This Azhagiyasingar was born at GadAdharapuram during the Adi month, when SvAti nakshatram was in ascendance. He accepted sanyAsa ASramam on Manmatha samvatsaram, Panguni month (March 1776), Sukla pancami day and ascended the AsthAnam of SrI mATham. In his pUrvASramam, this SvAmi was an expert in sAmAnya sAstrAs like tarkam, VyAkaraNam, mImAmsa etc., and VedAnta SAstrAs. He was also very active practitioner of the daily observance of codes of conduct recommended for five different times of the day (pancakAla parAyaNar). After ascending the throne of SrI maTham, he imparted jnAnam about the four granthams (grantha catushTyams) to his SishyAs, who sought the refuge of his sacred feet. Further, he taught his SishyAs, granthams created by SvAmi DeSikan such as SatadUshaNI, nyAyapariSuddhi, nyAyasiddhAnjanam etc. He shone as the embodiment of jnAnam, anushThAnam and vairAgyam. His exemplary conduct made a few disgruntled ones very jealous. They approached the one who was responsible for preparing and serving the Azhagiyasingar’s daily food (bikshA). Just as AcArya RamAnuja became the object of an attempt to poison him by jealous ones at Srirangam, this Azhagiyasingar became the target of an attempt to poison him through the addition of poisonous material to his food and water. These evil minded people intimidated and tempted the person in charge of the kitchen to mix poison in the food of Azhagiyasingar. So, he agreed to do so. Next day, after serving the poisoned water to Azhagiyasingar, this Kitchen in charge stood before SrImad Azhagiyasingar with tears pouring down from his eyes.
[[254]] On questioning the kitchen in charge by the AcAryan about the cause for his sorrow, he confessed that he had done apacAram, told him the facts and that he succumbed to the threats of the jealous ones and desire to benefit from the material gains for cooperation. SrImad Azhagiyasingar volunteered to drink the poisoned water if that would make the evil minded ones happy. After drinking that water mixed with poison, SrImad Azhagiyasingar got stomach pains and fainted from the intensity of the poison. Those who saw this incident were very upset and wondered about the sankalpam of Malolan. They wept and questioned whether it was fair to make a few jealous happy, while forgetting the many of good people, who were very unhappy. A few minutes later, SrImad Azhagiyasingar recovered and got up. He then cast his merciful glances on his SishyAs and said that he was wonder struck about the fierce effect of the poison on him even though he was an upAsakan of Lord Narasimhan. He recited SrI NrusimhAnushTup mantram and got freed from his pains through the anugraha balam of the Lord. He invited his SishyAs to return to the daily kAlakshepams. On that day, the kAlakshepam proceeded in a grand manner better than earlier days. The Sishya ghoshThI was immensely pleased.
After this incident, SrImad Azhagiyasingar traveled to Srirangam. He bathed in Cauvery and performed his morning rituals. Then SrImad Azhagiyasingar performed MangaLASAsanam to SrI Ranganathan and presented a MangaLASAsana Slokam to Lord Ranganathan and was very happy. This Slokam is :
SrIrange ranganAthaH phaNipatiSayane dakshiNam vIkshamANaH khyAtam sItAmSutIrtham praNavapariNatam tatvimAnam ca divyam | Adyam vyaktam svayam ca sthalanatiSubhadharam nAyakI rangapUrvA bhUmeH vaikuNThametat jagati vijayate sahyajendu- prasiktam ||
At Srirangam, SrImad Azhagiyasingar made the sankalpam to go on sancAram up to BadareekASramam. On the way to the northern divya deSams he went to Thirukkudantai, Thiruvaheendrapuram and Perumal Koyil (Kanchipuram) for MangaLASAsanams.
