Ramanujacharya – Biography - ebooks - ISKCON desire tree

the only mantra I chant, for it brings relief from allsuffering" From this statement Ramanuja could understand theimportance of worshipping the devotees of the Lord.CHAPTER SEVENEXILE FROM SRI RANGAMAt that time Sri Rangam was a part of the dominionsof the Chola king, Koluttunga I, who had made his capital atKancipuram. Although the Cholas had become devoted to LordNarayana in the time of Yamunacarya, Koluttunga was a greatdevotee of Lord Siva and an avowed enemy of all Vaisnavas.It was his desire that all the devotees of the Lord give uptheir faith and surrender to Lord Siva alone. Lord Siva isthe most powerful of the demigods, but still he is not onthe level of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Thus allthe Vaisnavas refused to abandon their worship of LordVisnu, which satisfies the conclusion of all Vedicliterature.Koluttunga was well aware that Yatiraja was thegreatest Vaisnava acarya in India, and he reasoned that ifhe could induce him to worship Siva, then the other devoteeswould also abandon their faith. Even if Ramanuja would notagree to give up his worship of Lord Narayana, the king feltthat he would still be able to establish the supremacy ofthe worshippers of Lord Siva by putting him to death.Accordingly, he sent messengers to Sri Rangam to inviteRamanuja, along with his guru, Mahapurna, to come toKancipuram for an audience with the king. Little suspectingKoluttunga's evil intentions, Yatiraja agreed to go withthem, and entered the asrama to make his preparations forthe journey.Kuresa, however, was considering the matter deeply,and after a while he said to Ramanuja, "I feel certain theking wants you to come to Kancipuram simply to put an end toyour life. Please do not go there. While you are living andpreaching the true religion of devotion to the Lord, theentire earth is benefiting. For fallen souls like myself,who are scorched by the miseries of material existence, youare the only refuge. Let me go in your place. You take thesewhite clothes of the grhastha asrama, while I put on thedress of a sannyasi and go with the king's men. In this wayyou may still be able to escape from their clutches."Yatiraja considered Kuresa's words for a few momentsand then agreed to the proposal. Dressing himself in hisdisciple's clothes, he left the asrama unseen and made hisway quickly to the forest to the west of the city. Govinda92