Introduction:

Whenever the moral fibre of people gets weakened, whenever they tend to go astray after false prophets, whenever evil tends to predominate, the Lord either descends from His eternal abode to restore the fine balance between Dharma and Adharma, or sends down one of His trusted apostles to dispel the gloom of ignorance and spread the light of wisdom. Such men of unimpeachable character, conduct and devotion arrive on this earth, set a glowing example through their personal lives, inspire the masses through their enlightened words and writings and show them the pristine path to Paradise. Having fulfilled their assignment on earth, they return to the Lord’s abode to resume their kainkaryams there.

One such colossus who trod this earth seven and half centuries ago (1268 to 1369 AD) is Sri Venkatanatha, also known as Sri Vedanta Desika. Without fear of contradiction, Swami Desika could be well depictedasthegreatestspiritualteacherpost-Ramanuja.It was his life’s mission to make the concepts of Visishtadvaita crystal clear even tot he common man, to build impregnable fortresses in defence of Sri Ramanuja’s writings and to offer a convincing and cogent rationale for the doctrine of Visistadvaita, that would adhere to the Shastraic prescriptions, be simple to understandand follow and eventually, confer the ultimate fruit of liberation, irrespective of parochial considerations like caste, creed, economic and social status.

More than a hundred works in four languages stand as undying testimonies to the breadth and sweep of Swami Desika’s contributions to spirituality. He was a polymath who displayed intimate knowledge of not only Sanskrit and Shastras, but also of varied fields of Science, like Maths, Physics and Engineering. Lyrics dripping with love for the Lord, complex works on Shastras, moving pen-portraits of the God head, global geography and a monumental work charting the path to Paradise—all these and more flowed with ease from the facile pen of Swami Desika. His works had something for everyone, be it an erudite scholar, die-hard devotee or a complete novice to spirituality. And to top it all, the concept of Saranagati ran through all his works like a common thread, so that a man who could peruse only one of the hundred-odd works of Swami Desika too would be blessed with enlightenment and attain liberation.

Though it is difficult to condense the lifetimes of this colossus in a few pages, this article attempts to give an overview thereof, just enough to create a spark of curiosity and urge to learn more about him, which can be satisfied by recourse to bigger tomes.

Birth:

Swami Desika was born in 1268 AD at Thooppul Agraharam near the town of Kanchi in Tamilnadu, praised by none other than the great poet Kalidasa as a centre of learning and beauty. His father was Ananta Suri, son of Pundarikaksha Yajwa, the performer of numerous Vedic sacrifices, belonging to the Visvamitra Gotram. His mother was pious Totaramba, born in the lineage of one of the 74 Simhasanadhipatis anointed by Sri Ramanuja. Amidst the usual confusion that surrounds the date and place of birth of eminent men of the past, those of Swami Desika can be clearly pinpointed by the reference to his Tatvamukatakalapa in the SarvaDarsanaSangraha of Madhavacharya (1350AD).And his birth brought such glory to this town that a later poet, Sri Venkatadhwari, attributes all the fame of Kanchi solely to the birth of Swami Desika

While they were awaiting progeny, the Lord of Tirumala appeared in the dreams of Sri Anantasuri and Totaramba separately and instructed them to come to Tirumala. At Tirumala, Totaramba dreamt of swallowing the bell of Sri Tiruvenkatamudayan. Twelve years later, she was blessed with a bonny male baby, brilliant and inspiring even at birth. This is why Swami Desika is acclaimed as the incarnation of the Lord’s bell—Ghantavatara. Swami Desika himself speaks about this in his Sankalpa Suryodayam, striking a biographical note. Swami’s son Sri Nainarayacharya tells us that Swami Desika was considered also as an incarnation of Sri Tiruvenkatamudayan Himself (having been born under the asterism of Sravanam) and as a reincarnation of Sri Ramanuja. And in Adhikaranasaravali, Swami refers to himself as Sri Ranganatha’s Cosmic Conch Panchajanyam, capable of striking terror in the hearts of opponents.

