Thirumaalai-56

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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-37

 

 

“thelivilA kalangal neer soozh thiruvarangaththulOngum

 

oliyulAr thAmE andrE thandhaiyum thAyum AvAr

 

eliyathOr arulum andrE en thiraththu empirAnAr

 

aliyan nam paiyal ennAr ammavO! kodiyavArE!”

 

 

 

thelivilA kalangal neer soozh thiruvarangaththulOngum: Emperuman who lay amidst

the pralaya water like a small baby now lies in Srirangam. In Srirangam he

lies, with kAveri on all his sides, surrounding him like a garland. Here alwar

says, kaveri is not clear but the water in kAveri is unclear(confused).

Generelly, ponni, kAveri’s water is saffron in color. Even if we wash our

clothes in this water some sort of kAvi (saffron color) gets settled in our

clothes. This is because different river waters have different metal contents

and kAveri has iron content in it. Usually TulA kAveri(water during the Tula

month) is the most dirty.

 

 

 

Andal in ThiruppAvai says “Tooyapperuneer yamunai” and celebrates yamunai to be

crystal clear but here alwar says kAveri to be unclear and to be confused. Then

doesn’t Yamuna get greater importance than kAveri? No explains Sri PVP.

 

 

 

A bhakthan is never clear. He is not in a state of steadiness before and after

having darshan of emperuman. Before having bhagavat darishan the eyes of the

bhakthan is filled with tears due to the sorrow of Krishna viraham(separation

from the lord). Ok then won’t he feel happy while seeing perumal? While seeing

perumal all his sins and perumals magimai comes to his memory and makes him

lament his mistakes, then when the time comes for him to leave, then again he

starts crying thinking about the trouble of separation he has already

experienced. So a bhakthan is always in the state of unsteady mind (sorrow and

confusion) even though he enjoys the ectasy of bhagavat krupai and gunAnubavam

in between.

 

 

 

Mother kAveri is one of the greatest bhakthais of Ranganatha. Until she reaches

Srirangam she flows as a thin line, like a virgin approaching her beloved. When

she reaches ranganatha she is extremely happy and flows with great vigour but

then when she leaves Srirangam she again leaves with a great amount of sorrow

and hence she is not clear but mixed up. So though kAveri is “thelivilA

kalangal neer” still she is even more sacred than ganga. What an extra ordinary

explanation. If there wasn’t one PVP then we would have never understood

alwar’s thiruvullam(heart).

 

 

 

oliyulAr thAmE andrE thandhaiyum thAyum AvAr: Emperuman has his special charm

and brightness. It is more prominent in his archAvatArams which are the

‘ellainilam of sowlabhyam’(the most prominent place where his kalyana guna,

sowlabhyam is clearly seen). He is our Athma bandhu. Sastras say, “mAtru DevO

bhava; Pitru dEvO bhava;” etc but in our sampradayam, thirumangai alwar calls

even father and mother to be a disease, if they are against bhagavat kainkaryam

(“thAyE thandhai endrum thAramE kilai makkalendrum nOyE pattu ozhindhEn”). One

doubt may arise then are the alwars talking against the sastras?

 

 

 

No not at all. These are two different things. What the sastras say is sAmanya

dharmam. Any son or daughter has to consider their father or mother to be equal

to god and do kainkaryam to them. This is their duty for what all their parents

and teachers have given them. But when the same parent or teacher goes against

the bhAgavata dharmam then they are supposed to be regarded as disease.

According to bhAgavata dharmam our prime duty is to do kainkaryam to our Athma

bhandhu emperuman. These relatives or parents are temporary and stay only for

this janma as our father or mother. But one father and mother are permanent how

many ever janmAs we may take. So is it not important to give that permanent

bandhus the prime importance and do kainkaryam to them at all times and all

places? If the sareera bandhus help us out (anukoolars) for bhagavat kainkaryam

then they also become part of the bhAgavata kudumbam(family) and hence can be

considered our athma bandhus . Thirumangai alwar surrenders to thiruvEngada

mudaiyan saying that he has shed all other sareera bandhus and now is waiting

only for bhagavat kainkaryam. Here thondaradi podi alwar also says the same

thing that emperuman is everything for him.

 

 

 

In Ramayana, lakshmana showed the same dharmam. He left his father, mother and

wife and followed perumal and piratti to the forest considering them to be his

parents and everything. But lakshmana was indeed blessed with a great mother

who advised him saying, “rAmam dasaradham viddhi mAm viddhi janakAthmaja ayOdhya

matareem viddhi kachchdham yathA sukam” Oh! Lakshmana don’t make the mistake of

staying in ayodhya thinking it is your duty to take care of your parents and the

kingdom. Consider perumal to be equal to dasarathan and piratti to be myself

and the forest in which they live to be ayodhya and do kainkaryam to them, which

is the purpose of your birth.

 

 

 

What a great mother she was? Can a mother send her son to forest just like

that? This is bhAgavata dharmam. BhAgavatas can sacrifice anything for the

sake of bhagavat/bhAgavata kainkaryam.

 

 

 

(To be continued)

 

 

 

AzhwAr emberumAnAr jeeyar thiruvadigaLE saraNam

 

Adiyen Ramanuja Dasyai

 

Sumithra Varadarajan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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