Sri Srinivaasa Vaibhavam- ThiruppANaazhwAr anubhavam on ThiruvEnkatam-Verse 1- Amalanaadhipiraan

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SrI:

SrImathE Gopaladesika mahadesikaya namah;

Dearest all,

 

After the first four AzhwArs namely, Poigai, bhootha,

Pey and Thirumazhisai Azhwar’s enjoyment of

ThiruvEnkatam, we were blessed with Kulasekara

PerumAn’s wonderful eleven verses on ThiruvEnkatam.

Now let us enjoy ThiruppANaazhwAr’s.

 

As we enjoyed yesterday, within ten stanzas

ThiruppANaazhwAr enjoys the grandeur of the Lord's

limbs, beginning with the Feet and ending with the

Head. Finally he says, " these eyes, having drunk deep

the exquisite charm of my Lord, are unable to discern

any other object. " Unlike the other Divine Poems,in

the last stanza here we find neither the name of the

author nor any mention of the reward obtainable

through recital of the poem. AzhwAr’s eyes themselves

do not belong to him. He addresses as the eyes that

have seen MY LORD would not see anything else. When

such is the case, where is the question of fruits and

reciters etc..?

 

Vedic teachings in their entirety are condensed within

ten capsules " - declared SRI VEDANTA DESIKA. Enamoured

by its quality he wrote a commentary for this poem

alone; [Or the only one that is available- though he

had written Nigama ParimaLam on Thiruvaymozhi and

Madhurakavi hrudhayam- they are lost]. This itself

speaks volumes about this poem. Nothing more is

needed.

 

Let us enjoy the first verse:

 

amala naathipiraanadiyaark kennai yaatpaduththa

vimalan, viNNavar kOnvirai yaar_pozhil vEnkadavan,

nimalan ninmalan neethi vaanavan, neeLmathi Larankath

thammaan,- thiruk

kamala paathamvan^ then_kaNNi NnuLLana vokkinRathE.

 

He, the Lord VishNu is blemishless, the foremost God,

and the resplendent one that has made me serve His

ardent devotees; He,the Lord of Nityasuris (celestial,

eternal Arch angels) has taken His abode at the

Venkatam hill surrounded by fragrant grooves; He, the

immaculate Lord is ever pure, sacred God; (now I look

at) Him, the overlord of Supreme Parapamadham (Sri

vaikuntham or Vaan), and the Divine God (ranganatha)

of Sri Rangam (girt with) long ramparts. (As I see

Him), His sacred lotus FEET enter into and become

merged with my eyes.

 

Vandhu en kaNNinuLLana okkiNradhE..- These feet by

themselves have come and entered into my eyes. {it is

His krupa that They have come here into my eyes].

The Lord’s Lotus Feet have been described and enjoyed

by all our PoorvAchAryAs. In Amalanaadhipiraan,

ThiruppANAzhwAr thus starts from the Lotus Feet. He

enjoys each and every a~ngam of the Lord in his ten

pAsurams, and has been enjoyed by Periyavaacchaan

PiLLai, Azhaigiya MaNavaaLa perumAL Naayanaar, Swami

Desikan et al in their commentaries on this lovely

Prabhandham.

 

Generally, the Paramaikaanthins [Those who worship

Sriman Narayanan alone and desire and seek only Him]

start from the Feet to the Crown; while the Ekaanthins

[The devotees who worship only Sriman Narayanan, but

desires also aishwaryam, and kaivalyam] start from the

Head to the Feet, as four faced BrahmA did during his

asvamEtha yaagham.

 

1.It is told by Poorvacharyas that ThirppANAzhwAr

started singing the ten pAsurams (while he was being

carried by LokasAranghamuni on his shoulders, on his

way to Sri RanganAthan sannidhi.) and he finished his

tenth inside the sanctum sanctorum, and united with

the Lord.

 

2.The Lotus flower, blooms only during certain

occasions; depending on the climate, the time

(daytime); some days, it remains fresh; then it

loses its freshness. But this Lotus of our Lord - the

Feet never gets such dhOshams. When the Lord knew that

AzhwAr had already started his course and is on his

way, singing, the Lotus automatically became fully

bloomed and became more fresh. It (the Feet) did not

feel like waiting for the AzhwAr to come. It started

going towards him and went straight to him. AzhwAr,

when he saw the Lotus Feet, (mentally ) approaching

him, he, out of his naicchiyam and humility, felt

ashamed and closed his eyes to avoid spoiling such

Lotus Feet and the Beauty. (not to cat his evil eye on

that Lotus Feet).

 

3.But what happened? The Lotus Feet, did not wish to

leave the AzhwAr's eye sight and hence went into his

eyes and showed Their Beauty!

 

4.What is so great about Thiruvadi (lotus Feet)? They

have both bhAvanam (the ability to alleviate the

dhOshams of those who pay obeisance to Them) and

bhOgyathvam (the ability to offer the delicious

sweetness to those who see and enjoy Them and pay

obeisance to Them). No single thing in the world is

both tasty and has medicinal value. Only the Lotus

Feet of Emperumaan has both aspects.

 

5.Swami Desikan, in his many slOkAs, have enjoyed the

Beauty of the Lotus Feet. PeriyAzhwAr says : At

Aayarpaadi everywhere one can see on the ground, the

marks of Sanghu and ChakrA (the marks on each sole of

Lord's Lotus Feet), since Kutti KaNNan walked His

thaLar nadai everywhere having His Lovely footprints

(with sanghu and chakrA). Also he explains, as

yashOdhA, the ten fingers of Kutti KaNNan shine as if

they are impregnated with Pearls, diamonds, Emerald

stones, etc..

