Thirumaalai(36)

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-20
 

“pAyum neer arangam thannul pAmpanai palli konda

  mAyanAr thirunanmArvum maragadhavuruvum thOlum

  thooya thAmaraikangalum thuvaridhazhpavalavAyum

  Ayaseer mudiyum thEsum adiyarOrkku agalalAmE?” 

pAyum neer arangam thannul pAmpanai palli konda: As she approaches
Srirangam kAveri flows with high enthusiasm.  Kaveri is very dense at this
point.  She flows like a young girl awaiting her union with her woodbe
eagerly.  She comes and splits into two and embraces periya perumal
like a garland.  Emperuman embraced by kaveri lies happily on the bed of
Adhishesha. 

mAyanAr thirunanmArvum maragadhavuruvum thOlum:  This emperuman who
lies on the adhishesha has “ashcharya seshtidangal”(surprising actions)
and hence is called as mAyanAr.  For some people only some part are
beautiful(avayavashobha) and for others totally they are beautiful but not
all parts are individually beautiful(samudhAya shobha) but for periya
perumal, each part is beautiful and he has samudhAya shobha also.  It is
absolutely not possible for us to enjoy the whole beauty of the
bhagavan, so alwar now tries to just get the essence of it.  Now that we know
that we cannot enjoy fully can we just get away?  No! once if we have
seen periya perumal we can never take our eyes out of him.  That is why
kamban says,”thOl kandAr thOlE kandAr, thozhu kazhal thAl kandAr thalE
kandAr………”.  He is a large ocean of beauty that is why alwars and
acharyas try to enjoy him part by part(pAdhadhi kEsandha varnanai).  First
alwar saw the beautiful chest of the bhagavan in which periya
piratti(jagan mAtha, nithya shree, anapAyini) resides.  She never leaves that
place “agalakillEn eraiyum”.  She resides there to do purushakAram on
behalf of all jeevatmas at all times to the bhagavan.  So alwar enjoys the
serthi of perumal and thAyAr first.  Since thiru resides in his chest
it has become thiru-nan-mArvu.  Then alwar raised his vision to the
broad shoulders of the bhagavan.  

thooya thAmaraikangalum thuvaridhazhpavalavAyum:  Then alwar further
raised his vision to the thirumugam of the bhagavan.  All alwars usually
get immersed only in the lotus like eyes and the coral liked mouth of
the bhagavan.  We have seen this earlier too.  Here once again
thondaradi podi alwar enjoys the pure eyes of bhagavan which never knows any
cheating.  Eyes reflect our mind.  Bhagavan has no friends or enemies.  He
loves each and everyone of us and hence his eyes are always filled with
karunai and krupai to lift us up.  That is why alwar calls bhagavan’s
eyes to be ‘thooya kangal’.  The lips of bhagavan always have a sweet
smile in them to make us easily approach him without fear.  Like a flower
blossoming his lips also are always blossomed.  When we see them we
naturally get attracted to the beauty and run towards him. 

  Ayaseer mudiyum thEsum adiyarOrkku agalalAmE:  Finally alwar enjoys
the thirumudi’s beauty and says this will never leave our vision.  In
RamAyana, when perumal came in the streets of ayodhya, valmiki says only
perumal was moving and all others where immersed in his beauty and the
crowd was so much that no one could move even a bit.  So each one
stayed in their own places enjoying the beauty of perumal.  Even after Rama
pirAn entering the palace, the people stilled remained in their own
places since the beauty of Perumal has been so much established in their
minds that they still assumed perumal to be on the streets in front of
them.  So alwar says adiyarOrkku agalalAmE.  He never leaves the vision
of his bhakthas.  As they see him, they want to see more and as they
see more they want to see him again and the cycle continues.  Sri Ramar
is “sadhaikka priya darshanaha:”(his beauty is appealing to all).

Though alwar here says that his thirumeni doesn’t leave the vision of
adiyars PVP says that his beauty is so powerful that it doesn’t stop
with attraction of his bhakthas like us but continues even till those who
consider him to be their enemy.  “edhirigalukkum okka agala pOgAdhu”

Srimad Bhagavatam says,”vairEnayam nrupathayam shishupAla poundra
sAlpAdayaha Gathi vilAsa vilOka natyaihi…………..punath kim”.  Andal says,
“kEtpAr sevi sudum keezhmai vesaivugalE vaiyum”.  ShishupAla and his group
were always engaged only in talking ill of the bhagavan, Sri Krishna. 
Though Krishna did nothing wrong to them still they developed a hatred
for Krishna.  Surprisingly they too talked the same matters about the
lord which the other Krishna bhakthas talked, but in a negative sense. 
They commented on the color, smile and walk of Krishna which the
bhagavatas immensely enjoyed.  The beauty is that this group which talked ill
of Krishna always at all times talked the same thing due to their
hatred.  But still their concentration was always circled around bhagavan
and hence they meditated more on him, even more than the bhakthas.  When
Krishna went as pandavadhoodha to DuriyOdhana’s court, vidhura asked
Krishna to reconsider his decision since he will be illtreated there. 
But Krishna insisted on going, since he didn’t want to leave room for
people in future to say that if Krishna has adviced duriyodhana, then he
could have stopped the war.  So though unwillingly but due to the love
in Krishna vidhura also accompanied Krishna to the court.  But as
Krishna entered the court all the members stood up without their knowledge
and where quiet for sometime deeply involved in the beauty of the
bhagavan.  If the beauty of bhagavan has such power to attract even those who
considered him to be their enemy then what to say about his bhakthas,
wonders Sri PVP.  

AzhwAr emberumAnAr jeeyar thiruvadigaLE saraNam

Adiyen Ramanuja Dasyai

Sumithra Varadarajan