twam me aham me

[Guest guest]

Shri Venkata Ramanan wrote:

"tvam me aham me" is the beginning of a very beautiful sloka composed by

Parasara Bhattar, and is popularly known as the Tirumanjanam sloka ,if

iam not mistaken . Could somebody please give me the entire slokam(with

the meanings if possible).

Sri Sadagopan had published this in Bhakti-List in November '98; it is

reproduced below:

Dasan

Krishnaswamy

 

http://www.ramanuja.org/sv/bhakti/archives/nov98/0030.html

tvam mE aham mE kuthastath tadhapi kutha

idham vEdamUla pramANAth

yEthaccha aNAdhisiddhAth anubhava vibhavAth

tarhi sAkrOsa yEva I

kvAkrOsa: kasya GithAdheeshu mama vidhitha:

kOathra sAkshee sudhee syAth

hantha tvath pakshapAthee sa ithi nrukalahE

mrugyamadhyasThavath tvam II

 

( This passage is from the Thirumanjanak Kattiyam

of ParAsara Bhattar for Sri RanganAthA . This is

the first of the stray verses of his Kattiyam

sung in front of Sri RangarAjA during His

Thirumanjanam even today . This is in the form

of a captivating dialog between a stubborn chethanam

and its Master, the Lord Himself .

 

The Lord of Srirangam notices the "impunity and

stubbornness " of the Jeevan , which considers itself

to be a svathanthra purushan . The Lord in wet clothes

from His just begun Thirumanjanam reminds the argumentative

Jeevan that it is not independent and it is His property

as attested by VedAs , GitA and men of wisdom . The Jeevan

disagrees with the Lord wearing a TuLasi garland on His

wet body . ParAsara Bhattar reminds us that the situation

of the Lord proving His claim over His Lordship over

the protsting and deluded Jeevan is like practise of

DivyA referred to in smr*ithi texts . Divya practise

relates to taking an oath to give testimony . To prove

the ancient sesha-Seshi relationship between the Jeevan

and the Lord , Parasara Bhattar constructed this wonderful,

imaginary dialog :

 

Lord : tvam mE ( You are Mine ; I own You ).

 

Jeevan : aham mE ( No, I belong to myself; I am independent)

 

Lord : Kuthas tath? (No, How could that be possible ?)

 

Jeeavn :Tadhapi kutha: ? ( How about Your own claim ? )

 

Lord: idham vEda moola pramANAth ( My claim is based on

the authority of the VedAs )

 

Jeevan : yEthacchAnaAdhi siddhAth anubhava vibhavAth

( My position however is based on my own experience ,

which is " beginnigless in nature").

 

Lord : Tarhi SaakrOsa yEva( But that position of yours

has alrady been repudiated )

 

Jeevan : KaakrOsa: kasya ? ( where and by whom was

this repudiated ? )

 

Lord: GitAdheeshu mama vidhitha: ( By Me , ofcourse !

I repudiated it clearly in GitA )

 

Jeevan: kOathra Saakshi: ? ( Pray , who is the witenss

for Your repudiation in GitA ? )

 

Lord: Sudhee: syAth ( A man of wisdom and clear mind)

 

Jeevan :Hantha, tvath pakshapaadheesa ( Well , well!

Then Your wise man is partial to You ).

 

Lord's above conversation with the deluded soul

reminding of its eternal sesha realtionship (servitude)

to the Lord is to be remembered by us during

the Thirumanjanam . He is attesting to that sacred

truth with wet cloth and Tulasi garland .