Ananthazhwan

After Swami Rāmānujar brought about reform in the Sri Rangam temple, he was getting ready to take leave for Kanchipuram. He visited the lotus feet of Ranganatha Perumāl to inform Him that he would be taking his leave. Ranganatha Perumāl then instructed Swami Rāmānujar to reside in Sri Rangam and establish it as his headquarters. Swami Rāmānujar thus made Sri Rangam his headquarters.

At around the same time, a Hoysala king named Bittideva, who was a Jain, was ruling in Karnataka. His wife, Shantala, was a Vaishṇava. She came to Sri Rangam to see Swami Rāmānujar and asked him to reform her husband into Sri Vaishṇavism. Thus, Swami Rāmānujar went to see Bittideva and converted him to Sri Vaishṇavism. Bittideva then adopted the name Vishnuvardhan and constructed the renowned Channakeshava Temple at Belur.

Time passed, and Swami Rāmānujar was looking for a troupe he could take along with him to Tirumala. Tirumala at the time was densely forested, inhabited by many varieties of poisonous snakes and many wild animals. It was considered a journey once made that would send the person straight to Sri Vaikuṇṭham, as few would return from making the journey up the hill. In such a situation, Swami Rāmānujar held an open forum meeting with anyone who wished to listen to him.

Swami Rāmānujar asked in the forum who would accompany him on the journey to Tirumala. Only one person volunteered from the entire forum. This man was Ananthazhwan.

Ananthazhwan

Ananthazhwan used to perform puspha-kanikaryam and theertha-kainkaryam to Sri Tiru-veṅkaṭamuṭaiyān sincerely. Ananthazhwan had constructed a pushpa-brindavanam and named it after Swami Rāmānujar. One day, he was building a tank for the temple with the help of his wife, who was expecting at the time. Ananthazhwan used to till the soil with the help of a crowbar, place the mud into a mud tray, and give it to his wife, who would put it on her head and dispose of the mud at a distance.

One day, when the same routine was running, a small boy approached Ananthazhwan's wife and told her that he would help her dispose of the mud without her husband noticing what was happening. Ananthazhwan's wife accepted the help. Soon, Ananthazhwan saw the boy and chased after him, saying the work was being done in the name of the Lord, and he wanted nobody to help him. The boy seemed to run away, but soon came back to assist Ananthazhwan's wife. When Ananthazhwan saw the boy again, he started to chase him.

The boy started running and ran into the temple, soon entering the garbha griha. Seeing the boy run inside the garbha griha, Ananthazhwan threw his crowbar in the boy's direction and soon noticed blood flowing out of the garbha griha. When he went to check on the boy, he saw a scar on Lord Tiru-veṅkaṭamuṭaiyān's chin. He immediately realized that the boy was none other than the Lord Himself, who had come to assist Ananthazhwan in his work.

Ananthazhwan is said to have cleaned the wound and applied camphor on the Lord's chin to give a soothing and cooling effect. The crowbar can still be seen in the temple to this day.

Ananthazhwan's Crowbar