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CH. XXXII. CHITRA'KUTA AND TILLAI. 205
CHAPTER XXXII.
SHOUT EXCURSIONS AISTD INCIDENTS.
After twelve (or some say^ fourteen) years ' of absence,
RAmfiiQuja had returned to iiis central see, the centre of his operations.
The faithful gathered round him. Love and veneration
for him liad multiplied and deepened; and thy all said:
"Worshipful master, by the loss of Mahapurna, a blank has been
created in our hearts, and by the loss of our KureSa's eyes, a
sore. Have we lived to see yon,—a salve for our ills ? Listen,
master, the apostate (infidel) Cho-a not only persecuted us and
our leEiders, but cari-ied his vandalism to great excess by
destroying our Vaishnava temples everywhere. He had
thus demolished the Vishnu Images in Chilrakuta,— about
which you shall anon hear more, and was on his way to Srirangam
to do the same. But when he halted for the night in
a village, he wa.s suddenly taken ill, a fatal sore burst out on
his neck," and killed him after terrible suffering, Srirangam,
the centre of our faith, was thus miraculously saved. Listen
now to what happened at Chitrakuta (Chidambaram). The
place, as you are aware, is infested with Saivas, and their leader
Chola, had torn up Lord Grovinda-rS,ja from His seat—both the
mUla and the utsava Images—, and had directed their being cast
into the sea. But there was a courtesan by name Tilya (or
Tillai) who is a staunch Vai.shnava devotee. She managed to
divert the king's attention at the time, so far as to enable tlie
Vaishnava adherents of the place to avert the sea-grave form
their Lord, and secretly make away with Him to Tirupati up in
1 Like Bilma who '.vonld not R3,mamija's entry into Melukote as
return to Ayodhya for 14 years about; 1093 A.C., it gives 18 years
in spite of Bharata's prayer, the for Earaanuja's sojourn and plas 2
Lord Ranga would not fulKl Rama- years for travel, makes in all
nuja's prayers to end Chola's per- 20 years as the interval between
secution, till ho also (being Kama's Ramanuja actually leaving Srlraiibrother)
travelled for 14 years, gam and rejoining it, 6 years being
According to a Belur inscription allowed for his travels to other
(vide foot note 1, p. 182) D&Barathi Shrines &o., after leaving and
established the Belur Templein 1039 again joining Srirangam.
Saka, (A.C. 1117), so that taking
'
This is said to have been ^caused by God Yenkaj e=a striking his
neck with the discos, ia answer to Rim&nnja's prayers.