PeriyAzhwAr's ThiruppallaNDU Paasurams: Part III( Three other Commentator's avathArikais)

[Guest guest]

Dear BhakthAs :

 

Let us cover all the other three remaining avathArikais

(introductions) by the three commentators in today's posting .

 

Srimath Periya ParakAla Swamy 's AvathArikai

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Sriya: Pathi , Sarveswaran thought of chEthanams

learning about the Tatthva Thrayams and ArTa

Panchakam to redeem themselves and thereby gain Moksha

Siddhi. Many from the group of chEthanams did not

take notice of these tatthvams . Sriman NaarAyaNan

then incarnated as Raama and KrishNa to demonstrate

to them the ways of observing Dharmaa through Their

own updesams enshrined in Bhagavath Gita and Srimath RaamAyaNam .Those

Svasookthis and SvAnushtAnams

of the Lord in Vibhava avathArams did not have much

impact either in the Kali yugam . Our Lord finally decided that

the way to redeem these bhaddha jeevans is through

sending some one of their own kind ( human beings/

SajaatheeyAs) just like the hunter uses an elephant

to catch an elephant . He commanded His nithya sooris

to decend to earth as AzhwArs and commanded them

to help with the redemption of the lost souls struggling in

the SamsAric Ocean .

 

PeriyAzhwAr's avathAram

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Among the AzhwArs , PeriyAzhwAr is one , who was born

as the amsam of Garudan .We salute him as : " Garuthmadamsam

svsuram MurArE: Sri VishNuchittham SaraNam prapadhyE " .

He was born in SrivilliputthUr , where the EmperumAn

(VaDapathra Saayee ) made VishNuchitthar become a slave

to His soundharyam and auspicious attributes . VishNuchitthar

served His Lord with flower garland kaimkaryam there .

He did not undergo any special training to learn the VedAs

or the SaashtrAs .

 

The Debate at the Royal Court

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During this time , the PaaNDya King was worried about

his own Moksha gathy ( way to gain MOksham) and asked

his purOhithar , Selva Nampi for help .Selva Nampi suggested

that the king organize an assembly of scholars to establish

who is the Supreme ( Para DEvathai) One among the gods ,

who alone can gurantee MOksha phalan . A big prize was

set up for the one scholar , who established without doubt

the Supreme Lord , who can confer the boon of Moksham.

A bag with gold coins was hoisted in the court of the king

and it was decided that the winner will have the prize deflected

in his direction . When no one succeded , the prize stayed up .

Many scholars came and went but could not however win

the prize with their arguments .

 

The Lord's command to VishNuchitthar

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At this time , VishNuchittar at SrivilliputthUr had a dream ,

where Lord Vadapathra Saayee commanded him to go to the king's

court and establish His ( Lord's ) Parathvam and bring home

the prize. VishNuchitthar showed his welted hands from

nandavana kaimkaryam and asked the Lord as how he as an untutored one and a

laborer in the flower gardens can talk

about the Vedams and Saasthrams and dare to argue and hope

to win among the assembly of great scholars. Lord told

VishNuchitthar to go to the court without any worry and that

He alone will be responsible for Veda VidhyA kaaryam without any previous

formal instruction under any other AchAryan . VishNuchitthar arrived at the

royal court and was greeted warmly

by the king and his teacher , Selva Nampi.

 

Empowered by the Lord , VishNuchitthar cogently and convicigly

established the Supermacy of Sriman NaarAyaNan over all gods

with PramANams from many VedAntha Vaakyams. At the conclusion

of his presentation , the bag of prize hanging high on a pole lowered

by itself and fell at the feet of VishNuchitthar .

 

King's celebration of the Victory of VishNuchitthar

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The elated king placed the victorious VishNuchitthar on

the royal elephant and took him around the main streets of

Mathurai . Sriman NaarAyaNan wanted to see the victorious

VishNuchitthar being honored and appeared in person onthe sky

seated on the back of Garudan and with His Devis . All the astounded people

of the town and the king were all thus blessed to see

the Lord in person at the sky with their own maamsa chakshus .

