sOmbhar --Welcome comments by Sri Varadan

[Guest guest]

Dear Sri Varadan :

 

I appreciate very much your clarifications and

welcome your note. As you have summarized excellently ,

our purvaacharyAs have commented heavily

on the meaning of the word "mEmporuL " used by

Thondaradipodi . It is very appropriate that this Paasuram

needs a lot of intensive study inview of the general

acceptance of this particular paasuram as the essence

of Thirumaalai .

 

Our Acharyaas have pointed out that

this Paasuram is to Thirumaalai , what the Sarama slokam

is to Bhagavadh Gitaa . Thanks for bringing the essence

of this Paasuram for the benefit of all of us..I would also like

to request you to share with us more your extensive knowledge of

our AzhwAr's aruLiccheyalkaL .

 

Let me share with you all the perspective from where I am

coming from . Swami Desikan in his sillarai Rahasyam ,

Abhaya PradhAna sAram , includes this section of

Thondardipodi's paasuram.. Swami's Desikan's actual

text realting to sOmbar in this TamiL work is as follows :

 

rakshaapekshai paNNUmpOthu vEROr ubhAyamum

paNNa vEndA , abhimaana gocharamaana vizhayatthil

tuvakkAlE ananya saraNathaiyai veLi ittukkidakka

amaiyum enra ThirukkaNNamangai aandAn padiyilE

" Kadaitthalai irundhu vaazhum sOmbarai uhatthi " ennum

arthatthai veLiyittAn ."

 

Thiruvahindrapuram SwamigaL , his disciple Naveneetham

KrishNamAchar SwamigaL of Oppiliappan Koil and his son

and disciple , Navaneetham Vangipuram Srirama Desikachar

SwamigaL (one of my achAryas ) have given the intrepretation

to sOmbhar in this context of Swami Desikan's reference to

ThirukkaNNamangai Aandhaan and his choice among DharmAs.

I have followed that line of thought .

 

ThirukkaNNamangai Aandhaan , the author of the famous taniyan

for NaacchiyAr Thirumozhi was a great JnAni , who understood

the " mEmporuL " very well . He chose to clean the praakarams

and the front of the temple of the Lord Bhakthavatsalaa and

Abhishekavalli thAyAr at the Divya desam of ThirukkaNNamangai.

 

He was a " Vaazhum sombhar " in the sense indicated ..

He did not live for himself , but lived only for the service to Divya

Dampathis. To that extent he was a sOmbheri . He did not care

about his personal comforts. he recognized the kedum sOmbhar,

who were the opposite of Vaazhum sOmbhar .

 

The keum sOmbhar lived only for themselves and

not for the Lord and His consort. They are tempted

and deluded by the loka vAsanAs, they do not understand the

aathma svarupam properly and do not perform svarupAnurupa Kaimkaryam.

They do not consider that type of Kiamkaryam as their purushArtham.

They do not control their indriyAs and let them run amok in

Vishaayantharams. They do not release the load of

aathmAbhimAnam and dehAbhimAnam in contrast to the

Vazhum sOmbhar like ThirukkaNNamangai aandhAn .

Latter engaged in "simple "Sannadhi Kaimkaryam of cleaning the

surru praakarams and the front of the Lord's temple with

a broom stick all his life . He did not practice the difficult JnAna or Bhakthi

Yogam and took"the easier route " of Prapatthi with its six limbs

and Bhagavadh kaimkaryam and bhagavth guNaanubhavam..

 

The Lord was very pleased with the services of this exemplary

PrapannA . Aandhaan exemplified the Bhagavatha LakshaNams

covered by the paasuram of Thondaradipodi . He also resided

inside the temple as indicated by the AzhwAr

( un kadaitthalai irundhu Vaazhum Sombhar) .

Swami Desikan seems to have chosen ThirukkaNNamangai AandhAn

as an exemplary "sOmbar " for all these reasons in his Rahasya work

and was reminded of Thondardaipodi's paasuram section on "sOmbhar".

 

Instead of elaborating this much , which is needed to understand

the full significance of the word "sOmbar" used by the AzhwAr ,

I recognize that I have caused confusion by compressing

the meaning too much . Dear Sri Varadan ,Thanks very much for

taking the effort to point out the left-out meanings.

 

The main message of Thondaradipodi in Thirumaalai

has been identified by our AchAryAs as the fitness of everyone

to recite the Lord's name to attain salvation. Only the effort

has to be made. Those , who follow this path are

BhagavathAs and others are "Thozhumbhars".

 

Saint ThyagarajA in number of his krithis has celebrated such

"Vaazhum sOmbhars " and described their lakshaNams. He says in

his NathanAmakriyA krithi " KaruNAjaladE DaasarathE " :

 

" The realization of true Bhaktha is in one way , while the

method adopted by the people , who do not know the truth

about You , is in another direction". In sections of his Sri Raaga

krithi , "Endharo MahAnubhAvulu " , he describes the Bahagavatha

lakshaNams and salutes them . In his YamunA kalyANi krithi,

Hari dAsulu vetalu , he describes the true Hari DaasAs and their

ecstasy , when they forget themselves and praise Hari's name

as the only means of their salvation.

 

In his VarALi krithi , KaruNa yelagantE , he describes the lakshaNam

of the Bhagavatha , who does not care about himself more precisely :

 

" He will not utter a lie, will not approach low people with

requests, will not even serve kings, --- will not injure others,

--, will not have three desires ( for wife, wealth and progeny ) ,

will not exhibit any exultation even if he were to become a jivan mukthA,

will not be fickle-minded and make himself unhappy , will not

swerve from his aim , believing fully well (maha ViswAsam )

that the Lord is eternal witness."

 

Such is the tribute of Saint ThyagarAjA to the class of BhagavathAs

referred affectionately as "Vaazhum sOmbhar" by Thondaradipodi

in his ThirumAlai prabhandham verse.

 

AzhwAr, Swami Desikan ThiruvadigalE SaraNam,

 

V.Sadagopan .