{"id":34107,"date":"2022-11-18T09:20:40","date_gmt":"2022-11-18T13:20:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.isvara.org\/archive\/?p=34107"},"modified":"2022-12-10T17:59:36","modified_gmt":"2022-12-10T21:59:36","slug":"yamunacarya-in-srila-prabhupadas-books-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.isvara.org\/archive\/yamunacarya-in-srila-prabhupadas-books-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Yamunacarya in Srila Prabhupada’s books"},"content":{"rendered":"

Yamunacharya or Alavandar was a vishistadvaita philosopher in Srirangam. Ramanuja, one of the leaders of the srivaishnava school sought to be his disciple. He was born in early 10th century CE and was the grandson of a brahmin, Nathamuni. Nathamuni was a famed yogi who collected to the works of Tamil alvars. He grew up learning Vedic texts from Rama Misra also known as Manakkal Nambi and was skilled in mimansa.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sirvaishnavite legend relates this story\u2014<\/span><\/p>\n

As a teenager he challenged the royal priest Akkiyalvan of the Pandya king (the name of the king is disputed). Akkiyalvan, when he saw the age of the youth, asked sarcastically “alavandara?” meaning “has he come to rule me?”. He defeated Akkiyalvan by proving through the accepted rules of logic that Akkiyalvan’s mother was barren, the king was not righteous and the queen unchaste. The king and queen, impressed that the boy has understood the shortcomings of logic, adopted him. In other versions of the legend, he is given half the kingdom. There is no historical record to show his reign so it is possible that this happened in a smaller village rather than the kingdom of Pandya.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

After years of rule, Mannakal Nambi tricked him into visiting the temple of Ranganatha. There, he had an epiphany and gave up the material duties of a king and became a sanyasin embracing saranagati. He composed the chatushloki and Strotra Ratna at that spot. Mannakal Nambi handed over the reins of Natha Muni’s school including the collected Divya Prabandha and renamed him Yamuna Muni or Yamunacharya. As he grew older, he was perturbed that he could not finish the tasks he had set for himself and asked Ramanuja to visit him. Unfortunately, he died before he could talk with Ramanuja. Srivaishnavite devotees say that his corpse had curled three fingers and when Ramanuja saw these, he understood the tasks and promised to finish them whereupon the fingers straightened.<\/span><\/p>\n

The name of Parasara, should be commemorated on the earth by giving it to a person worthy to bear it. Compose a commentary on Tiruvaymozhi of Nammalvar the most prolific of Alvars. Compose a commentary on Upanishads, Vedanta Sutras and Bhagavad Gita. Sri Yamunacharya, also called \u2018Aalavandaar\u2019 \u2013 the one who has come to rule. What did he rule but indeed our hearts!<\/span><\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n

—————-<\/span><\/p>\n

Sri Yamunacharya\u2019s debate<\/span><\/p>\n

\nIn the south of India many great devotees have appeared to spread the glories of the Lord. Of all these devotees, perhaps the most famous is Sri Ramanujacarya. However, just before Ramanuja there lived another great Vaisnava whose life and teachings had a tremendous influence on Ramanuja. This was Sri Yamunacarya, also known as Alabandara \u2013 \u201cThe Conqueror.\u201d<\/span>
\nYamunacarya was born around AD 918 in the city of Madurai in south India, which was then the capital of the mighty Pandya kings. After the untimely death of his father, Yamunacarya was left to be brought up by his mother and aged grandmother, living a life of great poverty.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nTHE CHALLENGE<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

When he was five years old, Yamunacarya went to study at the school of Bhasyacarya and quickly won his teacher\u2019s affection, both for his sweet nature and his ability to learn quickly. He studied hard, and by the time he was twelve years old he was Bhasyacarya\u2019s best student.<\/span>
\nIn those days in India, great scholars used to challenge one another to see who was the more learned in Vedic scriptures and more skilled in the science of logic. While Yamunacarya was studying at the school of Bhasyacarya, there was a great scholar who lived at the court of the Pandya king. His name was Kolahala, and he was a great favorite of the king because he could defeat any other scholar in a debate. In fact, the king had passed a law decreeing that every scholar who had been defeated by Kolahala must pay a tax to him every year \u2013 if anyone refused he would be put to death.<\/span>
\nNow Yamunacarya\u2019s teacher, Bhasyacarya, had also been defeated by Kolahala, and so he too was obliged to pay this tax. However, because he was a very poor man, he had not been able to pay for the past two years. One day, when Bhasyacarya was away on business and all the other students had gone home, Yamunacarya was left alone in the school. At that time one of Kolahala\u2019s disciples came there to collect the overdue tax from Bhasyacarya.<\/span>
\n\u201cWhere is your teacher?\u201d he demanded in imperious tones when he saw that Yamunacarya was alone in the school.<\/span>
\n\u201cMight I know, sir, who has sent you here?\u201d replied Yamunacarya in a very gentle voice, anxious not to give any offense.<\/span>
\n\u201cWhat!\u201d exclaimed the disciple, \u201cdo you not know that I am a disciple of the greatest and most erudite scholar in all of India? Kolahala is the terror of all other scholars, and even the great Pandya king is his obedient servant. All those scholars defeated by the great Kolahala must pay a yearly tax or else forfeit their lives. Has your teacher become insane that he dares to withhold payment for two years? Or is it that he intends to challenge my master again, just as a moth rushes into a blazing fire.\u201d<\/span>
\nYamunacarya was by nature very kindhearted, and he hardly ever quarreled with his fellow students. However, he also had great love and respect for his teacher. Therefore, when he heard Bhasyacarya being spoken of in that contemptuous manner, he felt such pain at heart that he could not restrain himself and replied very strongly to Kolahala\u2019s messenger. \u201cHow foolish you are and how foolish your teacher is as well, for who but the greatest fool would train his disciple to possess such monumental pride, instead of removing such qualities from his heart. Why should my noble teacher waste his time debating with such a man? Go and tell your master that the lowest disciple of the great Bhasyacarya challenges him to a debate. If he dares to face me, let him send his reply at once.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

