The name, Shyamala Ranga Bhashyam, is unique and with a glorious
tradition to it. I want to write it here and present it to all my cousins and
nephews and nieces, and those to come... for them to know and to be proud.
To speak about the name in this unique combination - Shyamala +
Ranga + Bhashyam, one needs to invoke the words -
Srimathe Ranga Ramanuja Maha Desikaya
Namaha
Sri Ranganatha Divya Mani Padhukabhyam
Namaha
The name is part of the guru parampara from Narayana himself (ie Vishnu) to Shri Ramanuja, aka Bhagavath Ramanuja, and this parampara is known also as the Sri Bhashya Parampara. There are many other names to the succession, and one of them also includes the terms Alavandar and Peria Nambi, which are quite significant and I shall explain in a different post.
The initial names of the guru parampara are -
(3 names deemed to be that of the gods)
Shri Narayana, Vishnu, Sri Vasudevan
Sri Mahalakshmi
Shri Vishvaksenar
Nammalvar
Sri Nathamuni
Sri Pundarikakshar or Uyyakondar
Sri Ramamisrar or Sri Manakkal Nimbi
Sri Alavandar
(of these, Sri Nathamuni and Sri Alavandar are also names in
the family)
From this point - the Rahasyam of Sri
Bhashyam begins as the Bhagavath Vishayam
And, most significantly, some branches of various families get to
locations in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and
even north to Haridwar and all the way back to Nepal and Tibet. But, these
breaks are beyond any geneology, and return only when they become an entirely
new group, language, gotra, caste or community.
The line of names in the guru parampara continues -
Peria Nambi Peria Nambi
Sri Ramanujar
Prana tharthi haran Thirukurugai Pillan - or - Thiru Kurukai
Pillan
RamAnuja Pillan Sri Vishnu Chithar - or - Vishnu chithar
RamAnuja Pillan Sri Vishnu Chithar - or - Vishnu chithar
RangarAja Pillan Nadadur Ammal - or - NadAdur Ammal
[all breaks go
towards Kerala]
Appullar
Swamy Desika
Kumara Varadhachar
Brahma thanthrar
Gadika satham Ammal
AdhivannSatakopar
Sri Varadha VishnuvAchar [the name - Varada - is established]
MahaDaya Deesar
Ahobilam Desikachar [all breaks go towards south Andhra Pradesh]
Shashta Parankusamuni
Srisaila Thatha Desikan
Srisailam Srinivaschar
Vasthya Ramanujachar
Paravasthu Venkatanathachar
Velamur Ranganathachar
Chithanna Veeraraghavachar - or - Srisaila Venkatachar
VelAmur Rangapathi Desikan
Kalyanavaham Ranganathar
Paduka sevaka Ramanujar
Gopalarya Maha Desikan
Vazhuthur Andavan
A distinct root gets established in the guru parampara at
this moment at Srirangam, onwards -
The root is also known as the Kalakshepa Parampara and
is based at, of all places, the most significant
- also at Poundarikapuram Asramam - that is, the Ashrama of
Pundarika, much much before the place of
Pandharpur in Maharashtra becomes a significant pilgrimage location.
Vazhuthur Andavan
PeriAsramam, srirangam Poundarikapuram Asramam,
Many other acharyas take the line forward from here... And the guru parampara is now known as - Sribhashya or Bhagavat Vishaya Parampara - totally dedicated to the Srimad Bhagavad and gets to be firmly established exclusively as the Sri Bhashya Parampara
The primary acharya now, is - Thirukkurugai Piran Pillan
[Very significant in the sense that Shyamala Ranga
Bhashyam's family + house name was Bala Pilavar or Balapila]
Thirukkurugai Piran Pillan aka Kurukesar was the second
son of Periya
Thirumalai Nambi, and therefore also
rendered himself as the younger Piran Pillan aka Thirukkurugai
Balapiran Pillan. Born in 1161 AD, within Poorvashada
Nakshatram, in the month of Srimuka Aippasi, in the
Shadamarshana Gothra.
Thirukkurugai Piran Pillan was entrusted directly to the care of
Sri Ramanuja and studied vedanta, divya
prabandham and other sastras, and performed sidhantha pravachanam in Srirangam. He authored the Bhagavath
Vishayam in 6000 padi. Sri Ramanuja decreed that this great work should be recognised as one of the
important kalkshepa grantham.
Sri Bhashyakarar was given the responsibility by Sri Ramanuja to
appoint simhasanatipatis for the propagation of the Srimad
Bhagavat. Seventy-four (74) simhasanatipatis were appointed. Of
them, Thirukkurugai Piran Pillan was also one of them given the responsibility
for the propagation of the Srimad Bhagavat.
The line continued -
Thirukkurugai Piran Pillai
Sri Vishnu Chithar (1106 to 1197 BC) - conducted pravachanam to
vaishnavas in Srirangam. Authored Vyaakyana Grantham for Vishnu
Puranam.
Nadadur Ammal - Varada Desikar (1165-1275) - The name - Varada - becomes firmly entrenced in the guru parampara henceforth.
This is indeed an amazing verse - 3 related family names are
part of this - Varada, Bhushan and Bhashyam. My maternal great-grandfather was Varada, and my paternal grandfather was Bhashyam, while my father's name was Bhushan.
Vandheham varadharyam tham vathsabhi jana bhooshanam
Bhashyamrutha pradhanadyas sanjeevayathi mamapi
The guru
parampara continues
Srimad Adivan Satakopajeer (b. 1379) - established the sacred
Ahobila Mutt and was the first Acharya for more than sixty years, until 1458.
Sri Ranga Ramanujar - aka Upanishad
Bhashyakkarar - in a very significant rendition says -
Yenopanishadham bhashyam ramanuja
mathanugam
ramyam krutham prapadhye tham ranga
ramanujam munim
Continuing -
Sri Ranganathaya - born to Swamy Desikan in 1317 AD. Was succeeded
by his son and disciple -
Kumara Varadacharya - aka -
Nainaracharya.
He set up an idol of his father at the Srirangam temple, and
later, at the banks of the Venna River , at Thanjavur, he installed an image of his
father in the temple
of Neelamegha Perumal .
Later, he composed the Pillai
Anthadhi - a poetic tribute to his father in 20 slokas.
Continuing -
Thruteeya Parankusar
Vangipuram Srinivasar Muni - born at Thiruvallur
Srisailam Srinivasachar
Munivahana Swamy
Chandragiri Venkatacharya
Padukasevaka Ramanuja
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