tAtparya ratnAvaLi - Submission 30, Slokam 15 Part 1, tiruvAimozhi 1.4 svApadeSa

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SrImate ra'nga rAmAnuja mahA deSikAya namaH.

tAtparya ratnAvaLi - Submission 30 - Slokam 15 Part 1,

tiruvAimozhi 1.4 svApadeSam

 

 

· Slokam 15 (svApadeSam of tiruvAimozhi 1.4).

 

sadhrI bhavyAn (1.4.1) suvAcah (1.4.2) su-carita subhagAn (1.4.3)

kRshNa sArUpya saumyAn (1.4.4)

sva-AhAra udAra SilAn (1.4.5) tanudhRta bhagavan lakshmaNo (1.4.6)

bAlya guptAn (1.4.7) |

chAtra svac-chanda vRttIn (1.4.8) abhigata SiSirAn (1.4.9)

antara'nga ukti yogyAn (1.4.10)

AcAryAn kRshNa labdhau AvRNuta SaThajit preyasI dUta nItyA ||

 

This is the first tiruvAimozhi for which svAmi deSikan has composed a

Slokam to bring out the inner meaning of this tiruvAimozhi. We saw

that, in his nAyikA bhAvam, AzhvAr sends several birds as messengers

to emperumAn to convey his longing for Him. The inner meaning is

that all these messengers represent the AcAryan – in other words,

AzhvAr stresses the importance of the intermediary role of the

AcAryan in our attaining the Lotus feet of emperumAn. While every

pASuram of this tiruvAimozhi sings a different aspect of the guNam of

aparAdha sahattvam of emperumAn, it also simultaneously reveals to us

a corresponding guNam of our AcAryan that enables us to attain Him

easily through the blessings of the Lotus feet of our AcAryan.

Slokam 15 brings out the different guNa-s of our AcAryan that help us

to attain the feet of emperumAn. SrImad tirukkuDanthai ANDavan

points out that in these pASuram-s, the birds that are sent as

messengers refer to AcArya-s, and the prayer is to them is to

communicate to emperumAn our deep love to be united with Him. The

two wings of the bird represent j~nAnam and anushThAnam – the correct

understanding of SAstric knowledge and its strict observance in their

lives.

 

svApadeSam for pASuram 1.4.1: " am-SiRaiya namDa nArAi " pASuram. In

this pASuram, AzhvAr seeks the `am-SiRaiya maDa nArAi!' – the female

crane with its beautiful wings, to intercede with bhagavAn so that

bhagavAn grants His Mercy on the jIvan.. svAmi deSikan captures the

AcArya guNam conveyed here through the words " sadhrI bhavyAn " . SrI

UV suggests that the pATham may be more appropriately " sadhra para

bhavyAn " , and gives the literal meaning as " sahAyattODu SErndavarAi

SubharAna " , or " SErnda vastukkaLAL anukUlarAna " – " One who is

associated with those that endow him with the guNam of being

auspicious or being able to assist in our best interests " . The

different interpretations reflect the different aspects of this

association that the AcAryan has, that enable him to guide and assist

us in our best interests – such as the inseparable association with

emperumAn, being associated with the lineage of prAcArya-s or

pUrvAcArya-s, being equipped with j~nAnam and anushThAnam as the two

wings of a bird, being assisted by the AcArya patni who treats the

disciple as her own child, being endowed with auspicious qualities

such as infinite and selfless mercy towards the disciple, being

associated with easy accessibility, etc. We will see these

interpretations below.

 

SrImad tirukkuDanthai ANDavan gives the explanation as `eLidAgak

kiTTum paDi bhavyarkaLai iruppavargaL' - those who are so simple that

they are easily accessible, those who are endowed with the quality of

saulabhyam or easy accessibility (sadhri means `along with, together

with'; bhavyam means eLiyan, sulabhan, one who can be easily

approached).

 

SrI ve'nkaTeSAcArya explains the svAmi deSikan's phrase through the

words - " PurushakAra sAhityattAlE eLidAgak kiTTalAi irukkiRa

AcAryargaLai, sarvadA pEDaiyODE sa'ncarikkaiyAlE bhavya'nkaLai

irukkiRa nAraikaLAga nirUpittAr " – Our AcArya-s perform the role of

being advocates for us with emperumAn, and represent us to emperumAn

and pirATTi, and so they are easily accessible to us. They are also

simultaneously ever associated with emperumAn, the parama purushan.

Here, AzhvAr compares this role of our AcArya-s to the female crane

with modesty as one of her asttributes, and who is always together

with her nAthan – the male crane. In addition, AzhvAr identifies

another guNam of AcArya-s here by comparing them to the she-crane –

aLiyattAi – one who is endowed with great mercy – kAruNyam or

dayA. Note AzhvAr's words – Ah Ah enRu enakku aruLi – " Feeling

extremely compassionate about my pitiable state, shower your mercy on

me, Oh my Great AcAryan! " .

 

SrI PBA gives the interpretation for the guNa " sadhrI bhavyAn: "

as " " SevalODu kUDiyirukkum nAraigaL pOlE emperumAnODu iNai piriyAdu

irukkum AcAryargaL " – AcArya-s who are ever inseparably associated

with emperumAn like the she-crane that is always together with its

purushan – nIyum nin SEvalumAi. (sadhRi – together with, bhavyam –

existence).

