ThiruviNNagarappan Thirumanjanak Kattiyam : Part 1

[Guest guest]

Dear BhakthAs :I will have the Kattiyam

portion first and will include meaning/comments

in paranthesis after each of the Kattiyam sections .

 

Sri Oppilaippan Thirumanjanak Kattiyam

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

 

1 . Jaya Vijayee Bhava ! Sri Bhagavan NaarAyaNa !

PanchAvathAra ! Swamin ! paraak ! BhU Vallabha ParAk !

 

( Hail to Thee ! Oh Lord NaarAyaNA ! May Thou be

victorious !Oh Lord , who took five manifestations

at ThiruviNNagar as Yennappan , Ponnappan , Mutthappan ,

MaNiappan and ThiruviNNagrappan ! Oh the supreme Master

of the Universe ! Hark ! Oh dear one to Bhumi Piraatti !

Hark ! This type of announcements is used at Royal courts

by VaithALikAs or KattiyakkArars to announce the presence/

arrival of Kings. Our Lord is King of Kings and Deva Raajan .

Hence , such a Kattiyam is a fitting start ).

 

2 .sankalpa kalpalathikAm avadhim kshamAyA :

svEcchA VarAhamahisheem sulabhAnukampAm I

Visvasya mAtharam akinchana kAmadhEnum

VisvambharAm asaraNa: SaraNam prapadhyE II

 

( It is common tradition to salute the PirAtti of

the Lord first because of Her PurushkAram or

power to plead with Her Lord to pardon our

gross sins and grant us Moksham . Here the Prayer

Of Swami Desikan to Bhumi DEvi in his BhU sthuthi

is included . This is the first slOkam of BhU sthuthi

of Swami Desikan .

 

Meaning of this slOkam : Bhumi DEvi is like a Kalpaka

creeper that grants the wishes desired by those who are

Her adiyArs ; She puts up with the trespasses of adiyArs

and forgives them. In this matter , She is the limit of

forbearance .She readily grants Her grace to Her adiyArs.

She stands in the role of Mother of the universe and

treats all chEthanAs with equal affection .She is a veritable

wish granting KaamadhEnu for those , who perform Prapatthi

to Her , when they are unable to undertake Bhakthi Yogam

as their preferred route for their salvation .I ,Swami Desikan,

who has no other succor surrender unto Her with the above

auspicious kalyANa guNAs )

 

3.Srimacch SaDAri Kalivairi Mahath SarObhi:

nAthAgamAntha gurumukhya gurUtthamaisccha I

samvAnchithAthisayitha priya mangaLou Thau

Bhuvallabhasya charaNou SaraNam prapathyE II

 

( This is the eighth slokam of Sri Oppiliappan

Prapatthi sthuthi . The saraNAgathan says here :

" I perform Prapatthi at the sacred feet of

ThiruviNNagarappan , which have received

the exalted mangaLAsAsanams of NammAzhwAr ,

Thirumangai ,Poygai AzhwAr , pEy AzhwAr ,

Naatha Muni and NigamAntha MahA Desikan ".)

 

4.yaavadh AvarthathE chakram yaavathee cha VasundharA I

thaavath tvamiha Sarvasya SwAmithvam anuvarthaya II

 

( This is the twelfth slOkam of Sri Oppilaippan

MangaLam . The author prays to the Lord :

" Oh ThiruviNNagarappA ! May Thou Lord over this

universe as Sarva Swaami and protect all janthus

as long as there are Chandran,Sooryan and the stars ).

 

 

5.udhyath kOti divaakarEndhu subhagam peethAmBharAlankrutham

naanAbhUshaNa bhUshitham navaghana shyAmam prasannAnam I

lAvaNyAmbhunidhim nirasthalavaNam Srisankha chakrAnjitham

SrivaikuntapurAdhipam Subhatanum BhUmyA: pathim samsrayE II

 

( This is the first slOkam of Sri Oppiliappan"s

SuprabhAtham and also serves as a dhyAna slOkam .

