Mukkur Srimad Azhagiasingar—A Sage beyond Compare By SrI K. Sadagopa Iyengar, Editor, SrI Nrsimhapriya (English)
Born at the holy village of Mukkur in North Arcot (presently Tiruvannamalai) District on 23.8.1895 (Manmatha Samvatsaram Avani Hastam) to Sri Ranganathacharya Swami and Smt. Ranganayaki Ammangar as the first of five children, Sri Rajagopalacharya (as Mukkur Srimad Azhagiasingar was known in his purvashramam) underwent upanayanam and Pancha Samskaram at the hands of his father, a Vedic scholar, having performed adhyayanam. He was born in the holy star of Hastam, in the Bharadvaja Gotra and Tattai Vamsam. He studied Kavyas and Natakas under Thaiyar Srinivasacharya Swami and later went to Srimushnam, where he performed Vedadhyayanam under Ghanapati Krishnamacharya Swami, continuing his Kavya studies under Swarnam Krishnamacharya Swami. As his father shifted to Mannargudi, Sri Rajagopalacharya too went there and studied Vyakaranam under “Vyakaranam” Krishnamacharya Swami, while continuing his Vedadhyayanam. He was the first student at the MRR Kottur Rangaswamy Mudaliar Patasala, studying under such eminent vidvans like Thillayambur Sri Chakravarthyacharya Swami, at whose feet he absorbed Tarka and Vedanta Shastras and also the art of delivering discourses. He underwent samashrayanam again from the 40th Srimad Azhagiasingar, considering the sanctity of Sri Sannidhi Shankha and Chakra. He learnt Divya Prabandam from Kasi Sri Kuppuswamy Iyengar Swami. He performed numerous services to Sri Rajagopala Swami of Mannargudi. Even during his studentship, Swami used to attend Vidvat Sadas at various places and impressed scholars with his precocious wisdom. Swami entered the holy state of matrimony at the age of 18, wedding Janakavalli Ammangar of the Chetlur lineage, who proved in every way worthy of Swami and the abode of all womanly virtues. In course of time, two daughters and a son were born to Swami. Swami had to take care of his large family of parents, brothers and children, with the meagre resources available. Swami was summoned for the service of the 40th Pontiff, who was camping at Hyderabad and this marked the beginning of a saga of selfless service to Sri Ahobila Matham and Srimad Azhagiasingars. Swami performed intimate kainkaryams to HH, whose travels were far-flung and rigorous. When HH returned to Thuvariman on the banks of Vaigai near Madurai, his health deteriorated and he could not indicate his choice of a successor. However, our Swami, who knew the mind of HH, declared that Karukurichi Sri Gopala www.sadagopan.org AcArya Vaibhavam 341 Ramabhadracharya Swami was HH’s choice as successor. As there were different opinions, when HH’s confirmation was sought, he raised his head, though feebly, in affirmation. Swami immediately travelled to Karukurichi and brought Sri Gopala Ramabhadracharya Swami for assuming the spiritual throne of Sri Ahobila Matham, displaying admirable presence of mind. With his growing reputation and popularity as a Upanyasaka, Swami was very much in demand all over India. Later, he started performing Aradhanam at the Kanchi branch of Sri Ahobila Mutt, enlightening several Sri Vaishnavas with kalakshepam on sampradayic lore. He was blessed with Bharasamarpanam by the 41st Pontiff at Tiruvallur, who was later succeeded by Injimedu Srimad Azhagiasingar. Mukkur Sri Rajagopalacharya was appointed Astana Vidvan and continued to spread sampradayic wisdom far and wide, during which period he shifted his family to Tiruvallur. Swami continued his services under the stewardship of the 43rd Jeeyar, Devanarvilaham Srimad Azhagiasingar and accompanied him on his sancharam to Hyderabad and further north. When HH was travelling towards Ayodhya, he halted at Naimisaranyam, where he was affected by the severe cold, despite which he continued his rigorous anushttanam. This made him severely ill and he passed away at Naimisaranyam. As per the wishes of Srimad Azhagiasingar and the entreaties of assembled disciples, Mukkur Rajagopalacharya Swami assumed the ochre robes and ascended the spiritual throne of Sri Ahobila Matham at Naimisaranyam as the 44th Jeeyar on 27th Nov. 1957 (Hemalambi Kartikai Sravanam), with the tirunamam, SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikan. After performing the kainkaryam of the 43rd Jeeyar in an exemplary manner and building his brindavanam at Naimisaranyam, the 44th Jeeyar resumed travel with Sri Malolan and went to Pushkar at the request of Ramkumar Sethji of Calcutta, where he delighted audiences with his discourses in Sanskrit and Hindi. Proceeding south via Kota, HH reached Tirumala, where he observed his first Chaturmasya Sankalpam and started delivering kalakshepams on Sri Bhashyam and Srimad Rahasyatrayasaram. After a long and rigorous sancharam that covered most of the villages in Tamilnadu and Kerala and being worshipped by two Maharajas of Kerala, HH reached Mukkur via Srirangam and camped there for long. His 60th and 70th tirunakshatrams were celebrated at Kanchi and Ahobilam respectively, with the latter event marked by HH’s construction and consecration of a Rajagopuram at Ahobilam Sri Prahladavaradan Sannidhi. The silver jubilee of the Malola Vidvat Sadas, an annual congregation of eminent scholars for discussions in sampradaya granthas like Sri Bhashya, was also celebrated at Ahobilam. www.sadagopan.org AcArya Vaibhavam 