Guest guest Posted October 14, 2006 Report Share Posted October 14, 2006 SrimatE Raamaanujaaya Namaha // SrimatE Nigamaanta Mahaa Desikaaya Namaha // SrIman! SrI Ranga Sriyam anupadravam anudhinam Samvardhaya/ SrIman! SrI Ranga Sriyam anupadravam anudhinam Samvardhaya// KAvEri VardhathAm kAlE, kAlE varshathu vAsava: / SrI RanganAthO jayathu Sri Ranga Sri cha VardhathAm// ========================================================== SRI RANGA SRI VOL.08 / ISSUE # 02 dated 13th October 2006 ========================================================== EDITORIAL IN THIS ISSUE: 1. “THE MIGHTY AND THE ALMIGHTY – A CLASH OF WILLS? PART 1:” BY ANBIL RAMASWAMY 2. MAATHULAR [MATERNAL UNCLES] - PART 1: BY SRI MADHAVA KANNAN SWAMI, CO-MODERATOR OF “SRI RANGA SRI” 3."DRAMIDOPANISHAD TATPARYA RATNAVALI- PART 1” BY SRI N. KRISHNAMACHARIAR SWAMI OF CHICAGO ========================================================== EDITORIAL 1. SVD TN IN ATLANTA Bhagavatas are aware that every year, aDiyEn either organizes and /or Participates in celebrating the Tirunakshatrams of Bhagavad Ramanuja, Swami Vedanta Desika and asmad Achaaryan, Srimad Andavan, Poundarikapuram Swami Asramam, Srirangam. Accordingly, this year the Tirunakshatram of Swami Vedanta Desika was celebrated at our home on 3rd and 13th October 2006. While the former one was a private family function, the latter was a public function which was attended by a large number of Bhagavatas. The program included inter alia the following: 1. Swami Desika’s TaniyangaL 2. During Tiruvaradanam - (a) Snaanaasanam- Periyaazhwar Tirumozhi 2: "VenNNai ALainda KuNungum" (b) Alankaraasanam: Nammazhwar's TiruvAimozhi 4.3. "KOvai VaayaaL" containing “Poosum Saanden nenjamE" © BhOjyaasanam: Naachiyaar Tirumozhi 9 "Sindoora SempoDi" containing "Naaru narum pozhil" 3. Saatrumurai 4. Nyaasa Dasakam (From Swami Desika Stotrams) 5. ADaikkalap Pathu ((From Swami Desika Prabandam) 6. Pillai Anthaadi of Nainachariar 7. Desika MangaLaasaasanam 8. Achaarya Tanians 9. Achaarya Sambaavanais 10. Desika's Vaazhi Tirunaamam and TiunaaL PaaTTu This was followed by a sumptuous Tadeeya Aaraadanai to the Bhaghavatas who graced the occasion and contributed to its success. ---- 2. RESUMING RELEASE OF ISSUES OF VOL.8 ---- It has been our practice to start a new Volume of releases “Sri Ranga Sri” issues at the commencement of Anniversary of the founding of the following which synchronize with the Tirunakshatram day of Swami Desika. • The 11th Anniversary of “Swami Desika Darsana Satsangam” (SDDS) (founded in 1996), • The 7th Anniversary of “Sri Ranga Sri”, its Electronic journal (founded in 2000) • The 5th Anniversary of the formation of Board of Advisory Consultants (BAC) for “Sri Ranga Sri” (formed in 2002) on the Swami Desika’s Tirunakshatram day in the respective years and • The 4th Anniversary of “Internal Resources Panel for SRS” (IRP) (formed in 2003) consisting of distinguished members of SRS. Accordingly, we are glad to commence issues of Volume # 8 on this day. In fact, Vol.08/Issue #01 was released on 3rd October 2006, the actual date on which the Tirunakshatram occurred and this is Issue # 02 in the series. We have commenced 3 new subjects in this issue, namely. 1. “The Mighty and The Almighty – A Clash Of Wills?-Part 1” By Anbil Ramaswamy 2. Maathular [Maternal Uncles] - Part 1: By Sri Madhava Kannan Swami, Co-Moderator of “Sri Ranga Sri” 3. "Dramidopanishad Tatparya Ratnavali" Part 1: By Sri N. Krishnamachariar Swami of Chicago Hope you will enjoy reading the same. Please favor us with your valuable feedback. ========================================================== ISSUES RELEASED About 228 Regular issues of SRS have been released so far: 27 Issues of Vol. 1 15 Issues of Vol. 2 42 Issues of Vol. 3 35 Issues of Vol. 4 28 Issues of Vol. 5 30 Issues of Vol. 6 and 50 Issues of Vol. 7 01 Issue of Vol. 8 These issues have been archived for public view at - By Sri Diwakar Kannan (diwakark@xxxx) You may also view the archives at http://www.ibiblio.org/sripedia maintained By Sri Srinivasan Sriram (ajiva_rts@xxxx) We strongly urge you to kindly peruse the "Regular Issues" archived in the Files Section and view the Contents at srsindex.html (Not the individual postings allowed for encouraging "Reader participation"). We are sure that you will be convinced of the quality of the contents. IF you are satisfied with the quality and contents of “Sri Ranga Sri” - Tell your friends to join by sending an email to Srirangasri- IF NOT: Tell us, as to how we may improve. Ever at your service Dasoham Anbil Ramaswamy, Editor& Publisher, “Sri Ranga Sri” ========================================================== xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ========================================================== 1. “THE MIGHTY AND THE ALMIGHTY–A CLASH OF WILLS?