Selfless service to the Lord

MILLIONS OF devotees throng the Tirumala Hills practically round the clock throughout the year. As the rush of pilgrims increases day by day, the Tirumala Tirupathi Devasthanams is hard put to finding ways and means of accommodating them and arranging darshan without a long wait. As they move towards the sanctum sanctorum of Lord Venkateswara, how many will remember that there was a time, just a thousand years back, when the Hills were deserted with not much of human habitation in sight? Ask any Srivaishnavite to name the man of the millennium. Pat will come the reply, Saint Ramanuja.

Ramanuja (1017-1137 A.D.) had visited the Hills thrice. His maternal uncle, Peria Nambi, gave him discourses on the Ramayana for several months at the Hills. The temple and the surroundings were in a bad shape and worship was not organised regularly. Ramanuja was inspired by the holy hymns of the Alwars who sang the glory of the Lord of the Seven Hills. He called an assembly of the Acharyas, 74 in number, and asked them whether any one of them was willing to serve the Lord on the Hills on a day-to-day basis. Most of them hesitated, fearing the hard life up the Hills, what with tigers, malaria and the forests. However, there was one man who was willing. He was Anantharya, a devotee. He rose to his feet and said, ``Beloved Acharya. Bestow the blessing of serving the Lord of the Seven Hills on this humble self. With your grace, I will be happy to undertake this service.''

Anantharya chose to settle down on the Hills to fulfil the command of his guru. He went on to lay the garden of flowers, dug up the lake and named it after Ramanuja. Anantharya was so obsessed with zealous personal service to the Lord that on one occasion, he hit a young man who was trying to help his wife in laying the garden. Anantharya was chasing him when the young man disappeared into the temple. The priests found blood oozing from the chin of the Lord as Anantharya entered the sanctum sanctorum. He applied camphor on the chin and prayed for forgiveness. The crowbar with which he hit the young man, can be seen even today at the entrance of the temple. The camphor is distributed as prasad.

Anantharya was born in Siruputtur near Mysore and drawn towards Ramanuja. During the second visit up the Hills, Saint Ramanuja went round the garden laid down by Ananthasuri and was delighted to find the garden thick with vakula, patala, punnaga, shenbaga and other flower-bearing fragrant trees, the bunches of flowers hanging from the branches, entertaining the ears of pilgrims with music from the bees and all kinds of plumaged birds. Saint Ramanuja remembered how on the first occasion he had given the call to Ananthasuri at the time of discourse on Nammalwar's hymns referring to the Lord as residing in flower bedecked Venkata Hills (Sindhupoo maghizhum Thiruvengadam). He called Anantharya and declared in the august presence of Peria Nambigal, ``O Anantharya! Having nursed Thee, I now reap the fruit.''

Ananthasuri was some sort of a chronicler. His `Venkatchala Ithihasamala' is to Tirupati what `Koil Olugu' is to Srirangam. The Holy triumvirate of Saint Ramanuja, Anantharya and Peria Nambigal at a conference during the third visit of Ramanuja, set up the Pedda Jeeyangar Mutt to regulate the Vaikansa agama form of worship. The Saint began his Sri Bashya with an invocation to the Lord as Brahmani Srinivasa. There was a Sanskrit rendering of Nammalwar's famous hymn addressing the Lord as ``Alarmelmangai Urai Marba.''

Epigraphs TT 171, 173 and 175 on the Tirumalai Hills show Ananthalwan's dedication to Saint Ramanuja. His word was gospel to him. Whatever was dear to Ramanuja was dear to Ananthalwan. He prayed to Ramanuja to bless him with the noble spirit to imbibe the teachings of Nammalwar.

His devotion to Andal was so great that on one occasion, he was seen diving deep into the Srivilliputtur temple tank in search of the remnants of holy turmeric, if any, used by Andal. He composed the Ramanuja Chautsloki describing how Srirangam, the Thirumalai Hills, Kanchi and Melkote were dear to Ramanuja.

His `Gotha Chatusloki' is a work of great art, rich in lines whose depth of thought, warmth of feeling, glow of imagery and grace of phrases will ring for centuries to come in every land where the glory of Andal is cherished.

Ananthalwan's final gift to the pilgrims visiting the Hills was the shrine of Ramanuja. The image was presented to Ananthalwan by Saint Ramanuja himself on request and was consecrated after the Saint left his mortal coil. Consecration may have been later in time but the image itself is more ancient than those in Sriperumbudur, Srirangam and Thirunarayanapuram.

Ananthalwan joined the Lord on the sacred Thiru Adi Pooram day. Even today, Lord Venkateswara visits the garden and bestows honours on the Magizha Tree.

The satari at the main sanctum sanctorum is known as Sadagopa in remembrance of Nammalwar. The one in the Ramanuja shrine is known as Ananthalwan.

An English biography of Ananthalwan is being released shortly on the Hills at the Ananthalwan Garden.

T.C.A. RAMANUJAM

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