Thirumaalai-12/Comment on the word, "AchchuthA"

[Guest guest]

Shri RAmAnujasya CaraNou Sharnam PraPadhyE

 

VaNakkam Shri Mani and Smt. Mani.

 

I enjoyed Smt. Mani's word-by-word commentary on the famous PAcuram,

"PaccaiMAmalai POL . . . AchchuthA AmararERE . . ." of Shri Thondaradip

PodiAazvAr. Its simplicity elevates SriRangam both metaphorically and

literally to VaiKundam. So if someone asks why SriRangam is a VaiKuntam, all

one has to do is to reproduce the song!

 

There is a beautiful collection with meaning of 140 Thamiz PAdalkaL published

under the title, "EzuNAL IRai VaNakkap PAdalKal". It has seven PAcurams from

the Dhivya PraBandham (one for each day of the week) and one song on KaNNan

and RAman by Shri RAmaLinga VaLLalAr. The latter happens to be the last song

of the book. It is a magical song: "KArAya VaNNa MaNIVaNNa KaNNa": KaNNa, You

are of the color of the rainy cloud, and so you are of the color of the

rainbow [at times having several colors]. In the present song of AzvAr also

there are four colors that are explicit and I do not know the colors of

Achchudhan, and of the elephant IrAvathi. Of course, following RAmaLinga

VaLLAlAr or AanDaL or NammAzvAr, or PeriyAzvAr, AyarTham Kozundhu is

MaNiVaNNan and so has all the colors of the rainbow. The present poem also

renders a partial meaning of the seven colors of the rainbow, matching colors

with parts of the body both literally and figuratively.

 

The PAcuram of ThondaradipPodi AazvAr that you were discussing is song No. 62

in the book. It gives the meaning of the name "AchchuthA as one without

Kschayam: End. AchchuthA is one who has no end: Akschayam Ena Anavan:

Achchayan = Achchuthan. "Azivu IllAdha dhEvan" as given in the book. This

is a second rendering of the meaning of the word, "AchchuthA".

 

Of course, A + Chyutha = One who cannot be cut off and so cannot be separated

[from his devotees] as you have interpreted.

 

Of the two meanings, it is interesting to speculate who will choose what! A

person who is enjoying the vision of Shri RangaNAthan may prefer the meaning

you have given. What is the point otherwise of staying in SriRangam? If the

Lord is going to go away, one may as well follow Him and go to IndhraLokam.

So Achchuthan should mean the inseparable, this person would argue.

 

On the other hand, a person who has the choice may argue that if it is not

guaranteed that the Lord has no ending, he/she might have stayed in

SriRangam in vain. Since in IndraLokam, he/she might argue, the Lord is

likely to be for ever because of Amruth, he/she would have made a poor choice

in staying in VaiKuntam instead of the real Kuntam. The Lord being Amarar

ERu, He will be there in the Real Indrakuntam. This is guaranteed, according

to this person.

 

So my questions to the BhAgavathAs and their children are, "What is your

choice? And why?" How do we resolve this apparent conflict? Is there a

conflict to begin with? It appears that the poem resolves this issue. It

seems that each one can be derived from the other in the context of the poem.

The question is not irrelevant: because the poem makes a comparison between

DhEvAs and the Blessed mortals. Aridhu Aridhu MAnidarAy PiRappadhu Aridhu.

"It is worthy, worthy indeed to be born as a human". I do not know whose

(ThiruMUlar??) words are these. But ThAyumAnvar has the following: ENNariya

PiRaviThanil Manudap PiRaviThAn YAdhinum Aridhu KAN. . . . VEnduvEn

Umadhadimai NAn: You [God] are an eyewitness for the experience that being

born as a human is the most worthy among the innumerable worthy forms of

beings. [so because of this experience I have] I want to be your servant.

 

Vandhanam.

 

May He endow us with Grace.

 

Visu

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Sri Parthasarathi thunai

Srimathe Ramanujaya Namaha

 

Dear Sri Visu,

> I enjoyed Smt. Mani's word-by-word commentary on the famous

PAcuram,

> "PaccaiMAmalai POL . . . AchchuthA AmararERE . . ." of Shri

Thondaradip

> PodiAazvAr. Its simplicity elevates SriRangam both metaphorically

and literally to VaiKundam. So if someone asks why SriRangam is a

VaiKuntam, all

> one has to do is to reproduce the song!

 

SORRY THERE IS A LITTLE MISUNDERSTANDING ON YOUR PART HERE. THE

POSTING WAS SENT BY ADIYEN SUMITHRA VARADARAJAN, NOT SMT.MANI.

 

ABOUT THE MEANING OF THE ACHCHUTA NAMAM : ALL BHAGAVAN NAMAS HAVE

MORE THAN ONE MEANING AND HENCE BOTH THE MEANINGS ARE RIGHT. TO KNOW

MORE ON THE ARTHAS OF THE VARIOUS BHAGAVAN NAMAS PLEASE GO THROUGH

SRI PARASARA BHATTAR'S VISHNU SAHASRANAMA BHASYAM.

 

adiyen Ramanuja Dasyai

Sumithra Varadarajan