Swami
Swami ( ; sometimes abbreviated sw.) in Hinduism is an honorific title given to a male or female ascetic who has chosen the path of renunciation (''sanyāsa''), or has been initiated into a religious monastic order of Vaishnavas. It is used eit ...
Mudaliyandan was a
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
Vaishnava
Vaishnavism ( sa, वैष्णवसम्प्रदायः, Vaiṣṇavasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu denominations along with Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism. It is also called Vishnuism since it considers Vishnu as the ...
religious
Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatur ...
figure who lived in the 11th century CE. He was a nephew of Sri
Ramanuja
Ramanuja ( Middle Tamil: Rāmāṉujam; Classical Sanskrit: Rāmanuja; 1017 CE – 1137 CE; ; ), also known as Ramanujacharya, was an Indian Hindu philosopher, guru and a social reformer. He is noted to be one of the most important exponents ...
, the codifier of the
philosophy of
Srivaishnavism.
Swami Mudaliyaandaan was born in 1027 CE at Pachhai Vaarana Perumal Sannidhi (referred to as "
Nazarethpettai" today) in Thondai mandalam, in the state of
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...
in
South India
South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territ ...
. His parents were Vaadhoola Kula Thilaka Sri Anantha Narayana Dikshithar and Naachiyaramman (Sri Ramanuja 's sister). Daasarathi, as he was named, was Ramanuja's ''Priya Bhagineya'' in the parlance of the age. Born to his service, and known as "Yathiraaja Paaduka", he enjoyed a special relationship with Emberummanaar (Ramanuja) all his life.
Having begun his learning with his father, Daasarathi would go on to become, with
Koorathazhwan, a pillar of support to Emberumaanar, acclaimed by him as being identical to his thridandam - his staff of office as a
sanyasi
''Sannyasa'' (Sanskrit: संन्यास; IAST: ), sometimes spelled Sanyasa (सन्न्यास) or Sanyasi (for the person), is life of renunciation and the fourth stage within the Hindu system of four life stages known as '' As ...
. However, Emberumaanar kept him busy in many ways, as he was a capable executive and administrator. He was later to be known as "''Sriranganaatha Divyaalaya Nirvahana Dhurandhara''" - the genius who organized, under Emberumanaars tutelage, the administration of the
Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple.
As he ruled the temple staff like Senai Muthaliyaar (Sri
Vishvaksena), he was given the name Muthali-Aandaan.{{cn, date=April 2019 He is mentioned in the Koyil Ozhugu, the chronicle of Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple, in glowing terms: ''"muthaliyaandaanum kurattilirunthu koyil kariyaththaiyum uLLe karuvulaka vaasalileyirunthu thirumeni upachaaraththayum, sannathiyile irunthu thiruppavaLa upchaarangaLayum udayavar niyamanappadi aaraaynthu kondu anaiththazhagum kaNdarula paNNIk-kondirunthaar".'' (Roughly translated as: And Muthaliyandan administered the following, according to Ramanuja's orders, the many works of the temple, the services to the Lord, and the works of the Shrine.)
Sri Muthaliyaandaan is most well known for his lapidary saying, here given in transliterated maNipraavaaLam: "''oru malaiyil ninru, oru malaiyil thaavum simha shareeraththil janthukkaL pole bhaashyakaarar samsaaralanganam paNNa avarOdundaana kudalthudakkaale naam udhdheerdaraavuthomenru muthaliyaandaruLi-ch-cheytha paasuram''". This is roughly translatable as follows: When a lion leaps from a mountain to another, all the creatures that live on his body go with him. Even so, when Udayavar transcended this world, all of us who are associated with him benefit from this as well.
His descendants are now among the
Acharyas
In Indian religions and society, an ''acharya'' (Sanskrit: आचार्य, IAST: ; Pali: ''ācariya'') is a preceptor and expert instructor in matters such as religion, or any other subject. An acharya is a highly learned person with a tit ...
of the
Sri Vaishnavism tradition, and carry the title of Mudaliyandan Swami. Prominent one being his son, Srimad Vadoola Kovil Kandhadai Annan Swami, whose descendants are one of the ashtadiggajas of the Sri Vaishnava sampradaya following the Thenkalaiacharya branch.
Indian Vaishnavites
Hindu religious workers
11th-century Indian people