Sri ANDAL-Sri RanganAtha KalyANam ; Part 7.1

[Guest guest]

Dear BhakthAs of ANDAL and Sri RanganAthA :

 

This posting dealing with ANDAL-Sri Ranganatha ThirukkalyANam

will be based on ANDAL's own visualization of Her wedding .

The archival source would therefore is Her "VaaraNamAyiram "

paasurangals ( NaacchiyAr Thirumozhi 10.6 ) .

 

In Sri VaishNavite weddings , during the occasion of

" Pacchai poosuthal " , these paasurangaLs are sung

to confer ANDAL's and Sri RanganAthA's blessings

on the newly wedded couple for long , happy ,

harmonious wedded life blessed with children

having Brahma Jn~Anam and Saathveeka

GuNa Sampath . ANDAL herself describes the fruits of

reciting these paasurangaLs of Hers this way :

 

AayanukkAha thaan kanta kanaavinai

vEyar puhazh VilliputthUr kOn Godhai sonna

thUya Tamizh maalai eerainthum vallavar

vaayu nanmakkaLaip peRRu makizhvArE

 

ANDAL described here the auspicious boons that result

from reciting the paasurams dealing with Her

dream of marrying Lord KrishNA . NanmakkaL

( progeney of unimpeachable good conduct )

are the anugrahams resulting fro such recitations.

 

The wedding scenes that ANDAL describes are full

of beauty. They are very high in imagination .

They have the splendid fragrance of the Vedaas

( Veda maNam kondavai ) . They are linked by the five

parts of marriage that are celebrated by Rg Vedam .

Our purvAs have described succinctly those five parts

this way :

 

vAg dhAnam cha pradhAnam cha varaNam paaNi peetanam I

sapthapaatheethi panchAnghO VivAha: parikeerthitha: II

 

The sampradhAyic wedding according to the above slOkA

has the following five angAs (parts ) : (1) Vaag DhAnam

(2) KanyAdhAnam (3) Vara PrEkshaNam (4) PaaNigrahaNam

and (5) saptha Pathi .

 

Vaag dhAnam as a prelude to KanyAVaraNam

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

 

This first angam deals with the request for the hand

of the bride by elders on behalf of the BrahmachAri ,

who wants to enter GrahasthAsramam at the end of his

Adhyaynam Of the VedAs under a proper guru .The BrahmachAri

requests the intercession of elders and asks them to

approach the father of the girl to grant his wish to

marry his daughter to follow the vEdic way .

 

Sri RanganAthA as the " BrahmachAri " seeking the hand of

GOdhA piratti did some thing special . He appeared in

the dream of PeriyAzhwAr , the father of GodhA PirAtti

and suggested : " Umathu putthiri Godhaiyai kondu yem

ThirumuRRatthE vaareer . AvaLakku tahuthiyAha nAmE

pANigrahaNam paNNUhiROm " ( Please bring your daughter ,

GodhA , to our court . We will marry Her in a superb

manner befitting Her special status ) .

 

Next thing , Sri RanganAthA did was to command His servants

at Srirangam thru a dream and told them : " namm chatra

chAmara taalavrunthAthi parijana paricchEthangalOdE

Sri VilliputthUrERp pOy ANDALai azhaitthukondu vArungOL "

( please go to Sri VilliputthUr and bring ANDAL here

with all of the Koil maryaadahis : My Umbrella , Fans ,

Percussion Instruments , naathasvaram music and

my liveried servants ) . The Koil sippandhis( purOhithAs

and others ) went to Sri VilliputthUr with all the insignias

of Sri RanganAthA for requesting the hand of ANDAL for

their Lord . The Veda manthram that Sri RanganAthA recited

and today's BrahmachAris recite is as follows :

 

pra sugmanthA dhiyasAsanasya SakshaNi

varEbhir varAgum abhishu prseedhatha: I

asmAkamindhra ubhayam jujOshathi

yath sOmyasyAndhasO BhuBOdhathi II

 

( Meaning) : O Elders ! please proceed with haste

to the house of the father of the Kannikai and

have my interests in your minds ! Please arrive there

with a clear mind and sense of purpose about your

mission . Please tell the father that Indran is waiting

to partake off the Soma rasam of the Soma Yaagam that we

plan to perform as husband and wife and wishes us well

to engage in such pious activities . Please accomplish

your mission on my behalf and return safe and successful !

