History – Ramanuja – {Ep.222} – Stories From India – Podcast

A story about a real person from history. It’s about the 11th century philosopher and guru – Ramanuja. We’ll see that even in the 11th century academia was a rather dangerous profession – including assassination attempts, highway robbery and sticking your hand into a snake’s mouth

Introduction

Welcome to “Stories From India”. This is a podcast that will take you on a journey through the rich mythology, folklore and history of the Indian subcontinent. I am Narada Muni, the celestial storyteller and the original “time lord”. With my ability to travel through space and time, I can bring you fascinating stories from the past, the present, and the future. From the epic tales of the Mahabharata and Ramayana to the folktales of the Panchatantra to stories of Akbar-Birbal and Tenali Raman, I have a story for every occasion.

The purpose of the stories is neither to pass judgment nor to indoctrinate. My goal is only to share these stories with people who may not have heard them before and to make them more entertaining for those who have.

Today’s Story

If you think about dangerous academic institutions, a number of different places come to mind.

The danger at Hogwarts might be more from the school administration that punished students by sending them into the forbidden forest at midnight. Just because they were being unsafe by walking in the school grounds in the evening. Or the Jedi academy where it was more than possible to accidentally or even intentionally cut classmates with lightsabers.

Or Professor Charles Xavier’s school for the gifted from the X-Men, where students were under constant fire, either from a world full of evil mutants trying to fight/recruit students, or from the few non-mutant humans in the world that just wanted to destroy the school.

Well, I have a fourth institution of learning that could give all these places a run for their money. It was in the unlikely setting of 11th century India – a time of peace apparently but not in academia. 

Today we’ll hear the story of a person who overcame several assassination attempts, including one from his professors.

The setting is Sriperumbudur. This is where a baby was born. His parents probably had considered him more of a sidekick for his older brother. That’s why they named him Ramanuja, which literally means Ram’s younger brother. That might seem an awkward way to start out in life, but that did not stop Ramanuja.

In childhood he preferred to play with his cousin Govind. Together the two were like daal chaawal or chole bhature. Tough but not impossible to imagine one without the other.

Ramanuja’s parents were enthusiastic about his higher education and so were eagerly waiting for the day he got his letter. This wasn’t the Hogwarts type of letter delivered by owl. But it was a letter to join the prestigious Yadava Prakash academy. And strictly speaking he and Govind had both applied.

Now, being accepted into an academic institution in 11th century India is not as straightforward as it is in 21st century India. Admission wasn’t gated on a single entrance exam. It depended on a number of factors – how rich your family was, how likely you were to give the Guru your gurudakshina, and it unfortunately also depended on caste, gender, age. Just ask Ekalavya. Ramanuja understood this but he wasn’t in a position to do anything about it until much later in his life.

So anyway, Ramanuja’s and Govind’s got glowing responses to their applications.

“It gives me great pleasure to inform you that your application to study at the Yadava Prakash Academy at Kanchi has been accepted after a thorough review by our board. Please send your child, Ramanuja, with supplies and money. See appendix A for a list of supplies, appendix B for school timings and appendices C to H for a list of fees. You have brought your money into this world, nurtured him and taught him some essential skills. Now he is in our safe hands and will receive the teachings from Professor Yadava Prakash, the greatest authority on Vishnu. Signed, Yadava Prakash.

This letter is printed on recycled leaves.”

The accidental use of the word money instead of child was an understandable slip. Not unlike some educational institutions in the modern world, money was a motivating factor for some Gurus. And in particular this one.

It seemed like a good thing in the beginning, even if Yadava Prakash was a little full of himself. You probably guessed that from the letter. He was the school’s principal and also he was all its teachers. With him and his ego, there really wasn’t room on the faculty for anyone else. But a point in Yadava Prakash’s favor. He was generous enough to share the burden with the students. So they got to do the janitorial and caretaker duties.

Yadava Prakash claimed to be the greatest authority on Vishnu. However, Ramanuja began to doubt that. And what was unforgivable was that he began to call out Yadava Prakash’s mistakes. Now Ramanuja wasn’t deliberately trying to be pedantic and he wasn’t deliberately trying to show off his own knowledge. But when Yadava Prakash contradicted himself today, Ramanuja could not help himself. He had to point out that in today’s lecture around the 2 hour, 23 minute mark, Yadava Prakash had directly contradicted the statement he made in last week’s lecture on a similar topic. Yadava Prakash did not take to this kindly, and berated Ramanuja for being an insufferable know-it-all. If you’re wondering where Professor Snape learned to treat his students, it was probably from Yadava Prakash.

