Thondardippodi AzhwAr's ThiruppaLLiyezhucchi Paasurams: Part III

[Guest guest]

Dear BhakthAs :

 

ThiruppaLLiyezucchi paasurams are recited in all

Sri VaishNava Temples before the doors of sanctum

sanctorium are opened every day . It is part of the

salutation at Dawn (Ushath Kaalam ) ; it is a song

awakening the Lord . Appropriate references are made

about the signs of the dawn and announcements are made

about the throng of sevArTees (DevAs , Adityaas , Rudraas,

Vasus , other gods and Maharishis ) waiting eagerly to have

the awakened Lord's darsana soubhAgyam .

 

The Connection between ThirumAlai and ThiruppaLiyEzucchi

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Both are aruLiccheyalkaLs of Thondardippodi . In ThirumAlai ,

Lord RanganAtha awakened the AzhwAr , who was " asleep " for

aeons and blessed the AzhwAr with His dhivya soundharyam

and dhivyAthma guNams .

 

Lord RanganAtha granted the AzhwAr dhivya Jn~Anam on

Tatthva Thrayam and ArTa Panchakam . AzhwAr became convinced

that Lord RanganAthan is both the upAyam (Means) and UpEyam

(Goal) for Moksham . AzhwAr's love for the Lord of Srirangam

intensified . He recalled the times that he had wasted in trivial

and worthless pursuits and how the Lord of Srirangam intervened

and saved him :

 

" At the time when I was a gambler and a thief and caught in

the net of a woman's fish-like eyes, was helpless , was it not

the beauty of the Lord of Srirangam who called me , entered into my mind

and made my love increase for Him " --- ---Thirumaalai : 16th Paasuram

 

AzhwAr describes the effect of the divine beauty of the Lord of

Srirangam on him :

 

" Seeing the Lord of the colour of the ocean , resting on the serpent having

placed His crowned head to the eastern direction - - - my

soul has begun to melt . Oh people of this earth ! What shall I do ? "

--- --- Portions of the 19th Paasuram of Thirumaalai

 

" Oh Lord of Srirangam ! I am imploring thee with loud cries : Make me

Thine object of mercy and deliver me " -- -- Portions of 25th Thirumaalai

paasuram .

 

" Out of desire for Thy grace have I come and stood before Thee "

-- -- Portion of the 33rd Paasuram of Thirumaalai .

 

 

THUS LORD RANGANATHAN AWAKENED THE AZHWAR FROM HIS

DEEP SLUMBER IN SAMSAARAM . After that , Swamy PeriyavAcchAn

PiLLai points out that the Lord of Srirangam went to sleep without

any worry . It was now AzhwAr's turn . AzhwAr sang ThiruppaLLIyezucchi

pAsurams to awaken the Lord and prayed for the boon of performing

blemishless Kaimkaryam to the Lord of Srirangam at all times , places

and states . He reminded the Lord of the approach of dawn and requested

the Lord to shower His grace on all assembled devotees at that sacred hour

of Dawn (Ushath Kaalam) .

 

Ushas or Ushath Kaalam in Rg Vedam

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Ushas is not just the physical dawn , which is palpable as a sacred

hour by the humans ; in Vedic parlance , Ushas has a deeper meaning.

She creates light for all the worlds and is therfore saluted as Gomathy .

She is a state of bliss filled with light and vital force . She is the

Lord's

messenger to awaken the torrid souls languishing in the dark night of

SamsAram so that they can strive to gain Jn~Anam and awaken

the Lord engaged in Yoga NidhrA for such a boon .

 

Many pasages of ThiruppaLLiyezucchi capture the beauty of Ushath

Kaalam at Srirangam and dawn approaching to serve the Lord . A Rg Veda

manthram from the third book captures the beauty of her arrival:

 

RithAvaree dhivO arkairaBhOdhyA Revathee rOdhasee chithramasTAth

aayatheemagna Ushasam vibhAtheem vaamamEshi dhraviNam bhikshamANa:

- - - - Rg Vedam : III.61.6

 

(Meaning provided by Sage Aurobindo) : " By heaven's illuminings , one

percieves her(as) a bearer of the truth and raptourous she comes with her

varied lights into the two firmaments . From Dawn as she approaches

shining out on Thee , Oh Lord , Thou seekest and attainest

the substance of delight " .

 

In the 7th book of Rg Vedam , there is a manthram that connects

the mysterious light of the dawn to the early morning bright rays of

Sooryan ( maturation of Jn~Anam granted by the Lord ):

 

utha nO gOmatheerisha Aa vahaa duhithardhiva:

saakam Sooryasya rasmibhi:

 

(Meaning): " Bring to us , Oh Daughter of Heaven , luminous impulses

with the rays of the Sun " .

 

Luminous impulses are the awakening of the dhivya Jn~Anam and ripening

of that Jn~Anam to lead upto Moksham and thereafter nithya Kaimkaryam

in the Lord's Supreme Abode in BhUlOkam (Srirangam) or the abode in

the Nithya VibhUthi ( SrI Vaikuntam) .

 

We will conclude this posting with reflections on two more Rg Veda

Manthrams about the power of intervention by the Lord :

 

" Oh all-wise and all-seeing God , direct the ignorant worshipper ,

who follows the wrong paths and help him to revert to the acts

which will reclaim him . You always protect in times of conflicts

those who are feeble , but on the path of truth , against those

who are strong but on the wrong path " - - - - Rg. Vedam: I.31.7

 

" Oh adorable God , You are the first and foremost essence of life ;

You are the revealer of the divine knowledge . You are the giver of bliss

to the enlightened persons , and friend to Your devotees , whose actions

are guided by Your eternal laws. In Your supervision, the righteous

persons , activated through wisdom , become seers and virtous "

.....Rg Vedam: I.31.1

 

adiyEn will commence next the study of individual paasurams of

ThiruppaLLiyezucchi by ThoNDaradippodi AzhwAr .

 

SrI RanganAyaki samEtha SrI RanganAtha ParabrahmaNE Nama:

ThoNDardippodi AzhwAr ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam ,

Daasan , Oppiliappan KOil VaradAchAri Sadagopan