[[255]] Destroying the evil minded deeds of the mAyAvi
In a northern deSam, SrImad Azhagiyasingar arrived in an agrahAram with SishyAs and others, elephant, horse, trumpets and percussion vAdyams etc., with Malolan in a palanquin and the yati in another palanquin behind. On seeing this great vaibhavam, a mAyAvi felt very jealous. He was a worshipper of lowly gods. By using his manta sakti, he made the elephant, horse etc., and the kaimkaryaparars fatigued for one muhUrtam (48 minutes). SrImad Azhagiyasingar seeing this scene, recognized that this is the foul play of the evil devatAs. Immediately, he recited SrI NrusimhAnushTup mantram, the King of all mantrams (MantrarAjan). The evil devatA could not cause any more harm to the Parijanams and ParivArams of SrImad Azhagiyasingar and it turned on the mAyAvi himself. The mAyAvi could not bear the pain and fell at the feet of SrImad Azhagiyasingar for protection. AcAryan observed that the “vAtASanan” (the snake that can live on inhaled air cannot stand up to the power of the air generated by the wings of Vainateyan (Garudan). “Oh mAyAvi! Your inferior devatA cannot stand up the powers of SrI Narasimhan, the bhIshaNa. Understand this and stay away from sending your Kshudra devatA towards the great ones”. He gave this good counsel and blessed the mAyAvi.
Surapuram SvAmi seeking refuge
During his sancAram in the northern region of the country, SrImad Azhagiyasingar arrived at Surapura samsthAnam. Here resided one great scholar, SrI Venkatacharyar from a very scholarly family, which had a high reputation for seven generations. He arrived at SrI sannidhi with samarpaNams (upahArams) of flowers, fruits and coconuts placed on a plate. He prostrated before SrImad Azhagiyasingar and thereafter took the coconuts in his hand and recited the Veda mantrams, “caraNam pavitram, na karmaNA prajAyA dhanena” and presented the plate to the AcAryan. He compelled the AcAryan to standup and receive his samarpaNams. SrImad Azhagiyasingar replied that he is not used to that practice. SrImad Azhagiyasingar asked the VidvAn as to why he is insisting on this. This SvAmi replied that he has learned very well all the SAstrAs and if SrImad Azhagiyasingar wins in a debate with him on SAstrArthams, then he can hold on to his tradition of not standing up to receive the upahArams. Until that time, the debate takes place, no one should recite the honorific title, recite about their AcAryan like “SrImad vedamArga pratishThApanAcArya, and other birudus. SrImad Azhagiyasingar gladly accepted the challenge for the debate (vAkyArtham). [[256]]
The debate was about the Upanishad vAkyam, kAraNa vastu and kArya vastu and their relationships. The Upanishad vAkyam states that an understanding of kAraNa vastu is equivalent to the understanding of the kArya vastu. They took a vow to establish and defend opposing points of view in interpreting the meanings of the chosen Upanishad vAkyams. Surapuram SvAmi vowed to establish that kAraNa vijnAnam (science) born out of kArya vijnAnam is distinctly different from kAraNa vAkyam. SrImad Azhagiyasingar vowed to establish that kAraNa vijnAnam is indeed kArya vijnAnam. Even if kAraNam arose out of kAryam, it is not correct to say that kAraNam is different from kAryam. The opponents debated about their points of views for fifteen days. Surapuram SvAmi answered all the questions of SrImad Azhagiyasingar, and then asked five questions to which SrImad Azhagiyasingar had to answer satisfactorily for winning over Surapuram SvAmi. The debate was over for that day.
During the evening ArAdhanam, Azhagiyasingar prayed to Malolan and stated to Malolan that the debates are prolonging endlessly and he has to answer the five questions of the Surapuram scholar. He prayed to Malolan to help with the successful conclusion of the ongoing debate. Malolan appeared in Azhagiyasingar’s dream and asked His ArAdhakar (SrImad Azhagiyasingar) not to worry and pointed out that SrutaprakASikA, the commentary on SrI BhAshyam has the appropriate answers and referred to the page in which the meanings are available and to use them to conclude the debate and realize victory. SrImad Azhagiyasingar woke up at dawn and meditated on Malolan. He looked up the pages in SrutaprakASikA pointed out by BhagavAn.
Next day morning, SrImad Azhagiyasingar performed the ArAdhanams for Malolan and invited Surapuram SvAmi for the debate. Surapuram SvAmi noticed the happiness and majesty displayed by SrImad Azhagiyasingar and worried a bit. The debate started. The five questions of Surapuram SvAmi were answered by the jIyar. Further, the other questions raised by him on the previous days of the debate were also rejected by SrImad Azhagiyasingar with pramANams from SrutaprakASikA. Surapuram SvAmi admitted that he has been fully defeated saying “jitosmi” and sought the pardon of SrImad Azhagiyasingar.