Where Yadava Prakash had a leg up on Snape however, was that he actively tried to murder his student. And what’s more, he recruited some of the other students in the plot. Including some Harry Potter stand-ins. And Govind. 

It goes to show that Yadava Prakash wasn’t competent enough to know that Ramanuja and Govind were cousins. Or maybe he did know and expected his position as guru to overcome any sense of loyalty Govind might feel for his cousin.

But Govind was determined to save his cousin and best friend. So that evening, when the Guru took them on a field trip into the forest, Govind ushered his cousin by the elbow and quickly explained that Yadava Prakash was going to have Ramanuja murdered.

“By golly, you’re right!” Ramanuja said. “Listening to all the inaccuracies in his lecture is just plain murder. I’ll admit it’s slow murder, but…”

“Ramanuja, you’re not listening. He’s planning to have you physically murdered. Look, he even gave me this book – Murder 101 – execution for the 11th century modern student. He gave copies to everyone except you. He specifically marked out chapter 7 – which teaches drowning and how to make it look like an accident”

It took a bit more convincing but finally Ramanuja understood the danger he was in. Maybe it was the future-dated copy of his death certificate application that finally convinced him. Ramanuja agreed to walk away. Quietly while his Guru and the other students were sleeping, Ramanuja snuck away.

The forest may not seem like a place to go roaming around in the night. That being said, I’m sure you’d understand that wild beasts and venomous snakes and scorpions were probably more friendly than the company of the figurative snake his professor had turned out to be.

As he wandered he hadn’t yet made up his mind if he wanted to head back to Kanchi or not. He had to complete his education. How else would he learn about Vishnu? He continued walking, with only his thoughts for company. Until, they weren’t his only company. Because just then he stumbled into a fowler and his wife. And when I say stumbled I mean that literally. Seeing as it was dark in the forest.

The three of them made polite conversation. The fowler and his wife said they were camping out here. And no, they weren’t from Kanchi. They had come a long way off. Their home was a floating home in an ocean far far away. Ramanuja remarked at the coincidence when he heard their names were Vishnu and Lakshmi. “Just like my favorite deities,” Ramanuja said. 

The next morning, the fowler’s wife asked him to fetch water for her to drink. Several times. Ramanuja didn’t tire. He patiently made trip after trip to get her a handful of water each time.

On his last trip however, the fowler and his wife were nowhere to be found. Which he thought was a bit puzzling. Maybe they had to go back to their floating home in the Ocean. Wait a minute, floating home in the Ocean? Names of Vishnu and Lakshmi. Was it possible? He rushed back to Kanchi and the Vishnu temple there. As he gazed into the eyes of the idols of Vishnu and Lakshmi, he realized he had indeed met the pair. Hats off to the sculptor who had captured the likeness of Vishnu and Lakshmi when creating the idols.

To Ramanuja this was a sign from Vishnu that he must persist. So, assassination attempt or no assassination attempt, mistakes or no mistakes, he would go back and learn from Yadava Prakash.

Yadava Prakash was surprised to see him back. Who wouldn’t be? Imagine if Luke went to Darth Vader for training, or if Harry Potter sought out Voldemort not to fight him, but to be tutored by him. Yadava Prakash couldn’t immediately say no. Besides, he was late for an exorcism in the other side of town, so he told Ramanuja to just come along.

Yes, an exorcism but not the type that Hollywood features. This was simple. A girl seemed to behave outside of the norms of what was expected of girls at the time. That was a not-uncommon seeing as there were many restrictions on behavior imposed by a patriarchal society.
Yadava Prakash tried and failed and told the girl’s father that she was a lost cause. He was about to get out his Murder 101 handbook, but Ramanuja intervened. He chanted a few shlokas about Vishnu. And that magically seemed to cure the girl. The girl’s parents were happy, the girl was happy. Ramanuja was happy. Yadava Prakash was not. He was upset specifically because Ramanuja’s actions would hurt the guru’s reputation. And then how was he going to get more students to come join him? Was Ramanuja thinking of a rival school? He’d better not. And if he did it had better not be about Vishnu.

