The History of Shri Tirupati Balaji Venkateswara
from the Puranas

Compiled By BRS Swami Gaurangapada

 

Some extracts from the Varaha Purana:

 

The Rishis headed by Kasyapa began to perform a sacrifice (yaga) on the banks of the Ganges. Sage Narada visited them at that time and asked them to tell him why they were performing the sacrifice and who would be pleased by it.

 

Not being able to answer the question the Rishis approached Sage Bhrigu.To reach a solution after a direct ascertainment of reality, Sage Bhrigu first went to Satyaloka (the abode of Lord Brahma).

 

There, he found Brahma reciting the four Vedas with his four heads in praise of Lord Narayana and attended upon by Sarasvati and not taking notice of Bhrigu offering obeisance. Concluding that Brahma was unfit for worship, Bhrigu left Brahmaloka for Kailasa.

 

At Kailasa, Bhrigu found Lord Siva spending his time pleasantly with Parvati and not noticing the Sage Bhrigu. Parvati drew the attention of Siva to the presence of the sage.

 

Lord Siva became furious at the intrusion of Bhrigu and tried to destroy him. The sage cursed and left for Vaikuntham.

 

The angry sage went to Shri Vaikuntham. Shrimannarayana was reposing at that time on Adisesha with Shri Mahalakshmi at His feet in service. Finding that Shrimannarayana also did not notice him, the sage was infuriated and he kicked the Lord on His chest, the place where Mahalakshmi resides.

 

At once the Lord hastened to make apologies to the angry Sage and pressed his feet to allay the pain caused to the leg. In doing so the Lord removed the eye in the foot of the Sage, which gave him power as to defy the Devas. The Sage thereupon decided that Shri MahaVishnu was the most Supreme of the Trimurtis and told the Rishis the same.They thereupon decided that Shri MahaVishnu was the fruit of the Yaga and sacrifice was offered to Him (Vishnu).

 

At the commencement of the present Sveta Varaha Kalpa, the whole Universe was filled with water and the earth was immersed in it. Lord Vishnu took to form of a White Boar and dived into the water to lift the earth. He slew the demon Hiranyaksha who caused obstruction to him and rescued the earth.

 

Brahma and the other Devas extolled Shri Varaha at the time with the chanting of the Vedas and showered flowers on him for saving the Earth. Lord Vishnu decided to stay on Earth in the form of the White Boar for some time, to punish the wicked and protect the virtuous. This place thenceforward came to be known as Varaha Kshetra and Varaha Kalpa began from that time.

 

After the departure of Mahalakshmi, Lord Vishnu left Vaikuntha in a forlorn condition and took his abode in an ant-hill on the Venkata Hill under a tamarind tree beside a Pushkarini.

 

Brahma and Mahesvara, taking pity on the condition of Vishnu, made up their mind to assume the forms of a cow and its calf to serve him.

 

The Sun God informed Mahalakshmi of this and requested her to sell the cow and calf to the king of the Chola country assuming the form of a cowherdess.

 

The king of the Chola country bought the cow and its calf and sent them to graze on the Venkata Hill along with his herd of cattle. Discovering Lord Vishnu in the ant-hill, the cow everyday emptied her under over the ant-hill and thus fed the LORD.

 

Finding that the cow did not yield any milk, the Chola Queen chastised the cowherd severely.

 

To find out the cause of the absence of milk, the cowherd followed the cow and hid himself in a bush and discovered the cow emptying her under over the ant-hill.

 

Getting wild over the conduct of the cow, the cowherd aimed a blow with his axe on the head of the cow. But the God rose from the ant-hill to receive the blow and save the cow.

 

When the cowherd saw the Lord bleed at the blow of his axe he fell down and died.

 

On the death of the cowherd, the cow returned bellowing to the presence of the Chola King with blood stains over her body. To find out the cause of the terror of the cow the Chola King followed her to the scene of the incident.

