Acharya Stuti

During one of the upanyasams delivered by asmadhAchAryan, Swami mentioned beautifully about the upakAram [help] rendered by the Divya Dampathi on us- as explained by Swamy Desikan in his upakAra sangraham.

Swami Desikan has brilliantly summarized all of the upakArams in the first Tamizh Paasuram of UpakAra Sangraham. His Holiness anchored his first focus theme on the individual subsections of this verse that
have very rich meanings:


anthamilA pErinbham arundha yERkkum
adiyOmai ARIVUDANE yenRum kaatthu
munthai vinai nirai vazhiyil ozhuhAthemmai
munnilayAm DESIKAR TAMM MUNNE SERTTHU
MANTHIRAMUM MANTHIRATTHIN VAZHIYUMK KATTI
vazhippadutthi VAAN YERRI ADIMAIK KOLLA
Tanthaiyena ninRa tanit ThirumAL ThALil
Talai vaitthOm SatakOpan aruLinAlE

This work of Swami Sri Desikan is understood as the VyAkhyAnam for the Sri Sookthi of NammAzhwAr revered as THIRUVIRUTTHAM and particularly its first paasuram (poy ninRa Jn~Amum --ViNNaPPamE ).

The revered AchAryA of Poundrikapuram Aasramam selected this paasuram of Swami Desikan and dwelt on the selected words in this paasuram and linked it to other powerful words from the other paasurams of
NammAzhwAr's ThiruvAimozhi{TVM }, (e-g)., " annAL nee tantha AAKKAYIN vazhi uzhalvEn " ( TVM: 3.2.1).

asmadhAchArya pointed out that the Divya Dampathis help us in every way. Mainly, there are 54 incomparable upkArams that are performed by them for us, SamsAris, with the view to join us to parama Padham
in the spirit of NammAzhwAr's TVM Vaakhyam:

" Vaikuntham puhuvathu maNNavar VidhiyE " .

He reminded us of Sage MaarkanDEyA's Vaakhyam in this context :lOkAnAm MaathA PithA cha MADHAVA:

The reference here was to " Tanthai yena ninRa Tanit ThirumAL ', section of the above verse to the sarva vidha Bhandhu , SarvEswaran, Sriya: Pathi Sriman Narayanan .

Before He joins us to Sri His Vaikuntam for nithya kaimkaryam, The Lord performs many upakArAms that is hard for us even to keep track off (NaaraNan maayayai aRibhavar yArO --TVM: 1.3.3,
AtthA nee seythana naan aRiyEnE! ).

His upakArams are giving us aakkai (sarIram ) to house the Jivan ; He bleesed the Jivan to be eternal ( nithyan ) in svarUpam and blesses
the Jivan with Dharma BhUtha JnAnam and makes it the Jivan's nithya guNam and protects thus the Jivan's svarUpam and SvabhAvam .This is the connection to the paasura pasage , " adiyOmai yenRum aRivudanE kaatthu " in the UpakAra sangraham .


Srimath Andavan went on to explain the other key passages in that
important paasuram of Swami Desikan .The meanings are :


anthamilAp pErinbham arundha yErkkum adiyOmai = for us , who
are fit to enjoy the limitless bliss of the great Moksha anubhavam

arivudanE yenRum kaatthu , munthai vinai nirai vazhiyil
ozhuhAthu emmai munnilayAm Desikar tamm munnE sErtthu =
blessing and protecting us with the eteranl dharma bhUtha Jn~Anam and also protecting us from drowning in the timeless flow of the river of karmAs and getting us to the safety of the bank by uniting us with SadAchAryAs for--

manthiramum manthiratthin vazhiyum kaatti vazhippaditthi =
(by uniting us with the sadaachAryAs )for upadesam of Your redeeming sacred manthram , the AshtAksharam and for learning about the inner meanings of that manthram (viz)., the middle section of the manthram (nama: sabdham ) denoting Prapatthi and the end luptha chathurthi vibhakthi standing in for Bhagaavdh Kaimkaryam . The greatness of this
acquisition of knowledge through upadesam has been celebrated may times by AzhwArs and AchAryAs :


iha sangrahatha: SrimAn GopthA sEshi samAdhika dharidhra:
SaraNam sarva sarIri prApya; sEvyasccha saadhubhirbhAvya :

