nAnmugan thiruvandhAdhi-20

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Sri Parthasarathi thunai

Srimathe Ramanujaya Namaha

Sri Vara Vara MunayE Namaha

Sri vAnAchala mahA munayE Namaha

 

 

 

Paasuram-13

 

 

 

" veedAkkum peRRi aRiyAdhu meivaruththik

 

koodAkki ninruNdu konduzhalveer!-veedAkkum

 

meiporulthAn vEda mudalporuL thAn viNNavarkku

 

naRporuL thAn nArAyaNan. "

 

 

 

Azhvar in the previous paasuram declared that it is very easy to attain perumal

by obeying perumal and falling to his feet but those who have always been used

to doing hard jobs to attain the same result were unable to accept the same for

which azhvar answers in this paasuram as follows:

 

 

 

(veedAkkum peRRi aRiyAdhu) Azhvar wonders seeing the ignorance of the people who

believe that the achEtana temporary methods will grant them moksha and they

refuse to accept the actual upaya, the paramachetanan emperuman to be capable of

granting them moksha.

 

 

 

(meivaruththik koodAkki) In the process of trying to attain moksha by doing many

hard jobs like yagnas and vrathas these people strain themselves and cause

illness to their body. Their body looses all its flesh and is like a skeleton.

 

 

 

(nindru) Still they spend many days in the same manner

 

 

 

(vundu) After this they spend few happy days enjoying the fruit of all the

strong tapas they have done.

 

 

 

(konduzhalveer) You think that in the same manner you can attain moksha also.

Otherwise when read as 'kondru vuzhalveer' it means that they are living

straining themselves.

 

 

 

(aRiyAdhu meivaruththi...vuzhalveer) If the same physical strength is used for

kainkaryam then the same work will pave the path for moksha and also will give

us utmost happiness ( " susukam kartum " that which is pleasant to do - geetha

9-2). Instead putting the body to all these difficulties considering it to

grant us moksha is foolishness.

 

 

 

Oh! Azhvar if we are ignorant about the mokshOpAyam why don't you, a well

learned person let us know the same? Azhvar answers,

 

 

 

(veedAkkum meiporuLthAn nArAyaNan) The very name of the lord indicates that he

is the one capable of granting moksha. Have you not heard the pramana verse:

" nArasabdhEna jeevAnAm samooha: prochyathE pudhai: I gadhirAlambhanam thasya

thEna nArAyaNa: smrutha: II " [The jeevas are referred to by the word 'nAra:'

Being the prApyam and upAyam to those jeevas HE is called as nArAyaNan]

 

 

 

(veedAkkum meiporuL thAn) whatever karma you do, the result is obtained only by

his sankalpam. So those karmas can never become the direct way to attain

moksha emperuman alone is the direct upayam. So understand that all those

karmas are not ways to attain moksha instead consider them to be kainkaryam to

please the lord who alone can grant moksha.

 

 

 

Is there a proof that he alone is the mokshOpaya? Azhvar answers-

 

 

 

(vEda mudalporuL thAn) " nArAyanam....parAyaNam " [He is the supreme way (ultimate

upaya)] " udAmruthathvasyEsAna: " [paramapurusham is the king of moksha]

" amrudhayaisha sEdhu: " [He is bridge to take us to the moksha] Thus declares the

vedas that nArAyaNan is the ultimate supreme.

 

 

 

If he is the way that leads us to moksha then what is the result obtained? Is it

different? The answer follows-

 

 

 

(viNNavarkkum naRporuL thAn) He is the prApyam for even in the nithya sooris in

paramapadam.

 

 

 

(vEdamudal poruL thAn viNNavarkkum naRporuL thAn) " thatvishnO: paramam padam

sadApasyanthi sooraya: " " yO dEvEpya Adhapathi I yO dEvAnAm purOhitha: " [the one

who exists for the sake of the nithyasooris (viNNavar) and one who remains as

the fortune (naRporuL) of the nithyasooris.] " saraNam gathir nArAyaNa: [prapagam

and prApyam both are nArAyaNan]

 

 

 

Who is that supreme who remains as both the way to attain and that which has to

be attained?

 

 

 

(nArAyaNan) That supreme is the lord specially called as nArAyaNan. Usually the

azhvars have a practice to give the meaning of the nArAyana nAma in front and

back of the thirunAmam. Here azhvar does the same in the last half of this

paasuram and the first half of the next paasuram. Let us enjoy some similar

paasurams from other azhvars srisookthis:

 

 

 

" enperukkannalath thoNporul eerilavaNpugazh nAraNan "

 

" nAraNan muzhuvEzhulagukkum nAdhan "

 

" kArAyina kAlanan mEniyinan nArAyaNan "

 

" nArAyaNanE namakkE parai tharuvAn "

 

" naNNithozhumavar sindhai piriyAdha nArAyanA "

 

" nAnunnai andriyilEn kandAi nAraNanE nee ennai yandri elai "

 

 

 

(To be continued)

 

 

 

Azhvar emperumAnAr Jeeyer thiruvadigalE sharaNam

 

 

 

Adiyen ramanuja dAsee

Sumithra Varadarajan