ThiruppANAzhwAr Thirunakshathram - Kaartthigai RohiNi- today- Let us enjoy the anubhavam of AzhwAr's through Acharya's commentary

[Guest guest]

SrI:

SrImathE Gopaladesika mahadesikaya nama:

 

Dearest all,

 

Today- Kaartthigai Rohini star is the Thirunakshathram

of ThiruppANAzhwAr. Let us meditate on the Lotus Feet

of Sriya: pathih Sriman Narayanan and pay obeisance to

our Dearest AzhwAr ThiruppANAzhwAr, on his birthday.

He needs no introduction to our

group of BhAgawathAs.

 

Let us enjoy His anubhavam of the Lord’s Lotus Feet.

His Holiness Srimath Azhagiya Singar had blessed us

with a series on Amalanadhipiraan commentary in his

wonderful and simply chaste thamizh which richly

describes the most beautiful ten verses of

ThiruppANAzhwAr and enable us enjoy the exquisite

divine Beauty of Lord Sri Ranganathan. His writing

made me enjoy the tamil, the narration style, Srimath

Azhagiya Singar’s sowseelyam [stooping down so low to

our level even in his writing to make us understand

the esoteric concepts] and I wished to share with all

of you. (from June 97 issue) ( I am not capable of

writing the translation of Swami’s writings at all!

What I jot down the extract - a little portion here-

is all that I grasped and could get them drilled into

my head only!)

 

Emeperumaan’s Lotus Feet have been described and

enjoyed by all our PoorvAchAryAs. In

Amalanaadhipiraan, ThiruppANAzhwAr 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 start from the Feet to

the Crown; while the Ekaanthins start from the Head to

the Feet, as 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! (adadaa! Parama kripai

of Emperumaan! How Great the AzhwAr is! ) Thirukkamala

paadham vandhu en kaNNinuLLana okkinRadhE vandhu. en.

KaNNinuLLana … OkkinRadhE. (I will not translate

further and spoil its 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 & #65533;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

ThruppANAzhwAr, Swami Desikan and PeriyAzhwAr alone;

They are for our enjoyment, too! Not just tat. 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 uthsa: thEnE malarum

thiruppaadham.

 

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

us. WE ARE ALL BORN IN THIS SRIVAISHNAVA KULAM ONLY TO

_ REPEAT ONLY TO _ ENJOY HIM.

 

Let us pay our obeisance to ThiruppANAzhwAr who has

sung such lovely deep pAsurams enjoying the Beauty of

Emperumaan, and to our Jeer who has highlighted this

first pAsuram so beautifully.

 

I had posted this few years ago:

Subsequently, Sri Sadagopan Swami supplemented the

below message with his wonderful write up as usual:

Let us enjoy that also here:

 

Swami Sri Desikan described the AzhwAr's prabhandham

as " Sukavi Sookti " and was so moved by it that he

wrote a 60 plus palm leaves long commentary on the

these uniquely beautiful 10 paasurams that celebrate

the Sarvanga Soundharyam and the anantha kalyANa

guNams of NamperumAL .

 

Sri Sampath Rengarajan gave a beautiful presentation

on the subject at Buffalo New York few years ago .

That pravachanam is still ringing in my ears. He

covered the first the three words of the first

Paasuram and it took him an hour to do full justice to

cover those three words ( Amalan, Aadhi and PirAn ) .

Since then ,He has done a lot of research on the rest

of the words of the first paasuram and the words of

the remaining nine paasurams . I request him to share

his rich and personal anubhavam with us in the near

future .

 

Meanwhile , I will focus on Swami Sri Desikan's

summary of the extraordinary meanings embedded in this

most magnificent first paasuram . Swami Sri Desikan in

his rahasya grantham , Muni Vaahana BhOgam , picks out

15 of the limitless auspicious attributes of Sri

RangaanthA and instructs us on the high point of each

of these 15 kalyANa guNAs . I will focus on this area

of the anubhavam of Swami Sri Desikan

on this glorious day .

 

The FIFTEEN GUNAAS for Sri Ranganaathan picked out by

 

ThiruppANar according to Swami Desikan are :

 

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 fundamentally

responsible 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

offenses 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 Prapatthi , 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 elvate those,

whom He wants to bless and protecting them in that

status against any body'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~nam 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

occasional 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 .

