Denver Conference : PeriyAzhwAr's 2.8 Decad

[Guest guest]

Dear BhakthAs :

 

In this decad , AzhwAr takes on the role of

the concerned mother , who wants to protect her

precious son from Drushti DhOsham . The Evening

(sandhyA kaalam ) was approaching . YasOdhA as

the doting mother had already bathed her dear son ,

decorated his lovely tresses with flowers of different

kinds . He looked beautiful . She became worried about

any drishti dhOsham affecting the well being of her

beautiful son . She told her son that all the devAs had

assembled to enjoy the beauty of their supreme Lord.

At the same time , she told Him that the ferocious spirits

( Ugra DevathAs ) were also assembled at the junctions of the

streets of the village at sunset . She appealed to her son

not to venture out there at that hour , when the ugra devathAs

were rampantly roaming about to do harm to people .

YasOdhA wanted to protect her son against the evil

spirits and wished to perform a ritual known as

"anthik kAppu " . She called on her son to accept the "anthik-

kAppu " to ward off the evil effects that may befall Him

in the absence of the armour of that protecting ritual .

 

PeriyAzhwAr once again takes on the role of YasOdhA

and performs the " Saaya RakshA or Anthik kappu "

for the Lord just like a concerned mother worried about

her son's well being .

 

Great devotees including PeriyAzhwAr and Thyga Brahmam

have performed rakshA for the Lord to ward off the effects of

evil eye ( dhrushti dhOsham ) and the adverse effects of

ugra devathAs . It was PeriyAzhwAr , who sang PallAndu

for the Lord , when he had His darsana sowbhAgyam

over the skies of mathurai after he won the contest in

the king's court with the blessings of the Lord.

 

Saint ThyagarAjA sang in raagam Bhairavi his famous song ,

" Raksha BettarE " . He was moved by PeriyAzhwAr's Pallandu

and burst forth in song : " Raksha BettarE Doraku ,

Vakshasthalamuna velayau Lakshmi RamaNuniki Jaya

Raksha bettarE , ---Sangeetha Priya Sri ThyagarAjukEyudaina

Dorakaiswarya Raksha BettarE " . This is an echo of

PeriyAzhwar's pallaNdu : " VadivAyi nin vala mArbinil

Vazhinra Mangayum pallAndu " .

 

YasOdhA and PeriyAzhwAr went through the emotions

of protecting the Sarva Rakshakan out of their fear about

something untoward happening to their dear one !

PeriyAzhwAr addresses these ten paasurams to the Lord of

ThiruveLLarai ( Lord PundareekAkshan of SvEtha Giri ) .

 

Paasuram : IndiranOdu Biraman ---

 

O my beautiful one ! The time now is sandhyA kaalam

( Anthiyam pOthu ) . The Lord of DevAs , IndrA , Brahma ,

Lord SivA are all assembled here and they are reciting

Veda manthrams like Purusha Sooktham and are carrying

celestial flowers ( Kalpaka flowers) in their hands for

conducting Your worship . They are present in an invisible

form that can not be seen by the mortals of ThiruveLLarai

and are waiting for Your command to appear before You

one by one to receive Your blessings . O Lord presiding

over ThiruveLLarai divya desam with its multi-storied mansions

and the righteous ones , who are skilled at singing the praise

of Your matchless beauty ! Please come near to perform

sandhyA rakshA for You .

 

Paasuram 2 : KanrugaL illam puhundhu ---

 

O Lord presiding over Your divine residence surrounded

by mighty walls at ThiruveLLarai ! It is evening time .

The Kshudra ( ugra ) devathAs are roaming around

at the four corners of the street . Please do not go into

the streets at this dangerous time . Please listen to my

good counsel . You are not displaying any affection to me ,

not even that amount of affection shown by the calves towards

their mothers . I am crying over Your safety and well being

at this delicate hour like the cows missing their calves at

evening time , when they want to shower their dear

ones with nourishing milk flowing out of their full udders .

Please do not get near the junction of the streets , where the

four streets come together ! Please come here so that I can

perform RakshA for You against these lurking evil spirits .

 

Paasuram 3 : seppOthu menmulayArgaL ----

 

O Lord of ThiruveLLarai ! O swami , who was born to

rule over me ! You are the one , who is eulogized during

the three sandhis ( dawn , noon and dusk ) by the DevAs .

When You destroyed the sand castles of the young girls ,

I got angry at You and shouted at You . When I became

angry over Your mischievous pranks , You were afraid that

I will catch You and punish You and You ran away from me.

You stayed away from Your dinner . Now I wont speak any

harsh words . Please come near so that I can perform

sAyam RakshA for You .

 

Paasuram 4 : KaNNil MaNal kodu ----

 

O my KaNNA ! O Lord standing at ThiruveLLarai !