-Part 1” BY ANBIL RAMASWAMY ---- Jeevaatma realizing its superiority in intelligence and capacity compared to other living beings like the fauna (mobile animals, insects, birds and the flora immobile vegetable kingdom) thinks itself to be a “Mighty force”. Puffed up with ego and arrogance, it imagines that by using its inherent faculties, it could conquer the world and none could ever doubt, much less question its might! “One is reminded of BhaTTar's exposition of an imaginary conversation as between Lord Ranganatha and a Jiva taking place at the time of the Lord emerging out of his ceremonial bath (Tirumanjanam). Wearing single wet yellow raiment and a solitary garland of TuLasi (the holy basil) standing serenely before the shining lamp with wick soaked in pure ghee. {J denotes: Jeevaatma P denotes: Paramaatma} P: You are mine. J: No. I am mine. P: How do you say that? J: Where is the record in support of your claim? P: My claim is based on Vedas. J: Vedas are your making. P: Then, on what basis you say that you are yours. J: I have believed this from the beginning-less time and on the strength of life experiences (Anubhava Vibhava) and this is verily the law. P: But your claim has been objected. J: By whom and when? P: By Gita and other scriptures. J: Gita is your word; Scriptures are your making. Tell me if you have any other witnesses to support the objections? P: Yes, the great Vyasa, Paraasara and other great sires. J: Lo! They are all prejudiced in your favor (Pakshapadi). BhaTTar imagines that since no judge or jury could be spotted to settle the dispute, the only course open to the Lord was to appear in the attire he wore, stand serenely before the lamp and swear. May be, even such swearing will not be believed these days but in BhaTTar’s period people had absolute faith when someone swore to the truth in the manner described” (from Chapter 18 of Hinduism Rediscovered” by Anbil Ramaswamy) But, let us analyze and get at the bottom of truth in this clash of wills. Let us look at a few examples: - A man on the death row for a murder which he did not commit was not sorry because he escaped punishment for a murder that he really made earlier! He considered himself “mighty” when he escaped punishment for his earlier crime but had to console himself when facing the later punishment! Where did his might go? - A son of his poor mother who had given him in adoption to a rich relative refused to see her or hear her pleadings when she came to see him. The boy felt he was “mighty” enough to do that. A short while after he was struck by lightning in which he lost his eyes that refused to “see” his mother and his hearing that refused to “hear” her pleadings! Where did his “might” go? - Supposing, you lost your wallet in a strange place and there was none known to you who could help. When you approached a stranger, he turned you out. But, later on, some Good Samaritan came to your rescue. Did he recover his “might” now and which was absent earlier? If you have not thought about this, think again! It is not always possible to relate the incidents in the context of “Cause and effect” but there is a “Universal law of harmony” that does relate the two in an inexplicable way all the time bringing out in bold relief the difference in the roles of the “Mighty” and the “Almighty”. But, many do not understand this fact of life. Several events take place in our life. Happiness and Misery seem to be alternating with unerring regularity. We do not give much thought when we enjoy the felicity of happiness and consider ourselves as the “master manipulators”. But when we undergo unpleasant experiences, we tend to question why on earth should we face them. During these spells of relapse of misfortune, our “Might” seems to wither away mysteriously and we are quick to blame the “manipulator par excellence”, the “Almighty” whom we call the “Sootradaari”! Philosophers may console you saying that it is indeed this “Super-manipulator” who plays dirty tricks on you perhaps to prove that he is really “mightier” than you, in fact, that he is the “Almighty”. They would quote profusely from scriptures saying “Not a blade of grass moves except by his grace” (in English) or “avananri Ore aNUvum asaiyaadu” (In Tamil) or “tEna vinaa thruNamapi na chalati” (in Sanskrit).If this were so, we have a question dangling before us. If the “Almighty” is responsible for all our actions, why should we be punished? In all fairness, is it not true that it is this “Almighty” who deserves punishments for all OUR deeds? Should not we, poor mortals, rightfully be exonerated? No doubt, these are valid questions. But, there are valid answers too! As already mentioned when we enjoy the felicity of happiness we take it for granted as reaping just what we have rightly deserved and are quick to appropriate (or misappropriate) all credit to ourselves but for all unpleasant experiences, we are “in denial” seeking instant “alibi” by putting the blame on someone else and most conveniently on the “Almighty” who in spite of his being “Almighty” will never resist or complain! The correct perspective to look at the problem is that we should accept as the will of the “Almighty” for all actions (whether happy or otherwise) or in the alternative own complete responsibility for both. In the face of the statements of philosophers mentioned above, we seem to have no “locus standi”, no freedom, and no hand in respect of any action and how can we be asked to take responsibility? This takes us on to what is known as “Karma theory” which seems to define the relative roles of the “Mighty” and the “Almighty” in this regard. How it does this? We will see in the next posting ------------------------- To Continue =========================================================== xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ============================================================ 2.MAATHULAR [MATERNAL UNCLES] - PART 1: BY SRI MADHAVA KANNAN, CO-MODERATOR OF “SRI RANGA SRI” -------------------------------- Achaaryan is the dispeller of all sins. He removes the darkness from our minds and removes ignorance. He gives us new birth (vidya janmam); He is the Fatherand the Mantram (which He initiates us with) is the Mother. This birth places us on the path which meads us to an end to all future births and deaths. He endows us with divine vision. He has infinite amount of compassion towards us. He always is interested in our welfare. On account of all of these, He is always to be worshipped as the Lord Himself. One should never harbor any feeling that he is doing a good return for what Achaarya has done by offering few notes. It is only as a token of our gratitude. First let us look briefly at the childhood of Swamy Desikan. Born to Sri Anantasuri and Smt Totarambha at Thoopul, a locality of Kanchi, he is believed to have been the very incarnation of Lord Srinivasa's GaNTAmaNi (temple Bell). He derived the name GaNTAvataaram in the Tanian because of this. His intellectual brilliance was discernable even from his childhood. Once as a child of five years, he was taken to the august religious assembly- KaalakshEpa GoshTi- of Sri Nadadur AmmAL by his maternal uncle Sri Appullar, who was mainly responsible for his education in the religious line. Sri AmmaaL and his disciples were so captivated by the divine appearance of the little boy Desikan,they were diverted for sometime and forgot what they were discussing to trace. It was the little Boy Desikan who came to their rescue by pointing out theplace of the discourse from where their attention was diverted. They were all simply stupefied on seeing the extraordinary intellect and brilliance of Swamy at that age and Sri AmmaaL who was overwhelmed with joy and admiration blessed him for a great future where he would succeed in establishing the philosophy of Ramanuja and the previous Acharyas in an unassailable position and in an unambiguous manner. Swamy Desikan thus was blessed by Sri Nadadur AmmaaL and groomed by his maternal uncle Swami appuLLAr. Swami Desikan was initiated into Garuda Mantram by his Achaarya, Sri AppuLLAr. In Tamil, PuL stands for a bird. In this context, the reference is to the divine bird, Garuda or Pakshi Raja (the king of Birds). The Garuda Mantram was a Mantramof AppuLLar’s family. After instructing Swami Desikan on all relevant Sri VaishNava grant has, Rahasyas, and Sri BhAsha, Sri AppuLLAr initiated him into the recitation of Garuda Mantram. Swami Desikan had mastered the tenets of Bhagavad Ramanuja Siddhaanta at a very young age and by the time he was twenty years old, he used to give discourses on Bhagavad Ramanuja Siddhaantam. H.H. Srimad Andavan Swamigal of Srimad Poundarikapuram Asramam very eloquently describes the greatness of Sri AppuLLAr in his Yatiraja Sapthathi discourses. In particular, he refers to Sri AppuLLAr as the only one in the line of Sri Ramanujacharya's disciples who had mastered both Sri Bhaashya as well as RahasyArthas. Thus not only was AppuLLAr was a maternal uncle to Swamy Desikan, he was his Achaaryan himself. Our Sampradaayam is also called as Maathula Sampradaayam[maathular – maternal uncle]. Sri Bhashyakaarar Sri Ramanujaachaarya learnt all rahasya artthams of Srimad Ramayana from his maternal uncle [Maathular] Sri Periya Thirumalai Nambhi – as mentioned in Guru Parampara saaram. Nadadur Azhwaan of Srivathsa kulam was born as the nephew of AchArya RaamAnujA and became the Sishya of his revered uncle and helped him immensely during the preparation of his Achaaryan's magnum opus, Sri BAshyam. Thus, Sri Bhashyakaarar’s nephews Sri Nadadur AzhwAn [sri Varada vishNu misrar], Sri Mudali ANdaan learnt sakala saasthrAs and Vedantha artthams from Sri Bhashyakaarar. They used to be with Sri Ramanujaachaarya always as if they were tridaNdam and Pavitram of Swamy Emperumaanaar. Swamy Ramanuja visited ThirukkOshTiyoor 18 times and only then Nambhi accepted him to listen and learn about AshTaakshara rahasyta artthams. When Swamy Ramanuja in the 19th time went to ThirukkOshTiyoor Nambhi, both Sri Nadadur Azhwaan and Sri MudaliyANDAn accompanied their uncle cum- Achaarya to ThirukkOshTiyoor for the blessings of manthrOpadEsam of Thirumanthiram. Swami KooratthAzhwAn also went along with them. ThirukkOshTiyoor nambi had asked Sri RamAnujar to come alone. RaamAnujA explained that Mudali ANDAn and AzhwAn, KurEsa were like his ThridaNDam and Pavitram and hence he can not leave them behind. Sanyaasi has to be with them always. ThirukkOshTiyoor nambi appreciated the daya of Achaarya RAmAnuja towards hisSishyas and performed ManthrOpadEsam for them as well. This is as mentioned in Guru Parampara saaram. When Achaarya RAmAnuja received upadesam on Charama slOkam, ThirukkOshTiyoor nambi again protested to include the Sishyas. AchArya RaamAnuja responded by saying that he could not but reveal the meaning to KurEsar. Nambi agreed, but sent back Mudali ANDAn. RAmAnuja later asked Mudali ANDAn to return to ThirukkOshTiyoor to serve nambi and receive his blessings. Swami Sri Nadadur AmmaaL [sri Vaathsya Varadaachaar] in his tattva saaram mentions at the end thus: varadhAdvaya maNdanO maneesheeyathi brundhaaraka bhOginEya powthra: Generally Sannyaasis never associate or refer themselves to their poorvaasrama relationships. In spite of that, AmmAL mentions herein: adiyEn – adorned with the name Varadan- the paternal grandson of the nephew of YathirAjA- has composed this tattva saaram. Nadadur Azhwaan’s grandson, VaradhachAr was born by the grace of Lord VaradarAjan. He became the AchAryan for AppuLLAr, the uncle of Swamy Desikan, Sudarsana Soori (the author of Srutha prakAsikai), vadakku Thiruveedhip PiLLai of Srirangam. He used to conduct his KaalakshEpams near the western prAkAram ofLord VaradarAjan's Garbha graham, which is near the Kacchi vaaiytthAn ManTapam. This ManTapam where Thirukkacchi Nambhi had asked Varadaraja PerumAL and the six words were spoken by the Lord on behalf of RAmAnuja. Sri VaradAchAr Swamy acquired the name of "Nadadur AmmaaL” because of the Lord recognizing his solicitude in serving milk at the right temperature. Lord recognized Samy VaradAchAr as His own "Mother" for the concern shown like a loving mother towards the infant child. Thus he is called Nadadur AmmaaL for his anubahvam and Bhaava as a caring and concerned mother to the Lord SarvEshwaran, PeraruLALan, Sri Varadharaja PerumAL. The Lord Varadaraja asked him "en ammAvO?" (Are you myMother? , as he takes such great care in even checking the warmth of the milk that is offered to the Lord Varadhan, ensuring