tAtparya ratnAvaLi - Submission 75 - Slokam 26 Part 2, tiruvAimozhi 2.4, pASuram-s 2.4.3 to 2.4.5.

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SrImate Ra'nga RAmAnuja MahA DeSikAya namaH.

tAtparya ratnAvaLi Submission 75, Slokam 26 Part 2,

tiruvAimozhi 2.4, pASuram-s 2.4.3 to 2.4.5.

 

· pASuram 2.4.3:

 

irakka manattODu eriyaNai arakkum mezhugum okkum ivaL

irakkam ezhIr idarkku en SeigEn arakkan ila'nkai SeRRIrukkE.

 

This daughter of mine is in extreme distress, and resembled the

hardened lacquer slowly melting, and now resembles the fast-melting wax

held near the fire. But You continue without any sympathy towards her

condition. What is there that I can do to deal with You, who destroyed

the city of La'nkA that was ruled by the rAkshasa by name RAvaNa?

 

In this third pASuram of this tiruvAimozhi, AzhvAr makes one more

well-known reference to BhagavAn's guNam of His " vyakta kIrti " of

''vyasana nirasanam' or His well-established trait of removing the

distress of His devotees - the instance of the slaying of RAvaNa who

was causing unbearable distress to the sages and other devotees of the

Lord. SvAmi DeSikan captures the trait of BhagavAn sung in this

pASuram with the words 'kshipta la'nkam' - 'arakkan ila'nkai

SeRRIrukku' - One who destroyed La'nkA ruled by the demon by name

RavaNa. (kshipta - eliminating). BhagavAn not only did not stop with

eliminating RavaNa, but He eliminated all the bad rAkshasa-s in La'nkA

(ila'nkai SeRRirukku, not just 'arakkan SeRRIrukku'). - such is the

extent of His concern for the protection of His devotees.

 

· pASuram 2.4.4:

 

ila'nkai SeRRavanE ennum pinnum, valam koL puL uyarttAi ennum uLLam

mala'nga vevvuyirkkum kaNNIr migak kala'ngik kai tozhum ninRu ivaLE.

 

My daughter is crying out to You with hope, while breathing out hot air

in her agony, recounting that You burnt the whole of La'nkA for the

sake of sItA PirATTi, and that You ride with the flag carrying the

powerful GaruDan. Tears are flowing out of her eyes as she is

constantly thinking of You with folded hands.

 

svAmi DeSikan chooses the phrase 'valam koL puL uyarttAi' - One who

has GaruDan who removes all poison on His high-rising flag -

kshvelapratyarthi ketam - (kshvela - venom, poison; pratyartha - to

combat; pratyarthin - hostile to, inimical; keta - mark, sign) - One

who has garuDa who removes all poison as His flag.

 

It is not very clear what specific instance in BhagavAn's leelA-s is

being referred to here by svAmi DeSikan, when he refers to 'garuDan who

removes all poison'. The meaning given by SrI Ve'nkaTESAcArya, SrImad

ANDavan, and Sri PBA are all consistent, and give the above meaning for

the words 'kshevala pratyarthi ketam'.

 

V: visha virodhiyAna vainatEyanai dhvajamAgap paDaittum

A: visha haranAna garuDanaik koDiyAgak koNDavan

P: visha virodhiyAna periya tiruvaDiyaik koDiyAga uDaiyavan

 

SrI UV comments that the incident referred to is garuDan removing the

poison resulting from the nAgAstram that had bound Lord RAma when

indrajit used the nAgAstram (the 'snake' astra) on Lord RAma during the

battle. SrI UV notes that the guNam of vyasana nirasanam or removal of

distress by BhagavAn is that He can come at an instant as the 'garuDa

dhvajan' (One with venom-removing garuDan in His flag) and help His

devotee.

