"uttaman pEr pAdi": The Names, the Named and the Namer

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Dear friends,

 

The 3rd "pAsuram" in the "tiruppAvai" is an all-time classic in the

history of Tamil devotional literature. It is a poetic gem, a

scintilla of Upanishadic wisdom. It is simply incomparable.

 

A galaxy of scholars and SriVaishnava exponents have analyzed this

stanza thread-bare. But the verse itself has lost none of its

original appeal. Neither time nor custom (nor the unrelenting

scrutiny of "vyAkhyAna-kArtA-s", past and present) has rendered this

"pAsuram" stale. The stanza continues to excite and delight, without

abatement, everyone who recites it and/or listens to it -- year after

year, "mArgazhi" after "mArgazhi", again, again and again:

 

"Ongi ullagaLandha uttaman pEr pAdi…"

nAngal nam pavaikku sAtri neeradinAl

teenginri nAdellAm tingaL mummAri peyydu

Ongu perun sennaloodu kazhayUgaLa

poongu vaLai pOdhil pori vandu kan paduppa

tEngadhey pukkirunthu seetra mullai patri vAnga

kudam niraikkum vallal perum passukkal

neengAtha selvam niraindu elor embAvAy !

 

This stanza is a rich poetic documentary. It conjures up a vision of

a lush, picturesque countryside blessed with copious rains, where

healthy cows graze upon rich pasture. It is a land filled with

proverbial milk and honey. And the phrase "pEr pAdi" refers to the

heightened joy of "singing the glory of God's names" in a land of

such serene and universal prosperity. The phrase "neengAtha selvam",

meaning "eternal wealth", is AndAl's magnificent metaphor for the

ultimate goal of life -- "parama-nissrEyasam" or "aiswaryam" viz. the

undiminished wealth awaiting Man in the province of God.

 

The sum and substance of this verse lies in the truth that the

"divya-nAmA-s" of God, His divine Names, are a sure means of securing

for us not only material well-being on this earth -- "kudam

niraikkum perum-passukkaL" -- but also "neengAtha-selvam", the

unfading riches of the world beyond.

 

******** ********* ************

 

The expression "uttaman pEr pAdi" is a particularly beautiful one in

this "pAsuram". Great commentators like PeriavAchAn Pillai have

analyzed and commented upon this phrase with elan and eloquence. Let

us too try and savour at least a bit of the immense delight they

derived in their own 'anubhavam' of it.

 

The word "utthaman" is a reference to "utthama-purusha" or

"pUrUshOttaman" which is a special name of Vishnu, the Supreme

"pUrUsha" or Being, in His avatar as Lord Narasimha:

 

"nArasimha-vapuH srImAn kEsavah: purushOtamah: ..."

 

(Vishnu Sahasranamam)

 

Now, what does "uttaman" mean?

 

In this world, it is said humans fall into 4 categories:

 

(1) The first is called "atamatthamann". These folks are thankfully a

minority but they are a terrible and dangerous variety. These people

return not only "evil for evil" (in the spirit of "tit-for-tat") but

think nothing of returning evil for the good also done to them by

others.

 

(2) The second category is "atthamann". These folks are the parasites

of the world. They eke out a living by living off others in society.

They take everything from other people but give no thought whatsoever

of giving something back to society.

 

(3) The third specie of men in this world is called "maddhimann".

These are basically good-natured but very, very self-centred folks

who live by the rule of "Live and let live". They want to live happy

and wish others also the same happiness -- but no more, no less.

 

(4) There is a fourth variety of men who are called "utthamann".

These are rare human beings. They live and work for the happiness of

larger humanity. Their chief concern in life is the well-being of

others around them -- even if is to be at their own cost.

 

One or more of the first 3 categories will admirably fit almost all

of mankind. But for God Almighty there is only one category that fits

perfectly; it is the fourth viz. "utthamann".

 

Although God is indeed an "utthaman", it is not, alas, given to

everyone to easily realize this great nature of His. How many of us

understand and rejoice in the fact that "Our Father who art in

Heaven" is a wonderful "utthamann"? Not many. But then it is not

impossible either to realize that God is indeed a true "utthaman".

