[doctorzlo]

.. NAAMAM POATTAAR Ramanujar..?.... means Cheated..??

It has become a Mockery-Saying or a Denigrative Pseudo- Proverb in Tamil .. as “Naamam Poattaan” .. to mean somebody’s cheating .

How did such a perverted sense is meant for the Divine Naamam, the Vaishnavite Symbol of God Naryana’s Holy-feet adorned in Temples and such other holy places as also worn on the Devotees’ forehead.?

On what basis such a denigrative meaning emanated.?

Answer for this Question is in the History of Ramnuja’s initial period of stay at Karnataka.

Created by the then Jains, this Tamil-saying had been imported from Karnataka region to Tamilnadu, after Ramanuja’s revolutionary Emancipations performed invincibly there.

Prior to Ramanuja’s entry there, the erstwhile Hindu King named Vishnuvardhana ruling over Karnataka region then, had been converted as Jain by their Scholars and his name was changed as “Pittiraya”. Following their King, a major part of his subjects also got converted to Jainsm.

Eventualy the Jains established a capital for Jainism at Srvanabelegula near Bangalore and were propogating their Religion all over South-India. in a mass scale converting the Hindus and Budhists as Jains.

In the mean time, the Princess became seriously sick due to possession by an Evil-spirit. After all sorts of their best attempts by Manthreekam and Medicines to cure the Princess became ineffective and futile, Ramanujacharya was approached, who could easily drive out the Brahma-rakshasa (Worst-Devil indwelling the Princess), as detailed hereabove earlier.

Then the King was so well impressed on the Acharya, that he appealed to accept him as the follower. The request was accepted by the Guru and so the King was restored to his previous name of Vishnuvardhana, alongside becoming the disciple of Ramanuja..

Following the King’s example, his people too started realising the Greatness of the Visitor Acharya and also got much convinced by his discourses on Religion & Philosophy coupled with Life-code on Earth in union with the Overall Society. So several Jain Scholars along with their followers too voluntarily started to re-embrace Hinduism as Ramanuja’s disciples en masse.

When the Jain heads at Gujarat and Rajasthan came to know of this sudden upsurge, they got alarmed of and rushed to Karnataka. to prevent further erosion of their Religion there.

They vehemently conducted a malefic propoganda stating as..

.. “ Naamam poattaar Ramanujar .. and thus cheated all of you as well as the King...

.. by means of some Gymmicks, Magics and illusory tricks, for which all of you people innocently succumbed.

Besides they made a hue and cry to the King too... and also challenged Ramanuja to win over them by an indepth logical debate.

Accordingly the debate took place at Sravanabelagola, their Southern- Regional Headquarters. Solitary Ramanuja sat on one side, facing more than a Thousand Jain Religious Scholars on the otherside of the curtain..

Jain-Scholars had come with a nefarious plan, to raise all their volley of Questions, ensuring least gap of time in between, or...

.. simultaneously as well, such that the Acharya could not have adequate time to ponder or deeply think over enough to answer the Intricate and Confusive Interrogations. on high Philosophy.

Since Ramanuja anticipated the cunning plans of his opponents, he insisted to conduct the debate from behind the curtain only.

To the amazement of the whole mass of Jain Scholars, the Replies from a single person Ramanuja pounced back towards the Questioners within a split second...

.. quite apt, as well as stupendously too... as a Simultaneous Roar of multiple voices equal to the number of Questioners..

.. as also different replies in response to various complicate questions on the tough subject of Philosophy.

Consequently the Jain-scholars were left with no other alternative than to accept the Splendid Answers of Ramanuja.

Then Ramanuja took up his turn to question them back... in the same manner i.e. simultaneous multiple-voices addressing the mass of different persons on the opposite side..

They could neither face the persistent onslaughts of Tough Questions, nor could answer them and so became dumbfounded.

By the spur of curiosity, one of their Scholars stealthily peeped through the gap of the curtain and found Adhisesha in place of Ramanuja sitting with his multiple hoods and replying to the simultaneous volley of Questions from the other side of the curtain.

On his passing on the news, several others too ascertained the fact by personal verifications and so furtheron communicated the miraculous truth to their Chief.

The Chief monk asked “ Hae Ramanuja, by the mysterious way of your simultaneous roar of multiple voices of unheard of high Philosophy, we doubt you cannot be the normal mortal but a super-human. May be you are the Adhisesha. Please tell us the Truth. Are you the Adhisesha awathara.?

Pat came the reply from Ramanuja. “See for yourselves”... Suddenly the Curtain was cleared off. And all could see Adhisesha alone sitting there with a Divine Shineglow. After a shortwhile, He appeared back as the cheerful Ramanuja at the same seat..

Rapt with a hgh spirit of fervour, invariably all the Jain Scholars prostrated at the feet of Ramanuja and said,

...“ We agree our Defeat, since you won over us in the debate on our Questions, as well as by making us dumbfounded by your Questions. Above all, we are well-convinced that you are the Super-human God Adhisesha.

So we all surrender and appeal to you to accept us as your disciples, along with our followers al over India as well..

Accordingly Ramanuja converted those mass of Jains as his Hindu- disciples... whoever so volunteered and offered for.

Even now, it can be found at Sravanabelegola of Karnataka an Inscription in the Jayasthambam in Tamil :

“Thiru Ramanujachariar Jainarkalhai Vaadhil Venrha adaiyaalha Jayasthambam”

Thus by means of the above narrated three episodes on diiferent occasions,. it was proved that Ramanujacharya was undoubtedly Adhisesha awathara.