Bhagavad Ramanuja Vaibhavam- 1.57- Bhashyakarar's reverence for Swami Nammaazhwaar

[Guest guest]

SrI:

SrImathE Gopaladesika manahadesikaya nama:

 

Dearest all,

Continuing on our pastime of enjoying Bhagavad Raamanuja vaibhavam:

[as part of our series and service to Srivaishnavas to commeomorate the 1000th

year (2017)]

 

Above all AzhwArs, Sri Ramanuja’s devotion and

respect, love for NammAzhwAr is much more- shows

Amudhanaar. There is nothing equal to Sri

SaTakOpar’s most wonderful divine thousand verses

that are nothing but Upanishadic truths. The

Upanishads that are highly complex, and are in veda

bhAshA, Sanskrit language – much difficult for a

commoner to even read [let alone understand], even if

one is qualified with the right varna. All such inner

and esoteric meanings and dcelaraion of truth is very

beautifully and explicity declared in sweet Tamil

verses by NammAzhwAr. And that can be seen and enjoyed

in every single verse of His. Hence Amudhaar takes up

three beautiful verses on EmperumAnAr’s enjoyment

and devotion towards Nammaazhwaar.

 

Let us enjoy the 18th verse of Amudhanaar's

iraamaanusa nooRRanthAthi on EmperumAnAr’s

enjoyment of Nammaazhwaar:

 

eythaR kariya maRaikaLai aayiram in_thamizaal

cheythaR kulathil varumchata kOpanaich chinthaiyuLLE

peythaR kichaiyum periyavar cheerai uyir_kaLellaam

uythaR kuthavum iraamaa Nnuchanem uRuthuNaiyE. 18

 

NammAzhwAr blessed the world with His Divine pAsurams

that are the essence of not-easy-to-understand Vedas,

in sweet, simple Tamil words easily understandable by

everyone.

 

For other religious people (saTars- aj~nAnis), he

stood opposite to them, and was called SaTakOpar,

thus. Sri MadhurakaviAzhwAr was blessed to have Sri

SaTakOpar always fully in his mind as his AchArya. Sri

Ramanujacharya- Emperumaanaar, who gracefully blesses

and narrates to all his sishyas always about the

greatness of MadhurakaviAzhwAr [who always has only

Sri SatakOpa in his heart and surrendered to him with

acharya nishtai], is my only support and refuge [in

the footsteps of Sri Madhurakavi Azhwaar].

 

On other AzhwArs, probably Emperumaan, manifested in

the sooris, who took birth as those aazhwaars.

[anupravEsam]. Thus He composed these verses of other

AzhwArs.

 

poorvOthpannEshu bhoothEshu thEshu thEshu kalow

prabhu:|

anupraviSya kuruthE yath sameehithamachyutha: ||

 

Unlike that, Namaazhwaar took his avatharam in order

to sing Tamil veda alone, and from the day one after

he realized the right time to commence his

composition, he started singing these verses with his

jOthi vaay.. That is why is addressed as aayiram in

thamizhaal seydhaRku ulagil varum Satakopanai…

 

Madhurakavi is referred to reverently as periyavar

seerai.. He is considered as the “Elderâ€Â, because

he has relaised that Acharya nishtai is much superior

to Bhagavath nishtai. Hence he is much above the rest.

Periyavar.. His glories are always though of and

contemplated by Emperumaanaar. His path of Acharyan

Thiruvadi alone is the means and the Goal is the older

path and is the Great path. tholvazhiyE nalvazhi..

That’s why for us also, Acharya nishtai,

[surrendering to SadhAchAryan ThiruvaDi alone] is the

only way for us. He alone is our refuge. For us, thus

Sri Ramanujacharya alone is our refuge –says

Amudhanaar.

Anukalpabhoothamurabhitthdhadham sathAm – SaraNam

yatheendhra charaNam vruNeemahE.. Because he took the

greatest nishtai [path] he is Periyavar.. Also he is

older than nammaazhwaaar in age. Hence may be called

as periyavar. But that is not important for us.

[sri TV Venkatesh adds:] Brahma SutrAs are nothing but

the essence of the vEdAs and the upanishads.

 

Sri rAmAnuja wrote commentary for this, which is known

as Sri BhAshyam. Nobody has been able to challenge the

interpretations made by Sri rAmAnuja on the Brahma

Sutras. SwAmy azhagiya maNavALa perumAL nAyanAr, in

His magnum opus " AchArya Hrudayam " (This is an

unparalleled work, which describes the entire

thiruvAzimozhi with respect to the rahasyAs entrained

in it) says that idhu koNdu Sri bhAshaykArar

sUtrangaLai orunga viduvar. It means, Sri rAmAnuja

explains the brahma sUtras with the help of AzhwAr's

works.

 

Sri Vachana BhooshNam a very authentic rahasya grantha

by Sri piLLai lOkAchAryar (Incidentally he is the

elder brother of the above referred Sri azhagiya

maNavALa peruMaL nAyanAr) gives, vivid references to

many AzhwAr's works regarding the love that should

shown to all kinds of human creations. He even

compares the vEdas to AzhwAr's works in this aspect.

[Thanks to Sri Venkatesh]

 

In dEsika prabhandam, Swamy dEsika brings this point

out clearly by saying that seyya thamizh mAlaigaL nAm

theLiya Odhi, theLiyAdha maRai nilangaL theligindrOmE.

Means, the AzhwAr's works, gives out the clear meaning

of the, otherwise difficult to understand portion of

the vEdAs.

 

EmperumAnAr ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam

Regards

Namo Narayana

dAsan