The Sunny Azhwar

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Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

 

 

 

The Sunny Azhwar

 

 

 

The importance of Sri Nammazhwar to our Sampradaya cannot be captured

in words. The very fact that his magnum opus, Tiruvaimozhi, is reverentially

called "Bhagavat Vishayam" is ample testimony to its magnificence. He is

accepted as the moola purusha or "kootasttha" of the entire clan of surrendered

souls ("Prapanna jana kootasttha:") and a standing example to the Srivaishnavite

maxim that at the rarefied heights of bhakti, differences occasioned by caste,

race etc. matter little. It is also a testimony to the liberal outlook of our

much-maligned Sampradaya, that it has accorded a lofty pedestal to a true bhakta

beyond compare, disregarding considerations of birth, caste, etc. Not only is

Sri Satakopa Muni considered to be our spiritual leader, but other Azhwars,

notwithstanding their lofty birth, are held to be adjuncts of the former. His

outpourings occasioned by matchless devotion are accorded the same elevated

status ("DrAvida VEda SAgaram") as the Shruti, which is held to be the PramANam

par excellence. While other Azhwars travelled thousands of miles over hill and

dale to have a dharshan of the Lord at various divyadesams, Sri Nammazhwar did

not leave the tamarind tree where he was born, the Emperumans of various

divyadesams queuing up at ThirukkurugUr, beseeching Azhwar for a pasuram in

their praise. In contrast to other Azhwars, this exalted example of unparalleled

devotion did not waste even a moment in mundane activities and led a short but

sweet life solely devoted to meditation on the Lord and His auspicious

attributes- so much so that he neither ate nor drank, preferring to substitute

all worldly activity by Bhagavat anubhavam, as reflected by his immortal words,

"uNNum sOru, parugum neer, tinnum vettrilai yAvum Kannan Emperuman". The Lord

may boast of a SahasranAmam in His praise, but there is no devotee, other than

Sri KArimAran,

 

who has been adorned with a thousand slokas, that too by an Acharya of the

calibre of Swami Desikan, in the guise of praising the holy sandals of Sri

Rangaraja. It is only Tiruvaimozhi which can boast of two distinguished mothers-

 

Sri Satakopa Muni, who begot it and Sri Ramanuja, who contributed to its spread

and glory, with deep devotion ("eendra mudal tAi Satakopan, moimbAl vaLarttha

ida tAi irAmAnusan"). Again, it is only Tiruvaimozhi which can boast of a

plethora of rich commentaries by several distinguished Acharyas-Sri Tirukkurugai

Piran Pillan, Sri Nanjeeyar, Sri Periavacchan Pillai, Sri Nampillai, Swami

Desikan, Sri SAkshAt Swami, Sri Parakala Swamy etc.

 

 

 

Though all Acharyas, without exception, have paid handsome tribute to Sri

Nammazhwar in recognition of his unrivalled contribution, there is one sloka in

particular, attributed to Sri Nathamuni, which speaks volumes about the Azhwar's

greatness-

 

 

 

"Yat gO sahasram apahanti tamAmsi pumsAm

 

NarayanO vasati yatra sashankha chakra:

 

Yan mandalam Shrutigatam praNamanti viprA:

 

Tasmai namO VakuLabhooshaNa BhAskarAya"

 

 

 

In this beautiful tribute, Sri NathamunigaL likens Sri Nammazhwar to the Sun.

Rather than a word-for-word translation of the sloka, the following analysis of

the similarities between the Lord of the Skies and the Lord of the PrapannAs

would make more interesting reading.

 

 

 

1. The Sun generates thousands of rays, each travelling millions of miles

to light up the earth. Similarly, Azhwar'd outpourings consist of a thousand and

odd pasurams and thousands of nectarine words dripping with devotion.

 

 

 

2. The Sun fills the earth with precious light, but for which the world

would wallow forever in benumbing gloom. Likewise, Azhwar's pasurams, by holding

forth the luminous lamp of knowledge, banish the darkness of ignorance from our

souls.