 

6.And These Lotus Feet are not just bhOgyam for

THiruppANAzhwAr, Swami Desikan and PeriyAzhwAr alone;

They are for our enjoyment, too! Not just that. Even

Emperumaan is perplexed as to why all these devotees

and BhAgawathAs look mostly at My Feet and enjoy. What

is so special at My Feet? He wonders and what does He

do? Kutti KaNNan takes the Lotus Feet and the pearl

like shining fingers, with both of His cute short

lovely Hands, and TRIES TO PUT IN ALL THE TOE FINGERS

IN HIS RED CORAL LIPPED PavaLa cchevaay and

Kovvaipaazha idazh (bimbhA fruit like lips).

PeriyAzhwAr says: pEthaik kuzhavi pidiithuch

chuvaiithu uNNum paadha kamalangaL VedAs say: vishNO:

PadhE paramE madhva uthsE -thEnE malarum

thiruppaadham.

 

7.Thus His Lotus Feet are the BhOgyam for Him and for

us. WE ARE ALL BORN IN THIS KULAM [of Bhaagawathas]

ONLY TO _ REPEAT ONLY TO _ ENJOY HIM.

 

The FIFTEEN GUNAAS for Sri Ranganaathan picked out by

ThiruppANar according to Swami Desikan are [added By

Sri Satakopan Swamin, New York]:

 

1. Moksha Pradhathvam/samsAra VinAsanam ( Conferral of

Moksham and there by freeing us from the recurring

cycles of births and deaths.Conferral of the boon of

Nithya Kaimkaryam to Him and His consort in

paramapadham .

 

2. Jagath Kaaranathvam :Being fundametally esponsible

forthe creation , protection and the dissolution of

the Universe . Being the sole cause of all chEthanams

and AchEthanams and not being supported by any other

entity or principle regarding His Jn~Anam and sakthi .

 

3. SaraNyathvam :Being the SaraNyan (refuge) for

those, who surrender to Him through the AchArya Mukha

Prapatthi or the other three types of prapatthi .

Assuring everyone that seek Him that there is no need

to look for others to protect them.

 

4. UpakArathva Kaashtai : Helping His BhakthAs and

coming to their rescue without hesitation on Kshudra

VyAjam ( very little effort) and making Himself the

object of our enjoyment in spite of His unimaginably

lofty status as Ubhaya VibhUthi nAthan ( Lord of

Nithya and LeelA vibhUthi).Even after this

extraordinary help, our Lord feels that He is indebted

forever to His bhakthAs because of

His inability to give even more than what He has

blessed us with (viz)., Moksham.

 

5.KrupA Kaashtai: Unique and incomparable Mercy

(KaruNai ) for even those, who commit unspeakable

offences and yet saving them. This arises from His

saraNAgatha Rakhaka Vratham that led Him to say that

he will offer protection to even RaavaNA, if he sought

His refuge and gave up his ill deeds .Through

the small act (kashaNa Karthavyam )of Prapatti , He is

able to give the huge boon of residence in Sri

Vaikuntam. After that granting of the boon , the Lord

feels uncomfortable still over the thought that He has

nothing more to give.

 

6.SvAthanthrya Kaashtai : Ability to elevate those,

whom He wants to bless and protecting them in that

status against anybody's efforts to counter what He

established through His samkalpam.

 

7. NirdhOshathva Kaashtai: Being forever blemishless

(amalathvam). Even if He has affiliation to the

blemish-containing entities that causes every one

Aj~Nam and Dukkham , He does not incur any aj~nAnam or

Dukkham . The classic Upanishadic passage of the two

birds sitting on the branch of the same tree with one

experiencing false Knowledge and sorrows and the other

not subject to these experiences.

 

8.Swaamithva Kaashtai or Being the supreme Lord of

Every one including Brahman , Indran and all the

others.

 

9.Soulabhya Kaashtai : ease of access , Bhaktha

Sulabhan. He permits even those , who want to go away

because of the fear of His grandeur to approach Him

comfortably.

 

10. Sousselya Kaashtai :Lowering Himself to the level

of even those, who doubt His Lordship (Isavarathvam )

and taking the trouble to answering them and keeping

them in His fold.

 

11. Vaathsalya Kaashtai: Out of His limitless

affection for His dearest BhakthAs, he ignores their

occasioanl trespasses and continues to look after

their yoga KshEmam.

 

12. Parama PrApyathva Kaashtai: Being the sole object

of attainment as parama PurushArtham .

 

13. Aasritha PakshapAtha Kaashtai: Being Sarva VarNa

samanan (equal of approach to all four VarNams ), He

blesses those, who seek refuge in Him by cancelling

anything countering His sankalpam to protect His

BhakthAs ).This arises from His predisposition

(pakshapAtham ) to those, who sought His

protection (aasrithAL) .

 

14.BhOgyathva Kaashtai: Conferring the sweetness of

the enjoyment of His soundharyam .

 

15.ayathna BhOgyathva Kaashtai : Blessing capacity to

let one enjoy Him without the intercession of the

Indriyams . His svAbhavika anubhAvyathvam is referred

to here .Just as the breeze carries the fragrance of

the flowers , He comes in an unbanishable way and lets

our eyes enjoy His holy feet without satiety .

 

All these 15 kalyANa guNams are celebrated in the very

first verse of AmalanAdhipirAn Sri Sookthi according

to Swami Sri Desikan.

 

ThiruppANaazhwAr ThiruvaDigaLE SaraNam

Regards

Namo narayana

dasan