-- Srimath Rahasya Thraya Saaram , Moola manthrAdhikAram (Meaning ): Briefly , the Moola manthram recognizes our Lord as Sriya: Pathi (Srimaan )through akAra sabdham and rakshakan ( protector with many upakArams ) , in luptha chathurthi as sEshi , and as one who has no equal or superior, in namas sabdham as upAyam ( prapatthi ) , in NaarAyaNa sabdham as sarvAntharyAmi and in the final chathurthi as the One to be worshipped by Saadhu Janams as PrApyan and Sevyan .

Srimath Andavan referred to the paasura vAkhyam , otthAr mikkAr illAdha maamaayaa! ! There is no one equal to You or greater than You ( samAdhika Dharidhra : in the above Rahasya Thraya SlOkam ).

The VedAntha Jn~Anam imparted to us by SadaachAryAs (Mantharitthin vazhiyum kaati ) is another of these MahOpakArams of the Lord since it leads to the ultimate bliss of ascent by archirAdhi maargam ( vaanERRi adimaik koLLa) and nithya kaimkaryam. That is the nall Vaazhvu
referred to by Thirumangai in his ThirunedumthANDakam (TNT ) paasuram passage :


anthaNar maattu anti vaittha MANTHIRATTHAI MANTHIRATTHAAL
maravaathu YENrUM VAAZHUTHIYeL VaZHALaM --TNT pasuram :4


(Meaning ): Oh my foolish mind ! If you enjoy the Thirumanthiram ,
the saaram of the Vedantham , which is the wealth of the Brahmins,
and if you reflect upon the meanings of that sacred manthiram,
you will surely attain sadhgathi ( nall Vaazhvu ).

Srimath Andavan continued with the explanation of the fourth paadham of the UpakAra Sangraha SlOkam :

Tanthai ena ninRa tanit ThirumAl ThALil thalai vaitthOm SatakOpan aruLAlE

The Lord stood as the Forever-caring Father , who performs great upakArams ( tanthai ena ninRavan ). He is a matchless EmperumAn with the mahimai of PaadhAravindham that ha s no comparison in its redemptive and anugraha qualities ( Tanit ThirumAl ThALil ) .

Next Srimath Andavan explained as to what happened at these sacred feet of the Lord as a result of the grace of NammAzhwar our Prapanna SanthAna Jana kUtasthar. The paasura Vaakhyam is : Tanit ThirumAl ThALiltalai VaitthOm SatakOpan aruLAlE . Through the Parama KrupA of NammAzhwAr , we got to Sri Vaikuntam and laid our feet at the sacred feet of Sriman NaarAyaNA as the ultimate step in Moksha Siddhi rsultign from SadAchArya Sambhandham and BhagavAn's paramOpakArams .

NammAzhwAr is the One , who showed us the way through his Prabhandhams. He used the purvOpakArams done by the Lord to anticipate the future upakArams to come and showed us the way . He was blessed with Bhakthi and Jn~Anam from the Lord of Nithya Sooris . His enjoyment of the Lord blossomed as the Four divya prabhandhams . Thiruviruttham was the first
of the Four prabhandhams .Here , he describes his varalARukaL (Virutthams )and thus this prabhandham came to be known as Thiruviruttham . In the very first paasuram ( Poy ninRa Jn~Amum-- ViNNappamE ), NammAzhwAr reflects on the purvOpakArams (or the upakArams done earlier through conferral of aathma Jn~Anam , Dharma BhUtha Jn~Anam )and sets that up as Infrastructure for the ensuing paasurams and prabhandhams containing his requests for other upakArams that culminate in Moksha Siddhi at the end of ThiruvAimozhi.

