57 days to SathAbhishEkam : Saama Vedam & ThiruvAimozhi: Part 11/ Srirangam VedAdhyayanam by 500 Vedic Scholars for 10 days in Novemebr , 2006

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Saama Vedam & ThiruvAimozhi : Part III

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lord Sri Lakshmi HayagrIvan

Saama Samhitha & Thiruvaimozi

The Four PurushArthams (Goals of Life)

The four goals of life identified by the VedAs are : Dharma , ArTa , Kaama and Moksha . The ultimate and the most precious PrurushArTam in life is Moksha ( release from the cycles of births and deaths and ascent to the Supreme abode of the Lord , Sri Vaikuntam , to engage in blemishless Kaimkaryam there to the dhivya dampathis ) . The bliss ( Aanandham arising from Bhagavath Kaamam) granting the boon of enjoyment of BrahmAnandham by the Muktha Jeevan equal to that of the Parama Padha Naathan through the successful execution of Bhakthi or Prapatthi yOgam is the message of Saama Vedam and the Paasurams of ThiruvAimozhi rooted in the Saama Vedam . The Supreme Brahman , Sriman NarayaNan of VisishtAdhvaitham , His KalyANa guNams are the objects of meditation , salutation and singing of both Saama Vedam and ThiruvAimozhi . We shall illustrate this Saamyam between the Sanskritic and Tamizh Vedam in the next essay .

Moksha PrApthi thru dheerga SaraNAgathy is the precious PurushArtham covered by ThiruvAimozhi .

Today , we will cover few more examples of Veda Saamyam between Saaama Vedam & the Tamil Vedam of ThiruvAimozhi and conclude our reflections .In the next set of postings , we will study the Samyam of the Four Sanskrit Vedams/Upanishads/Brahma Soothrams and selected passages from any one of the four Prabhandhams of Swamy NammAzhwar .

Saama vedam & ThiruvAimozhi:

UttarArchika Saaman 661: " Oh Vital Lord! We augment Your glory with fuel of austerity and oil of love . May Your glory blaze high , Oh ever-young Lord ( Yuvaa-Kumara) .

UttarArchika Saaman 680: " Oh Brave resplendent Lord !The Lord of all movable( Chith) and stationary things ( achith), the beholder of the Universe ( Iswaran and ( PrErithA) , we call You loudly like an unmilked cow ( with udders full)".

UttarArchika Saaman 720: " Oh Wielder of the bolt of Justice ! Certainly I never sing songs in praise of anyone else, other than Yourself , while celebrating any occasion ,or contemplating any thought ".

UttarArchika 1107: " Oh adorable Lord , be our nearest friend , a protector , benefactor and a gracious friend ! " ( AgnE thvAm nO antama utha trAthA SivO bhuvO varUTya : Rig Vedam V.24., Yajur Vedam III.25).

UttharArchika 1344 :" Oh Embodiment of total selfless actions , the chanters of the Saama extol You with songs.; the rciters of of the Rk with prayers ; the priests of the Yajuh with their prose and thereby elevate the honor of their family and descendants ". ( gaayanthi Thvaa gAyathriNOrcanty-arkamrkina: , BrahmANasthvA Satakata udhvamSamiva yEmirE )

UttarArchika Saaman 1416: " You are an embodiment of endurance and You nevver transgress the Laws established by Yourself. May You bless the person , who battles against all vice and never transgresses Your regulations and Laws (Saasthrams)." / Rig Vedam I.27.8

UttrArchika Saaman 1458: " Oh Resplendent Lord , protect us every day , every tomorrow and every succeeding day . Oh Lord of the Good ( auspicious) , protect us , Your praisers , all and every day-by-day and by night ."( Rig Vedam : VIII.61.17):adhyAdhyA Sva: Sva: Indra trAsva parE cha na: , viSvA cha nO jarithrunth satpatE ahaa divaa naktam cha rakshisha:

UttarArchika Saaman 1772( Rig Veda Rk: VIII.68.2): Thou art rich in power, rich in actions , rich in knowledge and You have filled up everything with Your comprehensive majesty "( tuviSushma tuvikratO sacheevO viSvayA matE , Aaa paprATa mahithvanA ).

bhaam karNEbhi: SruNuyAma dEvA bhadram paSyEmaakshibhir yajatrA: , sTirair angais tushtuvsas tanUbhir vyaSemahi dEvahitham yadhAyuh ---- UttarArchika Saaman 1874 / Rig Rk I.89.8 and Yajur Vedam 25.21 >

Meaning of above Saaman 1874: " Oh Learned prople ! May we wish our ears to listen to what is auspicious and good. Oh People worthy of sacred deeds ! May we see with our eyes all that is good and beneficial .May we be engaged in Your praises , enjoy with firm limbs and sound bodies , a full term of life dedicated to the Supreme and Society ! ".

Last Saaman of Saama Veda SamhithA : UttharArchika 1875 :

svasti na indrO vruddhaSravA: svasti na: pUshA viSvavedA: svasti nastArkshyO arishta-nEmi: savsti nO bruhaspatir dadhAtu , svasti nO bruhaspatir dadhAtu (Rg Vedam I.89.6 and Yajur Vedam : XXV.19 ).

Meaning of the last Saaman: May the widely respected , rsplendent God , guard our welfare . May the all-knowing nourisher guard our welfare . May the Soverign protector , with unblemished weapons , guard us for our prosperity ".

