The First Thiru Adhyayana Uthsavm at Lord RanganAtha Temple at Pomona , NY : Dec 22-31, 2001---PART III, Swamy Desikan's Taathparya RathnAvaLi, DhramidOpanishad , Nigama parimaLam (Luptham).

[Guest guest]

SrI:

 

AzhwAr AchAryan Udayavar ThiruvadigaLE saraNam

 

Sri RanganAtha ParabrahmaNE Nama:

 

Dear RasikAs of AzhwAr's dhivya prabhandhams:

 

There are so many postings and monographs available

on AzhwAr's Sri Sookthis .adiyEn referred to some of

them in my previous postings.

 

adiyEn thought it will therfore be better to focus on

some rare commentaries on ThiruvAimozhi by Swamy Desikan

in Sanskrit and the Tamil Sri Sookthi of AchArya Hrudhayam

by Sri Azhagiya MaNavALa PerumAL NaayanAr during this

Thiruadhyayana Uthsavam season. adiyEn will start with

Swamy Desikan's Sri Sookthis :

 

1. Nigama ParimaLam or the Seventy Four Thousand

in MaNi PravALam has been identified as one of the most

copious commentary on ThiruvAimozhi of Swamy Desikan .

Due to our misfortune , this extraordinary Sri Sookthi is

no longer available to us. Swamy had already given us

Prabhandha Saaram ( 18 verses) on the blessed works of

the 12 AzhwArs. Nigama parimaLam must have been

a gigantic elaboration of the many superb insights

and upadEsams of Swamy Desikan on the Four Thousand

Divine Collect.It is fortunate for us that Swamy

Desikan's references to the many individual paasurams

of the AzhwArs are linked to many master pieces such as

Srimath Rahasya Thraya Saaram , Muni Vaahana BhOgam.

Madhura Kavi Hrudhayam is also lost today. Sri Sookthis

such as DehaLIsa Sthuthi ( on Lord Thrivikrama of

ThirukkovalUr and the Mudhal AzhwArs) , DeavanAyaka

PanchAsath , AshtabhujAshtaka , VegasEthu SthOthram ,

ParamArtha Sthuthi, VaradarAja Panchaa Sath,Bhagavath

DhyAna SopAnam ,AbhIthi Sthavam , GodhA Sthuthi ,

dhivya Desa MangalAsanam (Five verses eulogizing

Sri Vaishnava Shrines at Srirangam , Thriuppathi,

MelkOte, Kaanchipuram ) are linked to the SaraNAgathi

Three rahasyams and Tatthva-Hitha -PurushArtha doctrines

celebratd by the AzhwArs in their Paasurams .

 

2. DhramiDOpanishad-Taathparya RathnAvaLI(DTR) :

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This magnificent work containing 129 Sanskrit verses

celebrates Swamy NammAzhwAr ThiruvAimozhi (DhramidOpanishad).

Swamy has already celebrated Swamy NammAzhwAr in Sri RanganAtha

PaadhukA Sahasram as the SatAri of the Lord of Srirangam

through 1008 divine Sanskrit verses .In DTR , the genius of

Swamy Desikan is at work . Individual decades of ThiruvAimozhi

( usually 10 to 11 verses ) have been summarized in ONE

Sanskrit verse. The first ten slOkams are Swamy Desikan's

tribute to Swamy NammAzhwAr.This is followed up in slOkams

11-123 with the 1102 Paasurams of ThiruvAimozhi (113 slOkams).

The remaining six slOkams provide " a synoptic account " of

the whole Sri Sookthi of DTR.

 

The great Acharyan , Abhinava Desika Sri UttamUr VeerarAghavAchAr

Swamy has blessed us with a rare commentary on DTR . The enormous

trouble that he has taken to check the various TaaLa Kosams

( Palm leaf manuscripts) , the suggestions for fixings of

uncertain sections will deserve our deepest gratitude always.

AdiyEn's summary on DTR will follow closely that of Sri UtthamUr

Swamy's Scholarly commentary .

 

3. DhramiDOpanishad Saaram(DS) : This brilliant work

consisting of 26 Sanskrit verses give the essence of

the ten sathakaas ( One hundred verses/Ten patthus ) of

ThiruvAimozhi , which is revered as the Tamizh Upanishad

(Veda Siras).Dr.V.K.S.N. Raghavan , the author of

the History of Sri VishishtAdhvaitha Literature has

pointed out that the last slOkam of DS is found

in SubhAshithanIvI of Swamy Desikan .

 

The structrue of Visadha Vaak SikhAmaNi , Sri MaNavALa

Maamuni's (1370-1444 C.E) ThiruvAimozhi NooRRanthAdhi

has the pattern of Swamy Desikan's ( 1268-1369 C.E) DTR

in the sense that both are distillations of the essence

of the individual decads of ThiruvAimozhi. Together ,

DTR and ThiruvAimozhi NooRRanthAdhi gives brilliant

insights into Swamy NammAzhwAr's ThiruvuLLam in His

magnum opus , ThiruvAimozhi.

 

4. AchArya Hrudhayam: This great Sri Sookthi is in

the form of two prakaraNams , each of which has many

soothrams .The grantha karthA is Sri Azhagiya MaNavALa

PerumAL NaayanAr , one of the two sons of Sri Vadakku

Thiruveethi PiLLai ( author of Eedu 36,000 paDi );

the other son is the most revered Sri PiLlai LokAcchAr

Swamy. Both sons of Sri Vadakku Thiruveethi PiLLai

were naishtika BrahmachAris , who devoted their entire

lives to the service of Lord RangnAthan. Swamy PiLLai

LokaacchAr blessed us with ashtAdasa rahasyams . His younger

brother blessed us with 6000 Padi VyAkhyAnam for ThiruppAvai,

KaNNinuNN SiRutthAmpu commentary , PattOlai and

AchArya Hrudhayam. Both Swamy PiLLai LokAcchAr

and Swamy Azhagiya MaNavALa PerumAL NaayanAr

were contemproaries of Swamy VedAntha Desikan.

Srirangam and Lord RanganAthan must have enjoyed

those rich days filled with the presence of

these great AchAryAs.

 

Sri PrathivAdhi Bhayankaram AnnangarAcchArya Swamy

of Kaanchipuram released a brilliant commentry on

" AchArya Hrudhayam " Of Anna Pukazh Mudumbai

Azhagiya MaNavALa perumAL NaayanAr in 1971 as a part of

the 600th anniversary celebration of Sri MaNavAla

Maamuni ,who has written a commnetary on AchArya

Hrudhayam . adiyEn will follow the vyAkhyAnam of

Sri PBA Swamy in my future postings on AchArya Hrudhayam.

 

From the shade of Sriranga VimAnam on the banks of Hudson River,

adiyen appeals to all BhakthAs and rasikAs of AzhwAr's

AruLiccheyalkaL to help celebrate the forthcoming

Thiruadhyayana Uthsavam at Sri RanganAthA temple ,

Pomona , NY and join the celebrations (Dec 22- 31,2001).

 

Sri RanganAyaki SamEtha Sri RanganAtha parabrahmaNE Nama:

Daasan, Oppiliappan Loil VardAchAri SatakOpan