 

At the very beginning , Swami Desikan states that he

wishes to comment on the Sri Sookthi of ThiruppANar ,

the poet with auspicious attributes .He describes the

AzhwAr , who rode on the back of Loka Saaranga Muni

(Muni Vaahana BhOgar ) as " Mudhitha Mukunda VilOkanar

" or the One , who was intent on having the Sevai of

the Lord of Srirangam , who in turn is elated to see

His BhakthAs .Swami says that he is commenting on this

extraordinary Sri Sookthi brimming with Bhaavam

and Bhakthi for the enjoyment of the BhagavathOtthamAs

who have controlled their senses (Indriyams) to have

the Bhagyam of the sEvai of Lord RanganathA .The

slokam is as follows :

 

vyachikyAsathi BhakthyA viraktha-thOshayA VenaktEsa

Kavi :

Mudhitha Mukundha vilOkana MunivAhana Sukavi Sookthim

imAm

 

Swami points out the uniqueness of this prabhandham of

ThiruppANar among all the other divya Prabhandhams .

He

says that The AmalanaadhipirAn Sri Sookthi is not too

long ( athi vistharam ) , not too short (athi

sankOcham

not generating any doubts ( SamsayAthi Janakathvam ) ,

Sorrow due to separation from the Lord as Naayikai

(Viraha KlEsam), Sending of messengers to plead the

case to unite the Jeevan with the Lord (DhUtha

prEkshaNam ) , instructions to others

(parOpadEsam ) and crticism of the other mathams

(Para-Matha nirasanam ).IT IS JUST FULL OF BHAGAVADH

ANUBHAVA GHANA RASAM (the rich delight arising from

the total enjoyment of the Lord's soundharyam and

kalyAna guNAs ). All the ten paasurams of this

AdhyAthma Prabhandham thus differ from the aruLic

cheyalkaL of other AzhwArs according to Swami Sri

Desikan .

 

At the end of his commetary on this rahasya grantham ,

Swami Desikan describes the nature of the Azhwaar and

the object of his love , Sri Ranganathan this way :

 

AzhwAr : aadhi marai yena Ongum arangathuLLE

aruL aarum kadalaik kaNdavan yenn PaaNan

 

Swami salutes with affection the Sukavi as " Yenn

PaaNan " (My ThiruppANAzhwAr ). He describes further

about the object of PaaNan's reverential salutation as

the Lord of Srirangam resting under the PraNavAkAra

VimAnam , the ocean of mercy , Sri RanganAthan .

 

About the quintessence of the Prabhandham , Swami

Desikan states :

 

vEdiyar taam viritthuraikkum viLaivukellAm

vidhai aahum ithu yenru viLampinOmE

 

This prabhandham is the seed for all what VedanthIs

elaborate as the fruits of BrahmOpAsanam .

 

Swami goes onto say that the ten paasurams of

ThiruppANar as " pazha maRayin poruL " ( the meaning

of ancient VedAs ).

 

Swami Desikan concludes his commentary with a

beautiful palasruthi slOkam :

 

MunivAhana bhOgOyam mukthaisvarya rasOpama:

krupayA RanganAthasya kruthArthAyathu na: sadhA

 

(Meaning ) : This rahasya grantham ( MunivAhana BhOgam

) is equal in anubhavam to the BrahmAnandha Rasam

enjoyed by the Muktha Jeevans in parama Padham . May

this make all of the readers krutha Kruthya:( the ones

, who realized the object of their desires) through

the mercy of Lord RanganAthA .

 

AzhwAr , Swami Desikan ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam

Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri SadagOpan

 

Regards

AzhwAr ThiruvaDigaLE SaraNam

Namo narayana

dAsan

 

 

 

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[Guest guest]

SrI:

SrImathE Gopaladseika mahadesikaya nama:

Dear Sri Muralidhar Swamin

 

What a wonder anubhavam and sharing! Please allow me

to share this with everyone else on the greatness of

ThiruppANAzhwAr.

Thanks again.

Regards

Namo narayana

dAsan

--- Rangaswamy Muralidhar Civ AFRL/SNHE

<Muralidhar.Rangaswamy wrote:

 

> Sri:

>

>

>

> SrimatE Gopaladesika MahadesikAya Namaha,

>

>

>

> Dear Sriman Madhavakkannan Swamin,

>

>

>

> Thank you very much for sharing a superb narrative

> on Sri Tiruppan Azhwar's magnificent tribute

> contained in 10 verses. Kindly permit adiyen to

> share the following reflections on this nectarine

> outpouring of the Azhwar.

>

>

>

> This is the shortest of the 24 Dhivya Prabandhams,

> while ranking among the sweetest. Indeed if one

> desires an example of get rich quick, this is it.