 

When VishNuchitthar had the sevai of Sriman NaarAyaNan , he

was overwhelmed . Instead of seeking boons from the Lord for

Svasamruddhi (his own well being ) , he was overcome by the fear

that the evil eye from the ill wishers of the Lord might harm the Lord and

began to sing ThiruppallANDu for His protection and wished hundreds of

thousands of years of long life to the omnipotent Lord .VishNuchitthar's

overflowing prEmai for the Lord overtook him and made him forget that it was

ludicurous for a mere mortal like him to bless the Lord with long life .

Because of VishNuchitthar's unique love for the Lord that made him forget

about himself , he came to be known as PeriyAzhwAr (most magnificent ) among

all the AzhwArs.

 

This experience of PeriyAzhwAr is equal to the anubhavam of SitA PirAtti

when she performed MangaLAsAsanam for Her Lord . Out of Her intense love

fort he Lord , She assumed the Rakshaka bhAvam ( protector) and related to

Him as the one to be protected(Rakshya BhAvam) . It was equal to Devaki

performing MangaLa aaseervAdhams to her just born child with Chakram and

sankham in KamsA's prison . It was similar to the rishis of DaNDakAraNyam

who hailed long life to BhagavAn , when they were overtaken by His beauty

and GuNams . Instead of asking boons from the omnipotent Lord for their own

protection , they ended up in the role of His Rakshakars.

 

PeriyAzhwAr's fear arose from the concern that ParamAthmA ,

who is beyond the rules of Kaalam became visible to the residents of BhUmi ,

where every thing is controlled rigorously by the measures of Kaalam

(Cycles of births and deaths) . AzhwAr feared for that eternal vasthu

( ParamAthmA) to be affected by the transitory events of the earth

and thus run in harm's way . Hence , AzhwAr sang out : "Hail to Thee

for many years , thousands and crores of years so that Bhagavath

samruddhi will stay eternal. He considered in the heat of that moment

that Bhagavath samruddhi (well being ) is same as his own well being

(Sva samrudhdi) and broke into the MangaLAsAsanam of the Lord ,

His DEvis and His weapons . He invited others to join him in that

unique benediction. AzhwAr certainly knew about his own svaroopam

( true nature) and that the Lord's Para Svaroopam ( the Supermacy of

the Lord ) and yet was overcome with fear about any haani for the Lord

and as ParihAram agaist that sang the ThiruppallANDu Pasurams .

Instead of assuming the rakshya bhAvam , AzhwAr entered into Rakshaka

BhAvam praying for the protection of the Lord . His twelve ThiruppallANDu

paasurams like PraNavam contained in themselves enormous TatthvArTams.

They celebrate the Svaroopa-Roopa-GuNa-Vibhava Isvaryams and prays for

freedom from any harm to them in this "wicked " world and for all of those

Isvaryams to stay as eternal wealth without any destruction .

 

In the first two Paasurams , AzhwAr performs his own MangaLa

aasAsanam.Not being satisfied with that , AzhwAr invites in

the next three paasurams the three categories of people to join him

in that MangaLa aasAsanam : Bhagavath SaraNArTees , kEvalar , who

seek only aathma saakshAthkAram and IswaryArTees , who only

seek material pleasures . In the next three paasurams , the invited ones

join with the AzhwAr ( AahUthars become sangathars). In the subsequent

three paasurams , all of them hail the Lord in unison with PallANDu.

The final paasuram is the Phala Sruthi.

 

In the subsequent postings , adiyEn will cover the individual Paasurams of

ThiruppallANDu Prabhandham .

 

PeriyAzhwAr ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam ,

ThUppul KulatthadiyArkaL adiyAr poRRp-padham pORRi

Daasan , Oppiliappan KOil VaradAchAri Sadagopan