 

Meaning: I worship always the Lord of Bhumi Devi ,

ThiruviNNagarappan , who appears in effulgence

like crores of rising Suns ; He is resplendent

with all kinds of Jewelery and is bedecked in a

beautiful peethAmbharam ; He has the dark bluish hue

reminding one of the dark clouds of the rainy season

and has a cool countenance , which is a treasure house

of beauty ; He adorns Sudarsanam and Paanchajanyam

in His upper hands and destroys completely the sins

of those who worship Him ; He has banished any desire for

salt in His naivEdhyams consistent with the promise He made

to Sage MarkandEyA to win the hand of his daughter in

marriage at Tulasi Vanam ).

 

6. taapAn kshipan prasavithA sumanOgaNAnAm

pracchAya seethaLataLa: pradisan phalAni I

tvath samgamAdh bhavathi Maadhavi labdhapOsha:

saakhA satairadhigathO HarichandhanOsou II

 

( This is the seventh slOkam of Bhu Sthuthi of

Swami Desikan .Here, the famous AchAryA points

out that ThiruviNNagarappan's glories grow

multifold as a result of His union with Bhumi Devi.

Swami compares the Lord to a Harichandhanaa tree

saluted by hundreds of Veda saakhAs and points out

that this wish granting tree becomes reinfoced in its

power to bless the prapannAs due to its association

with Bhumi DEvi.There is only one thAyAr at

ThiruviNNagar(viz)., Bhumi DEvi and the Lord

is never ever separated from Her ).

 

7 .taapatrayeem niravadhim bhavathee dhayArdhrA :

samsAra garma janithAm sapadhi kshipantha:I

maathar bhajanthu madhurAmrutha varsha maithreem

MaayA Varaaha dayithE mayi thE katAkshA : II

 

( This is the 31st slOkam of Bhu Sthuthi of Swami

Desikan. Since ThiruviNNagar is NaacchiyAr Koil ,

where there is prAdhanyam for Bhumi DEvi , we salute

Her especially . Her Lord would enjoy it and welcome

it even more than salutations directed at Him .

 

Meaning of the SlOkam : Oh Mother of the Universe !

Oh Devi who incarnated as the divine consort of Your

Lord , who appeared out of His own volition as Varaaha

Murthy ! This samsAram is a veritable parched summer.

The three tApams desicate the chethanams in samsAric

existence . The intense sufferings from the three kinds

of Taapams are instantly quelled by your cool kataakshams .

May Your cool glances resembling the nectarine rain fall on

me also and destroy my taapams ) .

 

 

8.tvam mE aham mE kuthastath tadhapi kutha

idham vEdamUla pramANAth

yEthaccha aNAdhisiddhAth anubhava vibhavAth

tarhi sAkrOsa yEva I

kvAkrOsa: kasya GithAdheeshu mama vidhitha:

kOathra sAkshee sudhee syAth

hantha tvath pakshapAthee sa ithi nrukalahE

mrugyamadhyasThavath tvam II

 

( This passage is from the Thirumanjanak Kattiyam

of ParAsara Bhattar for Sri RanganAthA . This is

the first of the stray verses of his Kattiyam

sung in front of Sri RangarAjA during His

Thirumanjanam even today . This is in the form

of a captivating dialog between a stubborn chethanam

and its Master, the Lord Himself .

 

The Lord of Srirangam notices the "impunity and

stubbornness " of the Jeevan , which considers itself

to be a svathanthra purushan . The Lord in wet clothes

from His just begun Thirumanjanam reminds the argumentative

Jeevan that it is not independent and it is His property

as attested by VedAs , GitA and men of wisdom . The Jeevan

disagrees with the Lord wearing a TuLasi garland on His

wet body . ParAsara Bhattar reminds us that the situation

of the Lord proving His claim over His Lordship over

the protsting and deluded Jeevan is like practise of

DivyA referred to in smr*ithi texts . Divya practise

relates to taking an oath to give testimony . To prove

the ancient sesha-Seshi relationship between the Jeevan

and the Lord , Parasara Bhattar constructed this wonderful,

imaginary dialog :

 

Lord : tvam mE ( You are Mine ; I own You ).

