Search:
Bhakti List Archives

sOmbar & thondaradippodi aazhwaar

From the Bhakti List Archives

Thirumalai Anandanpillai • November 30, 1996 


Sri Sadagopan wrote

> Tondaradipodhi describes the parama hitam aspect of SaraNAgathi
> done in a trice (KshaNa Karthavyam ) by PrapannAs this way in one of
> the Paasurams of ThirumAlai : " kadaitthalai irundhu vaazhum Sombarai
> uhatthi pOlum " ( O Ranganaatha! You take great interest even in those  
> lazy ones living around your ramparts at Srirangam. They were lazy in that 
> they did not make the effort to practise difficult Bhakthi and Jnaana Yogams.
> They too the easy route appropriate to their limited strength and performed
> Prapatthi at Your lotus feet. You accepted those Prapannaas and treated them 
> as though they were superior to all  the others) . 



I tend to disagree with the above interpretation of the paasuram.
I think that the word sOmbar in the paasuram DOES NOT refer to 
the 'lazy ones who did not make the effort to practise the difficult bhakti
and Jnaana yOgas and took the easy way appropriate to their limited strength'.

On the other hand, 'vaazhum sOmbar' here refers to those aasthikaas who
have surrendered everything to the Lord including the way to the goal, 
realising that the Lord Himself is the siddhOpaayam and
thereby do not attempt to undertake any 'saadhanaas' towards the goal.
  sOmbal here refers to the 'laziness' of these
bhaagavathaas in not pursuing any saadhanaas towards their own hitam .
( the 'laziness' of those who
do not even think about their hitam, leaving everything to Him). 

  
The first 3 lines of the paasuram in fact describes the 'vaazhum
sOmbar'. Here is the whole paasuram .

 mEmporuL pOga vittu meymmaiyai miga uNarndhu
     aamparisaRindhukoNdu aiympulan agathadakki  
 kaambaRath thalaisiRaiththu un kadaiththalai irundhu vaazhum
     sOmbarai ugaththi pOlum soozh punal aranGaththaanE!  
  
  
 
 mEmporuL here refers to three things here - 
 	(i) mElezhunNdha poruL
 	(ii) mEvina poruL
 	(iii) mEmpaattai viLaikkum poruL
 	
 mElezhuNdha poruL are those things that go away when one gets bhagavath vishaya
 uNarchchi (uNarchchi = feeling)  - in this case, samsaara sambhandham
 
 mEvina poruL are those things that the chetana has difficulty in separating
 - eg.. dhEhasambhandham, confusion between aatma & dhEham (body)
 
 mEmpaattai viLaikkum poruL - things that make the chetana feel that those
 associated with it are 'its'. i.e. prakriti praakruta padhaarththa sambhandham.
 i.e. thinking that all things associated with us in this world are 'ours' -
 
  
mEmporuL pOgavittu = letting go of mEmporuL - i.e.letting go of
			samsaara sambhandham, dhEhasambhandham & prakriti
			praakruta sambhandham

meymmayai miga uNarndhu = understanding the aatma swaroopam (meymmai = truth)

aam parisu aRindhu koNdu = realising that kainkaryam is the purushaarththam
			    (actually, relising things associated with
				our  swaroopaanuroopam)	
				
aiympulan agathadakki = controlling the five indriyaas (to not go to the
			  mEmporuL again)
			  

kaambu aRa thalai siraiththu = letting go of all the saadhanas &
				upaayaandharaas completely (kaambu ara)

un kadaiththalai irundhu vaazhum sOmbar = those people (who do the above and)
 					who live in the entrances (As guards)
 					to Your temple
 					

sOmbarai ugaththi pOlum soozh
punal arangaththaanE 		= Oh Ranganaatha - You show great liking
				(ugaththal) towards these sOmbars. 
				


Aazhwaar emperumaanaar jeeyar thiruvadigaLE saranam.
				
Varadhan