Thirumaalai-8

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Sri Parthasarathi thunai,

Srimathe Ramanujaya Namaha

 

 

“ Mattrondrum Venda Maname Madhilarangar

Kattrinum meitha kazhalinai keezh- uttra

Thirumaalai paadum seer Thondaradipodi Emperumaanai

Eppozhudum peesu”

 

“ Srimat Krishna samahvaya Namo yaamuna soonave

yetkadakshai kalakshyanam sulabha: Sridara: sadaa”

 

Pranams,

In the last postings we were enjoying the first line

in the first paasuram of Sri Thondaradipodi alwar’s

Thirumaalai. The great credit of this alwar is that

even today periya perumal gets up in the morning only

after listening to this alwar’s Thirupalliyezhuchi.

In Thirupathi and other temples the sevai next to

vishvaroopam is Thomaalai sevai. This alwar was also

doing this pushpa kainkaryam to Sri Ranganatha. That

is why even the archA vigraham of Thondaradipodi alwar

is seen with a pookudalai(Flower basket). Alwar

didn’t stop with this. Remembering the paasuram of

Sri Nammazhvar “vAdAmalarittu vaizhtumin” he did this

Thirumaalai prabhandam which is a flower which is

giving fragrance even today and adorning Sri Rangantha

always. That is why the saying goes “Thirumaalai

ariyar Thirumal-ai ariyar”. It seems to be a

repetetion of the same words. But the meaning

conveyed is, those who do not know the Thirumaalai

prabhandam will not know the Thirumal or Emperuman.

Alwar shows us clearly how emperuman is superior in

this prabhandam which we have discussed earlier. So

each one of us who are trying to know about bhagavan

should learn the deep inner meanings of this

prabhandam which will clear all our doubts and give a

insight into our Srivaishnava sampradhayam.

 

Let us now proceed with the first paasuram.

We have seen PVP’s explanation for kAvalil pulanai

vaiththu now the next is:

 

“kali thannai kadakkappaiyindu” – Like Hanuman crossed

the Lavana sAgaram we jump over our papakadal(sea of

papas). Initially hanuman said he was not capable of

crossing the big sea but when jambhavan told him about

his capacities hanuman got the confidence. He chanted

the rAma nAma and said with the power of rAma nAma he

can cross any ocean. Again here also alwar reflects

the words of Anjaneya. There with the help of

bhagavan nAma hanuman crossed only the ocean of water

but we jeevatmas can cross the ocean of papas we have

done till now with the help of the bhagavan nAma.

This is wonderfully explained by PVP in his

Vyakhyanam.

 

“NAvalittu vuzhitarukindrom” – naval ! is the

exclamation used to show victory. In those days a

person dances shouting nAval nAval after he wins over

someone. It is similar to ‘Jitanthe!’. But here the

alwar’s words seem to be filled with a little self

pride. But can alwar talk with pride. But this is

due to the highness of what he has obtained. A lady

after getting married to a king cannot be without

pride so alwar also realizes the worth of bhagavan

nAma and shows his happiness in these words. PVP

gives a great explanation here. He shows it with an

example. “eRamadam vootuvAraipole mugam TottRame

nindru vupagarikkaiyAle” says PVP. Alwar knows that

everything is done only by bhagavan still he says

since he has the nAma bhalam he will dance with

victory though alwar hasn’t done anything. The

explanation for PVP’s words goes as follows: There is

one person who is fit for nothing. He never goes to a

job or earns anything instead he lazily keeps roaming

here and there. Once his mother scolds him for being

like this and he gets angry with the mother and goes

out of the house without eating. At the end of the

street there is a dharmashala where he goes and lies

down. The mother feels sorry that her son didn’t even

eat and hence will feel hungry. When she comes to

call him he refuses in anger. Then the mother calls

the manger of the dharmashala gives to him some food

for his son and asks him to give to his son without

telling him that she gave it. Thereby the manager

also gives the son the food. After eating the son

proudly says ‘asif I will stay hungry if she doesn’t

feed me’. Actually even now only the mother has given

him food to eat but he didn’t realize it. Similarly

when emperuman condemns us for doing an act against

the sastras we don’t listen to him and want to get

away from him. So now emperuman gives us the palan

through the nAma. The nAma takes the role of the

manager who took the food from the mother and gave it

to the son. Similarly bhagvan nAma also takes the

fruit of moksham from the lord and grants it to us.

But we like the son, feel that we have gained it due

to the chanting we have done. But actually we do not

do anything but only the bhagavan does. Emperuman

stays as antaryami inside us and makes us to chant his

nAma and gives us the palan too. As Ajamilan in

BhAgavatam says ‘The bhagavan made the nAma, NarAyana

come out of my mouth otherwise my mouth is only

accustomed to say other wrong things. It was he who

made my mouth utter this divine nAmam’.