 

Near an ant-hill, the King found the cowherd lying dead on the ground. While he stood wondering how it had happened, the Lord rose from the ant-hill and cursed the king to become an Asure from the fault of his servant. Entreated by the king who pleaded innocence, the Lord blessed him by saying that His curse would end when He was adorned with the Kireetam presented by Akasa Raja at the time of His marriage with Shri Padmavati.

 

Thereafter Shrinivasa decided to stay in this Varaha Kshetra. He therefore requested Shri Varahaswami to grant Him a site for His stay. His request being readily granted, Shrinivasa ordained that a pilgrimage to His shrine would not be complete unless it is preceded by a bath in the Pushkarini and Darsan of Shri VarahaSwami, and that Puja and Naivedyam should be offered to Shri Varaha first.

 

Yasoda brought up Shri Krishna, the son of Devaki, in his early years. Yasoda was not blessed to witness the marriage of Shri Krishna with Rukmini and she felt very sad. Shri Krishna promised to fulfil her desire in her next birth as Vakuladevi in his next Avatara as Shrinivasa. This Vakuladevi was sent to serve Shrinivasa by Lord Varahasvami, on whom she was attending till Shrinivasa came to Venkatachala.

 

Sometime after, a King named Akasa Raja who belonged to the Lunar race was ruling over Thondamandalam. He had a brother named Thondaman. Akasa Raja had no issue for a long time and so he wanted to perform a sacrifice for obtaining an offspring. While he was himself ploughing and ground for sacrifice, his plough turned up a lotus in the ground. On examining the lotus, the King found a female child in it.

 

The king was happy to find a child even before he performed a sacrifice and carried it to his place and gave it to his Queen to tend it. At that time he heard an aerial voice which said "O King, tend it as your child and fortune will befall you". As she was found in a lotus, the king named her Padmavati.

 

In course of time Princess Padmavati grew up into a beautiful maiden and was attended by a host of maids. One day while she was spending her time in a garden picking flowers with her maids, Saint Narada approached her. Assuring her that he was her well-wisher, he asked her to show him her palm to read her future. He foretold that she was destined to be the spouse of Lord Vishnu himself.

 

At this time Lord Shrinivasa, who went for hunting chased a wild elephant in the forests surrounding the hills. In the pursuit, Shrinivasa was led into a garden, where Princess Padmavati and her maids were picking flowers.The sight of the elephant frightened them and their Princess.

 

But the Elephant immediately turned round and saluted the Lord and disappeared in the forest.Lord Shrinivasa came on horse back and saw the frightened maidens and he was accosted by them with queries.

 

Lord Shrinivasa had explained them about his birth and parentage. He enquired them about their princess and her parentage and birth.

 

When he was informed that the Princess was Padmavati (lotus-Born) the foster Daughter of Akasaraja, he loved her and made advances to the Princess. He was repulsed with stones by the maids and he urgently returned to the hills leaving the horse, which fell on the ground.

 

Vakuladevi, as usual, brought dinner to Shrinivasa comprising various delicious dishes. But she found him lying on his bed love-sick. She enquired the cause of his sickness. The Lord informed her that unless he secured Princess Padmavati, he would not be well. Vakuladevi then asked him to tell her all about the Princess, who she was, and how he came to love her. The Lord then narrated the story of her (Padmavati’s) previous birth and his promise to wed her.

 

In olden times Lakshmi was staying as Vedavati in a Rishi Asrama in the forests. At that time Ravana, the lord of Lanka came there and tried to tempt her. Vedavati grew angry and cursed him that she would bring about his death.

 

To fulfil her words, Vedavati entered into the fire but the fire-god rescued her. He took Vedavati to his house and entrusted her to his wife to take care of her.

 

When Ravana was about to carry away Sita from Panchavati in the absence of Rama and Lakshmana, the Fire-God appeared on the scene and offered Vedavati to Ravana as the real Sita who was kept with him by Rama to evade Ravana.

