Thirumaalai-1

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Sri Parthasarathi thunai,

Srimathe Ramanujaya Namaha

 

Pranams,

 

By the divine grace of the Sriya:pathi Sriman

Narayanan let us all now enjoy the beautiful meanings

in the Prabhandam of Sri Thondaradipodi Alwar’s,

THIRUMAALAI. Adiyen’s posting will be based on the

upanyasams of Sri Sri Krishna Premi anna on Thirumalai

based on Sri Periyavaachan Pillai’s Vyakhyanam. This

is a great task which adiyen hopes to complete

successfully by the divine grace of Sri Parthasarathi

emperuman. I beg the pardon of the members for any

errors which may arise due to adiyen’s ignorance and

lack of knowledge.

 

“ Mattrondrum Venda 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”

 

The charitram of Sri Thondaradi podigal is known to

all. Emperuman played his leela on this Alwar and

changed Vipra Narayanan to Sri Thondaradi podi Alwar.

After experiencing the hardship due to the kama of

worldly pleasures alwar realizes the ultimate joy In

bhagavat vishayam. This is the summary of the

prabhandham we are going to talk about. Book

knowledge is valid only to a level, experience is

absolute. When even for a lowkika job experience is

asked for. Similarly to attain kainkarya of bhagavan

in paramapadam also we need experience in this world

on the same. Alwar thus advices us to fall under the

divine feet of emperuman, telling us his experience of

miseries in this world and also the joy he got from

bhagavat bhaagavata sheshatvam. Let us all plunge into

the divine arthas of the prabhandham.

 

When there are so many other prabhandhams why chose

Thirumaalai. Let us just look into this first. This

prabhandam is not very short like Amalanaadhipiran

nor is it very big like Thiruvaimozhi or Periya

thirumozhi. It is a prabhandam which is short and

sweet in easy tamil. But since I say easy tamil it

doesn’t mean the standard of tamil is less it is in

Sanga Tamizh. Any person born in this world as a

Tamizhan that too a Srivaishnavan should surely

byheart this prabhandham. It is not difficult , even

a small child can byheart this without difficulty.

Within this small prabhandham alwar gives almost all

the essential arthas. It doesn’t contain Vedanta like

Thiruchandavirutham but contains all the necessary

arthas for the upliftment for any jeevatma. Alwar

talks the parathvam of emperuman in such a superb

manner that we can say no other alwar has so

explicitly talked about the same. Though this

prabhandam is basically to prove only the thirunama

magimai. Alwar talks about the govinda nama at large.

Suddenly the alwar gets involved in the divya mangala

vigraham of the bhagavan when he says “pachaimaamalai

pol Meni” etc. Then he does Jnana and vairakya

upadesam to samsaris like us. He also condemns the

durmathangal and establishes the vaideka matham that

too the vaishnava matham . Then he preaches bhakthi

and prapatti. He even teaches us how to sing/cry in

front of the bhagavan whole heartedly(“Voorilane

Kaaniyillai vuravu mattroruvarellai”). He gives us the

jist of how a bhagavat bhaktha should be.

 

Sri Periyavaachan Pillai whose glory cannot be

explained with words has given an excellent

vyakhyanam to this prabhandam. When we read alwars

prabhandam we feel that we understand the meaning(due

to the eay tamil used by alwar) but when we go through

the vyakhyanam of Sri PVP we will surely find many

more arthas(inner meanings) that can never strike our

mandha bhuddhi. That is why our acharyas always talk

only with respect to the vyakhyanams and others who

talk as they feel are considered as moorkhas. As Sri

Mamunigal says “Thanjenjil thoondrinadhaye solli edu

suttha upadesa vaarthai enbaar moorkaraavar”.

 

We all think that we are undergoing so much miseries

in this world . Very often people curse bhagavan to

have put us into such difficulties and think what ever

effort they do is great but actually emperuman

undergoes more pain by seeing his children suffering

and tries to take us out of this in some way or the

other. But we samsaris stick to the world and refrain

from even going near bhagavan. Even though Emperuman

is Sathya sankalpan and has all divine qualities we

prove to be more powerful and so we make it a point

not to give bhagavan even a small chance to release us

from this samsarakadal. As she Nammazhvar said we

prefer to eat and say here itself(“atthai thindru ange

kidakkum”).

So Sri PVP starts his avadharikai asking who is a

samsari? Why does PVP ask such a question? He could

have asked who is a Jnani who is a Nityasoori etc

since we cannot find many Jnani here or a Nitya soori

but why does he ask who is a samsari? We will find

the answer to this in the next posting.

 

Adiyen Ramanuja Dasyai

Sumithra Varadarajan

 

 

 

 

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