Vedanta Desika

Vedanta Desika (1268–1369), also rendered Vedanta Desikan, Swami Vedanta Desika, and Thoopul Nigamantha Desikan, was an Indian polymath who wrote philosophical as well as religious and poetical works in several languages, including Sanskrit, Manipravaḷam (a Sanskritised form of literary Tamil), Tamil and Prakrit. He was an Indian philosopher, Sri Vaishnava guru, and one of the most brilliant stalwarts of Sri Vaishnavism in the post-Ramanuja period. He was a Hindu devotee, poet, Master of Acharyas (desikan) and a logician and mathematician. He was the disciple of Kidambi Appullar, also known as Athreya Ramanujachariar, who himself was of a master-disciple lineage that began with Ramanuja. Vedanta Desika is considered to be avatar (incarnation) of the divine bell of Venkateshvara of Tirumala by the Vadakalai sect of Sri Vaishnavism. Vedanta Desika belongs to Vishvamitra/Kaushika gotra.

On the occasion of 750th anniversary of the life of Vedanta Desika, the Indian postal department unveiled a stamp to commemorate the great philosopher's life and highly valued works. The stamp was unveiled by Venkaiah Naidu, Vice President of India in May 2019.

Early life
Desika was born in the year 1268 CE, to a pious couple named Ananta Suri and Totaramba, who named him ‘Venkatanathan’. When he was five, his maternal uncle, Kidambi Appullar, took him to attend a spiritual discourse of Nadadhoor Ammal, a revered Sri Vaishnava scholar of that time. As soon as Ammal saw the divine radiance of the child, he stopped his discourse, and hugged Venkatanathan affectionately.

When Ammal told the audience that he had forgotten where he had stopped his discourse, it was Venkatanathan who reminded him immediately, to the astonishment of the assembled scholars. Deeply impressed, Ammal blessed him and predicted that Venkatanathan would become the main torch-bearer for Sri Vaishnavism.

When Desika turned seven, Kidambi Appullar accepted Venkatanaathan as his disciple, and taught him arts, sciences and scriptures. By the age of 20, Desika became famous for his mastery over poetry, logic, linguistics, science, Vedanta, debate, and allied arts.

Even though Desika was multi-faceted and famous, he lived a humble and simple life with the support of his wife, Thirumangai. He undertook a vow called uchhavritti, whereby he depended wholly on the Supreme Lord for his household needs by accepting grains and vegetables donated by disciples voluntarily, without actively seeking it.

Desika stayed in several cities and towns through his life such as Thiruvaheendrapuram, Kanchipuram, Srirangam, Sathyagala, and Melkote. He also travelled widely all over India on foot. There exist several anecdotes regarding the life of Desika furnished by his followers.

Literary works
Desika composed many different works in languages such as Tamil, Sanskrit, Prakrit, and Manipravalam (a mixture of Sanskrit and Tamil)

He composed over a hundred works in the following genre:

• 28 devotional poems in Sanskrit such as the Hayagriva Stotra, Kamasika Ashthaka, and Gopalavimshati

• 24 devotional poems and treatises in Tamil such as Gitartha Samgraha and Charama Shloka

• 11 philosophical treatises such as Shatadushani, Mimamsa Paduka, and Tattva Mukta Kalapa

• 10 commentaries on the works of previous acharyas such as Stotra Ratna Bhashya, Chatuh Shloki Bhashya, and Tatparya Chandrika

• 5 narrative poems such as his magnum opus, the Paduka Sahasra, the Yadavabhyudaya, and the Hamsa-sandesha

• 32 esoteric texts revealing the hidden meanings of prappati such as the Rahasyatrayasara, the Paramapada Sopana, the Amrita-ranjani, and the Amrita-svadhini

• 1 drama named Sankalpa Suryodaya

• 13 works on arts and sciences such as Bhugola-nirnayam and Silparthasara

• 4 works that codified religious rites and practices such as Sri Vaishnava Dinasari and Bhagavad Aradhana Vidhi

Desika composed his poems in various poetic metres. Vedic literature is written in the form of hymns set rhythmically to different metres, called ‘chandas’. Each metre is governed by the number of syllables specific to it. Poets are expected to conform to these norms in their compositions. Desika has employed 22 metres in the 862 verses he composed on presiding deities of various temples in India. The following are some of the compositions of Vedanta Desika that provide a glimpse of his mastery over poetry, logic, grammar and philosophy:

Hayagriva Stotram: a hymn on Hayagriva, the god of wisdom.

Abhitistava: a prayer to Ranganatha for relief from different types of fear, ultimately seeking and being bestowed refuge at the lotus feet of God.

