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Sanga Thamizh & Thiruppavai (Sangha Tamizh Maalai of AndAL): PART 1

From the Bhakti List Archives

V. Sadagopan • January 11, 1997 


Dear Members of the Prapatthi group :

GodhA Piratti describes in the 30th verse of Her 
Thiruppavai that the thirty verses sung by Her 
is a garland made up of (the flowers/doctrines )
Sanga Tamizh . She salutes the Vaidheeic (Veda-rooted ) 
principles propounded by Sanga kaala Tamizh , when
she describes Her aruLicchayal as "aNi pudhuvai
painkamalatthaNteriyal Bhattar PirAn Godhai sonna 
SANGATTHAMIZH MAALAI MUPPATHUM " . 

I will summarize and expand on the thoughts of the great
scholar , Sri Putthoor KrishNaswamy Iyengaar , the editor of 
SriviashNava Sudarsanam . He is a lawyer by profession 
and hence his arguments are brillaintly laid out. His yeoman
service to the understanding of the SriviashNava 
darsanam is a very distinguished one .

In view of the vastness of the subject , I will attempt to limit 
this posting to managable length for the comfort of the readers.
Hope they will be inspired to seek more information and share it
with fellow members . At a later date , I will expand on these themes 
to indicate the greatness of the Ubhaya VedAntha sampradhAyam 
of ours sanctified by our AzhwArs and AchaAryAs . My regards to the 
Tamizh scholars of this group like Sri Badri SeshAdri and others 
and request them. to add more information on the time of 
Sanga Kaala poets and philosophers and  related material .

Today is the day of SRAVANAM . I offer my salutations to SravaNa 
Venkatesan of Oppiliappan Koil and to Sri Bhumi Devi , whose 
incarnation according to tradition is GodhA Piratti . On this 27th day
of Marghazhi , I offer my salutations to Sri Bhumi Devi sametha 
Oppiliappan .

V.Sadagopan 
**************************************************************************

***SANGA TAMIZH AND ANDAAL' S ARULICCHEYALGAL 

The " Grammar " for the term Brahman(Supreme Being )
**************************************************************

The PramANams for Vaidihic mathAs are the Vedas themselves 
and the Upanishads . They assert unambigously that Brahman 
is the one , who is the cause of the creation , protection and 
dissolution of the Universe . This leela is the reason why he is 
defined as Jagadh KaaraNan and this activity leads the Brahman to be
saluted for its Jagadh KaaraNathvam . VedAs , VedaanthAs , IthihAsAs 
salute this Brahman as Omniscient , Omnipotent and omnipresent.
The last three qualiites are considered as the unique attributes (gramamr ) 
of Brahman . SrivaishNava Darsanam equates this Brahman with
Sriman NaarayaNan and continues to salute His other Anantha 
KalyANa GunAs . 

The other KalyANa GuNAs celebrated by the VedAs and Upanishads 
are : (1) Moksha Pradhatvam (2)  Samastha KalyANa guNAthmakathvam ,
(3) Akhila Heya pratyaneekathvam (4)  Aprameyathvam (5) Aadhi Devathvam ,
(6) Sahaja Bandhuthvam for the Jeevans and (7) Veda Prathipaathyathvam . 
One who has these above  attributes is declared by gramarians to be Brahman .

The Sanga Kaala poets preceding AndAL such as KerandayAr (author of
second Paripaadal ) , Kaduvan ILaveiyananAr (Author of third, fourth
and fifth Paripaadals ) , Nal YezhuniyAr ( author of 13th paripaadal ) ,
Tolkappiar , the author of Pura Nanooru have firmly established the
VISHNU PARATHVAM AND VISHNU SARVOTTHAMATVAM BASED 
ON THE AUTHORITIES OF VEDAAS , UPANISHADS AND BRAHMA SUTRAAS .
It is astounding to recognize that the Sarira -Saareeri doctrine , the centre 
of Acharya Ramanuja Darsanam and his predecessors is so  
clearly expounded in the above Sanga Kaala literature. 

GodhA piraatti's revered father went to the court of the PandyA king
and  established the VishNu parathvam and his precocious daughter 
followed the same ancient doctrines propounded by Vedaa , Upanishads
and echoed in the FIRST  Sanga Kaala literature and wove 
Her garland of verses and named them as SANGA TAMIZH MAALAI .
GodhA pirAtti's Thiruppavai has the same infrastructure of the Vedic
PramANams just as the First Sanga Tamizh literature that propounds 
VishNu as sakala GuNa poorNan and Adhi dEvan . The Sangam literature 
emphasized the KalyANa guNAs such as Sowlabhyam , Sowseelyam , 
Vaatsalyam and His Subhaasrayam ( Azhagu Thirumeni ) , His divine
weapons , His sacred Tulasi garland and His many incarnations as 
well as His manifestation as Para , Vyuha , vibhava , ArchA and Antharyami
states as the Vedam declares in the famous passage , " Ambhasya PaarE".
We can map one on one the various salutations that AndAL makes in 
Thiruppavai and link them to the amazing doctrinal echoes found in 
 the first Sanga Kaalam literature. This is not surprising because both 
the earlier  Sanga Kaala literature and AndAL's later Thiruppavai are 
both rooted in the SAME  Grantha  chaathushtya  PramANAs (Vedas , Upanishads ,
Brahma Sutraas, Bhagavadh Geetha and Sri Rahasya Traya Saaram ) .
Later Tamizh sangam literature deviated from the emphasis on
the  Parathvam of VishNu NaarAyaNan . 

I will include examples of the tight links between the Early
sangam literature and Thiruppavai , which led to AndAL
describing Her Paasurams as " Sanga Thamizh Maalai " .

Anna Vayal Pudhuvai AandAL thiruvadigaLE SaraNam .

Oppilaippan Koil VaradAchAri Sadagopan