So, with threats, with verbal abuse Yadava Prakash expelled Ramanuja before he had a chance to resume his studies.

That meant Ramanuja was in the market for a new professor. But a new professor is not someone he could find in the 11th century equivalent of the yellow pages. He did not have the best of luck in his search. Once, when a scholar Mahapurna came to recruit him on behalf of Yamnucharya of Srirangam, it seemed his search would end. But by time Ramanuja got to Srirangam, Yamunacharya had unfortunately passed away.

People were mourning him. And they were also puzzled. Because three of Yamunacharya’s fingers were folded, and they were trying to figure out what that meant.

One of his students speculated that Yamuncharya was making a symbol of a gun. Ordinarily that might have been laughed off. But like I said earlier, 11th century academia was filled with danger.

Another student suggested that the explanation was very mundane. Yamunacharya was applying his daily sandalwood paste on his forehead, and death caught him in the middle of it.

Ramanuja who had just entered had a totally different explanation. He said the three folded fingers represented three unfulfilled desires. And he knew exactly what they were. 1) to pray to god, 2) to write an explanation of the Upanishads and 3) to spread the teachings of Vishnu.

The moment Ramanuja offered this explanation, the three fingers on Yamunacharya’s corpse straightened out. At this point Yamunacharya’s students should have called a doctor to examine him – given he had just moved his fingers. He must be alive. But they ignored the possibility and spent their time cheering Ramanuja instead.

Anyway Ramanuja wasn’t entirely teacher-less. Because he learned from Mahapurna, his recruiter who had himself learned from Yamunacharya.

Thankfully for Ramanuja these lessons were more standard and did not involve his professor trying to kill him.

At the conclusion of his studies, Ramanuja had gained quite a following. Many people were interested in learning wisdom and knowledge from him. He had a way with words.

So much so, that there was a tug of war between Kanchi and Srirangam. Both wanted him as their resident guru. Even Yadava Prakash, his former professor and would-be assassinator accepted Ramanuja as his own guru.

But this fight was ultimately won by Srirangam. Deviously. Ranga Perumal was a singer from that town. And he visited Kanchi and wowed the crowds with his concerts. The mayor of Kanchi offered him the keys to the city, but the singer had something else in mind. Now, the people of Kanchi shouldn’t have agreed to give him whatever he wanted, At least not before they heard what it was he was asking for. Because he asked for permission to take Ramanuja to Srirangam. The people of Kanchi gave in. The singer’s reassurances that it was only a short 275 kilometers by NH38 didn’t quite reassure them. But what could they do?  They didn’t have a singer of a similar caliber to win Ramanuja back. Besides, even if they did, the people of Srirangam had invented this trick, they might not fall for it.

In Srirangam, Rmanuja’s following continued to grow. He’d often do multiple lectures a day and he’d preach directly to the public. Ramanuja had a massive part to play in teaching people about Vishnu. You know, you might wonder – I am president for life of Vishnu’s fan club. And you know that I consider myself his number 1 fan. How did my Vishnu fan club rank against Ramanuja’s? The answer is: it’s complicated. Ramanuja was actively teaching people how to live their life, using stories of Vishnu and pointing them towards means of salvation. The main focus of my Vishnu fan club, on the other hand, is to show how absolutely awesome Vishnu is.

Anyway, on with the story. Ramanuja had started a school of his own. But this was rather different from Yadava Prakash’s. In the sense that there wasn’t an application, an entrance exam, tuition fees, administration, a school board all that sort of thing. There was just Ramanuja teaching anyone and everyone who wanted to listen to him.

His regular students included many young boys not unlike how Ramanuja and Govinda had been. There was also Dhanurdasa, who was part of the King’s bodyguard, and Dhanurdasa’s wife.

Dhanurdasa and his wife’s presence made the rest of the students jealous. They were always complaining to Ramanuja about the couple. Frivolous complaints mostly. And then one day, their clothes were stolen. That was the last straw. They complained to Ramanuja, who, very surprisingly, said maybe Dhanurdasa had stolen them. So the students went to Dhanurdasa’s home. His wife was sleeping, and Dhanurdasa wasn’t around. They couldn’t find their clothes. But in their state of agitation, they began taking off the sleeping lady’s jewelry. They managed to take off her bangles and earrings on her left side. The lady then rolled over and continued sleeping. That would have given the students the opportunity to steal her bangles and earrings on her right side too, but her motion scared them and they went away. Back to Ramanuja.

