Ever since the day he had seen Rāmānuja in Kānchīpuram, the aged Yamunacharya had been thinking of him and praying to Lord Viṣṇu for his deliverance. He longed for the day on which Rāmānuja would give up the association of Yadavaprakasa and take full shelter of the Vaiṣṇavas. He then instructed Mahāpūrṇa, one of his senior disciples, "Please go to

When Mahāpūrṇa asked the reason for this great assembly, one man replied, "Mahatma Yamunacharya has returned to the abode of the Lord." When he heard these words, Rāmānuja immediately fainted and fell to the ground unconscious, while Mahāpūrṇa cried aloud in anguish, beating his forehead with the palms of his hands. After some time, Mahāpūrṇa composed himself, and, seeing Rāmānuja

All of you may recall how, just prior to his departure, our master desired to see Śrī Rāmānuja of Kānchīpuram and sent Mahāpūrṇa there to fetch him. It is that great soul alone, the intimate friend of Kānchīpurna, who, having been chosen by Śrīman Yamunacharya himself, is competent to take on the responsibility as Ācārya for this āśrama. Therefore, let

Rāmānuja walked back to the temple of Lord Varadarāja, praying constantly to the Lord within his mind, "O Lord Nārāyaṇa, please allow this servant of yours to take full shelter at Your lotus feet." When he reached the temple, he bowed down before the Deity and prayed, "My dear Lord, from this day I am Yours in every way. Please

When the news reached Śrī Rangam that Rāmānuja had taken sannyāsa, Mahāpūrṇa was very pleased and went into the temple of Lord Ranganātha. There, before the lotus-eyed Lord who reclines on His bed of Ananta-Śeṣa, Mahāpūrṇa began to offer fervent prayers, begging the Lord to bring Rāmānuja to Rangaksetra. Hearing this impassioned plea from His pure devotee, Lord Ranganātha became

After coming to Śrī Rangam, Rāmānuja was very pleased to resume his role as the disciple of Mahāpūrṇa: through this relationship he felt relief from the sadness that had afflicted him since the disappearance of Yamunacharya. By his behavior toward Mahāpūrṇa, he set the example for all disciples to follow in rendering service to their spiritual master. Under the expert

Rāmānuja replied: "A person who gives up all independent desires and serves his guru absolutely for an entire year can fully understand the meaning of this verse, and no one else." "But life is so uncertain," said Kureśa, "how can I know whether or not I will live for another year? Please bestow your mercy upon me by making the

In this way the temple of Lord Ranganātha came to be built and was famous as the largest temple in all of India. At the time of Rāmānuja, however, the high priest of the temple was not at all a devoted or pious man. He had used his position to amass a fortune for himself, and he was willing to

On seeing the blissful effulgence in Rāmānuja's face the impersonalist was completely amazed, thinking to himself: "Yesterday, Rāmānuja returned to his āśrama greatly disappointed and on the verge of defeat. But today he returns looking like one of the gods. I can see that he is divinely inspired, and thus it is futile to argue with him any longer. This