 

AzhvAr is not explicitly referring to any specific incident where

BhagavAn riding GaruDan is rendering help to remove the distress of His

devotee; however, in his detailed vyAkhyAnam for this pASuram in his

tiruvAozhi vyAkhyAnam, SrI UV comments along the following lines:

 

" valam koL puL uyarttAi " does not pertain to rAmAvatAram (which is

referenced by AzhvAr at the start of the pASuram - 'ila'nkai

SeRRavanE'), but is used here with reference to instances such as the

gajendra moksham. For rukmiNi devi, He came in garuDa vAhanam. So

also was the case when He released the girls in narakAsuran's prisons.

In rAmAvatAram, when RAma Himself was bound by nAga pASam by indrajit,

garuDan came and released Him from the nAgAstram, and BhagavAn gave him

the high position in His flag - garuDa dhvajAnusmaraNAt visha vIryam

praSAmyati - 'meditation on the garuDa dhvaja of BhagavAn removes the

potency of the worst poison' " .

 

However, except for the case of garuDan removing the effect of the

nAgAstram that had bound Lord RAma, none of the instances given by SrI

UV have the context of poison beoing removed by garuDan - kshvela

pratyarthiketum. The example relating to removalof poison by GaruDan

is also a case of garuDan helping Lord RAma, and not Lord RAma helping

the devotees; it is to be understood that incarnation is a leelA of

BhagavAn, and He is One who has garuDa as His eternal servant, is the

antaryAmI of garuDan, and gives him the power to remove the effect of

the worst poison etc. Thus the sense in which BhagavAn's guNam is to

be understood here is that He is One who helps His devotees in distress

by hurrying with garuDan who has the power to destroy BhagavAn's

enemies as His vAhanam and as His flag. SrI Ra'ngachari has described

this guNam of BhagavAn with the following words: " On His ensign is

venom's antidote (GaruDa) - assurance of security to the distressed. "

 

AzhvAr uses the word 'valam koL puL uyarttAi', where 'valam koL puL'

refers to 'the strong and mighty garuDan'. He is both the vAhanam

(vehicle) and flag for emperumAn. In pASuram 1.4.1 (a'nciRaiya maDa

nArAi pASuram), AzhvAr refrs to the role garuDan plays in BhagavAn's

function of protection of His devotees - Ve'nciRaip puL uyarttArkku,

which is captured by svAmi DeSikan as 'trANe baddha-dhvajatvAt' - vem

SiRaip puL uyarttArkku - BhagavAn has raised His flag declaring that He

will protect His devotee at all costs. It is the same idea that is

conveyed here.

 

z pASuram 2.4.5:

 

ivaL irAp pagal vAi verI-i tana kuvaLai oN kaNNa nIr koNDAL vaNDu

tivaLum taNNam tuzhAi koDIr enat tavaLa vaNNar tagavugaLE.

 

Because she has not succeeded in having Your sight, she is incoherent

in her talk day and night, and is full of tears welling in her

beautiful eyes constantly. You decorate Your tirumEni with the cool

and fragrant tulasi garlands that attract a large crowd of bees, but

You are not giving Your tulasi garland to her, which is all what she

asks for. Is this the type of behavior that speaks for Your impartial

and unbounded Mercy towards Your devotees?

 

The attribute or guNam of emperumAn that is to be enjoyed in this

pASuram is the very beauty of His tirumEni, further enhanced by the

beautiful, cool, and fragrant tulasI garland that He wears - the very

meditation on which will remove all sins of the devotee. That the very

sight of His tirumEni destroys all our sins and purifies us is well

known. AzhvAr singles out the purifying nature of the divine tulasi

garland decorating His tirumEni in this pASuram - 'vaNDu tuvaLum taNNam

tuzhAi koDIr' - that AzhvAr in the nAyaki's role longs for, since even

the contact with the tulasi garland that has come in contact with His

divine tirumEni will help remove the distress that the devotee in

undergoing when separated from Him. SvAmi DeSikan captures this

thought through the words 'Srama hara tulasI mAlinam' - One who wears

the tulasI garlands that remove the devotee's distress.

 

-dAsan kRshNamAcAryan

(To be continued)