How then, we may ask, is one to recognize the Almighty as an

"utthamann"? For that we turn to what Krishna said in the

Mahabharatha:

 

"guNAni mama nAmAni kIrti-tAnicha kanichit…"

(Santi Parva (342-10)

 

"My names are born of My qualities and activities".

 

Anyone who acquires knowledge of the divine "nAmA-s" of God, says

Krishna, easily acquires knowledge, firstly, of His activities and

exploits. Such knowledge, slowly but quite easily, next begets the

realization of God's true nature, his unique quality ("visEsha-gUNa")

as an "utthamann".

 

In the 'trivikrama' avatar ("Ongi ulagaLandha uttaman") God went to

all the trouble of striding across the world, placing His feet upon

all beings and things without exception. Every prince and peasant,

every rich and poor soul, every sage or fool, every sinner and saint

received in that one moment the Absolute Grace of God.

 

Similarly, in the "narasimha" avatAr, He gladly donned a hideous and

terrible form solely for the sake of a child.

 

Again,in the Krishna avatar, He stooped to all kinds of menial

errands in the service of the Pandavas -- He acted as charioteer in

war and bore the brunt of arrows flung at him by Bhishma and Drona;

He went to the court of Duryodhana as a mere emmissary of the

Pandavas; He patiently bore the invectives of SisupAlan; He broke His

word in order to enable Bhishma keep his; He spoke a hundred 'lies';

He twisted a hundred 'truths' and 'half-truths'; He even went to the

extent of turning day into dusk and then nightfall back into day; He

really "wheeled and dealed", as they say, he really did, our Lord

Krishna!

 

The "itihAsAs" tell us that God did all such things and much more in

various avatars. And it makes us ask,"For the sake of whom? For what

purpose?" For the sake of the welfare of all humanity, of course --

He had 'yOgakshEmam' in mind all the time. And this is exactly the

reason why the "tiruppAvai" does not stop at hailing Him as

"utthamann" but goes on to hail His "pEr" too... His divine names

too, since it is thanks to them alone that one is enabled to realize

the nature and qualities of the Supreme Brahman being, first and

foremost, an "utthamann", an "utthama-pUrUshan" and "pUrUshOttaman".

 

****** ******* *******

 

There is another good reason why ANdAl sang "utthaman pEr pAdi".

 

She knew well that the "pEr" or "divya-nAmA-s" of God were not given

Him by anybody other than Himself! The "pEr" of God, singly and

collectively, were themselves fit to be called "utthamam" because

they were all coined by the "utthaman" Himself! In other words, He

who had been given names, was Himself the author of such names! The

Named one who had been called 'Names' was Himself the Namer! Hence

AndAl's phrase, "utthamann pEr pAdi"!

 

Now, we may not properly or fully understand this apparent conundrum

but AndAl certainly knew what she was talking about because the

significance of her statement is based on the great Vedic saying:

 

"vEdAhamEtam pUruUsham mahAntam Adityavarnam tamasastu pArE I

sarvAni rupANi vichitya dheera: nAmAni krutvA bhivadan yadAstE" II

("purusha-suktam"-16)

 

"The Great Purusha, who after having created all forms in the

Universe also designated them by their names! After naming everything

the Purusha moveth about carrying on its great affairs of the world

with the help of names and speech!":

 

All Creation in the beginning was nameless, impersonal, inchoate,

disorderly and characterless. It was only after God, the "pUrUsha",

gave Creation its many forms and names that could everything be even

begun to be conceived -- and only then did Cosmic Order evolve out of

Cosmic Chaos, as it were!

 

Since the "pEr" of everything in this vast cosmos was first given by

that great "utthamann", that mighty "purushOttaman" spoken of by the

Veda, His own "nAmA-s" or God-given "pEr" also therefore qualified to

be described and hailed ("pAdi") as "utthamann pEr". Hence, it is

that in the "tiruppAvai" AndAl rightly said:

 

"Ongi ullagaLandha uttaman pEr pAdi…"

 

********* *********** ************

 

There is yet another reason why ANdAl used the phrase "uttaman pEr

pAdi".

