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No. 34.]
CONJEEVERAM INSCR. OF BRAHMA-TANTRA-SVATANTRA-JIYAR:
SAKA 1282.
321
vising the sacred business of the temple (nam vittu karumam kë/kum), in whose presence and that of the Bhattas of the temple, the order is stated to have been promulgated. The name Vaishnavadāsa' occurring in the same line has to be considered as meaning the servant-devotee of Vaishnavas' rather than as the personal name of the donee in the record; for according to the Guru parampara-prabhāvam, the original name of Brahma-tantra-svatantra-Jiyar was Pēraruļālayyan of Viravalli' and his dāsyanāma on becoming a saṁnyäsin was Pēraruļāla-Jiyan.
(L. 4). Samaradhanamum adukku vëndum muttukkalum-seems to refer to the worship to be conducted to the deities kept in the matha itself and the requirements therefor. It is usual for every matha to have images of some deities for worsbip. In this connection, it may be noted that on the eve of the demise of Vēdānta-Dēsika, some images are said to have been bequeathed to his disciple Brahma-tantra-svatantra-Jiyar.'
Postakangalum idukku vēndum upakaranangaļum-By postakanga! (pustaka), manuscript bundles are apparently meant. The upakaranas are the accessories and paraphernalia required for running a library-such as probably racks for the accommodation of the manuscript bundles, spare sets of cadjan leaves for copying work, and stylus and other scribal apparatus.
Rāmānuja-darśanam—is the Višishţādvaita-siddhanta as codified and expounded in his Sribhāshya by the great Vaishnava apostle Ramānuja (A.D. 1017-1137). It was he who had raised this system to an unassailable eminence and had arranged for its propagation in true missionary style, by the training of a number of able exponents and simhāsanādhipatis' from among his numerous disciples.
(L. 5) Nam Rāmānujam-udaiyarum nam samayattil ulļārum-Ramanujam-udaiyār appears to mean the followers of Rāmānuja. The idea seems to be that the selection of Brahma-tantrasvatantra-Jiyar as the pontiff was to receive the acceptance of Rāmānuja's followers and the Vaishṇava laity (samayattil-ulār). · (L. 6) Ivanukku nām mudittapadiyum uduttapadiyum püsinapadiyum kuduttom-means that the flowers worn by the god, the clothes used by him and the sandal-paste and unguents utilised for his worship were presented to the Jiyar as & mark indicative of the god's love to the recipient. This expression is found used in some inscriptions and in Vaishnava literature.
As regards Brahma-tantra-svatantra-Jiyar, the donee of the record, some information is available from Vaishnava literature. Among the South Indian religions, it was Vaishnavism alone that had developed the historical sense' to an appreciable extent, and there are therefore several biographies of the Vaishnava acharyas available, collated under the names of Vaibhavas and Guruparamparās of varying volume. One such work dealing with the life of the great Vaishṇava reformer Vēdānta-Dēsika is the Guru paramparā-prabhāvam' in Tamil prose by Tritiya
1 Guruparampara-prabhavam (Tamil, Madras.), p. 114 ; see also f. n. 3 on p. 319. . * Ibid., p. 138.
• There were 74 simhasanadhipatis who were selected. Their names are given in the reply to question No. 24 of the Triminaatprasnottaram, Palanadaivilakkam, p. 30.
• The following expression from No. 51 of 1938-39 from Srirangam may be compared-Kodavar Louanear nam bhatjakal.... nam Ramanujanai-udaiyar nam paduvár, etc.
Compare No. 567 of 1919 of the Madras Epigraphical collection.
• There are many biographies of Desika available. The Vedanta-Delika-raibhava-praktika by Dodday. acharya is in Sanskrit.
Published in Madras in several editions. Dvitiys-Brahms-tantra-avatantra-Jlyar, the acharya of the author of this work is said to have written the Pappirayirappadi-Guruparampard-prabhavam, which is not
