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Thirumaalai(56)

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-37
 

“thelivilA kalangal neer soozh thiruvarangaththulOngum

  oliyulAr thAmE andrE thandhaiyum thAyum AvAr

  eliyathOr arulum andrE en thiraththu empirAnAr

  aliyan nam paiyal ennAr ammavO! kodiyavArE!”

 

thelivilA kalangal neer soozh thiruvarangaththulOngum:  Emperuman who
lay amidst the pralaya water like a small baby now lies in Srirangam. 
In Srirangam he lies, with kAveri on all his sides, surrounding him like
a garland.  Here alwar says, kaveri is not clear but the water in
kAveri is unclear(confused).  Generelly, ponni, kAveri’s water is saffron in
color.  Even if we wash our clothes in this water some sort of kAvi
(saffron color) gets settled in our clothes.  This is because different
river waters have different metal contents and kAveri has iron content in
it.  Usually TulA kAveri(water during the Tula month) is the most
dirty.

 

Andal in ThiruppAvai says “Tooyapperuneer yamunai” and celebrates
yamunai to be crystal clear but here alwar says kAveri to be unclear and to
be confused.  Then doesn’t Yamuna get greater importance than kAveri? 
No explains Sri PVP.

 

A bhakthan is never clear.  He is not in a state of steadiness before
and after having darshan of emperuman.  Before having bhagavat darishan
the eyes of the bhakthan is filled with tears due to the sorrow of
Krishna viraham(separation from the lord).  Ok then won’t he feel happy
while seeing perumal?  While seeing perumal all his sins and perumals
magimai comes to his memory and makes him lament his mistakes, then when
the time comes for him to leave, then again he starts crying thinking
about the trouble of separation he has already experienced.  So a bhakthan
is always in the state of unsteady mind (sorrow and confusion) even
though he enjoys the ectasy of bhagavat krupai and gunAnubavam in between.

 

Mother kAveri is one of the greatest bhakthais of Ranganatha.  Until
she reaches Srirangam she flows as a thin line, like a virgin approaching
her beloved.  When she reaches ranganatha she is extremely happy and
flows with great vigour but then when she leaves Srirangam she again
leaves with a great amount of sorrow and hence she is not clear but mixed
up.  So though kAveri is “thelivilA kalangal neer” still she is even
more sacred than ganga.  What an extra ordinary explanation.  If there
wasn’t one PVP then we would have never understood alwar’s
thiruvullam(heart).

 

oliyulAr thAmE andrE thandhaiyum thAyum AvAr:  Emperuman has his
special charm and brightness.  It is more prominent in his archAvatArams
which are the ‘ellainilam of sowlabhyam’(the most prominent place where his
kalyana guna, sowlabhyam is clearly seen).  He is our Athma bandhu. 
Sastras say, “mAtru DevO bhava; Pitru dEvO bhava;” etc but in our
sampradayam, thirumangai alwar calls even father and mother to be a disease,
if they are against bhagavat kainkaryam (“thAyE thandhai endrum thAramE
kilai makkalendrum nOyE pattu ozhindhEn”).  One doubt may arise then
are the alwars talking against the sastras?

 

No not at all.  These are two different things.  What the sastras say
is sAmanya dharmam.  Any son or daughter has to consider their father or
mother to be equal to god and do kainkaryam to them.  This is their
duty for what all their parents and teachers have given them.  But when
the same parent or teacher goes against the bhAgavata dharmam then they
are supposed to be regarded as disease.  According to bhAgavata dharmam
our prime duty is to do kainkaryam to our Athma bhandhu emperuman. 
These relatives or parents are temporary and stay only for this janma as
our father or mother.  But one father and mother are permanent how many
ever janmAs we may take.  So is it not important to give that permanent
bandhus the prime importance and do kainkaryam to them at all times and
all places?  If the sareera bandhus help us out (anukoolars) for
bhagavat kainkaryam then they also become part of the bhAgavata
kudumbam(family) and hence can be considered our athma bandhus .  Thirumangai alwar
surrenders to thiruvEngada mudaiyan saying that he has shed all other
sareera bandhus and now is waiting only for bhagavat kainkaryam.  Here
thondaradi podi alwar also says the same thing that emperuman is
everything for him.

 

In Ramayana, lakshmana showed the same dharmam.  He left his father,
mother and wife and followed perumal and piratti to the forest
considering them to be his parents and everything.  But lakshmana was indeed
blessed with a great mother who advised him saying, “rAmam dasaradham
viddhi mAm viddhi janakAthmaja ayOdhya matareem viddhi kachchdham yathA
sukam” Oh! Lakshmana don’t make the mistake of staying in ayodhya thinking
it is your duty to take care of your parents and the kingdom.  Consider
perumal to be equal to dasarathan and piratti to be myself and the
forest in which they live to be ayodhya and do kainkaryam to them, which is
the purpose of your birth.

 

What a great mother she was?  Can a mother send her son to forest just
like that?  This is bhAgavata dharmam.  BhAgavatas can sacrifice
anything for the sake of bhagavat/bhAgavata kainkaryam.

 

(To be continued)

 

AzhwAr emberumAnAr jeeyar thiruvadigaLE saraNam

Adiyen Ramanuja Dasyai

Sumithra Varadarajan

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