Spiritual Education:

Swami Desika completed his entire education, spanning Vedas, Shastras, Kavyas, Natakas, etc. at the tender age of twenty, mostly at the feet of his maternal uncle and greatscholar, Sri Appullar (also known as Atreya Ramanuja) and also from his father Ananta Suri. Sri Appullar in turn was a disciple of the venerated Nadadur Ammal, belonging to the lineage of Sri Engalazhwan, entrusted by Sri Ramanuja with the onerous task of passing on the baton of wisdom in the form of Sri Bhashyam down the generations. Once, when Sri Appullar took the infant Venkatanatha to a lecture of Nadadur Ammal, the lecture stopped at a particular point due to some interruption and when the time came to resume it, none recollected the exact verse at which they had stopped. Hardly five, the child-nephew of Appullar piped up in his shrill but sonorous voice, identifying where they had stopped. This endeared the child prodigy to Nadadur Ammal who predicted his rise to greats piritual heights. Swami Desika acknowledges his debt of gratitude to Sri Appullar time and again in his works, saying that the latter had trained him comprehensively, as one would a pet parrot.

A brief biographical glimpse in the Sankalpa Suryodaya reveals that Swami Desika had mastered Meemamsa, Nyaya, Vaiseshika and all other schools of thought comprising the six darsanas. His other works depict his facile comprehension of non-Vedic schools like Jainism, the four branches of Buddhism, Atheism, etc. It is needless to mention his mastery over the Vedantic schools like Advaita (including its variants authored by Sankara, Bhaskara, Yadavaprakasa, et al) and Dvaita. Of course, his knowledge of the works Sri Vaishnavite masters right from Sri Nathamuni to Sri Nadadur Ammal was phenomenal. Whichever work of Swami Desika one takes up for perusal, one is impressed with his apparently boundless knowledge of Shruti, Smritis, Itihasas, Puranas, Agama texts, etc., apart from his intimate acquaintance and enchantment with Divya Prabandas in their entirety. With a prodigious memory and instant recall, analytical outlook and penchant for honest (sometimes brutally so) expression, the young scholar became the cynosure of all eyes. His favourite poets appear to be Kalidasa and Bhavabhuti (after whose work she fashioned several of his own, albeit in a better manner).

Swami Desika took Sri Tirumangai ,also from a learned and pious family, as his wife. Due to the couple’s total preoccupation with matters spiritual, a son was born to them only when Swami was 46. Cast in the same mold as his father, the son, named Varadacharya, too scaled the pinnacles of learning and became quite famous, first as a brilliant student and then as a great teacher.

After the ascent to Paramapadam of Sri Appullar in 1295 AD, Swami Desikan moved to Tiruvahindrapuram, meditating on the Oushadhagiri hillock on Garuda (he had been initiated into the Garuda mantra by Sri Appullar earlier). A pleased Garutman presented him with an idol of Sri Hayagriva, along with the Hayagriva Mantra. Swami meditated on the glorious form of Hayagriva and was blessed with the latter’s abundant grace. Swami Desika’s enchantment with Tiruvahindrapuram and its deity Deivanayakan are reflected in several of his compositions like the Hayagriva Stotra, Devanayaka Panchasat, Achyuta Satakam, Garuda Panchasat, Gopala Vimsati, Mummani Kovai, Naanmani Malai, etc.

The fame of Sri Venkatanatha as a master of Shruti, Shastras and their exposition grew and people flocked to him for enlightenment and in search of emancipation. He appears to have stayed for almost 15 years at Tiruvahindrapuram, with intermittent trips to Srirangam and elsewhere. It would be no exaggeration to say that Tiruvahindrapuram set the stage for Sri Venkatanatha’s blossoming into a great Acharya. His spreading glory was such as to evoke jealousy and challenges. Unable to tolerate his fame as a Sarvatantra Svatantra (Master of All Arts) a mason challenged the Acharya to construct a well, which he did with ease and speed, proving his credentials and putting the mason to shame. In response to another challenge, he fashioned his own, lifelike idol. The inalienable connections of Swami Desika with Tiruvahindrapuram are still to be found in the undying devotion of the inhabitants to all things connected with him.

Swami Desika’s sojourn at Kanchi was marked by a resurgence of religious, spiritual and literary activity in this place of learning, all centred on the young Acharya. It was here that his major philosophical works like the Tattva Tika (acommentary on Sri Bhashya), Tattvamuktakalapa, etc. were composed, apart from stotras like the Varadaraja Panchasat, Vegasetu Stotram, Saranagati Dipika, Nyasa Dasakam, Ashtabhujashtakam, Paramarttha Stuti, Mei Virada Maanmiyam, Adaikkala Patthu, etc. And Swami Desika’s enthrallment with Varadan can be summarized in a single verse of Varadaraja Panchasat, where the Acharya rejects a berth in Sri Vaikunttam in return for a daily diet of witnessing Sri Varadaraja on His various and glorious mounts. It was at Kanchi that Swami Desika demonstrated his all-round mastery again.

