Copy of: Swami Desikan"s MummaNikkOvai : His first Tamil prabhandham

[Guest guest]

Dear Members of the Bhakthi/Prapathi group :

The following article might be of interest to you .

V.Sadagopan

---------- Forwarded Message ----------

 

V. Sadagopan, 75041,3037

TO: MGP, INTERNET:mprasad

CC: ara, INTERNET:vvijay236

MR, INTERNET:Ranga1

SR, INTERNET:Srengara

Vijay, INTERNET:vijay_Srinivasan

DATE: 8/11/97 10:21 PM

 

RE: Copy of: Swami Desikan"s MummaNikkOvai : His first Tamil prabhandham

 

Dear Fellow BhakthAs :

 

Swami Desikan's fluency and mastery of three

languages (viz) ., Sanskrit , Tamil and Prakrith

is well known . With BhagavAn HayagreevA's blessings ,

he composed many a splendid work in these three

languages . He had the Hayagreeva SaakshAthkAram

at Thiruvaheendrapuram on Oushadha giri . Thereafter ,

he was deeply immersed with Bhagavdh anubhavam

of Sri DevanAthan , the presiding lord of the divya dEsam

of Thiruvaheendrapuram . He spent many years of his life

at this divya kshEthram and blessed us with magnificinet

compositions such as Achyutha Sathakam , Sri DevanAyaka

panchAsath , MummaNikkOvai and other Tamil aruLicheyalgaL

that are lo longer available to us . These are works that

resulted from his anubhava janitha aanandhA pravAham .

The extraordinary involvement of Swami Desikan with the

anubhavam of the pUrNa shAtguNya Vigraham of

Sri DevanAthan resulted in these magnificient

composiitons .

 

These works on Sri DevanAthan also resulted because of

the direct command of the Lord that Swami Desikan alludes to

in the eighth slOkam of Sri DeavanAyaka panchAsath :

 

samrakshaNeeyam amarAdhipathE tvayaiva

dhooram prayAthamapi dhusthyaja gAtabhandham I

aakrushtavAnasi bhavanAnukampamAna :

suthrAnubhaddha sakuni kramatha: svayam maam II

 

(meaning ) : O DaivanAyakA ! You have pulled me back

to You from the vast distances that I had wanderd to because

of my ties to samsAram just as the owner of a bird , who

has tied a thread to the leg of the bird that he owns yanks it back .

I am the one , who deserves to be protected by You and

out of Your compassion , You drew me back closer to You .

 

This slokam and the sthOthram of Sri DaivanAyaka panchAsath

arose as a result of an incident in Swami Desikan's life . He had

resided many years at Thiruvaheendrapuram enjoyig

the ArchA mUrthy of Sri DaivanAyakan . After that time , Swami

Desikan decided to go on a journey to Kanchipuram to have

the darsanam of Sri VaradarAjan . He started on his journey

and rested for a night at a place on the banks of river

PeNNAru . He had a dream in the morning , where

Sri DaivanAyakan appeared in the dream of Swami Desikan

and commanded him to return to Thiruvaheendrapuram and

create Sri sUkthis on Him .

 

Swami Desikan woke up with alacrity and immediately

returned to Thiruvaheendrapuram and spent many

more years there and created number of Divya Sookthis

on Lord DaivanAthan in Sanskrit , Tamil and PrAkrutham and

placed them at the lotus feet of the divya dampathis . Thus

originated the beautiful Tamil prabhandham of MummaNikkOvai.

Swami Desikan's deep devotion flows like a majestic river

in the verses of MummaNikkOvai .

 

There are 96 different types of prabhandhams with specific

grammar in Tamil poetic tradition . One of them is the tradition

of MummaNikkOvai . This category of poetry has to have thirty

verses and they have to be set in three different kinds of

architecture known as veNNpaa , AasiriyappA and kattaLai

kalitthurai . Earlier NammAzhwAr had set three of his four

prabhandhams -- ThiruvAsiriyam , Periya ThiruvanmdhAthi

and Thiruviruttham -- in aasiriyappA , veNNpA and kattaLai

kalitthurai . Inspired by the example set by the kulapathi ,

Swami Desikan followed that illustrious example and

set MummaNikkOvai in the same manner and distilled

the essence of the four prabhandhams of NammAzhwAr

in his first Tamil composition .

