Sri Ramanujar Quiz Q&A 08-Mar-2015 What are the compositions of Sri RAMANUJAR ? Give brief account of it Vedartha sangraham, Sri Bashyam, Gita Bashyam, Vedanta deepam, Vedanta saaram, Sharanagathi gadyam, Sriranga gadyam, Sri vaikunta gadyam, Nithya Grantham Sri Bashyam is The interpretation of Brahmasutram as per vishishtadvaita Geetha Bashyam is the interpretation of Bhagavad Gita Gadhyatrayam namely Sriranga Gadhyam, Saranagathi Gadhyam and Vaikunta Gadhyam talk about the importance of Saranagathi as per vishishtadvaita Vedartha sangraham mirrors a total vision of the Upanishads, discussing all the controversial texts in a relevant, coherent manner. It is in fact an independent exposition of the philosophy of the Upanishads. Vedanta Deepam and Vedanta Saaram talks about the vedas and how they are linked to our sampeadaayam Nithya Grantham or Bhagavdh AarAdhana PrayOgA : Following the instructions given by GeethAchAryA in the twelfth chapter of GitA , AchArya RaamAnuja insists on the need for a VishNu BhakthA to engage in the religious observances enjoined in the VedAs , Smrithis and PurANAs Under what circumstances Gadyatrayam was composed? What is the speciality in it? The Lord (naMperumAL) is standing majestically as usual and more beautiful and graceful today due to the gorgeous looking pirAtti is enjoying the beauty of Her Lord without taking Her eyes off Him even for a second (She does not even sit facing us; She has turned her posture by 90 Degrees and is facing the LORD fully;) That should definitely make our pithA feel PROUD and HAPPY and one can actually the beaming face of the Lord depicting His happiness in His eyes and His mandhahAsam; And this is the right opportunity (anyone who has got their report cards signed when the father is in joyous mood and is with the mother, who is also happy being with the father will agree with me) for a person to ask for favors from our PARENTS. Our yatirAjar makes no mistakes; He has struck when the iron is hot. He has taken the pirAtti first in his side (knowing fully well that pirAtti is only listening; but not looking at him;) by praising Her attributes of mercy, dayA,vAtsalyam and Her being together with the Lord always at all times under all circumstances (nityAnapAyinee) and pleads to the pirAtti for recommending to the Lord. There goes the Gadhya trayam composition (saraNagathi Gadhyam, Sriranga Gadyam and Vaikunda Gadhyam composed in prose forms) by sri rAmAnujar, the beauty of which must have already been known to BhagavatAs. These gadhyams are in fact only to guide us who are caught in samsaaric troubles and are in deep waters. There is no other sign of escape for us; except for such excellent compositions of seers. These compositions of yatirAjA had been immediately appreciated by Divya dampatis Themselves and their assurances to protect and save him (and his devotees as well) at all times and to take yatirAjA to Their Lotus feet at the end to perform ceaseless kainkaryam Gadhyathrayam was composed by Ramanujar during Panguni Uttiram at the time of Serthi purappadu Who are the acharyas of Swami Ramanujar? Periya Nambi, Thirukoshtiyur Nambi, Thirumaalai Andaan, Thiruvaranga Perumal Arayar, Thirumalai Nambi
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Sri Ramanujar Quiz Q&A What are the other names of Swami Ramanujar? Who conferred the same? Ilayazhwar, Ramanujar and Bharathapureesar - by Periya Nambi Ethiraajar - by Kachi Perarulaalan Udaiyavar - by Thiruvarangan Desikendran - by Thirumalai Venkadavan Sri Bashyakaarar - by Sarada peeta Saraswathi Thiruppavai Jeeyar - by Periya Nambi Emperumaanar - by Thirukoshtiyur Nambi Nam Koyilannan - by Aandaal Sadagopan Ponnadi - by Thirumalai Aandaan Lakshmanamuni - by Thiruvaranga Perumal Arayar Name the archa thirumeni of Sri Ramanujar & where it can be found? Than Uganda Thirumeni – Sriperumbudur Thamar Uganda Thirumeni – Thirunarayanapuram (Melkote) Thaanana Thirumeni – Srirangam Give briefly the birth details of Sri Ramanujar He was born to Aasuri Kesavar and Gandhimadhi ammayar in 1017 pingala varusham, On Chithirai month Thiruvadhirai Natchathiram He was born after his parents had prayed in Triplicane Parthasarathy temple Who was Kanthimathi? or whom she is related to? What special about him? Kanthimathi is the sister of Periya Thirumalai Nambi He is the foremost disciple of Aalavandhar. 