Thirumaalai-33

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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-18

 

“enithirai tivalai mOdha eriyum than paravai meedhE

thanikidandhu arasu seyyum thAmaraikannan emmAn

kaniyirundhanaiya sevvAi kannanai kanda kangal

paniarumbhu vudhirumAlO enseikEn pAviyEnE?”

 

enithirai tivalai mOdha eriyum than paravai meedhE: Emperuman is seen in his

lying posture many times and he likes to be in yoga nidhrai. We all get

cheated even if we are awake but in the case of emperuman he knows everything

and can never be cheated even if he lies sleeping in yoga nidhrai. So alwars

enjoy saying ‘VuranguvAn pOl yOgu seitha perumAn’(he lies like sleeping but

always stays in yogam). Initially, emperuman lied on a aala elai(banyan leaf)

during the pralayam. Then woken up by his kAla devata he started the shrusti.

During the pralayam the pralaya water raised to great heights to enjoy the

beauty of the bhagavan in the lying posture. Then since if he stays in

Srivaikundam alone, he was not easily approachable by the devas. So he came

down to pArkadal as vyuha moorthi. Again in parkAdal he is seen lying on

Adisesha. During the pralayam he was alone but now there is Adisesha and

pirattis to do pAda sEvai. Kamban talks about this beautiful scene. He says

“kadalul kayalugal vaigum kadavulE kAnum enbar”. The fishes in the ocean are

so much attracted by the beauty of emperuman’s eyes, that by seeing the fish

like eyes of emperuman they think him to be one among them and hence they jump

very high to enjoy the beauty of the bhagavan. When he came down as rAma,

vishvAmitra enjoyed seeing the bhagavan lying and wondered what bhakyam

koushalya mAtha should have, to have enjoyed this beauty for so many years. He

says she alone is blessed with motherhood. To surpass the bhakyam of kousalyai

came yeshodha who was blessed with Krishna as the son. She and the gopi’s

enjoyed Krishna do any sort of thing. Krishna used to pretend to sleep and

when the gopikas talked about his leelas he will lose himself and smile. All

these where enjoyed by the parama rasikas. One bhaktha says I enjoy the ‘pOi

thookam’ of Krishna. After the vibhava avatAra to give us all that bhakyam

emperuman is found in lying pose in many of the divyadesams including

Srirangam. Here alwar talks about the emperuman lying with water splashing on

all sides. But Vyakhyana chakravarthi says like the water in the ocean,

droplets are found under the eyes of the bhagavatals who think or talk about

him. So whenever they talk about bhagavan tears fall in the eyes of the

bhagavatals.

 

thanikidandhu arasu seyyum thAmaraikannan emmAn: Emperuman rules over the

whole world. Here when alwar says thani kidandhu that is he rules lying alone.

He lies alone only during the pralayam. As per the Upanishads he alone was

there during the pralayam but here alwar says thani kidandhu arasu seiyyum.

How can he rule when he alone is there? Actually during the pralayam he alone

lies but then just by his sankalpam woken up by the kAlam he creates the whole

world. “sO kAmayatha” says the Upanishad. After creation he rules the whole

world. But then Sri PVP is not satisfied with saying the emperuman who created

the universe after pralayam rules over. He says even in Srirangam emperuman

stays alone. There is not even piratti under his feet to do pAda sEvai and

here too he is surrounded by water(Kaveri) on all sides like a garland and

kavEri is always washing the legs of Periya perumal. So why not we say this

perumal who came to save us all from the samsAra thukkam sacrificing his own

abode where there are nithya sooris to do nithya kainkaryam to him, only rules

over the world.

Actually rangantha is considered to be the king of kings. He always has a

senkOl with him. Andal says, “senkOl vudaiya thiruvaranga selvanAr”. For

virodhi nirasanam he can use his sanghu and chakram but then for changing his

bhakthas who commit mistakes he uses only his senkOl. Just by frightening them

with the pancha Ayudhams, he changes them. In case of bhakthas his sanghu and

chakram are only Abharanams(jewels) and not ayudhams. More than his senkOl

here alwar says his eyes themselves have the power to govern everyone. Though

sanghu and chakram are generally asAdhArana symbols to the lord but the alwars

always consider them to be ordinary symbols. They enjoy the thamarikan and

senkanivai as asAdhArana symbols and loose themselves to their beauty.

Nammazhvar in his padhigam about thiruvarangar says, “kangulaum pagalum kan

thuyil ariyAl kannaneer kaigalal erraikkum , sanghu chakaram endru kai kooppum”

the mother says that her daughter(parangusa nayaki) is so much in love with

lord ranganatha that she never sleeps either in the morning or in the night.

She always keeps weeping in his thoughts. When she says sanghu chakram she

remembers his paratvam and hence she folds her palms as a symbol of respect.

But then alwar says, “thAmarai kan endrE thalarum” but when she thinks of the

beautiful lotus eyes of the bhagavan she looses herself, that is when her deep

love is shown. The nAma kannan actually gives two meanings, one is he has

beautiful eyes and another one that he makes the eyes of those who look at him

beautiful. So alwar says thamarai kannan. There are so many such anubhavams

of various alwars about the beauty of the eyes of bhagavan but then it requires

a separate series of postings. Emman means he is my swamy and he resides in me

always.

 

Let us continue in the next posting.

 

AzhwAr emberumAnAr jeeyar thiruvadigaLE saraNam

Adiyen Ramanuja Dasyai

Sumithra Varadarajan

 

 

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