Ramanuja heard about their experience and suggested they all go to Dhanurdasa’s hut. A field trip. A learning opportunity for all of them. So they all did. And quite shockingly they eavesdropped on the couple.

Dhanurdasa’s wife told her husband how a few students had come by while she was sleeping. Or while they thought she was sleeping. They had taken half her jewelry. And then she had deliberately rolled over so that they could take the other half. But they got scared and left. 

Dhanurdasa scolded his wife and said she should have remained still. That way they wouldn’t have been scared. And they would probably have figured out a way to steal the rest of her jewelry.

Ramanuja asked his students if by now they understood the most important difference between themselves and this couple. These students hadn’t given up attachment to the material world the way the husband and wife had. They still cared about their clothes, which incidentally Ramanuja had hidden in order to teach them a lesson.

That seemed to clear up the jealousy in most of the students’ eyes. But there was one student who resented this practical approach to learning. He developed more than a bit of distrust for his professor. He worried – what if on graduation day he found Ramanuja had hidden his clothes again? Might be quite an embarrassment. Obviously this one student wasn’t ready to overcome attachment to the material world. His loss.

Ramanuja was out walking one day when he saw a man holding a venomous snake in his hand. And his other hand was in the snake’s mouth.

Ramanuja was surprised. What was the man doing? He inquired.

Well that stranger turned out to be no stranger. He was Govinda, Ramanuja’s cousin. He’d have come and given Ramanuja a hug or a handshake at least. But as Ramanuja could see he was occupied at the moment. Govind said he was removing a thorn from the snake’s tongue. It had somehow gotten stuck there and the snake seemed in pain.

Ramanuja was naturally curious how Govinda wasn’t afraid of being bitten. To which, his cousin replied that he had faith in Vishnu. He removed the thorn and put the snake down. The snake waved a polite thank you and slithered off.

Govinda said he’d been looking for Ramanuja and could he join him as a follower please? 

This was a question that Ramanuja had heard thousands of times recently, and his answer was the same as always – yes

After that Ramanuja’s work consisted of fulfilling the promise toYamunacaharya, by writing a commentary on the Upanishads. He also revealed idols that had been buried in the ground, which led to temples being setup there. He talked to merchants that owned other idols and convinced them to give it up.

Finally when he passed, it was in Srirangam and after a long life of teaching those around him. They say he lived to the age of 120 years, which likely makes him one of the oldest people ever. Even though they measured days a little differently back then, so give or take a few years.

That’s all for now

Some notes on the show

Link to Ekalvya’s story: https://sfipodcast.com/mahabharata-ekalavya-ep-161/ 

That’s all for now. 

Next Time

In the next episode, we’ll do an Akbar and Birbal story. We’ll see Birbal come out on top as usual.

Feedback

Thank you all for the comments on Social Media and on Spotify’s Q&A! I can’t directly reply to the questions there, but I’ll address them here on this show.

Thank you Hiranmayee, Rajul, Libby and Hariprasad for your heartwarming comments.

Thanks Neelima, NewBunny, Sayushi for the feedback

Prasanna – technically Dhritarashtra had 102 children. But 101 were from Gandhari.

Devilskin – a Chandrakanta story is coming up soon.

Aniver – I’ll do a Buddha story as well as start on Ponniyin Selvan soon.

Aarush – interesting question about ranking all my episodes. I’d prefer to keep the episodes focused on stories, but maybe what I can try to do is to publish a list of the top episodes on my site.

I’ve gotten a whole lot of requests from many others as well – to do a story about myself, about Chandrakanta, Akbar Birbal, Ramayana, Mahabharata, and numerous folk tales. I just ask for your patience as we get through all of them

If you have any other comments or suggestions or if there are particular stories you’d like to hear, please do let me know by leaving a comment or a review on the site sfipodcast.com, or tweet @sfipodcast, or reply to the questions on Spotify Q&A. You can also find me on Instagram and Facebook.

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A big thank you to each of you for your continued support and your feedback.

The music is from Purple Planet.

Thanks for listening and I’ll see you next time!