Page:The Sikh Religion, its gurus, sacred writings and authors Vol 6.djvu/104

94 Madras Presidency, in the year A.D. 1017 during the reign of Betawardhan, King of Dwar Samudra in the Maisur (Mysore) state. The date of his birth is attested by the Sanskrit chronogram dhirlabdha, a word which yields the date 939 of the Saka era, and means that men received patience or consolation at his birth. Ramanuj s father was Keshav Jajjwa, a Brahman said to be of the illustrious race of Harit, the spiritual and literary king of the Rikhis. His mother was called Kantimati. For a long time she was childless. Her husband prayed to heaven for a son when, it is said, a god appeared to him and told him his desire should be granted. To effect this, it is related that Sheshnag, the wise serpent, which according to the Hindus supports the earth, became incarnate as Ramanuj. On the mother's side also Ramanuj belonged to an intellectual family, for it was his mother's brother Yadav Acharya, who was Ramanuj's first preceptor and taught him the principles of the Hindu religion as expounded in the Simritis. Ramanuj became an apt pupil, and at a very early age mastered the Veds and the Shastars. While pursuing his studies he delighted to sit under a tamarind tree near Perumbhudur, which is still worshipped by his followers. Ramanuj propounded new opinions with reference to the relation between the Creator and his creatures. He refuted the theories of the famous Shankar Acharya who was a Vedantist, and he began to inculcate the superiority of the worship of Vishnu to that of Shiv, the principal object of worship in southern India.

Ramanuj exorcised an evil spirit, of which the daughter of the king of Kanchipur had become possessed. The king was well pleased and gave