1 as per Aalavandar's orders he preached Ramayanam to Ramanujar 2 He got back Ramanuja's cousin Govinda Bhattar Also known as Embar into the Srivaishnava sidhantam Who are other acharya who wrote commentary for Brahmasutra? What is there philosophy is called? The different Acharyas (founders of different schools of thought) have given their own interpretations of the Sutras to establish their own doctrines. The Bhashya of Sri Sankara on Brahma Sutras is known as Sariraka Bhashya. His school of thought is Kevala Advaita. The Bhashya of Sri Ramanuja who founded the Visishtadvaita School is called Sri Bhashya. The commentary of Sri Nimbarkacharya is known as Vedantaparijata-saurabha. Sri Vallabhacharya expounded his system of philosophy of Suddhadvaita (pure monism) and his commentary on the Brahma Sutras is known as Anu Bhashya Generally 3 Sankara Bashyam Madhva Bhashyam & Sri Bashyam are the commentaries are considered Commentaries are based on the following philosophy Sankarar- Advaitam Madhvar-Dvaitham Ramanujar- Vishishtadwaitham 09-Mar-2015 What is the given name of the cousin of Sri Ramanujar? How is he related ? Govindhan. He's the son of Sridevi@Deepthimathi, who is sister of sri ramanuja's mother ganthimathi
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Sri Ramanujar Quiz Q&A Who is Yadhava Prakasar?give details of his previous birth Yadhava Prakasar is the 1st guru of sri ramanuja. he was a follower of advaitha (non-idol worship). He was a lizard in his previous birth, and when he ate the remains of Bhagavathas Prasadams, in his next birth, he was born as yadhava prakasa (andhanar) Our acharyas wrote slokams in praise of Sri Ramanujar? Name the acharyas & slokams & the number Yathiraja sapthathi, 74 Slokams – Swami Desikan Yathiraja Vimsathi, 20 Slokams – Manavaala Maamunigal There are 3 thirumeni of Ramanujar in Sriperumbuthur, Srirangam & Thirunarayanapuram. What do they signify He was leaving the Thirunarayanpuram o be back in Srirangam , Then all the Disciples also wanted to accompany him , then He told that he will be always be there in the midst of them and they should not leave along with him. Then He a Statue of him made and then he hugged the Idol and transferred all his power to that Idol. Even today it is there and It is known as THAMARUGUNDA THIRUMENI. Then he went to Srirangam after touring some of the Divya Kshetram. People of Sriperumpudur his Avathara Sthalam wanted to make an idol and install it in the temple. Then on a auspicious day they were installing the idol and doing Prana Prathistai to the idol , Here in Srirangam Ramanuja was giving discourse to his disciples, then suddenly he Ramanuja maintained stone like Silence, more or less he was looking like statue. Then after some time he became normal and then his Shishya's asked what happened , for that he replied that Just few minutes back in Sriperumpudur they have installed his Idol and they did Prana Prathistai and they were conducting eye opening ceremony for the Idol hence he went there. The Thirumeni at Sriperumpudur is known as THAN UGANDA THIRUMENI. Then it is time for Udayavar to leave this World and he informed his disciples , they all cried , then he told dear children why are you behaving like Aggyanis, I cannot live without you all ,but time has come , I should leave the world, for that disciples requested Acharya Sarva Bhouma to live with him for some more days. Then Udayavar told he will live with them for three more days. Disciples were not satisfied , so Yathirajar told to get an Idol made , then after duly sanctifying the statue he transferred all his power into that moorthy then With his head on the lap of Embar and his feet on the lap of Vaduga Nambi, Ramanuja breathed his last in 1137 AD listening to the recitation of the Divya Prabhandam and looking at the Sri Padukas of Yamunai Thuraivan. It was Saturday, Maga Month Sukla Paksha Dasami Thi-Thi. This Idol is known as THAANA