Guest guest Posted January 7, 2001 Report Share Posted January 7, 2001 i apologise to the bhagawatas of the net for a mixup.the first part of the piecetitled aravamudhe was not mailed while the second part was.i am remailing the twoparts and request you to bear with me. dasan,sadagopan. Srimate Srivansatakopa Sri VedAnta Desika YathindrA mahA DesikAya namaha “AaraavamudhE” AdiyEn would like to pose a difficult question to Sri VaishnavAs-which would you consider the most evocative and most meaningful of the Divya PrabandhA decads?(it may not be correct or appropriate to comparatively evaluate the emotional outpourings of various AlwArs, but one may be excused for undertaking the exercise ,purely for the purpose of rasAnubhavam. Just imagine Sriman NarAyanA,in his nAga paryankA,resplendant with his divya Mahishis and DivyAyudhAs,listening raptly to the various AlwArs/Nityasooris singing His praise in any and all forms,with vEda vinnappam (Etat sAmA gAyannAsthE) on one side,Prabandha GhOshti(exhorting Him to “Munnindru kEttaruLAi”) on another,and PoorvAchArya/Desika srisookthis on yet another side, all vying with one another in their efforts to please UbhayavibhoothinathA with their vAchika/gAyika kainkaryam. The scene described above would closely resemble the AdhyayanOtsava GhOsti At Thirukkudanthai. Well,don’t you think that,with all his aparimitha gnAnA, emperumAn would be hard put to choose from among the aforesaid Sreesookthis,in terms of gAmbhiryam,mAdhuryam,arttha pushkalathvam ,etc.? Yet,as He listens to all these immeasurably sweet verses ,the Lord does reserve a special,intimate portion of His attention to the Prapanna Jana Kootasttha ,the one He honoured with the soporific “NammAzhwAr”. If you were to be blessed with divya shrothras and chakshu: like SanjayA, ,you would also observe that His special attention is riveted on one particular decad of the blissful ThiruvAimozhi –the fifth- and the patthu in praise of the Thirukkudanthai kidantha maal-beginning with “AarAvamudhE”. For, it is these ten pAsurams which are arguably the best of the entire divya prabandAs. If “yet sArabhootam tat upAdadheeta” were to be applied to the Divine 4000, one would invariably plump for “ArAvamudhE”. AdiyEn can almost see the die-hard devotees of Peria Thirumozhi, PeriAzhwAr Thirumozhi and Choodikkodutha NachiAr’s sri sookthis and otheres of their ilk rise up in arms in defence of their particular favourites-but please listen to adiyEn’s words, however unworthy ,untrained and lacking in substance they may be, before passing final judgement. But for Sri AarAvamudhAzhwAn blessing Sri Nathamuni with the good fortune to hear “ArAvamudhE” at His sannidhi, the SampradAyam would have lost the invaluable PaithAmaham dhanam comprising the divya prabandAs. It was not enough if Sri Nathamuni heard the pAsurams-Sri ArAvamudAzhwAn saw to it that the AchArya heard the best ,most evocative, and emotionally appealing Patthu. .HE therefore chose “ArAvamudhE”,which instantly electrified Sri Nathamuni and galvanized him into seeking the rest of the divya prabandAs from Sri NammAzhwAr,in his yOga dasa,through the recitation of “Kanninun SirutthAmbu”. AdiyEn craves the indulgence of the perusing bhAgavatAs to dwell rather elaborately on the apparent and hidden treasures one may discover in “ArAvamudhE” . This one Patthu has in it what is to be found in all the rest of the prabandhAs,and what is not found in it cannot be found,despite diligent search,in all the other AzhwArs’ sreesookthis. The test of completeness of any adhyAtma shAstrA,is its ability to mirror the Arttha Panchakam,which, according to the HAritha SamhitA,is as follows:- PrApyasya brahmano roopam,prAptuscha pratyagAtmana: PrAptyupAyam phalamchaiva PrAptivirOdhis tataivacha Vadanti sakala vEda:sEthihAsa purAnakA: Or,in sweeter tamil, Mikka irainilayum meyyam uyirnilaiyum Thakka neriyum thadayagi thokkiyalum Oozhvinayum vAzhvinayum (Odhum kurukayarkOn Yazhinisai vedatthiyal.) This thanian makes it clear that the entire ThiruvAimozhi is but an elaboration of the Arttha Panchakam. Here,Mikka irainilai refers to Parabrahma swaroopam,of which the following are the lakshanAs-aparimita gnAna aanandatvam,ananta mangala guna visishtatvam,jagat srishtyAdi vyApAra seelatvam,aprAkruta divya mangala vigraha visishtatvam,rakshakatvam,etc. Shall we see how these attributes is beautifully portrayed in “ ArAvamudhE” ? The very first word of this ThiruvAimozhi is immensely evocative and appealing.Just utter the word “ArAvamudhE”-don’t you feel like exclaiming with sri Madhurakavi “Annikkum amudhoorum en nAvukkE”?And is there a better word to comprehensively describe the Parabrahma swaroopam? Each sambhOdhanam in these pAsurams is a gem indeed. ”Adhi Moorthi “, for instance instantly indicates Jagat Karanatvam . EmperumAn’s Paratvam is eloquently mirrored by The words “VanOr KomAnE”, “NedumAlE”,”Amarar Thalaiva””Adip perumoorthy” etc.