Inputs for CD ROMs : Part VIII-- Thirumazhisai AzhwAr : Part III, Thirucchantha Viruttham

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Thirucchantha Viruttham of Thirumazhisai Azhwar

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The second prabhandham of Thirumazhisai is Thirucchantha-

Viruttham with 120 passurams.They are the most plesant to

listen and are set in the brisk chantham style. It is most

auspicious and hence it has the prefix of " Thiru " .It is

Viruttham or vrutthAntham , a description of AzhwAr's

deep Bhakthi for Sriman NaarAyaNan as the Supreme One.

We will follow the commentary of Sri UtthamUr Swamy ,

who first wrote his scholarly commentary in 1955 and

a reprint of that was released in 1999 as a part of

the ongoing re-release of his out of print granthams.

 

Summary of Thriucchantha Viruttham

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In this dhivya Prabhandham , AzhwAr refers to the Tatthva-

Hitha-PurushArthams in his first three paasurams.Next ,

AzhwAr salutes the Para, VyUha forms of the Lord and

acknowledges the Lord as the One responsible for

tha samashti, Vyashti and Sarva Srishti ( Creation of

every kind as Jagath-KaaraNan) and says that it is not

easy for anyone to comprehend fully the SvabhAvam (true

nature) of the Lord , who is the antharyAmi of all ChEthanams

and achEthanams. AzhwAr states that the anugraham of the Lord

has made it possible for him to understand His svabhAvam.

 

After the salutation to the mysterious Tatthvams of

the MaayAvi , which defy comprehension (Yaavar KaaNa VallarE?),

AzhwAr shifts to the enjoyment of the many avathArams of

the Lord as HayagrIvan , Hamsam, Koormam , Narasimhan , Vaamanan ,

Raaman and KrishNan.AzhwAr expresses his disappointment that

he could not enjoy them with his eyes now and comforts himself

with the thought that the Lord exhibiting His Soulabhyam

is offering now His sevai to him as ArchA Moorthys at the many

dhivya dEsams like ThiruvEnkatam , Srirangam , Thirukkudanthai

and other Thiruppathis. He wonders why the people do not

resort to the worship the Lord , who is Sarva Sulabhan

waiting to bless them in His most beautiful ArchA form.

AzhwAr performs next upadesam for the deluded souls(SamsAris)

and uses the references from vedam and PurANams to remind them

that Sriman NaarAyaNan is the Supreme One and in His ArchA form ,

He can bless the SamsAris with the Moksha siddhi , when they adopt

Bhakthi or prapatthi as the means (upAyam)to get His attention.

 

After performing Upadesam as a compassionate AchAryan ,

AzhwAr returns to his anubhavam of the Lord. AzhwAr assures

the Lord of his deep and firm attachment to His Thiruvadi

as the means for his ujjeevanam.He expresses his desire

to perform Kaimkaryam to the Lord here and seeks uninterrupted

Kaimkaryam in Srivaikuntam , when his kaimkaryam here is

interrupted. He examines the upAyam for such a blessing

and recognizes that the destruction of the cycles of births

and deaths through MokshAnugrahm from the Lord is the only

sure upAyam to achieve his deep desire.

 

At this stage , he begins to conclude his Prabhandham and

seeks pardon from the Lord for deficencies in the celebration

of the Lord's anantha kalyANa guNams through his Prabhandham

( Paasurams 110, 111). From the 112 to 115th paasuram, AzhwAr

comforts his mind that the Moksha Siddhi is very near to attain

and asks his mind not to be concerned about that boon anymore.

He assures his mind that there will be no more suffering in samsAram

through repeated cycles of birth (na punar aavarthathE aspect

of Brahma Soothram).The 115th paasuram (Maanasa SambhOdhanam)

is a moving one:

 

atthanAhi annayAhi aaLum EmperumAnumAi

otthu ovvAtha pal-piRappu ozhitthu nammai AatkkoLvAn

MutthanAr MukundhanAr puhunthu namm uLL mEvinAr

yetthinAl idar kidatthi yEzhai nenjamE ?

 

(Meaning): Oh my poor mind worried about lack of upAyam

to attain Moksha Siddhi! The blemishless Lord (MutthanAr),

who is the granter of the boon of Moksham has made sure that

the incongrous births full of suffering will not happen any

more and has decided to accept us as His servants. For that

purpose , He has entered into us as the Father ( gariyAn Brahmadha:

PithA )instructing us on the upAyam , as the compassionate

Mother , who grows that Jn~Anam and as AchAryan who delivers

us at the feet of the Dhivya Dampathis. Froom here on , Oh My mind !

where is the reason for your worries about enjoying Saayujyam ?

 

In the 117th paasuram, AzhwAr boldly announces that

the Omnipotent Lord is going to banish all his physical

illness , mental illness ,deaths and rebirths in this world ,

the body and its infirmiites and lift him upto His

Parama Padham for nithya Kaimkaryam.The naamam that

AzhwAr chooses for the Lord in this Paasuram is Achyuthan

or the One , who will not falter(slip) in His effort to protect.

 

The last two paasurams ( 119 and 120) are joyous thanks

to Sri RanganAthan for His anugrahm of Moksham . Azhwar

states that in the 119th paasuram his aathma svaroopam

admixed with dEham and Indhriyams and stuck in the mud of

Paapams and PuNyams before has arisen now as a sparkling

flame (Jyothi) over those limiting bonds and has attained

the sacred feet of the Lord of Srirangam ( Ponni Soozh

ArangamEya Poovai VaNNan) ,rooted itself there forever

without any Jn~Ana SankOsam.

 

The 120th paasuram is a great celebration over AzhwAr's

parama BhAgyam of attaining Moksha Siddhi due to the grace

of Sri RanganAthan :

 

iyakku aRAtha palpiRappil yennai mARRi inRu Vanthu

uyakkoLL Megam VaNNan naNNi yenn nilAyathannuLE

mayakkinAn tann mannu sOthi aathalAl yenn aavi thAnn

iyakku yellAm aRutthu aRAtha inbha Veedu peRRathE

 

(Meaning): The Lord of Srirangam known for His play

to redeem jeevans had given me earlier repeated births

in varying bodies and now has charmed me with aj~nAtha

Sukrutham and has entered into my HrudhayAkAsam (Daharam

PuNdarIkam vEsama ). Through this blenovolent act , He

has torn to their roots and cast away all the karma vyAdhis

that plagued my AathmA and has granted me the ParamAnugraham

of the delectable (aanandha maya) Moksham (Veedu).From here on

the ishta prApthi of nithya kaimkaryam and anishta nivrutthi

( freedom from punar aavrutthi) are guranteed to me. Blessed

indeed am I !

 

UtthamUr Swamy sums up the greatness of Thirumazhisai

with a special slOkam :

 

anargha Bhakthi-bhAvitha Sruthi Smruthi prakrushta Dhee-

mahishta BHAKTHISAARA SOORI sookthaya: sudurgrahA:

 

Indeed , the Dhivya Sookthis of Thirumazhisai Known for

his blemishless Bhakthi are incomparable in (1) rejection

of the false doctrines (2) establishing Sriman NaarAyaNan

as the Para Devathai and (3) interpreting Tatthva-Hitha-

PurushArthams leading to Moksham in the most lucid manner.

 

Thirumazhisai AzhwAr ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam ,

Daasan , Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri SatakOpan