SrI Sundararaja Stavam : SlOkams 27-47

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SrI:

 

 

 

 

Dear BhakthAs of Lord Sundara Baahu PerumAL of ThirumAlirumchOlai :

 

Last year , we released the First Volume of Sri SundararAja Stavam of KurEsar ( 68th ebook in the Ahobilavalli series) ( http://www.ahobilavalli.org) . We covered upto 26 slOkams there. During this week , adiyEn will try to complete the rest of the 106 SlOkams of this master piece of a Tribute of KurEsar to ThirumAlirumchOlai Azhagan . May the Lord's anugraham be with adiyEn as I rush to complete this task before Kuresar" 1000th Thirunakshatram ( Thai Hastam , Feb 3, 2010 ).adiyEn will assemble the simple meanings for the remaining slOkams and add the expanded commentaries , as needed, later inview of the shortness in time.

 

We will add the Sanskrit Text and the transliterated English Text in the next round. We just concluded the coverage of Sri VaradarAja Stavam ( 102 slOkams) . With the coverage of the SundaraBaahu Stavam , we hope to complete all the five StaBakams before Kuresar"s 1000th Thirunakshatram on Feb 3 , 2010 ( Thai Hastam).

 

Kaimkarya Pooertyartham MahaantO anugrahNantu !

 

 

NamO SrI Sundararaja ParabrahmaNE nama:

V.Sadagopan

 

SlOkam 27: In this slOkam , KurEsar enjoys the principal guNam of Jn~Anam among all the anantha kalyANa guNams of the Lord . Azhagar unlike us as Para Brhamam is able to directly see without eyes (Pratyaksha dhrushti) and hear without the need for ears . He can run without legs.This pratyaksha dhrushti is well celebrated by the Upanishads.He is the abode of such Jn~anam ( YeedhruSa Jn~Ana nidhi:) .At the same time , He shines in the lathaa maNtapams of SimhAchalam (Sundarasimha kunjEshu Sundara: chakAsti) as a treaure( nidhi) for us , who are akinchanaas ( Kaimudhal aRRavaRhaL).

 

 

SlOkam 28: In the previous slOkam , KurEsar saluted the Jn~Ana GuNam . In this slOkam , he pays tribute to the rest of the five PradhAna guNams ( Balam , Iswaryam , tEjas , Sakti and Veeryam). He says: This Lord of ThirumAlirumchOlai without birth ( aja:) carries out the creation , sustenance and dissolution of this chEtanAchEtanAthmaka Jagath with a minimal effort(alpa sankalpam) on His part ( Ya: asou jagath janma laya stithi kriyaa : alpAth sankalpAth upakalpayati ). It is a trivial effort for Him .KurEsar wonders about the kalyANa guNams of the Lord associating with Sri SundaraBaahu Swamy and how He sets in motion the various jagath vyApArams effortlessly . As SarvEswaran , His Iswaryam is immeasurable . His tEjas does not need anything else for support.His Balam lets Him support any thing without being fatigued. His Sakti is the attribute of being every thing ( Sarvam khalvidham Brahma).His Veeryam that sustains this universe is matchless . KurEsar hints at all these guNams and admits that they are impossible to cover ( SundaraBaahu samSrayaa: Iswarya , tEja: Bala , Veerya , Saktya : keedhrug vidhaa?). How can we even begin to understand them . They are Vaachamaa gOcharam says KurEsar .

 

SlOkam 29: The Lord SundaraBaahu desirous of residing at the foot hills of Vana Giri ( ThirumAlirumchOlai) has another important guNam celebrated as Kshamaa( Forbearance and pardoning) . When we build up the limitles sins through our lives, which can not be neutralized even in the 10,000 Kalpams of Brahma Devan's life time by experiencing their fruits , the Lord of Vana Giri destroys them in a second , when these jeevans with countles sins prostrate before Him and seek His sacred feet as their refuge.These sins are beginningless (anAdhi) and accumulate with out cessation .The Jeevan is hidden under this mighty pile of sins and goes round and round in the whirlpool of SamsAram without any hope for redemption . This jeevan is sorrow stricken . At this time , the Lord intervenes in the case of those Jeevans , who through the AchArya anugraham fall at the sacred feet of Sri SundaraBaahu just once and are freed thereafter of their anAdhi and ever growing bundle of sins.

