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58
 
MADHURAVIJAYAM
 
lead which was required only to restore order in the
temples conquered back from the Muslims on his way
to Madhurai. Gōpana was left at Srirangam to watch
over the temple with a small garrison. Gōpana's part
in the campaign was perhaps mostly confined to res-
toring order in the temples retaken from the Muslims.5
 
The literary sources give us the interesting infor-
mation that the images of Sriranganātha were taken
away by Vēdānta Dēṣika and Lōkaçārya before the
Muslim entry into the temple, first, to Sundarāchalam
(Alagarmalai) and then to the Kerala country. After
a short stay in that country, Dēṣika took these images
to Tirunārāyaṇapuram in Mysore and finally installed
them at Tirupati. By this time the Sultanate had grown
and declined. Kampaņa had made up his mind to wipe
it out. Gōpana removed the idols to Ginjee, his own
headquarters, and worshipped them in a cave-temple
till he started with Kampana.
 
Regarding Gōpana being a contemporary of
Dēşika there is no doubt. Hultzch says,' that the
Guruparamparaprabhāva must be wrong in making
Gōpanārāyar a contemporary of Vēdānta Dēṣika. As
the Guruparampara gives 1270 A.D. as the date of Sri
Vēdānta Dēşika's birth, Hultzch thought that Dēşika
could not have lived till the days of Kampaṇa and com-
posed the verse on Gopaṇa. Therefore, he says, "the
alleged birthday of Vēdānta Dēṣika in Kaliyuga 4370,
the Sukla Samvatsara is a pure invention." While
 
5. Dr. N. Venkataramanyya: Ma'bar (J.M.U.).
 
"It was on this occasion that Göpana installed the images of Sri-
ranganātha and His Consorts which he brought from Ginjee."
 
6. Cf. Prapannāmrtam, (Sources: pp. 38-39). (Trans. appended).
7. Epigraphia Indica. Vol. VI, p. 323.