- at the mere mention of these, the picture of ParamapathanAthan, in all his unapproachable splendour,is brought before our eyes. Similarly, another brahma lakshanam, viz., aprAkrutha Divya mangala vigraha visishtatvam,is eloquently portrayed by the following passages in this ThiruvAimozhi-“ErAr kOlam thigazha kidanthAi” “ EzhilErE” “nAl thOL endAi” “ PorchudarE” “ pavaLak kundrE” Nemip padayAi” .And the most distinguishing attribute, PundarikAshatvam,is brought out by the AzhwAr by the inimitable words ‘SendAmarai Kanna”, in a scintillating translation of the upanishadic description “Yata kapyAsam pundarikamEva Akshini”.Sri Yamuna Muni too considers this a very important lakshanam, in his rhetorical question, “Ka:Pundarika nayana:”. Ananta kalyAna GunAkaratvam is brought out by the lines “pAr kAnumaLavum sellum keertthiyAi”, “UlappilAnE”, “AmudhE” YazhinisaiyE” “Arivin payanE” MamAyA ,etc. The second component of Arttha Panchakam,Atma Swaroopam, is charecterised by the principal attributes of Bhagawat Paratantryam(which AzhwAr incorporates in his loving words “Ennai AlwAnE”). Two of the Atma gunAs which flow from this are Bhagat ananyarha seshatvam and Ananya gatitvam. The former ,glorified by Sri Bhattar in his immortal words “UkArO ananyArham niyamayati sambandham ananyO:”., finds expression in the AzhwAr’s sri sookthi as “PiriyA Adimai ennaik kondai kudanthai thirumAlE” . Ananya gatitvam shines out from the passages “kalayvAi thunbam kalayAdu ozhivAi,kalaikan matrilEn” and” UnnAlallal yAvarAlum ondrum kurai vEndEn” PrAptyupAyam,for the Prapanna jana kootasthA,is naturally Prapatthi, and in his anxiety to ensure that every Sri VaishnavA adopts this easy path to liberation,Sri NammAzhwAr makes multiple allusions to the UpAya in this ThiruvAimozhi .Besides proudly proclaiming himself to be “Kazhalgal avayE saranAga konda Kurukur Satakopan”,he repeats the Moksha mArgam thrice more ,lest any one miss it the first time-“un charanam thanthu en sanmam kalayAyE”, “un thAl piditthhE selakkanE” “Un thALinai keezh irutthum ammAnE” .The last sentence also glorifies the SiddhOpAyam. PrApti VirOdhi, is aptly described by Swami Desikan as”AvidyA karma vAsanAdi roopamAna Moksha pratibandhaka vargam” of which the principal enemy is Bhagavannigraham , earned due to continuous disobedience of the Lord’s command(anAdi AgyA adhilanghanam).This AzhwAr ,who describes Virodhi more eloquently elsewhere as “thiNNam azhundak katti pala seivinai van kayitrAl punnai maraya varindu ennai pora vaitthAi puramE”,is rather brief in his references in this particular Patthu. He just refers to it in passing, as “Thollai vinai”, Thoora kuzhi” and TheerA vinaigal”. From the way Sri NammAzhwAr describes PrApti Phalam, which is the incomparable and unparalleled bliss that awaits the muktAtma on his ascension to SriVaikuntam,it would appear that Sri ArAvamudAzhwAn blessed Azhwar with such pleasure even in the Leela Vibhuti-for , in a krithagyatA anusandhAnam, he exclaims “ArAavamudhAi adiyEn aavi agamE thitthippAi”.It is clear that in a “Premiere Show”,so to say,EmperumAn gave magizh Maran a taste of the unbridled enjoyment in store at Sri vaikuntam by pervading AzhwAr’s body and soul, and ,true to his thirunAmam “AparyAptAmruthan”,filled AzhwAr with unending bliss. BhAgawatAs are now sure to agree with adiyEn that just as the Purusha Sooktham is considered to be the embodiment of all that is great in the VedAs (“VedEshu Pourusham Sooktham”), “ArAvamudhE”could well be said to occupy a similar pinnacle among its peers in Divya Prabandham .This is just the tip of the iceberg, as far as the hidden treasures of “ArAvamudhE” are concerned, which was evident even to mandamathis like adiyen,and Sri VaishnavAs are invited to the pleasure of avagAhanam in this rasAnubhava sAgaram, to come up with gems of their own. dasan,sadagopan. SrimatE Sri Lakshminrisimha pAduka sEvaka Srivan Satakopa Sri NarAyana Yatindra MahA DesikAya nama: “NedumAlE”,”Amarar Thalaiva””Adip perumoorthy” etc.