that it is adequately warm, neithertoo hot, nor too cold. Good for His "thoNdai" (throat). Once, it appears AmmAL was sleeping at night. Kutti Varadhan came and sat next to him crying with quivering lips. AmmAL got up hearing the sobbing, andwas shocked to see his dearest Varadhu crying. "yENdaa Varadhu kutti azhaRE?" (Why Varadhu kuuti, why are you crying?) "andha archakar ennai Thirumanjanam paNREn pErvazhiyEnu, piRaandRaar. paaru, udambellaam nakha keeRal.” (That archakar- priest, while bathing me, scratches my body with his nails, vigorously... look at these lines on my body...) He got up with a jerk, and found it was a dream. Next morning he went and appealed to Archakar who was taken aback as to how he came to know of his "manhandling manner" of bathing Him. In his old age, Nadadur AmmaaL met the five year old VenakatanAthan, the nephew of Sri AppuLLAr and recognized form the Brahma thEjas in the face of the child and blessed it with the famous aseervAdha slOka: prathishtApitha Vedaantha: Prathikshiptha Bahirmatha: bhooyA: thraividhyamAnya: thvam bhurikalyANa bhAjanam You will establish and protect the true VedAntha (Vaidhika Matham based on true understanding of the sublime doctrines enshrined in the Upanishads and the Vedas) and become blessed with many auspicious happenings. Hence even the completely renounced YathirAjA has thus associated himself with nephews and blessed them even after taking Sanyaasa Asramam and says: I have renounced everything else except my nephews. Sri Embaar [cousin of Swami Ramanuja] served his maternal Uncle Sri Periya Tirumalai Nambhi after his uncle had corrected him and brought him back into the Sampradaayam. I am reminded of the incident of Sri Embaar [Govindhar]’s transformation. By the tricky deed of yAdavaprakAsar, Govindar, the cousin of RamAnujar became a staunch shiva bhaktA and this pained the heart of EmperumAnAr very much - since Govindar was so fortunate to take birth in a Srivaishnava family and so close to obtain the kainkarya sAmrAjyam at paramapadham, and now went far away from that path/ sampradAyam. Thus, his maternal uncle Sri Thirumalai Nambhi took the task of brining Govindar back to Srivaishnava Sampradaayam and started the upanyAsam on Srimad RaamaayaNam, near to the place where Govindar (a nAyanAr then) would pluck and collect flowers for shiva pUjA. Since Nambhi was the greatest authority on Srimad RAmAyanam, it attracted everyone’s attention there and they were enchanted and spellbound by the kalyANa guNAs of Lord Sri Rama. They were listening to it withmoist eyes. But, Govindar never got disturbed by RaamaayaNam and just carried out his Siva pooja routinely. Sri Thirumalai Nambhi later started with upanyasam on Bhagavad Gita and explained well about the paratvam of PerumAL. Then also, Govindhar was not moved yet. He was stubborn. As a last resort, Nambhi started the upanyAsam on the drAvida vEdam TiruvAimozhi. The most nectarine pAsurams of our Swami Nammaazhwaar started drilling the heart of Govindar. The Ramayana and GitA had already penetrated into his heart and now TiruvAimozhi is completing the task. And when it came to the pAsuram: dhEvum epporuLum padaikka poovil naanmukhanaip padaittha dhEvan emperumaanukkallaal poovum poosanaiyum thagumE ? “(2.2.4) Free translation: "Except emperumAn nArAyaNan, [who had created four faced BrahmA for him and instructed him to create everything including the demi gods / other deities],which others deserve worship through flowers?", Govindhar jumped down from the tree [where he was plucking flowers] and threw out the rudrAksha mAlai and the collected flowers, and fell down and prostrated at the feet of Sri Tirumalai Nambhi with copious tears rolling down his cheeks. He felt remorseful for having wasted his time and uttered loudly "thagAdhu thagAdhu (for anya dEvathAs) and emperumAnukkE thagum". Rest is history as to how Govindhar got close to EmperumAnAr and became Embaar. This is how Sri Embaar came on line with the blessings and efforts of his maternal uncle Sri Tirumalai Nambhi. Even after Swamy Desikan’s period, the maternal Uncle Sri SashTa parAnkusa Swami taught and developed his nephew Sri Kaanchi Thathadesikan. One can also see from some of the statements in MahabhAshyam [3.3.18], where people learn from their maternal uncles. Thadh yaThA upADhyAyasya SishyO mAthulasya