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—
THE LIFE OP RAMAN UJA. CH. I.
Krishna gave to Arjana'—the Holy Tiravay-Mozhi of 1000
verses, a.s
well as tlieSOOO versos of Hymns suug by the otlier
fsaints who appeared before and after Sfc. NammazhvS,r ; and
in addition taught liim the holy Doctrine of the Three
Rahasy^s [Vide P. xxi-xxii of Intro : to Lives of Azhvars],
as well as the secrets of Yoga (or tlie physio-phycliologioal
way of approaching God.)"
N"fithanmni(ga1) felt himself blessed; and x-emained in
Tirnnagari absorbed in the services of Azhvar and Adiaathq,.
But lord Mannanar again appeared to him in a dream, which
was to the effect that what Nathamnni(gal) learnt should be
rehearsed before him. He comniunicated the dream to Lord
Adin3.tha and Azhvar, whereupon he was permitted to return to
his native place and was further enjoined to spread the instruction
lie had received, among such Srivaishnavas as were fitted
by their spiritual character, viz., virtues such as savid and
dama (or conquest of the senses and the mind).
N'athamuni(gal) bent his ste})S homewards and on the way
visited many Holy Shrines and learnt much of the traditional
lore connected, with them, and finally reached Viranarayanapuram.
Here he went to Lord Mannanar and as commanded
in the dream duly recited all the Prabandhas, he had now
received, beforp Him.
The Lord after thus giving audience to N&tha thought to
Him.self thus:— "That the souls may liave life, We provided
them with bodies and senses ; We gave them Sastras to guide
them in the right direction ; We ourselves often took upon Us
flesh (incarnations) ; and yet Oui* work (of wholesale salvation)
remains incomplete. The Prabandhas of the Azhv§,rs are a
valuable means by which to efEect this regeneration. They
i^[Bh : Gita. Xl]^ Cp : Bh:Gi: IV-1 to 3. Also
i^^^ilPr rf ^%- ^^ WlHK'iiK. ^^das are often lost, recovered, or
Divine knowledge is thus often revealed again and again :
lost and often recovered.
g^F^ff^li^lsCR^RreraH, 'ItljT: II
' See note on Yoga further on.