An inimical magician drank up the water in a tank, transferring all the intake magically to Swami Desika’s stomach, causing it to swell and ache. Knowing the source of this problem, Swami Desika just scratched a nearby pillar deeply with his fingernail and all the water flowed out from the pillar! Fame brings with it jealousy too and adversaries sent a snake charmer to Swami Desika’s residence to let loose several snakes .Swami remained unfazed and chanted the Garuda Mantra, at which a Garuda materialized from nowhere and made short work of the snakes. And it was at Kanchi that a poor brahmachari was sent to Swami Desika (despite his ascetic living being well-known) seeking funds for his marriage. Swami took him to the shrine of Perundevi Thayar and sang the Sri Stuti, upon which there was a veritable shower of gold, enough and more for the Brahmachari’s purpose. All this confirmed Sri Venkatanatha’s status as a Sarvatantra svatantra.

Embarking on a mangalasasanam of northern shrines, Swami Desika visited Tiruvenkatam first, and composed there the beautiful Daya Satakam, a hundred verses eulogizing a single virtue of Sriniviasa, viz., Mercy. The Acharya’s biographical notes in the Sankalpa Suryodayam suggest his familiarity with many shrines in the north. He appears to have met Vidyaranya (minister in the Vijayanagara Empire and an AdvaitaAcharyaofrenown) during his travels. Dwaraka is another place of his visit, but attracts trenchant criticism from him for the decadent atmosphere prevalent then. The then Mathura too did not impress him much. He must have visited Badarikashrama too, judging by his comments about the Himalayan breeze and the mighty flow of the magnificent Ganga. Disappointed with Ayodhyatoo, which did not live up to its ancient spiritual glory, Swami Desika was pained with the degeneration he witnessed at Kasi, turning the famed centre of learning into a den of charlatans. He also comments on the confluence of the white and black rivers at Prayag. The impression we get from Swami Desika’s accounts of his travels in then or this one of disappointment at their being mere shadows of their previous glorious existence.

Returning to Kanchi, Swami Desikan was summoned by the scholars at Srirangam like Sudarsana Suri, Pillailokacharya, et al. to confront the onslaught of Advaitis. Swami Desika rushed to Srirangam and expectedly, trounced the Advaitis in short debates. The invincible arguments he advanced in these debates were later compiled into the Sata Dushani. At the request of local residents, he continued his soujourn at Srirangam, engaging ceaselessly in teaching, composing both poems and polemic works, and delight in the daily darshan of Sri Ranganatha. It was here that monumental works like the Tatparya Chandrika, PadukaSahasram, Bhagavad Dhyana Sopanam, SataDushani, etc .were authored.

Swami Desika, though a householder (Grishasttha), led the life of an ascetic, eating just enough to keep body and soul together and resorting to unccha vritti (alms) for gathering the grains required for the day’s food. A lady who thought that the Acharya was too noble a soul to go around the streets seeking alms, mixed gold coins in the rice she put in his vessel. When he found these at home, Swami Desika didn’t even touch them with his hand and had them removed, saying that the rice was in fested with worms.When challenged to defend his title as Kavitarkika Simham, Swami Desika composed a paean of praise on Sri Ranganatha’s sandals, comprised of more than a thousand beautiful verses, in just a few hours of the night. Jealous men hung a festoon of footwear across his doorstep, but he shamed them by proclaiming his devotion to the foot wear of bhagavatas.

When an Acharya Purusha was passing by his residence, Swami Desika was engrossed in spiritual composition and did not notice him. The Acharya’s disciples, enraged at the apparent discourtesy, manhandled Swami Desika. On the day of the shraddham for Swami Desikan’s father, miscreants prevented brahmanas from officiating at the shraddham. However, to their chagrin, the Lords of three divyadesams came in the form of brahmanas, to enable the successful performance of the shraddham. On an Ekadasi day, people who could not tolerate Swami Desika’s spreading glory, tried to embarrass him by making the archaka at the Srirangam sannidhi offer him prasadam made of rice and tried to force him to partake of it. Swami Desikan accepted the Pulihorai, just smelt it and gave it to someone else, as prescribed by the shastras, thus escaping thes in of not accepting bhagavad prasadam.This was the proverbial last straw and Swami Desika, distressed by the repeated incidents of insult and injury, decided to leave Srirangam for a prolonged stay at Satyagalam in Karnataka. With the quiet-flowing Cauvery and the beautiful Varadaraja shrine at Satyagalam, Swami Desika could resume his spiritual activities in peace.