- at the mere mention of these, the picture of ParamapathanAthan, in all his unapproachable splendour,is brought before our eyes. Similarly, another brahma lakshanam, viz., aprAkrutha Divya mangala vigraha visishtatvam,is eloquently portrayed by the following passages in this ThiruvAimozhi-“ErAr kOlam thigazha kidanthAi” “ EzhilErE” “nAl thOL endAi” “ PorchudarE” “ pavaLak kundrE” Nemip padayAi” .And the most distinguishing attribute, PundarikAshatvam,is brought out by the AzhwAr by the inimitable words ‘SendAmarai Kanna”, in a scintillating translation of the upanishadic description “Yata kapyAsam pundarikamEva Akshini”.Sri Yamuna Muni too considers this a very important lakshanam, in his rhetorical question, “Ka:Pundarika nayana:”. Ananta kalyAna GunAkaratvam is brought out by the lines “pAr kAnumaLavum sellum keertthiyAi”, “UlappilAnE”, “AmudhE” YazhinisaiyE” “Arivin payanE” MamAyA ,etc. The second component of Arttha Panchakam,Atma Swaroopam, is charecterised by the principal attributes of Bhagawat Paratantryam(which AzhwAr incorporates in his loving words “Ennai AlwAnE”). Two of the Atma gunAs which flow from this are Bhagat ananyarha seshatvam and Ananya gatitvam. The former ,glorified by Sri Bhattar in his immortal words “UkArO ananyArham niyamayati sambandham ananyO:”., finds expression in the AzhwAr’s sri sookthi as “PiriyA Adimai ennaik kondai kudanthai thirumAlE” . Ananya gatitvam shines out from the passages “kalayvAi thunbam kalayAdu ozhivAi,kalaikan matrilEn” and” UnnAlallal yAvarAlum ondrum kurai vEndEn” PrAptyupAyam,for the Prapanna jana kootasthA,is naturally Prapatthi, and in his anxiety to ensure that every Sri VaishnavA adopts this easy path to liberation,Sri NammAzhwAr makes multiple allusions to the UpAya in this ThiruvAimozhi .Besides proudly proclaiming himself to be “Kazhalgal avayE saranAga konda Kurukur Satakopan”,he repeats the Moksha mArgam thrice more ,lest any one miss it the first time-“un charanam thanthu en sanmam kalayAyE”, “un thAl piditthhE selakkanE” “Un thALinai keezh irutthum ammAnE” .The last sentence also glorifies the SiddhOpAyam. PrApti VirOdhi, is aptly described by Swami Desikan as”AvidyA karma vAsanAdi roopamAna Moksha pratibandhaka vargam” of which the principal enemy is Bhagavannigraham , earned due to continuous disobedience of the Lord’s command(anAdi AgyA adhilanghanam).This AzhwAr ,who describes Virodhi more eloquently elsewhere as “thiNNam azhundak katti pala seivinai van kayitrAl punnai maraya varindu ennai pora vaitthAi puramE”,is rather brief in his references in this particular Patthu. He just refers to it in passing, as “Thollai vinai”, Thoora kuzhi” and TheerA vinaigal”. From the way Sri NammAzhwAr describes PrApti Phalam, which is the incomparable and unparalleled bliss that awaits the muktAtma on his ascension to SriVaikuntam,it would appear that Sri ArAvamudAzhwAn blessed Azhwar with such pleasure even in the Leela Vibhuti-for , in a krithagyatA anusandhAnam, he exclaims “ArAavamudhAi adiyEn aavi agamE thitthippAi”.It is clear that in a “Premiere Show”,so to say,EmperumAn gave magizh Maran a taste of the unbridled enjoyment in store at Sri vaikuntam by pervading AzhwAr’s body and soul, and ,true to his thirunAmam “AparyAptAmruthan”,filled AzhwAr with unending bliss. BhAgawatAs are now sure to agree with adiyEn that just as the Purusha Sooktham is considered to be the embodiment of all that is great in the VedAs (“VedEshu Pourusham Sooktham”), “ArAvamudhE”could well be said to occupy a similar pinnacle among its peers in Divya Prabandham .This is just the tip of the iceberg, as far as the hidden treasures of “ArAvamudhE” are concerned, which was evident even to mandamathis like adiyen,and Sri VaishnavAs are invited to the pleasure of avagAhanam in this rasAnubhava sAgaram, to come up with gems of their own. dasan,sadagopan. SrimatE Sri Lakshminrisimha pAduka sEvaka Srivan Satakopa Sri NarAyana Yatindra MahA DesikAya nama: v Photos - Share your holiday photos online! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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