Sri Jagannathan"s moving description of his stay with mobile Ahobila Mutt .

[Guest guest]

Dear Friends ;

It was a very moving experience to read Sri Jagannath's

posting . It makes one long to have this wonderful and

unique experience atleast once in one's life time ..

 

Sri Jagan has asked for the translation of the last

Paasuram of ThiruppaLLIyezhucchi . I guess he had

Bhagavata sEvaa in mind . Here is that Paasuram and

its translation according to Dr.Raghavan , Reader of

SrivishNavism Dept, University of Madras :

 

kadimalark kamalangaL malarndana ivaiyO?

kadiravankanaikadal muLaittanan ivaiyO?

tudiyidayAr surikuzhal pizhindhudari

tuhiluduttherianr soozhpunalarangA !

todaiyottha tuLavamum kudaiyum polidhu

tOnriya tOL thondardippodi yennum

adiyanai ,aLiyanenraruLiyunnadiyArkku

aatpadutthAy! paLLiyezhundaruLAyE

 

(Meaning ) " O Lord of Srirangam surrounded by the sacred waters

of the river Kauveri ! it is already early morning , for the sweet

smelling lotuses have blossomed; the sun (with lustrous rays )

has risen from the eastern ocean that is neighing aloud ;

the womenfolk of slender waist and curly tresses (after taking bath in

the river ) and rinsing and drying their clothes , have worn their

garments and got up (on the river bank ). (This is my earnest

prayer) . O Lord , Please wake up and make me , your humble

devotee, be ever keen on doing service to your ardent worshippers;

let me submit that I am your devotee named Thondaradipodi

(one who rejoices in besmirching my whole body with the dust

of the feet of your devotees ) whose shining shoulders always

hold the flower basket with garlands of fragrant TuLasi leaves

(and other sacred flowers) fit enough to be worn and adorned

by You , the Lord of Srirangam ."

 

The extraordinary importance of Bahgavatha sEvA is implied by

the name that this AzhwAr chose( BhakthAnghri rENu in Sanskrit

and Thondardipodi in Tamil ) . The sanskrit verse says : samastha

PaapAnAm Prayascchittham nirNitham Bhagavadh -Bhaktha

PaadOdaka Nisevanam -- yasya murdhni sthitham yaavadh

VaishNavAnghri rajassubham gangAdhi sarvatheerthAni

tavattisthantyasamsayam .

 

This slokam states that there is only one remedy/cure

for the destruction of all human sins and that is

the partaking of the water that washed

the holy feet of BhagavathAs and BhakthAs of the Lord . The

sacred dust of the feet of the above have also to be placed

on one's head and those dusts are as sacred as the holy

waters of the river GangA and others in their sanctity( without

doubt) in their ability to destroy our sins .

 

Dr.Raghavan also quotes the passuram sections of

NammAzhwAr , PeriyAzhwAr , Kukasekhara PerumAL

and MaNavALa Maamuni's Upadesa Rathna maalai

in support of the greatness of the sacred dust of the BhakthAs

of Sriman NaarAyaNA . These passages are :

 

Thiruvaimozhi 4.6.6: MAAYAN TAMARADI NEERU koNdaNiya--

 

PeriyAzhWar Thirumozhi : 4.4.6 (meaning ) :

 

This world is indeed blessed by the contact with the dust of the feet

of the BhagavathAs , who roam around eulogizing and saluting

Lord Narasimhan .

 

Kulasekhara AzhwAr 's PerumAL Thirumozhi : 2.2

 

What will happen to us interested to fulfil our desire to bathe in

the sacred waters of GangA , when we get blessed with the contact

of the dust of the servants of the Lord ? ( The AzhwAr asks a rhetorical

question and answers it by suggesting that there is no need for taking

GangA SnAnam for removing our sins , if we get blessed to have the

dust of the BhagavathAs on our head ) .

 

MaNavALa Maamuni in his Upadesa Rathna Maalai (verse 4)

equates Thndaradipodi to " Anbar TaaL thooLi " . Anbar refrs to

those , who are dear to the Lord .

 

The Ahobila matam kainkaryaparALs are in the same category of

service to the blessed Jeeyar , who has dedicated his earthly moments

to serve Sri MaalOla Narasimhan refereed to by PaeriyAzhwAr

as " Naathanai Narasinghanai Navinru yEtthuvArgaL Uzhakkiya

Paada thooLi paduvathAl ivvulaham Bhaaggiyam seythatE " .

This world is indeed blessed by the dust raised during the

travels of the Jeeyar in perpetual service to the Lord of Ahobilam

and his fellow BhagavathAs , who accompany him and serve the

Lord , who descended from the hills of Ahobilam .

 

SrimanSrivaN Sri NaaraayaNa Yatheendhra Mahaa DesikAya Nama:

Sri RanganAtha ParabramhaNE Nama:

Sri Lakshmi Narasimha ParabrmhaNE Nama:

 

Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri Sadagopan