+प्रजाः

यामुनाचार्यः

(श्री आळवन्दार्)-शिखामणि of शठमर्षणगोत्र of केवलाङ्गिरसगण from श्रीरङ्गम्, नाथमुनि’s grandson; inspired रामानुज’s धार्मिक career with 3 last wishes; authored गीतार्थसंग्रह & सिद्धित्रय, wrote आगमप्रामाण्य to defend प्रामाण्य (authoritativeness) of पाञ्चरात्रागमः

Source: TW ।

यामुनो नाथमुनि-वृद्धावस्थायां जातः, तेनैव नाम दत्तम्।
महाभाष्यभट्टशिष्यः।
राजपुरोहितकरतिरस्काराय +अक्कि-आऴ्वान्-नामकं राजसभायां जितवान्। राज्यार्धम् अजयत्।
नाथमुनिना पुण्डरीकाक्षः, तेन राममिश्रश् च तद्-उपदेशे प्रेरितः।

मारनेरि-नम्बि-कथा

yAmuna’s students included a non-brahmin (likely shudra) called mAraneri-nambi. He used to attend vedAnta classes as yAmuna said “vedAnta is for all” (But his caste fellows excommunicated him!) Once students collected funds to renovate the pAThashAlA. After completion, mAranerinambi was shown the new structure. Next day was gRhapravesha.

  • yAmuna asked - “Where is mAranerinambi?”
  • brAhmaNa students said: “He’s not here because he’s not a brAhmaNa. He’s already seen yesterday - he will come soon as the classes start in the coming days”.
  • yAmuna said - “So gRhapravesha has already happened yesterday.”

Source: TW

periya-tirumalai-nambi

Aka Srisailanatha, shrIshailapUrNa. Not to be confused with periya-nambi / mahApUrNa.

grandson and disciple of Sri Alavandar and maternal uncle of the great Vaishnavite teacher Ramanuja was staying at Tirupati (Tirumalai) and doing Kainkaryam to the Lord of the Seven Hills side by side with his teachings of Vaishnavism. He was also one of the Acharyas of Sri Ramanuja, his nephew. It is said that Lord Srinivasa was very much pleased with him for the paternal care he was taking of Him and on one occasion the God is said to have addressed him “ mama-tata ” (my father) and ever since then Peria Tirumalai Nambikal came to be recognised by the name Tatacharya, a title which his descendants also began to assume. …
Sri Periya Tirumalai Nambikal who was said to have attained to great glory by his mastery in Srimad Ramayana. Sri Ramanuja, his nephew had to make, it is said, eighteen trips to Tirupati to get himself initiated in this sacred treatise*, under him.

Yatirajavaibhava 1
Varada-tAtAchArya book

Tirukkurukai Piran Pillan

(11th century, AD) was the son of Sri Tirumalai Nambikal. Sri Ramanuja was the sister’s son of Sri Nambikal (Srisailapuma). Sri Pillan’s keen perception, deep knowledge in the scriptures and devotion to Sri Ramanuja endeared him very much to the latter. He was chosen by Sri Ramanuja as the fit and competent person to translate the Tiruvaimozhi, since he had both the capacity and heredity to undertake the task, as a descendant of Sriman Natamunikal. The annotation of Tiruvaimozhi thus brought out by Sri Pillan under the behests of his Acharya is called the famous Aaraayirappadi, the first gloss in Manipravala, an elegant mixture of Sanskrit and Tamil expressions of the Divya Prabandas. Further he was made the first and foremost among the seventy-four Simhasanatipatis created by Sri Ramanuja for propagating the Visishtadvaita philosophy after him, and was also announced by him during his last days that he (Pillan) was his Gjnana Putra and successor.

Tirumalai Srinivasacharya

He was one of the most trusted disciples of Sri Vedanta Desika (13th and 14th Centuries AD). Tradition has it, that Sri Vedanta Desika who was attending to the worship of Lord Varadaraja, later entrusted the responsibility to Sri Srinivasacharya, whom be considered as the best choice for this service. Thus the Srikaryam of the Temple devolved upon him and, later on his descendants.

Misc vijayanagara perceptors

  • In Saka 1387 (1465 A.D.), according to an inscription* during the reign of the Vijayanagar King, Virapratapa Devaraya Maharaja of the Sangama dynasty, one Kumara Tata Aiyangar of Satamarshana gotra, is said to have contributed 400 panams for offerings to Perarulalapperumal, “who was pleased to take his stand at Tiruvattiyur” 8 .
  • Ettur Singaracharaya and his brother Rangacharaya enjoyed royal patronage under Virupaksha 2. They were very proficient in the exposition of the Ramayana.
  • Venkata Tatacharya the elder brother of Panchamata-banjanam Tatadesika, was perceptor of kRShNadevarAya. “Venkata Tatarya (of Sathamarshna gotra - Apasthamba Sutra - Yajus Sakha, son of Ahobilacharya son of Srirangadesika) on whom Krishnaraya conferred some privileges in 1522 A.D.”

