Dhanurdasa

One of my favorite stories from the time of Sri Ramanuja is the story of Dhanur dasa. Dhanur dasa (he was a body builder from a lower caste) was once walking in a procession near the Srirangam temple holding an umbrella for his wife and he was so enamored of his wife’s beauty he was transfixed in the beauty of her eyes and not paying any attention to lord Vishnu’s idol in the procession.

Many people were angered by Dhanur dasa’s action but when it was brought to the attention of Sri Ramanuja (founder of the Vishistadvaita school) he seemed very pleased and asked to bring Dhanur dasa to him. Ramanuja asked him what he was doing and Dhanur dasa replied that his wife had the most beautiful pair of eyes he had ever seen and that he was protecting it from the suns rays:)

Sri Ramanuja then asked him “What if I show you much more beautiful eyes?” dhanurdasa said that he will serve him for the rest of his life. So Sri Ramanuja held Dhanurdasa’s hand and took him inside the temple and showed him the eyes of the Lord. Dhanur dasa entered into a blissful state of samadhi seeing the most beautiful eyes of the lord looking at him. Sri Ramanuja who was holding Dhanurdasa’s hands also went into a state of samadhi. Thus, Dhanurdasa and his wife became devotees and went onto become ardent followers of Sri Ramanuja 🙂

#SriRamanuja #BhakthiYoga #SwamiSarvapriyananda