tAtparya ratnAvaLi - Submission 25, Slokam 14 Part 1, tiruvAimozhi 1.4.

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SrImate SrI ra'nga rAmAnuja mahA deSikAya namaH.

 

tAtparya ratnAvaLi - Submission 25, Slokam 1.4 Part 1,

tiruvAimozhi 1.4.

 

· Slokam 14 – tiruvAimozhi 1.4 – a'nciRaiya maDa nArAi. :

 

trANe-baddha-dhvajatvAt (1.4.1) Subha nayanatayA (1.4.2) svArtha

 

lAbhe arthibhAvAt (1.4.3)

timyan-megha-svabhAvAt (1.4.4) jagad-upajanana sthApanA

 

ati-priyatvAt (1.4.5) |

kAruNya Aptatva yogAt (1.4.6) anugata mahishI sannidheh (1.4.7)

 

sa'ngadairghyAt (1.4.8)

nAnA bandhaih (1.4.9) sva-rakshAvahitatamatayA (1.4.10)

 

kshAmyati iti Aha kRshNam ||

 

svAmi deSikan describes the main guNam that is sung in this

tiruvAimozhi as `kshmA' – the forgiving nature of emperumAn, His

aparAdha sahatvam – His tolerance to our infinite sins. Note that

svAmi deSikan has indicated this through the last phrase in the

Slokam dedicated to tiruvAimozhi 1.4 above – kshAmayati – forgives.

SrImad tirukkuDanthai ANDavan points out that bhagavAn's guNa of

aparAdha sahatvam or forgiving our sins is the guNa that is revealed

in this tiruvAimozhi.

 

This tiruvAimozhi is in the form of outpouring of nammAzhvAr in

nAyikA bhAvam. Readers may recall that svAmi deSikan has devoted a

Slokam for the significance of the nAyikA bhAvam felt by AzhvAr in

one of the Introductory verses (Slokam 3 of Introduction). In the

first three tiruvAimozhi-s, AzhvAr has sung bhagavAn's greatness by

having His anubhavam in his mind. Now he feels the intense desire to

see Him in His form in front of him, and to embrace Him tightly.

Since bhagavAn has not appeared in front of Him physically, AzhvAr is

scorched by viraha tApam – the pain of separation, and feels the same

intense pain of separation that pirATTi felt when She was separated

from Him in His rAma incarnation. The pASuram-s of the tiruvAimozhi

are in the form of sending the different birds as messengers to Him

because AzhvAr wants to be united with emperumAn without any delay.

 

The different birds represent the intermediary role of the AcAryan in

our tradition. This is the key aspect of this particular

tiruvAimozhi – namely, that it reveals the need for us to seek an

AcAryan in order to attain Him. While each pASuram of this

tiruvAimozhi sings emperumAn's guNa-s that support His guNa of kshamA

at the daSakam level, the inner meaning of each of these pASuram-s is

that each reveals the greatness of AcAryan's role in attaining Him,

and the guNa-s of AcArya-s that facilitate our reaching Him.

 

This is a key aspect of this tiruvAimozhi, and svAmi deSikan has

brought out this svApadeSam (inner meaning) by dedicating an

additional Slokam (Slokam 15) for this tiruvAimozhi, which we will

cover after going through the current Slokam 14.

 

· pASuram 1.4.1:

 

a'nciRaiya maDa nArAi! ALiyattAi! nIyum nin

a'nciRaiya SevalumAi AvA enRu enakku aruLi

ve'nciRaip puL uyarttArkku en viDu tUdAi SenRakkAl

van SiRaiyil avan vaikkil vaippu uNDAl en SeyyumO.

 

am SiRaiya maDam nArAi! ALiyattAi! nIyum nin am SiRaiya

SevalumAi `Ah' `Ah' enRu enakku aruLi, vem SiRai puL uyarttArkku en

viDu tUDAi SenRakkAl, avan vaN SiRaiyil vaikkil vaippu uNDAl en

Seyyum? – Oh she-crane with beautiful wings and with the modesty to

fulfil my request! You with the bent of mind to show mercy! You,

together with your male counterpart who has equally beautiful wings,

should show pity on me, and go as my messenger to the Lord who has

the garuDa in His flag, (and convey my longing from separation from

Him); if that results in your being improsned by Him, there is

nothing wrong in your gladly accepting that also.

 

svAmi deSikan identifies the principal guNa of bhagavAn sung in this

pASuram through the words `trANe baddha-dhvajatvAt' – vem SiRaip puL

uyarttArkku - bhagavAn has raised His flag declaring that He will

protect His devotee at all costs. In His flag, bhagavAn has garuDan

who is violently dedicated to eliminating anyone who is opposed to

Him, thereby protecting anyone who has sought refuge in Him. The

underlying guNa is that bhagavAn will forgive all the sins of a

devotee who surrenders to Him unconditionally. " vem SiRai " refers

to the powerful wings of garuDan that will destroy anyone opposed to

the Lord. ASrita duhkha nirasaneshu krUra paksha-s – those wings

that are intensely powerful in destroying the sorrow of those who

have sought refuge in Him.

 

The different finer aspects of this pASuram are very beautiful to

enjoy, but they are not covered here for the sake of brevity.

 

· pASuram 1.4.2.

 

en Seyya tAmaraik kaN perumAnArkku en tUdAi

en Seyyum uraittakkAl inak kuyilgAL nIr alirE?

mun Seyda muzhu vinaiyAl tiruvaDik-kIzh kuRREval

mun Seyya muyalAdEn agalvaduvO vidiyinamE.

 

inam kuyilgAL! en Seyaa tAmarai perumAnArkku en tUdAi uraittakkAl, en

Seyyum nIr alirE? mun Seyda muzhu vinaiyAl tiruvaDik-kIzh kuRREval

mun Seyya muyalAdEn inam agalvaduvO vidi? - O gathering of cuckoos!

What can ever go wrong if you go as my messenger to my dear Lord and

convey my message to Him? Aren't you capable of doing this? The

message you should convey is that even though as a result of my

accumulated unadulterated sins in my previous births, I have failed

to even make an effort to perform kai'nkaryam to You when I had ample

opportunity, is it my misfortune that even after I have realized my

mistake, You keep me aloof and separated from You?

 

svAmi deSikan captures the key message from this pASuram as " Subha

nayanatayA " – He who is endowed with auspicious sight that bestows

His blessings on us – Seyya tAmaraik kaN perumAnAr. He is puNDarIka

daLa amalAyata IkshaNan – He has eyes that resemble the freshly

blossomed lotus, and His sight on us will remove all our blemishes

without trace. SrI UV comments that the reddish eyes are not a

result of His anger at the devotee, but a result of His constant

concern for the devotee. The meaning is that these eyes of His can

remove all undesirable elements from us, and bring us all desirable

benefits – anishTa nivRtti and ishTa prApti.

 

-dAsan kRshNamAcAryan

 

(To be continued)