 

“Naman thamar thalaigal meedhe”- Alwar here says that

now that all my sins have been washed due to the

Bhalam of the bhagavan nAma I will dance in the head

of the yaman( god of naraka) and his servants shouting

nAval! NAval! (Victory!Victory). Even Thirumangai

alwar says in his paasurams about such a victory

dance. But how does yaman feel about this. Actually

he enjoys bhagavathotamas like alwar keeping their

feet on his head. In Dhruva charitram it is said that

when Dhruvan ascends to paramapadam he puts his feet

on Mrithyu’s(Yaman) head and goes to Srivaikundam.

Yaman feels very happy when bhagavatas escape from the

miseries of the narakam and ascend to Paramapadam so

he bows before them happily so that they can climb

over his head and go. Yaman says to his servants

never go near a person who is a srivaishnavan. I am a

master to those who are involved in this wordly

pleasures but not to a person who is a prappannan or

a bhAgavatan(Madhusoodana Prappannaha). PVP says this

in a very great manner. If incase by mistake yaman or

his servants go to a bhAgavatan to take him to naraka

considering his previous sins now the bhAgavatan

questions yaman to show his accounts written by chitra

gupta(like a criminal demanding for an arrest warrant

nowadays). When yaman looks at the book of accounts

of papams of various jeevatmas, to his surprise he

finds no entry corresponding to this jeevatma(who has

uttered the bhagavan nAma) and there by realizing his

mistake yaman bows in front of the jeevatma like

apologizing and this jeevan (alwar) now with pride

dances over the head of yaman shouting nAval! nAval.

 

“moovulaguvundumizhdha mudalvA”- Now alwar clarifies

that not all nAmas have this power. Only the nAma of

the bhagavan(Sriman nArAyana) who eats the whole world

during pralayam and keeps it in his stomach and spits

it out during the creation has a power to wash all our

sins and grant us moksham. Here alwar clearly shows

that during pralayam only Emperuman nArAyanan was

there he was the only person who was there initially

and then he created the universe and at the end he

destroys the whole universe and does this process

again and again as his leela. That is why

Gajendrazhvan called him Adhimoolam and Sri Nammazhvar

says “Ondrun devum vulagum vuyirum mattrum yAdum ella

andru nAnmugantannodu devarulagOdu vuyir padaiththan”.

 

“ninnAmam kattra Avalippudaimai”- what is the

avalippu(pride) here for alwar. Alwar feels that he

has the richest thing in the world and when compared

to the power of Bhagavan nAma all the worldly wealths

are like dust. So alwar is highly proud to say that

he has learnt the greatest thing in this world which

can be compared to nothing else. In our sampradAyam

self pride is not at all accepted but even our

Acharyas accept and praise the alwar’s pride. We can

be(have to be) proud to be a srivaishnava, proud to be

his dAsas doing nithya kainkaryam to him, the ultimate

power of this universe. Can anyone in a such a

position where we are very close to the most powerful

and richest person in this world and in the

paramapadam (other world) too, be without pride?

Some people trying to reduce the effect of their sins

do offerings and darpanam to yaman and chitraguptan

but we are not like them we don’t need the help of

yaman or chitraguptan because we have the bhagavan

nAma which is capable of giving us the power even to

place our feet in the heads of yaman and chitraguptan.

 

“kandAi arangamAnagarulAne”- Now alwar’s pride goes to

the level of challenging Sri Ranganatha himself.

Emperumane! see my face and yours, which glows more?

“Man tindra vun mugam pol errindhado en mugam” says

PVP. Alwar is asking emperuman Sri Ranganathan to see

his face. Alwar feels that his face is more beautiful

than even perumal’s face because perumal ate only mud

but alwar has eaten the bhagavan nAma which is tasting

sweetly in his mouth always. When a person eats

something delicious his face expression will be

pleasant but when a person eats something which

doesn’t taste good his face expression will be bad

similarly alwar has eaten the most delicious substance

in this world so he feels his face will be more

beautiful than emperuman who has eaten mud which is

tasteless. Badrachala Ramadas in one of his kritis

explains the ruchi of rAma nAma and he says no other

drink including deva amrudam can be equal to the

sweetness of rAma nAmam. Saint thyagaraja also gets

involved in the same manner. So we see many mahans,

have practically experienced and shown us what alwar

has portrayed in this paasuram.

 

In the next posting we will continue with the next

paasuram.

 

Adiyen Ramanuja Dasyai

Sumithra Varadarajan

 

 

 

 

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