THIRUMENI His physical body is preserved even today in a sitting posture in the Sannidhi (Sanctum Sanctorum) dedicated to him on the southwest corner on the fifth round opposite to Sudharshana Alwar Sannidhi, within the Srirangam temple Complex as ordered by Lord Ranganatha himself. The whole world is wonder struck at the feat of preservation of the mummies of Egypt and the body of St. .Xavier in GAO in India and make so much fuss about them. Many SrIvaishNavaas are not aware that here in Srirangam. their holiest place hailed as ' Bhooloka Vaikuntam' ( Heaven on Earth) lies preserved body of Sri Ramanuja .There is no Thirumanjanam for this Idol. Yearly twice it is Thirumanjanam of Pachai Kalpuram and Kumkuma Poo (Saffron),
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Sri Ramanujar Quiz Q&A What was the point of contention between Y Praskasar & Ramanujar? Give the sentence & the interpretations of both Yadava Prakasa preached the theory of nondualism, and stressed the illusion of all form, including the form of Sri Visnu. As Sri Ramanuja’s devotion to Visnu blossomed, his disgust with this philosophy grew. Still, out of respect for his teacher he avoided conflict. Soon, however, the day arrived when he could no longer tolerate the impersonalism of Yadava Prakasa. One day Sri Ramanuja was massaging his guru’s back as Yadava Prakasa explained a verse from the Candogya Upanishad. The verse was “Tasya yatha kapyaasam pundareekam evam akshinee”. Following the interpretation of Sankaracarya, Yadava Prakasa explained that kapy means “monkey” and asanam means “ass.” Sri Ramanuja was enraged at this blasphemy, and the hot tears flowed which from his eyes in anguish fell upon his guru’s back. Yadava Prakasa could understand that his disciple was disturbed, and inquired as to what the problem was. When Sri Ramanuja took issue with his guru’s interpretation, Yadava Prakasa was astonished. He demanded Sri Ramanuja’s interpretation. Sri Ramanuja explained that kapyasam means, “that which sits upon the water and flourishes by drinking,”? in other words, a lotus. So the meaning of the verse is that the lotus eyes of Vishnu are as beautiful as the red lotus which blossoms in the water.” Why did YP (Yadhava Prakasar) hate Ramanujar? What was his plan? During the early years, Srimath Ramanujar stayed in Tirupputkuzhi (near Kanchipuram) and learned Vedantham and its meanings from his guru named "Sri Yadhava Prakasar". There were some conflicts between Sri Ramanujar and Yadhava Prakasar in terms of his teachings and the meanings in which it was explained. Sri Ramanujar explained the actual meaning of those but his Guru could not accept it. Because of this, there started the conflict between the Guru - Yadhava Prakasar and Sri Ramanujar. Because of this, Yadhava Prakasar planned thought of (killing Sri Ramanujar) taking Sri Ramanujar along with him to Kasi and kill him by pushing him into Ganga River. Govinda Bhattar, who was along with Sri Ramanujar, came to know about this plan and he told this to Ramanujar. Thereby he made Ramanujar to escape away from being killed. Govindan is none but our Great Embar. Embar Swamy is one among for us to get the great Emperumanar - Srimath Ramanujar. Y P thought that Ramanuja was a threat to advaitism How did Ram ( Ramanujar) escaped from the forest? Who helped him out- Narrate the incident Yadavaprakasha arranged for Ramanuja to join him on a pilgrimage to Varanasi with several other students and his cousin, Govina Bhatta. As the trip progressed, Bhatta learned of the plot and told his cousin, helping him to escape. Ramanuja wandered lost in the forest and was soon found by a hunter and his wife who helped him find his way out. During this time he was said to have had a vision of the God Vishnu and his wife Laksmi. Ramanuja believed the hunter and his wife to be the incarnations of Vishnu and Laksmi and immediately began a daily worship ritual at the place where he first beheld them. After Ramanuja escaped into the forest, he ran for a long distance and sat below a tree to take some rest. He was so tired that he fell asleep immediately. After some time when he woke up