tAtparya ratnAvaLi - Submission 81 - Slokam 27 Part 4, tiruvAimozhi 2.5, pASuram-s 2.5.9 to 2.5.10.

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SrImate Ra'nga RAmAnuja MahA DeSikAya namaH

tAtparya ratnAvali - Submission 81 - Slokam 27 Part 4

 

tiruvAimozhi 2.5 - pASuram 2.5.9 to 2.5.10.

 

· pASuram 2.5.9:

 

SollIr en ammAnai en AviyAvi tanai

ellai il SIr en karumANikkac cuDarai

nalla amudam peRaRkariya vIDumAi

allimalar virai ottu ANallan peN allanE.

 

nalla amudam peRaRku ariya vIDumAy alli malar virai ottu AN allan peN allan

ellai il SIr en karu mANikkac cuDarai en AviyAvi tannai en ammAnai SollIr –

All of you should sing the praise of my Lord who is Supreme Nectar here itself,

obtained only through realizing and adopting Him as the only means, is like the

fragrance of the lotus flower, very different from all those called men and

women, is endowed with infinite auspicious qualities, is enjoyable and shining

like the precious blue diamond, and is the Lord of my soul.

 

SvAmi DeSikan has described the main guNam sung in this pASuram as ‘sad-guNa

Amoda hRdyam’ – (Amoda – delight, joy, pleasure; hRdya – loved.) – He

who is extremely likable because of His infinite kalyANa guNa-s and His

delightful appearance. SrI UV lists the following guNa-s sung by AzhvAr in this

pASuram:: ammAn – svAmittvam, His being the Lord of all; Avi – His act of

controlling everything; en karu mANikkac cuDar – His saulabhyam or easy

accessibility; ellai il SIr – His unlimited generosity associated with His

unlimited wealth). In another dimension, He is a delight to enjoy in all

respects: SuDar – a delight for the eyes; amudu – a delight for the tongue;

virai – a delight for the nose; Avi – a delight for the mind; and SollIr

– a delight for the ears.

 

· PASuram 2.5.10:

 

AN allan peN allan allA aliyum allan

kANalum AgAn uLan allan illai allan

pENumkAl pENum uruvAgum allanumAm

kONai peridu uDaittu em-pemmAnaik kUrudalE.

 

My Lord is not like the males in all the worlds, nor like any woman, nor

a sexless person. He is of easy access to a believer, and impossible to access

for a non-believer. He takes whatever form a believer wants Him to take, but at

the same time, He is not One who can be said to have that as His form. In

short, my Lord is beyond any description in a straightforward way.

 

SvAmi DeSikan captures the spirit of this pASuram with the words ‘viSva

vyAvRtti citram’ – ‘He who is of a wonderful appearance that is unlike

anything else that exists in all the worlds’ (vyAvRtti - exclusion,

distinction, removal, difference). Recall that the guNam at the daSakam level

is ‘vraja yuvati gaNakhyAta nItyA.anvabhu~Ngta - (vraja yuvati gaNAH –

the gathering of cowherd girls; khyAta nItyA – by the same rule, in the same

way; anvabhu’ngta – rejoiced, felt immense pleasure) – AzhvAr felt happy

the same way the cowherd girls felt happy because kRshNa was happy by

associating with them. In the current pASuram, AzhvAr sings the exceptional

beauty in form and in guNa-s that is natural to BhagavAn, and this is a natural

result of His happiness in uniting with His devotee.

 

Several supports are given from the Sruti-s that convey the point that BhagavAn

is beyond description, which is what AzhvAr is conveying in this pASuram.

 

· na bhUta sangha samsthAno deho'sya paramAtmanaH (MahAbhArata - SAnti parva

206-60) - His body is not made up of the combination of elements like earth,

water, etc. etc.

· nainam vAcA striyam bruvan nainam astree pumAn bruvan pumAmsam na bruvan

nainam vadati vadan kaScana | a iti brahma | (Rg veda AraNyaka 2.2) ‘One who

tries to explain the paramAtman neither describes Him as a male, nor a female,

nor a eunuch; that Supreme Brahman is represented by the letter ‘a’.

·

sa vai na devAsura-martya-tiryang

na strI na shaNDho na pumAn na jantuH |

nAyam gunaH karma na san na cAsan

nishedha-Sesho jayatAd aSeshaH ||

 

‘He is neither demigod nor demon, neither human nor bird nor beast. He is not

woman, man or neuter, nor is He an animal. He is not a material quality, a

fruitive activity, a manifestation or nonmanifestation. He is the last word in

the discrimination of " not this, or not that, " and He is unlimited. All glories

to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. (8.3.22-24).

 

In the ten pASuram-s of this tiruvAimozhi , AzhvAr enjoys and describes the

Supreme Bliss of PerumAl. This Supreme Bliss is attributed to His having

mingled with His devotee - AzhvAr. sAkshAt svAmi describes this guNam of

BhagavAn as ‘svApti muditatvam’. AzhvAr in turn rejoices because PerumAL is

happy. SvAmi deSikan compares AzhvAr’s joy with that of the gopi-s – whose

whole joy in mixing with BhagavAn is purely based on the fact that BhagavAn’s

happiness is because He is mingling with His devotees – vraja yuvati

gaNakhyAta nItyA.anvabhu~Ngta. In the ten pASuram-s, we will be seeing AzhvAr

describing BhagavAn’s Supreme Bliss from different aspects:

 

- His whole divine tirumEni and His divine weapons etc., get a new effulgence

when BhagavAn gets to unite with His devotee (2.5.1)

- He intermingles with His dear devotee with all the intense affection towards a

beloved (2.5.2)

- He acquires a whole new level of effulgence and grows like a glittering

mountain when He mingles with His devotee intimately, and this unique effulgence

is seen in His beautiful eyes, His reddish hands that look soft like the fresh

lotus petals, etc. (2.5.3)

- He continues to be the Insatiable Nectar and a delight to the devotee

irrespective of how many yuga-s have passed (2.5.4)

- He showers His mercy on His devotees like a fresh water-laden cloud during

the rainy season (2.5.5)

- He presents Himself with a variety of beautiful ornaments, in innumerable

forms, etc., to the devotee because of His joy in mingling with the devotee

(2.5.6)

- He is full of many famous sports (leelA-s) that are motivated by His desire to

please His devotee (prakhyAta – famous; prIti leelam – His famous sports

that are meant to please His devotee). (2.5.7)

- He is attached to His devotees beyond description through words (2.5.8)

- He presents Himself as extremely likable to the devotee through His infinite

kalyANa guNa-s and His delightful appearance. (2.5.9)

- He possesses guNa-s that are beyond description, as well as a form that is

beyond description. (2.5.10)

 

dAsan kRshNamAcAryan

-To be continued

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

evans.robert.d, mgsvasan, S