Surapuram SvAmi conceded that the divine name of Narasimhar is very appropriate for the AcAryan revered as Azhagiyasingar and all the other ancient honorifics like “SrI bhagavad rAmAnuja siddhAnta [[257]] nirdhAraNa sArvabhauma” fit him very well and praised him in many ways. The scholar took the victory bell tied to the palanquin of his family to the palanquin of SrImad Azhagiyasingar. He carried that palanquin from the front side and took the jIyar along with Malolan to his home in a procession through the streets of Surapuram. The entire assembly of VaishNavAs of the place joined the procession. He presented special gifts to SrImad Azhagiyasingar as his sambhAvana. At his home, he had a special ArAdhanam for SrI LakshmInrusimhan (Malolan) and the bhAgavatAs. He partook the SrIpAda tIrtham of SrImad Azhagiyasingar and asked his disciples also to partake the tIrtham. SrImad Azhagiyasingar enjoyed many VedAnta vicArams with the scholar and stayed for a few more days at Surapuram. He left Surapuram reluctantly for the samrakshaNam (protection) of the other SishyAs and suffering people as per the command of SrI Malolan.
SomabhUpAlan seeking the anugraham
SomabhUpAlan was the head of the Gadwal samsthAnam. He heard about the sancAram of SrImad Azhagiyasingar and his victory over the VidvAn at Surapuram and accepting the VidvAn as his Sishya. SomabhUpAlan consulted with his ministers and the other principals at his court and decided to invite the AcAryan to his samsthAnam to offer special worship to Malolan and His ArAdhakar, SrImad Azhgiyasingar. SomabhUpAlan with his ministers traveled to the place, where SrImad Azhagiyasingar was camping. He personally invited Azhagiyasingar with pUrNa kumbham for the jIyar’s visit to his samsthAnam. He pointed at his entourage (parijanam-s), as well as his samsthAnam and told the jIyar that all these aiSvaryams belong to SrI LakshmInrusimhan. AcAryan accepted the king’s invitation. The AcAryan observed jocularly whether he himself could create all those saubhAgyams. He demonstrated his special power by creating a few. The king was astonished saying that Lord LakshmInrusimhan Himself has incarnated as SrI Azhagiyasingar. The King now presented all honors appropriate for the occasion and took the AcAryan to his palace. He placed a lot of wealth at the sacred feet of Malolan and sought the protection at the sacred feet of the AcAryan. Many splendid pieces of AbharaNams were presented to Malolan. The AcAryan spent many days at Gadwal and was performing ArAdhanam.
Then, Azhagiyasingar started his sancAram to Ahobilam and performed his MangaLASAsanam to the nava Narasimhars. He then went to Tiruvallur, Thiruninravur, Thiruvallikkeni, Sriperumbhudur, Perumal Koyil, Thiruvaheendrapuram, Thirucchitrakoodam, Srimusham and [[258]] other divya deSams for MangaLASAsanams. He stayed for a few days at Thirukkudantai, which is saluted by SvAmi NammAzhvwAr as “சீரார் செந்நெல் கவரி வீசும் செழுநீர்த்திருக்குடந்தை”, the fertile land where the tall bunches of red rice crop perform the fan kaimkaryam to the Lord. The AcAryan worshipped SrI Komalavalli tAyAr and SrI ArAvamudAzhvAn. During his extended stay there, he created number of granthams like saccaritraratnAvaLI, SrInrusimhastavam, SrInrusimha MangaLam etc,. From Thirukkudantai, the sancAram continued to Srirangam. There, he worshipped SrI Ranganayaki tAyAr and SrI Ranganathan. Here, he blessed his SishyAs with kAlakshepams on SrI BhAshyam and other granthams. Then, he went to Thirunarayanapuram and offered his worship to Yadugiri NacchiyAr and SrI SampathkumAran (Tirunarayanan). He stayed there for some days. He went to Srirangam and then retuned to Pullambhuthamkudi.
