tAtparya ratnAvaLi - Submission 20 - Slokam 13 - Part 1. pASuram 1.3.1.

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SrImate SrI ra'nga rAmAnuja mahA deSikAya namaH.

 

tAtparya ratnAvaLi Slokam 13 – tiruvAimozhi 1.3 - pASuram 1.3.1.

 

bandhArhatvAt sva-bhaktaih (1.3.1) adhikatara guNa ananta divya

avatArAt (1.3.2)

sarveshu AsaktimatvAt (1.3.3) nata sugamatayA (1.3.4) sva-prabodha-

pradatvAt (1.3.5) |

khyAtAbhikhyAdi-cihnAt (1.3.6) sva-ruci-vitaraNAt (1.3.7) sarva-

kAla-AsrayatvAt (1.3.8)

SarvAdeh-sva-a'nga-dAnAt (1.3.9) prahita-padatayA (1.3.10) ananta-

saulabhyam (1.3) Aha ||

 

The guNam that is being emphasized in this tiruvAimozhi is captured

by svAmi deSikan as "ananta-saulabhyam" – Infinite Ease of access".

(svAmi deSikan has included the guNa emphasized at the daSakam level

at the end of the corresponding Slokam for each tiruvAimozhi, as is

indicated above by high-lighting). We will note the guNa chosen for

each pASuram of tiruvAimozhi 1.3 by svAmi deSikan stands out to

support this guNa of anata-saulabhyam at the daSakam level.

 

pASuram 1.3.1: Paratvam alone is not sufficient in order to enable

the jIva-s to surrender to Him with the full confidence that He will

accept the jIva. saulabhyam is equally essential. It is this guna

of saulabhyam of emperumAn that is sung in tiruvAimozhi 1.3.

bhagavAn is difficult to access only for those who do not have

devotion to Him; for His devotees, He is sulabhan. pASuram 1.3.1

sings about "pattuDai aDiyavarkku eLiyavan" – sva-bhaktaih

bandhArhatvAt - He lets Himself be tied by His devotees through

their devotion. yaSodA tied Him with a tiny stretch of rope, and He

stood powerless, just pretending to cry – mattuRu kaDai veNNai

kaLavinil uraliDai AppuNDu ettiRam uralinODu iNaindirundu E`ngiya

eLivE!". Many gopi-s tied Him up with their love for Him. The guNa

to be enjoyed is that He submits Himself to easy access and lets

Himself be tied by their devotion.

 

In the first tiruvAimozhi, bhagavAn's paratvam is pointed out; in the

second, AzhvAr advises us to surrender to Him with devotion. The

natural question that arises is: Given that He is sarvasmAt paran,

is it even possible to approach Him? This is like asking someone who

has lost both his hands, to climb on an elephant. In the current

tiruvAimozhi, AzhvAr points out that bhagavAn is easily accessible to

those who truly want to attain Him – He is like the elephant that

kneels down so that the person without both hands can still climb on

it. He takes incarnations so that He is available to those of us who

want to access Him. He takes incarnations such as the kRshNa

incarnation that are filled with saulabhyam. It is up to us to

meditate on Him and attain Him.

 

SrImad tirukkuDanthai ANDavan points out that `pattu' in "pattu uDai"

is not a reference to bhakti yoga that is very difficult to follow

for even the most intense practitioners; it is a reference

to `paRRu' - `ASA lESam' – the tiniest amount of desire to reach

Him. Some even interpret the word `pattu' to mean `advesham – lack

of love to Him'; in other words, He is a sulabhan to those who do not

have hatred towards Him; that is all what He looks for. It is His

nature to not forsake anyone who approaches Him with genuine love –

"mitra bhAvena samprAptam ne tyajeyam". He is One who declared that

He is the `servant' of sage viSvAmitra when He accompanied him to

protect his yAga – imau sma muni SardUla ki'nkarau samupasthitau. He

tells arjuna that it is His nature that He is easily accessed by a

truly devoted one, just as the complexion of an individual (being

dark, fairm etc,) is natural to that individual. BhagavAn has

demonstrated this by being a messenger, by being a Charioteer, etc.

Perhaps more illustrative is the fact that rAvaNa could not even as

much as move lalshmaNa when he had lost conscience in the

battlefield, whereas devotee hanuman just easily carried away the

same lakshmaNa with no difficulty whatsoever. He is One who let the

cowherd girl yaSodA tell Him – "Now, if You are capable, release

Yourself from this mortar to which You are tied" – "yadi Saknoshi

gaccha tvam"; She tells this Infinite Power above all powers – "If

You are capable". He just remains tied - such is His saulabhyam to

His devotee. She says "Shut up!", and He just stands without

crying, without moving. All we need to do is to have the faintest

amount of desire to attain Him (ASA leSam, to use SrImad ANDavan's

words).

 

SrI UV points out that, consistent with AzhvAr's use of the plural –

"paTTuDai aDiyavarkku", svAmi deSikan uses the plural "bhaktaiH".

He also gives another interesting meaning to the words "bhaktaih

bandha arhatvAt" of svAmi deSikan – He Who has made Himself easily

availabale to mix with His devotees.

 

-dAsan kRshNamAcAryan

(To be continued)