 

Lord RanganAthA pleaded with the two Demi Gods , AryamA

and Bhagan to make the path of the elders going to

PeriyAzhwAr's house free from thorns and sharp stones . He

asked them to unite Him with His dear love , ANDAL

in the Vedic way resonant with harmony and happiness .

The Veda manthram housing such thoughts is as follows :

 

anruksharA rujava:santhu panthA

yEbhi: sakAyO yanthi nO varEyam I

samaryamaa sam BhagO nO nineeyAthsam

jAspathyam suyamamasthu dEvA :II

 

(Meaning) : O Celestial ones ! May the path that

our messengers travel to reach the house of the bride's

father , be smooth and straight . May the Lord of

cosmic order ( aryamA ) and gracious Lord ( Bhaga )

conduct us , and may the union of wife and husband

be easily accomplished .

 

PeriyAzhwAr's response : KanyA varaNam

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

 

PeriyAzhwAr responded positively to the request

of the Lord sent through His kainkarya bharAs (elders)

and declared : DhanyOsmi ( Blessed am I ) .

He poured forth words in joy about his sowbhAgyam

to realize the Lord as his son-in-law :

 

" ThribhuvanAtheesvarAya , AkilAntakOti

BrahmAnda NaayakAya , TattvAtheethAya ,

Sakla nishkaLa svarUpAya , SurasurArchitha

paadha padhma yugaLAya , akilOnnatha pavithrAya ,

ArdhrathrANa pArAyaNAya , paravyUha vibhavantharyAmyarchA-

svarUpiNE , Chandra pushakaraNi tatsthithAya ,

SaraNAgatha santhrANa tathparAya , SRI RANGANAATHAAYA

mama kanyA dhattham " .

 

( Meaning ) : To the Lord of the three worlds ,

to the Master of the entire universes and its crores of

beings , to the one beyond all TattvAs ,

to the one of the form totally free from any blemish ,

to the One , whose pair of lotus feet are worshipped by

the DevAs and the asurAs alike , to the supreme principle ,

which is the most sacred among the sacred , to the One

supreme being which has taken the vow to come to the rescue

of the distressed , to the one who is of the pentad forms

(viz., ) Para , VyUha , Vibhava , ArchA and antharyAmi ,

to the One who resides on the banks of Chandra PushkaraNi ,

the one whose vratham is to protect those , who seek

refuge under His feet , to that Sri RanganAthA , my

daughter ANDAL Is betrothed .

 

Sri RanganAthA's joy over the good news

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

 

When the koil servants returned to Srirangam

and informed the Lord that His request was

accepted by PeriyAzhwAr , the Lord was delighted .

He rushed to SrivilliputthUr surrounded by

thousands of His elephants and His other retinue .

There at the city gates , He found PeriyAzhwAr

standing to greet Him with pUrNakumbham along with

the citizens of Sri VilliputthUr . ANDAL described

this joyous scene to Her dear friend :

 

vAraNam aayiram soozha valamcheythu

NaaraNa nambi natakkiRAnenRu yethir

pUraNa porkudam vaitthup puRamenghum

thOraNam naatak kanAk kandEn thozhI naan (NTM 10.6.1)

 

The whole town was decorated with banners

and festoons for the forthcoming wedding .

The bridegroom had arrived for the NiscchiyathArtham

function . The wedding dais was decked with

the areca nut saplings containing tender shoots .

Under that beautifully decorated wedding canopy ,

ANDAL saw Her beautiful Lord Narasimhan known also

as Maadhavan , Govindhan and RanganAthan seated

as a Youth brimming with sarva saamudhrikA lakshaNams:

 

naaLai vadhuvai maNamenRu naaLittu

paaLai kamuhu parisudaip panthaRkkeezh

kOLari Maadhavan Govindhan yenpAn , Ohr

kALai puhuthak kanAkkandEn thozhI naan (NTM 10.6.2)

 

Sri RanganAthA's dhOsha-sAnthi manthram utterance

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

 

The Lord of Srirangam sat under the wedding canopy

and recited the manthrAs for banishing any defects,

imperfections in His bride-to-be and concluded

the nischiyathArtham ceremony part of the VivAham .

