Ramanujacharya – Biography - ebooks - ISKCON desire tree

the words of the villagers Yatiraja came to understand thatthey had crossed the border of the Chola kingdom and werenow safe from the pursuit of Koluttunga's men.MEETINGS WITH VAISNAVASWhen they were fully rested, Ramanuja blessed thecandalas and continued with his party on their westwardjourney. That afternoon they came to another village andwere guided to the house of a brahmana named Sri Ranga dasa.When they arrived the husband was still out begging alms,but his pious wife, Celancalamba, considered herselffortunate to get this opportunity to render service toVaisnavas. She invited them into the house, seated themnicely and then immediately entered the kitchen to begincooking. A short time later Sri Ranga dasa returned home andwas also delighted to see so many Vaisnava guests in hishouse, including the famous Ramanujacarya.When the cooking was completed, the food was offeredto Lord Visnu, and then the prasadam was distributed to thedevotees, who all ate very heartily. For two days theyremained in the house of Sri Ranga dasa, and just beforeleaving, Yatiraja gave initiation to both husband and wife.When the Vaisnavas continued their journey, Sri Rangadasa went with them as a guide. By evening they had reacheda place known as Vahnipuskarini, where they remained for twodays. Then, taking leave of Sri Ranga dasa, they continuedon to the village of Salagrama, where they stayed with abrahmana named Andhrapurna, who was a very renounceddevotee. Having seen his good qualities, Ramanuja initiatedAndhrapurna, who then became his personal servant. From thattime on he always remained with his guru, desiring only toserve his lotus feet.Andhrapurna told Yatiraja of a great devotee namedPurna who lived in the village of Bhaktagrama, not far fromSalagrama. Passing through Nrsimha-ksetra, they thentravelled to Bhaktagrama and remained for some time in theassociation of Sri Purna.CONVERSION OF KING VITTHALADEVAThe king of that region was known as Vitthaladeva,and he was a follower of the Jain religion. For severalyears his daughter had been possessed by a ghost, despiteall the efforts of the Jain priests to cast out the evilspirit. When the king heard that a group of Vaisnavas hadcome from the east and were residing in Bhaktagrama at thehouse of Purna, he invited them to his palace - hoping thatthey might be able to do something to help the princess.Ramanujacarya, as a pure devotee, was always filledwith divine potency and thus able to drive out the ghost96