Swamy NammAzhwAr & Tamizh MaRai

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In every one of the prahandham of Swamy NammAzhwAr ,one could find the distilled essence of the Four Vedams , Upanishads and Brahma Soothrams . As one belonging to the fourth varNam by birth , He could not study Vedams . As a strict observer of VarNAsrama Dharmams and with the special aungraham of SrI VishvaksEnar , third in line in our AchArya Paramparai , VedArthams were revealed to Him without going thru the standard route of Adhyayanam . Even Lord Raamachandran and Lord KrishNa had to go thru adhyayanam route via their AchAryans for Vedic training . That is why , Swamy NammAzhwAr could intutively grasp the meanings of VedAs and acquired the title of"Vedam Tamizh seytha MaaRan ".

Let us select at Random some of the Paasuram passages from ThiruvAimozhi and map them to the Vedic sources . One can devote huge chunks of time in this correlation but we will focus on a few passages for illustrative purposes :

The First Patthu of ThiruvAimozhi has three main messages consistent with the Vedic utterances : (1) Sriman Narayanan is the best UpAyam for our salvation (2) He is easy of access and can be readily worshipped (3) He is the One , who grants the bliss of Moksham ; He is the Moksha DhAyaka Mukundan .

The VyAkhyAnams of Swamy Desikan's DhramidOpanishad Taathparya RathnAvaLi , DhramidOpanishad Saaram , SrI BhAshya-Dhravida-Aagama Aadhya dasakadwandhva Eika-kaNDyam od Kaanchi Azhagiya MaNavALa PerumAL Jeyar establish clearly that the first 22 Paasurams of ThiruvAimozhi contain the sArArTams of the four chapters of Sri BhAshyam , a commentary on Brahma Soothrams by AchArya RaamAnuja .

The First chapter of Brahma Soothram is known as SamanvayAdhyAyam . Topics here are : The Jagath KaaraNathvam of Brahman (Sriman NarAyaNan ) , Creation of the world by Brahman , the differences of Brahman from ChEtanams and achEtanams.The Lord with auspicious attributes (SavisEsha Brahman) is Iswaran . The First 6 Paasurams of the First Thirumozhi ( Pathikam) of ThiruvaImozhi maps one on one to SamanvayAdhyAyam .

The second chapter of Sri BhAshyam is avirodhAdhyAyam . it deas with aBhAdhyathavm . It identifies Brahman as KaaraNam and the universe et al as Kaaryam .They will never become one.The realtionship between Brahman and the ChEtanAchEtanms are established here . The Paasurams 6-11 of the first Thirumozhi ( Pathikam) map on to the concepts covered by the second chapter of Brahma Soothrams .

The third chapter of Brahma Soothram is SaadhanAdhyAyam . It covers the UpAsanaa margam for one who desires Moksham and that Bhakthi is the UpAsanai ( Saadhanai). The prerequisites for that UpAsanai are dicussed here . The KurL like Paasurams ( 1-9 Paasurmas of the second Pathikam) map straight on to SaadhanAdhyAyam .

The fourth adhyAyam of Brahma Soothram is known as Phala adhyAyam . Here the fruits of the UpAsanai (Saadhanai) of the Mumukshu are shown to be the ascent to Sri Vaikuntam and eternal stay there enjoying BrahmAnandham thru the performance of blemishles Kaimkaryam to the dhivya dampathis there . The 10th and the 11th Paasurams of the second pathikam of ThiruvAimozhi and the First 5 Paasurams of the third pathikam cover the essence of PhalAdhyAyam .

Thus the essence of Uanishads ( Veda Siras) are thoroughly mapped in the first 22 or 27 Paasurams of ThiruvAimozhi by Vedam Tamizh seytha MaaRan , Swamy SaThakOpar .

The vishayams of the other Patthus:

Second Patthu: Lord is anubhava BhOgyan ( the most delightful to enjoy; He is the UpEyan( Goal) . He is our Parama PurushArTam.

Third Patthu: The Lord who is the means and the goal has SubhAsraya ThirumEni and is present in Archaa roopams for our worship . He has a dhivya MangaLa vigraham .

Fourth Patthu:Our Lord as an UpEyam (Goal) is far superior to Iswaryam and Kaivalyam

Fifth Patthu: The only recourse for us are the sacred feet of the Lord for Moksham . We have to seek them as our refuge and protection .

Sixth Patthu: Azhwar performs SaraNAgathy to the Lord. SaraNAgathy has roots in the VedAs & Upanishads. Azhwar performs SarNAgathyto the Lord after performing PurushakAra prapatthi to Mahaa Lakshmi as one without any recourse ( ananya gathi and Aakinchanyan).

Seventh Patthu: Azhwar salutes the Lord as One who chases away the anishtams (SamsAric pains) of those who seek His protection .

Eighth Patthu: The celebration here is about the Lord being under the total control of those who sought Him as refuge . He enjoys residence in the heart lotus of the Aasrithars . He relishes the DhAsya nishtai of Jeevans .

Ninth Patthu: AzhwAr's Vyasanam ( Sorow) from ViSlEsham( seperation from the Lord) is movingly covered along with Bhagavath GuNAnubhavam .

Tenth Patthu:Here , Sriman NaarAyaNan's role as Moksha Maarga sahAyan . He takes us by archirAdhi mArgam to His Supreme abode.

There have been scholarly vyAkhyAanams to map the ten patthus of ThiruvAimozhi to AshtAksharam as well as Dhvayam . ThiruvAimozhi is celebrated as Dheerga SaraNAgathy . All of these analysis have Vedic roots . The Veda Saamyam of ThiruvAimozhi and other Prabhandhams of Swamy NammAzhwAr is a vast subject to explore and enjoy .

NamO veda PurushAya ,

Oppiliappan Koil Varadachari Sadagopan

P.S: Please support the Veda AdhyApAkAs ( Samhitha , Jadai and Ghanam ) at Srirangam during the forthcoming SathAbhishEkam .Thank you . Please send your samarpaNams to Sri Matam NA C/O :

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