The Mind set of Thondardipodi& related thoughts

[Guest guest]

Dear BhakthAs :

 

It is a wondeful opportunity for us to engage in this

"love-fest " to celebrate our ArchA mUrthys in

the spirit of "Saazhal paasurams " of Thirumangai

AzhwAr ( Periya Thirumozhi 11.5) . In these paasurams ,

Two groups of Gopis are assembled by the AzhwAr on

opposite/opposing sides. One side extolls the greatness

of RaamA and KrishNa , the VibhavAvathArams , while the other

side mocks at such celerbration by questioning that greatness

of the Lord in a playful way . The first ghOshti addresses

the opposing group as yEdi ( unnait thaanEdi ) and invites

their attention to the amusing leelAs of the Lord , which in

their opinion does not merit such an adoration . The annoyed

group addresses the complaining ones and reminds them that

their statements can only be taken as jestful statements ,

since their Lord still the is the greatest one . The latter

group thus dismisses and downplays the "putting down " of

the Lord's greatness as a light hearted banter ( Saazhal)

and both groups carry on joyously with Bhagavath GuNAnubhavam .

 

To give an example of the Saazhal Paasuram style , let us

enjoy the third paasuram in this decad :

( Periya Thirumozhi:11.5.3):

 

Aazh soozh kadal vaiyahatthAr yEsap pOy Aaypaadi

thAzh kuzhalAr vaittha tayir undAn kaaNN yEDi

thazzh kuzhalAr vaittha tayir unda ponn vaiyiRu ivv-

vEzhu ulaham undum idamm udaitthu aal saazhalE

 

( Extended Meaning ) : One set says : " Oh my dear Friends !

What a pity !How despicapable ! How low has your KrishNA

descended ? You hail Him as the great one . How come

this One without any appetite (for Vishaya sukhams) stooped

low to steal the curds from the pots of gopis , which were put

away purposely out of His reach by those gopis with beautiful,

long hair ? How come He became the object of ridicule

and derison by the uneducated gopis if He is BhagavAn Himself ?

Please explain this mystery to us .

 

The other group takes the cudgels on behalf of their

beloved Bhagavaan and answers " the accusing " group . They

point out that it is really a wonder that the Lord's stomach

which does not suffer form hunger at all could still accomodate

the space for the fresh curds even after consuming the seven worlds

during PraLayam to protect them . Such is His greatness ".

 

This friendly ribbing and teasing goes on

in a spirit of Bhagavadh guNAnubhavam .Our

discussions on the greatnes of different ArchA

mUrthys belong to this category .

 

Our efforts are reminding me of the great summary

of Swami Desikan of Thiruvaimozhi VaakyArthams as

the distilled essence of Bhagavadh GNanubhavam by

NammAzhwAr . Swami Sri Desikan summarizes the ten

centums of Thiruvaimozhi( sathaka dasaka saarArtham )

as the following ten Bhagavadh GuNAnubhavam in

his DramidOpanishadh Saaram . He goes on to prove

that ThiruvAimozhi is Dheerga saraNAgathi and a

distillation of the essence of the Dhvaya Manthram

in terms of the salutation to the guNams of BhagavAn :

 

(1) sEvAa YOgyam or sEvA YOgyathvam: That the Lord

becomes the UpAyam for the Jeevans to gain mOksham .

(2) athi bhOgyathvam: He is insatiable nectar (AparyApthA-

mruthan ) and as such stands for PrApyathvam

(3) Subha supaga tanuthvam ( SubhAsrayam ): In both

the occasions of being upAyam and UpEyam , He has

the most beautiful body and avayavams . This guNam

is central doctrine to Sri VisishTaadhvaitham ,

which stresses Moorthy Jn~Anam for a mumukshu .

SaguNa Brahmam aspect is emphasized .

(4) Sarva BhOgyAthisaayithvam : This refers to

his all-emcompassing VailakshaNyam and points

out there is no prApyAm that excell Him .

(5) SarvOpAyathvam : He is the palan and upAyam

for the parama purushArtham , Moksham .

(6) prapadhana sulabhathvam : Prapatthi alone is

sufficient for gaining mOksha Siddhi .

(7) anishta Vidhvamsa seelam : The seventh centum

celebrates His GuNam of removing ( nivruthti )

the sorrows (anishtams ) that a prapannA experiences

due to poorva karmAnusAram ( pazhaya VinaikaL ).

