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| Śrī Arunachala Dīkṣitar-Śmt. Lakṣmī Somapīthinī |
Angarai is a village in Lalgudi Taluk in Tiruchirappalli District of
Tamil Nadu State, India. It is located 15 km towards east of
Tiruchirappalli. There is a flourishing Agraharām where about 100
Brāḥmaṇa families live together. The natives of yore proudly claimed to
have housed 64 Āhitāgnis who were sponsored by the nearby
resident philanthropists to conduct nitya-agnihotras.
Śrī Kailasanatha Vājapeyī known as Pichhu Dikshitar of
20th century belonged to the 20th generation of the Somayājīs in one of
the Bhāradvaja lineages of families who got settled in Āṅgarai. Though details are
now inaccessible he had earned the title of “Bahuyājī” which means a
person who has conducted many yāgas. The word is suggestive of performance of
all the 7 saṃsthās, like the Agniṣṭoma, the Atyagniṣṭoma, the Ukthya, the Ṣoḍaśī, the Atirātra,
the Vājapeya, the Aptoryāma and the Cayanas.
Śrī Arunachala Dikshitar was born to Śrī Kailasanatha Vājapeyī and Śmt. Balamba Somapīthinī in the year 1901. Like his father he became well versed in the Taittirīya-śākhā (kramānta) with Ṣaḍaṅga and Śrauta in particular, under the tutelage of the famous Śrī Maṇakkāl Muthu Dīkṣitar (Śrautigaḷ).
As everyone knows the Prayoga edited by Śrī Maṇakkāl Muthu Dīkṣitar is the standard manual in the field of smārta rituals. Both the manuals, the pūrva and the apara, which enjoy authority and currency even today speak high of Śrī Muthu Dīkṣitar’s tradition and achievements. Arunachala had devoted his youthful age entirely for learning which resulted in mastering over the subtleties of the chosen śrauta field and Dharma-śāstra texts. Muthu Dīkṣitar was so proud of this student and he wanted him to exhibit his mastery as a śrautin in the somayāgas conducted by his father, Śrī Kailasanatha Vājapeyī. As a ṛtvik he excelled in his duties as chief of the Adhvaryu-gaṇa and earned extraordinary name and fame which attracted the attention of the local Miṛāsdārs who came forward to sponsor his basic living needs. He was invited to supervise all kinds of saṁskāra rituals and Rudra homas by many which he did authoritatively and with all enthusiasm.
In the year 1920 Arunachala got married to Śmt. Lakshmi who belonged to the same agrahāra. A son, named, Jambunathan was born to them who later became son-in-law of Svargīya Śrī Nūraṇi Somasundara Dīkṣitar.
Soon after begetting a child, Arunachala consecrated the tretāgni and performed an Agniṣṭoma (Somayāga) in 1926 at Āṅgarai and became Arunachala Dīkṣitar (Somayājī). Along with his wife, Śmt. Lakshmi Somapīthinī, he conducted the Nitya-agnihotras, Iṣtis and the occasional rites without break apart from the smārta rituals, thus carried forward the Agni-Upāsanā to the 21st generation. He also performed one of the five Kāṭhaka-kṣudra-cayanas, viz., the Āruṇa-ketuka at Śūlamaṅgalam, Papanasam Taluka, Thanjavur Dt.
He was closely associated with the Śrī Kanchi Kamakoti Maṭḥa and Śrī Mahāsvāminaḥ. In recognition of his expertise in the Gṛhya and Dharma branches of learning he was awarded the titles, “Gṛhyajña” and “Dharmajña”.
नमो महद्भ्यः।
As everyone knows the Prayoga edited by Śrī Maṇakkāl Muthu Dīkṣitar is the standard manual in the field of smārta rituals. Both the manuals, the pūrva and the apara, which enjoy authority and currency even today speak high of Śrī Muthu Dīkṣitar’s tradition and achievements. Arunachala had devoted his youthful age entirely for learning which resulted in mastering over the subtleties of the chosen śrauta field and Dharma-śāstra texts. Muthu Dīkṣitar was so proud of this student and he wanted him to exhibit his mastery as a śrautin in the somayāgas conducted by his father, Śrī Kailasanatha Vājapeyī. As a ṛtvik he excelled in his duties as chief of the Adhvaryu-gaṇa and earned extraordinary name and fame which attracted the attention of the local Miṛāsdārs who came forward to sponsor his basic living needs. He was invited to supervise all kinds of saṁskāra rituals and Rudra homas by many which he did authoritatively and with all enthusiasm.