 

 

 

3. The Sun is touted to be the abode of the Paramapurusha. Numerous Shruti

vAkyAs can be found, giving the Lord's address as the centre of the Solar

System-"ya EshOntarAdityE Hiranmaya: purusha:", "SayaschAyam PurushE,

eschAsAvAditye, sa Eka:". The Smrti too confirms this-"DhyEya: sadA Savithru

mandala madhyavarti Narayana:"

 

 

 

More than the Sun, it is in Sri Nammazhwar that the Lord resides with delight,

as Azhwar himself confirms more than once-

 

"Tirumalirumsolai endrEn, enna, Tirumal vandu en nenju niraya pugundAn".

Further, Azhwar furnishes a graphic description of the magnificent tirumEni with

which the Lord resides forever in Azhwar-

 

 

 

"KaNgaL sivandu periavAi, vAyum sivandu kanindu, uLLE

 

veN pal ilagu sudar ilagu vilagu makara kundalatthan

 

KoNdal vaNNan sudar mudian nAngu tOLan kuni SArngan

 

ON sangu gadai vAL AzhiyAn oruvan adiyEn uLLAnE"

 

 

 

Emperuman inhabits Azhwar's soul as antaryAmi. And even in the rather cramped

space available to Him, He manages to retain all His magnificent and matchless

adornments and weapons and is resplendent with the beautiful white Conch, the

dazzling Divine Discus, the Mace, the long bow which has been the nemesis of

brave warriors like Ravana, etc. Azhwar is able to perceive vividly in his

mind's eye the towering tenant with the large, beautiful lotus-like eyes, lips

resembling a dark red fruit, dazzling white teeth, a magnificent and tall

headgear indicative of His supremacy, attractive ears adorned by fish-shaped

earrings and with a complexion akin to dark, rain-bearing clouds. There is thus

no doubt that Azhwar's tirumeni and soul are places of preferred residence for

the Paramapurusha.

 

 

 

4. The Sun (or the Lord residing in the luminous orb) is the object of

worship for all on earth. It is the Sun to whom prayers are addressed by

everyone thrice a day during Sandhyavandanam. Right from the brahmachAri to the

enlightened Maharshis pay obeisance to the Sun. Sri Nammazhwar is similarly

adored and adulated by one and all, from exalted Acharyas like Sri Bhashyakara

and Swami Desikan right down to the unlettered devotee, as the "Prapanna jana

kootasttha", as the Satakopa Muni for whom the glorious Lord was mother, father,

wife, children and coveted wealth all rolled into one ("MAtA, PitA, yuvataya:

tanayA vibhooti: sarvam yadEva niyamEna madanvayAnAm").

 

 

 

5. It is the Sun which makes the lotus bloom. The lotus is like a chaste

lady who is gladdened only by the presence of her husband. No amount of heat,

other than the Sun's, can make the flower open its petals. Sri Kulasekhara

Perumal attests to this-"Sen thazhalE vandu azhalai seididinum senkamalam

antaram sEr vem kadirOrkku allAl alarAvAl". Likewise, Sri Nammazhwar too makes

the lotus of our soul bloom with divine wisdom, through the enlightening

Tiruvaimozhi and other prabandas. Since he himself has been blessed with

blemishless wisdom, Azhwar is able to impart enlightenment, eradicate the gloom

of ignorance and restore to the soul its original attribute of boundless wisdom,

which was hitherto clouded due to enshackling Karma.

 

 

 

Looked at in a different way, Sri Nammazhwar, through his immeasurably sweet

pasurams, makes the lotus eyes of the Lord bloom with delight.

 

 

 

6. The Sun is the crowning centrepiece of the Solar System, with all other

planets orbiting around the luminous Master, conceding supremacy and importance.

There are some planets like the Moon, whose glory is a reflected one, borrowed

from the Sun. Similarly, among the elite group of the Lord's devotees, Sri

Nammazhwar glows as the luminous, Sun-like centrepiece in a gem-studded garland.