However, the lure of Ranganatha caused Swami Desika to return to Srirangam, only to find himself, to his great distress, in the midst of a Muslim attack, which claimed the lives of innumerable Sri Vaishnavas, including Sri Sudarsana Suri, Sri Pillailokacharya, et al. Swami Desika, entrusted with the safekeeping of the Srutaprakasika (the famed commentary on Sri Bhashyam) and the sons of Sri Sudarsana Suri, hid among the corpses littering the fields of Srirangam to escape detection and made his way there after to the safe haven of Satyagalamonce more. It was here that Sri Brahma Tantra Svatantra Jeeyar became a disciple and Swami Desikan engaged in the dissemination of the Srutaprakasika, all the while praying for the return of normalcy to Srirangam through such stotras like the Abheetistavam. The Koormasana used by the Acharyaduring his sojournat Satyagalam is still preserved well and it is here that he is to be seen in his icon-form in a standing posture, apparently awaiting news from Srirangam. He also visited Tirunarayanapuram, which afforded refuge to Sri Ramanuja during his enforced exile from Srirangam and composed the Yatiraja Saptatithere, soaking himself in the delightful experience of sharing a haven with Sri Bhashyakara, though at a different point in time, and in worshipping the glorious Selva Pillai. He was summoned by Vidyaranya (the minister to theVijayanagarcourt) with an offer of royal patronage, which the ascetic Acharya declined politely through an epistle in five verses known as Vairagya Panchakam.

Due to the efforts of Swami Desikan, Kampanna Udayar, a prince of the Vijayanagar dynasty, and his General Gopanarya, battled with the Moslem invaders and succeeded in re-capturing the areas annexed by them. He also ensured that Sri Ranganatha, whose utsava murthy had been spirited away from Srirangam during the invasion, was returned to Srirangam and reestablished in His shrine with all glory. When news of this reached Swami Desika, he was beside himself with joy and repaired immediately to Srirangam for a reunion with Sri Rangaraja. Swami Desikan was in his nineties when he returned to Srirangam. Age, however, did not prevent him from resuming his spiritual and literary routine. And it was at this ripe old age that he authored his magnum opus, the Rahasatryasaram, which remains till today the sole comprehensive compendium on the strategy of Saranagati and amanual for those as piring for liberation.

Such was his stature and scholarship that around 1336 AD, he was requested to officiate as are feree in adebate between Akshobhya Muni (a Dvaiti) and his old friend, Vidyaranya (an Advaiti). After hearing both sides, Vedanta Desika decided in favour of Akshobhya Muni. This angered Vidyaranya, who tried to find loopholes in the Sata Dushani of Swami Desika, but despite diligent research, could only find an apparently superfluous “cha”, which he made much of. However, Swami Desika rebutted the criticism in the form of a new work, named Chakaara Samartthanam, justifying the use of the “cha” and silencing Vidyaranya effectively.

Encomiums

Very early in his spiritual career spanning a century, Swami Desika was conferred the title Kavi Taarkika Simham (a lion among poets and logicians) due to his facile and beautiful poetry and his mastery over the Nyaya Shastra. Pleased with Swami Desika’s restoration of the Adhyayanotsavam at Srirangam, which had been stopped by Advaitis, Sri Namperumal called him “Vedantacharya” (a peerless preceptor of Vedanta). Being a divine injunction, the sobriquet Desika has stuck to Sri Venkatanatha, to such an extent that though it is a generic term meaning a Guru, it has come to refer to Swami Desika exclusively. Not to be out done, the Divine Consort Sri Ranganayaki, pleased with the all-round mastery of Swami Desika, lovingly conferred on him the title Sarvatantra Svatantra (Master of All Arts).

Thefamoustanian(eulogicalverse)

Sriman Venkatanatharya:kavitaarkikakesari

Vedantacharyavaryo me sannidhattaam sadaa hridi

was composed by Swami’s scholarly son Sri Nynaracharya and is uttered when reciting the Sanskrit works of Swami like his stotras. The other tanian, recited ahead of his Tamizh Prabandas, was authored by his principal disciple Sri Brahmatantra Svatantra Jeeyar (the founder of Sri Parakala Matham), published at Tirunarayanapuram on the day of Avani Hastam and reads as follows:

Ramanuja day apaatram jnana vairagya bhooshanam

Srimad Venkatanathaaryam vande Vedanta Desikam.

