Thirumaalai(61)

Sri Parthasarathi thunai,
Srimathe Ramanujaya Namaha

“ Mattrondrum vEinda Maname Madhilarangar
  Kattrinum meitha kazhalinai keezh- uttra
  Thirumaalai paadum seer Thondaradipodi Emperumaanai
  Eppozhudum peesu”

“ Srimat Krishna samahvaya Namo yaamuna soonave
  yetkadAkshai kalakshyAnAm sulabha: Sridara: sadaa”

Pranams,

Nammazhvar and thondaradipodi alwar gave us the dvayArtham in their
paasurams but the grace of our nAchiyar, Sri Andal is that she practiced
and showed dvayam.  That is why in thiruvAimozhi and thirumAlai
paasurams, first the uttara kandArtham is given followed by the poorva
kandArtham.  But in thiruppAvai the dvayArtham is in order.  Sri Andal is none
other than our mother, who has a special liking for her kids hence she
guides us practically.

In the previous three postings we enjoyed the divine meanings of the
38th paasuram in thirumaalai, which is considered as the essence of this
whole prabandham.  In this paasuram, alwar gave the important rahasya
artham in our Srivaishnava sidhdhAntam(meaning of dvayam or the manthra
ratnam).  In bhagavat geetha, Krishna’s main aim was to give the
charama slokam but he gave chapters 1 to 18.65 to arjuna, to make him
mentally prepared to receive the charama slokam.  Again geetha doesn’t end
with sloka 18.66, but there are  more slokas as conclusion part. 
Similarly though Veda Vyasa, wrote Srimad Bhagavatam mainly to say the Krishna
leela, he had to write the first 9 cantos as an introduction or to
mentally prepare the readers to enter the 10th canto and enjoy the Krishna
leelai.

Here too alwar followed the same procedure.  He first gave the
importance of bhagavan nAma, he then proceeded to establish the srivaishnava
siddhantham, by opposing all other philosophies.  Then after declaring
emperuman’s supremacy, he lamented over his incapability to attain the
divine feet of emperuman and over all the mistakes he has committed so
far.  Then he requested perumal to help him out of these samsAric
miseries.  Then when asked, what punyam he had for perumal to help him?  Alwar
replied he hasn’t done anything good but perumal has his nirheduka
krupai, which is the source for him to beg for bhagavan’s support.  Then
finally alwar after enjoying the kalyana gunas of bhagavan did
saranagathi in his feet by meditating on the dvayArtham in the 38th paasuram. 
Alwar doesn’t stop with this.  He proceeds to give the conclusion part. 
In geetha, bhagavan instructed arjuna not to give any of these divine
arthas to anyone who doesn’t have bhakthi towards perumal and his words,
in the conclusion part. Here alwar says, irrespective of any
differentiation everyone can do saranagathi, no matter where he is born or what
sect or gender he/she belongs to and thereby giving the magimai of
bhAgavatas, alwar concludes the prabhandam.

With this brief summary let us now proceed with the meanings of the
concluding paasurams.

Paasuram-39

“adimaiyil kudimai ellA ayal saduppEdhimAril
  kudimaiyil kadaimai patta kukkaril pirapparElum
  mudiyinil tulabham vaiththAi! moikuzharkku anbhu seiyum
  adiyarai vugaththi pOlum arangamA nagarulAnE!”

adimaiyil kudimai ellA ayal saduppEdhimAril:  In those days there were
many chaturvEdi mangalams.  In those, lived many pandits who were well
versed in all four Vedas.  If a person belonging to such a family and
well versed in Vedas, but still wasn’t interested in the kainkaryam to
bhagavan, then alwar here says, perumal doesn’t even turn his face
towards him.

kudimaiyil kadaimai patta kukkaril pirapparElum:  On the contrary, even
if a person is born in a most lowly considered kulam (kukkar – shudra
kulam) but is a bhAgavatan then,

mudiyinil tulabham vaiththAi! moikuzharkku anbhu seiyum:  Emperuman
gets pleased just with the submission of a small thulasi leaf in his feet. 
He is not interested in costly svarna pushpams(golden flowers) but he
considers a small thulasi leaf submitted in his feet by a poor
bhagavatan with utmost love, as a great gift.  Similarly he considers a
bhAgavatan involved in his kainkaryam, though born in a low caste to be more
important to him than even a chatur vEdi, though well versed in all the
Vedas, not interested in his kainkaryam.  This paasuram, is actually the
extension of the previous paasuram where alwar instructs us to beg for
the kainkaryam in the divine feet of the divine couples.  Here he says
only the kainkaryam makes the emperuman happy and nothing else.

adiyarai vugaththi pOlum arangamA nagarulAnE:  Here comes to our memory
the story of Sri thirupAnAzhvar.  Though he was born in a panchama
kulam, still emperuman sent lOkasAranga munivar, high class Brahmin to
fetch him just because thirupAnan was a great bhAgavathan.  So emperuman
regards bhAgavatas, irrespective of their birth, close to his hearts,
declares thondaradi podi alwar in this paasuram.

Sri pillai perumal Iyengar, a great scholar, in his thiruvaranga
kalambhagam, one among his ashta prabhandam says,

“sAdhiyAl vozhukkaththAl thakkOrElum, chaturmaraiyAl vElviyAl
mikkOrElum
 pOdhil nAnmugan paniya palli kollum ponnarangam pOttrAdAr pulayar
thAmE”

(Even if one is from a high caste and has excellent character, and is
one of the great experts in all the 4 vedas and has performed many
yagas, still if he doesn’t talk the praise of Srirangam and the bhagavan who
even brahma the four headed dEva praises, he is to be considered to be
the lowest of the lowest).

“pAdhiyAi azhugiya kAl kaiyarElum, padu thozhil ezhi kulam
padaithArElum
 AdhiyAi aravanaiyAi enbhArAgil avar andrO nAm vanaggum adigalAvAr”

(Even if a person is diseased and belongs to a lowly family still if he
says the bhagavan nAma and does kainkaryam to bhagavan in some way then
he has to be regarded with great respect and we have to fall into his
feet and show our regard to such a bhAgavathan.)

Thus alwar shows the magimai of a bhAgavatan, irrespective of the
family in which he is born and his talents in this paasuram.

AzhwAr emberumAnAr jeeyar thiruvadigaLE saraNam
Adiyen Ramanuja Dasyai
Sumithra Varadarajan