The mantrams recited by Him on that occasion and

followed by us even today are from the dasama khAndam

of Rg Vedam :

 

agOra chakshurapathignyEdhi sivA

pasubhya: sumanA: suvarchA :I

veerasUr devakAmA syOnA sam nO bhava

dhvipadhE sam chathushpadhE II ( Rg Vedam X.85.44 )

 

imAm tvamindra meeDva: suputhrAm subhagAm kruNu I

dasAsyAm puthrAnA dEhi pathimEkAdasam krudhi II

---( X.85.45)

 

samrAj~i svasurE bhava samrAj~i svasravAm bhava I

nanAndhari samrAj~i bhava samrAj~i adhi dEvrushu II

---( X.65.46)

 

samanjanthu visvE dEvA :samApO hrudhayAni nou I

sam maatharisvA sam dhAthA samu dhEshtrI dhadhAtu nou II

---( X.85.47)

 

These four manthrams found in the X.85 canto of Rg vEdam

are extraordinarily rich in meaning . The bridegrooms

of today should recite them properly with the purOhithAs

and invoke with understanding the spirit of these

ancient manthrams .The bridegroom should slow down

the VaadhyArs and ask them to instrcut him to

recite it properly .

 

These manthrams follow prayers housed in the previous two verses

for abiding together and never to be separated . It prays for

a household full of children and grand children . It prays

for union until old age , free from all evils . It asks

the bride to be the harbinger of prosperity to the bipeds

and the quadrapeds .

 

The meaning of the above four specific manthrams are as follows :

 

X.85.44: Oh Bride ! May you never cast an evil glance

at your husband in your married life ; never ever be

hostile to him and pull the oars in the opposite way ;

be tender and kind to animals ; may you ever be amiable

and cheerful as you go about your duties as the yajamAni

of the household ; be the mother of brave children ;

adore the divine powers ; be the source of happiness

in the household ; bring prosperity to our bipeds and

quadrapeds .

 

X.85.45: O generous Lord ! make her blessed with the bounties

of children and fortune ! give her ten sons ; and

then her husband becomes the eleventh one ( Dvitheeya

saisavam ) .

 

X.85.46: Oh Bride ! be a queen to your father-in-law!

be a queen to your mother-in-law! be a queen to your

husband's sister! be a queen to your husband's brother !

( The word chosen by Vedam is " samrAj~ni " .What a respectful

envisioning of her role in the household to keep harmony ).

 

X.85.47 ( This one is a geat prayer ! ):

May the entire congregation of the guests invited

and present at the wedding unite our hearts .may we be

tranquil and united ! may we be calm and united like

the mixed waters ( the waters of many rivers in the ocean

unite without their individual identities )! may we be united

like vital breaths !( prANa vAyu in the body )may both of us

be in unison like the creator and His creation !

may we be one like the AchAryan and his sishyan!

may we both be loving and loyal to each other

throughout their lives !

 

Sri RanganAthan invoked these manthrAs to bless

ANDAL and prepared Her for observing MangaLa snAnam

and wearing of the new pudavai ( koorai udutthal ).

 

ANDAL describes the nischithArtha manthraNa ceremony

presided over by Her Lord in the midst of the assembled

dEvAs this way in Her third paasuram of this decad:

 

Indiran uLLitta dEvar kuzhAm yellAm

vanthirunthu yennai mahatp pesi manthiritthu

manthirakkOdi udutthi maNa maalai

andhari sootak kanAk kanDEn thOzhi naan

 

Here ANDAL refers to two events :(1) The nischiyiathArtha

manthrams recited by Sri ranganAthan and (2) the wearing of

the koorai pudavai assisted by the sister of Her husband

and wearing fragrant wedding garlands .

 

( Vivaaham festivities will be continued )