Amazed with the strange happening , he decided to follow the light and see it for himself. Unmindful walking long distances , he followed the light .
After days of voyage, he finally reached Azhwarthirunagari a remote village and the light suddenly disappeared .
He was surprised at the phenomenon.
He enquired from the villagers about anything strange happening in their village assuming the dazzling light could have some prophecy too .
The villagers replied in negative, but expressed that a boy has been meditating under a Tamarind tree for past 16 years without even opening his eyes.
He had crawled to the tree as a baby 16 years back and remained in the tree thereafter.
Madhurakavi Azhwar was amazed with the villagers expression .He decided to see the child for himself.
Azhwar goes close as near to the tree and finds the divine child with tejas .
Eyes closed and meditating the boy was glowing with radiance which was what he saw at Ayodhya .
The place was filled with divine aura and true the boy was looking too divine as much as Lordships themselves .. Azhwar attempts to question the divine boy about what is True knowledge and gets convinced with his instant replies .
He immediately accepts the divine boy who is none other than our great Swamy Nammazhwar as his ACHARYAN Sri Madurakavi AzhwAr becomes an ardent disciple of NammAzhwAr and serves him with utmost devotion .
With all humility he submits the 11 verses of the grand KaNNinunchiRuthAmbhu glorifying his Acharyan Swamy NammAzhwAr / Sri SaTakOpar with all humility equating to Lordships . A devotee can dwell and enjoy these verses for ages on the divine works of Madhura kavi AzhwAr’s grand …..
“KaNNinunchiRuthAmbhu” .
Azhwar declared in this Prabhandham “tEvu maRRariyEn”
( I do not know of any God other than my AchAryan, Swamy NammAzhwAr).
After NammAzhwAr departed from this earthly world to srivaikuntam , MadhurakaviAzhwAr was worshipping deity of Swamy NammAzhwAr with deep devotion which he consecrated and performed ThiruvarAdhanA and uthsavams in his honour.
Impressed by Swamy NammAzhwAr’s works he wanted to stage NammAzhwAr’s works in front of other scholars .
Azhwar used to contemplate on the divine knowledge shared by Acharyar .
Vaikaasi visaakam the appearance day of Swamy NammAzhwar was celebrated in a grand manner .
One particular year, when Swami Madhurakavi azhwar was taking azhwar’s deity in a procession during the celebrations, few poets from Madurai Thamizh Sangam objected to Swami Madhurakavi azhwar and said .
“Oh! Madhurakavi!!
You are worshiping Nammazhwar who is a just a ordinary devotee not Perumal and reciting verses glorifying him
..Are those verses “sangam” certified? and authenticated by the great Madurai Tamil Sangam as “ the original and of the highest quality”? …
and is he really qualified enough to translate the Vedas into tamil ”?
Azhwar was completely disappointed hearing these critics .
He politely went to Azhwar’s sannidhi and pleaded “Azhweer!!
These people are objecting to adiyen’s only kainkaryam which is my only purpose of life ..Please do something that will not come in the way of my service to you .
Nammazhwar pleased with his devotion appeared before Swami Madhurakavi azhwar in a disguised form.
Dressed like an old man he asked Swami Madhurakavi azhwar about his reason for his grief.
Swami repeated the story to the old man.
The old man replied please do not worry about these trivial issues.
Submit this pAsuram of “kaNNan kazhaliNai…” and see the miracle “saying this he disappeared.
“Kannan Kazhalinai” will support you always”.
Madhurakavi obeyed as instructed and proceeded to Madurai to meet the so called great sangam poets .
All of them were debating in a boat discussing the authenticity of the literature . Madhurakavi offered the holy verse to the poets .
(Madhurakavi azhwar had offered the divine verses in a small leaf which was used during olden times and the divine verse “Kannam Kazhalinai…” from Thiruvaaimozhi was ever glowing )
The poets read those verses and laughed at Swami Madhurakavi azhwar for his childishness and threw it aside .
Suddenly the whole boat top sided all the poets much to their surprise .
They swam hard and with great difficulty reached the shore. To their astonishment, they found that the boat retained only that palm leaf .
