tAtparya ratnAvaLi - Part 4 - Slokam 2 of avatArikA.

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SrImate SrI ra'nga rAmAnuja mahA deSikAya namaH.

 

tAtparya ratnAvaLi - Part 4 - Slokam 2 of avatArikA.

 

praj~nAkhye mantha Saile prathita guNa rucim netrayan sampradAyam

tat-tal-labdhi-prasaktaiH anupadhi vibhudhaiH arthito ve'nkaTeSaH |

talpam kalpAnta yUnaH SaThajit Upanishad dugdha sindhum vimathnan

grathnAti svAdu gAthAlahari daSa-SatI nirgatam ratna jAtam ||

 

Having thus declared the greatness of nammAzhvAr' tiruvAimozhi as one

that uplifts us from the cycle of birth and death, svAmi deSikan

proceeds to outline his next step. Given that all works about

bhagavAn deal with the enjoyment of His guNa-s, and given that a

simple study of AzhvAr's pAsuram-s should reveal these guNa-s, svAmi

deSikan tells us what he plans to achieve through this work of his,

in this second Slokam.

 

The rationale for undertaking this work is given in this Slokam.

There have been vyAkhyAna-s for tiruvAimozhi prior to svAmi deSikan,

and specific guNa-s have been identified for the pattu-s, for the

tiruvAimozhi, and even for specific pASuram-s. tirikkurugaip-pirAn

piLLAn has identified guNa-s associated with each tiruvAimozhi in his

ARAyirap-paDi vyAkhyAnam. PeriyavAccAn piLLai has identified guNa-s

sung in each tiruvAimozhi for the first pattu. The IDu vyAkhyAnam

describes the guNa-s sung by the different pattu-s in different

places. However, there is no consistency between these different

sources. Thus, the need was felt by the elders at the time of svAmi

deSikan for an analysis of the guNa-s of bhagavAn that are

specifically sung in each aspect of tiruvAimozhi. It is to fulfill

this need that svAmi deSikan undertook this effort.

 

 

- ve'nkaTeSah – (The author) tUppul ve'nkaTa nAthan

- tat-tal-labdhi prasaktaih anupadhi vibudhaih arthitah –

having been requested by scholars who were greatly desirous of

knowing the principal guNa of bhagavAn that is sung by the AzhvAr in

each pattu, in each tiruvAimozhi, and in each pASuram

- praj~nAkhye – using the ocean of knowledge received from his

illustrious AcArya-s

- manthaSaile – as the churning rod that is huge like a

mountain

- prathita guNa rucim sampradAyam netrayan – using the sacred

tradition imparted by the AcArya-s in specifically enjoying the

kalyANa guNa-s of emperumAn as the rope to churn this mountain of

knowledge

- SaThajit upanishad dugdha sindhum vimathnan – churning the

Milk-ocean in the form of AzhvAr's tiruvAimozhi that is an upanishad

(vedAntic work)

- svAdu gAdhA lahari daSa SatI nirgatam ratna jAtam – and using

the most enjoyable thousand precious stones that came out through the

thousand waves that rose in the form of the thousand pASuram-s of

AzhvAr

- grathnAti – has strung them together (in the form of this

composition. Thus, this work becomes a ratnAvaLi).

 

The term `guNa-ruci' in the Slokam means `the desire to know and

enjoy the specific guNa that is primarily brought out in each

pASuram, in each tiruvAimozhi, and in each pattu'. `sampradAyam

netrayan' can be understood as `using strictly traditional methods of

analysis'. `tat-tal-labdhI prasaktaih' refers to the situation

that the gunanubhavam (enjoyment of bhagavASn's guNa-s) is scattered

in a few grantha-s, and is incomplete and inconsistent, and hence has

led to the desire to know and enjoy the complete set of guNa-s of

bhagavAn that are sung in tiruvAimozhi. This is explained further in

the next paragraph.

 

It is well-known that bhagavAn acceded to the request of the deva-s

for amRtam, and using the mandara mountain as the churning rod and

vAsuki as the churning rope, He churned the Milk Ocean that serves as

the support for His bed, and got the amRtam (nectar) for the deva-s.

Similarly, svAmi deSikan accedes to the request of the learned elders

of his time, uses the mountain of knowledge that has been acquired by

him from his AcArya-s as the churning rod, uses the strict methods of

analysis based on sampradAyam (tradition) passed on to him by his

AcArya-s as his churning rope, churns the milk ocean called

tiruvAimozhi that serves as the support for Him like a comfortable

bed for all time, and draws out the 1000 gems (ratna-s) from the

thousand pASuram-s which are the nectar coming out of this ocean.

BhagavAn gives the nectar He got to all the deva-s; svAmi deSikan

gives this ratnAvaLi to all the devotees.

 

The deep regard that svAmi deSikan had for tiruvAimozhi grantham is

revealed by his use of the term `SaThajit upanishad dugdha sindhu' to

refer to tiruvAimozhi – AzhvAr's work is an upanishad itself (the

dramiDopanishad), that gives the summary of all the veda-s.

 

One cannot but help notice the deep devotion that svAmi deSikan has

for his AcArya-s. This is an important part of our sampradAyam.

SvAmi deSikan credits his AcArya-s for the knowledge he possesses,

and he credits his AcArya-s for the analytical principles and

approach that he is going to follow in digging out the gems from

AzhvAr's pASuram-s. AcArya bhakti is the key requirement for all of

us in attaining emperumAn.

 

There are those who are confused as to who the Supreme Deity is

according to nammAzhvAr. This is partly based on an incorrect

understanding of the meaning of AzhvAr's words in pASuram-s such

as `muniyE! nAn muganE! mukkaNNappA!', `ariyai ayanai aranai alaRRi'

etc. Though the question that is raised by some may seem strange to

us, AzhvAr himself points out that there is lot of confusion on who

the Supreme Deity is in the minds of people, and repeatedly points

out that SrIman nArAyaNa is the only One who can be the Supreme

Deity, and no one else. svAmi deSikan points out in his very first

Slokam that AzhvAr's tiruvAimozhi reveals to us the wealth that

is `emperumAn who is inseparably associated with SrI' – ramA

sannidhAnam nidhAnam'. In this second Slokam, he is pointing out

that tiruvAimozhi is the milk ocean in which the never-aging SrIman

nArAyaNa who is a youth even at the time of pralaya, reclines for all

time – SaThajit Upanishad dugdha sindhu: kalpAnta yUnah talpam.

 

-dAsan kRshNamAcAryan

(To be continued)