PREPARATIONS FOR THE DEBATE<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Kolahala\u2019s disciple was so astonished and indignant that he could not think of anything to say, but left in a furious rage to inform his teacher of this insult. When Kolahala heard what had happened, he could not help but laugh on hearing the age of his rival. The Pandya king decided to send another messenger to the boy to see whether he was insane, and, if he was serious about the debate, to bring him immediately. When the royal messenger came and told Yamunacarya of the king\u2019s command, the boy replied, \u201cI will certainly obey the command of his majesty the king; but if I am to be accepted as a proper opponent of the great Kolahala, then surely a conveyance should be sent to bring me to the palace\u201d<\/span>
\nAfter discussing Yamunacarya\u2019s reply, the king and his courtiers agreed that the boy\u2019s statement was fitting and sent a costly palanquin and one-hundred soldiers to conduct him to the palace. In the meantime news of these events had spread all over the city of Madurai, and Bhasyacarya heard the whole story as he was returning home. He was very unhappy to learn of the danger his favorite student was facing, for though the king was generous by nature, it was well known that he dealt very severely with anyone who insulted the court pandita.<\/span>
\nYamunacarya, however, was not in the least concerned. \u201cThere is no reason, revered sir, for you to be alarmed,\u201d he consoled his teacher when he returned to the school, \u201cfor you can be certain that, by your grace, I will smash the pride of Kolahala.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

While they were thus talking, the king\u2019s men arrived at the school with the palanquin. Yamunacarya worshipped the feet of his guru and calmly climbed into the palanquin, preparing himself for the great debate that was about to take place. A large crowd of people had gathered along the way, for it was unheard of that a twelve-year-old boy should challenge the court pandita and everyone wanted to catch a glimpse of the wonderful child. The brahmanas, many of whom had already been defeated by Kolahala, offered him blessings, saying, \u201cMay you defeat this insolent pandita, just as Visnu in the form of a dwarf brahmana displaced Bali Maharaja, the king of the asuras.\u201d<\/span>
\nMeanwhile, in the royal court a difference of opinion arose between the king and queen about Yamunacarya. The king said, \u201cJust as a cat plays with a mouse, so will Kolahala defeat and destroy the boy\u201d. But the queen was more thoughtful, realizing that Yamunacarya was no ordinary child. \u201cJust as a small spark,\u201d she said, \u201ccan turn a mountain of cloth to ashes, so will this boy destroy the mountain-like pride of Kolahala.\u201d<\/span>
\n\u201cHow can you really believe that this is possible?\u201d exclaimed the king in amazement. \u201cIf you truly have faith in the child, then you must make a wager to back your words\u201d. \u201cVery well,\u201d replied the queen, \u201cI will make a wager. If the boy does not defeat and humble the proud Kolahala, I will become the servant of your maidservant.\u201d<\/span>
\n\u201cThis is certainly a mighty wager,\u201d said the king, \u201cbut I will match it. If the boy defeats Kolahala, as you say, then I will give him half of my kingdom.\u201d While the king and queen were thus exchanging wagers, the palanquin arrived and Yamunacarya entered the palace. When Kolahala saw him, he looked at the queen and smiled sarcastically. \u201cAla-bandara,\u201d he said, meaning, \u201cIs this the boy who will conquer me?\u201d<\/span>
\n\u201cYes,\u201d replied the queen quietly, \u201cAla-bandara. This is he who has come to conquer you.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\nTHE CONTEST<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

