Thirumaalai(33)

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-18
 

“enithirai tivalai mOdha eriyum than paravai meedhE

  thanikidandhu arasu seyyum thAmaraikannan emmAn

  kaniyirundhanaiya sevvAi kannanai kanda kangal

  paniarumbhu vudhirumAlO enseikEn pAviyEnE?”

 

enithirai tivalai mOdha eriyum than paravai meedhE:  Emperuman is seen
in his lying posture many times and he likes to be in yoga nidhrai.  We
all get cheated even if we are awake but in the case of emperuman he
knows everything and can never be cheated even if he lies sleeping in
yoga nidhrai.  So alwars enjoy saying ‘VuranguvAn pOl yOgu seitha
perumAn’(he lies like sleeping but always stays in yogam).  Initially,
emperuman lied on a aala elai(banyan leaf) during the pralayam.  Then woken up
by his kAla devata he started the shrusti.  During the pralayam the
pralaya water raised to great heights to enjoy the beauty of the bhagavan
in the lying posture.  Then since if he stays in Srivaikundam alone, he
was not easily approachable by the devas.  So he came down to pArkadal
as vyuha moorthi.  Again in parkAdal he is seen lying on Adisesha. 
During the pralayam he was alone but now there is Adisesha and pirattis to
do pAda sEvai.  Kamban talks about this beautiful scene.  He says
“kadalul kayalugal vaigum kadavulE kAnum enbar”.  The fishes in the ocean
are so much attracted by the beauty of emperuman’s eyes, that by seeing
the fish like eyes of emperuman they think him to be one among them and
hence they jump very high to enjoy the beauty of the bhagavan.  When he
came down as rAma, vishvAmitra enjoyed seeing the bhagavan lying and
wondered what bhakyam koushalya mAtha should have, to have enjoyed this
beauty for so many years.  He says she alone is blessed with motherhood. 
To surpass the bhakyam of kousalyai came yeshodha who was blessed with
Krishna as the son.  She and the gopi’s enjoyed Krishna do any sort of
thing.  Krishna used to pretend to sleep and when the gopikas talked
about his leelas he will lose himself and smile.  All these where enjoyed
by the parama rasikas.  One bhaktha says I enjoy the ‘pOi thookam’ of
Krishna.  After the vibhava avatAra to give us all that bhakyam
emperuman is found in lying pose in many of the divyadesams including
Srirangam.  Here alwar talks about the emperuman lying with water splashing on
all sides.  But Vyakhyana chakravarthi says like the water in the ocean,
droplets are found under the eyes of the bhagavatals who think or talk
about him.  So whenever they talk about bhagavan tears fall in the eyes
of the bhagavatals.

 

  thanikidandhu arasu seyyum thAmaraikannan emmAn:  Emperuman rules
over the whole world.  Here when alwar says thani kidandhu that is he
rules lying alone.  He lies alone only during the pralayam.  As per the
Upanishads he alone was there during the pralayam but here alwar says
thani kidandhu arasu seiyyum.  How can he rule when he alone is there? 
Actually during the pralayam he alone lies but then just by his sankalpam
woken up by the kAlam he creates the whole world.  “sO kAmayatha” says
the Upanishad.  After creation he rules the whole world.  But then Sri
PVP is not satisfied with saying the emperuman who created the universe
after pralayam rules over.  He says even in Srirangam emperuman stays
alone.  There is not even piratti under his feet to do pAda sEvai and
here too he is surrounded by water(Kaveri) on all sides like a garland
and kavEri is always washing the legs of Periya perumal.  So why not we
say this perumal who came to save us all from the samsAra thukkam
sacrificing his own abode where there are nithya sooris to do nithya
kainkaryam to him, only rules over the world.

Actually rangantha is considered to be the king of kings.  He always
has a senkOl with him.  Andal says, “senkOl vudaiya thiruvaranga
selvanAr”.  For virodhi nirasanam he can use his sanghu and chakram but then
for changing his bhakthas who commit mistakes he uses only his senkOl. 
Just by frightening them with the pancha Ayudhams, he changes them.  In
case of bhakthas his sanghu and chakram are only Abharanams(jewels) and
not ayudhams.  More than his senkOl here alwar says his eyes themselves
have the power to govern everyone.  Though sanghu and chakram are
generally asAdhArana symbols to the lord but the alwars always consider them
to be ordinary symbols.  They enjoy the thamarikan and senkanivai as
asAdhArana symbols and loose themselves to their beauty.  Nammazhvar in
his padhigam about thiruvarangar says,  “kangulaum pagalum kan thuyil
ariyAl kannaneer kaigalal erraikkum , sanghu chakaram endru kai kooppum” 
the mother says that her daughter(parangusa nayaki) is so much in love
with lord ranganatha that she never sleeps either in the morning or in
the night.  She always keeps weeping in his thoughts.  When she says
sanghu chakram she remembers his paratvam and hence she folds her palms
as a symbol of respect.  But then alwar says, “thAmarai kan endrE
thalarum” but when she thinks of the beautiful lotus eyes of the bhagavan she
looses herself, that is when her deep love is shown.  The nAma kannan
actually gives two meanings, one is he has beautiful eyes and another
one that he makes the eyes of those who look at him beautiful.  So alwar
says thamarai kannan.  There are so many such anubhavams of various
alwars about the beauty of the eyes of bhagavan but then it requires a
separate series of postings.  Emman  means he is my swamy and he resides
in me always.

 

Let us continue in the next posting.
 

AzhwAr emberumAnAr jeeyar thiruvadigaLE saraNam

Adiyen Ramanuja Dasyai

Sumithra Varadarajan