> The Azhwar sang only 10 verses but attained the

> highest benefit of union with the Lotus Feet of Lord

> Ranganatha. This is one of two prabandhams that

> contain the title in the opening line (KaNNinum

> SiruthAmbu being the other). The structure of this

> Prabandham has been commented upon by Mahavidwan

> Paramapadavasi, U.Ve. Sri Mukkur

> Lakshminarasimhachariar Swamin as: " The opening

> three verses commence with the aksharams of

> PraNavam. The next three verses glorify the Padhukas

> (Shatari Soori/Swami NammAzhwar) " . The last verse

> embeds the essence of Gayathri Saman. U.Ve. Sri D.

> Ramaswamy Ayyangar Swamin notes that the Prabandham

> commences and ends with the eye (KaNNinuL

> ukkinranadhE and amudhinai kanda kangal).

>

>

>

> The Azhwar's choice of words in itself is an act of

> marvel. For example the tribute commences with the

> aksharam " a " and the first three verses correspond

> to the aksharams of PraNavam. Why is this? A denotes

> auspiciousness all around. Being Vaidikas, we may

> begin our quest of references in support of this

> fact with the Parama PramANam, i.e., the Vedas. An

> examination of the Rg Samhita and Sama Samhita

> reveals that they commence with " agnimILE

> purOhitham " and " agna AyahivIthayE " , respectively,

> providing a ringing endorsement of the

> auspiciousness of the aksharam " a " . Furthermore, " a "

> is the opening aksharam of PraNavam, which

> unequivocally proclaims the supremacy of Lord

> Narayana. The Upanishad section of the Veda

> proclaims " yadh vEdhAthO svara prOthO vedAnthE cha

> pratiShTitha: " ([PraNavam which proclaims the

> supremacy of Lord Narayana] that by which all Vedic

> recitation is commenced and that which is the

> support of all Vedantha [upanishads]). Next if we

> turn our attention to the Brahma sUtras (aphorisms

> that expound on the Upanishadic messages), the

> opening Sutram is " AthAthO Brahma jignyAsa " (May we

> begin our enquiry of Brahman) commences with the

> Aksharam " a " . An examination of Narada's Bhakti

> Sutras reveals that it commences with the line

> " anivachanIyam Bhakthi svarUpam " lending further

> testimony to the loftiness of the aksharam " a " . Next

> let us ask ourselves if the Lord Himself has

> declared his fondness for this aksharam. The answer

> is apparent in the 11th Chapter of the

> Bhagavad-Gita, where Lord Krishna asserts

> " aksharANAm akArOsmi " (among the aksharas I denote

> " a " ). Also " a " is the vowel of the Devanagari

> alphabet, without which no consonant can exist.

> Recognizing these facts and the alluding to the

> Truth that the Lord is the supporter from inside as

> well as outside for everything in the universe, the

> Azhwar commences his tribute with the aksharam " a " .

> For the above reasons, " a " is called ViShNor

> aksharam. Following the lead of the Azhwar, Sri

> Ramanujacharya commences his Sri Bhashyam with the

> tribute " akhila Bhuvana janma " . Swami Desikan

> adheres verbatim to the dicturm " mElayAr seyvanagal "

> and commences four of his Stotrams with the aksharam

> " a " i.e., Garuda Panchasat, aBhIthi Sthavam, nyAsa

> dashakam, and Bhagavad DhyAna sOpanam in which Swami

> Desikan enjoys an anuBhavam of Lord Ranganatha from

> Foot to Eye much in the spirit of the Azhwar's

> tribute.

>

>

>

> Next, the importance of the Lord's Feet can be

> understood from the Purusha Sooktham Rk " padhOsya

> vishvABhUthAni tripAdhasyAmruthan dhivI " . The Lord

> Himself declares his fondness for the Feet by lying

> as VadapathrashAyi on the waters of PraLaya and

> sucking at His toes enjoying the mahima of His Feet

> as He contemplates the next cycle of creation. The

> Taittriya and AitarEya BrahmaNa declare that the

> Brahma Ananda AnuBhava rasa flourished at the third

> Foot of Trivikrama. This is also referred to in the

> Anandavalli section of the Taittriya Upanishad as

> rasO vai saha.

>

> Furthermore, this is the only angam of the Lord that

> is pristinely pure (for example the navel bears a

> lotus which houses Brahma). Aidhiham has it that

> Rudran performed SharaNagati at the hand of

> Emperuman. However, the Feet bear unadulterated

> contact with Lord Narayana and is therefore sought

> after by ParamaIkanthin Prapannas. Thanks again for

> your outstanding post, which sparked these

> reflections in adiyen.

>

>

>

> Namo Narayana,

>

>

>

> SriMuralidhara Dasan

>

>

>

>

>

>

 

 

 

 

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