maNimADakkOvil (Periya tirumozhi 3.8.1) – tirunAngUr divyadEsam

[Guest guest]

SrIH

SrImate ra’ngarAmAnuja MahA deSikAya namaH

 

maNimADakkOvil(tirumangai AzhvAr’s Periya tirumozhi 3.8) – tirunAngUr

divyadEsam

 

Preface to this Series:

 

There are eleven divya kshetram-s in tirunAngUr region(in the vicinity of

sIrkAzhi) - tirumaNimADakkoyil, tiruvaikuntha viNNagaram, tiru arimEya

viNNagaram, tiruttEvanArtogai, tiruvaNpuruDOttamam, tiruccemponseikoyil,

tirutteTriambalam, tirumaNikkUDam, tiruveLLakkuLam, tirukkAvalampADi and 

tirupparthanpaLLi.        

These are collectively called the ‘tirunAngUr divya dESam-s’.

 

In the following link, u.vE. SrI uppiliappan varadAcAri SaThakopan svAmi talks

about all the eleven tirunAngUr divyadESam-s:

 

http://www.sundarasimham.org/ebooks/reflection5.pdf

 

and covers in extensive detail, seven of these tirunAngUr divyadESam-s, under:

 

http://www.ahobilavalli.org/vaikunta_vinnagaram.pdf

 

http://www.ahobilavalli.org/thiru_thevanar_thogai.pdf

 

http://www.ahobilavalli.org/semponsei_koil.pdf

 

http://www.ahobilavalli.org/arimeya_vinnagaram.pdf

 

http://www.ahobilavalli.org/thirutherriambalam.pdf

 

http://www.ahobilavalli.org/thiruvellakkulam.pdf

 

http://www.ahobilavalli.org/tkvmpadi.pdf

 

Pictures of some of the tirunAngUr divyadeSams are available in SrI Senthil

Kumar’s following blogs:

http://thiruvaikuntavinnagaram.blogspot.com/

http://thirusemponseikoil.blogspot.com/

http://thirunangur.blogspot.com/

 

SrI Senthil Kumar’s tirunAngUr 11 garuDa sEvai pictures are at:

 

http://picasaweb.google.com/b.senthil2002/ManjalkuliAnd11GarudaSevai#

 

For aDiyEn's write-ups on tiruppArthanpaLLi, tiruvaNpuruDOttamam and

timaNikkUDam please refer to:

 

http://www.srihayagrivan.org/html/ebook047.htm

 

http://www.srihayagrivan.org/ebooks/048_tvpdm.pdf

 

and

 

http://www.srihayagrivan.org/html/ebook060.htm

 

Next, aDiyEn will attempt to throw some light on maNimADakkOvil - tirunAngUr

divyadESam, using the following commentaries on tirumangai AzhvAr’s periya

tirumozhi 3.8:

 

 

1.SrImad tirukkuDandai ANDavan's vyAkhyanam-s

2.SrI PeriyavAccAn PiLLai's (SrI PVP) vyAkhyAnam-s, rendered by SrI PuttUr

kRshNasvAmi iyengAr

3.SrI uttamUr vIrarAghavAcAriAr's (SrI UV) vyAkhyAnam-s and

4.SrI P.B. aNNangarAcAriAr's (SrI PBA) vyAkhyanam-s

 

(Please set your encoding to Unicode UTF-8)

 

SrImad ANDavan tiruvaDigalE SaraNam,

kalyANi kRshNamAcAri

==============================================

 

Introduction to maNimADakkOvil (Periya tirumozhi 3.8) - tirunAngUr divyadESam:

 

mUlavar: nara nArAyaNan, nandA viLakkup perumAL

tAyAr: punDarIkavalli

tIrtham: indra pushkariNi, rudra pushkariNi

vimAnam: praNava vimAnam

mangaLASAsanam – tirumangai AzhvAr – 10 pAsurams

pratyaksham – indra, ekAdaSa rudra-s

 

A. SrImad tirukkuDandai ANDavan:

 

Unfortunately, SrImad tirukkuDandai ANDavan's introduction for this 3.8 periya

tirumozhi is missing. The source for SrImad ANDavan's vyAkhyAnam-s for the 3.8

tirunAngUr-maNimAdak kOvil series has been the SatamAna malar published by

SrIrangam SrImad ANDavan ASramam in March, 2007. The article on maNimADakkkOvil

is missing the introduction portion and the vyAkhyAnam-s for the first three

pAsuram-s on this particular temple.

