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XVIII] Rāmānuja
109 this was summarized very briefly by the older teachers. He says, further, that in making his bhāsya he has closely followed the interpretation of the Sūtra, as made by Bodhāyanal. Rāmānuja also owes a great debt of gratitude to Yāmuna's Siddhi-traya, though he does not distinctly mention it in his bhāsya. It is said that Yāmuna had a large number of disciples. Of these, however, Mahāpūrņa, Gosthīpūrņa, Mālādhara, Kāñcīpūrņa, Srisailapūrņa, also called Tātācārya (Rāmānuja's maternal uncle), and Sriranganāthagāyaka were the most important. Srīśailapūrņa's son Govinda, the cousin and fellow-student of Rāmānuja with Yādavaprakāśa, became later in life a disciple of Rāmānuja?. Of the seventy-four prominent disciples of Rāmānuja, Pranatārtihara of Atreya gotra, Kureśa or Srivatsāńka Aliśra, Dāśarathi, Andhrapūrņa or Vatapūrņa, Varadavişnu, Yatisekhara-bhārata, Yādava-prakāśa or Govinda and Yajñamūrti are the most important? Of these Dāśarathi of Vādhūla gotra and Varadavişnu or Varadavişņu Miśra were the sister's sons of Rāmānuja. Varadavişņu was better known as Vātsya Varadaguru. Kureśa or Srīvatsānka Miśra had a son by Andā), called Parāśara Bhattārya, who defeated the Vedāntin Madhavadāsa and afterwards became the successor of Rāmānuja 4. Parāśara Bhattārya had a son called Madhya Pratoli Bhattārya or Madhya-vīthi Bhațțārya. Kureśa had another son named Padmanetra; Padmanetra's son was called Kurukeśvara5. Kurukesvara's son was Pundarīkākṣa, and his son was Śrīnivāsa. Śrīnivāsa had a son Nțsimhārya. They belonged to the Srīśaila lineage, probably from the name of Bhūri Śrī Sailapūrna, Kureśa's father. Nțsimhārya had a son called Rāmānuja. Rāmānuja had two sons,
i Sudarśana Süri, in his commentary on the bhāsya called the Śruta-prakāśikā, explains the word "piirvācārya" in Rămănuja's bhāsya as Dramida-bhāsyakārādayah. On the phrase bodhāyana-matā'nusārena sūtrā-kşārāni vyākhyāyante, he says "na tu svo-tpreksitamatā-ntarena sūtrā-kşarāņi sūtra-padānāin prakrtipratyaya-vibhāgā-nuguņam vadāmaḥ na tu svot-prekṣitā-rthesu sūtrāņi yathā. kathañ cit dyotayitavyāni."
2 It is interesting to note that Yāmuna's son Vararanga later on gave instruction to Rāmānuja and had his younger brother Sottanambi initiated as a disciple of Ramanuja. Vararanga had no son. He had set the Sahasra-gīti to music. Prapannāmrta, 23. 45.
3 Rāja Gopalacariyar also mentions the name of Tirukurugaipiran Pillai as a prominent disciple of Rāmānuja. He wrote a commentary on Nāmm'ārvār's Tiru-tāymori.
4 Kureśa had another son named Sri Rama Pillai or Vyāsa Bhaçțār.
5 It is rather common in South India to give one's son the name of his grandfather.
