NainAchAryA's Thirunakshathram : August 27 , 1997

[Guest guest]

Isvara Samvathsaram Simha SrAvaNa Month :

KrishNa Paksham , Dasami thithi , Mrugaseersham

 

On this auspicious combination of Mrugaseersham and

KrishNa paksha Dasami day after Sri Jayanthi celebration ,

a son was born to Swami Desikan at Thuppul . This was some

700 years ago ! Like the lamp lit from a lamp , this blessed child

learnt all saasthrAs ( SalkalArtha GrahaNam ) and became

the principal sishyA of Swami Desikan .The great ParamAchAryA

gave the name of his aarAdhana murhty , Sri Kanchi VaradarAjan

to his only child .

 

There is a tradition in Kanchipuram to call small children

NayinA , NayinA . YasOdhA probably would have called

her dear son , " NayinA " , if He were to be born in Kanchi .

Our ParamAchAryA , who blessed us with GopAla Vimsathi

had a great affection for Sri KrishNA and hence it is no wonder ,

the child came to be called NayinA and then , when the child grew

up and took on the mantle of the father as an AcharyA in his own

right , he was called Sri NayinArAchAryar inspite of his given name

of Sri VardAchAryar . The Lord of Kanchi blessed the child of His dear

devotee with all SowbhAgyams and visEsha J~nAnam .

 

His reverence for his father poured out in the KattaLaikalitthurai

verses known as " PiLLaiandhAthi " . There are 20 beautiful devotional

verses in this AndhAthi composed by the dear son and sishyan

of Swami Desikan . Most of them are modelled after the verses

in RaamAnuja NoorandhAthi . Swami Desikan's reverence for

Achaarya RamAnujA poured forth in the verses of YathirAja

sapthathi . Sri NayinArAchAryAr 's devotional surrender to

his AchAryA flowed in the 20 verses of PiLLaiandhAthi .

The adjectives and the allusions here are recognizable echos

of Thiruvarangatthu AmudanAr's verses celebrating

Achaarya RaamAnujA 's glory .

 

The essence of PILLaiandhAthi

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1. We can not survive as Sri VaishNavAs unless we sing the glory of

the compassion and genius of Swami Desikan .

 

2. The SiddhAntham ( Bhagavadh RaamAnuja SiddhAntham )

strengthened by him is the only one upAyam for our survival

as spiritual aspirants .

 

3 . Lord of the Seven Hills did indeed take birth as Swami Desikan .

 

4 . When we reflect upon the glory of Swami Desikan and the granthAs

with which he has blessed us and the way he showed us to Moksham

( Prapatthi maargam ) , all of our sins will fly far away .

 

5 . All auspiciousness will come about , when we take refuge at

his sacred feet . There are no other means for our survival or

spiritual advancement without his grace .

 

6 . Sri NayinArAchAryar goes on to pray to his AchAryA for

the fruits of Moola Manthram and guile-free bhakthi and begs

for the residence of the subhAsrayam ( ThirumEni ) of Swami

Desikan in his mind always .

 

7. Sri NayinArAchAryar then sings pallANdu to his AchAryA

and concludes the prabhandham with the statement that

those , who recite PiLLaiandhAthi with devotion would

have the distinction of having Sawmi Desiakn's sacred feet

on their heads as alankAram( bhooshaNam) and protection .

 

Taniyan saluting the author of PiLLaiandhAthi

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

 

The pair of sacred feet of Sri NainArAchAryAr are the refuge for us .

He is indeed the embodiment of all auspicious attributes .

He blessed the world with his PiLLai AndhAthi , a work in impeccably

pure Tamizh ( Sezhum Tamizh ) , which is the essence of the distillation

of the truths of vEdhAs resulting from his deep study of the scriptures

under the holy feet of his acharyA and parent , Sri Vedaantha Desikan .

I seek as refuge the redeeming feet of Sri VaradAchAryAr , who was

affectionately called as NayinArAchAryar .

