Srimath Azhagiya Singar Tele-UpanyAsam : Paasuram 9 of Madhura kavi azhwAr's KaNNInuNN SiRutthAmpu , Part II

[Guest guest]

Dear BhakthAs:

 

HH Srimath Azhagiya Singar underlined the fact that

Madhura Kavi AzhwAr saluted BhAgavatha Seshathvam ,

the doctrine, which is celebrated by Swamy NammazhwAr

as Sakala Vedha Taathparyam in His two ThiruvAimozhi

( Payilum SudaroLi : III.7 and NedumARRkku adimai: VIII.10 )

decads.

 

adiyEn covered the meaning of " Payilum SudaroLi " decad in

the previous posting as background for Srimath Azhagiya Singar's

UpanyAsam .

 

Today , adiyEn will cover some general observations

on the thoughts from ThiruvAimozhi dealing with

Bhagavath Seshathvam and connect them to the Paasura

Vaakhyams of Madhura Kavi dealing with BhAgavatha Seshathvam

following the analysis of Sri UthamUr Swamy .

 

The meanings of " NedumARRkku adimai " Paasurangal will be

covered in the third and final posting in this series.

 

As Srimath Azhagiya Singar Observed , Vedam dwells

mainly on Bhagavath Seshathvam. ThiruvAimozhi salutes

BhAgavatha Seshathvam , which is the inner meaning of the Vedam .

In other words, Vedam focussed on Tadh-Vishayam and ThiruvAimozhi

pointed out the primacy of TadhIya-Vishayam.

 

Sri T.C.A.VenkatEsan of Michigan has kindly agreed to summarize

the contents of the most recent UpanyAsam of Srimath Azhagiya Singar .

Hence , adiyEn will just invite your attention to the paasages of

ThiruvAimozhi Paasurams , which provided the inspiration for

Madhura Kavi AzhwAr to declare " ThEvu maRRaRiyEN , KuruhUr Nampi

Paavin innisai paadit-thirivEnE " . Madhura Kavi elected therefore

not to perform SaraNAgathi at the sacred feet of BhagavAn(Aayan

niRkka) , but sought as succour the Ponnadi of Swamy NammazhwAr.

For performing prapatthi at the Lord's feet , one needs

recommendation/SipArsu ( PurushakAram) from PirAtti.

For approaching PirAtti , One should reach first ,

the sacred feet of One's SadAchAryan. Therefore

Madhura Kavi chose Swamy NammAzhwAr's Paadha Kamalams.

Those holy feet were Madhura Kavi's parama prApyam(UpEyam)

and PrApakam (upAyam).His mind set was like that of HanumAn in

his relationship to Lord Raamachandran: " BhAvo Naanyathra

Gacchathi " ( My mind/devotion does not go anywhere else ).

For Madhura kavi , every thing centered around Swamy NammazhwAr .

He said that this is my AzhwAr's Thirunahar(i) , this is

my AzhwAr's Dhivya prabhandham , this ThirukkuruhUr Nampi is

my AzhwAr's AarAdhya Dhiavatham . Every vishayam was

AzhwAr-related or AzhwAr-Centric .Identification of his life

with his AchAryan,Swamy NammazhwAr was thus total for Madhura Kavi.

 

Sri UtthamUr Swamy on Bhagavath & BhAgavatha Seshathvam

*********************************************************

If Swamy NammAzhwAr is the epitome of practising Bhagavath

Seshathvam , Madhura kavi is the epitome/pinnacle of practising

BhAgavtha/AchArya Seshathvam. Madhura Kavi is the Aaadarsa

Purushar (exemplar)for AchArya Kaimkaryam and AchArya Bhakthi

oer any thing else (AchAryAdhiha DevathAm SamAdhikAm anyAm

na manyAmahE). Madhura kavi believed deeply in AchArya

Daasyam as the frontier land of Bhagavath Seshathvam.