 

Jeevan : aham mE ( No, I belong to myself; I am independent)

 

Lord : Kuthas tath? (No, How could that be possible ?)

 

Jeeavn :Tadhapi kutha: ? ( How about Your own claim ? )

 

Lord: idham vEda moola pramANAth ( My claim is based on

the authority of the VedAs )

 

Jeevan : yEthacchAnaAdhi siddhAth anubhava vibhavAth

( My position however is based on my own experience ,

which is " beginnigless in nature").

 

Lord : Tarhi SaakrOsa yEva( But that position of yours

has alrady been repudiated )

 

Jeevan : KaakrOsa: kasya ? ( where and by whom was

this repudiated ? )

 

Lord: GitAdheeshu mama vidhitha: ( By Me , ofcourse !

I repudiated it clearly in GitA )

 

Jeevan: kOathra Saakshi: ? ( Pray , who is the witenss

for Your repudiation in GitA ? )

 

Lord: Sudhee: syAth ( A man of wisdom and clear mind)

 

Jeevan :Hantha, tvath pakshapaadheesa ( Well , well!

Then Your wise man is partial to You ).

 

Lord's above conversation with the deluded soul

reminding of its eternal sesha realtionship (servitude)

to the Lord is to be remembered by us during

the Thirumanjanam . He is attesting to that sacred

truth with wet cloth and Tulasi garland .

 

( To be continued )

Oppiliappan KOil Varadachari Sadagopan

[Guest guest]

Dear BhakthAs :

There was a question about the significance

of a passage on the Thirumanjanak Kattiyam

realting to the conversation between the Jivan

and the Lord in His wet cloth and

TuLasi garland . The details related

to that symbolic dialog might be of

interest to you .

 

V.sadagopan

>Fri, 13 Nov 1998 19:16:05

>Sadagopan <sgopan

>RE: ThiruviNNagarappan Thirumanjanak Kattiyam : Part 1

>Cc: BJ

>

>>"Bharadwaj, Jaganath" <Jaganath.Bharadwaj

>>"'Sadagopan'" <sgopan

>>RE: ThiruviNNagarappan Thirumanjanak Kattiyam : Part 1

>>Tue, 10 Nov 1998 09:48:05 -0500

>

>Dear Sri Jagan:

>

>> Could you tell us the significance

>>of Lord Ranganatha having the conversation with the Jeeva in "wet

>>clothes" is? It is the assumptions behind certain practices that are

>>lost over the centuries. Only those who have either done Kaalakshepam

>>or read a lot will be able to elaborate on these finer points.

>> Bharadvaj Jagan

>

>Thanks for your question on the symbolism of

>Sriman NaarAyaNA with wet cloth and TulLasi

>garland conversing with the deluded Jeevan .

>

>This is connected to a practise referred to in

>Yaj~nyavalkya Smr*ti as Jala-divya and Tulasi-divya .

>Divya is the practise of solemnly swearing under oath.

>To Parasara Bhattar's eye , the Lord's sevai during

>the Just-begun Thirumanjanam reminded him of the above

>two of the ten ways of solemnly attesting to patent truth

>about the relationship ( Ozhikka OzhiyAtha uRavu) between

>the Sarva Seshi and the Sesha BhUthan ( Lord and the Jeevan ).

>

>The Lord is proving His claim as the Master of the stubborn

>Jeevan, which in turn claims that it is an independent entity ,

>empowered by its own self.

>

>Parasara Bhattar as a ParamAchAryan and Sri Ranganatha's dear

>purOhitha was very keen on reminding us about the anarthams

>and ViparIthams that accrue from three delusions that

>affect a confused jeevan :

>

>1. SareerAthma Bramam ( Equating perishable Sariram to

> eternal aathmA and the delusion caused by that )

>

>2. SvatantrAthma Bramam( Forgetting that the Jeevan

> is the Sesha BhUthan to the sarva Seshi and

> concluding that the Seshan has an independent satthA /

> existence ).