342 HH had acquired prodigious scholarship in Sri Bhashyam and other sampradaya works and delighted in asking scholars apparently unanswerable questions during the Vidvat sadas, to which he himself would later furnish the answers. HH authored several works on Sri Bhashya, like Bhashyarttha Padya Malika, apart from several Stotras like the LakshmiNrisimha Karavalamba Stotram. One of the qualities which was inherent in him and came to the fore often, was his compulsive generosity, which made him share whatever he had with the needy and destitute. As a result, in his purvashramam, he would give away all that he had, often going hungry. Such selflessness and generosity continued after he assumed sanyasam and literally thousands benefited from his largesse. Like Koorattazhwan, he could not bear the sight of anyone suffering and would do whatever he could immediately, even at personal cost, to provide relief. And his penchant for feeding people was legendary; his concern extended not only to people, irrespective of caste, creed or colour, but also to animals. During these years, new Mutt branches with temples and wedding halls were constructed at Bombay, Hyderabad, Ahobilam, etc. The temple tank at Tiruvallur fell barren and HH devised an ingenious scheme of a tank within a tank, which ensures till date water for the tiruvaradhanam and festivals of Sri Vaidya Viraraghava Swami. A few years after his satabhishekam was celebrated by disciples at Kanchi, HH was blessed with a dream in which Sri Ranganatha commanded the Pontiff to build a tall tower in the place of the (incomplete) Mottai gopuram at the southern entrance to Srirangam. In implicit obedience, he took up this mammoth task when he was 85 and despite facing problems galore in securing approvals, dealing with opposition from various misguided sources, assembling men, money and materials, etc., HH put up a tall and imposing Rajagopuram towering 236 feet into the sky with thirteen tiers, samprokshanam for which was performed in 1987 in the presence of the President of India Sri R. Venkataraman, the Chief Minister of Tamilnadu Sri MGR and a host of other dignitiaries and Vaidikas. HH was 92 then, but used to personally inspect construction work daily by visiting the gopuram and riding up to the topmost tiers in a freight lift! The completion of the gopuram marked the completion of HH’s life mission, one might say. Though he continued to perform tiruvaradhanam to Sri Malolan daily, age began to tell on him and with foresight, he appointed Villivalam Sri Krishnamacharya Swami as his successor, who assumed sanyasa ashrama in Oct. 1991. www.sadagopan.org AcArya Vaibhavam 343 And eager to perform kainkaryam to Paramapadanathan, HH left for his eternal abode on Sunday, 16th Aug 1992, (Bhadrarpada Krishna Paksha Triteeya) at the age of 97, lamented by millions of disciples who had been blessed by him with Samashrayanam, bharasamarpanam, good advice, financial assistance and what not. He now rests in the Brindavanam at Dasavatara Sannidhi, right at the feet of his Bharanyasa Acharya, the 41st Srimad Azhagiasingar. Men with such courage, resoluteness, humane nature, generosity, scholarship and dispassion are extremely rare. Mukkur Srimad Azhagiasingar trod this earth like a colossus for a century and benefited not only Sri Ahobila Matham and its disciples, but the entire humanity, with his compassion for all. He was equally at home with top-notch scholars of the Sampradaya, as with the illiterate and downtrodden, addressing the suffering of all with an even and open hand and a large heart. He was an inspiration for scholars, who derived so much wisdom from him and equally attractive to children, whom he used to pose arithmetical problems to. His kainkaryams were so huge that they are beyond the contemplation, leave alone emulation, of mortals. Works authored by this Azhagiasingar: Injimedu Srimad Azhagiasingar Mangalam, Sri LakshmiNrisimha Karavalamba Stotram, Saareerakadhikarana Krama Bodhini, Brahmasutraarttha Padya Maalika, Visishtadvaita Siddhanta Tatva Sangaraham, Sri LakshmiNrisimha Prapatti, Dayaasaagara Satakam, Panchamrita Stotram, Mangalamaalika (on Srimad Azhgagiasingars), hundreds of Arulmozhis in Sri NrisimhaPriya, etc. Kainkaryams of Mukkur Srimad Azhagiasingar Brindavan at Naimisaranyam for Devanarvilagam Srimad Azhagiasingar, Sri Varadarajan Sannidhi at Mukkur, Sri Nammazhwar Sannidhi at Kanchi, Matham at Pullabuthangudi, Thayar Sannidhi at Injimedu, Stone mandapam at the avatara sthalam of Injimedu Srimad Azhagiasingar, Rajagopuram at Ahobilam, Hrittaapanaasini Pushkarini and Chaitra Brahmotsava Mandapam at Tiruvallur, Sri LakshmiNarayanan Sannidhi and Kalyana Mandapam at Chembur (Mumbai), Moolavar pratishttai at Pullabhuthangudi and Tiruvadanur, Sri Matham at Hyderabad and Tiruvaheendrapuram, Rajagopuram at Pullabhuthangudi, etc. And the crowning glory for his kainkaryams was the towering Rajagopuram at Srirangam. Srimad Azhagiasingar’s Thanian: Sri Ranganatha Satakopa Yatindra drishtam LakshmiNrisimha Satajit karunaika paatram [[344]] Sriranga Veeraraghuraat Satakopa hridyam Vedanta Desika Yatindram aham prapadye.
Tributes to this Azhagiasingar 1. Mangalam by Villivalam Srimad Azhagiasingar 2. Numerous eulogies submitted by eminent vidvans in prose and poetry 3. The Master Preceptor—a comprehensive biography of the Mukkur Mahan
[[345]]