The poets read it patiently and were of opinion that Swamy Nammazhwar was not any ordinary saint and apologized for their foolishness .
Thus their ego was shattered Azhwar further says that For a true devotee of Lord Krishna …. all is Lord Krishna the Food – eaten to satisfy the appetite,water drunk to quench the thirst, the betel leaves consumed after the food, are all Lord Krishna .
Chanting HIS holy name,
speaking of HIS qualities,
and thinking of HIM ,
HIS devotee will feel the hunger and the thirst
and all other needs satisfied.
They will not eat any other food since
KRISHNA CONSCIOUSNESS is enough food for them and always remain in that bliss forever …..
It is also Appearance day of our Paramacharyar “Sri. Sreesailachariar ” of Mudaliandan Thirumaligai – the paramacharyar of the present acharyar, Sri Kandhadai Kumara Venkatacharyar(Ramanujar) . Swamy is the 22nd descendant in Mudaliyandan’s (Swamy Ramanujar’s nephew) lineage.
Mudaliandan also known as Dasarathi-who is considered as reincarnation of Lord Rama was ordained to remain in Gruhastashrama (family life) by Swamy Ramanuja . He was the premier disciple of the 74 simhadipatis who were nominated by Ramanuja to continue Srivaishnava sampradaya, of them, few were sanyasis, others were gruhastas.
Srisailacharyar’s father ,Sri Mudaliandan (the 21st descendant in the lineage) gave his son his father’s name to the child who was born on the auspicious day of Chitra Pournami in Chithra star.
Glories to the acharyar who surrendered at the feet of Manavalamamunigal,Sri Dasarathi, the acharyar who stayed at Singaperumal kovil, Kanchipuram, Yadhugiri(Melkote), the one who attained Madhurakavigal’s position due to his acharyar bhakti.
Elders reveal that LORD Rama incarnated HIMSELF as Dasarathi, nephew of Swamy Ramanujar at Purusha mangalam (presently known as Nazrath Pettai in Chennai).
The foremost disciple. of JagathAcharyar Swamy Ramanuja was MUDALIANDAN.
It is believed that Lord Rama was very impressed by Thiruvananthazvan’s kainkaryam as Lakshmana to him (Lord Rama) in Sree Ramavatharam and thus wanted to serve him in future Avatharas.
Thus, when he was born as Krishna in Krishnavataram he performed kainkaryam to Balarama
(Who in turn is Thiruvananthazvan’s amsam).
Not fully satisfied with this, when Thiruvananthazvan appeared as Swami Ramanuja in Kaliyuga, Lord incarnated as Mudaliandan and did kainkaryam to Swamy Ramanuja as the foremost disciple
Thus Mudaliandan is an amsam of Lord Rama himself
Vaadhoola Kula Thilaka Sri Anantha Naarayana Dikshithar and Nachiyarammal (Swami Ramanuja’s sister) didn’t have child for a long time and in order to get blessed with a child they prepare to go to Tirumala to pray and seek blessings with perumal for a devoted child.
In the pilgrimage, when they were resting one night, Lord Rama who was their Thiruvaradhana Perumal appeared in their dream and said “You don’t have to go to Tirumala.
I will myself be born as your son. Name him as “Daasarathi””. Daasarathi refers to the sons of King Dasaratha like how Lord Rama was also called.
Later Swamy Ramanujar appointed a 74 simhadipatis (disciples) to propagate Srivaishnavam and our Dasarathi was their leader.
Hence Dasarathi came to be known as
“Mudali “”Andan”. ( The foremost)
Sri Mudaliandan Swamy was entrusted with the job of managing Srirangam temple affairs.
Swami Mudaliandan is also glorified as the “paaduka” and “Tridandi” of Swamy Ramanujar. When Swamy Ramanujar embraced Sanyasasramam, he did not leave Mudaliandan and Kooratazhwan whom he considered as his Tridandam and Pavitram respectively.
When Thirugoshtiyur nambi instructed Swamy Ramanujar to come alone to learn about Tirumantra rahasyam, Swamy Ramanujar took Mudaliandan along with him. When questioned, Swamy replied that a Sanyasi should always carry Tridandam with him .Such was the intimacy between Swamy Ramanujar and Mudaliandan.
