Bhagavatam on Narayana devotees.

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The given 'SlOkam' of 'skandam'-11 of Srimad-bhAgavatam is indeed a famous

'pramANam' text in the SrivaishNava sampradAyam. The verse goes thus ~

 

[ krtAdishu prajA rAjann, kalau icchanti sambhavam.] (1)

 

**The men of krta-yuga times, oh king, wish for being born in the kali-yuga.

 

~~ The Krta-yuga is spoken of as the golden age when men lived of an ennobled

character, but these very men look forward to be reborn in the Kali-yuga which

is regarded as a decadent time with loss of human qualities and marked by

devilries and orgnistic worship.

 

[ kalau khalu bhavishyanti nArAyaNa-parAyaNA: ] (2)

 

**(for) it is in kali that (several) devotees of Narayana would appear.

 

~ Their keen anticipation of the onset of Kali-yuga is occasioned by the

wholesome prospect of the appearance of devotees of Sriman-Narayana. It is

not that the Kali marks the first incidence of Naryana worship. "vishnu-mukhA

vai dEvA:" is the categorical affirmation of the Veda.

All the same, even the noble devotees of the earlier aeons of Time-cycle remain

committed to an overwhelming ritualistic protocol as denied them of the

unalloyed joy and fulfilment that exclusive worship of The Lord yields. This

manner of ritualistic burden contrasts unfavourably with the luminous culture

of Kali which consists of just "kalau kESava-keertanam" (fulfilment lies just

in Kesava-worship in Kali).

 

[ kvachit-kvachinn mahAbhAga dramiDEshu cha bhUriSa: ] (3)

 

**They will be (found) here and there, but preponderantly in the Dravida parts (of the land),

 

~~Such devoted (monotheistic) Narayana-devotees would, of course, figure in all

parts of the land, but they would preponderate in the Dravida parts; their

preponderance ["bhUriSa:"] would be (not in number alone but) in terms of the

intensity and joy of their devotion, and also through the extraordinary

philosophic authenticity and tranquil diction of their hymns. The expression

"bhUriSa:" is to be understood as a prelude ('avatArikA') to the ensuing

geography-specific reference to the profound AzhvAr mystics.

 

[ tAmraparNee nadee yatra, krtamAlA, payasvinee,

kAvEree cha mahAbhAgA, prateechee cha mahA-nadee.] (4)

 

**as down the course of (river) Tamra-parni, of Krita-mala (vaikai), of

Payasvinee (Palar), the sacred Kaveri, and the westward Periyar.

 

~~ Tamraparni is, of course, the riverine track hallowed by the places where

nammAzhvAr and Sri madhurakavikaL were born; Kritamala is vaikai, the

bhakti-rich track marked by periyAzhvAr and his blessed daughter ANDAL;

payasvinee-palar is the vast spread rich in the gem

 

[yE pibanti jalam tAsAm manujA, manujESvara,

prAyE bhaktA bhagavati vAsudEvE amalASrayA: ] (5)

 

**Those men that imbibe of these waters, oh leader of men, are the true devotees

in the sanctified refuge of Bhagavan Vasudeva.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

The given Bhagavatam verse is cited in the fragrant work, AchArya-hRdayam, of

Sri azhakia-maNavALa-p-perumAL nAyanAr. The 'chUrNai 2:91' goes thus ~

 

<tamizh-mA-muni dikku SaraNyam enRavarkaLAley, kvachit-kvachit, enRu ivar

Avir-bhAvam, kaliyum keDum-pOley sUchitam.>

 

(I am not in a position to reproduce the extensive and succinct commentary of

Sri maNavALa-mA-muni on this text, but) the Bhagavatam Slokam is cited at par

with the tiru-vAi-mozhi verse "polika polika..." as the prophecy of the

appearance of Nammazhvar.

 

This verse is also cited in the 'rahastya-traya-sAram' of Sri vEdAntAchArya,

where he extols the appearance of the AzhvAr mystics, describing them as the

'abhinava daSAvatAram' ~~ the repeat of the Lord's ten incarnations.

 

The Gaudiya claims, as those of Swaminarayan sampradaya, and the moving

spiritual career of the great Maharashtra Haridasa saints (beginning with Sri

Jnanesvar) are quite acceptable as a generalisation available under the text [

kalau khalu bhavishyanti nArAyaNa-parAyaNA: ] (2), but it should be remembered

that it is the community of AzhvAr mystics which was the earliest such

'convocation' covered under the prophecy. It should thus be appropriate to

accept this Bhagavata text as being geography-specific and AzhvArs-specific.

This should ipso facto apply also to the noble 74 'simhAsana-adhipati-s'

identified and groomed by uDaiyavar.

 

aDiyEn rAmAnuja-dAsan,

tirumanjanam Sundara Rajan.

 

 

To:

ramanuja

 

"tesh_tel" <tesh_tel (AT) (DOT) co.uk>

Date:

Thu, 22 Sep 2005 17:09:14 -0000

Subject:

Canto 11 of Bhagavata Purana

 

Jai Shri Krishna.I have come across two verses in chapter 5 of canto 11 of the

Srimad Bhagavata purana, in these verse Narada, explians how Sriman NArayam is

worshiped the varius yugas, and i would like to know how these verses are

construed and Interpreted by in Sri aishnava sampradaya. Fristly we have Sloka

32 (chapter 5, canto 11)Secondly there are verses 38-40 in the same chapter..

Who is being predicted in sloka 32???? Gaudiyas interpret this to mean

Chaitanya mahaprabhu, the swaminarayans see this as predicting Sahajanada swami

(Swaminarayan). What is the view of Sri vaishnava Purvacharyas in regards to

this verse???In slokas 38-49 does the referrence to "the devottees in south

india" refer to The Alawars and Srimat

Ramanuja?????Do You

?