Ramanujacharya – Biography - ebooks - ISKCON desire tree

Having left Sarada-pitha, Ramanujacarya travelledsouthwards to Benares, where he remained for several monthspreaching and inspiring many of those who heard him tobecome devotees. From Benares he travelled to JagannathaPuri, where he founded a monastery named the Embar Math. Bythis time his reputation as a scholar and devotee was widelyknown throughout the whole of India, and as a result none ofthe pandits of Jagannatha Puri dared to come and challengehim.Desiring that the priests of the Jagannatha templeadopt the pancaratrki system of worship, as explained byNarada Muni, Ramanuja appealed to the King of Orissa toarrange a debate between them. Being fearful of the outcomeof such a confrontation, all the priests prayed to LordJagannatha to save them from inevitable defeat. That verynight as Yatiraja was sleeping, he was flung three hundredmiles by Lord Jagannatha to the holy dhama of Kurma-ksetra.When he awoke, Ramanuja was bewildered to findhimself in a completely different place and without any ofthe disciples who had been accompanying him. At first hethought that the temple nearby was dedicated to Lord Siva,and so he decided to fast for the day as a penance for hisinability to worship Lord Narayana. However, when heinquired from some of the local people, he was informed thatthe Deity was in fact that of Lord Kurmadeva, one of theincarnations of Lord Visnu. He then went to the temple andhappily engaged in the worship of the Lord.RETURN TO SRI RANGAMAfter residing at Kurma-ksetra for several days,Ramanuja was reunited with his disciples, who werecontinuing their journey southwards. He went with them toSimhacala and then on to Ahovata, where he establishedanother matha. At Isalinganga they were able to see theDeity of Lord Nrsimhadeva and offer prayers at His lotusfeet.In this way, travelling southwards down the easternside of India, they came at last to Tirupati, Sri Saila,where Yatiraja had previously stayed for one year with hisuncle, Sailapurna. At that time a great controversy wasraging there, for the followers of Lord Siva werechallenging the devotees by claiming that Lord Venkatesvarawas actually a Deity of Siva. Ramanuja then explained thehistory of Venkata Hill, with reference to variousscriptures, and established that Sri Venkatesvara was aDeity of Lord Visnu.Having remained at Tirupati for two weeks, Ramanujaand his followers continued their journey on to Kancipuram,where they were able to worship Lord Varadaraja. From Kancithey passed on through Madurantaka to Vira-narayana-pura,81