 

SlOkam 30: In this slOkam , the Lord's Vaatsalya guNam is saluted . As PeriyAzhwAr reminded us: " Kaadham palavum tirinthuuzhanRERkku anghOr nizhal illai , neerillai , Unn Paadha Nizhalallal ". Without the comforting shade of the Lord's sacred feet , there is no other redress for the samsAris ; there is no shade for them or thirst quenching water to get relief . His Vaatsalya GuNam becomes the shady tree for the Sadhus ( nivAsa Vruksha: SaadhUnAm). His Vaatsalyam extends to dEvAs, humans , people of all levels of achAram , svabhAvams ( aasuric or divine) and caste or creed . Once they make an effort and reach the shadow of His sacred feet , all their troubles are over. Our Lord takes the avatAram in their own jaatis , assumes the form like them , chooses their svabhAvam and mingles with them ( Slishyati) out of His parama Vaatsalya guNam and redeems them . " Sundara PaadhacchAyAm samSrita: chEth , yEnam VatsalatvAth , Sa: Slishyathi ". This vatsalyam of the Lord has been saluted as "dhOsha tiraskAriNi Preethi: " according to Swamy Desikan .

 

 

SlOkam 31: In this slOkam , KurEsar salutes the Souseelya GuNam of the Lord of ThirumAlirumchOlai. The Lord does not discriminate against anyone because of their kulam , jaathi , scholastic attainments , wealth , righteous conduct and responds with alacrity to even those nameless ones as long as they seek Him at ThirumAlirumchOlai and perform their SaraNAgathi at His sacred feet .This unfortunate person may be of low birth ( jaatyaa niheena:), durAchAram ( akuSalai: svachairatan) , lowly ( bhruSam niheena:) , muddled intellect ( aguNatha: ) , worthless as a blade of grass ( BahuthruNamapi) ; once this nondescript person by th worldly standards performs SaraNAgathi at the sacred feet of SundararAjan ,He treats them witht he samr preethi as He treats one of the principal nitya Sooris like AadhiSesahan . Kuresar concludes htis slOkam with a prayer : " May adiyEn be blessed to seek the protection of Lord Sundara rAjan's sacred feet " ( VanAdhri Prasthastha: Sa: Sundara Bhuja: mama SaraNam bhavathu ). The PramANam here is : " DhurAchArOapi sarvASee krutagnO nAstika: puraa , samASrayEAdh Aadhi dEavm SraddhayA SaraNam yadhi , nirdhOsham viddhi Tamm janthum prabhAvAth ParamAtmana: ".

 

SlOkam 32: In the previous slOkams , KurEsar saluted the many guNams of the Lord and recognized that it is impossible to deal in detail and describe fully the vaibhavam of each of these guNams and the bliss generated by enjoying them ( yEkaiaka MangaLa guNa anubhava abhinandham yeedhruk , iyaan iti vaktum aSakta: ) . He comes to the Upanishadic level of experience ( yatO vaachO nivartantE aprApya manasaa saha , Aanandham BrahmaNO VidhvAn ). He concedes that it is beyond his power to describe the Lord's guNams and the bliss experienced . He also refers to Srutis decaring this truth in a loud voice (Sruti: Vaangmanasa gOchara: iti udhAha vai).