BhAgInEyam gathvA (SS) ha – “upADhyAyam bhavAn aBhivAdhayathAm”. ithi | sa gathvA mAthulamaBhivAdhayathE | thaThA mAthulasya bhAginEya: ushA DhyAyasya Sishyam gathvA aaha- ‘mAthulam bhavAn abhivAdhayathAm” ithi | sa gathvA upADhyAyAm abhivAdhayathE. “. This is from Mahabhashyakaarar Sri PathAnjali’s words. On similar lines, Sri Barthruhari also says: AchAryO mAthulasChEthi yaThaikO vyapdhiSyathE | sambhanDhibhEdhdh arThAThmA sa viDhi: yakthi bhAvayO: Why? Sage Apasthambha learned everything from his maternal uncle –cum-AchArya Sri Bodhaayanar. Thus Swamy Desikan learnt Vedanta from his maternal uncle Sri AppuLLAr which is also the ancient traditions to learn from mAthular [maternal uncles]. What did he learn? Sakalaa: kalaa: sakala saasthrA artthams. [From the article written by Swami Sri Srivathsankachariar in “Sri Hayagrivapriya”, Dec 2001 issue] ----------------------------- To Continue ============================================================= xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ============================================================= 3."DRAMIDOPANISHAD TATPARYA RATNAVALI" PART 1: BY SRI N.KRISHNAMACHARIAR SWAMI OF CHICAGO --------------------- The topic of the series that is starting with the current submission is "dramiDopanishad tAtparya ratnAvaLi". This is a work by svAmi deSikan, and reflects on the guNa-s of bhagavAn that are described by nammAzhvAr in his tiruvAimozhi. The current series will draw from several sources: The vyAkhyAnam for tAtparya ratnAvaLi by SrI uttamUr vIrarAghavAcArya svAmi (hereafter denoted in short as SrI UV), the vyAkhyAnam in maNi pravALam by SrI ve’nkatTeSAcArya included in the publication titled “bhagavad vishaya sAram” by tirukkuDanthai SrImad ANDavan, SrImad ANDavan’s simple and easily understandable vyAkhyAna-s for the pASurams in his bhagavad vishaya sAram, a handwritten manuscript containing meanings in tamizh for all the Sloka-s of tAtparya ratnAvaLi by Sri V. K. RamAnujAcArya which was made available to me through the kindness of SrI Srinivasan Soumyanarayanan from New Delhi, a translation for the Sloka-s of tAtparya ratnAvaLi in the form of English poems by R. Rangachari, which again was traced and provided to me by another bhAgavata, SrI Robert Evans of Chicago, and the meanings given by SrI P. B. aNNa’ngarAcArya for the Sloka-s of tAtparrya ratnAavaLi in his divyArtha dIpikA. Rather than a verbatim translation of any of the vyAkhyAna-s above, the current write-up will draw from all the above sources. The drawback is that the write-up will be limited by aDiyEn's very limited knowledge – in fact by the lack of any knowledge. But because of the infinite Blessings of asmad AcAryan, I am sure that this write-up will fulfil the objective of immersing the devoted readers in the enjoyment of the delightful kalyANa guNa-s of emperumAn as presented by svAmi deSikan in his SrI sUkti in the form of tAtparya ratnAvaLi, which he has selected from nammAzhvAr’s tiruvAimozhi. tAtparya ratnAvaLi is a work in samskRt, composed in the form of Sloka-s by svAmi deSikan. svAmi deSikan points out that his composition lists the thousand guNa-s of bhagavAn as reflected in the thousand pASuram-s of nammAzhvAr in his tiruvAimozhi, and also explains the importance of each of these guNa-s for cetana-s like us. SrI UV points out that the original palm-leaf manuscript of svAmi deSikan's work is not available any more for this grantham, and only a moth-eaten copy is available. The earliest vyAkhyAnam for tAtparya ratnAvaLi is by SrI ra'nga rAmAnuja muni, also known as `upanishad bhAshya kArar'. His work on tAtparya ratNavaLI was not a stand-alone and full-fledged vyAkhyAnam for this grantham; instead, he has interspersed his vyAkhyAnam for this grantham in his work on tiruvAimozhi in samskRt (onpadinAyirappaDi). An AcArya by name SrISaila ve'nkaTAcArya svAmi has provided a vyAkhyAnam for tAtparya ratnAvaLi in maNipravALam. One of the parakAla maTham svAmi-s has written a `padineNNAyirappaDi" vyAkhyAnam for TiruvAimozhi based on SrI ra'nga rAmAnuja muni's work mentioned earlier, and thus has attempted a vyAkhyAnam for tAtparya ratnAvaLi as part of his vyAkhyAnam for tiruvAimozhi. Based on a critical review of all the above works, SrI UV concludes that it is unfortunately evident that even before the 16th century work by SrI ra'ngarAmAnuja