tAtparya ratnAvaLi - Submission 10 - Slokam 8.

[Guest guest]

SrImate SrI ra'nga rAmAnujA mahA deSikAya namaH.

 

tAtparya ratnAvaLi - Submission 10 - Slokam 8.

 

Slokam 8:

 

sevyatvAt bhogya bhAvAt Subha-tanu vibhavAt sarva-

bhogyAdhikatvAt

Sreyas-tad hetu dhAnAt Srita vivaSatayA svASritAnishTa

hRtvAt |

bhaktac-chandAnuvRtteh nirupadhika suhRd-bhAvatah sat-padavyAm

sAhAyyAc-ca sva-siddheh svayamiha karaNam SrIdharah

pratyapAdi ||

 

In this Slokam, svAmi deSikan gives the ten guNa-s that are to be

enjoyed at the Satakam level (groups of hundred pASurams), which

stand to establish the one guNa identified and enjoyed at the

grantham level. This was the subject of Slokam 6 at a different

level of detail. We will discuss the relation between Slokam 6 and

Slokam 8 after looking at the meaning of the current Slokam.

 

The subject matter of the ten Sataka-s as given in this Slokam, is

listed sequentially below:

 

- sevyatvAt – bhagavAn is worthy of being worshipped – guNa of

sevyatvam

- bhogya bhAvAt –He is fit to be enjoyed – guNa of bhogyatvam

- Subha tanu vibhavAt – He has an auspicious tirumEni that can

erase all sins of those who meditate on It – guNa of SubhASraya divya

vigrahaSAlitvam

- sarva bhogyAdhikatvAt – He is the Ultimate Bliss above all

objects that can be enjoyed – guNa of sarva bhogyAdhikatvam

- Sreyah tad-hetu dAnAt – He bestows the best among all the

purushArtha-s or things that are sought by the devotees - namely

moksham, as well as the means to attain it – guNa of purushArtha tad-

upAya hetutvam

- Srita vivaSatayA – Easily accessible to those who have

surrendered to Him – guna of prapadana sulabhatvam or prapatti

sulabhatvam

- sva ASrita anishTa hRtvAt – Remover of all the sorrows of

those who have taken refuge in Him – guna of ASrita anishTa

nivartakatvam

- bhaktac-candAnuvRtteh – He is subject to the wishes of His

devotees – guNa of ASrita chandAnuvartitvam

- nirupadhika suhRd-bhAvah – Being a bandhu (relative, well-

wisher) to everyone by nature, without any reason or expectation –

guNa of nirupAdhika suhRtvam

- –sat-padavyAm sAhAyyAc-ca – Helping and guiding on the right

path – guNa of sat-padavI sahAyatvam. SrImad tirukkuDanthai ANDavan

explains that the `right path' here refers to the arcirAdi mArgam

through which the jIva wo has attained liberation (mukta jIvanI is

led to SrI vaikunTham. (SrI PBA's words are: tAL aDaintOr

tan'gaTkut tAnE vazhit tuNaiyAm avan emperumAn).

- SrIdharah sva-siddheh svayamiva karaNam – (Because He is

endowed with all the above guNa-s), The Lord of SrI is Himself the

means to attain Him

- pratyapAdi – This, SrI nammAzhvAr establishes unambiguously.

 

SrI P. B. aNNa'ngrAcArya svAmi (hereafter referred as SrI PBA)

comments that the statement in the last pAda of the current Slokam –

sva-siddeh svayamiha karaNam SrIdharah pratyapAdi – is the grand

theme that is established through the thousand pASuram-s of the

grantham; this is also stated in the first pAda of the previous

Slokam - deva: SrImAn sva-siddheh karaNamiti vadan ekam artham

sahasre.