 

Ravana took Vedavati to Lanka thinking she was the real Sita, while Agni(Fire-God) took Sita to his house and asked his wife Swahadevi to look after her.

 

After the destruction of Ravana, Vedavati entered the fires when rejected by Rama. Then the Fire-God offered the real Sita to Rama. Rama then questioned her as to who the other lady by her side was.

 

Sita informed Rama that she was Vedavati who suffered all the tortures for her sake for ten months in Lanka and requested Rama to accept her also as his spouse. But Rama declined her request saying that he was wedded to policy of having only one wife during his life time, and he promised to wed her in her next birth as Padmavati, born as the daughter of Akasaraja when he will take the form of Shrinivasa.

 

There upon Vakuladevi thought that Shrinivasa would not be happy unless he married Padmavati and she offered to go to Akasaraja and his queen and arrange for the marriage. On the way she met the maid-servants of Padmavati returning from a Siva Temple. She learnt from them about Padmavathi's love-sickness and went to the queen along with them.

 

Akasaraja and his queen Dharanidevi became anxious about the health of their daughter. They learnt about Padmavati's love for Shrinivasa of Venkata Hill. Akasaraja consulted Brihaspati about the propriety of the marriage and was informed that the marriage was in the best interests.

 

After the departure of Vakuladevi Shrinivasa could not rest in peace. He doubted her success in the mission. He therefore assumed the form of a Yerukula-woman and entered the streets of the capital telling fortunes. Padmavati's maids saw her and invited her to the presence of their queen.

 

The maid-servants went and informed the queen that the fortune-teller was hesitating to come into the palace without an invitation from the queen.

 

The queen came out herself and invited the fortune-teller into the palace.The fortune-teller was taken to the presence of Princess Padmavati.

 

The fortune-teller saw the palm of the Princess and told the queen about the cause of Padmavati's indisposition and advised to give her in marriage to Lord Shrinivasa. She also told the queen that a lady would approach her shortly to formally request Padmavati's hand in marriage on behalf of Shrinivasa.

 

After the departure of the fortune-teller, Vakuladevi went to the queen along with the maids and informed her that she came from Shrinivasa to request the hand of Padmavati in marriage for him.

 

Having consulted Brihaspati and heard from his queen about the prediction of the fortune-teller and arrival of the messenger, from Shrinivasa, Akasaraja decided to bestow his daughter on Shrinivasa and he called the palace purohits to fix a Muhurtam for the marriage.

 

Akasaraja informed his Ministers and other Officials of his intention. Immediately a letter was drafted for being sent to Shrinivasa requesting him to come and marry the Princess.

 

Akasaraja entrusted the letter to Sukamahamunin for being delivered to Shrinivasa. Suka went to Venkata Hill with Vakulamalikadevi. He presented the Patrika to Lord Shrinivasa, who felt pleased and sent his garland through him for Padmavati.

 

Immediately Lord Shrinivasa called for a conference of the Gods to win their consent for His marriage with Princess Padmavati.

 

To meet the expenses of the marriage, Kubera lent money to the Lord.

 

Lord Shrinivasa started for the residence of Akasaraja with his consorts and Brahma and Siva and his vehicle Garutman.

 

At the entrance the Lord was received by Akasaraja with all honours and was taken in procession on a mounted elephant to the palace for the marriage.

 

In the presence of all the Devas, Lord Shrinivasa took the hand of the Princess Padmavati and wedded her and thus blessed Akasaraja.

 

Contest between Adisesha and Vayudeva

 

During the Dwaparayuga, Vayudeva (the Wind God) went to Vaikuntam to pay his obeisance to Lord Shri Vishnu. The Lord was reclining in the company of Shri Lakshmi. The doorway was guarded by Adisesha. Vayudeva was incensed when Adisesha prevented him from entering Shri Vishnu’s mansion. Adisesha and Vayudeva began to fight with each other.

