Nanjiyar
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Nanjiyar (c. 1182-1287) was a
Sri Vaishnava Sri Vaishnavism () is a denomination within the Vaishnavism tradition of Hinduism, predominantly practiced in South India. The name refers to goddess Lakshmi (also known as Sri), as well as a prefix that means "sacred, revered", and the god V ...
philosopher from present-day
Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...
, India. He wrote a commentary on the
Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...
-language text ''
Tiruvaymoli The ''Tiruvaymoli'' ( ) is a work of Tamil Hindu literature. Comprising 1102 verses, it was composed in the ninth century CE by the Hindu poet-saint Nammalvar, who is regarded as the foremost of the Alvar saints of South India. It is the most prom ...
''.


Legendary biography

The
Tenkalai Sri Vaishnavism () is a denomination within the Vaishnavism tradition of Hinduism, predominantly practiced in South India. The name refers to goddess Lakshmi (also known as Sri), as well as a prefix that means "sacred, revered", and the god V ...
tradition (''Guru-parampara'') narrates the biography of Nanjiyar as follows: Nanjiyar, originally known as Madhava, was born at Tirunarayanapuram in the Kaliyuga year 4214. (This corresponds to 1112 CE, and is chronologically absurd, as the legend describes him as a contemporary of Parashara Bhattarya, who had died 22 years earlier). Madhava was a prominent Advaita Vedanta scholar, and had two wives. A wealthy and charitable man, he was so proud that he sat on a throne. Meanwhile, in
Srirangam Srirangam is a neighbourhood in the city of Tiruchirappalli in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. A river island, Srirangam is bounded by the Kaveri River on one side and its distributary Kollidam on the other side. Considered as the first among ...
,
Ramanuja Ramanuja ('; Middle Tamil: Rāmāṉujam; Classical Sanskrit: Rāmānuja; 1077 – 1157), also known as Ramanujacharya, was an Indian Hindu philosopher, guru and social reformer. He is one of the most important exponents of the Sri Vaishnavi ...
's cousin Embar succeeded him as the leader of Sri Vaishnavas, followed by Parashara Bhattarya. One day, Parashara learned about Madhava and his extravagant claims through a Brahmin pilgrim, and resolved to convert him to Vaishnavism. Parashara went to Gangorai (near Shringeri), where Madhava lived. Parashara disguised himself as a Brahmin among a crowd whom Madhava fed everyday, and asked him for alms in form of a philosophical debate. The ensuing debate continued for ten days, and on the eleventh day, Parashara defeated Madhava with the help of Tirumangai Alvar's '' Tirunetuntantakam'' and
Yamunacharya Yamunacharya (IAST: Yamunāchārya), also known as Alavandar and Yamunaithuraivan, was a Vishistadvaita philosopher based in Srirangam, Tamil Nadu, India. He is best-known for being a preceptor of Ramanuja, one of the leaders of the Sri ...
's ''Mayavadakhandanam''. Madhava accepted his defeated, converted to Vaishnavism, and adopted Ramanuja's
Vishishtadvaita Vishishtadvaita (IAST '; ) is a school of Hindu philosophy belonging to the Vedanta tradition. Vedanta refers to the profound interpretation of the Vedas based on Prasthanatrayi. Vishishta Advaita, meaning "non-duality with distinctions", is a ...
philosophy. Madhava accepted Parashara as his ''
acharya In Indian religions and society, an ''acharya'' (Sanskrit: आचार्य, IAST: ; Pali: ''ācariya'') is a religious teacher in Hinduism and Buddhism and a spiritual guide to Hindus and Buddhists. The designation has different meanings i ...
'' (teacher), and expressed his desire to follow Parashara to
Srirangam Srirangam is a neighbourhood in the city of Tiruchirappalli in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. A river island, Srirangam is bounded by the Kaveri River on one side and its distributary Kollidam on the other side. Considered as the first among ...
. However, Parashara told him to continue feeding Brahmins at his own place. Parashara obeyed him, and started providing hospitality to Sri Vaishnavas. One day, his wives treated two Sri Vaishnava travelers disrespectfully. When he learned about this incident, he was disappointed, and decided to renounce the world. He divided his wealth into three parts, one each for his wives, and the remaining for Parashara. He then became a
sanyasin ''Sannyasa'' (), sometimes spelled ''sanyasa'', is the fourth stage within the Hindu system of four life stages known as '' ashramas'', the first three being ''brahmacharya'' (celibate student), ''grihastha'' (householder) and ''vanaprastha'' ...
and went to Srirangam, the centre of Sri Vaishnava school. Parashara gave him the title Nanjiyar, that is "our saint"(''nam-jiyar''). Nanjiyar wrote a commentary to the Tamil-language text ''
Tiruvaymoli The ''Tiruvaymoli'' ( ) is a work of Tamil Hindu literature. Comprising 1102 verses, it was composed in the ninth century CE by the Hindu poet-saint Nammalvar, who is regarded as the foremost of the Alvar saints of South India. It is the most prom ...
''. According to a legend, he asked Nambur Varadaraja to make a copy of this text. On the way to his village, Varadaraja lost the original manuscript while crossing the
Kaveri River The Kaveri (also known as Cauvery) is a major river flowing across Southern India. It is the third largest river in the region after Godavari and Krishna. The catchment area of the Kaveri basin is estimated to be and encompasses the states o ...
. Varadaraja then wrote the entire commentary from his memory. Nanjiyar found that Varadaraja's copy contained additional interpretations and was much better than the original manuscript. Nanjiyar called Varadaraja his own son (''nam pillai''), and appointed him as his successor. Nampillai was also known as Nambilla, Namburi Varadarya, and Lokacharya. Nanjiyar was also known as Periya-jiyar, Vedanti Mādhava-dāsa, Mādhva-sūri, Vedānti-muni, Ranganatha-muni, and Nārāyaṇa-muni.


