A Sanyasi ascends the throne of Ahobilam : Part 7--Nrusimha Paasurams of Kaliyan

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Dear Nrusimha PadhukhA SevakAs :

 

Thirumnagai AzhwAr's first 100 verses ( Mudal

patthu ) are extraordinary in scope and content .

They set the stage as it were for the rest of his

AruLichcheyals to flow like a river of nectar .

 

In the first thirumozhi of this patthu ( VaadinEn ) ,

the incomparable benefits that accrued to him

from the AshtAkshara UpadEsam from the Lord

Himself are saluted and the glory of NaarAyaNa

naamam is celebrated .

 

In the second Thirumozhi ( VaalimAvalatthu ) ,

AzhwAr begged his mind to reach the divya desam

of Thirupirithi (NandaprayAg ) and worship the archA

mUrthy there revered as Parama Purushan .

 

AzhwAr visualized the Lord of this Thiruprithi as KsheerAbdhi

nAthan(at ThiruppARkadal ) , the adhAra sakthi of all

avathArams ( AvathAra mUla sthAnam ) . Here, the Lord

is indeed reclining in the bhujanga sayanam pose as in the

divya dEsam , ThiruppARkadal , which can not be visualized

by our mortal eyes . At Thirupirithi , AzhwAr seems to

suggest that we can enjoy Parama padha nAthan to our

heart's content in the ArchA form with out j~nAna chakshus

at this divya dEsam .

 

In the third Thirumozhi ( MuRRa mUtthukkOl ) , he pointed

out that all of us should travel to BadrikAsramam , the place

of residence of the DevathA of AshtAkshara manthram ,

much before old age cripples us and limits our movement .

 

In the fourth Thirumozhi (YenamunAhi ) , he uses the description

of BadrikAsrama divya dEsam dear to him to instruct us that

AshtAksharam can bless us with every thing that we desire .

There is nothing that it can not do for us .

 

In the fifth Thirumozhi ( Kalaiyum Kariyum ) , he reaches

SaaLagRAAMA kshethram , the place of residence of all

mUrthys , and explained to us that the darsanam of Sri mUrthy

there would yield us the equivalence of the blessings arising

from the reciting of the thousand names of the Lord . One of

the Paasurams salutes Sri Nrusimha BhagavAn ( 1.5.7)

and that paasuram was covered in the previous posting .

 

In the sixth Thirumozhi ( VaaNilA muRuval ) , He recognized

NaimisAraNyam , where the Lord is present in the form of the forest

where all the noble sages performed the great sOMa Yajnams .

He assessed that all of his sins would disappear there ,

because of the sanctity of this Divya Desam .

 

In the seventh Thirumozhi ( AngaNmA j~aalam anja ) , he moved

southward from the mountainous north to AhObilam and through

ten exquisite paasurams coverd in an earlier posting

saluted the Lord of AhObilam hills .

 

Here , he was awe struck by the fierce beauty and

the inaccessibility of the HiraNya SamhAra KshEthram

and revealed that Azhagiya Singan , the bhaktha sulabhan

presides over this divya dEsam .

 

In the eighth Thirumozhi ( Kongialarndha malar ) , he begged

his mind to reach the blessed divya dEsam of ThiruvEnkatam

and explained to us that ThiruvEnkatamudayAn is

the unfailing object of refuge for those , who sought

His lotus feet as their sole protection .

 

In the ninth Thirumozhi ( ThAyE TanthayE yenru) and the tenth

Thirumozhi ( kaNNAr kadal soozh Ilangai ) , Kaliyan continued

with his salutation to the Lord of saptha giris . Here , he enjoys

the anishta nivrutthi ( banishnent of inauspiciousness ) as a result

of the built-in power of the " Nama: sabdham " of

" NaarAyaNAya Nama: " portion of the AshtAkshara

mahA manthram .

 

It is in the tenth Thirumozhi , we find the AzhwAr's

salutation to Lord Nrusimhan ( 1.10.5 ) following his earlier

namaskaraNams to this avathAram at the divya desams of

SaaLagrAmam and AhObilam . We will cover this particular

ThiruvEnkatam Paasuram celebrating ThiruvEnkatamudAyAn

as BhagavAn Narasimhan in this posting .