 

SlOkam 33: From here on , KurEsar celebrates the soundharya Vaibhavam of the Lord's ThirumEni. His sared feet are soft and beautiful like a Lotus ( aBhja Paadham). His hands and eyes also resemble the beautiful lotus flower in this regard ( aravindha lOchanam Padhma PaaNitalam). His hue is that of darkish blue like colerium ( anjana prabham). HIs hands extend all the way to HIs knees. May adiyEn have the bhAgyam of prostrating before this generous boon-granting Lord of Mahaa Lakshmi , who has reached ThirumaalirumchOlai . KurEsar was bprn in a Vadhika gramam (Kooram) near Kaanchipuram and was devoted to the Sevai of Lord VaradharAjan . Time and again , we will see Lord VaradarAjan's Thiru mEni will appear before his eyes and KurEsar will pay tribute to Sri Varadhan as in this case , even if he was standign before Lord SundaraBaahu at ThirumAlirumchOlai.

 

SlOkam 34:Oh SundaraBaahu with beautiful and stout shoulders !Your ThirumEni has an indescribable hue made up of the blending of the essence of gold , Maragatham and colerium . This unique kaanti outshines every other hue . This unique hue of the Lord's ThirumEni is known as " MayUr-KanTha -dhyuti-hEma". This is a srEshta lakshaNam accordign to Saamudhrikaa sAstram . This multihued color can be seen on the neck of a peacock. In the case of the Lord , the Gold color component came from Mahha Lakshmi. The color of the body of BhU PirAtti and ANDAL is like Maragatam ( greenish hue). The Colerium hue ( Dark bluish back hue like the dark rainy season cloud ) is the natural hue of the Lord.

 

SlOkam 35: The Lord of this dhivya dEsam is known also as AlankArar. PeriyAzhwAr salutes Him as " Azhagan AlankAran ". One wonders why He got the name of AlankAran .There are two reasons given for the origin of this name(1) His ThirumEni does not need any other AabharaNams to add beauty to Him. The BhUshaNams and weapons gain their beauty by serving as alakAram for Him .Hence , He is known as AlankArar. (2) The other explanation comes from the sandhi : alam karOthi iti alamkAra: . Alam means contentment and satiety . When one enjoys the sevai of this Lord , our mind stays away from the enjoyment (alam karOthi) of all vishaya sukhams . That is why He is also saluted as "AlankArar".

 

SlOkam 36: There is a chapter in VishNu PurANam known as "astra bhUshaNAdhyAyam ". Here , the sookshmam ofall the weapons oft he Lord representing one or other tattvams is revealed.It is also pointed outthat these weapns and AabhAraNams are nityam (eternal)and they incarnate with the Lord as appropriate with each avatAram .These weapons like the AabharaNams have a soft touch ( sukha sparsam) , divine fragrance (susougandhyam) , splendid lustre and tremendous power .They weapons and AabharaNams give sukham from the Siras to Thiruvadi of the Lord's ThirumEni ( kusuma sukumAra anga sugatai:). They become alankAram to the Lord and He derives the name of "AlankArar" as a result. All of these saastrArthams are included in this sLokam . KurEsar states that this ThirumAlirum ChOlai Maal AlankArar is his refuge.

 

SlOkam 37-38 : This is a longish slOkam with 8 Paadhams.Two padhyams of four lines are united here with the anvayam of Yugmam. The first slOkam covers the dhivyAbharaNams and the second slOkam focuses on the dhivyAyudhams.The beautiful curly tresses of the Lord , Urdhva PuNDram and TuLasi are included among the AabharaNams.The AabharaNams saluted are : the Crown , the gem necklace around it , the central ratnam in the Crown , toppAram , th forehead tresses( aLakabhAram) ,the pearl jewelery on the forehead, KuNDalams on the ears , Urdhva PuNDrams , Kousthubham on the chest , Vana Maalai , other haarams , kEyUrams ( shoulder jewelery) , tight necklace )KaaRai), TuLasi and ankle jewelery ( Noopurams) .Among the weapons , one has the darsana soubhAgyam of the sword Naandhakam , Conch Paanchajanyam , Disc Sudarsaa , Mace KOumEdhakee ,Pestle , Klaappai (Halam) and many others representing the auspicious assembly of guNams of the Lord. The jewelery and the AabharaNams spread their lustre all around the sporting gardens of ThirumAlirumchOlai and bless the world and its beings with all soubhAgyams. KurEsar prays for the bhAgyam of the sevai of this AlankArar.