 

The many "nAmA-s" or "pEr" of God, as we saw above, did not

materialize out of thin air nor were they fanciful inventions of some

poet or bard. The "divya-nAmA-s" that were all coined by the

"veda-pUrUsha" Himself were furthermore discovered by great and noble

"uttamAn-s". It is great "mahAtmA-s" and "rshi-s" who conveyed to us

the many stirring and beautiful "pEr-s" of God. This fact is attested

to by BhishmachArya in that singularly meaningful line in the

Vishnu-SahasranAmam:

 

"yAni nAmAni gauNani vikhyAtAni mahAtmanA:

rshibih: parigeetAni tAni vakshyAmi bhutayE"

 

Bhishma tells Yudhishtara: "I am sharing with you these well-known

'nAmA-s' of God which reveal His exquisite qualities and nature, and

which ancient "rshi-s", seers and sages of yore (i.e. "uttamAn-s")

celebrated".

 

Since it was "uttamAn-s", like "rshi-s", "mahAtmA-s" and Bhishma

himself, who discovered the divine "nAmA-s" of God (who as we saw

above, is Himself supreme "purushOttaman") AndAL's choice of the

expression, "uttaman pEr pAdi", could not be any apter.

 

********* *********** ***********

 

Vedantic philosophy states that the qualities of God (Brahman) are

inexhaustible excellence and immeasureable auspiciousness

("kalyANa-gunA")... They are infinitely more so ("ananta") than any

worldly thing or person. These qualities are so powerful and

irresistible as to arrest man's attention ("aakarshanam") and command

his adoration and utmost devotion (bhakti). Such divine qualities of

God are collectively known as "bhagavath-svarUpa-rupa-guNa-vibhava-

aiswaryam".

 

The great Vedantic 'AchAryA' of the 10th century CE, SriRamanujA, in

a passage of extraordinary, extemporaneous beauty recounted the

qualities of Supreme Brahman as follows:

 

"svABhAvikA-navaDhikAtishaya gnyAna-balaishwarya virya-shakti

tEjas-shousheelya vAtsalya mArdava aarjava sowhArda sAmya kAruNya

mAdhurya gaambheerya owdArya chAturya sthairya dhairya shourya

parAkrama satyakAma satya-sankalpa krititva kritagnyatAt-samkhyEya

kalyANa-gUNa-gaNOwGha-mahArNava!"

 

("saraNagati-gadyam")

 

"The attributes of God (kalyANa guNAs) are naturally endowed,; they

are unlimited, stupendous, excellent; they are GnyAnam, Bhalam,

Aishwaryam, Veeryam, sakthi, tEjas ( "shad-gunA", six qualities),

sowseelyam (pleasantness); vAtsalyam (affectionate); mArdhavam

(intimate); Arjavam (honest); sowhArtham (good-natured); sAmyam

(equitable); kAruNyam (compassionate); MAdhuryam (tenderness);

ghAmbeeryam (majesty); audhAryam (generosity); chAturyam (endearing);

sthairyam (steadfastness), dhairyam (fearless); sowryam

(single-handed

valour) ; parAkramam (ever victorious); sathyakAma (one who is ever

resident in Truth); sathyasankalpa (one who is of right resolve);

kruthitva (reliable, unfailing); kruthagnathai (grateful; never

forgetful of good deeds done unto Him); such exquisite qualities

abound and reside in our Lord!".

 

Now, any being in whom all the above "gUNA" are to be found can be

best described by a single epithet -- and that is by the word

"utthaman" again! And which is why the genius of AndAl, once again,

chose to sing

 

"Ongi ullagaLandha uttaman pEr pAdi…"

 

********** ************ ***********

 

What is also of great importance to note in the above passage is that

the qualities of Brahman ("pUrUshOttaman") are referred to as

"aishwaryam".

 

The word "aiswarya" means wealth, a fund of riches, a source of

prosperity and happiness. The many excellences of God are hence to be

imagined by us as a great, inexhaustible "fund of riches". Our

securing this fund, this "aishwaryam", is the equivalent of attaining

exactly the very same "neenggAda selvam" that AndAl again sings in

this "pAsuram" from the "tiruppAvai":

 

"Ongi ullagaLandha uttaman pEr pAdi…"

 

"kudam niraikkum vallal perum passukkal

neengAtha selvam niraindu elor embAvAy!"

 

 

AndAl tiruvadigaLE saranam,

 

dAsan,

Sudarshan

 

 

 

 

 

 

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