Thirumaalai-20

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Srimathe Ramanujaya Namaha

 

“ Mattrondrum vEinda 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”

 

Pranams,

 

Paasuram-7

 

“pulayara mAgi nindra puththodu samanamellAm

kalaiarak kattra mAndar kAnbarO kEtparO tham?

thalaiaruppundum sAkEn sattiyam kAnmin aiya!

SilaiyinAl ellangai settra dEvanE dEvanAvAn”.

 

In this paasuram, alwar condemns some philosophies(Buddhism, Jainism etc), which

do not accept the sastra pramAnams and give their own conclusions. These

philosophies were highly accepted by masses in alwar’s time, though now they

have been abandoned by many due to the illogical preachings in them. Actually

there are three types of pramAnAs, namely pratyaksham, anumAnam and

sabhdam(Vedas). Many things cannot be seen and understood (pratyaksham) so we

assume things(anumAnam) but then all assumptions are not always correct so we

try to understand using standard theories given by great scholars. These

theories in philosophy are called as sastras which were given by

abhiyukthargal(Apthargal). Abhiyukthargal are the rishis who showed us the

right path just for our benefit. Vedas were not written by any person

(apourusheyam). The rishis who had great knowledge, compared to all of us, got

the Vedas by their meditation and gave it to us. They do not gain anything by

this but they have done this solely for our upliftment. But the Buddhist and

the jains do not accept these sastra pramAnams, instead they preach whatever

came to their minds without proper analysis. Saint veda vyAsa says “VedAth

shastram param nAsti nadaivam kesavAth param”(there is nothing superior to the

Vedas and there is no god superior to kesavan). So in this paasuram alwar

condems the illogical thinking of the other philosophies.

 

Sri PVP in his vyakhyAnam first gives a jist of what a bhowdan and a samanan

preaches. One says that there is only inner self and there is no outer space.

The inner self(Atma) assumes the other outer appearances. Another says that

only outer space is true and rest false. Another says that both are true.

Then comes the fourth bhowdan who says all are only illusions. The world

started from shoonyam(zero) and will end with the same. Hearing to all these

different philosophy now came the jains who said, some say

asti(present-mimansakan) and some say nAsti(not present-bhowdan) but the actual

is it can be either asti or nAsti or astinAsti. The samana matham never came to

a conclusion it says it can be this or that and accepts both. They have seven

different approaches called the saptha kAdhai. These people spoil the whole

masses. They preach to people that only when they leave their family and

friends and run to forest they will attain mahA nirvAnam. The jains preach

ahimsa to an extent no human can follow. They inturn do himsa to their own

self. They say all the sins can be washed off by giving themselves Athma

dandanai. So they lie on a heated rock in peak summer with bare body. In

winter they stay in ice cold water and so on. These are all considered as

punishments to wash their sins so far. But such punishments are no where

mentioned in the sastras. Our rishis have given prayaschitta kAndA according

to the shastras. Only those have the power to wash our sins. Anything we do

according to our wish how much ever harsh the punishment may be will not wash

our sins. Even she Krishna in BG says, “ashAstra vihitham goram”. So no

thyagam or punishment against shastras will remove our papams. That is why

alwar says “pulayara mAgi nindra puththodu samanamellam”.

 

kalaiarak kattra mAndar kAnbarO kEtparO tham?: Will the scholars who are well

versed in sastras, and devoid of any confusion about the basics of our

philosophy ever listen to the illogical propagations of the cheap philosophies

like buddism and Jainism? The person who is preaching the other philosophies

can be great vairakhya purushas or great mahans but then a person who has

obtained knowledge through shrutis and smritis can never listen to them or even

stand seeing them preach it to others. Our scholars even if they are paid for

It will not prefer to go through the preachings of the other illogical

philosophies, which teach against the Vedas and bhagavan.

 

thalaiaruppundum sAkEn sattiyam kAnmin aiya!: Till now alwar explained the

philosophical difference between the vaishnava matham and the other Buddhist

and jains and he said since the others do not accept the sastra pramAnas they

are not valid. But seeing that people never listen to his words now he wants

to prove it by a challenge. He says to the other philosophers, “Now Iam ready,

you chop of my head but I will not die since my god will come and protect me.

But then if I chop yours who will come to help you since you don’t believe in

the existence of god itself”. Now we may feel why alwar is so confident that

emperuman will come to his rescue. Sri PVP now brings to our memory the

various instances when emperuman came running to the rescue of his bhakthas and

hence alwar confirms and says sattiyam kAnmin.

Everyone including the devatas were afraid of hiranyan and hence never talked

against him. But then the small boy prahalada challenged his own father.

When his father asked if emperuman was there in the pillar showed by him,

prahalada without hesitation replied “engum vulam kannan”(emperuman is present

in all places) “Thoonilum erruppAn thurumbilum erruppAn”. When hiranyan kicked

the pillar then to make prahlAdA’s words true(sathyam vijathum nijabrithya

bhAshitham) Sri Narasimhan appeared immediately from the pillar(“angu

appozhudhe thondriya en singa pirAn perumai”). Similarly alwar believes that

emperuman will surely come to his rescue also. Only the mahAvishvasam that

emperuman will surely save us is necessary if that is there is will surely

come. He came running to the call of even an elephant(gajendrazhvan). In

bhAgavatam there is another story. Bharata yogeeshwaran was a great jnani.

Once some tribal people dragged him to a kali temple to give nara bali. He

considered everything to be vAsudEva svaroopam and hence thought the people,

the knife etc all to be emperuman himself and hence kept quiet. When they

poured water on him and did alangaram he was with the same smile and when they

were going to cut him down also he was with the same bright face. He didn’t

show any sort of worry or fear. But then the kali became angry and couldn’t

stand people torturing such a bhAgavatan and she killed all those tribal people

and saved bharatan. When kali one of the devatas under emperuman couldn’t stand

people chopping the head of a bhAgavatan can emperuman keep quiet if alwar cuts

his own head, will he not come to his rescue?

 

In our guru paramparai there is one more Ithihyam. One shisya of Sri Ramanujar

called dhanur dAsar used to go in front of Namperumal with a sword in hand

during each purappadu. Being a bhAgavatan why does he go in front with a

sword? When people asked him he replied, “that is because of the fear that

some harm will come to Namperumal”. So the people thought that he is carrying

it to protect namperumal from the people who are coming to harm him but then

dAsar continued saying, “No, I cannot save namperumal but if a case comes when

there is going to be a harm to namperumal I will kill my self”. But since

namperumal is having a great love to dAsar he will never put him into danger

and hence will protect himself. So emperuman cares more for his bhakthas than

for himself. So emperuman doesn’t care if people talk ill of him but then since

alwar has made the challenge he will surely save alwar and maintain the

vaishnava philosophy.

 

SilaiyinAl ellangai settra dEvanE dEvanAvAn”: Now alwar has proved that the

other philosophies are not valid and only his perumal will come to rescue in

any crisis. Who is that perumal? The one who took avatAram as rAma and won

over lanka with his bow and arrow is the only god. Alwar says, dEvanE

dEvanAvAn there may be number of devatas but the superior god is none other

than chakravarthi thirumagan. The other devatas are part of his body.

 

 

AzhwAr emberumAnAr jeeyar thiruvadigaLE saraNam

Adiyen Ramanuja Dasyai

Sumithra Varadarajan

 

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