 

NammAzhwAr's first prabhandham is Thiruviruttham.

It fits in the grammatical framework of kattaLai kalithturai .

The Thiruviruttham of the great AzhwAr is an account of

the journey of the soul to its transcendance , after overcoming

its avidhyA , slumber and and sloth in which it was trapped

before its union with the Lord . Several levels of ascent of

the God-hungry soul and its fulfillement of its objective are

covered in this magnificient aruLiccheyal of the AzhwAr .

Swami Desikan's verses in KattaLai kalitthurai of

the MummaNikkovai are moving accounts of his search for

and attainment of Lord DaivanAyakan's blesings in the manner

of NammAzhwAr's own search and realization .

 

The second prabhandham of NammAzhwAr is ThiruvAsiriyam .

This follows the grammar defined for AasiriyappA in Tamil poetry .

These paasurams are a result of the AzhwAr's unparalleled

enjoyment of the beauty of the subhAsrayam of Sriman NaarAyaNA .

In a similar manner , Swami Desikan saluted the most sacred and

beautiful bhagavathsvarUpam of Sri DaivanAyakan in aasiriyappA .

 

The third prabhandham of NammAzhwAr , Periya ThiruvandhAthi

takes the form of veNNpaa . Swami Desikan uses the veNNpaa

in MummaNikkOvai to experience his deep involvement with

the anantha kalyANa guNams of the Lord of Thiruvaheendrapuram

just as NammAzhwar reflected on his own anubhavam of Sriman

NaarAyaNA .

 

In his fourth prabhandham , ThiruvAimozhi , NammAzhwAr

poured out his sublime experience in paasurams that

deal with his saakshAthkAram of the Lord and the delectable

anubhavam . In a similar fashion , Swami Desiakn

recorded his own unique bliss resulting from

the divine darsanam of the Lord of Thiruvaheendrapuram

in his tenth verse of MummaNikkOvai .

 

Thus the ten verses of MummaNikkOvai is the distillation of

the essence of the four prabhandhams of NammAzhwAr . They

are the quintissence of the aruliccheyalaL of SatakOpa maamuni .

 

Besides the strict adherence to the rules of Tamil poetry ,

the inner meanings of the ten verses of MummaNikkOvai

are profound and echo the truths covered by the VedAs and

Upanishads . The vyankyArthams or the symbolic meanings

hinted have a very auspicious dhvani that is sacred and at

the same time enchanting .

 

MummaNikkOvai has also been identified as a kaavyam

in Tamil . The jeevan or the life breath of a kaavyam is its

rasam . Sri Desika Darsana Vijaya dhvaja , panditha

bhooshaNa Bhagavadh vishaya vidwAn , Sri ChEtlUr

NarasimhAchArya Swami has written a scholarly commentary

on Swami Desiakn 's MummaNikkOvai . He has pointed out

that saanthi rasam is the primary rasam of this kaavyam ;

sringAram , adhbhutham , karuNai and veeram have been

identified as auxillary rasams handled by Swami Desikan according

to this great Srivaishnavite scholar .

 

MummaNikkOvai in Tamil means the necklace

made up of three gems or rathnams . Sri ChEtlUr

Swamy has explained to us that the three gems

are the sthOthra rathnam , purANa rathnam and manthra

rathnam .

 

I will cover the highlights of the ten verses of MummaNillOvai

available to us today among the original thirty verses of

MummaNikkOvai in the subsequent postings .

 

Sri Taranga Mukha Nandinee HemAbhja NaayikA samEtha

Sri DevanAtha ParabrhamaNE Nama:

 

SrimathE VakuLa BhooshaNa MahA guravE nama:

 

SrimathE BhaashyakArAya Nama :

 

SrimathE NigamAntha MahA DesikAya Nama :

 

Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri Sadagopan

Sri ANDAL's ThirukkalyANa dinam , Isvara samvathsaram .