Biographies of South Indian Mahamahopadhyayas

தென்னிந்திய மஹாமஹோபாத்யாயர்கள் வரலாறு

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--Translated from Tamil into English by Divya Shivashankar

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Part 1

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Biographies of South Indian mahAmahOpAdhyAyas
-gurukainkaryamaNi Sri A. KuppuswAmi Iyer B.A., B.T.

First Edition – May 1977

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Benedictory Epistle conferred by

Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetadhipathi, Jagadguru Sri Shankaracharya Swamigal Srimatam, Kanchipuram

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Camp: Sri Halasya Kshetram (Madurai)
Date: 09-04-1977

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In this book titled “Biographies of South Indian mahAmahOpAdhyAyas” that has been compiled and published by Tiruvidaimaruthur Gurukainkaryamani Sri Kuppuswami Iyer of Tiruchirappalli, are contained photographs and life sketches of advaitIs including mannArgudi rAju shAstrigal, paingAnAdu ganapati shAstrigal, karunkulam krishNa shAstrigal, visishtAdvaitins including tirupputkuzhi krishNa tAtAchAryAr, setlur narasimhAchAryAr, rAyampettai krishNamAchAryAr, and dvaitins including srimushNam subbarayAchAr, sethumAdhavAchAr, kumBhakonam kApay rAmachandrAchAr and several others.

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May AstikAs, and especially vidhyArtis of shAstras, learn the life accounts of these vidwAns through this book and increment their shAstraic knowledge and virtues, and thereby attain all prosperity through the grace of the paramAtma.

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narayaNasmrti

 

 

A note of Appreciation

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Sri gurubhyo namah

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Graced by panditarAja shAstraratnAkara nyAyavedanta vAgeesa
brahmasri subrahmanya shAstrigaL

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The foremost eminence of our BhAratadEsha is that the vEda ShAstras, the philosophical treatises, are flourishing. During the reign of Empress Victoria, the practice of honoring scholars well-versed in Veda ShAstras with the birudu ‘mahAmahopadhyAya’ was started as per tradition. The first three scholars thus honored were 1. Sri mAnavalli gangAdhara shAstrigal C.I.E. of Andhrapradesh who taught at the Government samskrita College at kAshi, 2. brahmaSrI TyAgarajAdvarIndra famously revered as Mannargudi rAju shAstrigal, 3. Tirupputkuzhi krishNa tAtAchAryAr, resident of kanchIpuram. That two among these three eminents belong to Tamilnadu is a matter of pride for the state. Several among the shishya paramparA of the recipients of this birudu have themselves since been honored with the mahAmahopAdhyAya birudu. It is most essential for us to learn the life histories of the eminents who have brought our nation glory.

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As per the directive of ‘walking God’ kanchI kAmakOti peeThadhipathi Jagadguru Sri ParamAcharyal, the recipient of His grace tiruvidaimaruthUr srI A. kuppuswAmi Iyer has collected and compiled the life histories of the South Indian eminents who have been recipients of the mahAmahopAdhyAya birudu, and published this book. I state with much joy that this book that enunciates the eminence of our nation, is being enthusiastically welcomed by all citizens of Tamil Nadu.

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Kumbakonam
29-4-1977

V. subramanya shAstri

 

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srI rAju shAstrigal / tyAgarAja dIkshitar

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The commoners of Tamil Nadu refrain (in reverence) from mentioning the name of one exemplary scholar. They generally refer to the said mahAvidwAn as ‘periyavar’ and ‘shAstrigal-vAL’. He is none other than tyAgarAja dikshitar. Commoners know Him by the name ‘rAju shAstrigal’.

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rAju shAstrigal was born as the ninth-generation descendant in the lineage of adayapalam appayya dIkshitar who attained great fame in propagation of advaita vEdAnta. He was born on May 28, 1815 (1813 AD as per a few texts) cyclical year Yuva, in the village koothampAdi adjacent to tiruvArUr also referred to as kamalAlayam. His father mArgasahAya appA dIkshitar (appayya dIkshitar) was an expert in vyAkarana and dharmashAstras. The father named His son after tyAgaraja, the Lord of tiruvArUr. However since the parents and others kept referring to the child affectionately as ‘rAju’, that very name lasted in practice until the very end for tyAgarAjar.