O the mischevious one , who engages in teasing

every one , who crosses Your path ! O my beautiful

one with the enchanting complexion of the blue ocean !

O generous one with Your profound anugrahams for

Your devotees ! O my Boy ! the vast multitude of Your

playmates assembled here complain that You threw

sand in their eyes and kicked them further with Your legs .

Please cease and desist from these unwelcome pranks of

Yours and come here so that I can perform RakshA for You .

 

Paasuram 5 : PallAiravar ivvUril ----

 

O my little one who acts as a lightning rod for everyone's

complaint ! In this town of five lakhs of people , it is

possible that there are a few thousand , who engage in

harmful pranks . Inspite of it , all the complaints of the citizens

of ThiruveLLarai land at our door . Please do not expose

Yourself to temptations to engage in mischief ! O Lord who

has elected to preside over the divya desam of ThruveLlarai ,

where the righteous ones live ! O resplendent flame of true

knowledge ( Jn~Anam ) ! Please come here and accept this

eulogy about Your kalyANa guNAs and subhAsrayam to ward

off the lurking danger in the evening air .

 

Paasuram 6: Kanjan karukkondu -----

 

O Lord of ThiruveLLarai presiding over Your lofty temple

where the high clouds brush against ! Please come from

Your divya desam to my side so that I can perform rakshA

for You during this evening sandhi . I have heard that the evil

Kamsan has ordered the red-haired demoness , Puthanai ,

to kill You by taking on the guise of a caring mother intent on

brast feeding You ! Hence I am frightened over Your standing at

the junction of the four roads , where she is most likely to

appear . Please stay away from there and let me perform

mangaLAratthi for Your RakshA . Please come here so I can

protect You from these dangers .

 

Paasuram 7 : KaLLac chakadum Maruthum ------

 

O Lord of matchless beauty presiding over the divya

desam of ThiruveLLarai ! the evening time has come .

The evil sakatAsuran came at the side of Your cradle to

kill You and You kicked him with Your tender feet and

destroyed him ; next , You crawled between the pair of

YamaLArjunA trees and with Your legs , thighs and

shoulders pushed against them and brought them to ground

and removed their curse . After that You sucked the life out of

PuthanA through Your pretense that You are accepting

the milk from her breast . These dangers piled up one

over the other. I do not know anymore as to what else is

waiting for me to be scared about . Evening sandhyA has

approached . Ugra devathAs are roaming about. Please

come here so that I can perform the sandhyA rakshA to

protect You against any harm that might come Your way .

 

Paasuram 8: Inbamathanai UyartthAi ! --------

 

O Lord who has filled me with rapture over the thought

of Your wonderous deeds during Your incarnation as my

son ! O Lord dear to the devAs , who constantly meditate

about You ! O the powerful one , who killed the mighty royal

elephant of King kamsa! O valourous one , who stood like

the destroying fire in the frightened heart of kamsA !

O rich one basking under the radiant golden ramparts

of Your beautiful temple at ThiruveLLArai ! O independent

one , who does not take orders from anyone ! The fearsome

Goddess Durga is roaming about the junction of the four

directions with the skull and trident in Her hands at this time

of evening sandhyA . Please do not roam outside now and

come to the safety of my side . I will perform SaayarakshA pujA

for Your protection .

 

Paasuram 9 : Irukkodu neer sanghil ---

 

O Lord residing in the divya desam populated by

the righteous ones known for their austerities !

O Lord intent on performing pranks without cessation !

Please do not go near the four junctions , where Ugra

devathAs are assembled at their appointed hour of

sandhyA Kaalam . Please listen to the words of Your

mother even for few minutes and pay heed ! The brahmins

have assembled here with holy water in their conches

to perform rakshA for You through the recitation of Veda

manthrams like Purusha Sooktham . Please accept

the protection that they are offering You . I will also light

the evening lamp , which will reveal further Your

incomparable beauty .

 

Paasuram 10 : pOthamar selvakkozhundhu ----

 

MahA Lakshmi with Her traditional seat in the red lotus

( Pankayacchelvi ) is the treasure house of all wealth

and She is the principal consort of PundareekAkshan

of ThruveLLarai . She is the one who abandoned Her

normal place of residence , the red lotus and decided

to stay in the chest region of Her Lord forever . PeriyAzhwAr

enjoyed the blissful expeience of YasOdhA piratti pleading

with her dear son to accept Saaya RakshA and described it

in the form of the ten verses . These verses of PeriyAzhwAr ,

whose whole livelihood was about performing

MangaLAsAsanam for the Lord will chase away on recitation

the enemies of bhagavadanbhavam for His devotees .

 

PeriyAzhwAr ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam

Oppiliappan Koil Varadachari Sadagopan