Ramanujacharya was an avatara of Adisesha. When the time came for him to be named, it was his maternal uncle Thirumalai Nambi who gave him the name Ramanuja. Thiruvarangathu Amudanar, who wrote Ramanuja Nootrandadi in praise of Ramanuja, says this name Ramanuja is equal in sanctity to the recitation of the Gayatri mantra 108 times. Lakshmana was also called Ramanuja, and was an avatara of Adi Sesha. Hence, the Acharya, who was also Sesha avatara, was given this name. Vaishnava scholars have elaborated on three points to show why he was named Ramanuja, said P.T. Seshadri, in a discourse.
In Ayodhya Kanda, sarga 31, sloka 25, Lakshmana says to Rama, “aham sarvam karishyaami” (I will do all manner of service to you). Ramanuja, likewise, performed every task imaginable for the cause of Vedanta. His writings and teachings helped crush unfair criticism of scriptural texts and put Visishtadvaita on a firm footing. Secondly, Lord Krishna too was known as Ramanuja because he was the younger brother (anuja) of Balarama. It was for this reason that Kulasekhara Azhvar, in his Mukunda Mala, calls out to Lord Krishna as “Ramanuja, Jagatraya guro.”
It is also believed that Ramanuja was born due to the blessings of Lord Parthasarathy of Thiruvallikeni, and so he was given the name Ramanuja, which was also Krishna’s name. In Kali Yuga, Nammazhvar is considered an avatara of Rama. Ramanuja had great regard for this Kali Yuga Rama. It was, therefore, appropriate that he should be named Ramanuja — the younger brother of this Rama (Nammazhvar). Kooratazhvan wonders what would have been the fate of people like him if the name Ramanuja with four letters had not been around. The name Ramanuja is like a medicine for the disease called samsara.