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At the age of seven, tyAgarajar who had been invested with the sacred thread, began His vEdAdhyayana. Two years later, He began learning a few samskrita kAvyas and vyAkaraNa sUtras from His father. A few years later, tyAgarAjar went to stay at kumBhakoNam and learnt vyAkaraNa mahAbhAshyam from chinnaNNA DIkshitar. Furthermore, He learnt pUrvamimAmsa shAstram from raghunAtha shAstriAr of the same town. At one point, He visited mannArgudi and stayed for a while at His maternal uncle’s place. One day, He beheld and paid His respects to a saint named nArAyaNendra saraswati who had been residing there for some time. As a bond was forged between the saint and the young scholar, rAju began learning tarka shAstram from the saint. Thenceforth, our vidwAn resided in mannArgudi for a long time. He learnt vEdAnta shAstram from swayamprakAsa swamigal. He completed learning texts such as ‘MuktAvali’, ‘சதாதரீயம்’ etc. and a few texts of vaishNavite philosophy. Thus, within the age of twenty, rAju shAstrigal shone as an exemplary vidwan.

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Post the completion of His training, shAstrigal decided to leave mannArgudi for His hometown. However, as many residents of mannArgudi including a few wealthy men entreated Him to make mannArgudi His permanent abode as they were unwilling to let a great young scholar such as shAstrigal leave their town, shAstrigal relented and remained in mannArgudi thenceforth as mannArgudi Raju shAstrigal. He revels in people’s hearts even today as mannArgudi rAju shAstrigal.

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shAstrigal was invited to the annual navarAtri sadas at pudukkOttai by the King of pudukkOttai in 1836. Great vidwAns including kuppAchAryAr gathered at the sadas were all defeated in debate by rAju shAstrigal all of twenty years of age. A few years went by. Several youngsters flocked to learn from rAju shAstrigal. The following are a few prominent disciples of shAstrigal:

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• harihara shAstri, who became an exemplary nyAya shAstra vidwan in later years, and received the mahAmahopAdhyAya birudu

• painganadu ganapati shAstri, who attained fame and exemplary wisdom even at a young age and authored several texts

• krishNamAchAryAr

• nadukAveri SrinivAsa shAstri

• pazhamArneri sundara shAstri who later received the mahAmahopAdhyAya birudu

• paruthiyUr krishNa shAstri, who later shone with excellence in expounding the rAmAyaNA

• Angarai subbarAya shAstri

• agnichit rAmakrishNa shAstri of Andhra dEsham.
   

A few saints were also among those who had done vEdAnta shravaNa from rAju shAstrigal; mahAdEva Ashrami was prominent among them.

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rAju shAstrigal attained fame by performing sOma yAgam in 1885. The Golden Jubilee of Empress Victoria’s reign was celebrated in London in 1887, as well as in several Indian cities. On the occasion, the ‘mahAmahopAdhyAya’ birudu was conferred upon shAstrigal by the British-Indian government. Upon learning of the unparalleled scholarship of rAju shAstrigal and of the immense reverence people had unto Him, the Collector of Thanjavur (a Britisher) visited mannArgudi and submitted the ‘mahAmahopAdhyAya’ birudu to shAstriAr.

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In 1895, with the blessings of Srimad chandrashekharendra saraswati swAmigal, the 66th Acharyal of the kAnchI kAmakOti peeTham, an institution ‘advaita sabhA’ was established in kumBhakoNam. For seven years since its inception, shAstriAr played a prominent role in the growth of the sabhA and participated in its annual sadas each year. At the end of 1902, the health of this eminent began deteriorating. Though suitable treatment was provided, His health was never restored. He attained sadgati on 4 March 1903, Wednesday shukla shashti, mAsi 21 of the cyclical year Subakrt.

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rAju shAstrigal was married at the age of twenty two. However, as He had been widowed within a few years, He took sundari as His second wife. Two daughters were born to this couple. In 1866, as per the advise of His elderly father mArgasahAya appayya dIkshitar, shAstrigal adopted His brother’s son nIlakantan. One among the exceptional qualities of shAstrigal was His amiable disposition towards His kith and kin. He was an adept at teaching advaita vEdAnta. He attained great fame as the foremost authority in dharmashAstra in all of South India.

