Kūrattāzhvān — The Foremost of Rāmānuja's Disciples
Kūrattāzhvān (also known as Kūreśa, Śrī Kūreśa, or Śrī Kūranātha; c. 1009–1127 CE) is held as the foremost (agragaṇya) among the disciples of Śrī Rāmānujāchārya and one of the most revered Āchāryas in the entire Śrī Vaiṣṇava tradition. Born into a wealthy Brahmin family in the village of Kūram near Kāñcīpuram, Kūrattāzhvān was renowned even before meeting Rāmānuja for his vast learning in Sanskrit, Vedānta, and the ancillary śāstras. Upon encountering Rāmānuja, he recognized him as his Āchārya and surrendered himself and all his wealth to the teacher's mission.
The most celebrated episode in Kūrattāzhvān's life is the journey to Kashmir undertaken at Rāmānuja's direction to obtain a copy of the Bodhayana Vṛtti — an ancient commentary on the Brahma Sūtras that Rāmānuja needed to complete his own Śrī Bhāṣya. The scholars of Kashmir guarded this rare manuscript jealously. Kūrattāzhvān, through his extraordinary memory, absorbed the relevant passages in a single night. When the Kashmiris retrieved the physical manuscript before Rāmānuja's party could depart, the text survived because Kūrattāzhvān had it committed to memory — a feat that ensured the completion of the Śrī Bhāṣya.
Kūrattāzhvān also authored the celebrated Pañca Stavams — five Sanskrit stotras of great literary and theological beauty: Śrī Stavam (praise of Lakṣmī), Varadarāja Stavam (praise of the Lord at Kāñcī), Sundarabāhu Stavam (praise of the Lord at Tirumāliruñcōlai — Azhagar Koil), Atimānuṣa Stavam (celebrating the Lord's transcendence beyond human measure), and Vaikuṇṭha Stavam (praise of Śrī Vaikuṇṭham). These works represent the pinnacle of Sanskrit devotional composition in the tradition.
Kūrattāzhvān's sons — Parāśara Bhaṭṭar (author of the magisterial Bhagavad-guṇa-darpaṇam commentary on the Viṣṇu Sahasranāma) and Vedavyāsa Bhaṭṭar — continued the tradition with great distinction, making the Kūreśa family one of the principal āchārya lineages. Kūrattāzhvān's personal example — surrendering wealth, enduring hardship for the Āchārya's mission, and composing stotras still recited daily in Śrī Vaiṣṇava practice — remains the ideal of the selfless disciple.
[From alternate entry: kurazvan]
Alternative Name
Kūramāzhvān is an alternate Tamil name for Kūrattāzhvān — emphasizing the honorific āzhvān ("one who is immersed") and the village of Kūram from which he came. Both names refer to the same great ācārya: Rāmānuja's closest disciple who sacrificed his eyesight for the sampradāya.
See the entry for Kūrattāzhvān for the full biographical and theological account.
In oral tradition, both names are used interchangeably. The Pañcastava (five hymns) he composed are sometimes attributed under the name Kūramāzhvān, sometimes Kūreśa.