Kainkaryam-5

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Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra

Mahadesikaya Nama:

 

Kainkaryam-5

________________

 

Having dealt with ears of service, Sri

Kulasekharazhwar looks at how one’s eyes might be put

to use in the cause of the Lord.

“JihvE keertaya Kesavam , Mura ripum chEtO bhaja

Sridharam pANi dvandva samarchaya

Achutha kathA shrOtra dvaya tvam shruNu

Krishnam lOkaya lOchana dvaya”

“Oh my Eyes! Drink in the glorious form of Sri

Krishna” urges Azhwar.

“SarvEndriyANAm nayanam pradhAnam” says the adage,

giving pride of place to the eyes among the sensory

organs. Hence the kainkaryam performed by the eyes

must occupy a very important place. Unlike the hands,

eyes have a limited function to perform, viz., seeing.

All our lives, we keep seeing things good and bad,

reading books of all kinds. What Azhwar would like us

to do is to keep the Lord’s beautiful form (as found

in various temples, constituting the archAvatArA)

constantly before our eyes.

The nitya sooris in Sri Vaikuntam are our role model

for this, as we are told that they do not take their

eyes off the Paramapadanatan’s magnificent

tirumEni-“tad VishNO: paramam padam sadA pasyanti

sooraya:” says the Veda.

The Lord’s beauty is such that the beholder would not

even like to blink, for fear of losing that moment’s

anubhavam. So much so that Silappadhikaram denounces

those who are able to blink, while witnessing

Emperuman’s resplendence-

“kaN imaitthu kANbAr tam kAn enna kaNNE”.

Azhwars’ eyes have an insatiable desire to drink in

the Lord’s soundaryam in its entirety, though they

realise the impossibility of the mission- “kAn kAn ena

virumbum kaNgaL”

“mei koLLa kANa virumbum en kaNgaLE” say the Azhwars.

The first two of the Mudal Azhwars light up luminous

lamps of different hues, in the light of which Sri

Peyazhwar’s eyes witness the magnificent spectacle of

the Paramapurusha, who crowded into the small space

where the three bhagavatas had sought refuge on that

rainy night.

“Thiru kaNdEn, ponmEni kandEn, tigazhum

arukkan aNi niramum kandEn-serukkiLarum

Pon Azhi kandEn Puri Sankham kai kandEn

En Azhi vaNNan pAl indru”

First and foremost, and very significantly, Azhwar’s

eyes alight on Piratti, shining on the Lord’s chest,

and adding to His splendour. Next he sees the Lord’s

golden form, the Sudarsana Chakram and PanchajanyA,

adorning Emperuman’s hands.

Such is the Lord’s magnificence that eyes that do not

make it their business to keep Him in sight constantly

are not eyes at all, but mere holes in the face. Says

Sri Kalian,

“neeL nAgam chutri varai nattu-Azh kadalai

pENAn kadaindu amudam kondu uganda pemmAnai

pooNAra mArvanai puLLoorum ponmalayai

kAnAdAr kaN endrum kaN alla kaNdAmE”.

The idea is reiterated in the Aicchiar

Kuravai-“kariavanai kANAda kaN enna KaNNE”.

Swami Desikan prays Sri Varadaraja to give him the

status of nitya sooris on this earth itself, by

craving unblinking eyes with which to drink in the

beauty of the Lord without a second’s break.

“anudinam animEshai: lochanai: nirvisEyam” says he in

the Sri Varadaraja Panchasat.

 

“Gaccha anghri yugma (HarE:) Alayam” says Sri

Kulasekharazhwar in the next line of the Mukunda mala

slokam, laying down the kainkaryam for the lower

limbs.

One might wonder as to what possible service could be

performed by legs, of all organs. Despite their rather

lowly position, legs are indispensable in any bhagavat

kainkaryam, for it is they who take us to the place of

service, and principally to the Lord’s temples. It is

only the old and infirm, and particularly those

crippled by arthritis, who can appreciate fully the

valuable role legs play. While visiting divya desas

like Sri Ahobilam or Sri ChOla Simha Puram located on

steep hills, the real value of healthy legs and the

kainkaryam they are capable of, are brought home to us

vividly. We really have to appreciate the bhAgavatas

who travel from Chennai to Tirumala on foot every

year. And more than them, our hearts go out to the

Azhwars and Acharyas who traversed the whole of India

on foot, for mangalasasanam of Emperumans at various

far-flung divyadesams, braving the most hostile of

climes and environs. And of all the Azhwars, the most

prolific foot-traveller appears to have been Sri

Tirumangai Mannan, who has notched up an unbeatable

tally of divyadesa mangalasasanam, covering (then)

practically inaccessible places like Sri Salagramam,

Sri Badarikashramam, Sri Ahobilam, etc. Incidentally,

the least-travelled, by foot or otherwise, appears to

be Sri Nammazhwar, who visited not a single

divyadesam, but to whom all Emperumans came running,

beseeching him to sing a song on themselves.