Works

Nanjiyar wrote a commentary on ''
Tiruvaymoli The ''Tiruvaymoli'' ( ) is a work of Tamil Hindu literature. Comprising 1102 verses, it was composed in the ninth century CE by the Hindu poet-saint Nammalvar, who is regarded as the foremost of the Alvar saints of South India. It is the most prom ...
'', called ''Onpatinayirappadi'' ("9000 ''padis''"), so-called after its 9000 ''padis'' or ''granthas'' (a unit comprising 32 letters). In his commentary, Nanjiyar discusses objections to the sacred status of ''Tiruvaymoli'', such as that it was composed by a low-caste man in a language not suitable for sacred purposes; its songs were recited by low-caste men and even women; these songs were not known outside the Tamil-speaking region where even those outside the Vedic faith honored them; the songs downgraded traditional ideals of
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
-language tradition, such as ''
kaivalya Kaivalya () is the ultimate goal of aṣṭāṅga yoga and means "solitude", "detachment" or "isolation", a -derivation from "alone, isolated". It is the isolation of purusha from prakṛti, and liberation from rebirth, i.e., moksha. is describ ...
''; and discussed topics such as sexual desire that were traditionally disapproved of. Nanjiyar refuted these objections by stating that these alleged flaws were actually virtues: the
Shudra Shudra or ''Shoodra'' (Sanskrit: ') is one of the four varnas of the Hindu class and social system in ancient India. Some sources translate it into English as a caste, or as a social class. Theoretically, Shudras constituted a class like work ...
author of ''Tiruvaymoli'' had accumulated so much
merit Merit may refer to: Religion * Merit (Buddhism) * Merit (Christianity) Companies and brands * Merit (cigarette), a brand of cigarettes * Merit Energy Company, an international energy company * Merit Motion Pictures, an independent documentar ...
in his past lives that
Vishnu Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation ( ...
provided him divine inspiration and grace; the author's rendition of the meaning of the
Vedas FIle:Atharva-Veda samhita page 471 illustration.png, upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the ''Atharvaveda''. The Vedas ( or ; ), sometimes collectively called the Veda, are a large body of relig ...
in Tamil allowed even those who were not entitled to read the Vedas (such as Shudras and women) to find salvation; the hymns are so excellent that even those following non-Vedic lifestyle accept them; even non-Tamils wished they knew Tamil just to be able to understand these songs; and the songs did not exclude traditional values but organized them in a proper hierarchy. Nanjiyar and other Sri Vaishnava teachers promoted the view that revelation is fully expressed equally in Tamil and Sanskrit languages: the Sanskrit texts teach what the god has in mind, while the Tamil text ''Tiruvaymoli'' expresses the nature of god most clearly and perfectly to inspire and increase devotion.


References

{{reflist Sri Vaishnava religious leaders 12th-century Indian writers 13th-century Indian non-fiction writers 12th-century Indian philosophers 13th-century Indian philosophers 1182 births 1287 deaths