Swamy Ramanuja out of deep devotion to LORD VENKATESHWARA instructed his disciple Anathazhwan to proceed to Tirumala and do service to Lord few hundred years ago .
Anathazhwan immediately proceeded to Tirumala with family.
Swamy grew a flower garden which would provide Tulasi and all the fragnant flowers for the daily worship of Lord .
Coming to know about the dedicated service being executed by his dear disciple Anathazhwan Swamy Ramanuja undertook his first trip to Tirumala via Kancheepuram along with his disciples .
Looking at the holy hills Swamy immediately falls like an uprooted tree offering obeisances .
Swamy Ramanuja calls his disciples and gives a discourse about the sanctity of the Hills referring several pasurams which our Azhwars have sung on Lord and the Hills .
Watching the gigantic hills , glorifying the animate and inanimate beings who are serving the Lord Swamy goes in a divine trance .
Coming to know Swamy Ramanujas vist to Tirumala , the local king Vittala Deva rushes to have Swamy’s darshan .
He offers obeisance’s and orders his troupe to take care of the saint and his disciples with royal treatment .
A colony named IlayaMandapam is instantaneously constructed . Around thirty families reside in the colony . Swamy also stay along with them for few days given sermons and gracing the villagers coming from far off places
.
Coming to know about Swamy Ramanuja s visit , Tirumala Nambi rushes to the village for welcoming Swamy Ramanuja .
.Both the Acharyas are overjoyed to be in the holiest place . Tirmala Nambi requests Swamy to join him for the afternoon prayers at the Hills and leaves quickly up the Hills
.
All the disciples request Swamy Ramanuja to lead them to the hills for having Lord’s darshan . Swamy refuses to trek the hills owing to its sanctity .
Swamy informs about all the Azhwars who had remained at the foot of the hills glorifying the Lord and they never attempted to trek the hills hence trekking the Hills amounts to overstepping their commands
.
All the disciples plead Swamy to reconsider his decision as so many disciples will be sad to return without having the divya darshan of Lord .
Swamy Ramanuja considering the disciples plea decides to trek the hills crawling thus not putting his feet on the sacred Hills .
It was those days when the route was very tough even to trek .
Crawling , Swamy reaches the steep Knee breaker Hills .
He pauses to take rest on the step of `knee-breaker’ hill (`mokalla mitta’).
Tirumala Nambi and Ananthazhwar, rush to receive him with the Lord’s prasada — holy tirta and fruits.
Swamy is glad to see them .
He honors the prasad offering the same to many of his disciples .
He takes one Mango fruit and buries the seeds there. In course of time, a big mango tree grew out of these seeds.
On reaching the abode of Lord Venkatesa, Swamy Ramanuja is received with temple honours.
Swamy offers obeisance’s and feasts his eyes on the majestic form of the Lord.
Later he walks along with his disciples to see the verdant ( garden) nandavana, established by Anantazhwar, with a beautiful tank.
He affectionately embraces his dear disciple, and announces “Valarthadhanal Payan Petren” (I have obtained the fruits of bringing you up).
Swamy Ramanuja decides to remain for few days to deliver discourses on the Upanishads.
The discourses were soon compiled in the form of a book, “Vedanta Sangraha”, Swamy Ramanuja’s first work on the Vedanta.
Swamy Ramanuja stayed almost for a year in Tirupati, to study the essence of Valmiki’s Ramayana under the guidance of revered Acharya Tirumalai Nambi.
Since he thought it was a sacrilege to live on the holy hill, which he revered as the body of Adisesha, and Tirumalai Nambi could not miss his service and worship of Venkateswara even for a day, they met at the foot of the hills everyday to study the epic..
Lord Venkatesa, did not want to miss the company of His ardent devotees, and joined them.
The imprint of his lotus feet ( Tiruvadi ) can be seen at the foothills where they studied the Srimad Ramayana…
It was Swamy Manavalamamuni who identified the spot where Swamy Ramanuja had rested, and wished to build a temple there.
Kandadai Ramanuja Iyengar (Muni), a trusted lieutenant of Mamunigal, built a temple there and consecrated a beautiful archa deity (moolavar) of Swamy Ramanuja and arranged for regular aaradhanai .
Manavalamamunigal had lovingly referred to this archa form as
“Mambazha Emperumanar”.
Adiyen Ramanuja dasan
Pics : Courtesy Google images
video credits : Sri Sudarshan swamin