Achyuta Shataka: a hundred verses in praise of Devanatha, in which Desika expresses his passionate love in the form of a bride.

Bhagavad Dhyana Sopana: Twelve stanzas that describe the steps for meditating upon the deity of Srirangam, Ranganathaswamy.

Dashavatara Stotra: describes the ten important incarnations of God to protect the world and uphold the principles of dharma or righteousness.

Dayashataka: a hundred verses eulogising the mercy or daya of the deity of Tirumala. The work is divided into 10 decads, each portraying different qualities of the personified mother, Dayadevi. It commences with the short anushtab metre. Each successive decad employs a more complex metre, till it culminates in decorative poetry

Garuda Dandaka: a hymn composed in the dandaka metre. According to legend, Desika composed it to summon Garuda to compete against a snake-charmer.

Sri Stuti: a prayer to Lakshmi. It is said to have been composed when a bachelor was sent to Desika, seeking financial help for his marriage.

Raghuvira Gadyam: a hymn dedicated to Rama, based on episodes from the Ramayana.

Sudarshana Ashtaka: eight verses set in the dhritichhandas metre, praising the Sudarshana Chakra of Vishnu.

Kamasika Asthaka: a prayer of eight verses to Narasimha.

Nyasa Sutras: three texts composed by Desika which extract the essence of the sharanagati doctrine of self-surrender. These are the Nyasa Dashaka, Nyasa Vimshati, and Nyasa Tilakam.

Vairagya Panchaka: five verses that describe the importance of renunciation or vairagya. The word ‘dhana’ or wealth, occurs eleven times, each with a different contextual meaning.

Hamsa Sandesha: a lyrical poem of 110 verses, reminiscent of Kalidasa's Meghaduta. It describes Rama sending a message via a swan to his wife Sita, who was abducted by the rakshasa king, Ravana.

Yadavabhyudaya: an epic poem of 24 cantos describing the destiny of the Yadava Kings, the dynasty in which Krishna appeared. It is on par with the Kalidasa's work called Raghuvamsa, which describes the dynasty of the Raghu kings, in which Rama appeared.

Paduka Sahasra: a thousand and eight verses spread over 32 divisions called paddhatis, on the holy sandals of the deity Ranganatha. Desika was challenged by another scholar to compose 1000 verses in a night, and he completed this work in three hours. Verses in one section form pictorial patterns with the arrangements of the letters used.

Tamil works
Vedanta Desika's works in Tamil are numerous, out of which two are noteworthy: Paramatabhangam, where he describes and refutes 15 schools of philosophy, and the Ahara Niyamam, where he describes the correct types food to be consumed by a Vaishnava.

Tributes
Sri Vaishnava texts record how the goddess Lakshmi, known as Ranganayaki in the holy town of Srirangam, personally conferred on him the title of ‘Sarva-tantra-svatantra’ or master of all arts and crafts. It is also believed that Rangantha who is the presiding deity of Srirangam, awarded the title of ‘Vedanta Desika’, meaning: the supreme teacher of the conclusion of all knowledge. This was done because God is believed to have been immensely pleased when Desika debated with differing scholars and established the supremacy of the path of loving surrender, or prapatti-marga.

He received other titles such as ‘Kavitarkika-kesari’ and ‘Kavitarkika-simham’, the lion amongst poets; and ‘Ramanuja-daya-patram’, the recipient of Ramanuja's causeless mercy, given in a laudatory verse composed by the famous Brahma Tantra Svatantra Swami.

In Sri Vaishnavism, a thanian is a laudatory dedication in verse composed about an acharya by another acharya who is the subject's pupil, and someone whom the subject greatly admired. The thanian of Desika is:

"'shrimad-venkata-natharyam vande vedantadeshikam'"

This thanian was composed by brahmatantraswatantra jeeyar of Parakala Mutt on the day of star of Hastham, the star of Varadharaja Perumal of Kanchipuram in the Tamil month of Avani. It is recited before starting Divya Prabandham — the works of Alvars – by Vadakalayars. It translates as "I salute the great Venkata Natha also called Vedanta Acharya and Lion among poets and logicians and who was well adorned by both Knowledge and discretion and who well deserved the grace of Atreya Ramanuja who also had the same name."

A Vaḻi Thirunamam is a set of salutary verses that are chanted in temple, marking the closure of the day's Divya Prabandha Chanting. The salutary verses are sung to ensure that these temples and the practices as established by the acharyas and Ramanuja would be followed forever. Vedanta Desika's Vaḻi Thirunamam is chanted in most of the Vadakalai Divya Desams all over India.