Thirumaalai-15

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Sri Parthasarathi thunai,

 

Srimathe Ramanujaya Namaha

 

 

 

“ Mattrondrum vEinda 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,

 

 

 

Sri Thondaradipodi alwar, who started with the prabhandam saying the importance

of nAma keertanam then got himself immersed in the beauty of the bhagavan and

started calling periya perumal with various bhagavan nAmA’s. Due to the joy he

experienced he said, I will not prefer even moksha leaving this ultimate joy of

nAma keetanam. But then he remembers the various sufferings in the samsara and

hence says, due to all these miseries in this leela vibhuti I do not want to

have another birth. In the next paasuram alwar proceeds to talk about the

magimai of nAma keertanam. Since he did nAma keertanam thinking about the

divine form of the bhagavan in the second paasuram people may think that we have

to do nAma keertanam along with the meditation on the divine form of the

bhagavan only. Now, alwar proceeds to say that it is not a rule that we have to

do nAma keertanam along with roopa dyanam(meditating on his form). Though it is

a great anubhavam to do both together, still even if we do ThirunAma keertanam

without thinking of him still it does give the same result. To explain the

same, alwar refers to a short story which has been given in vishnu dharmam. Let

us now see the divine meanings in the fourth paasuram.

 

 

Paasuram-4

“moiththa valvinaiyul nindru moondru Aezhuththu vudaya pErAl

 

kaththira bhandhumandre parAngathi kandu kondAn

 

eththanai adiyarAnArkku errangum nam aranganAya

 

piththanai pettrum andhO! PiraviutpinaggumArE.” (4)

 

 

 

In this paasuram alwar quotes a upakhyAnam(legend) in Vishnu dharmam. Generally

our acharyas refrain from even saying the name of a person who does

bhagavata-bhAgavata apacharam. Even bhagavan apologises all our other sins, but

he never forgives us if we do bhAgavata apachAram. In sampradayam, nAloorAn was

the person responsible for the death of Sri periya nambigal and for koortazhvan

losing his eyes. He was also responsible for making Sri Ramanuja flee from

Srirangam. Though he was a vaishnavite himself he did all these apachArams, so

our acharyas never referred to him with his original name but instead referred

to him only as nAloorAn(one person who belongs to a place called nAloor).

Similarly here in Vishnu dharamam, there is a reference to a man who was a

kshteriya by birth but did not possess any qualities of a kshetriyan, as kshatra

bandhu(in tamil-kaththira bandhu). To explain further Sri PVP in his vyakhyanam

quotes ashvaththAmA who was a “brahma bandhu”. Though he was a brahmin he had

all qualities which a brahmin should not have and hence he is refered as brahma

bandhu.

 

 

 

Kshatra bandhu upakhyAnam:

 

Kshatra bandhu was a kshatriya but had all bad qualities. He was a very

aragant person who troubled everyone. His relatives and friends couldn’t

tolerate him and hence he was exiled. He lived alone since even his wife

abandoned him. He had one cow and a boy who looked after the cow and with this

he made his living. Once he was loitering in the forests when by bhagavat

krupai he happens to meet a rishi. “DarshanA deva sadhavaha”(when even a

culprit sees a sadhu he becomes good for that moment). Similarly this kshatra

bandhu also feels for all his mistakes and he confessed before the rishi.

Listening to him the rishi felt sorry for him. If the rishi started telling the

prayaschitam for all the deeds of kshatra bandhu till today according to the

shastras, it will become neverending and he will also not understand. The

rishi thought what good he could do to him. He then asked kshatra bandhu how he

managed his living. Kshatra bandhu replied that he had a cow and a cow boy

named “Govinda” who looks after the cow and with the milk from the cow he made a

living. The rishi immediately asked do you call your cowboy often with his

name. Kshatra bandhu replied that since he was the only person who listened to

him and since the cow is his only source of living he usually says “Govinda do

this! Govinda do that! Govinda have you fed the cow!” etc etc quite often. The

rishi heaved a sign of relief and said then you need not worry all your sins

will be washed away. Kshatra bandhu couldn’t understand how his sins could be

washed away. Then the rishi explained to him the magimai of Bhagavan

nAma(Govinda nAma). “Yam yam yAnthi smaran bhAvam tyajethyanthe kalebaram”

“SAnkEtyam pArihasyam va stomam helana mevava” how ever you recite the bhagavan

nAma, with or without thinking of bhagavan, even for the sake of kidding or

talking ill of the bhagavan himself still if the nAma is told then it gives

palan. And the nAma of bhagavan has the power to wash any type of, any number

of sins, in a single moment. So the rishi told him to continue with the same

bhagavan nAma keertanam and not to worry about his past. Days passed and

kshatra bandhu grew old. He was in his last bed and finally he calls

“Govinda”(his cow boy) but then his soul departs. Taking into account all the

papams he has done till then, the yama dhoodhas come to take him to naraka

lokam. When they approach kshatra bandhu they are stopped by four divya

purushas(vishnu dhoodhas). The yama dhoodhas were shocked to see someone

stopping them since no one ever had the guts to stop them till today. But

seeing the tejas of the vishnu dhoodhas they are taken aback and hence they

polietly asked why they were stopping them from doing their duty.

 

 

 

The vishnu dhoodhas then asked the yama dhoodhas what their duty was and what

was dharma? The yama dhoodhas replied that they were destined to take all the

papa jeevatmas to naraka and whatever has been mentioned in the sastras were

dharmam. Then the vishnu dhoodhas made a big lecture to the yama dhoodhas about

the bhagavan nAma keertanam and finally completed saying that though kshatra

bandhu had done innumerable sins in his various births still he died saying the

bhagavan nAmA and hence all his sins were washed out and hence he has become a

pure soul. The yama dhoodhas were very surprised to listen to this and hence

they asked back, “don’t your Narayana know that he didn’t call him instead he

called only his cow boy?”For this the vishnu dhoodhas replied with a smile, “Our

Narayana very well knows that and he also knows that if he had to wait till

these jeevatmas say his nAma meditating on his roopam then he has to wait for

many many more jenmAs(births). He is so worried seeing these jeevans suffer in

samsara that he desperately wants to avail any small chance, to grant the jeevan

moksha and take this soul to his feet. Bhagavan nAma, roopa or guna all have

the same power. Each one can grant his feet without the help of the other. So

the nAma alone has the power to take the soul to the feet of emperuman. Roopa

dyanam is not a anga(part) of Bhagavan nAma keertanam.

 

 

 

But then one doubt may arise in all our minds. Then why do alwars and acharyas

say that we have to think about the lord and do nAma keertanam as andal says

“VayinAl pAdi manathinAl sindikka”. We will see why in the next posting.

 

 

 

AzhwAr emberumAnAr jeeyar thiruvadigaLE saraNam

 

Adiyen Ramanuja Dasyai

 

Sumithra Varadarajan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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