amalanAdhipirAn...

From the Bhakti List Archives

• October 9, 1997


Dear Sri Madhavan,
	Thank you very much for an excellent post on the amalanAdhipirAn
pAsuram. I thoroughly enjoyed every word of it. 

The next pAsuram is also very emotional. 

aalamaa maraththi NnilaimE lorupaalakanaay,
NYaala mEzhu muNdaa Nnarankath tharavi NnaNaiyaan,
kOla maamaNi yaaramum muththuth thaamamum mudivilla thOrezhil
neela mEni yaiyO! niRai koNdathen nenchinaiyE! (2) (9)

Especially the choice of word "aiyO" makes it much more beautiful. This
seems like a natural expression of someone who was longing to see the
perumAL and finally gets to see Him. Azhwar couldn't digest the beauty of
perumAL. it was so sudden. He had to drink in the beauty through his eyes.
It is said that AzhwArs eyes also grew wide (periyavAya kaNgaL) to take in
perumAL's graceful sparkling beauty! what a sight!!

Coming to think of our araN^gan's look, one can never forget how he
attracted piLLai uraN^gAvalli dhAsar, ALavan^dhAr... 

On finding that uraN^gAvalli dhAsar considered his wife ponnAchchi's eyes to
be the most beautiful, Sri rAmAnujar promised him to show somebody whose
eyes are more beautiful than his wife's. And if he is convinced he should
become a dhAsan to that person was the agreement. It is said that rAmAnujar
went and prayed araN^gan to 'show' His best look to dhAsar so as to attract
him. And we all know how he and his wife became true dhAsars to araN^gan
after that excellent sEvai.

Another similar incident was when sri n^Adhmuni's sishyar brought ALavan^dhAr
to srirangam promising him to show boundless wealth left behind by his
grandfather. This was when ALavan^dhAr was the king of Madurai and was way
too much into lowkIkam. On seeing thiruvaraN^gan, ALavandhAr was left
speechless. He realised what all he had been missing and went on to become
one of the foremost srivaishNavite scholars (yAmunAchAryar)

One can only attempt to describe the beauty of araN^gan's eyes. By no way it
can be complete. 

adiyEn rAmAnuja dhAsan,
Vijay Triplicane
(Viji)