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shAstrigal authored thirty texts in samskrtam. ‘sadvidyA vilAsam’ the essence of chAndogya upanishad, ‘nyAyendu shekharam’ a text refuting vaishnavite philosophical text nyAyabhAskaram, ‘sAmarudra samhita Bhashyam’, ‘Sivatattva viveka deepikA’, ‘tyAgarAjastavam’ a stotram composed on Lord Sri tyAgarAjA of tiruvarUr, ‘vedAnta vAda sangraham’ — are some of the prominent texts authored by shAstrigal. Though over seventy years have lapsed since the passing of this eminent, it is an irrefutable truth that His reputation continues to pervade tamilnAdu.

 

 

 

SrI krishNa tAtAchAryAr

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There exists a celebrated sacred place named tirupputkuzhi (7 miles west of kanchI, toNdainAdu) among the 14 vishNu shrines around kanchI glorified by the mangalAshAsanams of Azhwars. In this holy town, a mahAvidwAn named krishNa tAtAchAryar was born in 1823. His father was venkataguru alias gopAla tAtAchAryar. krishNa tAtAchAryar was seen blessed with a sharp intellect and remarkable retention skill even at a young age. He was customarily referred to as ‘ayyA’.

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Upon His upanayanam, He learnt the divyaprabandhams. Later he mastered the sAhitya shastram under gopAla tAtAchAryar. He learnt nyAyashAstram from a scholar named divapradeepa venkatAchAryAr. He learnt vyAkaraNam from jataprolu rangAchAryAr, and later learnt mimAmsa shAstram from vidwAn mousAlagadda மௌஸாலகட்ட SrinivAsarAghavAchAryAr. Later, tAtAchAryAr reached Srirangam and learnt visishtAdvaita vedAnta from Srimad periyandavan SrinivAsa yogIndra Swami.

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Thus, after having mastered several shAstrams, he shone with excellence as the Asthana vidwAn of vEnkatagiri samasthAna near nellore. He spent his later years in kanchI and tirupputkuzhi. He undertook kainkaryam as the administrator of SrI varadarAja swAmi temple in kanchIpuram.

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During the golden jubilee of Empress Victoria’s reign in 1887, the Indian government conferred upon krishNa tAtAchAryAr the ‘mahamahOpadhyAya’ birudu. In 1889, this scholar attained paramapadA in His 66th year.

He has authored ‘shatakoti Khandanam’ as a rebuttal to ‘satpratipaksha’ authored by mysore rAma shAstriar. 22 years after his having attained paramapadA, His work ‘BhAttasaaram’ – the essence of the adhikaraNas contained in kumArilabhatta’s BhattapAda vArtikam, was serialized in 1912 in ‘sahrdaya’ magazine that was being published out of Srirangam.

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SrI harihara shAstrigal

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SrI harihara shAstrigal was born in the mid nineteenth century in tirukkOshtiyur in rAmanathapuram district, one of the vaishnavite strongholds of Tamilnadu. His ancestors were vedic scholars. Until the age of twenty, He resided in His hometown and learnt vEdam from His grandfather. Later, He learnt kAvya-nAtakAs from one VedAntAchAryAr and also studied tarka and vyAkaraNa to an extent. At the age of twenty-one, He proceeded to tiruvidamarudur and learnt vyAkaraNa shAstram from vidwAn Anna vAjapEyar. Later, He proceeded to mannArgudi and learnt pUrva mimAmsa, uttara mimAmsa, smritis, purANAs, shroutam etc. from the eminent rAju shAstrigal.

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Later, upon relocating to kumBhakoNam from mannArgudi, shAstriar examined advaitic works such as brahmAnandeeyam, brahmavidyABharanam, siddhAntabindu, brahmasUtravrtti, and had them printed. Among works printed thus, the second part of ‘nyAyEndu shEkharam’ published by the advaita sabhA, is of major significance. During his tenure in kumBhakoNam, shAstrigal remained a prime researcher at the advaita sabhA, the growth of which he had a significant role in. He was also the chief examiner at the kALahasti advaita sabhA for about a decade.

