tAtparya ratnAvaLi - Submission 28 - Slokam 14 Part 4, tiruvAimozhi 1.4 contd.

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SrImate ran'ga rAmAnuja mahA deSikAya namaH.

tAtparya ratnAvaLi - Submission 28, Slokam 14 Part 4,

tiruvAimozhi 1.4 contd.

 

 

· pASuram 1.4.7:

 

enbu izhai kOppadu pOla pani vADai IrginRa

en pizhaiyE ninaindu aruLi aruLAda tirumAlArkku

en pizhaittAL tiruvaDiyin tagavinukku enRu oru vAi Sol

enbu izhaikkum iLam kiLiyE! yAn vaLartta nI alaiyE.

 

enbu pani vADai izhai kOppadu pOl IrginRadu; en pizhaiyE ninaindu

aruLi aruLAda tiru mAlArkku tiruvaDiyin tagavinukku en pizhaittAL

enRu oru vAi Sol; enbu izhaikkum en kiLiyE! yAn vaLartta nI alaiyE –

The cold breeze is piercing the fleshless bones of my body like a

thread that is stringing the bones together. Please bring word from

my Lord as to why, in spite of blessing me with flawless and complete

knowledge of Him, He is still keeping in His mind all my previous

sins, and refusing to bless me with union with Him. Ask Him what sin

I have committed that overrides even His unbounded mercy. (By not

helping me) You are grinding the fleshless bones of my body further.

Aren't you one who has been brought up by me?

 

svAmi deSikan captures the key guNam of bhagavAn sung in this pASuram

as " anugata mahishI sannidheh " – He who is endowed with an ever-

forgiving nature because of His inseparable association with pirATTi –

tirumAlArkku. The bhAvam here is that the parrot (read AcAryan)

will present the jIva's case for surrender in front of periya pirATTi

(tiru), who functions in the role of purushakAratvam (recommending to

emperumAn to forgive all the sins of the jIva and accept the

surrender). Our AcArya-s remind us of pirATTi's words – na kaScin

nAparAdhyati (yuddha kANDam 116-49). Recall also the similarity here

between rAman suffering from the cool breeze from the pampA river

while separated from pirATTi, and AzhvAr expressing his suffering

from the cool breeze and feeling the pain in the bones of the body as

if they are being pierced and a thread inserted through them (enbu

izhai kOppadu pOla pani vADai IrginRa). BhagavAn's guNam of kshamA –

aparAdha sahastvam when one surrenders to Him unconditionally, is

being emphasized by recalling the integral role of purushakAratvam of

pirATTi. In other words, His kshamA or aparAdha sahatvam is because

of the inseparable Duality that is bhagavAn with pirATTi, and it is

this inseparable Duality that we should worship

 

· pASuram 1.4.8:

 

nI alaiyE SiRu pUvAi! neDu mAlArkku en tUdAi

nOi enadu nuval enna nuvalAdE irundu ozhindAi

SAyaloDu maNi mAmai taLarndEn nAn ini unadu

vAi alagil in aDiSil vaippArai nADAyE.

 

SiRu pUvAi! nI alaiyE neDu mAlArkku en tUdAi enadu nOi nuval enna,

nuvalAdE irundu ozhindAi. nAn maNi mAmai SayaloDu taLarndEn. ini

unadu vAi alagil in adiSil vaippArai nADAyE – Oh little SarikA bird!

Even after I asked you to go to my Supreme Lord who is endowed with

extreme attachment to His devotees and convey to Him my disease of

extreme love to Him, you have not gone and communicated my message,

but have just stayed behind. As a result, I who fed you and brought

you up continue to lose all my feminine beauty. Now it is time for

you to look for someone other than me who will open your mouth and

feed you the sweet rice inside your mouth with fondness.

 

svAmi deSikan describes the key guNa of bhagavAn sung in this pASuram

as " sa'nga dairghyAt " – He who has extreme attachment to all the

beings. (The word `dairghyam' can be understood based on the word

dIrgham – long, extended; `sa'ngam' means attachment, love,

affection). nammAzhvAr refers to bhagavAn as `neDu mAlAr' in this

pASuram – " neDumAlArkku en tUdAi… " , and these words literally map to

svAmi deSikan's words – sa'nga dairghyam (neDu – long, extended, and

mAl – love, affection, attachment). SrI ve'nkaTeSAcArya gives the

meaning `ASritar iDattil migavum vyAmohattai uDaittAgaiyAlum' – He

who has extreme attachment and love towards those who have

surrendered to Him. SrI PBA gives the meaning – bhaktargaL

pakkalil paittiyam piDittavar – When it comes to His devotees,

bhagavAn is madly in love with them beyond all reason. It is this

extreme attachment to His devotees that leads Him to forgive their

sins – aparAdha sahatvam or kshamA.

 

It may be noted that the word `neDu mAlAr' has other interpretations

as well; for instance,

 

- mAl also means the Suprmeme Being – mAl = perumai uDaiyavan,

mEnmai uDaiyavan; neDu = vegu dUrattil irukkum – One who is far away;

and neDu mAl could mean `The Supreme Being who is far away from reach

(for the non-devotee – yArum Or nilaimaiyanan ena aRivariya

emperumAn – 1.3.4); one meaning given for the word `neDu mAlArkku'

is `dur-labhatayA dUrabhUtanAna sarveSvaranukku – kiDaikka ariyavanAi

irukkiRa emperumAnArkku - The Supreme Lord who is beyond easy

access; or

 

- neDu – nINDa aiSvaryam uDaiyavanum, mAl = vyAmohattaiyum

uDaiyavan – One who has supreme wealth and who has extreme attachment

to the devotees.

 

However, svAmi deSikan has chosen the meaning `sa'nga dairghyAt' –

One who is extremely attached to His devotees, to capture the guNam

of kshamA that is the most desirable guNam from the perspective of

the devotee who has committed enormous sins, and who surrenders to

Him and seeks His protection.

 

Note that the guNam brought out in the previous pASuram was `tiru

mAlAr', and the guNam brought out in the current pASuram is `neDu

mAlAr'.

 

-dAsan kRshNamAcAryan

(To be continued)