 

When Lord Vishnu intervened, each was boasting of his superior valour and supreme might. To test who was stronger, the Lord suggested that Adisesha encircle the Ananda hill, an off-shoot of the Meru mountain on its northern side, and that Vayudeva blow hard to try and dislodge the Ananda hill from Adisesha's hold. The contest waxed furiously, and as the World trembled, Brahma, Indra and the other Divine Beings requested Adisesha to yield victory to Vayudeva for the welfare of the world.

 

Obliging them, Adisesha released his hold on the hill. As a result, Adisesha and the Ananda hill were blown away to the banks of the river Swarnamukhi. Adisesha was dejected by his defeat. Lord Brahma and the others appealed to him by saying that he would be merged with the hill Venkatadri and Vishnu would reside on him. Adisesha then metamorphosed into the vast Seshadri, with his hood manifesting itself as Venkatadri sustaining Shri Venkateswara, his middle as Ahobila supporting Lord Narasimha, and his tail as Shrisailam bearing Lord Mallikarjuna (Lord Siva).

 

Restoration of the Earth by Adi Varaha

 

During the eight thousand yugas (the equivalent of a day and night for Brahma, the Creator), there was a raging fire, and everything on Earth was reduced to ashes. Man had to forsake the Earth and seek refuge in Janaloka.

 

At the approach of night (of Brahma), Vayu, the Wind God, blew furiously. Huge clouds were formed, there was torrential rain, and it resulted in Pralaya Kalpa (the Great Deluge). The Earth sank into the Patala loka, and remained in that state for a thousand years (during a part of that night of Brahma).

 

Shri Maha Vishnu, wanted to rescue the Earth. He assumed the form of Adi Varaha and proceeded to Pataloka. He fought a fierce duel with Hiranyaksa and killed him. He then slashed the water and brought up the Earth on his tusks.

 

Brahma, the Devas and the sages extolled Adi Varaha's virtues, by chanting the Vedic mantras. They prayed to Him to re-establish the Earth as before. Adi Varaha obliged them, and called upon Brahma to recreate the world. He expressed his desire to reside on the Earth to protect its people. He commanded his vehicle, Garuda to fetch Kridachala (an extensive natural hill with lofty peaks, embedded with gold and precious stones, and which resembled Adisesha in shape) from Vaikuntam.

 

Garuda brought Kridachala and deposited it on a sacred spot (to the East of Swami Pushkarini) chosen by Adi Varaha. Adi Varaha stood within the divine vimana of Kridachala, which shone with many gem-studded gopuras.

 

Brahma and the other holy personages requested the fearsome-looking Adi Varaha to assume a tranquil and composed look, and rest on the hill to protect men and grant boons to people unable to reach God through Dhyana Yoga (meditation) and Karma Yoga (doing one's own duty).

 

Adi Varaha appeared with four arms and a white face. He was adorned with jewels and accompanied by Bhu Devi. He resolved to stay at Venkatadri, under a divya vimana, to grant the prayers of men. (from indiadivine.com)

 

"There is one more confidential story. Ramanujacharya once came to Puri and pleased the Lord with many prayers. Jagannatha appeared before him and said, `Go and see Navadvipa-dhama, for I will soon appear there in the house of Jagannatha Misra. The entire spiritual sky is situated within one corner of Navadvipa, My very dear abode. As My eternal servant and leading devotee, you should see Navadvipa. Let your students, who are absorbed in dasya-rasa, stay here while you go. Any living being who does not see Navadvipa has been born uselessly. Just one portion of Navadvipa contains Ranga-ksetra, Shri Venkata (Tirupati), and Yadava Acala. O son of Kesava, go to Navadvipa and see the form of Gauranga. You have come to the earth to preach bhakti, so let your birth be successful with the mercy of Gauranga. From Navadvipa, go to Kurma-sthana and join again with your disciples.'

 

"With folded hands, Ramanuja submitted to Jagannatha, `In Your narration You have mentioned Gauranga, but exactly who He is, I do not know.'

