SenniyOngu Pasurams

by Sri V.Sadagopan


The Mood & Context of the ten verses

Azhwar reminds us that Sriman NaarAyaNan manifests Himself in Para , VyUha , Vibhava , AntharyAmithva and ArchAvathArams for correcting the chethanAs and to enlist the corrected chethanAs in His nithya kiamkaryam . AzhwAr points out that these two activities are fully demonstrated by ThiruvEnkatamudayAn at Thirumalai . His soulabhyam , dayA , bhaktha Vaatsalyam are experienced by AzhwAr and he pays his tribute to the kAruNya raasi standing on top of the VenkaTam hills .

AzhwAr started with the singing of the ThiruppallAndu to the Lord , His consort , His divyAyudhams and His bhagavathAls . Then he shifted to assume the role of YasOdhA pirAtti to enjoy the bala leelAs of the Lord in KrishNAvathAram . In the last few decads , he concentrated on slected divya desams , UpadEsams for us , prayer for anthima smrithi of the Lord , NaicchAnusandhAnam , SaraNagathi , the union with the Lord at the level of his heart and the banishing of all the disease of samsArA as a result . He is thus in a celebratory and thankful mood by the time he arrives at the last decad of his Periya Thirumozhi.

After relating to the doctrines of Arthapanchakam in the verses of Periya Tnirumozhi , he is coming to the stage of acknowledging with utter gratefulness the limitless blessings conferred on him by ThiruvenkatamudayAn .

He has now a clear understanding of the five tenets of Artha Panchakam : Paramathma SvarUpam , JeevAthma- SvarUpam , UpAya SvarUpam , Pala SvarUpam and VirOdhi SvarUpam . The acquisition of this Jn~anam makes him very happy and contented since he is comforted by the pramANam , " Jn~AnAn Moksha : " . He is also comforted by the thought that the five tenets of Artha Panchakam are compressed in the three rahasyams ( MoonRil Syrrikkiya Eindhu ), which he has been celebrating in number of his paasurams .

ThiruvEnkatamudayAn witnesses the joyous and ebulient mood of the AzhwAr and worries as to whether He has done enough for His dear devotee and " father-in-law " . The Lord is somewaht agitated over this thought of not having done enough . AzhwAr responds to the mood of the Lord of Thirumalai and says : " EmperumAnE ! Sarva Swami ! VenkatEsA ! All my enemies that interfered with my pursuit of Moksham have been driven away by You . I have obtained what all I sought from You .I have understood the deep meanings of Artha Panchakam and therefore I am enjoying niradhisaya Aanandham . You have now given me every happiness and accepted my kaimkaryam . Please rest Your mind since there is nothing more that I need " . AzhwAr concludes his prabhandham in this celebratory , thankful and grateful mood . The " SenniyOngu " decad ( Periya Thirumozhi 5.4) covers these magnificient thoughts of a Kruthaj~nan , who has performed Prapatthi at the sacred feet of the Lord and who is comforted by the Lord's acceptance of his prapatthi . Periya Thirumozhi started with the concern for the Lord's well being in this evil world( pallAndu ) and ends with an assurance to the Lord that he (AzhwAr ) has been fully rewarded by Him and that there is nothing else he needs anymore .

Paasuram 1 : SenniyOngu ---

O Thiruvenkatamudaya residing on the top of the cool hill reaching towards the sky ! O Lord with anantha kalyANa guNAs , who has elected to reside there to confer Your blessings on all the chEthanAs ! O Master who has the gift and power to ignore the profound trespasses by Your adiyArs ! I am seeking Your grace only as the redeeming fruit for my athmA and its house , the body . What would You wish to do now ?

Paasuram 2 : PaRavai yERu ParampurudA ---

O Parama PurushA who sits on Garudan and uses that veda svarUpi as Your vaahanam ! After Your acceptance of me with no other recourse as Your servant in Your role as Sarvarakshakan , the ocean of fearsome SamsAram has dried up and I have no more fear of it . Thanks to Your grace and DayA , the forest of sins , which was about to put an end to my efforts to seek You as saviour is being burned away totally. The nectar -like river of Jn~Anam keeps on flowing .