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Later, shAstriar was an adhyApakar at a samskrita college in Chidambaram. During said time, several youngsters from various parts of South India came to stay at chidambaram and learnt from harihara shAstrigal. Among these, thEthiyur subramaNya shAstrigal, nUrani ananthakrishNa shAstrigal of kerala, karunkuLam krishNa shAstrigal, injikkollai jagadeesa shAstrigal, and pOlagam rAmA shAstrigal are noteworthy. After having relocated from Mysore, harihara shAstrigal taught at a samskrita college in Mysore state. shAstriar resided there for several years.

The Indian Government conferred upon him the ‘mahAmahOpAdhyAya’ birudu. His teaching methodology came under much praise from fellow vidwAns and his disciples. It is only due to his efforts that several advaita granthAs gained the form of printed books.

 

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SrI ramasubbA shAstrigal

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In the delta region of river Kaveri and 5 miles east of kumBhakoNam, there lies a shaivite shrine tiruviyalUr glorified by tEvAram, on the northern banks of river kAveri. This village has been a proud benefactor to the world by way of having hosted great mahAns within its precincts. This village is indeed the hometown of SrI Sridhara Venkatesa Arya. This village is known as tiruvisanallUr at present. During the former part of the nineteenth century, a scholar named rAmashankara shAstri was residing there, to whom rAmasubbA shAstrigal was born. His given name was rAmasubramaNya shAstrigal.

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Post completion of vedAdhyayanam at a young age, He undertook shastrAdhyayanam, and with great enthusiasm he gained mastery over mimAmsa shAstram. Though he was an advaitin, he nurtured great Bhakti towards Lord Vishnu and was revered as a vaishNavA by other scholars. Having developed a distaste for shrouta Karmas such as yAgam, he authored a book titled ‘pashumAraka mardhanam’ that condemns performance of yAgams.

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He taught mImAmsA shAstram and advaita granthAs to several who came to learn from him, of whom tiruvisanallUr vEnkatasubbA shAstrigal and neelamegha shAstrigal, who greatly revered their teacher. shAstrigal was of an autonomous mindset. He never visited any place with an eye on rewards or hospitality. Since he was an expert in visishtAdvaita as well, vaishnavites such as nAvalpAkkam varadAchAryAr and pandita dIkshitAchAryAr studied under him. At the start of the twentieth century, his fame spread all across tamilnadu. Though he never made any efforts towards earning titles or fame, the mahAmahOpAdhyAya title was conferred upon him at the end of his life by the Indian Government, through the efforts of his students as well as fellow scholars.

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He was a prolific writer in Samskritam; the prominent texts He authored are:

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• shAstraikyaBhangavAdam

• chandrikA khaNdanam

• AnandArthavAdam

• Omkara nAdArTham

• nirviseShavAdam

• brahmasUtra tattvArtha vilAsam

• BhAShyAnanda prakaraNam

• vedAnta sUtra muktAvali tIka

• tattvArtha vibhOdhanam

• vishNutattva rahasyam

• brahmavidhyA muktAphalam

• bhAshya gAmbIrya nirNayam

• atharvasirOpanishat vilAsam

• kaivalyOpanishat vilAsam

• svetasvatArOpanishat vilAsam

• jagatkaraNatA vilAsam

• dharma vivechanam

• raghuvIra vrtta stavam

• alankAra shAstra sangraham

• sarvavedAntasarvamatatattvArthavilAsam etc.
   

Apart from these, He has written a commentary on the bhagavad geeta, and a commentary on the BhAttadIpikA titled ‘BhAttakalpataru’.

 

 

 

 

Sri Balakrishna Shastrigal

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SrI bAlakrishna shAstrigal was born in the hallowed SivakshEtra tiruvaiyAru of thanjavUr district, in the first half of the nineteenth century. His parents were SrI praNatArthihara shAstrigal and Smt pArvati ammAl. bAlakrishNar, prodigal from a young age, attained vEdantic wisdom from a scholarly advaita sannyasi. Later, he trained in nyAyashAstra under SrinivAsAchAryAr of vaNNAtrankarai near thanjAvUr, and learnt mImAmsA from maruthanchEri kuppuswAmi shAstrigal.