In this Thiruviruttha Paasuram , NammAzhwaar addresses the Lord as ImayOr talaivA ( sarva Seshi ) and himself as adiyEn ( sesah bhUthan ).
The sEsha-sEshi Sambhandham , Artha panchakam are covered here .
The connection of Artha panchakam with brahma SvarUpam is known as Shadatha nirUpaNam . That was what NammAzhwAr instructed .Swami Desikan wished to show us the paramount of this central message and created UpakAra Sangraham .

Srimath Andavan of PoundarIkapuram Aasramam selected this verse deftly as the first theme in his upanyAsam . We are indeed blessed.
[The above translation of His Holiness upanyasam was done by Sri Satakopan Swamy, USA- about four years ago- Thanks to him for granting permission to send in this series for our enjoyment]




The word Guru means one who removes ignorance (agnjAnam) of spiritual
knowledge. In Prapanna pArijAtham by SrI NadAdhoor AmmAL Guru is described very beautifully:

Please forgive me for my free translations (from tamil meanings)

A great Guru should be sought after by a person (disciple), immersed in
samsaaric afflictions; who is afraid of the transitory life; the sorrows due to internal and external factors (AdhyAthmikam- soul dependent; Adhiboudhikam- external world dependednt; and Adhideivikam- pertaining to Supreme Lord). That Guru will teach and initiate the disciple with the necessary manthrAs and impart jnAnam.

This Guru is the Supreme Highest; he is verily Brahman (Lord); He is the highest of highs; He is the highest desire; He is the Highest God Himself. Guru is the Ultimate wealth; Guru is the knowledge; Guru is our treasure; Guru himself is means; Guru is the end. He needs to be worshipped at all times, under all circumstances; His name shall always be uttered by the disciple at all times.


gururEva parambrahma gururEva param dhanam;
gururEva paraa vidyA gururEva parAyaNam;
gururEva para: kAma: gururEva parAgathi:
tasmAth sathupadEshTasou thasmAth guruthamO guru: (48 Chapyter 4- Guru
paddhathi)

Acharyan is the dispeller of all sins. He removes the darkness from our
minds and removes ignorance. He gives us new birth (vidya janmam); He is the Father and the manthram (which He initiates us with) is the Mother. This birth places us on the path which leads us to an end to all future births and deaths. He endows us with divine vision. He has infinite amount of compassion towards us. He always is interested in our welfare. On account of all of these, He is always to be worshipped as the Lord Himself. One should never harbour any feeling that he is doing a good return for what Acharya has done by paying few dollars. It is only as a token of our gratitude.

Swamy Desikan himself describes the greatest qualities of AchArya in nyAsavimsati
slOkA 1:

1.Sound philosophical jnAnam obtained (learnt) through the greatest lineage of his AchAryAs
2.Having an undisputed clear knowledge on sAsthrAs;
3.Free from any sins and attachments;
4.Complete knowledge of Vedas, its subsidiaries and ithihAsAs
5.Deep unshakable faith in Brahman (Almighty- unsurpassed unparalleled
Sriya: Pathi Sriman Narayanan)
6.possesses sAtvic guNA;
7.Always speaks truth
8.lives in accordance with the manner laid down in sAsthrAs;
9.free from jealousy, show etc..
10. having control over sense organs
11.friendly and affectionate towards all;
12.Compassionate towards all;
13.helps the disciples who err, correct them and make them follow right
track as laid down in sAsthrAs
14.wishes for everyone?s welfare at all times.


Our Greatest AchArya parampara as mentioned earlier starts with Sriman
Narayanan Himself.


