South India and her Muhammadan Invaders c13.s1.2

Language: English

c13.s1.2.1

While the annual festival in which the god is taken overnight to the banks of the Coleroon river, a little to the south-east of Śrīrangam—a festival lasting a few hours—was being celebrated, tidings came that an army of the Muhammadans had come in and occupied parts of the Toṇḍamaṇḍalam (the two Arcots and Chingleput) and a small body of troops was marching rapidly towards Samayavaram about five miles from the north bank of the Coleroon. The principal Brahman citizens of the town, who had assembled at the celebration of the festival and who were in charge of the temple, not having got through the festival cast lots in the presence of the idol whether to stay or to go. They got an answer directing them to stay. They stayed over therefore to complete the festival, and in the meanwhile information was brought to them that the flying column of the Muhammadans was dashing past Samayavaram. They therefore made haste to wind up proceedings, and, sending away the god and the goddess, in a small palanquin under the escort of Lokāchārya (Piḷḷai Lokāchārya) and a few stout-hearted followers and carriers, the assembled multitude got themselves ready for the attack. They had not to wait long before they were actually attacked, and destroyed in large numbers.

c13.s1.2.2

From out of this massacre Vēdāntachārya escaped, with the two little sons of Śrutaprakāśikāchārya, and the single manuscript of his famous commentary on the Śrī Bhāshya, and betook himself through unfrequented roadways to Satyamangalam on the borders of Mysore. Lokāchārya and his companions took their way to the south for safety. Fearing that they would be overtaken if they went along the road, they seemed to have kept more or less close to the road, but avoided the road-way and proceeded slowly through jungles and unfrequented tracts across the state of Pudukoṭṭa. They seemed to have marched in safety till they got to the southern frontier. Near Tiruppattūr they branched off, avoiding the main road from Tiruppattūr to Madura, probably because they had heard of the near approach of the enemy. Lokāchārya fled for shelter to Tirukkoshṭiyūr about six miles from Tiruppattūr on the modern road from Tiruppattūr to Śivaganga. It was probably on that occasion that the Muhammadan forces encamped in the temple precincts at Tiruppattūr, and it was too dangerous a proximity for Lokāchārya and his companions to continue in Tirukkoshṭiyūr. They therefore made a further detour to the east and getting through a more or less dense forest region, they came to a place called Jyotishkuḍi (Jyotishmatīpura), where they lived a few months.

c13.s1.2.3

During their residence there, information reached them that the bulk of the citizens of Śrīrangam were massacred, the temple itself sacked and desecrated, and all those citizens that Lokāchārya knew and cared for had suffered death. On hearing this distressing account of what happened to his friends and companions he got ill and died. His companions stayed there till they completed the funeral ceremonies of their venerable leader, and marched across from there for greater safety to Sundarāchalam (Aḷagar-malai), where they stayed for about a year. Finding their position untenable even there, they marched down farther south by way of Eṭṭiyāpuram zamindari till they reached Āḷvār-Tirunagari and then across into the Travancore country. Going along from temple to temple of the Vaishṇava holy places on the west coast they reached at last Calicut. Starting from there again after some time they got into the Mysore country and stayed a short time in Terukkaṇāmbi. Setting forward therefrom again they reached as far as Punganur, apparently towards Tirupati. Finding the march dangerous, they retreated towards Tirunārāyaṇapuram (Melkoṭṭai), where they remained for some considerable length of time. When they felt the road ways safe, they carried the image across to Tirupati. The story closes that from Tirupati, the image was taken over to Ginji by Gopana and ultimately got back to Śrīrangam.