Paasuram 3 : YemmanA ! Yenn kuladhaivamE ! ---

O my Emperor ! O the supreme divinty of my kulam ! O my nAyakA ! Who else can aspire for the great blessings arising from Your boon of offering me(adiyEn ) residence under the coll shade of Your Thiruvadi ? The sins of the people of the world , which tormented us and laid us low like the works of formless apparitions and evil spirits are themselves under Your holy feet and are unable to breathe or move. They seem to have run away once Your grace fell on us and have hidden themselves in to distant bushes . What a miracle to witness and experience ?

Paasuram 4 : Kadal kadainthu amudham kondu ---

O Lord with mighty shoulders and powerful arms adorning Sudarsanam and Panchajanyam ! O mighty warrior using the great bow named Saarangam as Your weapon in battles ! Just as You churned the milky ocean and filled the kalasam ( golden pot ) with nectar , I have opened my mouth and drank deep and stored You as the insatiable nectar (AarAvamudhu ) and this experience is melting my body with joy . Now , Even the Lord of punishment , Yaman can not approach places , where my sceptre and rod holds sway .

Paasuram 5 : Ponnaik kondu ---

O my matchless Father ! O Lord who has the power to command all my five senses to be totally engaged in service to You ! O Master who can protect my AthmA from becoming a slave to others ! Like a gold smith uses the testing stone ( uraikkal ) to rub the gold to test its quality , I have positioned You on my tongue and changed it to transmute it from its base nature into that of shining gold. Thanks to that sweet experience of chanting Your divya nAmAs , my tongue has been sanctified . I have now housed You , who is not easily attained even by Yogis , in my heat cavity. I have also made my lowly self as Your servant .

Paasuram 6: unnudaya Vikkiramam ---

O Lord who incarnated as ParasurAmA with the weapon of axe (parasu ) to destroy the arrogance of the kings ! O ParasurAmAvatharA with fullness of kalyANa guNAs ! I have painted in the walls of my heart all of Your valiant and brave deeds completely like an artist drawing paintings a canvas . O Supreme Being ! Where can You go now after rsiding inside me ? You can not go anywhere and leave me .

Paasuram 7 : Paruppathatthu kayal ---

O Lord who imprinted Your lotus red feet on my head as insignia of Your status as my Lord just as the paandyan king imprinted the sign of the fish as a mark of his soverignity over the mountain of MahA Meru ! O Lord who broke the tusks of the mighty elephant ( KuvalayApeetam ) of KamsA ! O parakramasAli , who destroyed the powerful wrestlers ( ChANUran and Mushtikan ) in KamsA's court ! I keep reciting names such as these that remind me of Your unsurpassed heroism with my tongue that carries the marks of that exercise . You have blessed me by making me one of Your own as a result of my repeated recitation of Your heroic names .

Paasuram 8 : Ananthan paalum ----

O tall Lord with Sudarsana chakram in Your hand ! You have entered my heart and rejuvenated me and made my life a blessed one ! This You seem to have accomplished by reducing Your affection for the seats of AdisEshA and GarudA as places of Your residennce . Thinking about this magnificient blessings of Yours , I am going to rest now with a heart filled with gratefulness and eyes filled with tears .I will keep remembering the mahOpakAram You did all the days of my life and feel relieved from worries of any kind .

Paasuram 9 : Panik kadalilum ----

How can I describe Your sowseelyam ? You have forgotten Your habit of resting comfortably on the cool , milky ocean and ran away from there to reside in the ocean of my heart ! O Lord who is capable of performing such miraclous deeds ! O the Lord of MahA Lakshmi ! O Lord full of auspicious guNAs ! You have discarded the matchless places of Your erstwhile residence such as Milky ocean and the orbit of the Sun and have chosen my lowly heart as yYour preferred seat of residence . Your sowseelya guNam is beyond describtion .

Paasuram 10 : TadavarayAi miLirndhu ---

O Lusturous Lord who shines like a resplendent flag on the top of a lofty mountain ! How great is Your affection ( vaatsalyam ) for me ! You have cast aside Your preferred residences at the milky ocean , Srivaikuntam and the city of mighty ramparts , dwarakA and have chosen to reside inside me .

Paasuram 11 : pala Sruthi -- vEyar tangaL ---

Those who recite these ten verses of VishNuchitthan of the vEyar kulam in whose heart resides Gopaalan with the hue of dark blue rainy cloud will never ever be separated from the Lord and will be blessed with the Nithya kaimkaryam for Him , who is the bull among the cowherds of AyarpAdi and is the nectar for the pious sages like SanakA .