The lineage is:
Sriman Narayanan.
Sri Mahalakshmi
Sri VishvaksEnar (sEnai nAthan- commander in chief)
Sri SaTakOpar (nammAzhwAr)
Sri nAthamuni
Sri puNdarIkAkshar (uyyakkoNdAr)
Sri rAmamisrar (maNakkAl nambhi)
Sri yAmunAchAryar (ALavandhAr)
Sri mahApUrNar (Periya nambhi)
Sri rAmAnujar (udayavar- EmperumAnAr- yathirAjar)


This AchArya paramparA also is nicely recited by Swamy desikan in the
following Tamil prabhandham.


ennuyir thandhaLitthavaraich charaNampukku
yAnadaivE avargurukkaL niraivaNangi
pinaruLAl perumpudhUr vandha vaLLal
periyanambhi ALavandhAr maNakkAl nambhi
nanneRiyai avarkku uraittha uyyakkoNdAr
nAthamuni saTakOpan sEnainAthan
innamudhatth thirumagaL enRu ivarai munnittu
emperumAn thiruvadigaL adaiginREnE.






Let us pay our obeisance to Acharya saarvabhouman Swamy Desikan on his Thirunakshathram today (5, Oct 2003) by dwelling on his ThirumEni azhagu (Beauty of His Divya mangaLa vigraham). (The tamil translation was released by sri C. Seshadri of Chennai under Project Popularsiation of Swamy Desika's works). Any credit in adiyEn's post is due to the original translation. All errors, mistakes are only mine. Please forgive me for the same.

Kumara Varadhacharyar (son of Swamy Desikan), who does not know any God except Swamy Desikan, composed 15 slokas describing the beauty of Swamy Desikan's ThirumEni and then prays for the Divya mangaLa vigraham of AchArya saarvabhouman to be in his heart at all times.

1. May my mind, as a bouquet of flowers, enchant my master Sri VenkatanAthan- Sarvathanthra swanthrar; and a parathanthrar for Srivaishnava Bhagawathas.

2. Oh mind! Always think and meditate on Sri Venkatesa, the benevolent acharya, the most beautiful One, who considers the lotus feet of AppuLLaar, Kidambi Kulapathi as God Himself.

3. The most beautiful form of Thooppul ThiruvEmkata Guru, whose colour is like the shining Sun- may it appear always in adiyEn's eyes crystal clear.

4. Swamy Desikan has the most blissful, great Lotus feet, which conquers even the freshly blossomed Lotus flowers. He dispels the darkness from the minds of those who meditate on him, with his shining moon ray-like nails.

5. On the broad beautiful forehead, which is like the ashtami chandran, (crescent moon, ever shining white Urdhva puNdram and there is white long beard on his face. He appears as if he is another mUrthi of NammAzhwAr Himself.

6. Swamy Desikan has the broad chest that shines due to rays coming from the long white beard, and the neck adorned with white upaveedham, garlands made of thuLasi and lotus beads.

7. Swamy Desikan has the most beautiful pair of ankles that win even manmathan's golden arrow bags. The knees are like strong humps of bull.

8. Swamy Desikan's thighs effortlessly conquer the banana trunks (which are proud of their beauty). He wears the spotless white cloth around his waist.

9. His navel is like the beautiful swirling water curl. He has broad chest. His long hands starting from those round strong shoulders touch the knees. His round neck hides those neck bones and shoulder bones.

10. His neck wins over the beautiful conch shell. He has unparalleled ears and ever smiling lips with affection, like the tender leaves of mango tree.

11. His milk white teeth are like the spotless row of pearls and his aquiline nose wins over the sesame seed flower. (eLLu poo naasi).

12. His lotus feet, ankles, knees, thighs, white cloth around the waist, the navel, strong broad chest, neck, the two long hands, beautiful soft cheeks, nose, the beautiful lotus bead garland and thuLasi garland around the neck- Oh mind! Think of AchArya saarvabhouman always in this charming form. (This
slokam describes the beauty from the lotus feet to Head)

13. May Sri Venkatanathan- adiyEn's acharyan- who wears the Sanghu, Chakra on His shoulders, and beautiful ThirumaN kaappu on his forehead, thuLasi and lotus bead garlands around his neck, the ever smiling face with cool glances of daya, shine in adiyEn's mind always.

14. Those who recite this sthOthra (or read the translation:-) composed by Varadacharya, will be blessed with mOkshAnandham here itself.