Sri DehaLIsa SthOthram --Part 3

[Guest guest]

Dear Members of the Bhakthi group :

 

I will recommence my posting on the MathiL

Koval Idaikazhi Aayan and the eulogy of Swami

Desikan on this Lord of special significance to

the Mudal AzhwArs .

 

Swami Desikan acknowledges in Srimadh Rahasya

Traya Saaram ( AchAryakruthyAdhikAram ) the purposeful

deed of the Lord in pressing tightly the three AzhwArs huddled

together in the rEzhi of Mruugandu maharishi's aasramam this

way :

 

pAttukkuriya pazhayavar moovarai(p) pandorukkAl

mAttukkaruL taru mAyan malinthu varutthuthalAl

nAttikkiruL seha nAnmaRai anthi nadai viLanga

veetukkidaikkazhikkE veLikkAttum ammeyviLakkE

 

( Meaning ) : The Lord of wonderous deeds , who blesses

His wealth (viz) the chEthanAs, pressed Himself tightly once

upon a time at ThirukkOvalUr the three of His great bhakthAs ,

who were extraordinarily qualified to sing about Him .

 

When squeezed tightly by Him in a limited space , there

arose the true lamp of light ( the three ThiruvandhAthis ) ,

which served to banish the darkness of false knowledge

and helped to illumine the world with the effulgence of

the essence of the four vEdAs and revealed the two upAyAs ,

Bhakthi and Prapatthi for our salvation .

 

In the next verse , Swami Desikan still has the blessings

of these AchAryAs in mind and acknowledges their munificient

help this way :

 

teruLuRRa senthozhiR selvam peruhi iRanthavar paal

aruLuRRa sinthainAl AZHIYAA VILAKKU YERRINARE

 

(MEANING ) : with a mind full of DayA , they ( the AzhwArs as

AchAryAs ) lit the undimming lamp of sampradAyam with

their vivEkam-filled words to enhance the kaimkarya sampath

of the distinguished disciples of theirs .

 

Swami Desikan salutes the Lord of ThirukkOvalUr , who elected

the three capable Tamil poets as " mAttukkaruL taru mAyan " .

Here , Swami recognizes the Lord as Aayan or the herder of

cows (chEthanAs). He wonders why GopAlan decided to focus

on these three AzhwAr instead of the illustrious sage MrganDu

in whose house this drama was played out .

 

Swami answers by suggesting that these three AzhwArs

had not only vEda vEdAnga Vij~na sampath ( eiswaryam )

but they also were skilled in distilling the essence of

the vEdAs (paramArtham ) in chaste and sweet Tamil

for the easy comprehension of the mumukshus .

 

The Lord's compression led to their enjoyment of the blessed

anubhavam of His sowseelyam and sarva Jana RakshaNa

deekshai and resulted in the advent of the three thiruvandhAthis

dealing with the tattva-hitha -purushArthams celebrated

by the three vEdAs .

 

Swami Desikan suggests that the three andhAthis

are the elaboration of the three rahasyams . Just as

the lamp lit in the rEzhi illumines the inside and outside of

the house , the lamp of true knowledge lit by the three AzhwArs

revealed through its jyOthi the meanings hidden in the vEdAs ,

viz., artha prapancham and sabdha prabhancham .

 

Elsewhere , Swami Desikan points out that

the sugar cane that incarnated on the banks of

peNNai river (artha Brahmam ) got squeezed

intensely by the three AzhwArs and yielded the sweet sugar

juice of the three prabhandhams ( sabdha Brahmam ) and

became the honey to enhance the sweetness of His lotus feet .

 

Poygai AzhwAr described his kaimkaryam this way :

 

" Deeming the world as lamp-bowl , the full sea as ghee ,

the fierce-rayed sun as the luminous wick , I have twined

a garland of speech for the feet of Him , who wields the red

flaming discus so that there may be freedom from the ocean

of misery " .

 

pUtattAzhwAr took the cue from Poygai AzhwAr and described

his devoted service this way :

 

" Devotion as the lamp-bowl , aspiration as the ghee ,

the mind that has melted out of delight

as the wick , with melting soul , I have lit the bright flame of

devotion to NaarAyaNan in the revealed Tamil language in verse " .

 

The God-intoxicated PeyAzhwAr built on the vision of kaimkaryam

of his colleagues and described his knowledge-vision of the divine

from " deeper perception of God"s eternal di-unity as the divine twosome ,

comprising of Sriman NaarAyaNA and His consort Sri Devi . His

blessed utterance arising from the saakshAthkAram of the divya

dampathis at the rEzhi of MrganDu muni came out this way :

 

" The Mother have I beheld in the ocean-hued !

The form of goden splendour have I seen .

The radiant sun-like Form I have perceived .

The beautiful discus that glows fiery in battle

And the lovely conch in beauteous hands have I seen "

 

In his 94th verse , pEyAzhwAr described his happy state

of the expeience of the Lord within him :

 

" Thinking , keeping the lamp of knowledge , searching for

the Lord have I possessed Him now. The wondeful Lord

of all , having entered into me inseparably ( never to separate

again ) has STOOD and LAIN HIMSELF down in me ."

 

The anubhavam of the antharyAmi Brahman by the AzhwArs of yore

inspired Swami Desikan to eulogize the Lord of ThirukkOvalUr

through his own sthOthram , where he named the Lord as dEhaLeesan

or the Lord of dEhaLi .

 

Mudal AzhwArgaL , Swami dEsikan thiruvadigaLE SaraNam

Oppiliappan Koil Varadachari Sadagopan