tri-mUrti in tiruvAimozhi – Part 12.

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tri-mUrti in tiruvAimozhi – Part 12.

 

3.6.4 (25):

 

vaimmin num manattu enRu yAn uraikkinRa mAyavan SIrmaiyai

emmanOrgaL uraippadu en, adu niRka; nADorum vAnavar

tammai ALum avanum nAn-muganum SaDai muDi aNNalum

SemmaiyAl avan pAda pa'nkayam Sindittu Ettit tirivarE.

 

AzhvAr tells us that we do not have to just take the words of those

like him who are solely dedicated to the worship of Lord vishNu

without any other benefit in mind. His advise to us that we should

always meditate on the mAyavan – kaNNan, who is full of infinite

saulabhyam and sauSIlyam, can be construed by some of us to be biased

advice from a person biased towards Him (pakshapAtam). So AzhvAr

asks us to put his words aside, but at least look at the example set

by the likes of indra, brahmA and rudra. Since the likes of us are

interested in various benefits along the lines of dharma, artha, and

kAma, instead of solely moksha, AzhvAr asks us to just follow the

lead of of indra, rudra and brahmA, who are also interested in other

benefits like us, and follow their lead at least. They worship His

Lotus Feet day and night for getting whatever powers they want,

appearing as if they are devoted to Him with no other interest in

mind. They worship Him because they want to hold on to the powers

that they have, and they worship Him for relief from any problems

they get into.

 

Sindittu, Etti, tirivarE – They not only meditate on Him, but they

praise Him through their words (nAt tazhumba – till their tongues

start getting scars); tirivar – they roam around singing His praise.

This refers to the worship of bhagavAn by the three with their

thought, word and deed (mano, vAk, kAyam), all involved in His

worship. The parattvam, saulabhyam and sauSIlyam of emperumAn are

such that even the likes of brahmA, rudra dn indra, who consider

themselves supreme deities sometimes, have no hesitation worshipping

Him with such intense devotion.

 

The idea here is that bhagavAn's sauSIlyam is such that He is not

just accessible to the likes of ananya prayojana-s like AzhvAr who

worship Him with single-minded devotion which is the end in itself

for them, but He is also equally accessible to the likes or brahmA,

rudra and indra who worship Him for the purpose of holding on to

their powers, and for protection from any difficulties that they are

unable to handle. If He is accessible for worship to the likes of

indra, brahmA and rudra who worship Him for benefits, there is no

doubt whatsoever about His easy accessibility to those who worship

Him with single-minded devotion, with no other benefit in mind.

 

SIrmai – greatness, fame. This fame is two-fold. He is well known

for His infinite kalyANa guNa-s, His great acts of kindness to His

devotees, the protection He gives them at all times, etc. He is also

well known because of His Supremacy or Lordship over every thing –

His parattvam, as evidenced by the worship offered by the likes of

brahmA, rudra and indra, who consider themselves supreme deities at

times. They nonetheless have their powers only because He has given

them those powers, and they worship Him just to retain those powers.

 

- vaimmin num manattu vaittu enRu – My advice to you to

meditate on emperumAn

- yAn uraikkinRa mAyavan SIrmaiyai – and my emphasis on the

saulabhyam and sauSIlyam of this emperumAn

- emmanOrgaL uraippadu en – Coming from the likes of me may not

be good enough for you.

- adu niRka – So you don't have to take my word for it.

- vAnavar tammai ALum avanum – indra who rules over all the

deva-s

- nAnmuganum – the four-faced brahmA

- SaDai muDi aNNaLum – and rudra with the knotted hair

- SemmaiyAl – with intense devotion

- avan pAda pa'ngayam nAL torum Sindittu – They meditate on His

Lotus Feet intensely without interruption

- Ettit tirivarE – They worship Him uninterruptedly in all

their activities.

 

(So if you don't follow my lead, at least follow the lead of the

likes of brahmA, rudra and indra).

 

- Sindittu, Etti, tirivarE – refers to their worship of the

Lord with their thought, word and deed. They meditate on Him

(Sindittu), and this overflows into words (Etti), and they roam

around as if this is their only job (tirivarE).

 

- SaDai muDi aNNal – refers to rudra as the great

bhAgavatottama who worshipped bhagavAn and attained some great

powers. SuDar muDi aNNal refers to emperumAn, while SaDai muDi aNNal

refers to rudra.

 

It is not that brahmA, rudra and indra worship Lord vishNu only when

they are in difficulty and need relief. For example, indra worships

Him even when he is ruling over all the deva-s, just to retain his

power to rule over them in the future. Thus, emperumAn does not only

give benefit to those who don't have any other benefit except His

Lotus Feet as their objective (such as nammAzhvAr), but He also gives

benefits to those who have other material benefits in mind.

 

Through his choice of the phrase "amarAdhISa cintya a'nghri padmAm"

in his tAtparya ratnAvaLi for emphasizing the spirit of this pASuram,

svAmi deSikan reminds us that bhagavAn is One with a Divine tiru

mEni – divya ma'ngala vigraham, and we should worship His Lotus Feet

associated with this tirumEni. We should worship His Lotus Feet

single-mindedly, with our thought, word and deed dedicated to His

worship (semmaiyAl avan pAda pa'nkayam Sindittu Etti tiri). om

amarAdhISa cintya a'nghri padma tanave namaH.

 

-dAsan kRshNamAcAryan

 

-To be continued.