Land deed by Sarabhoji MahAraja
SrI Azhagiyasingar settled down permanently at Pullambhuthamkudi. At that time, one day Sarabhoji Maharaja (1798-1833) of Thanjavur, had a dream in which a SrI VaishNava appeared and asked the King to gift some land on the banks of Cauveri River for the Azhagiyasingar to reside. The king asked the SrI VaishNava about whom he was referring to. The VaishNava said that his sthalam is Ahobilam and disappeared. The king woke up at dawn and performed his morning rituals. He called his ministers. They accordingly came as per the King’s order, The king told them about his dream. On hearing this, the ministers told the king, “SrI LakshmInrusimhan, the Lord of Ahobila divya deSam is in the King’s kingdom at Pullambhuthamkudi. Here, the Ahobila maThAdhipati is performing daily ArAdhanam to the EmperumAn. All devotees can worship him there. But we did not perform any ArAdhanam for him at Pullambhuthamkudi. Therefore, the Lord Himself appeared in your dream as a VaishNava and blessed you with His sevA”. The ministers said that they do not know what to say about the King’s bhAgyam.
On hearing this, the king was very pleased. Immediately, he sent his ministers and others to Pullambhuthamkudi to appeal to the AcAryan to bless his palace with the presence of SrI LakshmInrusimhan and the AcAryan to receive the ArAdhanams. The ministers went there and told Azhagiyasingar about the dream the king had and his desire to perform the ArAdhanam for Malolan. The AcAryan observed that we should follow the will of Perumal’s sankalpam. The AcAryan traveled with Malolan and his Kaimkaryaparars. The king’s retinue also joined them in this sancAram to Thanjavur, the capital of the kingdom. The [[259]] king greeted the AcAryan and Malolan with pUrNa Kumbham at the city limits and requested SrImad Azhagiyasingar to bless his people. He chose a comfortable place for Malolan’s residence. The king presented many AbharaNams for SrI LakshmInrusimhan and conducted ArAdhanam. He also gifted a village near Pullambhuthamkudi for the daily tiruvArAdhanam for Malolan. This was a gift with the royal seal from the king’s ring. The AcAryan praised the king’s devotion and gave His pAdukAs as a gift to the king. That pleased the king very much. He took leave of the AcAryan and Malolan and returned to his palace.
SrImad Azhagiyasingar returned to Pullambhuthamkudi. He saw the village gifted by the king. He named that village as SrInrusimhapuram. He consecrated the village as a Vaidika agrahAram. There, he built a maTham and resided. From this village of SrInrusimhapuram, the AcAryan performed MangaLASAsanams of the divya dampatis of Pullambhuthamkudi and Adanur. He conducted kAlakshepam for his SishyAs. One day, the AcAryan fell ill and his health deteriorated rapidly. On a Prajotpatti year, Kartikai Paurnami tithi (30th November 1811), the AcAryan ascended to Paramapadam. His BrundAvanam is at SrInrusimhapuram.
His AsthAna nirvAka kAlam - 35 years, 8 months This Azhagiyasingar is considered as an amSam of Vainateyar (Garudan). Many who pray at his BrundAvanam get their wishes fulfilled. During the time of his administration of the Ahobila maTham, a lot of lands were acquired by SrI maTham.
taniyan
श्रीवासवीररघुवर्यपराङ्कुशादि- रामानुजार्यमुनिभिर्गुरुसार्वभौमैः। संप्रेक्षितं करुणया परिपूर्णबोधं श्रीश्रीनिवासयतिशेखरमाश्रयामः॥
SrIvAsavIraraghuvaryaparAnkuSAdi- rAmAnujAryamunibhiH gurusArvabhaumamaiH | samprekshitam karuNayA parripUrNabodham SrISrInivAsayatiSekharamASrayAmaH || [[260]]
MangalamAlai
कर्कटके स्वात्यहे तुङ्गे जाताय विदुषां मुदे। श्रीनिवासयतीन्द्राय संसारार्णवसेतवे॥ मन्मथे मीनधवलपञ्चम्याममलात्मने। अहोबिलमठास्थाने स्वभिषिक्ताय मङ्गलम् ॥
karkaTake svAtyahe tunNge jAtAya vidushAm mude | SrInivAsayatIndrAya samsArArNavasetave || manmathe mInadhavalapancamyAmamalAtmane | ahobilamaThAsthAne svabhishiktAya mangalam ||