Ramanujacharya’s disciple Kooratazhvan had all the traits that an Acharya would desire in his sishya. Ramanujacharya and Kooratazhvan travelled to Kashmir to study Bodayana vritti. Kooratazhvan had such an outstanding memory that with just one reading he was able to commit the entire work to memory. His intellect was matched by his humility and his total surrender to the wishes of his Acharya, said P.B. Rajahamsam in a discourse. Ramanujacharya was so fond of Kooratazhvan that he wanted his disciple to have a direct connection to his (Ramanujacharya’s) Acharyas.
Once when Peria Nambi asked Ramanuja to pick one of his disciples to accompany him (Peria Nambi), Ramanuja did not do so at once, leaving the choice to Peria Nambi himself. Nambi chose Kooratazhvan as the ideal person to be with him, and thus Ramanuja helped establish a direct connection between Kooratazhvan, his disciple, and Peria Nambi, his own Acharya.
Kooratazhvan wrote five works, which are collectively known as Panchastava. They are Sri Stava, Vaikuntha Stava, Atimanusha Stava, Sri Sundarabahu Stava and Varadaraja Stava. While each is a gem in its own right, Varadaraja Stava has the unique distinction of being presented before Lord Varadaraja. Kanchi Varadaraja kshetra is considered dvaya kshetra, because it is here that the Lord and His Consort Perundevi are together often. In Srirangam, Lord Ranganatha and Goddess Ranganayaki are together only once a year. In Tirumala, Lord Srinivasa is on the hill, but the thayar is at the foot of the hill. It is only in Kanchi that they are most often together, which, therefore, makes it dvaya kshetra. Srirangam is the kshetra associated with the Ashtakshara and Tirumala with the charama sloka, while Kanchi clearly drives home the significance of dvaya mantra..
