Sri RanganAtha Kaimkaryam : Part 18.1( NammAzhwAr Paasurams)

[Guest guest]

Dear Sri RanganAtha BhakthAs :

 

Try as I might by racing against time , I could not

conclude the series of 18 postings yesterday . Sri RanganAthan

seems to want me to linger on and not to rush , when it comes to

the beloved paasurams of Thirumangai and NammAzhwAr .

Therefore , I will experience the blessed project overrun

and conclude the series today with the blessings of

the divya dampathis of Srirangam .

 

As I reach this final stretch of the 18 brick kaimkaryam ,

I thank all of you have responded by joining in this kaimkaryam

to build the one and only temple for Lord RanganathA in USA

and at the same time appeal most humbly to all of you , who

have not participated to join in this life time opportunity .

Please help and let your friends and relatives know of

this exraordinary opportunity to be of service

to the Lord of Srirangam and raise your Kaimkarya Sri .

Thank you all .

 

NammAzhwAr's paasurams on Sri RanganAthan

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

 

NammAzhwAr is fourth in the line of our AchAryAs

( AchArya paramparai ) after the Divya Dampathis

and VishvaksEnar . He blessed us with 12 Srirangam

paasurams , eleven of which are found in his Thiruvaimozhi ;

the twelfth one is positioned in the 28th verse

of Thiruviruttham , where he asks for the blesisngs

of the Lord of Srirangam resting in the island

of Srirangam ( peru neert thiruvarangA aruLAi ).

 

Thiruvaimozhip paasurangaL : " kangulum pahalum "

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

Introduction to this deacd (7.2) of ThiruvAimozhi

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

This decad dedicated to Sri RanganAthA in the words

is set in the words of the mother of ParAnkusa Naayaki

houses one of the high points of AzhwAr's

Bhagavadh anubhavam .It is important to understand

how AzhwAr built up his appeal to the Lord progressively .

 

In the Thruvaimozhi (TVM) 1.1 ( UyarvaRavyur ) ,

AzhwAr celebraratd the parathvam of Sriman NaarAyaNA .

In TVM 1.3 ( patthudai ), he saluted the soulabhyam of

our Lord . In TVM 1.5 ( vaLavEzhulahil ) , he observed

his naicchAnusanthAnam and tried to remove himself

from th presence of the Lord thinking about his lowliness.

In TVM 6.2 ( Minnidai ) , as ParAnkusa Naayaki , he became

angry at the Lord and in a mood of praNaya kOPam

( SatakOpan's kOPam ) , She asked the Lord to remove

Himself from her presence and stop tormenting

her . In the next decad ( TVM 6.3) , the Lord came before

His dear BhakthA and united with him(her). This was at

ThiruviNNagar ( nalkuravum paasurangaL) . Here AzhwAr

performed his saraNAgathi and acknowledged

the Lord's acceptance : " ThiruviNNagar sErntha appan

tannoppArillappan tanthanan tanathALL nizhalE " .

 

AzhwAr progressed through the rest of the Sixth decad

and arrived at ThiruvEnkatam (TVM 6.10) and reminded

the Lord of the SaraNAgathi that he had performed

earlier at His feet at ThiruviNNagar and described

his great hurry( dvarai, avasaram ) to reach

the Lord's feet and perform nithya kaimkaryam

at Sri Vaikuntam .In the famous tenth verse of this decad

( ahalahillEn IRayum yenralarmEl Mangai uRai mArpA --

ThiruvenkatatthAnE , adiyEn unn adik keezh amarnthu

puhunthEnE ) .

 

In our purvAchAryA's commentaries , TVM 6.10

on ThiruvEnkatam( Ulahamunda peruvAyA ) , TVM 7.1

( UNNIlAviya IyvarAl) and TVM 7.2 on Srirangam

( Kangulum pahalum ) are tightly knit . In their

judegement , the connection between these successive

decads is as follows :

 

TVM 6.10 On ThiruvEnkatavan ( Ulahamunda ) is PraNavArtham .

TVM 7.1 ( UNNilAviya Iyavari) represents the Nama: sabdham .

TVM 7.2 ( Kangulum pahalum ) is the sabdhArtham of "NaarAyaNAya ).

 

Together ,they are elaboration of the Mula manthram .

The Srirangam paasurams of NammaAzhwAr are then

the celebration of the "NaarAyaNa sabdham " and the

fourth vibhakthi ( chathurthi ) , which stands for

anubhava janitha preethi kaaritham , when one does

Kaimkaryam for the Lord such as building a temple

for him like us in USA , Thirumangai's building of the ramparts

at Srirangam , H.H. the Jeeyar's building of the Raaja

gopuram , Thondardipodi's ThirumAlai kaimkaryam and so

many others .

 

In the first paasuram, the mother of ParAnkusa Naayaki

tells the Lord that her dear daughter has not slept for days

and nights .She tells the Lord that her daughter is searching

for Him furiously everywhere . The mother then asks the Lord

a blunt question : " Oh Lord of the fertile Srirangam !

What do you propose to do with of my dear daughter

that You are tormenting ( IvaL tiRatthu yenn seyhinRAyE ?).