When the contestants were seated, Kolahala began the debate by putting simple questions on Sanskrit grammar to Yamunacarya. When, however, he found the boy could answer them with ease, he began to pose really difficult grammatical problems; but still, Yamunacarya replied to them all without difficulty.<\/span>
\nHe then spoke to the great pandita with a playful smile on his lips. \u201cBecause I am just a boy, you are insulting me by asking these simple questions. Remember that Astavakra was no older than myself when he defeated Bandi at the court of King Janaka. If you judge a person\u2019s learning by his size, then surely it follows that the water buffalo will be a greater scholar than yourself.\u201d<\/span>
\nAlthough Kolahala winced at these words, he controlled his anger and replied smilingly, \u201cWell answered. Now it is your turn to put questions to me\u201d.<\/span>
\n\u201cVery well,\u201d Yamunacarya responded, \u201cI will put three propositions before you, and, if you can refute them, I shall accept defeat.\u201d Kolahala agreed and prepared to refute Yamunacarya\u2019s statements. \u201cMy first proposition is this,\u201d Yamunacarya spoke out clearly and boldly, \u201cthat your mother is not a barren woman. Refute this if you can.\u201d<\/span>
\nHearing this, Kolahala remained silent. \u201cHad my mother been barren, my birth would not have been possible,\u201d he thought. \u201cHow can I refute his statement\u201d Seeing Kolahala as silent as a dumb man, all the courtiers were astonished. Although the great pandita tried to conceal his anxiety, he could not prevent a flush from crossing his cheeks.<\/span>
\nYamunacarya spoke again, \u201cSir, if in spite of your all-conquering intelligence you are unable to refute my first proposition, then please hear my second. It is this, that the Pandya king is supremely righteous. Refute this if you can.\u201d On hearing this Kolahala, was deeply disturbed, sensing his imminent defeat. With the king seated there in front of him, how could he deny the boy\u2019s statement? Again he remained silent, the color draining from his face as he was scarcely able to control his anger.<\/span>
\nYamunacarya spoke again, \u201cHere is my third proposition-that the queen of the Pandya king is as chaste and faithful to her husband as was Savitri. Refute this if you can.\u201d<\/span>
\nSeeing how he had once again been trapped by the intelligent boy, Kolahala could no longer restrain his anger. \u201cYou rascal,\u201d he screamed, \u201chow can any loyal subject say that his king is unrighteous or his queen unfaithful to her husband? It is true I have not replied to your statements, but that does not mean I am defeated. First you must refute your own propositions, and, if you cannot, you should be put to death, for the implications of your words are treason against your king and queen.\u201d<\/span>
\nWhen Kolahala shouted out these words, all his disciples and supporters cheered; but all those who favored Yamunacarya cried, \u201cNo, Kolahala is defeated. He is simply letting forth his anger, because he could not refute the statements of Yamunacarya as he promised to do.\u201d<\/span>
\nThus an argument broke out in the palace, but in the midst of the contention Yamunacarya quieted them all by saying, \u201cPlease stop this argument, for it is unnecessary. I shall refute all my propositions one by one. Please hear me\u201d At this everyone fell silent and turned their attention to Yamunacarya, wondering how he could possibly do this and yet not offend the king and queen.<\/span>
\n\u201cMy first statement,\u201d he continued, \u201cwas that our great pandita\u2019s mother was not a barren woman. However, it is stated in the Manusamhita that a woman who has only one child is to be considered barren. As your mother gave birth to only one son, even though he is a man of such merit as yourself, according to the sastra, she must be considered barren. Secondly, I stated that the king of the Pandyas is a most righteous man. However, the Manu\u2019 samhita states that a king enjoys the benefit of one sixth of the religious acts of his subjects, but also has to bear the burden of one sixth of their sinful deeds. Because in the present age of Kali men are more prone toward sinfulness than piety, it must follow that our king, although flawless in his own character, is bearing a heavy burden of unrighteousness. And now to my third proposition, which stated that our queen is as chaste and faithful as was Savitri. But again, if we consult the laws of Manu, it is said that the king is the representative of Agni, Vayu, Surya, Candra, Yama, Kuvera, Varuna, and Indra. Therefore, the queen is married not just to one man, but to these eight demigods as well. So how can it be said that she is chaste?\u201d<\/span>
\nOn hearing these wonderful answers, all the people were filled with amazement and the queen joyfully cried out, \u201cAlabandara! Alabandara!- He has conquered! He has conquered!\u201d<\/span>
\nThe king immediately came forward and embraced #Yamunacarya. \u201cJust as on the rising of the sun,\u201d he said, \u201call the insignificant stars fade away, so you, 0 learned Alabandara, have conquered the proud Kolahala by your learning and skill. This fellow just a short while ago was demanding your death, now you may deal with him as you see fit. I have also promised to give you half my kingdom as a prize for this victory, and that promise I will certainly fulfill.\u201d<\/span>
\nOf course, Yamunacarya forgave Kolahala, and, although he was but a boy of twelve years, he began at once to rule the kingdom he had won. Thus his days of poverty were over.<\/span>
\n(This has been taken from the excellent book titled, The Life of Ramanujacarya, by Sri Naimisaranya das. This book is available online here.)<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Yamunacharya or Alavandar was a vishistadvaita philosopher in Srirangam. Ramanuja, one of the leaders of the srivaishnava school sought to be his disciple. He was born in early 10th century CE and was the grandson of … Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":81,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[140,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34107","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-area2","category-english"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-01 09:44:47","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.isvara.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34107","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.isvara.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.isvara.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.isvara.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/81"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.isvara.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34107"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.isvara.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34107\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.isvara.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34107"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.isvara.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34107"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.isvara.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34107"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}