Venkata Tatarya whom as already narrated above, Krishna Devaraya, the great, invested with uncommon religious powers in A.D. 1523, w’as entitled to receive the first THIRTHA and PRASADHA in all the great Vishnu Temples in Vijayanagra Ghanadri and all the 77 durgas, gutti durga, etc. in all the cities to the east and west of Vijayanagara as far as the sea; in all the durgas to the north and south as far as Madura and all the holy places such as Kanchi, Trisaila and Khadri excepting Srirangam, Ahobila and Ghatikagiri, privileged to get the first honours in the assemblies of the Sri Vaishnavas and authorised to make enquiries into the conduct of all castes owing allegiance to Ramanuja and to punish the delinquents in regard to religious and social matters

  • Salatore

Panchamata Bhanjanam Tatadesika

Panchamata Bhanjanam Tatadesika 1509-1591 A.D: One of the luminaries of the renowned Vaishnavite Acharyas in the line of Sriman Natamunikal was Sri Panchamatabanjanam Tatade¬ sika, son of Kandanur Srinivasachariya who flourished at Kanchi in the sixteenth century, A.D. Born in the Tamil Year Vibava, Masi month and Swati star, corresponding to Kali 4610, he was named “Tatadesika” by his parents, after Sri Peria Tirumalai Nambikal, their illustrious ancestor and uncle of Sri Bashyakar, whose birth star also happens to be “Swathi”. He had his education in the Vedas and the Sastras under his father and subsequently he was initiated in the Sri Bashya and other philosophical works, by his maternal uncle, Shashta Parankusa Swarai, the sixth pontiff of the Ahobila Math. He attended to the ‘Srikaryam’ service also under the behests of his uncle, it is said.

Pancha-mata-bhanjanam Tata Desikan was a local maximum of their time defeating the top scholars of 5 different schools.

He was a great scholar and a spiritual preceptor to the Vijayanagara rulers, Sadasiva, Ramaraya, Tirumala, Sri Ranga and Venkata. Sri Doddayachar otherwise known as Mahacharya another Vaishnavite scholar and devotee was his contemporary as also the famous Saivite scholar Appayya Dikshita. This Mahacharaya, finding the enormous influence Sri Tatacharya wielded over the Vijayanagar rulers sought his help to restore and establish the worship of Sri Govindaraja at Chidambaram, when there was some trouble over it caused by the Saivites. Sri Tatacharya accordingly, helped in fulfilling the same **. The works “Panchamathabhanjam” and “Chandamarutham” 14/4 were produced by Sri Tatacharya and Sri Doddayacharya respectively as a counter to the Advaitic philosophy expounded in those days by Saivite scholars like Appayya Dikshitar.

Regarding Sri Panchamatabanjam Tatacharya, Dr. B, A. Saletore says,

“.an equally great name among the Rajagurus was that of the celebrated Tatacharya, the family guru of Ramaraya. Born in the Srisaila Vamsa of the famous Srisailanatha, also known as Peria Tirumalainambi, the maternal uncle of Ramanuja, Tatacharya, the son of Srinivasa Guru, learned in all Sastras, was the Acha’rya of Rama Raja. He accompanied the Emperor to Chandragiri”

Ramaraya was completely under the influence of Sri Tata¬ charya, the Rajaguru. During his times and during the times of the inheritors of the fragment of the empire after the battle of Talikota, mass conversions took place engineered by the Rajaguru under State patronage. Sri Appayya Dikshita in his “ nigrahashtakam ” says that the leader of the Vaishnavas had taken a resolute vow to stamp out Saivism from the land. … After 1585 when Venkatapathi was re-establishing the glory of Vijayanagar and the younger Tatacharya was the Rajaguru, Sri Dikshita was invited to the court and was held in great honour

लक्ष्मीकुमार-तातारार्यः

ettUr lakshmIkumAra tAtAchArya, son of paramatabhanjana-tAta-deshika by adoption. Sri Lakshmi Kumara’s natural father and younger brother of Panchamatabanjana, was Tirumalirumcholai Aiyangar of Kumbakonam. Sri Lakshmi- kumara Tatacharya was born at Kumbakonam in 1572 A. D., and lived upto 1632 A. D.

