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104 llAMASUJA'S GREATNESS. - CH. XVI.
SO, Sire ! " intei-rupted Ramaauja. Yaoiuua meant it another
way." " How dost tliou know Yamana ? " excitedly queried
Ma,ladliara, of Rilmanuja, " thou hast never conversed with him
once in thy days. Thou but sawst him after his death. And
yet Thou darest to interpret his mind to me " "
! With thy leave,
Ifaster," submitted Rainanuja,
" look upon me as the Ekalavya'
to YS,muna. That will explain how I understand him." " I
understand thee now, Holy Rsimanuja. I find the words of my
friend Gr. Purna indeed confirmed by my own experience of
thee. Thou art even an Avat&ra. To me art thou teacher, not
I to thee.
I have learnt from thee many things that I had not
learnt fron Y&muna." So saying, Malaiihara rose and made
obeisance to Ramanuja.
Thus, without further impediments to pi'ogress, the study
of a course of the Prabandhas was in due time completed.
]!ilah£ipurna now suggested to Ramtouja that there were other
mysteries yet, which if he so desired, he might learn from the
venerable Tiruvaranga-p-peruma] Ayaiyar. R&mdinuja took
the hint at once, and from that day forward engaged himself
for six months to offer milk daily to Avaiyar as a premium for
learning. And to this he added the service of preparing for
Avaiyar a turmeric-paste (viaiijal-kilppii) for ablution-purposes,
when the ad%ai/aHa-festival came round in the year. One day
the preparation was found not quite to Avaiyar's liking. Rjbmsinuja
threw it away, and immediately prepared it anew.
Araiyar was watching this solicitude on RamSinuja's part.
" He loves me as one may love God. He loves me, a son of
God, as God Himself incarnate," ihought Ayaiyar. "Come,
noble disciple," said he, " you are fit to know the highest mystery.
By your services to me you have earned it. So you
laj' claim to all that I have. Know then that God's apostles
and representatives on earth are God Himself visible in that
form. Our Sa,stras hence proclaim :
' See 132nd Adhyaya, Adi-Parva, Mah&bliarata for the Story. Ekalavya
made a mud-imago of Drdna, and learnt from this mere image of a
Garn, all the science of archery.