>

>3. Nireesvara Vaatha Ruchi ( Taste for thinking that

> there is no Isvaran , who is the sarvasEshi. Here

> the Jivan thinks that it is Isvaran Himself .The

> literal meaning of Isan is "one who rules:aaLhiRavan ,

> the rest are aaLappadupavai or IsithavyangaL .

> Jeevans are IsithavyangaL . Confusion on this

> matter is the most dangerous with profound

> consequences).

>

>all these three are called MahA VirOdhis for Moksham .

>

>These engagements in pursuit of ViparItha Jn~Anam will

>destroy the Jeevan"s lot to enjoy the Lord as Sarva Seshi

>and perform Nithya Kaimkaryam for Him at Sri Vaikuntam

>thru the practise of the Moksha upAyams of Bhakthi or

>Prapatthi .

>

>To help the jeevans struggling in SamsAric life ,

>Parasara Bhattar reminds us all about Isvara LakshaNams

>here .Three of the concepts associated with Artha Panchakam

>are touched here : PrApyam ( Seshi/Isvaran/Isvara Vargam-

>our Lord with Periya PirAtti) ),PrApthA (chEthanan/Jeevan/

>sEshan ) and prApthi virODhi(SarIram ) .

>

>Parasara Bhattar is following the path established by

>AchArya RaamAnujA and his purvAchaaryargaL here. AchArya

>RaamAnujA stated very clearly as to what is Isvara

>LakshaNam in his gadhyam :

>

>svAdhIna thrividha chEthanAchethana svarUpa

>sthithi pravrutthi bhEdham

>

>This passage from AchAryA's gadhyam composed

>right in front of Lord RanganAtha and Sri Ranga Naayaki

>during their Serthi sevai on a Panguni Uttaram day

>is extremely deep in meaning and is central to our

>siddhAntham .

>

>The LakshaNam of the Sarva Seshi , our Lord is

>hinted here . This profound statement sums

>up the attributes of the Lord as the One , who

>has under His control the three kinds of ChEthanams

>( Bhaddha , Muktha and Nithya Sooris) , three kinds

>of AchEthanams ( prakr*uthi, Kaalam and Suddha Satvam)

>and their svarUpam, sthithi and pravrutthi as well .

>

>The differnces between the Lord , the Vibhu and

>the Jeevan is aNu are again three fold :

>Our Lord in contradistinction to the sesha Jeevan

>has these three LakshaNams :

>

>1. ananyAdheenathvam ( unlike the jeevan

> and achEthanam , Isvaran is not under

> anyone's control or suzeranity .He controls

> all the others )

>

>2. nirupAdhika Seshathvam ( natural disposition

> to be the Seshi of all , the jeevans and

> achEthanams without exception )

>

>3. nirupAdhika Niyanthruthvam (natural disposition

> to command/rule every one and getting them to

> go about their vyApArams : karthruthvam and

> BhOkthruthvam of the Jeevan are thus under

> His control).

>

>Thus the Isvara LakshaNams are unique and in no

>way can the Jeevan delude itself to think that

>it has independent existence and it is the Lord

>Himself. This can lead only to utter disaster

>of repeated cycles of births and deaths . A clear

>understanding of the Isvaraand Jiva LakshaNams

>through Bhakthi or Parapatthi at the feet of

>a sadAchAryaa would remove these three bramams

>and lead to Moksha Siddhi .

>

>Thus ,Parasara Bhattar is reminding all those

>assembled for enjoying the Thirumanjanam and

>perhaps in his own special way reminding

>the Lord Himself about His paaratantryam ,

>just as ANDAL reminded the Lord

>about His sworn duties and to get up from His

>comfortable nidhrai and go about doing His sworn

>duties etched on top of the VedAs (i-e) Upanishads .

>

>Namo NaarAyaNA ,

>Oppiliappan Koil VaradachAri Sadagopan

>

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