 

SlOkam 39: In this slOkam , KurEsar enjoys the curly front locks (aLakabhAram) and the beautiful crown over those Thirukkuzhal KaRRais . From here onto the next 31 slOkams , KurEsar is engages in the enjoyment of the dhivya soundharyam of the Lord from head to foot. The fragrance of the Lord's tresses is natural . These tresses do not need fragrant flowers to create the fragrance . That fragrance pulls everyone near Him including the assembly of honey bees . The dark black color of His tresses resemble that of the VaNDus (Bhramarams) . ANDAL salutes the dark tresses and compares tem to the black bees ( KaLi VaNDu yengum kalanthAr pOl kamazh poonkuzhalkaL " in Her NaacchiyAr Thirumozhi ( 2.4.8).His beautiful crown announces to the world that He is the Lord of All (SarvEswaran) . This Thirumudi of Azhagar is wonderous indeed !

 

SLOkam 40: In this slOkam , KurEsar describes the dark color of the strands of forelocks seen on the Lord's forehead .In ThiruvAimozhi 7.7.9 , Swamy NammAzhwAr has described the bluish-black aLakabhArams of the Lord: " You might have seen cotton being patted , squeezed and spun into a fibre . If the dasrkness of PraLayakAla ntakAram is thus processewd in to fibres , it would be an appropriate similie to the beautiful dark locks of hair of my Lord ! ". KurEsar's description follows that of AzhwAr. He says :

" Mahaavanasya KeSava girE: Isasya alakAli jaalam timira nirmitam yEva yath andham tama: syAth tath saara saadhita sutantu ativrutta vArtam ". ThirumAlirumchOlai is the Mahaa Vanam . SundraBaahu resides in this Kesava Giri as the Lord ( Isan). His forelocks resembling the hue of the VaNDus is like the essence of the PraLaya Kaala night and the forelocks look like strands made out of that Tamas of the PraLaya Kaala night .

 

SlOkam 41: This slokam describes the beauty of the Lord's forehead (VanAdhri Naathasya lalADam jushtAshtamika indhuriva jwalath). Kuresar says theat the forehead resembled the ashtami chandran. It has Urdhva PuNDram and SrI ChUrNam . Ashtami Tithi is the avatAra tithi ( GokulAshtami) . Chandran has worshipped KaNNan and has attained a changeless state on both KrishNa and Skla Pakshams." Oru bhAgam of the forehead of the Lord is admixed with the darkness as in the case of ashtami chandran ( ThiruvAimozhi: 7.7.7).

 

SlOkam 42: Here , the two brows of the Lord are described by the poet/SundaraBaahu Sevaa Rasikar. The two brows are like two Saarngam Bows of the Lord ( " tann kaicchArngam atuvE pOl puruva-vattamazhagiya" says ANDAL ). Swamy NammAzhwAr enjoys these two dark brows in the shape of a bow as : " innyuirkku yEzhayar mEl vaLayum iNai neela ViRRkol manniya ser Madhanan karuppuc-chilaikoll" --ThiruvAimozhi: 7.7.4. KurEsar says the two brows that have reached the Lord SundaraBaahu's forehead ( SundaraBaahu samSrayam bhruvO: yugmam) are beautiful ( suchAru) and are like two bows ( chApa dhvayam).They are like the dense rows of black beetles that have reached the proximity of the the Lotus (eyes) / " suchAru chApa dhvaya vibhramam sunEtrAhva sahasrapatrayO: upAntaga madhupa Aavalee yugam ". The soundharyam of the eyes of the Lord makes one sit up ( vibhramam/ bhramikka vaikkum) and near those two lotuses are the two dense arrays of black beetles taking the shape of two bows.