he found the sun setting in the west. He thanked Lord Varadarja Perumal of kancheepuram for saving his life. At the same time, he saw a fowler couple(bird hunters couple) coming near him. They asked Ramanuja if he had lost his way. Ramanuja said yes and told that he wanted to go to Kancheepuram. The fowler couple told that they were going to Rameswaram via Kancheepuram and they will take Ramanuja there. The couple also thanked God for giving a good companion in Ramanuja for them. Though Ramanuja was a little afraid of seeing them, their affection towards him made Ramanuja think good about the couple. Then Ramanuja agreed to go along with them to kancheepuram. Next day morning, the wife of fowler couple wanted to have water. So Ramanuja went to a nearby well and brought her some water. Even after bringing water for nearly three or four times she still wanted to have more water. Page 4 of 5
Sri Ramanujar Quiz Q&A Ramanuja was surprised but without any hesitation he again went to the well and brought some more water. As soon as he came up, he was surprised to see the couple were missing. He looked around and started seeing the big tower of the temple and lot of people walking by. When he asked one of the passerby what was the place he was told that it was Kancheepuram. Immediately he realized the drama played by SrimaN Narayana and Lakshmi to bring him safely to Kancheepuram and thanked them for their blessings What was the name given by YP to Govinda? How & why? uLLangai koNarndha naayanaar. in kasi, govindha found a siva lingam in ganga. on their way back to kanchi, he wished to settle in kalahasthi and started following saivism. so, yp gave him this name Alawandar is concerned about Ram Why? what did he do for that? Alawandar was worried because Ram was with the company of YP Alawandar composed Slokam on Devaperumal 'Yasya Prasada Kalaayaa' & requested Kanchi Perumal to draw Ram to his fold & to give Ramanuja the power to establish Srivaishnava siddahntham. He did not speak a word to Ram as he was getting late for Kalakshepam How did YP got humiliated before the ghost? Narrate the incident King of Kancipuram called for Yadava Prakasa. His daughter was possessed by a brahma-raksasa, a brahmana ghost. Yadava Prakasa was called as an exorcist, and when he arrived with his disciples, he was brought before the king’s daughter and asked to relieve her of the influence of the ghost. Speaking through the girl’s mouth, the ghost insulted Yadava Praksas and laughed at him. Sri Ramanuja was asked to try, and when he came before the girl, the brahmana ghost said, “If Sri Ramanuja blesses me with the dust of his lotus feet, I shall leave this girl.” Sri Ramanuja did so upon which the girl was cured, and the king was deeply indebted to him. 11-Mar-2015 What did Ram tell / plead to TKN when he refused to accept him as shishya? Ramanujar pleads with TKN as follows: You are the one educated. We are here to serve Sriman Narayana who is the only God as per the conclusion of Sasthras. If a person is educated and is not worshipping God, what is the use of it? The education which is not creating Bhakthi & service towards God is useless. But you are the one who does according to the sasthras & realizes the God. Those who boast of well-educated are just like an animal who carry the books Therefore you are the one who really can be an acharya for me. Please accept me & prostrate before TKN Who is Chellapillai? what is the speciality. ? On the way to Mysore in Tulasi Ghat he found statue of perumal, buried in the ground. He kept the Moolavar in Thirunarayanapuram. When he heard that during the Muslim invasion the utsavar was taken away by Delhi king. He went to Delhi and asked the ruler to return the utsavar. The King said his daughter Bibi was playing with it. If Ramanuja calls it and it comes he can take it. On seeing the statue Ramanuja calls EN CHELLAPILLAIYE VAARUM. The statue with its anklets ringing comes to him. The king's daughter couldn't bear separation from the utsavar. What is Thiridandam? explain 1.Asithu (jadaporul) 2.Sithu (ஞானம்) 3.Eswaran (பகவான்)
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