Madabhooshi Varadarajan

A Welcome Addition to the Madhava Perumal Temple's Prabhandham Ghosti

Divya Prabhandham has remained close to his heart all his life

In his 75th year, he received the Gopalopayanam award from Trithandi Jeer for his contribution to Vaishnavism

There has been some good news for the Madhava Perumal temple of late. While on one hand there is a young Commerce Post Grad joining in as a priest(https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2022/04/madhava-perumal-temple-next-gen-bhattar.html), on the other there has been a welcome addition of a 75 year old Prabhandham member. 

During the Pandemic, Dr. Madabhooshi Varadarajan a revered Prabhandham Scholar hailing from the Ananthan Pillai clan (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2019/08/ananthazhvaar-kirangur.html) moved from Thiruvallikeni to Nattu Veerachi Street in Mylapore, just next to the ancient Madhava Perumal temple. With the reopening of the temple after wave 2 and the resumption of utsavams, he has become an integral part of the Prabhandham Ghosti at the temple and was seen through the Brahmotsavam this year in Chitrai.

Varadarajan’s father performed several decades of Madapalli service at the Govindarajan Perumal temple in Tirupathi and was particularly known for making quality dosais, 

After completing his SSLC at the Hindu High School, Thiruvallikeni, he moved to Tirupathi where he resided for almost five decades including as the Tamil Professor at the Venkateswara University for 15years. He has presented Kalakshepams on nine Granthas and also written a commentary on Aditya Hridayam in four languages. He has thus far written 76 books. 

Great Liking for the Divya Prabhandham

As a young boy, he learned the Nalayira Divya Prabhandham from his grandfather. Later on in life, he anchored a three year Project studying Azhvaars’ Hymns in the 108 Divya Desams. For this, he travelled the length and breadth of the country and presented 400 pages on the recital of the sacred verses in the Divya Desams. He found that only in one third of these temples the sacred verses were recited every day.

For over two decades, he was the PA to the Vice Chancellor, a phase when he managed to be closely associated with the Divya Prabhandham and the spreading of its glory.

His special attachment towards Nalayira Divya Prabhandham led to him being engaged as a Director of a two-year UGC Research Project titled Upanishadic Thoughts in Tiruvoimozhi classifying 616 Upanishadic Quotations employed by Nampillai.

Continuing his liking for the sacred verses of the Azhvaars, his Doctorate too was a thesis analyzing and dissecting from different angles the Panneer Aayira Padi, a 12000 word commentary on Tiruvoimozhi. He published 10 volumes of Paneeraayira Padi comprising of 2200pages

Three decades ago, he led the first national seminar on Nalayira Divya Prabhandham.

Gopalopayanam award

Earlier this year, Varadarajan, who holds a double MA (Political Science and Tamil) was anointed with the Gopalopayanam award by Trithandi Chinnna Jeer Swamy for his contribution to spreading the Vaishnavite philosophy among the masses over several decades. 

He will turn 75 soon but his commitment to the sacred verses of the Azhvaars has not diminished one bit over the last decade. While in Thiruvallikeni, he was a regular at the Prabhandham Ghosti. The move to Mylapore makes him a great addition to the small Prabhandham team at the Madhava Perumal team. He has also initiated his son, an IT staffer, into the Divya Prabhandham as well into Kalakshepams to help continue the tradition into the next gen.