 

Turning to the next line of the sloka, we find Sri

Kulasekhara Perumal exhorting the nose to inhale the

fragrance of the sacred Tulasi leaves adorning the

Lord’s tiruvadi. Though TiruttuzhAi is by nature

pleasant-smelling, association with Emperuman’s feet

enhances its fragrance. After all, Emperuman is

reputed to be “sarva gandha:” or the repository of all

fragrance. Further, the Lord’s feet are reputed to

secrete honey-“VishnO: padE paramE madhva utsa:”says

the Veda, and Sri Alavandar too speaks of “tava amrita

syandini pAda pankajE”. Thus, the fragrant Tulasi

adorning the honey-sweet tiruvadi of the Lord makes

for a heady mixture, which is capable of transporting

one straight away to Sri Vaikuntam.

The Lord has an insatiable desire to adorn Himself

all over with TiruttuzhAi, which impresses Sri

Nammazhwar-

“TOLiNai mElum nan mArbin mElum sudar mudi mElum

TALiNai melum punainda taN am tuzhAi udai ammAn

KEl iNai ondrum ilAdAn”

Emperuman appears to be a veritable Tulasi shop, with

TiruttuzhAi draped all over His arms and shoulders,

His broad chest which is the dwelling of PirAtti, His

tall and glittering crown and on His feet which are

the refuge of the entire world. No wonder that Tulasi

is venerated as “sadA Kesava priyA”, as she is very

dear to the Lord. In the aforesaid pasuram, Emperuman

is acclaimed as without equals (iNai ondrum ilAdAn),

which He perhaps owes to TiruttuzhAi, for no other

deity has the privilege of being worshipped with the

leaves of the sacred Tulasi.

Being a connoisseur, Sri Kulasekhara Perumal wants

his olfactory nerves to be regaled by the inhalation

of TiruttuzhAi from the Lord’s feet.

 

To wind up the sloka, Sri Kulasekharazhwar prescribes

the kainkaryam that the head can perform-“Moordhan!

nama AdhOkshajam”. The head is thus exhorted to bow

before the Lord. Being the principal among the angAs

(it is known as the “uttama angam”), the head is given

the important assignment of paying obeisance to

Emperuman.

Another Azhwar warns of what happens to those whose

heads do not bow before the Almighty-

“VaratthAl vali ninaindu MAdhava nin pAdam

SiratthAl vaNangAnAm endrE –uratthinAl

EerariAi nEr valiyOnAya iraNiyanai

Or ariyAi nee idandadu oon. »

Drunk with the boons of invincibility that he had

been able to obtain from an inconsiderate BrahmA,

HiranyAsura considered himself supreme, refused to bow

down to Sriman Narayana, and held his head aloft with

ahamkArA. As a result, he was torn to pieces by Sri

Nrsimha, all his invincibility vanishing before the

Omnipotent Narakesari.

 

The Mukunda Mala is full of gems similar to the sloka

expounded so far, and each would require at least as

many postings as this sloka has taken. However, having

no desire to indulge in bhAgavatApachArA by testing

readers’ patience beyond limits, adiyen would like to

conclude here, with a pasuram from Sri Nanmukhan

Tiruvandadi, which echoes the spirit of the Mukunda

Mala sloka-

“VAzhttuga VAi, kANga kaN kEtka sevi-makutam

tAzhtthi vaNangumingaL taN malarAl-soozhttha

tuzhAi mannu neeN mudi em tollai MAl tannai

vazhA vaN kai kooppi maditthu »- Sri Tirumazhisai

Piran.

 

Another Azhwar summarises the kainkaryas we can

perform during our life in this mudane world-

“VAsitthum kEttum vaNangi vazhipattum

poositthum pOkkinEn pOdu”.

 

Srimate Sri LakshmiNrsimha divya paduka sevaka

SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana Yatindra Mahadesikaya Nama

:

--------dasan,sadagopan.

 

 

 

 

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