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CH. xxvrr. ramAndja's anxiety. 171
received irrefutable testimony." Chola immediately directed
messengers to go to Srirangam and bring Ea,m-a.uuja. They
arrived
and standing- before the gate of the monastery, declared
their errand, and said that Riimanuja must go with them totiie
King's Court forthwith. The door-keepers rushed inside'
and whispered the news softly to Kur§3a, who • was then
engaged in serving- bath-water to Eamanuja. Kftr^sa foresaw
the dangers of persecution that threatened ; and without telling
R§,m5,nuja what he meant doing, he donned the colored
robes of RSimanuja, and taking up his tridanda, emerged from
the monastery ; and saying "
: I am Rsbmanuja, proceed," to the
King's men, stepped on.
Kurfisa on this ominous expedition.
M§,h4purna, observing this, followed
RS,manuja, coming from his bath, called for his colored robe
and staff, but Dasarathi told him that Kui-fisa had worn them
and departed with the King's messengers, who had come for
EamS,nuja, in order to compel them to sign a declarationpaper
maintaining Siva's superiority over all other gods. On
hearing this, Ramanuja exclaimed in sore distress of heart
thus :— " Oh, what will become of KurSsa and Mah&pui-na, in this
war of bigotry ! Pray let me wear the white garments of Kui-63a,
that I may not be discovered by that heretic-chief's myrmidons
!" " You must not. Holy Sire, even remain in this spot,"
sabmitted DaSarathi in fear, " lest harm should come to your
valuable life." R§,m§inuja'B fears were further aroused, but he
knew not how he should act in such an emergency ; and so he
hurried to his Chapel— Deity Varada, and made supplication to
him meltingly to ward off the evil which threatened to engulf
them all and to obliterate, by one stroke, all the good work that
had for years been so patiently done. And in giving vent to his
feelings, be prayed in the fashion of St. Bhaktanghri-Renu
thus :
"If the luckless Buddhas, Jains and those,
That follow Rudra's feet, in poignant words,
• Read Topic 146 Pp. 161 ff. in our "Divine Wisdom of Dravida
Saints."
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