AparyApthmrutha DhyAna sOpanam--Third SlOkam

[Guest guest]

Dear BhakthAs of Sri AparyAptha Para Brahmam :

 

In the third slOKam , Thirukkudanthai Desikan shifts his gaze

from the "kamala Paadhams "( SvarNAmbhoja prathimam

SaarngiNa: Paadha Yugmam ) of the Lord , which he saluted

for their Paavanathvam ( sacredness ) and BhOgyathvam

( enjoyability ) . His gaze shifted upward from Paadha Yugmam to

JangA Yugmam ( the pair of ankles ) . This AnandhAnubhavam

of the AchAryA transformed into a beautiful slOkam to celebrate

the soundharyam of the ankles :

 

chitrAkAram kataka ruchibhi: dharmaputarsya dhUthyE

GopasthreeNAm vasana haraNE dhaithya nAsaarthayAthE I

bhaddha snEham manasija vibhO: kAhaLAbham manOgyam

JangA yugmam lasathu hrudhayE maamakE SaarngapANE : II

 

( Anvaya Kramam ) : kataka ruchibhi: chithrAkAram Dharmaputrasya

DhUthyE , Gopa sthreeNAm vasana haraNE , dhaithya nAsArthayAthE ,

Bhaddha snEham manasija vibhO : kahaLAbham manogyam

SaarngapANE : JangA yugmam mAmakE HrudhayE lasathu .

 

( General Meaning ) : May the beautiful pairs of ankles of

Sri AarAvamudhan adorned by the resplendent ankle ornament

( Tandai ) engaged in walking to DuryOdhanA 's court as an

ambassador on behalf of Dharmaputrar shine forever in my

heart . They are the ones that are the delight for the mind to

comprehend and enjoy ; they ran down from the punnai tree

branch on the bank of YamunA river to steal the sarees of

haughty Gopis ; they are the ones that hurried to the places

of the offending asurAs to destroy them . May those ankles

with their mysteriously beautiful saanidhyam ( presence )

continue to reside in my heart and sanctify it.

 

CHITHRAAKAARAM KATAKA RUCHIBHI : -- Here , our AchAryA

enjoys the sondharyam of the pair of ankles of the Lord , which

are decorated with the nUparams enmeshed with nava rathnams .

The natural beauty of the ankles enhances the splendour of

the nUpurams ( tandais ) . The association with the Lord's

most beautiful ankles makes the ankle ornament shine

brilliantly as the AzhwAr experienced : " iNaikkAlil veLLit taLai

ninrilangum kanaikkAlirunthavA " . This mysterious beauty

( chithrAkAram ) of the katakam thrills the AchAryA . He begins

to remenisce about the activities those pair of ankles were

engaged in the past . A whole flood of memories of the happenings

during KrishNAvatharam inundate our AchAryA's mind . It is only

appropriate KrishNAvathAram rushes to his mind , since many

AzhwArs have enjoyed AarAvamudhan as KaNNan .

 

DHARMAPUTRASYA DHUTHYE : Besides their beauy , these pair of

ankles of Lord AarAvamudhan have displayed their valor through

the act of walking to DhuryOdhanA's court to plead for the PaandavAs

at the request of DharmaputrA . This Paandavar DhUthan did what

needed to be done and when the mission failed because of the ill

will of DuryOdhanA and his courtiers , He became ParthasArathy

to destroy the KauravAs and their associates . He had no weapon

other than the whip in His hand that was used to direct the horses

in the battle field . Thirumangai describes the identity of that

ParthasArathy and reveals that divine charioteer of ArjunA is

none other than Kudanthaik Kovalan : " Tann Kudanthai

naharALan , eiyvarkkyamarilyuttha ThErALan " and " Pandu

Bhaarathatthut thUthiyangi Paarthan selvat thErEru SaarathiyAi " .

 

PeriyAzhwAr addresses the crow and asks it to bring the shepherd's

crook to Bala KrishNA as YasOdha with the intention of distracting

Him from going with His friends to graze cows : " Baalap pirAyatthE

PaartharkkaruL seytha kOlappirAnukkOr kOl konduvA ,

Kudanthai kidanthArkkOr kOl kondu vaa " . PeriyAzhwAr connects here

ParthasArathy of Vibhavam with the ArchAmUrthy of Thirukkudanthai

resting on AdisEshA .

 

GOPA STHREENAM VASANA HARANE : Those ankles of Gopalan were

engaged in descending from the branch of Punnai tree to teach a

lesson to the haughty gOpis and stole their vasthrams and made

them beg for the VasthrAs . ANDAL , who has enjoyed Him as a Gopi

in ThiruppAvai and NaacchiyAr Thirumozhi( NT ) has etched her love for

Kudanthai Gopaalan in many pasages of Her divya sUkthis :

 

Kudanthai kidantha kudamAdi --NT

 

Madhuvin thuzhAi mudi mAlE , MayanE yengaLamudhE --NT

 

Kudatthai yedutthEravittuk kUtthAdavallavenkOvE -- NT

 

She followed the footsteps of Her father , PeriyAzhwAr ,

who recognized the Lord of Thirukkudanthai as GopAlan

in his pUcchUdal paasurams :

 

" kudangaledutthEravittuk kUtthAdavallavenkOvE ,

madangaL madhimuhatthArai maal seyya valla yem

maindhA , Kudanthaik kidanthavenkOvE "

 

When ANDAL heard the description of Thirukkudanthai

AarAvamudhan as the Kudamaadi , she expressed Her

love for Her Lordimmediately , almost in the same words of

Her father : " Kudatthai yedutthut thEravittuk kUtthAdavalla venkOvE " .

 

 

DHAITHYA NAASAARTHA YAATHE BHADDHA SNEHAM :

These very same ankles have gone on yathrAs to the places

of the AsurAs to seek them out and destroy them .Thirukkudanthai

sthala purANam describes one such journey : " KaalanEmi

mukAn dhaithyAn jithvA Saarngadhara Prabhu: " . He rested

thereafter on His beautiful bed of AdisEshA at Thirukkudanthai .

As Sri Varahap PerumAn , they went under the waters of

the Ocean to seek out the AsurA and retreive His consort .

As Sri hayagreevA , they sought out and destroyed the

asuran , who stole the VedAs and became known as

the ankles of Madhuvijayina:

 

MANASIJA VIBHO: KAAHALAAPAM : Swami Desikan is

reminded of the beautiful musical instrument of ManmathA ,

which is narrow at one end and broadens to a wider base

at the other end . Our Lord's ankles are narrow at one end

and broadens to a beautiful, symmetric finish at the knee . Swami Desikan

has been mesmerized by the beauty of Thiruvahindrapuratthu

EmperumAn's ankles and has salured them as " Kandharpa

KaahaLa " ( manmathan's musical Instrument ) . The aparAvathAram

of Swami Desikan saluted AarAvamudhan's beautiful ankles

as " mansija vibhO: kAhaLApam " .

 

MANOGYAM : These pair of ankles of AarAvamudhan are parama

BhOgyam for Thirukkudanthia Desikan , which can only be

experienced by his mind , but are beyond description by speech .

 

JANGAA YUGALAM LASATHU HRUDHAYE MAAMAKE

SAARNGAPAANE : -- Here , our AchAryan prays for the

sacred pair of ankles of Kudanthai kudamAdi, SaarangapANi

to shine without let in the temple of his mind .

 

Sri KomaLavalli Sametha AparyAptha Para BrahmaNE nama:

Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri Sadagopan