From the Bhakti List Archives

• November 1, 1999


Dear Sri Sadagopan Swamin,
For the last few days I have been sending mails to you, and almost all the
mails have been bouncing back saying that there has been some problem with
your address.  Also the mails you are sending me too are not arriving
properly.  I dont know whether the problem is with my account or with yours.
Anyway, I request you to kindly let me know if you have been receieving the
mails I have been sending you, like the one I sent on Sunday, with an
attachemnt about the Viewguide to view the Ramanuja CD.

Until this mistake in the mailing system is resolved, I request you to
kindly send a copy of all the mails addressed to me at ma_alwar@hotmail.com
("ma"-underscore-"alwar" "@" hotmail.com)

With sastanga pranamams,
Adiyen,
Alwar.



----- Original Message -----
From: Sadagopan 
To: 
Sent: Tuesday, November 02, 1999 8:32 AM
Subject: UpadEsa Rathna Maalai(URM): Part 8 (Madhura Kavi Paausrams: 25-26)


> Dear BhakthAs:
>
> The Paasurams 25-26 ) of URM pay tribute to
> Madhurakavi AzhwAr and what he stands for in
> our SamprahdAyam (viz)., the predominant position
> given to achAryaaLs even over the Lord Himself and
> Bhaagavatha Seshathvam .
>
> paasuram 25: The importance of Madhura Kavi's Birthday
> *******************************************************
>
> yErAr Madhura Kavi ivvulahil vanthu uthittha
>    seerArum Chitthirayil Chitthirai NaaL --paarulahil
> maRRuLLa AazhwArkaL vanthu uthittha nALkaLinum
>    uRRathu yemakku yeRu nenjEOr
>
> (meaning): Oh My mind! Please reflect on the fact
> that the birthday of the auspicious Madhura Kavi
> ( ChitthrA Nakshathram in the month of Chitthirai )
> is even more sacred for celebration than that of
> the birthdays of all the other AzhwArs .
>
> (Comments): MM alludes here to the unique greatness of
> Madhura Kavi celebrated by Sri PiLLai LokAcchAr in
> the fourth prakaraNam of Sri Vachana BhUshaNam .Swami
> Desikan salutes the greatness of Madhura Kavi in Prabhandha
> Saaram and in Guru ParamparAsAram. In Prabhandha Saaram ,
> Swami Desikan performs MangaLAsAsanam for Madhura Kavi
> with great reverence: "thERiya Maa Jn~Anamudan , ChitthirayiR
> Chitthirai nALL vanthu thOnRi , aaRiya nal anbhudanE
> KuruhUr Nampikku antharanga adimai seythu , MaaRanai allAl
> anRi yenRum maRanthum maRRu Devu aRiyEn yenum Madhura Kavi--".
> Here Swami Desikan states that Madhura Kavi incarnated on
> this earth with " thERiya Maa Jn~Anam "( full, crystal clear
> Jn~Anam or ParipUrNa parisuddha Jn~Anam ) and performed
> uninterrupted antharanga kaimkaryam to Swami NammAzhwAr
> with mature parama Bhakthi .Swami Desikan explains further
> the reason for Madhurakavi's unique glory among AzhwArs :
> " maranthum thEvu maRRaRiyEn yenum Madhura Kavi". Madhura Kavi
> stated that even by mistake or forgetfulness , he never
> recognized any one as his Sarva Swami except KuruhUr SatakOpan.
>
> When Madhura Kavi incarnated on this earth, Lord KrishNA
> was still with the people of the earth in his Vibhava Vaibhavam.
> Even when the Lord was there , Madhura Kavi was determined
> to seek the Lord through a SadAchAryan and hence passed up
> the opportunity to have direct sambhandham with the Lord
> Himself and waited for the avathAram of SatakOpan .When
> NammAzhwAr incarnated , Madhura Kavi sought the sacred