  • Raja guru of King Venkata I of Vijayanagara,
    • He officiated at the Pattabisheka ceremony of Veera Venkatapati Deva Maharaya at a very young age of fourteen or fifteen when his father was alive and very old. Evidently because of his old age (nearing eighty) he had the coronation done through his young adopted son “ Aparyaptamrta ”.
  • established numerous Anna Chatrams,
  • sponsored the marriage expenses of thousands of poor couples, earned the title kotikanyadanam,veda-marga-pratisthapanacharya & Ubhayavedanta-sthapanacharya;
  • author of works of high philosophy like the Sattvika Brahma Vidya Vilasa & bhakti poems like the Panduranga Mahatmya to Vittala of Pandharpur,
  • He is also one of the Acharyas in the Guru-Parampara of Srimad Andavan Ashramam. Andavan Ashramam guru parampara is defined by kalakshepa of the so-called “rahasyas” (which also is roughly corresponds to the performance of prapatti), whereas most other guru paramparas are defined by pancha-samskara. (The sannyasi guru parampara is only for the past 250 years for the Munitraya school.. The acharyas before were mostly grihastas.).
  • set up schools for scholars
  • very ably managed temple funds.

Thus we find the major constructions and improvements that took place during the sixteenth century viz., the gopuras, prakaras, mantapas, likff’Abhisheka mantapa, Hundred pillard Mantapa containing beautiful pieces of architecture, Vimanas, etc. were all started, managed and completed by the Tata- charyas who had the full support, backing and patronage of the Vijayanagar Kings from Krisnadevaraya down to Venkatapati Deva Maharaya (Venkata I) and Venkata II.

Later royal perceptors

  • A scion of the agnates of Lakshmikumara Tatacharya, known as Kumara Tatadesikan became the preceptor of the Naiks of Thanjavur; he was made the Vaidika-vicharini karta for all the temples in Cholamandala.
  • Sri Venkata Varada Tatarya, the second son of Lakshmikumara Tatadesika went there as the royal guru of the Mysore Maharaja in the latter half of the 17th century. … R.Kumara Tatacharya was a royal priest in maisUru too. His son was Sri Sudarsana Tatacharya. He was also continuing to visit the Mysore palace in his capacity as the royal guru. … With him, the connection between the Tatacharyas and Mysore Maharajas also ended. (On a particular year he was late by a few minutes and the God had by then moved forward from the Gopuravasal a few feet. Just then the Maharaja arrived. He requested the Trustee (evidently Sri Krishnaswamy Tatachariar. the brother of Sri Sudarsana’ Tatacharya) to take the vehicle back to the Gopuravasal, in order to have the Gopuravasal darsan. The trustee could not oblige him, since it was not desirable to move the God back.)
  • Another group of Tatacharyas settled at Srirangam. Known as the ‘ Mudhal Tirimaligai ’ Tatacharyas, they did not lag behind the other branches in propagating Srivaishnavism and increasing its votaries. Their scions have performed * PANCHASAMSKARA ’ to families of royal descent in Gujarat and Rajasthan including the princes of Jodhpur.

गरणि-श्रीनिवासः

KannaDa writer who translated 4k divyaprabandhas. See separatel article.

Sundapalayam Ramabhadrachariar

Sri Sundapalayam tirumalai Ramabhadrachariar, a Maha Kavi (Great Poet), was born in 1840 in the village of Sundapalayam, near Coimbatore. Hailing from a well educated family, he enriched his knowledge by constantly interacting with scholars and pandits who visted his family. He had authored over 20 such works through out his life. In spite of his fame, he led a very simple and orthodox life. He died in 1904 at the age of 65.

His poetical works are noted for their versatility, purity, elegance, mastery of language, originality in thought, rich imagery, majesticity of expression, aptness in the choice of words, word play, sweetness in recitation and adaptability to music. Many such poems are intended for and capable of being embedded in pictures. For all these reasons, he is considered a Maha Kavi (Great Poet). All of these characteristics are being reflected in his master piece, Chitrakavyam.

Author of Ahnika-sheShaH.

दक्षिणकलार्याः

A small section of tataryas (mostly belonging to the addanki branch and some belonging to srimushnam branch with a few more here n there) are tenkalais. More than 95% of tataryas must be vdk.

मत्पुत्रस्य द्राविडगाथाशिक्षकोऽपि शठमर्षणगोत्रः, तदाचार्यः पारम्परिकोऽपि, यन्नाम वराहताताचार्य इति। सोऽपि श्रीशैलवंशप्रभवः, किन्तु मन्ये दक्षिणकलार्यः!!