 

Sri Abhinava Desika UtthamUr Swamy sums up brilliantly

the ten paasurams of Madhura Kavi and reveals to us

the links between the thought process of Swamy NammazhwAr

dealing with Bhagavath Seshathvam and Madhura Kavi's

feeling state centering around BhAgavatha Seshathvam .

Abhinava Desikan uses as the headers , the ten point

summary of NigamAntha MahA Desikan in his AdhikAra

Sangraham paasuram : " Inbhatthil, iRainjuthalil--tholl

vazhiyE nall vazhigaL thuNivArkatkkE " .adiyEn will take

them up one by one following Abhinava Desikan's

insightful analysis.

 

Dasa Vidha Sambhandham

***********************

(1) " Inbhatthil " : Swamy NammAzhAr(SN)said : " AppothaikkappOzhuthu

Yenn AaaravamudhamE " ; Madhura Kavi(MK) revealed : " Thenn

KuruhUr Nampi yenRakkAl aNNikkum amudhURum yenn naavukkE " .

If the bliss principle for SN was the Lord , for MK , it

was SN.He confided that his tongue will experience the sweet

nectarine taste , the moment he described the KalyAna

guNams of KuruhUr ParipoorNan (Nampi).

 

(2) " iRainjuthalil " : SN declared: " ThiruvEnkatatthAnE

puhal onRillAvadiyEn unnadikkeezh amarnthu puhunthEnE " ;

MK revealed: " mEvinEnavan Ponnadi meymayE, ThEvu

maRRaRiyEn " . If SN sung about the Lord of ThiruvEnakatam

as the object of his SaraNAgathi, MK identified the golden

feet of SN as the object of his prapatthi.MK swore that

his statement about SaraNAgathi at the feet of SN is not an

UpachAra Vaarthai , but it is sathya Vaak.

 

(3) " Isayum pERu " : SN's upadEsam is " Ozhivil KaalamellAm

udanAi manni vazhuvilA adimai seyya vENDum naamm " ; MK celebrated

his blessings as " KuruhUr Nampikku AaL-uriyanAi adiyEn peRRa

nanmayE " . SN chose and recommended Bhagavath Daasyam and MK

elected AchArya Daasyam as his Parama PurushArtham.MK declared

here that wearing of the birudhu as the Daasan of SN was

the treasured gift from the most generous KuruhUr Nampi.

 

(4) " IhazhAtha PalluRavu " : SN stated: " ThAyum TanthayumAi

ivvulahinil vaayumeesan MaNivaNNan yenthayE " . MK declared

about SN with all his heart : " AnnayAi AtthanAi Yennai

AaNDidum TanmayAn " .If the Lord is sarva vidha Bhandhu

for SN , That One for MK is SN.

 

(5) " irAgam MaaRuthalil " : SN piously described his fight

and transformation this way: " Innamudhena thOnRi Oraivar

yaavarayum mayakka nee vaittha munna maayam ellAm muzhu vEr

arinthu " . MK described his tansformation as entirely due to

SN: " nambinEn piRar poruL tannayum--madavArayum munnellAm

semponn maadat thirukkuruhUr nampikkanbhanAi " .Here , MK

declares that he abandoned Kaamams and engaged in efforts

towards Moksham through the purifying power of SN .

 

(6) " Tann paRRil " : For SN, the paRRu/puhazh was " yennai

tannAkki yennAl tannai inn-Tamizh paadiya Isanai " ; for MK,

it was " Tann puhazhEttha aruLinAn " . For MK , the blessing of SN

was to eulogize him (SN);for SN, the Lord was the One, who

blessed him to sing His glory.MK says that SN gave

him the Jn~Anam to sing about his (SN's) keerthi.