In the year 1920 Arunachala got married to Śmt. Lakshmi who belonged to the same agrahāra. A son, named, Jambunathan was born to them who later became son-in-law of Svargīya Śrī Nūraṇi Somasundara Dīkṣitar.
Soon after begetting a child, Arunachala consecrated the tretāgni and performed an Agniṣṭoma (Somayāga) in 1926 at Āṅgarai and became Arunachala Dīkṣitar (Somayājī). Along with his wife, Śmt. Lakshmi Somapīthinī, he conducted the Nitya-agnihotras, Iṣtis and the occasional rites without break apart from the smārta rituals, thus carried forward the Agni-Upāsanā to the 21st generation. He also performed one of the five Kāṭhaka-kṣudra-cayanas, viz., the Āruṇa-ketuka at Śūlamaṅgalam, Papanasam Taluka, Thanjavur Dt.
He was closely associated with the Śrī Kanchi Kamakoti Maṭḥa and Śrī Mahāsvāminaḥ. In recognition of his expertise in the Gṛhya and Dharma branches of learning he was awarded the titles, “Gṛhyajña” and “Dharmajña”.
Once during a visit to Varanasi, the doyen in Pūrva-mīmāṃsā, Śrī Maṇḍakolathūr Chinnaswami Śāstrī, happened to converse with Dīkṣitar on a Śrauta topic. He also could witness a few Iṣtis performed by Dīkṣitar. Seeing the meticulous way the Iṣti was being performed, Śrī Chinnaswami Śāstrī could not but praise Dīkṣitar instantly. He got so amazed that in the assemblage of a few scholars, he conferred on him the title, “Śrauta-vidyā-sudhākara”. Dīkṣitar valued this recognition above everything because it was presented by a man of vast learning of the Mīmāṃsā-śāstra. Only a wise man can understand the efforts behind acquiring thorough knowledge --
विद्वानेव विजानाति विद्वज्जनपरिश्रमम् ।
Śrī Arunachala Dīkṣitar, besides being a staunch Vaidika ritualist, was a Devī-Upāsaka too. The great, Śāstraratnākara Tetiyūr Śrī Subrahmanya Śāstrin (1885-1954) was a polymath and a devout Śrīvidyā-Upāsaka. It is a wonder that Śrī Arunachala Dīkṣitar got initiated into the secrets of Navākṣarī, from him.
विद्वान् सर्वत्र पूज्यते ।
vidvān sarvatra pūjyate
A scholar is adored everywhere.
vidvān sarvatra pūjyate
A scholar is adored everywhere.
By this time the name and fame related to Dīkṣitar's achievements in the conduct of Śrauta-yājñas, Atirudra and Caṇḍī Homas grew rapidly and the news had reached the Mahārāja of Mysore and the Śrī Sringeri Maṭha. He was invited by the then Śrī Saṅkarācārya, Śrī Chandrasekhara Bhāratī Svāminaḥ for performance of certain rituals and later at his behest got him initiated into the Srīvidyā-Upāsanā (Pañcadaśākṣarī) through his immediate disciple. The Mahārāja of Mysore extended to him an annual scholarship for his achievements in Śrauta-vidyā, every year, at the time of Dusserah which he enjoyed for several years.
Acquaintances were many for him but true lifetime friends
were Śrī Veppattūr Subrahmanya Śāstrigaḷ, Śrī Pāzhūr Subrahmanya Śāstrigaḷ and Śrī Poḷagam
Rama Śāstrigaḷ.
Śrī Arunachala Dīkṣitar passed away at the age of 70 in
1970 at Chennai. The Āhitāgni-saṃskāra for this noble soul was conducted as laid down in
the śāstras.
It is hoped that someone will come forward to conduct at least an Ādhāna from his family so that the saṃskāra of Agnihotra preserved for the last 21 generations in the family could be retained and passed easily
to the next generation............This is the thought, desire at the moment which flashed in the mind of the editor
of this rambling note.
नमो महद्भ्यः।
(Thanks are
due to Sri. A. Krishnamoorthy and Sri. Eswaran Jambunathan, son and grandson respectively of Svargīya Śrī Arunachala Dikshitar for providing the
biographical note and the photograph.)
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