Thirumangai Vedupari (Repost: section missed)

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Dear Members of the Prapatti Group:

 

There was a recurring problem in transmitting the full

text after the picture of the Ratham. Hence I am posting that

section once again. Thanks Mani for repostingefforts ! Thanks Dileepan for

suggesting to send the text as a separate posting!. Here is the rest of the

text:

 

The above structure is indicative of the shape of a Ratham or a

temple chariot , Swami Desikan has also constructed a similar

Ratha Bhandam in his Padhuka Sahasram. The use of Ratha Bhandham

is more popular in the Tamil poems composed by Azhwars and Nayanmars.

NakkiradevanayAnAr"s twelfth Thirumurai provides another Ratha Bhandham. We

will

focus on the TKV of Thirumangai here.

 

To gain a perspective on TVK, we have to understand the structure of

Naaliyra Divya Prabhandham and its relationship to Ashtaksharam,

which Thirumangai received as Upadesam from the "Peethaka Vaadai

PirAnAr as Brahma Guru ".The first thousand or MudalAyiram is associated

with the meaning of OmkArA or Pranavam; the second thousand (Thirumozhi

Aayiram) of Thirumangai has the purpose of Nama: Sabdhaartham (significance

of salutation and performing SaranAgathi at the Lotus feet of the Lord);

the third thousand (Thiruvaimozhi of NammAzhvAr ) explains

the Narayana -SabdhArtha ; the fourth thousand (IyarPaa) explains the

Chathurthyartha

(the significance of the dative suffix-"AAYA" in NARAAYANAAYA ).

 

In his TVK, Thirumangai constructed an orderly chariot of words

and seated Sri Sarangapani inthe center of that Chariot. Then he

asked for the Lord"s blessings and boons. The Azhwar used a Tamil

meter known as Aasiriyappaa for his TVK. In this poem, Thirumangai

celebrates Sriman Narayana as the supreme being and states that He

is transcendent and immanent. He points out that Periya Piratti always

resides in His chest and gives him thereby His name Srinivasan. He states

that all Jivans from the highest status--holding Brahma to the lowest worm

are subservient to Him. The other aspects of Sriman Narayana covered in

the TVK are: His creation and preservation of this Universe ; His various

incarnations and Leelas; His grace to Maheswara to enable Him to

administer the Samharam or the dissolution of the Universe ; a describtion of

Sriman Narayana's divine and beautiful form ; His deep attachment to His

three Devis(Sri, BHu and Nappinnai or Nila ).; the natural beauty of the

Divya Desam of His celebrated as Thirukkudanthai, where He rests in

the Udhyoga Sayanam pose.

 

In the next posting, I will comment on the meaning of selected sections

of TVK and dwell on the significance of the numbers starting from

compartment one of the First deck and its orderly ascent to the seventh deck

with its 13 compartments followed by a mirror image like descent from those

13 compartments back to deck one. While engaged in this tight rope balancing

act of a superb kind, Thirumangai housed the VisishtAdvaita Tattvas and

principles in the individual compartments of the Ratham that he designed for

the Divya Dampathis of Bhaskara Kshetram.

 

Kaliyan Thiruvadigaleh Saranam,

 

Oppiliappan Koil Varadachari Sadagopan