 

"The Lord mercifully replied to Ramanuja, `Everyone knows Krishna, the Lord of Goloka. That Krishna, whose vilasa-murti is Narayana, is the Supreme Truth, and He resides in Vrndavana. That Krishna is fully manifest in the form of Gaurahari, and that Vrndavana is fully manifest in the form of Navadvipa-dhama. I eternally reside as Lord Gauranga in Navadvipa, the topmost abode in the universe. By My mercy that dhama has come within Bhu-mandala, yet it remains without a scent of maya. This is the verdict of scripture. If you say that Navadvipa is part of the material world, then your devotion will dwindle day by day. I have placed this spiritual abode within the material world by My desire and inconceivable energy. Simply by reading scriptures one will not get the highest truth, for the highest truth surpasses all reasoning power. Only the devotees can understand by My mercy.'

 

"Hearing this, the sober-minded Ramanuja was agitated with love for Gauranga. He said, `Lord, Your pastimes are truly astounding. The scriptures cannot know Your opulences. Why isn't Gauranga-nama-lila clearly described in the scriptures? When I closely examine the sruti and Puranas, now I can see the verses about the Gauranga-tattva. After hearing Your instructions, my doubts are gone and the sweet mellows of Gauranga's pastimes have arisen in my heart. If You order me, after going to Navadvipa I will preach Gauranga-nama-lila throughout the three worlds. I will give people evidence from the hidden scriptures and establish devotional service to Gauranga throughout the universe and make all the three worlds into Gauranga-bhaktas and make them chant Gauranga's Name. Please instruct me.'

 

"Seeing Ramanuja's eagerness, Jagannatha said, `Ramanuja, do not broadcast like this. Keep the confidential name, pastimes and abode of Gauranga secret. Only after Gauranga has finished His pastimes will the general public receive them. For now, preach dasya-rasa, while in your heart worship and chant the name of Gauranga constantly.'

 

"Taking the Lord's advice, Ramanuja secretly cultured his attraction for Navadvipa. So that Gauranga's pastimes were not revealed prematurely, Lord Narayana then led Ramanuja here to Vaikunthapura and mercifully showed Ramanuja His transcendental form served by Shri, Bhu, and Nila. Ramanuja considered himself fortunate to obtain darsana of his worshipable Lord, when suddenly he saw the Lord assume the enchanting form of Gauranga, the son of Jagannatha Misra. Ramanuja swooned at the brilliance of the form. Then Gauranga put His lotus feet on the head of Ramanuja, who was thus divinely inspired and recited prayers of praise. `I must see Gauranga's actual lila on earth. I can never leave Navadvipa!'

 

"Gauranga said, `O son of Kesava, your desire will be fulfilled. When the Nadia (Navadvipa) pastimes will be revealed in the future, you will take birth here again.'

 

"Gauranga disappeared and Ramanuja, contented, resumed his journey. After some days he arrived at Kurma-sthana and saw the place with his disciples. During his life he preached dasya-rasa throughout South India, while internally he was absorbed in Gauranga-nama-lila. By Gauranga's mercy, he took birth in Navadvipa as the devotee Shri Ananta Acharya. He went to Vallabhacarya's house and saw the marriage of Laksmipriya and Gauranga.

 

From Shrila Saccidananda Thakura Bhaktivinoda's supreme classic book Navadvipa-dhama-mahatmya, Chp 15.

 

Last Instructions of Shri Ramanujacharya

 

On his death bed Shri Ramanuja is said to have articulated 82 statements to his disciples. It is not an exaggeration to present these statements as the essence of Shri Vaishnavam. I give below excerpts of these, translated from "Shri Ramaanujar," pi. shri, sudhEsamitthiran, pp. 250 - 259, aagaStu 1964 . I apologise for the lack of lucidity of my translation. (written by Shri Parthasarathy Dileepan).

 

1. Serve God and God's devotees. Serve all devotees without regard to their  status.

 

2. Have faith in the teachings of AchAryAs.

 

3. Do not succumb to sensual pleasures.

 

4 & 5. Do not put your conviction on trivial saasthraas, have conviction on the saasthraas that deal with God.

