Sanga Thamizh & Thiruppavai (Sangha Tamizh Maalai of AndAL): PART 1

[Guest guest]

Dear Members of the Prapatthi group :

 

GodhA Piratti describes in the 30th verse of Her

Thiruppavai that the thirty verses sung by Her

is a garland made up of (the flowers/doctrines )

Sanga Tamizh . She salutes the Vaidheeic (Veda-rooted )

principles propounded by Sanga kaala Tamizh , when

she describes Her aruLicchayal as "aNi pudhuvai

painkamalatthaNteriyal Bhattar PirAn Godhai sonna

SANGATTHAMIZH MAALAI MUPPATHUM " .

 

I will summarize and expand on the thoughts of the great

scholar , Sri Putthoor KrishNaswamy Iyengaar , the editor of

SriviashNava Sudarsanam . He is a lawyer by profession

and hence his arguments are brillaintly laid out. His yeoman

service to the understanding of the SriviashNava

darsanam is a very distinguished one .

 

In view of the vastness of the subject , I will attempt to limit

this posting to managable length for the comfort of the readers.

Hope they will be inspired to seek more information and share it

with fellow members . At a later date , I will expand on these themes

to indicate the greatness of the Ubhaya VedAntha sampradhAyam

of ours sanctified by our AzhwArs and AchaAryAs . My regards to the

Tamizh scholars of this group like Sri Badri SeshAdri and others

and request them. to add more information on the time of

Sanga Kaala poets and philosophers and related material .

 

Today is the day of SRAVANAM . I offer my salutations to SravaNa

Venkatesan of Oppiliappan Koil and to Sri Bhumi Devi , whose

incarnation according to tradition is GodhA Piratti . On this 27th day

of Marghazhi , I offer my salutations to Sri Bhumi Devi sametha

Oppiliappan .

 

V.Sadagopan

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***SANGA TAMIZH AND ANDAAL' S ARULICCHEYALGAL

 

The " Grammar " for the term Brahman(Supreme Being )

**************************************************************

 

The PramANams for Vaidihic mathAs are the Vedas themselves

and the Upanishads . They assert unambigously that Brahman

is the one , who is the cause of the creation , protection and

dissolution of the Universe . This leela is the reason why he is

defined as Jagadh KaaraNan and this activity leads the Brahman to be

saluted for its Jagadh KaaraNathvam . VedAs , VedaanthAs , IthihAsAs

salute this Brahman as Omniscient , Omnipotent and omnipresent.

The last three qualiites are considered as the unique attributes (gramamr )

of Brahman . SrivaishNava Darsanam equates this Brahman with

Sriman NaarayaNan and continues to salute His other Anantha

KalyANa GunAs .

 

The other KalyANa GuNAs celebrated by the VedAs and Upanishads

are : (1) Moksha Pradhatvam (2) Samastha KalyANa guNAthmakathvam ,

(3) Akhila Heya pratyaneekathvam (4) Aprameyathvam (5) Aadhi Devathvam ,

(6) Sahaja Bandhuthvam for the Jeevans and (7) Veda Prathipaathyathvam .

One who has these above attributes is declared by gramarians to be Brahman .

 

The Sanga Kaala poets preceding AndAL such as KerandayAr (author of

second Paripaadal ) , Kaduvan ILaveiyananAr (Author of third, fourth

and fifth Paripaadals ) , Nal YezhuniyAr ( author of 13th paripaadal ) ,

Tolkappiar , the author of Pura Nanooru have firmly established the

VISHNU PARATHVAM AND VISHNU SARVOTTHAMATVAM BASED

ON THE AUTHORITIES OF VEDAAS , UPANISHADS AND BRAHMA SUTRAAS .

It is astounding to recognize that the Sarira -Saareeri doctrine , the centre

of Acharya Ramanuja Darsanam and his predecessors is so

clearly expounded in the above Sanga Kaala literature.

 

GodhA piraatti's revered father went to the court of the PandyA king

and established the VishNu parathvam and his precocious daughter

followed the same ancient doctrines propounded by Vedaa , Upanishads

and echoed in the FIRST Sanga Kaala literature and wove

Her garland of verses and named them as SANGA TAMIZH MAALAI .

GodhA pirAtti's Thiruppavai has the same infrastructure of the Vedic

PramANams just as the First Sanga Tamizh literature that propounds

VishNu as sakala GuNa poorNan and Adhi dEvan . The Sangam literature

emphasized the KalyANa guNAs such as Sowlabhyam , Sowseelyam ,

Vaatsalyam and His Subhaasrayam ( Azhagu Thirumeni ) , His divine

weapons , His sacred Tulasi garland and His many incarnations as

well as His manifestation as Para , Vyuha , vibhava , ArchA and Antharyami

states as the Vedam declares in the famous passage , " Ambhasya PaarE".

We can map one on one the various salutations that AndAL makes in

Thiruppavai and link them to the amazing doctrinal echoes found in

the first Sanga Kaalam literature. This is not surprising because both

the earlier Sanga Kaala literature and AndAL's later Thiruppavai are

both rooted in the SAME Grantha chaathushtya PramANAs (Vedas , Upanishads ,

Brahma Sutraas, Bhagavadh Geetha and Sri Rahasya Traya Saaram ) .

Later Tamizh sangam literature deviated from the emphasis on

the Parathvam of VishNu NaarAyaNan .

 

I will include examples of the tight links between the Early

sangam literature and Thiruppavai , which led to AndAL

describing Her Paasurams as " Sanga Thamizh Maalai " .

 

Anna Vayal Pudhuvai AandAL thiruvadigaLE SaraNam .

 

Oppilaippan Koil VaradAchAri Sadagopan