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He completed vEdAdhyayanA, revived several obsolete yAgAs and himself performed yAgAs such as the sOmayAga. He was an expert teacher of vEdAnta and among His illustrious students in vEdAnta were mallai rAmakrishNa shAstri, guntUr narasimha shAstri, gOdAvari sadAshiva shAstri, mandakuLathUr chinnaswAmi shAstri (who was later conferred the mahAmahOpAdhyAya birudu), varahUr venkatrAma shAstrigal etc. “sajjanaranjanam”, a rebuttal to the text pashumAraka mardanam authored by tiruvisanallur rAmasubbA shAstrigal, is prominent among the few texts he has authored.

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He was the dAnAdhikAri at the pudukkOttai samasthAnA for a few years, before settling in tiruvaiyAru. He embraced sanyAsA and attained siddhi on krishNapaksha ashtami, chittirai month, virOdhikrt year (May 1911). His samAdhi, where pooja is perfomed everyday, is located behind the adhishtAnA of SrI tyAgabrahmam at TiruvaiyAru. His son SrI viswanAtha shAstrigal was an excellent vidwAn. balakrishna shAstrigal was closely associated with advaita sabhA, kumBhakonam, founded in 1895, and with the kanchI SrI ShankarAchArya maTha. The Indian government conferred upon Him the mahAmahOpAdhyAya birudu.

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Sri Venkatasubba Shastrigal

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venkatasubbA shAstrigal was born to Smt kAmAkshi ammAl and SrI rAyalu venkatarAma shAstrigal of the karnataka smarta hoysala brahmin sect, in 1864 in sahAjipuram aka tiruvisanallUr where SrI SrIdhara ayyavAl had once invoked river Ganga into his well. venkatarama ShAstrigal belonged to the AsvalAyana sUtram, and had completed traditional adhyayana of rigvEda. He was an asthAna vidwan of the kAnchI kAmakOti maTham and had also been honored by the tiruvananthapuram mahArajA. The mother of venkatasubbA shAstrigal was the daughter of famed poet vAncheswara yajva (kutti shAstri) belonging to the lineage of govinda dIkshitar, the hallowed Tanjore mantri.

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A young venkatasubbA shAstrigal completed adhyayana of the rigveda with angAs from his very own father. He learnt kAvya-nAtaka-alankArAs from vidwAn srI rAmachandra shAstrigal of tanjore, nyAya shAstram from srI mahAlinga shAstrigal, mImAmsA and vishishtAdvaitam from mahAmahOpAdhyAya rAmasubbA shAstrigal. Through his service to his gurus while dedicatedly imbibing his lessons, he obtained the consummate grace of his Gurus. He also had the opportunity of listening to vAkyArthAs of great vidwAns visiting the kAmakOti maTham. A few of his contemporary vidhyArthis were SrI neelamEgha shAstrigal, SrI pandita dIkshitachAryar who was a famed vidwan at the kochI royal court, and nAvalpAkkam varadAchAriAr.

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An invite had been sent in 1888 to srI rAmasubbA shAstrigal and his sishyas to attend the yearly pariksha at the annual veda vedanta vardhini sabhA at the TiruvallikkeNi SrI pArthasArathy swAmi sannidhi. However, since rAmasubbA shAstrigal strictly adhered to several niyamAs, he did not desire to travel that great a distance. He wrote in reply that he would send his sishyAs, and sent venkatasubbA shAstrigal for the mImAmsA parIksha. shAstrigal was overwhelmed on his first ever visit to Chennai upon gazing at the congregated vidwAns. Nevertheless with reverence to his Guru in his heart, he bravely presented to the examiners the letters and granthAs he had brought with him and humbly sat in a corner. The examiners were astonished by the humility of shAstrigal and yet did not think much of his hidden potential. The vaishnava vidwAns who were the parikshAdhikArIs, examined shAstrigal in multifariously. shAstrigal suitably answered several complicated questions and emerged successful. Therefore, the sabhA members endowed extraordinary and special awards on venkatasubbA shAstrigal, besides sending with him special awards honoring his Guru SrI rAmasubbA shAstrigal. Around this time, venkatasubbA shAstrigal married mahAlakshmi, a native of tiruvisanallur.

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Our shAstrigal appeared for the pUrva mImamsa examination conducted by the King of Mysore in 1892, and won due to his sharp intellect. He was also appointed as the examiner. Later he was honoured by the pudukkOttai samasthAnam, the King of Travancore, and Kochi royal court. 