 

If any of the devotees have a copy of the old SrIranganAtha pAdukA-s dating back

to 1986-1987 or thereabouts that contain the original publication of the

introduction and vyAkhyAnam-s of the first three pAsurams of periya tirumozhi

3.8, kindly share with aDiyEn, so that this gap can be closed.

 

B. SrI PVP:

 

This is the very first tirumozhi where AzhvAr starts indulging in tirunAngUr

divya dESam-s; eleven padigam-s starting from 3.8 thru 4.8 are all dedicated to

these eleven divya dESam-s. AzhvAr realized that he had entered a higher

plane with his serious desire to intimately enjoy perumAL; since his desire was

not successful, he settled down with the thought, “PerumAL has come to stay in

divya dESam-s only for us to enjoy that kind of intimacyâ€; hence, he declares,

“emperumAn is standing in tirumaNimADakkOvil divya dESam only to grant the

wishes of the deva-s who keep requesting Him for various phalan-s. Oh, my mind!

Go and enjoy Him in tirumaNimADakkOvil!â€

 

C. SrI UV:

 

After enjoying vayalAli maNavALan as himself, as a lady lover and as a mother of

the lover girl (3.5,6,7), AzhvAr starts praising the eleven divya dESam-s in

tirunAngUr. He ordains his mind to pay respect to maNimADak kOvil; since the

emperumAn who is residing in this temple is nara nArAyaNan, AzhvAr sings that

deva-s praise Him saying the light that provides tattuva j~nAna prakASam to the

whole world from bhadrikASramam is also the light for the southern regions.

Azhvar waxes eloquent about nara nArAyaNan in tirumaNimADak kOvil, as per his

own nature as nArayaNa parar indulging in tiru ashtAksharam.

 

D. SrI PBA:

 

tirunAngUr is a very big kshetram. As per the saying, “nAngUr nAlAyiramâ€,

there were four thousand households living in nAngur; in order to bless them

all, emperumAn took residence in several places in this area. This tirumozhi

3.8 extols the tirumaNimADak kOvil tiruppati in tirunAngUr.

 

============

 

maNimADakkOvil - Periya tirumozhi 3.8.1 nandA viLakkE:

 

nandA viLakkE aLattaRkku ariyAi

nara nArANanE! Karu mA mugil pOl

endAi emakkE aruLAi ena ninRu

imaiyOr paravum iDam ettisaikkum

gandAram antEn isai pADa

maNivaNDu mizhaRRanizhal tudaindu

mandAram ninRu maNam nalgum nAngUr

maNimADakkOvil vaNangu en mananE!

 

A. SrImad tirukkuDandai ANDavan:

 

Not available.

 

B. SrI PVP:

 

AzhvAr is declaring to his mind, “Go and pray to the perumAL who is in

tirumaNimADakkOvil where brahmA and others come and request His blessings to get

their desires fulfilledâ€.

 

nandA viLakkE – oh Lord, who is ever self-effulgent because of Your own

wisdom! A lamp that is ever-glowing and does not get extinguished. A lamp has

light as its form and also as its character. emperumAn is an everlasting light

which is a result of His j~nAnam and also His svarUpam.

 

aLattaRkku ariyAi – One who is immeasurable! He is omnipresent and also He

cannot be evaluated by His character and wealth; He is beyond all measures.

 

It is said that kUrattAzhvAn declares that these terms proclaim emperumAn to be

“satyaM j~nAnam anantaM brahmA†(taittireya upanishad). The phrase nandA

(not extinguishable) denotes 'satyam' – He is not influenced by birth, death

etc; the term 'viLakkE' implies His j~nAna SabdArttham; the term 'aLattaRkku

ariyAi' speaks for 'ananta' SabdArttham.

 

Thus these terms speak for the veda vAkyam 'satyaM j~nAm anantaM brahmA' and

thus His paratvam.

 

nara nArANanE! - You, who appeared as nara and nArAyaNa!

 

karu mA mugil pOl endAi – My Lord, who has a dark-hued tirumEni! During the

final deluge time and during 'creation' time, emperumAn takes up a sweet,

dark-hued form that we can all enjoy, as tiruppAvai-4 declares “Uzhi mudalvan

uruvam pOl mei karuttuâ€.

 

Or, it could also mean this way – first few pharases show the characteristic

traits of emperumAn's svarUpam. Much more attractive than that is His relaxing

form that is dark like the clouds; He displays that form and makes us all His

own.

 

emakkE aruLAi ena ninRu imaiyOr paravum iDam – addressing You thus, heavenly

inhabitants come and pray for Your blessings in this divyadESam.