It is an accepted tenet of our Sampradaya that Sri Nammazhwar is the "angi" and

all other Azhwars "angAs", attesting to the primacy accorded to this scion of

TirukkurugUr. It is said, for instance, that Sri Parakala's prabandas are but an

expansion and reiteration of Sri Nammazhwar's outpourings.

 

 

 

7. The Sun absorbs salty water from the seas through the process of

evaporation and causes precipitation in needy areas, providing people with

life-giving water. Sri Satakopa Muni too imbibed the entire expanse of

difficult-to-comprehend Shruti and blessed us all with the quintessence of Veda

and Vedanta in the form of easily comprehensible, incredibly sweet Tiruvaimozhi

pasurams. It is for this immeasurable contribution that the Azhwar is acclaimed

as "Vedam Tamizh seida MAran Satakopan", "eidarkku ariya maraigaLai Ayiram

intamizhAl seidarkku ulagil varum Satakopan", etc. Swami Desikan records this

with gratitude in Sri Guruparamparasaram thus-"Samudra jalatthai vAngi

sarvOpajeevyamAna taNNeerAga umizhumA pole, VEdArtthangaLil sAratama amsatthai

sarvarukkum adhikarikkavalla bhAshaiyAlE sangrahitthu kAtti". The

immeasurable aid these pasurams are of in interpreting the intricate purport of

the Shruti is brought out by the same Acharya thus-"Seyya Tamizh mAlaigaL nAm

teLiya Odi, teLiyAda marai nilangaL teLigindrOmE".

 

 

 

However, as Azhwar himself says in relation to the Lord, though we might hold up

several worldly things as examples of the Lord's glory, they can at best be

indicative illustrations and can never hope to fully reflect Emperuman's

magnificence-"otturaitthu ivvulagu unnai pugazhvellAm perumpAlum

patturaiyAi purkkendrE kAttumAl ParanjOthI". Similarly,

comparing Azhwar to the Sun would give us only a glimmering of the former's

greatness and can never serve as a comprehensive comparison. For instance, among

all the points of similarity, we are also able to observe several

dissimilarities-

 

The Sun offers suffers eclipses and is often masked by dark clouds. However,

Azhwar's glory can never be hidden and always shines forth through his immortal

compositions.

 

The Sun performs his duty of illuminating the world due to fear of the Lord, who

is a hard task master-"bheeshOdEti Soorya:" says the Upanishad. Azhwar's

kainkaryam and outpourings, on the other hand, are prompted by an overwhelming

love and affection for Emperuman and are a result of "anubhava janita preeti",

adoration born out of extremely sublime experience of divinity in all its

facets.

 

The Sun is but a jeevatma like us, albeit an exalted one, whereas Azhwar is a

nitya sUri or a permanent resident of Sri Vaikunatam, sent down to the mundane

worlds for the express purpose of reforming errant humanity, a task at which the

Lord Himself, despite numerous avataras, admitted defeat.

 

 

 

The Acharya Hridayam too follows in the footsteps of Sri Nathamuni in ascribing

to Sri Nammazhwar the glory of destroying internal gloom and drying up the Sea

of Samsara, a feat which could not be achieved by the Sun, as also by Sri Rama

who took birth in the Sun's own dynasty (Ravi kulam) -

 

 

 

" Aditya Rama DivAkara Achyuta BhAnukkaLukku pOgAda uLLiruL neengi sOshiyAda

piravikkadal vattri vikasiyAda pOdil kamalam malarndadu VakuLa BhooshaNa

Bhaskara udayatthilE"

 

 

 

"Yasya SArasvatam srOtO VakuLAmOda vAsinam

 

ShrutInAm vishramaAyAlam ShathArim tam upAsmahE".

 

 

 

Srimate Sri LakshmINrsimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana

Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

 

Dasan, sadagopan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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