 

First Paasuram

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

 

NammAzhwAr had the sacred feet of the Lord on his head .

MahA lakshmi resides without separation even for a moment

on that Lord's chest ( ahalhillEn --) .The most merciful BhashyakArar ,

who had the well being of the jeevans of the world , sought the most blessed

feet of NammAzhwAr as his means and fruit ( upAyama and palan ) .

Swami Desikan is the one , who praises whole heartedly the generosity

of that Sri RamAnujA , who blessed us with his Sri Sookthis such as

Sri Bahshyam , Gadhya trayams and other works . That Swami Desikan's

sacred feet are the decorations for my head .

 

This paasuram is based on the first paasuram of RaamAnuja

Noorandhaathi ( poomannumaathu ) according to our purvAchhAryAs .

 

Second Paasuram

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

 

O aasthikAs in the wide Universe ! Our heads should always

be bent in worship of Swami Desikan . Our eyes should brim

always with happy tears over the joy of the sight of those sacred

feet of our AchAryA . If we are able to experience this anubhavam ,

then there is no doubt about us escaping from fierce hell and

enjoying the bliss of Moksha Sukham .

 

In this verse , the pradhAna Sishya of Swami Desikan points out

that the association ( sambhandham ) with the sacred feet of

Swami Desikan is the parama purushArtham for us .

 

Third Paasuram

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

We do not have any other recourse except to eulogize the

limitless glory of Swami Desikan , who expressed his adoration

of Sri RamAnujA in many of his granthAs and saluted him clearly

for the instruction of parama hitham for the chetanAs from vedhams

and the derivative saasthrAs and pointed out the prapatthi maargam

as the most ennobling and unfailing mehtod for our deliverance

from the horrors of SamsAric ills .

 

Fourth Paasuram

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

This paasuram is an elaboration of the section of the invocation

of Swami Desikan (viz) , RaamAnuja DayApAthram . The krupA

or the blessings and grace of RaamAnujA sustained Sawmi

Desikan . He was the object of the limitless DayA of Sri RaamAnujA .

NainArAchAryar points out that his father and AchAryan is

" RaamAnusan aruL mEvi Vaazhum " vaLLal perumtahai .

Both Sri RaamAnujA and Swami Desikan had Lord

VaradarAjA as their aaradhana mUrthy .

 

( meaning of the Paasuram ) : Lord VaradarAjA arose out of

the Yaaga vedhi of BrahmA at Kaanchi under puNyakOti

vimAnam . Sri RaamAnujA had the distinction of worshipping

that Varadhan . Swami Desikan had the distinction of being

the object of mercy of that AchArya RaamAnujan ; that dayA

of RaamAnujan was the support and sustenance for Swami

Desikan . It is the blessed Sri Sookthis of the beneficiary of

Sri RaamAnujA's krupA and the intrepretations found therein

provide us the means for our sustenance and survival . We can not

protect ourselves with anyother substitutes for our succor

and rakshaNam .

 

Fifth Paasuram

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

SarvEsvaran ( Vatapathra Saayee ) was saddened by the chethanams,

which looked like insentients during mahA PraLayam and gave

the jeevans a body and J~nEndriyAs and created them . Afterwards ,

He gave them the SaasthrAs to serve as hand lamps to prevent them

from entering inauspicious paths . Even then He found that the chethanAs

did not develop true knowledge and therefore He took the archA

form and stood on top of the ThiruvEnkatam hills , so that the samsAris

can see Him with their physical eyes and escape the cruelties of

samsAram . The recidivism of the samsAris interfered with

their salvation and then He incarnated as VenkatanAthan at Thuppul

and instructed the world with his Sri Sookthis and pointed

the sanmArgam with his upadEsams . Thereafter , the chEthanams

of the world were blessed , travelled on the Godly path and

were saved for once and for all througth he performance of

Prapatthi .

 

This paasuram is related to the 41st paasuram ( MaNNmisai yOnigaL)

of RaamAnuja NoorandhAthi (RN) .

