Sri Srinivaasa Vaibhavam- NammAzhwAr's divine anubhavams- Thiruvaymozhi 6.10.3- eNNam pugundhu thitthikkum amudhae........

[Guest guest]

SrI:

SrImathE Gopaladesika mahadesikaya namah:

Dearest all,

 

Let us continue to enjoy AzhwArs wonderful verses on

ThiruvEnkatam. Today’s ThiruvEnkatam verse is:

NammAzhwAr’s Thiruvaaymozhi 6.10.3

 

vaNNa maruLkoL aNimEga

vaNNaa! maaya ammaanE,

eNNam pugundhu thiththikkum

amuthE! imaiyOr athipathiyE,

theNNal aruvi maNiponmuth

thalaikkum thiruvENG kadaththaanE,

aNNa lE!un adisEra

adiyER kaavaa vennaayE! 6.10.3

 

 

3. Bhagawaan! You possess the most Beautiful dark

Colour that stupefies and enchants those who see and

capture their hearts in its exquisite dark beauty!

( " aiyO en chinthai kavarndhadhuvE! " - ThiruppaNaazhwAr)

 

 

Oh My dearest Lord! You, not only possess such

physical charming Divine dhivya mangaLa Form, but also

the Most Glorious unbounded, limitless Most Auspicious

attributes (kalyANa guNAs) and are the Primordial

Lord! Just by a mere thought, You have entered into my

heart and taste so sweetly to me like the " akkaara

adisil " (nectar)- thitthkkum amudhu. Oh Chief of Your

dearest NityasUris! In spite of being the chief of

NityasUris, You have still gracefully made Yourself

available to us at Tirumala. There at Tirumala, the

cool waterfalls shower pearls, Gold and Emerald

stones (means: they are so enjoyable). You are My

Chief, ThiruvEnkadamudaiyaan, who is there standing

gracefully at Tirumala! You should take pity on me

(for my longing to be at Your Feet) and take me to

Your Feet. Say- aahaa- aiyO paavam.. avaavennayaaE (In

as much as You blessed me showing the way to reach

You, as the only means for me, You should now bless me

to actually make me reach Your Feet also. Emperumaan's

Thiruvadi [Lord’s Lotus Feet alone are the means as

well as the end; the way and the Goal]

 

Sri Sudharshan Swami of Kuwait asked a query with

respect to this PAsuram and the answers provided by

Sri Sadagopan Iyengar are feast for enjoyment.

Naturally most apt for this verse.. and now. Thanks to

both Swamins for their permission to share.

 

Sri MK Sudarshan Swami: The AzhwAr might have easily

said " eNNam pugundha amuthE! " or something similar,

and still have conveyed the same degree of delight

savoured in the thought of 'tiruvengadatthAn'! Did

NammAzhwAr add " thiththikkum " merely for the purpose

of ensuring poetic metre/rhyme or is there some other

subtle message he sought to convey through the seeming

redundancy of phrase?

 

Sri Sadagopan Iyengar’s sweet nectarine [thitthikkum

amudhu] response:

 

A good question indeed-why should Azhwar say

" Thitthikkum amudhU " instead of mere " amudu " , which

would make the meaning clear? Is it a case of

overemphasis or does it have some special meaning? It

must, for every word and syllable of Azhwar sreesookt

is pregnant with meaning and tautology or " punarukti "

are blemishes not all attributable to Divya Prabandas,

as these are the outpourings of bhaktAs blessed with

" mayarvaRa mathinalam " . Nor does Azhwar resort to

phrases merely as " pAda pooraNam " , just to complete

the sentence or ensure conformity with metrical

requirements.

 

1. If we take the entire sentence, " eNNam pugundu

thitthikkum amudu " , the meaning is somewhat clear.

While the ordinary nectar can only sweeten the palate,

the Lord, who is an " amudu " beyond compare, makes the

mind, body and every nerve therein tingle with

ecstasy. This is the meaning we get if we place

emphasis on the word " eNNam " .

 

2. If the word " pugundu " is taken as the key word,

then it might mean this- whereas nectar has to be

imbibed orally by the user, and doesn't go into the

user's system on its own volition, the Lord enters us

on His own, uninvited, and makes us delirious with

delight. This is borne out by similar references

elsewhere too in Tiruvaimozhi- " ThirumAl vandu en

nenju niraya pugundAn " , " en mAya Akkai idanuL pukku "

etc. Incidentally, there are other differences too

between the ordinary ambrosia and the Lord as an

" amudhu.

 

3. There is no lasting use for nectar, as the first

dose itself confers immortality. If taken thereafter,

even this sweet amudhu might pall. Emperuman, on the

other hand, is an " ArAvamudu " , who gives us new and

newer experiences in delight, every time we see, hear

or talk about Him. Nectar might make us say " Enough "

(ParyAptam), but the Lord is an aparyApta amrita, and

His anubhavam never palls on us. [we never ever get

satisfied with Him]

 

4. Though it might confer immortality, Nectar is not

immortal by itself. Once it enters the system of a

person, it undergoes the normal metabolic changes and

ceases to exist. Not so the Lord, who confers on us

eternal and everlasting bliss, without He Himself

losing any of His original qualities.

 

5. The immortality conferred by Ambrosia might be a

mixed blessing and allows us only to remain forever

bound to the Samsaara Chakra. In fact, some might call

it a curse, instead of a boon, to remain alive

forever. ArAvamudu, on the other hand, blesses us with

the sort of immortality that results in eternal bliss,

removed forever from the mundane morass.

 

6. Nectar was obtained after Herculean effort by

churning the ocean, with the entire population of

DEvAs and asurAs ranged on either side, using Mantara

Parvata as the churning rod, the poisonous snake

VAsuki as the rope and the Lord Himself as the

stabilising force propping up the mountain. In

contrast, ArAvamudu is attainable with practically no

effort at all, by adopting the extremely easy upAya of

SaranAgati.

 

7. While Nectar had its origins in the Milky Ocean and

could not have conferred amaratvam on anyone existing

prior to its emergence, the Lord is " anAdi " (without

an origin) and has always been around to gladden

generation after innumerable generation of mortals,

taking them all to Paramapadam at the appropriate time

( " Veedum thanrum nindru nindrE " )

 

What a great verse and how wonderful these

bhAgawathAs’ enjoyment are! adiyEn is proud to be

associated with them.

Adiyaarkku ennai aatpadutthum vimalan and AzhwAr

ThiruvaDigaLE saraNam

Regards

Namo narayana

dAsan