 

SrI UV brings out some additional finer points for this pASuram. He

notes that " nIyum nin SEvalumAi " can be understood as a reference the

duality of AcAryan and AcArya patni. He points out that AcArya patni

can also equally advocate the case for the disciple to emperumAn. He

gives the example from SrImad rAmAyaNam (reference from IDu

vyAkhyAnam) – sa bhrAtuS-caraNo gADham nipIDya raghu nandanah |

sItAm uvAca ati-yaSA rAghavam ca mahA vratam || (ayodhyA. 31.2) –

While firmly holding the Feet of his Brother rAma, lakshmaNa

addressed his words to sItA and to rAma. He notes that sama-

prAdhAnyam or equal efficacy – primary role, is what is denoted here,

irrespectrive of to whom the request is made. It is explicit here

that upAyatvam is equally in the domain of pirATTi as well as

emperumAn.

 

Another interpretation for `nIyum nin SevalumAi' is a reference to

AcAryan and to the prAcArya-s (the AcArya lineage going back above

the current AcAryan) – in other words, a reference to the AcArya

paramparA of the lineage of AcArya-s.

 

The word maDa in `maDa nArAi' refers to the quality of AcAryan

forgiving the faults of the disciple, and showering his vAtsalyam

(kindness akin to that of the cow towards the calf) on the

disciple. `aLiyattAi' refers to the mercy to remove the sorrow of

the disciple. The reference to `am-SiRai' or the beautiful wings is

a reference to the j~nAnam and anushThAnam, as pointed out earlier –

" ubhAbhyAm eva pakshAbhyAm yathA ke pakshiNAm gatih, tathaiva j~nAna

karmabhyAm prApyate purushottamah " . The white color of the crane

refers to the sattva guNam of AcAryan.

 

In the context of singing the glory of emperumAn, the

words `ve'nciRaip puL uyartArkku' was interpreted as One Who has

garuDan who will not spare any enemy of bhagavAn's devotee' –

stressing bhagavAn's guNam of protecting His devotee at all costs.

When the same phrase is looked at another way, it sings the glory of

AcAryan. garuDan is the form of all the veda-s. AcAryan is one who

has veda as his pramANa or support for all his j~nAna and karma

anushThAna-s that will burn away even the worst sin of his

disciple. `van SiRaiyil avan vaikkil' – Even if emperumAn is angry

at the enormous sins of the jIva and refuses to as much as look at

the sinful jIva, the prayer to the AcAryan is to take mercy and

forgive the sins and protect the jIva.

 

`van SiRaiyil avan vaikkil vaippuNDAl en SeiyyumO' – `What difference

does it make even if He punishes you in the process by putting you in

prison?'. SrI UV gives an example that illustrates the meaning of

these words more than any words of mine can do. When bhagavad

rAmAnuja learned the significance of tiru mantra from tirukkOTTiyUr

nambi after great effort, he imparted the knowledge right away to all

his disciples without testing them much for their fitness to receive

the instructions. When his AcAryan questioned his action, bhagavad

rAmAnuja said that he could not bear to see the suffering of his

disciples, and had to uplift them right away without delay, and that

he himself was willing to undergo any punishment as a consequence.

Such is the extent of mercy of the AcAryan towards his disciples.

 

All of these guNa-s of AcAryan that are conveyed in this pASuram by

AzhvAr are condensed by svAmi deSikan in two words – sadhrI bhavyAn.

 

Now we will look at some pATha bheda-s – alternate versions of svAmi

deSikan's Slokam 15 for the phrase `sadhrI bhavyAn'. These

different versions are found in SrI UV's commentary for tAtparya

ratnAvaLi.

 

In the commentary on tiruvAimozhi by SrI periya parakAla svAmi

(padineTTAyirappaDi), he uses the words `prApta upAyAn " instead

of `sadhrI bhavyAn'. The meaning is: " One who is equipped with the

upAya-s or means for attaining Him " . The reference is to the

AcAryan's infinite Grace (aLiyattAi!), his two wings of j~nAnam and

anushThAnam (am-ciRaiya maDa nArAi!), and his association with his

prAcArya-s and pUrvAcArya-s (nIyum nin SevalumAi).

 

Another version given is `sad hRI bhavyAn' – He who is endowed with

modesty.

 

A pATham – " sad-dhI bhavyAn " , is also found. This means one who is

endowed with the right kind of knowledge. The right kind of

knowledge is a key attribute of an AcAryan. This appropriate

knowledge finds use in AcAryan's role as purushakAra bhUtan of

emperumAn – His representative as intermediary in helping the jIva to

attain Him. In onpadinAyirappaDi (na'njIyar), this knowledge is

referred to as " purusha kArattva upayogi j~nana sampat " - the wealth

of knowledge that is of use in enabling the role of purushakArattvam,

or intermediary pleading the case of the jIva to emperumAn. " sad-

dhI " here is explained by SrI UV as " sad-dhi ya vidye veditavye " –

The possession of the right kind of knowledge, and the ability to

communicate this knowledge to others who are in need of it.

 

The sheer size of the write-up for this first AcArya guNam far

exceeds the corresponding write-up of bhagavAn's guNam reflected in

this same pASuram. This makes me feel that nammAzhvAr primarily

sings the glory of AcAryan in this tiruvAimozhi, and bhagavAns' guNam

becomes only secondary. Such is the importance of AcAryan in our

sampradAyam – the prtyaksha daivam or Living God for us, who guides

us in our journey to attain Him.

 

-dAsan kRshNamAcAryan

(To be continued)