> feet of NammAzhwAr  as his sole " thAraka PhOshaka Bhogyam "
> (for his succour, sustenance and enjoyment ) and showed
> to the people of the world that AchArya Bhakthi is
> far superior to Bhagavath-Bhakthi .The ennobling message
> that Madhura Kavi left for us is that any amount of
> Bhagavath bhakthi will not redeem one, if they do not
> seek the sacred feet of a SadAchAryan .Swamy NammazhwAr
> was deeply rooted in Bhagavath Bhakthi first
> and then engaged in the celebration of BhaagavathAs.
> Madhura Kavi on the other hand  pushed aside Bhagavath
> Bhakthi and engaged only in AchArya Bhakthi to demonstrate
> the greatness of BhAgavatha SEshathvam .Swami Desikan
> concludes that the path taken by Madhura kavi is an
> ancient route that has been recognized as sacred by
> BhagavAn Himself as Bhagaavtha Priyan .
>
> Paasuram 26: Why KaNNinuNN sirutthAmpu became part of 4000 ?
> ************************************************************
>
> Vaayttha Thirumanthiratthin matthimamAm patham pOl
>   seertha Madhura Kavi sey kalayai--aartha Pukazh
> Aariyarkal thAngaL aruLiccheyal naduvE
>   sErvitthAr thARpariyam thErnthu
>
> (meaning ): Our great PoorvAchAryALs joined Madhura Kavi's
> Prabhnadham of KaNNinuNN SirutthAmpu in the sacred
> NaalAyira Dhivya Prabhandham inview of the blessed
> message that this prabhandham houses.They recognized
> very well that Madhura Kavi's Prabhandham is exactly like
> the middle padham in our beloved AshtAksharam (viz).,
> Nama: padham and therefore this prabhandham fits
> very well in the middle of the sacred collect of
> the Four Thousand .
>
> (Comments): All the AzhwAr's prabhandhams other than
> that of Madhura Kavi extolled the svarUpa rUpa guNa vibhUthi
> chEshtithams of Sriman NaarAyaNan .Madhura Kavi's Paasurams
> dealt only with the celebration of NammAzhwAr .There may be
> people who might question the wisdom of combining under
> one roof the prabhandhams that praise the Lord and the Prabhandham
> that bypasses the Lord and focuses only on the AchAryan.
> We celebrate the other AzhwAr's Prabhandhams since they
> deal with the deep meanings  of the three rahasyams
> ( Thirumanthiram ,Dhvayam and Charama slOkam).
> In Thirumanthiram , the middle padham is nama: sabdham ,
> which stands for the most important tattvam of
> BhAgavatha sEshathvam. Madhura Kavi's prabhandham
> celebrates this BhAgavatha Seshathvam  exclusively
> and hence PoorvAchAryALs decided that KaNNinuNN
> SirutthAmpu has its rightful place in the middle
> of Dhivya prabhandham .
>
> Swami Desikan in Guru paramparA Saaram devoted
> one verse to all the other AzhwArs including
> Swami NammazhwAr and set aside a WHOLE Verse
> to celebrate Madhura Kavi's incomparable glory .
> Swami Desikan explains that there are ten kinds
> of Sambhandham between the Isvaran and the Jeevan .
> Madhura Kavi turned these ten kinds of sambhandham
> to his AchAryan and sang his prabhnadham to glorify
> the AchAryan over the Lord Himself and to seek his
> AchAryan as his sole refuge . Swami describes
> the ancient and sacred route shown by Madhura kavi
> this way : " anbarkkE avatharikkum Aayan niRka ,
> arumaRaikaL Tamizh seythAn aruLE koNdu thunpu aRRa
> Madhura Kavi thOnRak Kaattum thol VazhiyE nall Vazhi--".
>
> AzhwAr  EmperumAnAr Jeeyar ThiruvadigaLE saraNam ,
> Daasan , Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri SadagOpan
>
>