Kooratazhwan expresses his thoughts that he has only “Atma sambandham”with Swamy Ramanujar whereas Mudaliandan has both “deha sambandham” and “atma sambandham”.
Swami Mudaliandan was born in Prabhava Year, Chithirai Month, Punarpoosam Natchathiram (1027) at Pachai Varana Puram (referred to as “NazarethPettai” which happens to be today) in Thondai mandalam, in the state of Tamil Nadu in South India.
Daasarathi, as he was named, was Ramanuja’s Priya Bhagineya in the parlance of the age.
Born to his service, and known as “Yathiraaja Paaduka”, he enjoyed a special relationship with Swami Ramanujar all his life.
Mudaliandan’s. impeccable service to his mentor secured for him the status of being Ramanuja’s Padukas (lotus feet), Tridandam & also the position of the administrator of the Srirangam Temple.
Hence Mudaliandan is called as Sri Ramanuja’s Bhagineyar (sister’s son). Anantha Narayana Dheekshidar named the child as Daasarathi appeared in Vadamal Kulam, Vadhoola Gothram, Yajus sakhaai, Apasthamba Soothram in Prabava varusham, Chithira masam, Punarvasu natchathiram, an amsam of Lord Sri Rama.
Having begun his learning with his father, Daasarathi became a pillar of support to Swami Ramanujar,
Dasarathi acclaimed by him as being identical to his Tridandam – his staff office as a sanyasi. However, Swami Ramanujar kept him busy in many ways, as he was a capable executive and administrator.
Sri Ramanuja, later started to depend on Daasarathi a lot. While going to kaveri for his daily bath, he used to lean on Daasarathi for support.
One day, when Ramanuja sacrificed everything at the time of taking Sannyaasam (ascetic) he did not give up Daasarathi, as that order demanded that all kith and kin should be renounced.
To this Sri Ramanuja replied that Daasarathi was an exception as he was his triplestaff (tridandam) (the same reason he gave to Tirukkottiyur Nambi) and added “If it is possible for me an ascetic to give up my staff only then can Daasarathi leave me. He, though a bodily relation, is yet a kin to my soul.
Because Swami Ramanuja knows he is Lord Rama’s avatar or amsam.”
(Roughly translated as: Mudaliandan administered the following, according to Swami Ramanuja’s orders, the many works of the temple, the services to the Lord, and the works of the Shrine.)
Swami Desikan on Mudaliandan’s sayings: Mudaliandaan is most well known for his lapidary saying, here given in transliterated maNipraavaaLam:
“oru malaiyil ninru, oru malaiyil thaavum simha shareeraththil janthukkaL pole bhaashyakaarar samsaaralanganam paNNa avarOdundaana kudalthudakkaale naam udhdheerdaraavuthomenru muthaliyaandaruLi-ch-cheytha paasuram”.
This is roughly translatable as follows: When a lion leaps from one mountain to another, all the creatures that live on his body go with him. Even so, when Udayavar transcended this world, all of us who are associated with him benefit from this as well.
On udayavar’s instructions Swami Mudaliandan went to Belur and converted all peoples toSrivaishnavism and installed Pancha Narayana temples at various locations.
Sri Ramancha samavistam pancha janyamcha sambhavam |
Pancha Narayana sthana sthapakam gurum asraye || Meaning: I take the solace under Acharya Mudaliandan, in whom Lord Rama’s partial influence and a part of panchajanya’s influenece exists is the one who installed the Pancha Narayana temples.
The final moments of Swamy Mudaliandan shine not as a departure, but as a flood of grace-filled instruction—a last gift to his disciples, soaked in ananya-bhakti to Swami Ramanuja.
As his body grew weak, his voice remained steady with compassion. Gathering his disciples close, with eyes filled not with fear but with karuṇā and firmness, he delivered his final upadeśa
👉 Your protection is not in your effort, but in your Acharya’s grace alone.
Having thus instructed, Swamy Mudaliandan slowly closed his eyes, meditating upon the divine feet of Ramanuja, as if returning to the very source from which his life drew meaning.
There was no agitation, no fear—only a deep stillness of fulfilled kainkaryam.
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