 

Paasuram 1.10.5 of Periya Thirumozhi

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

 

thooNAyathanoodu ariyAi vanthu thOnRi

pENA avuNan udalam piLanthittAi

sENAr ThiruvEnkata maamalai mEya

kONAkaNayAi ! kurikkoL yennai neeyE

 

( Padha Arthams ) :

 

thooN aayi : by becoming the pillar first

(as sarvaAnthAryAmi )

 

athan oodu : and then incarnating in the middle

of that pillar (stambham )

 

ari aayi : as half-lion and half-man ( Nrusimha roopiyAi )

 

vanthu- having entered (that pillar ) in a trice and stayed there

 

thOnRi -- (and then ) jumping out of it as NrusimhAvathAran

 

pENA avuNan udalam pilanthittAi : to tear into two the body

of the asuran, HiraNyan -- who did not recognize your parathvam --

with your nails alone .

 

In the second half of this paasuram , Thirumangai AzhwAr

makes a personal appeal to the Lord of Saptha Giri , who has

taken up his residence at ThiruvEnkatam from his erstwhile

provenance of ThirupaaRkadal , to remember him and to

bless him as He blessed PrahlAda before as Saantha Narasimhan .

 

sEN aar : at the tall peaks of ThiruvEnkatam hills visible over

a considerable distance

 

mEya : (You as ) the one has nitya vaasam there

 

kOLL --( with Your ) majestic form

 

naakam aNayAi after leaving your adiseshA bed in

the milky Ocean ) , Oh , sEsha sAyee !

 

nee yennai kuRikkoLL : Please remember to bless me

out of Your own sankalpam ( now that You have moved

over to the lofty hills of ThiruvEnkatam from your restful and

soft bed of Adhi sEshA at the milky ocean ) just as You blessed

the long-suffering PrahlAdhhA during your avathAram

as Nrusimhan .

 

Here , AzhwAr reflects on the Lord leaving His moolasthAnam

at KsheerAbdhi (milky ocean )and rushing to enter

the Jaya sthampam in the court of the disrespectful asuran

( HiraNyan ) to validate the statement of His bhakthan

(PrahlAdhan ) that " Hari is everywhere ; He is in this pillar

and also in that blade of grass " .You tore apart the offending

asuran with the sheer power of Your sharp nails .

 

Now that You have descended from Your comfortable

bed at the milky ocean and taken up permanent residence

on top of ThiruvEnkatam hills to perform Your duties as

the DayA sindhu to tend to the well being of

the " SaraNAgatha sasya maalinee " ( the rows and

rows of the crop of saraNAgathAs ) , You must

remember me and bless me !

 

The Lord hailed later by Swami Desikan in his dayA sathakam

as " Pala vitharaNa dhaksham , pakshapaathAnabhij~nam ,

praguNam anuvidhEyam " ( efficient in giving the boons besought ,

totally impartial , one known for His renowned kalyANa guNAs and

easy to approach/bhaktha sulabhan ) responded immediately to

Thirumangai's soulful plea for special attention . He entered

the AzhwAr's mind and shone there . He thus responded with

alacrity to Thirumangai's sincere pleading .

 

In the next paasuram ( Periya Thirumozhi 1.10.6 ) , the joyous

and grateful Thirumangai thankfully acknowledged the pervasive

presence of ThiruvEnkatamudayAn in his mind with the statement ,

 

" min aar muhil sEr ThiruvEnkatam mEya

yen aanai yennappan yen nenjil uLAnE "

 

(meaning) : The Lord of ThiruvEnkatam with the lustre of

the dark blue rainy cloud incorporating the golden hue of

lightning in its midst is my Lord . He is my nithya bhOgyan,

the insatiable nectar of every moment . He is now taken up

His residenence in my nenju ( the cave of my heart ) .

The usage of the words " Min aar muhil sEr ' to describe

the aprAkrutha hue of the Lord is highly evocative.

The Lord has the dark bluish hue of the water-laden

clouds of the rainy season . Sri Devi (AlarmEl mangai )

residing forever on His chest has the bright

golden color of a flashing lightning . The combination of their

hues is that of " Nava megha garbhA SowdhAmini "

{ new dark blue cloud of the rainy season incorporating

the gold colored ( HiraNya VarNAm ) lightning in its midst } .

 

Thirmangai celebrated the NrusimhAvathAram at ThiruvEnkatam

in this exquisite manner and received the instantaneous blessing

of the Lord of the seven hills .

 

I will cover the three reamining Nrusimha Paasurams of

Thirumangai dedicated to the ThirunAngoor Divya desams

in a subsequent posting .

 

Thirumangai AzhwAr ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam

Sri Lakshmi Nrusimha Charanou SaraNam aham prapadhyE

Oppiliappn Kovil VaradAchAri Sadagopan