 

6 - 8. Protect yourself from the five senses.

 

9 & 10. Praise the name of the Lord and AchAryAs.

 

11. All the knowledge you may have will not protect you if you choose sensual pleasures.

 

12 & 13. It is not enough to control your sensual desires, you must surrender to the Lord.

 

14 - 17. Do not be disrespectful of shri vaishnavaas for any reason,

including age, caste, etc. You must show respect to them all.

 

18. When you rise from your bed meditate upon your ancestral line of AchAryAs.

 

19. In front of the sanctum of our Lord, amongst shri vaishnavaas utter the words of dvayam. (mentally' Do not utter loudly, as they are rahaysyams)

 

20. Praise the auspicious qualities of our Lord and AchAryAs.

 

21 and 22. Welcome shri vaishnavas with open arms and praise. Do not praise ordinary people for the sake of material gain.

 

23. Pay respect when you see the gOpuram of a temple.

 

24 - 25. Have undying faith in Lord Vishnu.

 

26. Do not find fault with praise of the Lord or devotees.

 

27 - 29. Pay at most respect to shri vaishnavaas.

 

30 & 31. Among shri vaishnavaas do not discriminate between poor and rich.

 

32. Ignore the faults and praise the virtues of shri vasihnavaas.

 

33 - 35. Consume Shri paadha theertham with respect.

 

36. Do not consider yourself as equal to other devotees. Think of yourself as their servant.

 

37 - 39. To purify your sins consume the shri paada theertham of great saints. For this, do not consider the caste of those saints.

 

40 & 41. Duties of families. (Not described in the text)

 

42 - 44. Visiting temples and securing prasaadam is important.

 

45. Do not boast about your virtues.

 

46. Do not scorn a devotee.

 

47. Do not ignore serving devotees.

 

48. Praise the auspicious qualities of the Lord daily.

 

49. Recite prabhandams like thiruvaaymozhi daily.

 

50 - 58. Do not associate with the ones who only pretend to be shri vaihnvaas. Do not associate with the ones who find faults with others. Do not even look upon those who belittle devotees. Associate with those who wish to surrender to the Lord.

 

59 & 60. Ignore the harsh words of other shri vaishnvaas. Always do good to them.

 

(From this point onwards I am unable to give numerical listing as the original text does not give the numerical ordering.)

 

Do not think of the deities of the Lord as just stone or wood. (my note: In as much as we give respect to the cloth (the flag of a nation) as the nation itself, we need to consider the Divya mangaLa vigraham as the transcendental form of Emperumaan Shriya:pathih Shriman Narayanan Himself.)

 

Do not think of your guru (AchArya) as just an ordinary person. Even simply saying out loud the caste of a shrivasihnavaas is a sin.

 

Do not consider anything related to our Lord as ordinary. There is nothing greater than making our Lord and his devotees happy. Insulting a devotee is a greater sin than not praying to the Lord. Your duty is to surrender to our Lord. Try to live in Thiru naaraayanapuram (mElkOte) at least for some time. If you are unable to, where ever you are, live with dvayam in your tongue. If you are unable to do even this, serve other shrivaishnavaas.

 

Ramanujacarya

 

"The Dawning of Devotion" (by Jeffrey Wallace) Originally published by The Gaudiya–Vaishnava Society

 

When the religion of the Vedas became weakened due to the influence of less intelligent men who blindly performed ritualistic ceremonies and wantonly killed animals in the name of Vedic injunctions, Buddha appeared on the scene as a great reformer. Totally rejecting the Vedic literature and substituting his rational, atheistic views, Buddha advocated the path of ahimsa, (nonviolence and nirvana-the negation of reality as we know it) as the ultimate goal of life. Soon after, the philosophy of Shankaracharya overpowered Buddhism and spread throughout India.