 

(7) " Vinai Vilakkil " : For SN, BhagavAn and Piratti were

the medicine to remove the vinaikaL( " sediyAr vinaikaL

theer marunthE " , " vEri maaRAtha poo mEliruppAL vinai

theerkkumE " ). MK announced that his medicine (marunthu)

for destroying his VinaikaL was SN ( Kaari Maarap PirAn

PaNDai Valvinai paaRRi aruLinAn). MK declared with certainity

that SN accepted his (MK's)daasyam and through his krupai

chased away all of his (MK's) ancient and powerful paapams

once and for all.

 

(8) " Tahava Okkatthil " : SN acknowledged that he knows

nothing except the dayai of the Lord ( aruL thaan ini

yAnaRiyEN, avvaruL allan aruLaum alla).That aruL of

the Lord was his Sarvasvam. For MK however, the aruL of

SN was every thing that mattered and he celebrated that

krupai : " Aayiramin Tamizh paadinAn aruL kaNDeer

ivvulahinil mikkathE " .

 

(9) " Tatthuvatthai uNartthatalil " : At the very beginning of

ThiruvAimozhi, SN acknowledged as to who it was that blessed

him with superior jn~Anam to comprehend His tatthvams:

" MayarvaRa Mathi nalam aruLinan yavanavn " . MK acknowledeged

that " MayarvaRa Mathi Nalam aruLiyavan " for him was none

other than SN ( Vedatthin uttporuL niRkkap paadi nenjuL

nirutthinAn). "

 

(10) " Tanmai aakuthal " : SN described the way in which

Bhagavaan intervened to engage him (SN) in His kaimkaryam

this way: " ThEvum Tannayum paadiyAdat-THIRUTTHI ,

yennaikkoNDu yenn paavam tannayum pARakkaitthum

yemarEzhazhu piRappum mEvum TANMAI AAKKINAAN " .

Tanmai aakuthal for SN is the granting of the boon

of Saayujyam by BhagavAn. MK in his turn declared

with utter visvAsam what was the blessing (tanmai aakuthal)

that he received from the MahOpakaari , his AchAryan:

" Payan anRu aahilum , paangu alar aahilum ,

seyal nanRu aaha THIRUTTHI paNi koLvAN " .

MK says here that SN accepted his adimai

(Daasya SveekAram) , whether such daasyam had any

fruit for him or not and whether he(MJ) was

a qualified adhikAri or not to receive such

a magnanimous blessing .MK says that SN corrected

the defects in him and others out of his parama

KaaruNika SvabhAvam as anAchAryan and made him and us

fit for nall Vazhi .MK says that SN as " anbhan , tannai

adainthavarkkellAm anbhan " corrected his gross deficiencies

in AachAram and anushtAnam and blessed him with

Parama PurushArtham of Kaimkarya Sri at his (SN's) feet.

 

The visEsha Bhakthi of Madhura Kavi for Swamy NammAzhwAr ,

the incarnation of VishvaksEnar , whom BhagavAn appointed

as the Trustee of all of His Isvaryam (VishvaksEnE

vinyastha samastha Aathma Isvaryam)is thus celebrated

by Madhura Kavi through his incomparable role model of

AchArya Seshathvam and Bhaagavatha Seshathvam.

 

Swamy Desikan in his dialog with Lord VaradarAjan of

Kaanchi celebrated this unmatched greatness of

the TadiyALs of the Lord this way:

 

" SamsrujyathE yadhi cha daasa jana:thvadheeya:

SamsAra yEsha Bhagavan ! apavarga yEva "

-- Sri varadarAja PanchAsath: slOkam 43

 

Swamy Desikan declares here that the boon of saameepyam

with the Lord and the company of His BhaagavathALs would

transform this sad samsAra maNDalam into veritable Srivaikuntam

on this earth .That is the anapAya VibhUthi or the imperishable/

unchanging /eternal wealth that Madhura Kavi described .

 

madhura Kavi azhwAr ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam

asmath AachAryan ThiruvadigaLe SaraNam

Daasan, Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri SatakOpan

Vikrama Maasi AmaavAsyai , Avitta nakshathram.