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Though shAstrigal had been honored by several samasthAnams, since his ancestors were vidwAns of the kanchI kAmakOti maTham, he was accordingly appointed as the AsthAna mahAvidwAn of the kanchI kAmakOti maTham.

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In 1906, Hon. V. krishNaswamy Iyer who was searching for a suitable teacher for mImAmsA, dharmashastram etc., at the samskrita College at Chennai he had established, requested the maTham to help provide the expertise of shAstrigal for the purpose. Accepting the supplication of SrI krishNaswAmy Iyer, the kamakOti PeeThadhipathi sent shAstrigal to teach at the college. shAstrigal who accepted the guru Ajna, taught at the college while occasionally performing kainkarya for the SrimaTham. He took charge as the Principal of the College in 1916 and remained in that position until his passing. He acted as the examiner for the Siromani examinations upon its introduction by the Madras University in 1916, besides acting as an examiner at the advaita sabhAs in kumBhakoNam and trichy, the University at Kashi, and the royal courts at Pudukkottai and Mysore. shAstrigal attained Sivapadam in 1928.

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kAnchI kAmakOti peeThadhipathi conferred upon shAstrigal the title 'shAstra ratnAkara' in 1917. In 1923, Bharatha Dharma mahAmaNdalA of kAshI conferred upon shAstrigal the title 'mImAmsA ratnam'. When the Prince of Britain had visited India in 1922, he conferred medals and thOda on shAstrigal in his court. In 1925, the Indian Government conferred upon venkatasubbA shAstrigal the mahAmahopAdhyAya birudu. On the occasion of shAstrigal's sashtiabdhapoorthi, the kAnchI kAmakOti peeThadhipathi honored him with a navaratna-encrusted ring, while the samskrita College honored him with a silver vessel. He endeavored to print his maternal grandfather vAncheswara yajva's 'BhAtta chintAmaNi', a vyAkhyAnA written on the mImAmsa grantha BhAttadIpika. He was a fluent orator and would tutor his students with a cheerful affection.

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He was endowed with great Bhakti towards his Guru and great affection towards his students. Once when his sahapAThi SrI neelamegha shAstrigal was to be conferred the mahAmahOpAdhyaya birudu, venkatasubbA shAstrigal along with SrI neelamegha shAstrigal argued that a title not conferred upon their guru cannot be accepted by them, and consequently their guru SrI rAmasubbA shAstrigal was awarded the title, only after which he accepted the title himself.  He was a strict AchArashIlA with no interest in pomp. A classroom named 'mImAmsAshAlA' at Madras samskrit college was built in honour of SrI vEnkatasubbA shAstrigal and inaugurated by SrI kAnchI Acharyal. Chief disciples of shAstrigal included K. A. lakshmana shAstrigal, ananthakrishNa shAstrigal, chinnaswAmi shAstrigal, AchArya SrI venkatesa dIkshitar, pakshiteertham ramachandra dIkshitar, sOmadEva Sarma, among others.

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Sri Neelamegha Shastrigal

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The great scholar neelamegha shAstrigal was born in sAhAjipuram / tiruvisanallUr, the place where mahAns and scholars were born, on the Northern banks of river kAveri next to kumBhakONam. He had His vidhyAbhyAsam from the great scholar Sri rAmasubbA shAstrigal of the same town. He learnt mImAmsA shAstram in particular. Since He had attained proficiency in education even at a young age, he was appointed as an adhyApakar at Madras Samskrita College by its then administrator Late V. Krishnaswamy Iyer. He attained great fame during His tenure at the Madras Samskrita College. An important co-student of His was venkatasubbA shAstrigal from the same native town as his. It is noteworthy that when it so happened that he was to be conferred the ‘mahAmahOpAdhyAya’ birudu from the Indian Government, he along with his friend venkatasubbA shAstrigal, declared that he would not accept this birudu that hadn’t been conferred on his guru SrI rAmasubbA shAstrigal, and went on to accept the birudu only after his guru had been honoured with the same.