 

SlOkam 43: KurEsar starts to compare the eyes of the Lord of ThirumAlirumchOlai , gets dissatisfied with the inadequacy of the comparison and concludes that the broad and beautiful eyes of the Lord can not ever be compared to the Lotus flowe ( VanAdhri Naathasya ViSAlayO: dhruSO: nidarSanam katham nu syAth ?) . How can we attempt this type of comparison ? It is not possible.

 

The points associated with this argument are: (1) Lotus is circular in shape , whereas the Lord's eyes are elongated upto His ears ( KariyavAhi pudai paranthu miLirnthu sevvariyOdi neeNDa apperiyavAya KaNkaL -- ThiruppANar's AmalanAdhipirAn ).

(2) The Lotus does not have the KaruNA PravahAm ( aprEmadhugam) unlike the Lord's eyes (3) The Lotus stays shining for a short time compared to the Lord's eyes , which is always ujjvalam ( radiant). These are the deficiencies of the Lotus flower , when we try to compare it to the Lord's eyes.

 

SlOkam 44: In this slOkam , KurEsar reminds of the power of the eyes of the Lord in creating the world , protecting it after discounting the Lotus in the previous slOkam as an inadequate comparison to the Lord's eyes.KurEsar appeals to the Lord to cast His benovolent glances on him ( Vanagiri nilaya: AlankAranAmaa Deva: Maam VeekshatAm) . Upanishads state that the Lord carries out the creation , sustenance and dissolution of the Universe ( Sa yeekshata lOkAn nu srujaa iti , tadhaikshata Bahu syAm iti , Seyam dEvataikshata". Among the four lines of this slOkam , the first line relates to the Moksha Pratatvam of the Lord's eyes as illustrated by the prEma rasam flowing out of the Lord's eyes towards the Gopis . The second line refers to BhOga Maatra Saamya state and the thrid line covers the Jagath KaaraNatvam.With all these references , it is clear that the Lord is the Supreme Being.

 

SlOkam 45: In this slOkam , the soundharyam of the nose of the Lord . The divine eyes geenrate the Vaatsalya amrutham . Those eyes are like a deep ocean . For those , who enjoy the darsanam of the divine eyes , the nose of the Lord is like a beautiful dam ( samudhanjita sEthu kalpaa) strung across those oceans of the two eyes (nayanABdhi sEthu ) . KurEsar also describes the nose of the Lord as a tender shoot of Kalap dhrumam ( Kalpaka tree).

 

SlOkam 46: In this slOkam , KurEsar salutes the coral lips ( vidhru sama adharam) of the Lord of ThirumAlirumchOlai. This slOkam is based on the two ThiruvAimozhi Paasurams of Swamy NammAzhwAr ( 3.5.4 and 7.7.3) celebrating the ThiruppavaLa Sevvay of the Lord. His lips do more than comforting the devotees through His conversations with them and consoling them that way. His Lips do better than that by conferring bliss and fullness to them through the smile of the Lord emanting from those coral lips. The inspiration for this slOkam comes from the two ThiruvAimozhi Paasurams ( 3.5.4 and 7.7.3)

 

SlOkam 47:In this slOkam , KurEsar enjoys the dhivya soundharyam of the cheeks of the Lord of ThirumAlirumchOlai. First , KurEsar describes the natural beauty of this dhivya dEsam ( VaNDamaar saaral MaalirumchOlai). KurEsar sees groves of Mango trees at Azhagar Koil and comes across the beattles enjoying the ripe mangos and getting fattened by their excessive indulgence .KurEsar says that this verdant place with fruits and the population of bees is the abode of Azhagar ( MaalalankArar). He recalls the scene during KrishNaavataram , when the adoring YasOdhaa lifted the chin of Kutti KrishNan to enjoy the fragrance of the cheeks of her dear son . Kutti KaNNan was very pleased with that gesture of His Mother and remembered that joyous occasion of adoration by His mother. This was all during the VibhavAvatAram . Now , Azhagar is in archaavatAram and He still seems to indicate the joy of those days in Gokulam and one can clearly see that joy in His cheeks .