 

Sixth Verse

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

This verse is based on the 43rd paasuram of RN

( Surakkum Thiruvum ) . Here the glory of the sacred name of

Sri NigamAntha MahA Desikan and its sanctity is referred to .

 

( meaning ) : Sri Desikan is skilled in every art and craft

and hence is named Sarva Tantra Svathanthrar by the consort

of Sri RanganAthA . He is the master of the meanings of all

vEdhAs . He is the principal aachArya for the VedhAntha VidhyA

known as Prapatthi . He was born out of the long penance of

ours at Thuppul agrahAram . He had the name of Sri VenkatanAthan .

I reflect on the magnificient leonine roar that arose from his

mouth that defeated all those , who questioned the authenticity

and accuracy of the Bhagavadh RaamAnuja SiddhAntham . Many

a wonderful vidhyA competed with one another to sit on the tip

of the tongue of this master and rushed out of there to defeat

those kudhrishtis , who had vipareetha j~nAnam and misintrepreted

the meanings of VedhAs . I meditated on these glorious attributes

of this paramAchAryA and immediately all of my terrible sins ran

away , hid themselves somewhere and never returned . Such is the glory

of my aachAryA , Swami Desikan !

 

Seventh Paasuram

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

 

O , My sins ! Swami Desikan , whose heart is filled with the auspicious

Sookthis of Sri RaamAnuja presides over my heart space . He resides there

permanently . Therefore , please realize that you can not harm me

anymore as you used to before and find for yourself another place

of residence away from my heart and move out quickly .

 

This paasuram is the summary of the 30th verse of Periya ThiruvandhAthi

of NammAzhwAr ( Ingillai ) and PeriyAzhwAr's paasuram ( neykkudatthai )

according to commentators .

 

Eighth Paasuram

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

O Insignificant ones , who are deeply immersed in the evanescent

life of this terrible samsAra and miss out on the opportunity to

enjoy mokshAnandham ! You are getting lost in the labyrinth

of SamsAram and are moving quickly towards narakAnubhavam .

Let me reveal you a upAyam to escape the roaring ocean of

samsAram . Please listen carefully . The means to escape from

the samsAric ills is to seek refuge at the feet of Swami Desikan

and worship his sacred feet with bhakthi .

 

Ninth Paasuram

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

This verse is related to the 32nd paasuram of RN .

The thiruvadi sambhandham of Swami Desikan

is pointed out as a cure to the dhoshams of samsArA

and the means for the acquisition of auspicious attributes

associated with the PrapannAs .

 

( Meaning ) : Those prapannAs , who sought refuge at the sacred

feet of Swami Desikan , the Bhagavatha SrEshtA born in Thuppul

and known for his unfailing attachment to Sri RaamAnujA of

limitless kalyANa guNAs will be characterized by respect for

bhagavathAs , modesty , sadhAchAram , sadhsangam ,

bhootha dayai . Dushta sahavAsam , false knowledge ,

asoucham ( unclean status ) will stay far away from them .

Therefore , perform prapatthi to Swami Desikan and

become enlightened and lead the ideal life of a prapannA .

 

Paasuram 10

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

 

Until now , NaiynArAchArya praised the kalyANa guNAs

of his aachArya , Swami Desikan . From this paasuram onwards ,

the author of PiLLai AndhAthi addresses his AchAryA directly and

prays for his grace and seeks specific boons .

 

(Meaning ) : O Thuppul Lord , who washes away the sins of those

who seek refuge at your holy feet with your rain of mercy ! O AchAryA ,

who corrects the unsaastraic conduct of those , who seek your

benovolence ! O Kalpaka tree for those , who understand your

limitless dayA and bless them with all the boons that they seek !

I am deeply immersed in the bottomless ocean of

samsArA and am roiled by it more and more . Please bless me

with the boon of your sevA , which will lead to the total destruction

of my current sufferings .

 

( To be continued )

 

Swami Desikan ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam

Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri Sadagopan