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Chetlur Sri Narasimhachariar

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SrI narasimhAchAriAr was born on viBhava aippasi moolam in tiruvahindrapuram on the banks of the kadilam / garuda river in South Arcot. His ancestors carried the kula name 'chetlur'. His birthday coincided with the tirunakshatram of his prAkAchAryar SrI rangarAmAnuja mahAdesikar. His father rAmAnujAchAryAr and his grandfather tAtAchAryAr were proficient scholars in samskritam. narasimhAchAryAr learnt kAvya lessons from his father, and later had his pancha samskAram from sanyAsi SrI SrinivAsa mahAdEsikA, (who was his grandfather's younger brother in pUrvashrama) from whom he learnt a few vaishNava sampradAya granthAs. He later learnt other sampradAya granthAs from him at Srirangam, oppiliappan Kovil and tiruvahIndrapuram.

 

This vidwAn was endowed with good sangeeta gnAnA and a remarkable voice. He was as proficient in Tamil as he was in samskritam, chiefly in divya praBhandams and SrI vedAnta desika praBandhams. He was an expert in mellifluous rAmAyana pravachanam. In 1906, he settled in Chennai, and spent the next 25 years living in tiruvallikkeni and purasaiwakkam. During his stay in Chennai, he was associated with Sri Venkateswara Printers and was involved in authoring as well as publishing several rare granthAs.  His contribution has been remarkable in printing and publishing SrIbhAshyam, vEdantadeepam, vedantasAram, SrI rAmAnujAchAryAr's commentary to the Bhagavad gIta, with commentaries by Sri Sankara and Sri madhvA, gItA BhAshyam, gItArtha sangraham authored by SrI AlavandAr along with tAtparya chandrikA (explanation to SrI rAmAnuja BhAshyam), commentary on it named geetArtha sangraha rakshai by vedAnta desikar etc. He also helped print the 10th Skanda of Srimad Bhagavatam with commentary.  His samskrita upOdghAtam to SriBhAshyam is praiseworthy.

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It wouldn't be an exaggeration when stated that the credit of propagating SrI vaishNava granthAs and the glory of SrI vEdAnta dEsikar through publication of books and pravachanams rests on SrI narasimhAchAriAr during his 25-year stay in Chennai. Stalwarts of that era such as V. V. Srinivasa ayyangar, varadAchAriAr, BhAshyam ayyangAr etc. had great respect towards SrI narasimhAchAriAr. During his stay in Chennai, he taught granthas like SriBhAshyam, GeetABhashyam, Bhagavad vishayam etc. to several residents of Tiruvallikkeni, Mylapore, Purasaiwakkam, Chintadripet, Muthialpet etc.

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He has published several works, majorly in maNipravALa format. Significant works of his include - commentary on amruta ranjani rahasyam, vyAkhyAnams on several Desika prabhandams, translations into tamil of commentaries by Vedanta Desikar on AlavandAr's chatussloki stotram and Sri rAmAnujAchAryA's Sharanagati gadyatrayam, translation into tamil of shatadooshaNi grantha, apart from a few minor works. 

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Several awards and titles have been conferred upon him, including 'DesikadarsanAchAriAr', 'Pandita Bhushanam', 'dEsika darshana vijayadwajar' etc. In 1926, the birudu mahAmahopadhyAya was conferred upon him by the Indian Government. In 1939, he was appointed as an adhyApakar of vaishnava vedanta at the Tirupati Sanskrit College. A north Indian scholar is said to have learnt granthAs including Sribhashyam from narasimhAchAriAr at that time.

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He presented discourses at the ahObila mathA's annual sabhA and at SrI vaishNava siddhAnta sabhA. He presided over the SrIvaishNava siddhAnta sabhA held at mannArgudi in 1929. He published his presidential address from the event as a small booklet titled SrI satsampradAya vivEkam. His Bhakti towards SrI vedAnta dEsikar was extraordinary. He, along with Sri tAtAchAriAr, co-performed the consecration of SrI dEsikar sannidhi built on keezha utthara street at Srirangam. He conducted an annual vidvat sadas at Tiruvahindrapuram during Sri Desikar's Brahmotsavam.

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His 60th tirunakshatram was celebrated in 1928. On pramAdhi-kArthikai-rohini (of 1929), this mahaan attained vaikunTam. His 70th tirunakshatram was reverently observed at tiruvahIndrapuram.  His Centenary was celebrated by devotees with pomp in 1968.

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Read South Indian Mahamahopadhyayas Part 2

 

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