chaathuryam

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11/12 chaathuryam

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In this continuing series of twelve posts, twelve of the

many guNaas that are innate to Brahman is discussed

with illustrations from aazhvaar paasurams. These

twelve guNaas demonstrate God's eternal love for us

jeevaathmaas. They are sowseelyam, vaathsalyam,

maardhavam, aarjavam, sowhaartham, saamyam,

kaaruNyam, maadhuryam, gaambeeryam, owdhaaryam,

chaathuryam, and sthairyam. The subject of this post is

chaathuryam.

 

chaathuryam: deftness in bestowing the blessings

we seek from the Lord.

 

Several interesting illustrations are given to describe this

guNam. Let me present two.

 

---

vibeeshNan came to Lord raamaa with a wish to

surrender to Him. Everyone protested, except of course

aancanEyar. Lord raamaa could have simply overruled

these objections. That may cause distrust among the

rank and file. In stead, Lord raamaa deftly transformed

each and everyone of the objectors to heartily welcome

vibeeshNan with open arms and friendship.

 

 

---

Maadhali, indhiran's chariot driver, was looking for a

suitable groom for his daughter. He found one,

Sumugan, in nagalOkam. But there was a problem. It

seems Sumugan was to be garudan's dinner in a month.

Undeterred, Maadhali approached indhiran with a

request for a small amount of amridham. Unwilling to

part with amridham indhiran suggested that Sumugan

surrender to the Lord. So he did.

 

A month later garudan went to nagalOkam and

demanded Sumugan be brought before him. When he

realized what had happened he went straight to Lord

vishnu and insisted that Sumugan be handed over to him.

The Lord agreed! He handed Sumugan over to garudan,

but also commanded garudan to protect Sumugan. Thus,

our Lord kept his promise to protect Sumugan and also

avoided possible rivalry and quarrel between these two

bhakthaas. Here is how thirumangai aazhvaar cites this

story and seeks refuge at the lotus feet of Lord

Ranganaathaa.

 

 

nancu sOrvathOr vencina aravam

veruvi vanthun^in saraNenach saraNaay,

nenciR kondun^in anciRaip paRavaik

kadaikkalam koduththu aruLseythathu aRinthu

vencolaaLarkaL namanRamar kadiyaar

kodiya seyvana vuLa,athaR kadiyEn

anci vanthun^innadiyiNai yadainthEn

aNipozhil thiruvarangaththam maanE.

 

-- periya thiru mozhi 5.8.4

 

"nancu sOrvathOr vencina aravam" the snake that is

enraged and exuding venom, i.e. Sumugan;

"veruvi vanthun^in saraNenach saraNaay," fearful of

garudan, took refuge at your lotus feet;

"nenciR kondu" determined to protect Sumugan;

"n^in anciRaip paRavaikku adaikkalam koduththu,"

offered him (Sumugan) to your own garudan and

commanded him to protect Sumugan;

"aruL seythathu aRinthu," aware of this blessing;

"vencolaaLarkaL naman dhamar kadiyaar" cruel

messengers from Yaman;

"kodiya seyvana vuLa," are ready for their vicious deeds;

"athaRku adiyEn anci vanthun^innadiyiNai yadainthEn,"

distressed by this thought I am surrendering at your lotus

feet;

"aNi pozhil thiruvarangatthammaanE," O!, the Lord of

enchanting sri rangam.

 

 

.... to be continued

 

 

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This and other posts to follow in this subject are based

on the aruL mozhigaL of the 45th azhagiya singar of sri

aHObila madam, sri vaN satakOpa sri naaraayaNa

yatheendhra mahaa dEsikan, published in sri nrusimhap

priyaa starting with bava varusham, chitthirai maasam,

(April 1994), and commentaries of aazhvaar

prabhandams published by The Visishtadvaita Pracharini

Sabha, 27, Venkatesa Agraharam, Mylapore, Madras,

600 004.