 

In the second paasuram, the deeply worried mother asks

the Lord : What is going to happen to my dear one and where is

all this going to end ? In the third paasuram ,the mother

persists in her line of questioning and asks the Lord to

explain to her the purpose of the Lord's taking a permanent

abode at Srirangam . Is it for us to enjoy Your beauty ?

If so what have You done to my daughter and what remedy

do You propose to get her out of her suffering on behalf of You.

 

In the fourth paasuram , the mother does not pipe down.

She acts as a prosecutor and demands the Lord to tell her

what He in His infinite wisdom proposes to do . I do not

know what you have in mind . Please tell me about it demands

the harried mother. She marvels at the infatuation that

the Lord has caused in the mind of her daughter and appeals

now to the Lord : " Please take pity on my daughter. She

clearly does not deserve this treatment at Your hands .

Is what all you are doing (to cause pain to my daughter)

arise from my own past sins ? They say that You come to

the rescue of devotees , who seek after You . They say that

You will not let them sink in morass. My daughter is

a tender one going through all of these sufferings for

You . She is MahA Lakshmi herself . How can you have

such a hard heart and abandon her and not listen to

her soulful appeals .I know not what end she will have

due to Your heartlessness.

 

As the mother was going on , some thing miraculous happened .

When the mother was wondering how her daughter was going to reach

her goal of union with the Lord of Srirangam , she found

out that her daughter had already reached the feet of the Lord

with the hue of the rain-laden clouds . The mother concludes

on a happy note that like the rain-laden clouds bless

the world with the rejuvenatiing rains , The Parama DayALu of

Srirangam has showered His benovolent compassion on

her daughter and made her dreams come true.

 

The key passages from the set of 10 paasurams

of this decad according to Sri Vaathsalya

AhObilAcchAr swamy are , The paasura Vaakhyams

are included in the paranthesis :

 

Paasuram 1 : He is the one to be worshipped and

approached as Sevyan ( ThiruvarangatthAi ! sankusak

karangaL kai koopum: the little hands perform anjali )

 

Paasuram 2: Lord of Srirangam is the most delectable

to enjoy as athibhOgyan : ( Muhil VaNNA ! ThAmaraik KaNNA !)

 

Paasuram 3: SaguNa mangaLa Vigrahan : ( KaaNumARu aruLAi!

KaNNanE ).

 

Paasuram 4: He is far superior to worldly wealth and enjoyemnts:

( sittanE ! Sezhu neert thiruvarangtthAi!). Here the beautifully

chosen word , sittan stands for Sri+ Ishtan =ThirumAl or

MaalOlan and as such , the supreme wealth for all of us).

 

Paasuram 5: He is the PurushArtham and He is the one ,

who blesses that PurushArtham ( Himself ) to Us :

( alai kadal kadaintha aaramudhE ! santhitthu unn

SaraNam sArvathE ) ).

 

Paasuram 6:He is Soulabhyan for Prapatthi : ( veyya VaaLL

tandu sanku chakkaram vill yEnthum ViNNOr mudahl !

TaNN punal soozh ThiruvarangatthuLLAi ! )

 

Paasuram 7:He is the skilled one in banishing the sufferings

of those , who sought His refuge : ( tunba inbangal

padaitthAi ! TheerthanE ! paRRilAr PaRRa ninRAnE !)

 

Paasuram 8:YathOktha Kaari (who is sonna VaNNam seytha

PerumAL ) : ( KunrEnthi KOnirai kaatthavan )

 

Pasuram 9: He is the NirupAdhika suhruth ( One interested

in our happiness always: yenraikkumE namakku anban ) :

( Thiruvarangam koil kondAnE ! AaimahaL anbanE !

NilamahaL kELvanE ! ThirumahaL maar sErvanE !

Yennudai AaviyE )

 

Paasuram 10 : He is the One who assists us in reaching

the mahA padhavi of Sri Vaikunta Vaasam : ( MuvulahALi !

VaanOr TalaivanE ! IvaL aNuhi adainthanaL

Muhil VaNNan adiyE ) .

 

Sri PiLLai Lokam Jeeyar has intrepreted these ten

Sriranga Paasurams of NammAzhwar in yet another

splendid way .

 

He has equated the words of the paasurams

to the Lord's Paratthvam ( Supermacy ),

KaaraNathvam ( supreme Cause behind the universe),

VyApakthvam ( Pervasiveness as AntharAthmA ),

Niyanthrutthvam (Supreme Leadership as YajamAnA ),

KaaruNkatthvam ( embodiment of DayA ) ,

SaraNyathvam ( serving as Sarva lOka saraNyan ),

Sakthimathvam ( Omnipotency ) ,

Sathya Kaamatthvam ( true volition ) ,

Aapath sakatthvanm ( Helper of the distressed ) and

aarthi haratthvam ( remover of the samsAric afflictions ) .

 

The greatness of the Paasurams of NammAzhwAr are

beyond description . It is a bhAgyam to write

about them .

Subhamasthu !

Thiruvarangan ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam .

Oppilaipapn Koil VaradAchAri SadagOpan