 

Possible relation between Sloka-s 6 and 8:

 

To understand the possible relation between Sloka-s 6 and 8, it is

first necessary to understand the importantce of the first 3 Sataka-s

in the context of the whole grantham. It is held by pUrvAcArya-s

that the first 3 Sataka-s contain the essence of the whole grantham,

at a higher level. (Additionally, it is also considered that the

first 3 tiruvAimozhi-s or daSaka-s also contain the essence of the

grantham in them, and in fact, the first three pAda-s or lines of the

1st pASuram also state the essence of the grantham (upAyatvam,

upeyatvam, and divya ma'ngaLa vigrahatvam).

 

As if to signify this point, AzhvAr declares the Ultimate benefit –

the moksha phalan, at the conclusion of the third Satakam itself –

 

………………………………………………………. avan

nADum nagaramum na'nguDan kANa nalaniDai Urdi paNNi

vIDum peRuttit tan mU ulagukkum tarum oru nAyagamE (3.10.11)

 

Keeping this point in mind, we will now look at the possible relation

between Sloka-s 6 and 8 of tAtparya ratnAvaLi, and see how there is

no redundancy, but an organization built in here. It was noted

earlier that Slokam 6 dealt with the same topic as the current Slokam

does, but at a different level. The guNa-s identified in Slokam 6

were: upAyatvam, mukta prApyatvam, and Subha subhaga tanutvam for the

first three Sataka-s. The guNa identified for the fourth Satakam was

ananya-prApayatvam, which is a further extended description of the

guNa of prApyatvam identified in the second Satakam. Then for the

remaining Sataka-s, the guNa identified in Slokam 6 is ananya-

upAyatvam, which is related to the guNa identified for the first

Satakam. Thus, one can notice that three principal guNa-s are

identified in Slokam 6 in the first three Sataka-s, signifying that

the first three Sataka-s contain the essence of the whole

tiruvAimozhi. The current Slokam then extends and expands the three

principal guNa-s identified in Slokam 6 into ten guNa-s for the ten

Sataka-s. (In a tree-structure, Slokam 4 expands on the guNa

described in Satakam 2, and Slokas 5 to 10 expand and support the

guNa expressed in Sstakam 1.

 

Additional thoughts:

 

There are differences in the way that different vyAkhyAna kartA-s

interpret the ten Sataka-s as explaining the main theme of

tiruvAimozhi. The IDu vyAkhyAnam gives the subject matter of the ten

Sataka-s as:

 

- bhagavat kainkaryam alone is the ultimate goal.

- Removal of the obstacles to attaining this goal.

- Bhagavad kainkaryam extends all the way to kainkaryam to

bhAgavata-s.

- The obstacles to kainkaryam are aiSvaryam, kaivalyam etc.

- BhagavAn alone is the One who can remove these obstacles to

attaining Him.

- Surrendering to Him for the removal of these obstacles.

- Feeling sorry that even after surrendering to Him, there is

no union with Him, and one has to suffer in samsAra

- Getting rid of all attachment to this samsAra

- Enjoying the Grace of nArAyaNa who willingly comes forward to

protect the jIva-s

- BhagavAn fulfilling the desire of AzhvAr.

 

vAdi kesari has given yet another interpretation, and gives the

following as the subjects covered by the ten Sataka-s: rakshakatvam,

bhogyatvam, jIva as one who should enjoy paramAtman alone, this alone

will give true joy to the soul, emperumAn as the upAyam, His being

chosen as the upAyam, the obstacles to this, removal of these

obstacles, the resulting benefits, and attaining these benefits.

 

Both the above interpretations deal with the Satakam level; these

works do not aim at identifying a central theme for the grantham as a

whole, or identification of guNa-s at the daSakam level or at the

level of the individual pASuram-s. In addition to giving us the

central theme for the grantham as a whole, and the guNa-s extolled by

Azgvar at the Satakam level, svAmi deSikan identifies and presents

the guNa-s at the daSakam level and at the pASuram level as well, and

also gives a natural connectivity between all these towards one

central theme for the whole grantham. This is the unique

contribution of tAtparya ratnAvali.

 

-dAsan kRshNamAcAryan

(To be continued)