Thirumaalai(26)

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,

 
Paasuram-12
 

“namanum murkalanum pEsa naragil nindrArgal kEtka

  naragamE suvargamAgum nAmangal udaya nambi

  avanadoor arangamennAdhu ayarththu vEzhthaliya mAndhar

  kavalayul padukindrAr endru adanukkE kavalgindrEnE.”

 

Till now alwar tried to explain the essence of nAma sankeertanam and
make people utter the nAmas of bhagavan.  But then he found that the
people, who are not ashamed to even talk about their mistakes, are ashamed
to utter bhagavan nAma even in a group.  So now alwar says there is a
way out for such people also.  Since bhagavan nAma just on listening
gives the result.  Sri PVP says, “shravana mAttraththAlE thirunAmam
uththAragam endru muthkalO ubhakhyAna mugaththAlE solli”  Alwar in this
paasuram explains how just listening the ThirunAmam of bhagavan takes us to
his feet with the help of a legend stated in Vishnu dharmam.

 

ThirunAma keertanam is not at all difficult like ashtAngayoga or tapas
in the middle of panchAgni.  But still people do not do it since they
feel shy.  Can anyone feel shy to say the name of his/her father?  But
somehow these ignorant people say they feel shy and never do
bhagavat/bhAgavata kainkaryams.  Bhagavan says, “Visrujya lajja yO jeetE man
nAmAni nirantharam kula kOdi samAyuktha: labathE mAmakam padham”(Who ever
leaves his shyness and utters my nAmA always he and his predecessors
attain my feet very soon).  That is why sadhoos who feel sorry for the
baddha jeevatma, who never utter bhagavan nAma, go to each street and do
ThirunAma sankeertanam so that atleast the bhagavan nAma will be heard by
one and all.  Even andal says “hari endra pEr aravam”.  ThirunAma
keertanam should always be done loudly so that all can hear and get
benefited.  Srivaishnavas never act selfishly.  They work for the welfare of
all.

 
MutkalO upakhyanam
 

There was a brahmana called Mutkalan.  He once gave some alms to
someone and unknowingly said krishnArpanam.  Due to his innumerous papas
after his death the yama dhoodhas took him to narakam.  But on seeing
mutkalan, dharma raja(yaman) stood up and welcomed him with great respect
and honour.  The yama dhoodhas were totally astonished to see their king
do such a thing that too to a maha papi.  Mutkalan was surprised
himself.  When they asked yaman why he did such a thing, he replied that
mutkalan has done one great punyam inspite of all his papams.  What did he
do?, asked the yama dhoodhas.  YamA replied loudlu that he had uttered
Krishna nAma once.  At that instant the whole narakA was converted to
svargam.  Alwar recollects this story in this paasuram.

 

namanum murkalanum pEsa naragil nindrArgal kEtka:  Naman is yaman or
dharma raja.  He and mutkalan was talking and the others in the naraka
was listening says the alwar.  The dialogue between the two has been
explained in the above paragraph.

 

naragamE suvargamAgum nAmangal udaya nambi:  In this line alwar
explains the magimai of bhagavan nAma.  He says emperuman has a nAma which is
capable of even converting naraka to svarga lokam.  How is that
possible?  Once yama loudly uttered Krishna nAma and said since mutkalan has
uttered this nAma once, he has done a great punyam all the others who
were hearing this also lost their papams and immediately the naraka was
converted to svarkam.  Here alwar doesn’t say that all of them were sent
from narakam to svarkam since the nAma has such magimai that it doesn’t
even allow anyone to wait to go to svarkam instead it converts the
place where he is itself to svaka loka.  Even in this world if we keep
uttering the nAma of bhagavan always we enjoy the bliss as in svarka.  A
house where all are bhagavatas is a svarga by itself since perumal likes
to stay in such houses where always bhagavat bhAgavata kainkaryams are
done.  Before the rAma-rAvana uddham lanka was a Asura puri but
immediately after the war it was converted to a bhAgavata puri with
vibheeshana, a parama bhagavatan as the king.  So converting our own house or
street or town or city to naraka or swarka all lies in our hands.  That is
why we are adviced to stay in divya desams where we get satsangam and
hear bhagavan nAma and bhagavat guna kalashepam and ghosti every time. 
Is there any other moksham more than this? Here we get to memory
alwar’s previous paasuram “Achchuvai perinum vEnden”.

 

avanadoor arangamennAdhu ayarththu vEzhthaliya mAndhar:  Alwar feels
very bad for those who do not realize that the bhagavan whose nAma
magimai is explained above, saying that it can even change naraka to svarka,
stays in Srirangam.  People think emperuman is some where in
Srivaikundam but do not realize that he has by his great krupai come down for the
benefit of all of us and even now is lying in srirangam for even a
nastikan to see.  Without knowing this people are falling into never ending
miseries.  Alwar wants to pull all these people from the samsaric
miseries and show them the path to emperuman’s feet.  Only for this iam
singing these paasurams says alwar.

 

kavalayul padukindrAr endru adanukkE kavalgindrEnE:  The people get
involved themselves in the lowkikam and are always under some tension.  If
they understand that the emperuman who can give them all the happiness
is waiting to help them out in srirangam, then they will be saved from
these miseries and tensions.  So in this paasuram alwar is trying to
impart this knowledge to one and all.

 

PVP’s vyakhyanam:  A person was in his death bed.  Let us make him tell
the bhagavan nAma(namo nArAyanA) once so that he will attain good
gathi, thought alwar.  So he went to that man and slowly explained that he
had come to do good for him.  Alwar told him, you need not say the whole
of sahasranAmam or hear me say the Upanishads(Anandavalli) but just say
once “namO nArAyana” which is just  8 letters.  The man replied “Am
Agil solliparkirEn”(if so I will try telling it) again this is also 8
letters only.  With this the man breathed his last.  Such was his fate he
could have uttered namo narayana instead of what he uttered, both where
only 8 aksharas but he was not destined to do so.  So whatever hard
alwar tries to make us all utter bhagavan nAma we lowkikas find various
other ways to not utter the same.

 

We will continue in the next posting.  Till then let us all utter the
bhagavan nAma at all times and enjoy the sweetness of the nAma in our
mouth and mind and the same spreading throughout the whole body.

 

AzhwAr emberumAnAr jeeyar thiruvadigaLE saraNam

Adiyen Ramanuja Dasyai

Sumithra Varadarajan