muni, the full text of svAmi deSikan's work had been lost to us because of damage by moths etc.; SrI UV is able to make this deduction based the following: - While SrI ra'ngarAmAnuja muni has included the Sloka-s from tAtparya ratnAvaLi in his work, he has not mapped the tAtparya ratnAvaLi Sloka-s with nammAzhvAr's pASuram-s in a consistent manner for all the Sloka-s. This indicates that he had difficulty in making such a mapping, which in turn suggests that the version that was available to him in the 16th century had already undergone some changes compared to the original work of svAmi deSikan. A possible explanation for this situation might be that the original manuscript had been corrupted by moths, and some scholars must have substituted their own words for the damaged parts and in the process, they might have introduced errors. - SrISaila ve'nkaTAcArya svAmi has indicated some difficulty in filling in the missing guNa-s in the manuscript that he had access to, which is the same version that was available to SrI ra'ngarAmAnuja muni. Expert search for available manuscripts by a devotee at the University of Chicago reveals that manuscripts are available for tAtparya ratnAvaLi in libraries in India. However, I do not have the means to access these manuscripts and benefit by them for this write- up. SrI UV has made an attempt to fill in the missing guNa-s in the currently available copy of the original palm-leaf manuscript, and thereby attempting a correction of possible errors in the manuscript that was available to him. The result is what he gives us in his work titled `sAra ratna prabhAvaLi', which is the title he has given for his vyAkhyAnam for svAmi deSikan's `dramiDopanishad tAtparya ratnAvaLi'. All the above history has led some to question the authorship of the original work itself. Based on SrI UV's vyAkhyAnam and the other available limited resources that I am able to access, I am unable to figure out the extent of the loss to the original manuscript. It is the domain of research scholars to figure out how much of the original text has been lost, based on the currently available version of the original palm-leaf manuscript. However, SrI UV categorically points out that there is no need to question the original authorship, and that the grantham is definitely a composition of svAmi deSikan. SrImad tirukkuDanthai ANDavan has included the Sloka-s from tAtparya ratnAvaLi in his bhagavad vishayam vyAkhyAnam, and has included SrI ve’kaTeSAcArya’s maNipravAla vyAkhyAnam. A similar word-for-word meaning is included by SrI P. B. aNNa'ngarAcArya svAmi in his tiruvAimozhi vyAkhyAnam as well for the first three pattu-s. A couple of nAlAyira divya prabandham books have the Sloka-s of tAtparya ratnAvaLi, and one of them has a simple mapping between the guNa-s in tAtparya ratnAvaLi with the corresponding guNa in the pASuram-s of tiruvAimozhi. A couple of bhAgavata-s (one from the U.S. and one from India) has tried to support me by finding resources to help me with the write- up. Among the vyAkhyAna-s available to me, SrI UV's commentary is more detailed than the others. Just for the sake of completeness, it should be pointed that this work of SrI UV is probably his last one before he attained parama padam. SrI UV has noted in his Introduction that he could not personally review the contents of his work because of failing health, and that there are likely to be errors because of this. In the vyAkhyAnam itself, the level of detail included for the different Sloka-sdiffers in detail (for example, some Sloka-s in the Introductory section include word-word meanings, while others are just summaries for the Sloka-s). This inevitably means that the level of detail in my English presentation will also be fluctuating. With this Introduction, and with my AcArya's ever-present blessings, I commence this write-up describing the guNAnubhavam of bhagavAn as revealed to us by svAmi deSikan that he has extracted for us from nammAzhvAr's divine outpourings in the form of tiruvAmozhi. ----------------------------- (To Continue) =========================================================== xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx =========================================================== Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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