Thirumaalai(67)

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-44 (contd)

When the dEvas were waiting with their eyes wide open to see the
emperuman, gajendra varadan came on his garudan with his chakra on his hand
to rescue the elephant from the clutches of the crocodile.

KannarA:  No one can take their eyes away, after seeing perumal’s
beautiful thirumEni.  If we wait to get something and are unable to get it
we get bored after sometime.  In some cases, we may have waited for
something not worthwhile so as soon as we get it we get bored.  But in
bhagavan’s case it is worth waiting for years together just to get a
glimpse for a second.  We can experience the same even today in
thirumala-thirupathi.  We all go and wait for long hours in the queue.  But are we
allowed to stay in the sannadhi for at least 5 minutes?  We have to have
a quick darshan of the emperuman and we are pushed out.  Still the
crowd of bhakthas in thirupathi never reduces rather it increases day by
day.  Such is the greatness of bhagavan.  We all stay in the sannadhi
just for 1 or 2 minutes but when we come out we say oh! It was a great
darshan.  Ramayanam says, “rAmam mE anukathA drushti:” (No one can take
their eyes out of the beauty of rAmachandra moorthi) and thiruppAnAzhvar
says,”enamudhinai kanda kangal mattrondrinai kAnAvE” True. After that
alwar didn’t even see himself that is why his prabandam(amalanAdhipirAn)
does not contain the usual style of presenting who sang it and what is
the palasruthi in the last paasuram.

One other interpretation of ‘kannarA’ is if perumal places his krupai
on us he never takes it away.  Many look at us but for no use but if
bhagavat and Acharya kataksham fall on us it never goes in vain.  It has
the power to lift us from the bottom most level and even grant us
moksham, the top most level.

vunnai ennO? KalaikanA karudhumArE :  Oh! My lord you are the only
saranyan, to whose feet we all have to do saranAgathi, since you alone can
remove all our worldly bindings and worries and grant us moksha.

In this paasuram, alwar shows how all other upayams which the siva,
brahma and other devas considered to be the ways to attain perumal has
become futile (“thavan seithAr velgi nirpa) and how only saranAgathi done
by gajendran has given the result ultimately.  Leaving all his efforts
gajendran called emperuman for help and hence perumal came running, but
the devas still believed in their own efforts and hence perumal never
turned up.  And due to his saranAgathi (vunnai ennO kalaikanA
karudhumArE) gajendran has attained the ultimate goal, bhagavat krupai and
kainkaryam (Anaikku andru arulai eentha). 

Emperuman’s feet is like a boat to transport us from the ocean of
samsAram to the other bank, moksham.  But this boat is a little different
from the usual boats seen by us, in this world.  In this boat (Krishna
pAdAravindham) we need not board inside but it is enough if we just think
of it, it will take us to moksham.  Sri Andal says,“vaikundan ennum
thOni perAmal vuzhalginrEn”. This boat, Krishna thiruvadi never moves from
one place to another but keeps constantly transporting jeevatmas who
think of it from this leela vibhuthi to the nithya vibhuthi.

Just the thought that bhagavan is there to take care of us gives us all
the extra strength to do kainkaryam.  All other wealth comes today and
leaves tomorrow and only puts us to more tension in the process of
protecting it.  But this wealth, bhagavat kataksham never leaves us and
relieves us of all tensions.

We will enjoy the final paasuram in the next posting and conclude.

AzhwAr emberumAnAr jeeyar thiruvadigaLE saraNam
Adiyen Ramanuja Dasyai
Sumithra Varadarajan