Remembering the AzhvAr saints.

June 4, 2006

The Slokam goes as under ~

bhUtam sarasya mahad-Ahvaya bhaTTa-nAtha

Sri-bhakti-sAra kula-SEkhara yOgi-vAhAnn

bhakt/Anghri-rENu parakAla yateendra-miSrAnn

Srimat-parAnkuSa-munim praNatO/smi nityam.

[Constantly do I salute (the AzhvAr saints) ~

***bhUta (the One who was. "bhoo sattAyAm", to be. The name is from the Sruti, "asan-nEvE sa bhavati", One "is" only with the realisation that "brahman" is.)

***sarasya, born near a pond (poyikai).

***mahad-Ahvaya, the Profound, after the Sruti, "tasya nAma mahad-yaSa:" The Tamil name, pEyi, signifies his mystic ecstasies which made him look wild.

***bhaTTa-nAtha, the brahmin periyAzhvAr-vishNuchitta.

***Sri bhakti-sAra, of the place tiru-mazhiSai, to the west of Chennai. mahee-sAram (salt of the earth) is the sanskrt name which speaks of the high adoration of this place. [The same name given to the well-known former principality of the State of karnataka has been deliberately corrupted into the (later-day) Mysore to fabricate and establish the silly 'sthala-purANam' of bovine demon, mahishAsura.]

***kula-SEkhara, born king. His daughter, SEra-kula-valli is enshrined in the Srirangam Great Temple, and a ceremonial bath 'tiru-manjanam' is offered for her on the Sri-rAma-jayanti day when she is seated together with Our Lord, nam-perumAL.

***yOgi-vAha, the minstrel tiru-p-pAN AzhvAr. This saint of so-called low birth was brought, on the Lord's directions, on the shoulders of the Temple priest, hence "yOgi-vAha". This AzhvAr, and gOdA-dEvi, are the ones with the extraordinary distinction of merging in the sacred person of Lord Sriranga-nAtha, periya-perumAL, of Srirangam. ***bhakt/Anghri-rENu, the one who revered the dusting off the feet of the devotees. His original name was vipra-nArAyaNa. His distinction was that he hymned solely the Lord of Srirangam. The Telugu language has a rich collection of operas on this AzhvAr, in the 'yaksha-gAnam' mode.

***para-kAla, or tiru-manGai-mannan, the small-time ruler in Chola empire, the outstanding poet and the model for the unsurpassed later-day poet Kamban of Rama-kathA fame.

***yateendra-miSra is, of course, Sri rAmAnuja, not classified as an AzhvAr. His four-syllabled name, rA-mA-nu-ja, is the most potent 'mantra' ensuring the spiritual career of his devotees.

***Srimat-parAnkuSa-muni, SaTha-kOpa, nam-AzhvAr or, simply AzhvAr, who is the embodiment ('avayavi') of the convocation of all the individual AzhvAr saints ('avayava').

~o~o~o~

This Slokam was imparted by Sri Paraasara-bhatta to his prime disciple, Sri nan-jeeyar, as unceasing 'japam' (repetition) text, something like the Christian telling of the rosary. The great Bhattar composed an exclusive Slokam in adoration of Sri Goda-devi, who is not grouped with the AzhvAr-s, as she is adored as Divinity herself, an incarnation of bhU-dEvi.

~o~o~o~

This Slokam compacting the names of the AzhvAr saints is best recited together with the following Slokam(s) from Srimad-bhAgavata-purANam (11th skandham, 5th adhyAyam, Sl.38) prophesying the appearance of the AzhvAr-s on this earth. The places of their birth are indicated by the river-map of the region.

kalau khalu bhavishyanti nArAyaNa-parAyaNA:

kvachit-kvachin-mahA-rAja, draviDEshu cha bhUriSa:

tAmra-parNee nadee yatra krta-mAlA payasvinee

kAvEree cha mahA-puNyA prateechee cha mahA-nadee

yE pibanti jalam tAsAm manujA manujEshvara

prAyO bhaktA bhagavati vAsu-dEvE amalA/SayA:

[it is in the kali age that the (precious) devotees of nArAyaNa will appear,

~ here and there, Oh king, but in great numbers in the draviDa region.

That will be along of the courses of the rivers

tAmra-parNee, krta-mAlA (= vaikai, in Tamil), payasvinee (=pAl-ARu, in Tamil),

the highly sacred kAvEree, the westward mahA-nadee (=periyARu, in Tamil).

And those who imbibe the waters of these currents, Oh lord of men,

they are the ones of pure heart devoted to bhagavAn vAsu-dEva.]

The elaboration of the AzhvAr river-map is available in Srimad-bhAgavata purANam (5th skandham, adhyAyam 19), in the prose section beginning with, "bhAratE asmin varshE sarit-SailA: santi bahavO... etc).

I had the privilege of writing a simple account of the AzhvAr saints (40 pages, English). The booklet, The Divine Stories of the Alwar-s, and the enchanting audio cassette supplement, are available with ~

Dr M.A. Alwar,

No.142, First Floor, College Road,

K.R. Mohalla,

Mysore - 570024 (Karnataka).

Phone: 0821-553.0472 m.a.alwar

Best wishes from

T.S. Sundara Rajan

(Srirangam)

tesh_tel <tesh_tel (AT) (DOT) co.uk> wrote:

Jai Sri krishna

I have come across the following sloka which i assume praises various

Alwars.. What is the exact english translation of this verse??/ Also