 

jitante stotram 2 states:

 

devAnAM dAnavAnAM ca sAmAnyam adhidaivatam |

sarvadA caraNa dvandvaM vrajAmi SaraNaM tava ||

 

(Oh lord, who is common to both deva-s and asura-s, I take Your tiruvaDi to be

my salvation always!)

 

Even though perumAL is meant to be for all, deva-s, who are helpless, come and

pray to Him here to bless only them and not the asura-s.

 

ettisaikkum gandAram antEn isai pADa, maNivaNDu mizhaRRanizhal tudaindu

mandAram ninRu maNam nalgum – beautiful bees drink the nectar in the flowers

and buzz and sing the tune 'devagandAram' and the other bees are jubilant

because of the company; mandAra trees give shade to these bees with their fully

blossomed, fragrant flowers; this looks as if they are providing a shaded

platform for the singers.

 

mandAra trees are heavenly trees also called kalpakavRksham. The term 'maNam

nalgum' denotes the presenting of gifts to singers – here, the fragrant

blossoms.

 

nAngUr maNimADakkOvil vaNangu en mananE! - that place is tirunAngUr divya dESam

– tirumaNimADakkOvil. Oh my mind! Go and worship this emperumAn.

 

C.SrI UV:

 

Just as kUrattAzhvAn took the phrase 'nandAviLakkE aLattarkariyAi' to denote

'satyam j~nAnam anantam brahmA', SrImadrahasyatryasAram also follows the same

thought.

 

'nanda' points to bhagavAn's special attribute, not the brilliance of the lamp,

namely j~nAnam. 'viLakku' points to j~nAnam or knowledge.

 

SrIbhAshyam explains j~nAnam to be 'nityAsankucita j~nAnam' (eternally

non-shrinking wisdom); by the term 'nandA', bhagavAn's immeasurability due to

time is shown. 'viLakku' shows His immeasurability due to dESam. 'satyam

nirvikArasat' (unchanged Truth/unalloyed, blemishless truth-satyam) – 'nandA'

denotes He has no 'end' or vikAram; He is nirvikAran. 'anantam' shows that He

does not have the three kinds (kAlam, dESam, vastu ) of paricchedam-s. If He is

in one object and not in the other, He can be measured; but He exists in

everything. Thus, in general, He is immeasurable. That is why emperumAn is also

called 'anantan'. SrIrAmAnujar quotes Anandavalli 'nIlatoyatamat' while

explaining these phrases.

 

mandAram ninRu maNam nalgum – Just as the trees provide shade and compliment

the singers with 'fragrance', the elders in this divyadESam also do the same.

So, my mind, go and sing like the bees in this place.

 

D.SrI PBA:

 

brahmA and other deva-s worship emperumAn – nara nArAyaNan, saying all these

phrases together; but, each deva prays to Him saying 'bless me alone', 'bless me

alone'.

 

nandA viLakku – there are several pAsurams that talk about emperumAn as

'viLakku' - “vEdAnta vizhupporuLin mElirunda viLakku†(periyAzhvAr 4.3.11),

“mikka j~nAna mUrtiyAya vEda viLakku†(tiruvAimozhi 4.7.10) etc.

 

There is a difference between the ordinary lamp and this nandA viLakku

emperumAn. The worldly lamp does not need the help of another lamp to reveal

itself. It can be discerned by its own light and brilliance. But, to find this

nandA viLakku, nara nArAyaNa emperumAn, guidance is needed in the form of

another lamp. He can be found only by the light of wisdom. “j~nAnac cuDar

viLakku ERRinEn†(iraNDAm tiruvantAdi 1); “uNarvennum oLi koL viLakku

ERRi†(mUnRAm tiruvantAdi) talks about this light of knowledge. “hartum

tamas sadasatI ca vivektumISo mAnaM pradIpamiva kAruNiko dadAtiâ€

(SrIrangarAjasthavam uttara Satakam-1 – emperumAn provides us with SAstram as

a lamp to remove the darkness inside and to provide us the ability to

differentiate between what is good and what is bad) - SAstram is supposed to be

a big lamp that must be used to find emperumAn.

 

aLattarkkariyAi – [sri PBA also talks at length about SrIbhAshyam expounding

this phrase]

 

If emperumAn is in one place and does not exist in another, one can measure Him

with deSakAla paricchedam. But, He is sarvavyApi - “paranda taN paravaiyuL nIr

torum paranduLan†(tiruvAimozhi 1.1.10).

========

 

Abbreviations:

PVP = periyavAccAn piLLai

UV = uttamUr vIrarAghavAcAriyAr

PBA = P.B. aNNangarAcAriyAr

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End of periya tirumozhi 3.8.1 on maNimADakkOvil

----------

To be continued …..