 

The authority of the Upanishads and other Vedic literature were revived by Shankara and employed as weapons to fight the Buddhist doctrine. Interpreting the Vedas to draw a particular conclusion, Shankara established the doctrine of non-dualism, adwaita-vedanta, stating that all living entities were on an equal level with God. He prominently stressed those texts which afforded an answer to the rationalistic atheism of the Buddhists, yet the teachings of Shankara were not wholly theistic, and thus a further unveiling of the ultimate reality was destined. That destiny was fulfilled through Shri Ramanujacharya.

 

Ramanuja was born in India during the year 1017 A.D. when, according to astrological calculations, the sun was in the zodiacal sign of Cancer. His parents were Asuri Kesava and Kantimati, both from aristocratic

families. Rumanja passed his childhood days in Shriperumbudur, the village of his birth. At the age of 16 he was married to Rakshakambal.

 

Only four months after his wedding, Ramanuja's father was struck with a severe illness and died. Upon the death of his father, Ramanuja became head of the household and decided to move to Kanchi, a holy city

famed for its scholars and magnificent temples.

 

In Kanchi there lived a scholar named Yadava Prakash, who was renowned for his scholarship in the doctrine of adwaita-vedanta, nondualism. No one could surpass Yadava l in his ability to explain Shankara's commentaries on Vedanta-sutra. Ramanuja enrolled in Yadava's school and engaged in the study of Sanskrit and Vedic literature. Although not at all  convinced by the Shankarite conception, Ramanufa learned his lessons well and soon became one of Yadava's favorite students. Thinking Ramanuja to be a

sincere follower of the conclusions of Shankara, Yadava showed Ramanuja special affection, But that affection did not last for long.

 

One day, after delivering a discourse on the Chandogya Upanishad, Yadava asked Ramanuja to massage his body with oil, as was the customary service to be performed by a student in those days. While giving the massaging his teacher, another student came to Yadava for some clarification on a point from the morning discourse. The l boy had failed to grasp the meaning of the seventh verse of the first chapter, which began with tasya vatha kapvasam pundarikam evam akshini. Yadava proceeded to expound an interpretation which described the sublime qualities of the Godhead in a manner which was flagrantly objectionable. On hearing the words of his teacher, the heart of Ramanuja, which was full of love for the Supreme Godhead, was saddened, and hot tears streamed down from his eyes and fell on the thigh of Yadava. Looking up at the touch of the hot tears, Yadava could understand that something was troubling Ramanuja. When he inquired about Ramanuja's distress, Ramanuja replied, "O great and wise master, I have been sorely afflicted at heart to hear such an unbecoming explanation from a noble soul like you. How sinful it is of you to debase the Supreme, who is endowed with all gracious qualities and who is the source of all beautiful things in this world. From the mouth of such a learned man as yourself I would never have expected such a low and deceitful interpretation!"

 

Yadava became so angry that he could hardly control himself. "Well then," he scorned, maybe you would like to give your own interpretation since you obviously think you know better than l!"

 

In a very gentle voice Ramanuja replied, "Revered sir, there is no need to give a low-minded interpretation to the verse when the real meaning is direct and glorious."

 

"Then let us hear this meaning of yours which is so glorious!" said Yadava. Ramanuja then stood and with great humility recited the meaning of the verse. "The two eyes of the Supreme are as lovely as two lotuses that are blossomed by the rays of the sun."

 

"I see," said Yadava. "You speak as though there actually was such a 'Supreme Person.' That is due to your childish ignorance. You have not learned your lessons properly. You should always remember that the j Supreme is without form, without name, and without attributes. That is the teaching of the great Shankara. In the future you should not voice your foolish sentiments!" The words of Yadava were painful to Ramanuja's ears, but out of respect for his teacher he remained silent.

 

A few days later a second incident occurred. While explaining a verse from the Taittiriya Upanishad beginning with satyam jnanam anantam brahma, Yadava said that Brahman was intelligence, truth, and the infinite.

Hearing this explanation, Ramanuja politely added, "Brahman is endowed with the qualities of in