(8) BhakthacchandhAnu varthithvam : Being YathOktakAri

to His BhakthAs . He comes under the sway of His

bhakthAs and blesses them , whatver they seek .

(9) NirupAdhika Suhruth guNam : The greatest well-wishing

friend ( anmayE tEduhiRa mahA Suhruth ) is the GuNam

celebrated in the Ninth centum .

(10)SathpadhavyA sahAyathvam : The illustrious helper

to take us by archirAdhi maargam to His Parama Padham

and then blessing the muktha jeevans with Nithya

kainkarya saamrAjyam .

 

This is the spirit of celbration of the three EmperumAns and

all the other 103 archA mUrthys celebrated by our AzhwArs .

 

I will now revert to the Saazhal mood and make a case

for another EmperumAn , who has not come into focus

sofar . You have already guessed the object of my

supreme adoration .

 

As Sri MadhavakkaNNan intutively pointed out ,

Both Sri RengarAjan and myself are going to hold

on to the thesis that TannoppArillappan, ThiruviNNagarappan

is " the most qualified " for adoration among them all

and make our case . Before that , let me comment on

the greatness of Thondaradipodi AzhwAr and why he had

problems about singing on " Kurangan " . Even when he referred

to " the Kurangan " , he invoked " the Ranga " sabdham .

When you add the prefix "ku " to Sanskrit words ,

it refers to the opposite . For instance , the word

MaathA refers to a guNa sampUrNa mother ; kumAthA

is just the opposite. When the AzhwAr refers to " Kurangan " ,

he is thinking of the forests and the mountains of

ThiruvEnkatam , which make it difficult to access

for SrinivAsan's sEvai . In Sri Rangam , the fields are

green , the groves are abundant with fruits , Cauvery

is making this island fertile in every way . It is therefore

easy of access and makes it enjoyable to access and stay .

This is a light hearted , personal intrepretaion and does

not have the sanctions of poorvAchAryAs .

 

Seriously speaking , Thondardaipodi was saluted

rightfully so as " Sri RanganAtha pathivrathai " .

As a pathivrathai , he never stepped out of her

beloved husband's house surrounded by saptha prAkarams .

The situation is similar to Thirukkudanthai , where

Sri KomaLavalli ThAyAr , the Consort of Sri AarAvamudhan

never steps outside Her Koil prAkArams even when Her friends

from across the street ( Sri Vijayavalli ThAyar wedded

to CahkraPaaNi and Sri Jaanaki MaathA wedded to Sri

Raamachandran ) come to visit Her during the Kanup pongal

day . They step out to the banks of Hema pushkaraNI to

place the Kanup Pidis , while Sri KomaLavalli stays

inside her gopura Vaasal and watches Her two visiting friends

enjoying their viists outside their homes .

 

Thondaradipodi , " the bridal Mystic " , had a unique

relationship with her Lord and Master in the highest

spirit of Sri VaishNavA theology . Exhibiting this

theistic mysticism beautifully described by Dr.S.M.S. Chari

in his latest monograph ( Philosophy and Theistic Mysticism

of the AzhwArs ) , this RanganAtha Pathivrathai demonstrated

the sEshi-sEsha tattvam . As far as his soul was concerned ,

Thondardaipodi had no SATTAA (existence of its own ) outside

Sri RanganAtha. It had no sthithi (sustenance) and no

pravrutthi ( activities ) without /outside Sri RangarAjan .

AzhwAr's absolute dependence ( athyantha paaratanthryam)

on the Lord resting in the island formed by the two branches

of Cauvery and the AzhwAr's stubborn and unshakable

faith in not serving any other ArchA mUrthy ( ananyArha sEshathvam

of sorts ) led to his profound belief that no other ArchA

mUrthy is more enjoyable ( ananyabhOgyan )than Sri RanganAthan ,

his Master and wedded Lord .

 

We assume therfore that this Ranganaatha pathivrathai

followed her PathivrathA dharmam to the fullest extent .

 

I will continue with the case for our TannappOrillapan

after hearing from a great Sri Oppiliappan Bhakthar,

Sri Sampath Rengarajan of Detroit , Michigan .

 

AdiyEn Sadagopan