| Sages,Rushis & Saints |
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| Biographies of Great Indians & Hindus |
VEDANTA DESHIKAR |
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| Another
Mighty Feat Once when Deshikar paid a visit to Sriranga, the town was on the brink of a catastrophe. Muslim invaders attacked the town when a big festival was going on. People heard that the invader army had arrived on the other side of the river Quivery. They gathered together and thought of rescuing from the hands of the vandals the temple and the idol of the deity. They placed the idol and other temple jewels on a palanquin andentrusted them to the care of some godly folk who smuggled them through a secret passage. The elders like Pillai Lokacharya accompanied the idol. Then the temple was enclosed with a stone wall and counterfeit idols were substituted in place of the original ones. By then the invading army approached the temple to loot and plunder. Stalwarts like Sudarshana Bhatta and Manavala Nayanar who tried to defend the temple against the attack were massacred. The responsibility of preserving Sudarshana Bhatta's great work Shruta- prakashika and saving his two sons Vedacharya and Parankusha Bhatta fell on the shoulders of Deshikar. Deshikar hid the book in the sands of the Cauvery River at a secret spot. He and the two boys saved their lives by hiding themselves in the midst of the dead bodies left behind by the invaders. Deshikar later retrieved the book from the river-sands, and brought it to Satyamangala. The two orphan-boys followed him there. Deshikar was broken hearted when he saw the calamity, which was likely to befall the town. He composed a poem 'Abheetistava'and supplicated to Lord Ranganatha to save the town from the enemies. |
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