Sri Vishnuchitta kulanandana kalpavalli (Part-41)

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Sri Parthasarathi thunai

Srimathe ramanujaya Namaha

Srimad Vara Vara MunayE namaha

Sri Vanachala mahA munayE namaha

 

Emperuman is sarvagyan (one who knows everything). But his devotees very easily cheat this lord. How? Andal came to the footsteps of krishna and asked him to grant what she wanted. Mesmerised by the bhakthi of the little girl krishna said, “Granted. What do you want?” Immediately andal said, “I need the things needed for my vratha “mAlE! ManivannA! ……mElayAr seivanagal vEnduvana kEttiyEl….pAlanna vannaththu pAnjajaniyamE!… sAla perumparaiyE! pallAndisaipArE! kOla vilakkE! KodiyE! VidAnamE! alinilaiyAi arul” With great happiness krishna granted all these (his panchajanyam, karulakodi, kolavillakku-nappinnai piratti, pallandisaipar-periazhvar and nammazhvar, vidAnam-adiseshan) and found that he had lost all his special things to andal. Slowly he asked andal, “Oh! Andal I thought that you came to surrender to my divine feet (“ARRAdhu vandhu vun adipaniyumA pOlE pORRi yAm vandhOm”) but now I find that I have lost myself to you. You have put me into your trap”

 

Andal immediately responded, “koodAraivellum seer govindA!” Oh! Krishna it is nothing amazing. It is your nature. You win over all those who stubbornly run away from you. But if some one willingly comes to join you, you then lose yourself to them. Here andal says, “Govinda!” indicating that even though the cows, mainly the calfs didn’t ask krishna to protect them still since they did not say against also, Krishna protects them with love. So what he expects is only “vilakkAmai” (refusal). Through out the prabhandam andal in many places has talked about singing the praise of the lord viz., “vAyinAl pAdi”, “kEsavanai pAda”, “mugilvannan pEr pAda” and so on. Now towards the end she says, “vun thannai pAdi”. So it shows that the prime goal of andal is to sing the praise of the lord. That is the characteristic of an Srivaishnavite to do kainkaryam for the lord for the very purpose of doing it purely for his pleasure. But in the next line andal says, “nAdu pugazhum parisinAl” Is andal interested in fame? Isn’t it against her Svaroopa? Srivaishnavas should shed interest in fame, money, power etc and totally surrender to the lord. Why is then andal concerned about the fame amidst the society? Andal says “nAdu pugazhum” in order to show the greatness of what she is going to achieve. It is not for her fame but to show the greatness of the lord who has granted the same and it is also good for those who are talking about the same. When we talk great of a srivaishnava then our tongue gets the purpose of its existence. So for the benefit of the others andal says, “grant me such a gift”. Even sorrow when it is felt due to the sorry state of others becomes a quality.

 

In Srivaikundam the land of ultimate bliss, emperuman alone is worried, say the sastras. Why? He is worried about the sorry state of the samsaris who are entangled in the cycle of life and death. This is considered to be the greatest kalyana guna of emperuman who pities the jeevatmas and hence does a number of things to get us all to the divine abode and make all of us enjoy like the nithya sooris.

 

(To be continued)

 

Azhvar emperumAnAr Jeeyer thiruvadigalE sharaNam

Adiyen ramanuja dAsee

Sumithra Varadarajan