The other Tamil tanian recited ahead of the Tamizh prabandas of Swami was authored by Sri Pillailokacharya:

Seerondru Thooppul Tiruvenkatamudayaan

Paarondra sonna pazhamozhiyul-orondru

Taane amayaado taaraniyil vaazhvaarkku Vaanera pomalavum vaazvu.

Having lived a full and productive life filled with glory, having created more than a hundred works covering the entire gamut of Visistadvaita philosophy, having erected impregnable fortresses around the works of Sri Ramanuja and having established a lineage that would sustain the dissemination of wisdom and performance of Saranagati for all time to come, Swami Desika decided that he had had enough of samsara and prayed to the Lord of Srirangam for a passage to His eternal abode of Sri Vaikunttam. He went to Srirangam Sannidhi, took leave of Sri Namperumal and returned home. When he made his intentions of leaving his mortal coils known, his son and disciples were desolated, but pledged to carry on the legacy of the illustrious Acharya. With his head on the lap of his son Sri Kumara Varadacharya, his holy feet on the lap of Sri Brahmatantra Svatantra Jeeyar, with the holy sandals of Sri Appullar on his head and with his thoughts fixed on his Acharyas and Emperuman, Swami Desika left his mundane body, his soul ascending to Paramapadam to a tumultuous welcome by the Nitya Suris.

Swami Desika’s Contribution to Posterity

He expanded on Sri Ramanuja’s works to indicate the Acharya’s conviction about Saranagati being a full-fledged strategy for liberation.

He banished exaggerated notions of the Lord’s mercy and put it in perspective, but for which Emperuman would have appeared to favoursinners, rather than those who lived by the divine dictats.

He established the exalted status of Piratti as the Divine Consort, equal in every way to Emperuman, capable of independently granting liberation and forming part of the Divine Duo at whose lotus feet Prapatti should be performed.

. He emphasized the primacy of nitya karmas like Sandhyavandanam, clarifying that they were as important as performing kainkaryams to the Lord.

He protected Sri Ramanuja’s tenets from the onslaughts of opposing schools, especially the Advaitis.

. He instilled the spark of devotion in the souls of the proletariat through his stotras and prabandas.

He established aglorious line age of Acharyas, who would eternally bear the torch of wisdom after him.

At a time when women and lower castes were generally considered ineligible for the highest of fruits, viz., Moksham, he authored works specifically addressed to these audiences, to ensure their emancipation

Srisuktis (Works) of Swami Desika

According to Sri Prativadi Bhayankaram Annan, an important disciple of Swami Desika, the Acharya’s works are innumerable. The following list is indicative and not exhaustive, because many are the works which have become unavailable due to the efflux of time and lack of care in preservation. And according to Sri Pillalokacharya, it is enough if we are able to master even one of these numerous works of Swami Desika, for us to be assured of liberation.

The legacy of Swami Desika live son, with two great spiritual institutions, Sri Parakala Mathamand Sri Ahobila Matham being founded by disciples of his lineage, apart from numerous other Acharyas of distinction forming branches of this distinguished tree of knowledge, all carrying on the torch of wisdom and blessing people with Samashrayanam and Saranagati, essential for emancipation. It would be appropriate to conclude with the following inspired tribute to Swami Desika by Dr. M. Narasimhachary:

He was uncompromising in so far as scholastic supremacy was concerned. He reigned terror in the hearts of his rival debaters. At the same time he was utterly unassuming and disarmingly simple. He was an ideal householder collecting his day-to-day “bhikṣā" (alms) by begging (called Uñchavṛtti) from a few houses, never keeping anything in store for the next day. History lacks in such instances of pious men whose lives are beautiful examples of the maxim of simple living and high thinking. The very name "Venkatanātha” evoked awe and admiration even in his worst critics. He was an ideal man, never given to greed and temptations of power or pelf, although he could command them at will. He spurned all temptations -- of maiden and money, position and prestige, fame and name. Indeed there have been many great Ācāryas in the post Rāmānuja period whose lives are also glorious instances of a beautiful blend of selflessness and spirituality. But none could equal Venkațanātha in the degree of intensity of love for God, sympathy for the weak and poor, concern for his disciples and in the superb sharpness of intellect and superhuman powers acquired by the Grace of Lord Hayagriva and His able assistants and associates like Garuda and Sudarśana.