Thirumaalai-20

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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,

 

 

Paasuram-7

 

 

“pulayara mAgi nindra puththodu samanamellAm

 

kalaiarak kattra mAndar kAnbarO kEtparO tham?

 

thalaiaruppundum sAkEn sattiyam kAnmin aiya!

 

SilaiyinAl ellangai settra dEvanE dEvanAvAn”.

 

 

 

In this paasuram, alwar condemns some philosophies(Buddhism, Jainism etc), which

do not accept the sastra pramAnams and give their own conclusions. These

philosophies were highly accepted by masses in alwar’s time, though now they

have been abandoned by many due to the illogical preachings in them. Actually

there are three types of pramAnAs, namely pratyaksham, anumAnam and

sabhdam(Vedas). Many things cannot be seen and understood (pratyaksham) so we

assume things(anumAnam) but then all assumptions are not always correct so we

try to understand using standard theories given by great scholars. These

theories in philosophy are called as sastras which were given by

abhiyukthargal(Apthargal). Abhiyukthargal are the rishis who showed us the

right path just for our benefit. Vedas were not written by any person

(apourusheyam). The rishis who had great knowledge, compared to all of us, got

the Vedas by their meditation and gave it to us. They do not gain anything by

this but they have done this solely for our upliftment. But the Buddhist and

the jains do not accept these sastra pramAnams, instead they preach whatever

came to their minds without proper analysis. Saint veda vyAsa says “VedAth

shastram param nAsti nadaivam kesavAth param”(there is nothing superior to the

Vedas and there is no god superior to kesavan). So in this paasuram alwar

condems the illogical thinking of the other philosophies.

 

 

 

Sri PVP in his vyakhyAnam first gives a jist of what a bhowdan and a samanan

preaches. One says that there is only inner self and there is no outer space.

The inner self(Atma) assumes the other outer appearances. Another says that

only outer space is true and rest false. Another says that both are true. Then

comes the fourth bhowdan who says all are only illusions. The world started

from shoonyam(zero) and will end with the same. Hearing to all these different

philosophy now came the jains who said, some say asti(present-mimansakan) and

some say nAsti(not present-bhowdan) but the actual is it can be either asti or

nAsti or astinAsti. The samana matham never came to a conclusion it says it can

be this or that and accepts both. They have seven different approaches called

the saptha kAdhai. These people spoil the whole masses. They preach to people

that only when they leave their family and friends and run to forest they will

attain mahA nirvAnam. The jains preach ahimsa to an extent no human can follow.

They inturn do himsa to their own self. They say all the sins can be washed off

by giving themselves Athma dandanai. So they lie on a heated rock in peak

summer with bare body. In winter they stay in ice cold water and so on. These

are all considered as punishments to wash their sins so far. But such

punishments are no where mentioned in the sastras. Our rishis have given

prayaschitta kAndA according to the shastras. Only those have the power to wash

our sins. Anything we do according to our wish how much ever harsh the

punishment may be will not wash our sins. Even she Krishna in BG says,

“ashAstra vihitham goram”. So no thyagam or punishment against shastras will

remove our papams. That is why alwar says “pulayara mAgi nindra puththodu

samanamellam”.

 

 

 

kalaiarak kattra mAndar kAnbarO kEtparO tham?: Will the scholars who are well

versed in sastras, and devoid of any confusion about the basics of our

philosophy ever listen to the illogical propagations of the cheap philosophies

like buddism and Jainism? The person who is preaching the other philosophies

can be great vairakhya purushas or great mahans but then a person who has

obtained knowledge through shrutis and smritis can never listen to them or even

stand seeing them preach it to others. Our scholars even if they are paid for

It will not prefer to go through the preachings of the other illogical

philosophies, which teach against the Vedas and bhagavan.

 

 

 

thalaiaruppundum sAkEn sattiyam kAnmin aiya!: Till now alwar explained the

philosophical difference between the vaishnava matham and the other Buddhist and

jains and he said since the others do not accept the sastra pramAnas they are

not valid. But seeing that people never listen to his words now he wants to

prove it by a challenge. He says to the other philosophers, “Now Iam ready, you

chop of my head but I will not die since my god will come and protect me. But

then if I chop yours who will come to help you since you don’t believe in the

existence of god itself”. Now we may feel why alwar is so confident that

emperuman will come to his rescue. Sri PVP now brings to our memory the various

instances when emperuman came running to the rescue of his bhakthas and hence

alwar confirms and says sattiyam kAnmin.

 

Everyone including the devatas were afraid of hiranyan and hence never talked

against him. But then the small boy prahalada challenged his own father. When

his father asked if emperuman was there in the pillar showed by him, prahalada

without hesitation replied “engum vulam kannan”(emperuman is present in all

places) “Thoonilum erruppAn thurumbilum erruppAn”. When hiranyan kicked the

pillar then to make prahlAdA’s words true(sathyam vijathum nijabrithya

bhAshitham) Sri Narasimhan appeared immediately from the pillar(“angu appozhudhe

thondriya en singa pirAn perumai”). Similarly alwar believes that emperuman

will surely come to his rescue also. Only the mahAvishvasam that emperuman

will surely save us is necessary if that is there is will surely come. He came

running to the call of even an elephant(gajendrazhvan). In bhAgavatam there is

another story. Bharata yogeeshwaran was a great jnani. Once some tribal people

dragged him to a kali temple to give nara bali. He considered everything to be

vAsudEva svaroopam and hence thought the people, the knife etc all to be

emperuman himself and hence kept quiet. When they poured water on him and did

alangaram he was with the same smile and when they were going to cut him down

also he was with the same bright face. He didn’t show any sort of worry or

fear. But then the kali became angry and couldn’t stand people torturing such a

bhAgavatan and she killed all those tribal people and saved bharatan. When kali

one of the devatas under emperuman couldn’t stand people chopping the head of a

bhAgavatan can emperuman keep quiet if alwar cuts his own head, will he not come

to his rescue?

 

 

 

In our guru paramparai there is one more Ithihyam. One shisya of Sri Ramanujar

called dhanur dAsar used to go in front of Namperumal with a sword in hand

during each purappadu. Being a bhAgavatan why does he go in front with a sword?

When people asked him he replied, “that is because of the fear that some harm

will come to Namperumal”. So the people thought that he is carrying it to

protect namperumal from the people who are coming to harm him but then dAsar

continued saying, “No, I cannot save namperumal but if a case comes when there

is going to be a harm to namperumal I will kill my self”. But since namperumal

is having a great love to dAsar he will never put him into danger and hence will

protect himself. So emperuman cares more for his bhakthas than for himself.

So emperuman doesn’t care if people talk ill of him but then since alwar has

made the challenge he will surely save alwar and maintain the vaishnava

philosophy.

 

 

 

SilaiyinAl ellangai settra dEvanE dEvanAvAn”: Now alwar has proved that the

other philosophies are not valid and only his perumal will come to rescue in any

crisis. Who is that perumal? The one who took avatAram as rAma and won over

lanka with his bow and arrow is the only god. Alwar says, dEvanE dEvanAvAn

there may be number of devatas but the superior god is none other than

chakravarthi thirumagan. The other devatas are part of his body.

 

 

 

 

 

AzhwAr emberumAnAr jeeyar thiruvadigaLE saraNam

 

Adiyen Ramanuja Dasyai

 

Sumithra Varadarajan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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