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Sudar Migu Surudi and Chanda Migu Tamizh Marai

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sadagopaniyengar • December 6, 2002 


 
Srimate Srivan Satakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya Nama:

"Sudar Migu Surudhi" and "Chanda Migu Tamizh Marai"
                    The emotional outpourings of eminent bhaktas, whose overflowing devotion found an outlet in nectarine compositions in sweet Tamil, are collectively known to us as the Divya PrabandAs. The preeminence of these poems can be easily understood by their being equated with the mighty Vedas. This "DrAvida Vedam" has been held to be superior to the Shruti, for the following reasons:

1.  The Shruti is couched in language that is not easily comprehensible to the common man, and sometimes even to the scholar. It is full of allegories and often adopts a circuitous narrative style. In comparison, the Prabandas are composed in chaste but simple Tamil, which the layman can easily understand, appreciate and imbibe. Poorvacharyas have confirmed that many passages of the Shruti have become crystal clear to them, only after a perusal of the Prabandas-"Seyya Tamizh mAlaigaL nAm teLiya Odi, teLiyAda marai nilangaL teligindrOmE" says Swami Desikan.

2.  Many passages in the Shruti are not categorical while identifying the Parabrahmam, and to the untutored student, it would appear as though the Vedas advocate worship of different deities for different purposes. Though Sriman Narayana is held to be the Ultimate in the Narayana anuvAka and elsewhere, there are any number of passages which are equivocal, prima facie, though the mutual consistency of all Vedic passages can be established with the aid of MImAmsA, VyAkaraNa, nyAya and other VedAngAs. The Prabandas, however, are categorical that the Parabrahmam is none other than Sriman Narayana (a sample is the "ondrum dEvum" decad of Tiruvaimozhi) and that irrespective of the object to be achieved, it is only He who is to be worshipped ("unnAl allAl yAvarAlum ondrum kurai vENdEn").

3.  The Vedas prescribe numerous sacrifices aimed at propitiating various dEvatAs for the attainment of diverse objectives-we have the PutrakAmEshti, the asvamEdha, and numerous other YagyAs mentioned in the AsvamEdha Prasna of the third ashtaka. The Divya Prabandas, on the other hand, have the spiritual emancipation of everybody as their sole objective.

4.  The Shruti, even after a search spanning countless millennia, is unable to fathom the Lord's greatness and admits as much-"YatO vAchO nivartantE, aprApya manasA saha.". To this day, this position is reflected in the Veda parayana ghoshti following the Lord, when He embarks on a ceremonial procession (tiruveedi purappadu).

 

While the Prabandas too cannot be said to have a true measure of the Lord's magnificence, they at least reflect the true state of affairs by categorizing His greatness as beyond comprehension, as indicated by the following Tiruvaimozhi phrases- "irai nilai uNarvaridu""oppAr mikkArai ilaiyAya mAmAyA!"  "ellaiyil gnAnatthan  "uyarvara uyar nalam udayavan"  etc.  This is perhaps why the Lord follows the Prabanda ghOshti, during His frequent outings.

5.  While enumerating the upAyAs or strategies to be adopted for liberation, the Vedas catalogue not less than 32 Brahma Vidyas, most of them beyond the capabilities of frail mortals like us. The Prabandas, however, talk mostly of the easiest of the paths to paradise-Prapatti, thereby bringing Liberation within the ambit of even the lowliest of the lowly.

6.  The Vedas are like the Government Gazette ("Prabhu Samhita")-they are couched in the language of commandments, such as "Satyam vada" ("Though shalt speak the truth) "Dharmam chara" (Though shalt follow the path of righteousness) "SvAdhyAyAt mA pramada:" (Never give up learning) etc., and demand implicit obedience, brooking no argument. Prabandas, on the other hand, reflect the same ideas in much softer terminology, as the Azhwars, many of them having gone through the reformation process themselves, understand our constraints and compulsions much better and speak to us in the language of love and tolerance, as a mother would to her errant child.

 

7.  Much more than the bland Shruti, the Divya Prabandas afford us the unalloyed pleasure of Bhagavat Guna anubhavam with an explicit enumeration of His auspicious attributes and moving narratives of His various leelAs enacted during avataras.

8.  Though the Vedas have been commented upon by various people like SayaNa and Bhatta Bhaskara to the latter day Maxmuller, these commentaries have not served to enhance, embroider and embellish the original content. Perhaps the commentators, while not lacking in erudition, were not inspired by intense devotion, which denied them the insights required to transform these works into true reflectors of the Vedic Spirit. Though there are Bhashyams by Sri Rangaramanuja Muni, focused on GunAnubhavam, these cover only a microscopic portion of the vast Shruti.

In contrast, the Divya Prabandas in general and Tiruvaimozhi in particular, have been blessed with an alluring array of commentaries, one vying with the other in depth of emotion and searching spirit. The ArAyirappadi of Sri Tirukkurugai PirAn PillAn, the OnbadinAyirappadi of Sri Nanjeeyar, the PanneerAyirappadi of Sri VadikEsari Azhagia MaNavAla Jeeyar, the IrupattunAlAyirappadi of Sri PeriavAcchAn Pillai, the Eedu MuppatthArAyiram of Sri Nampillai, the Nigama Parimalam in seventy four thousand granthas (unfortunately unavailable now), the DramidOpanishad Saram and the DramidOpanishad Tatparya Ratnavali, all by Swami Desikan, the PadineNNAyirappadi of Sri Periya Parakala Swami, the IrupattunAlAyirappadi of Sri SAkshAt Swami- all these commentaries form an invaluable compendium, a priceless treasure, mirroring the Azhwars' minds with startling clarity and adding allure to the enchanting original. If the Divya Prabandas constitute a glittering diamond, these commentaries form the scintillating golden setting 

9.  While the study of the Vedas has been circumscribed by eligibility criteria ("traivarNikAdhikAram"), the Divya Prabandas can be accessed and enjoyed by all, irrespective of caste, creed, colour, sex, race, etc.  The only prerequisite is a desire to partake of the nectar of divine attributes.

10.     When it comes to eulogizing Piratti, the Vedas are not very explicit, though the Sri Sukta does pay Her generous tribute. However, since She is inseparable from the Lord, the Shruti does not often speak of Her separately. It is our Poorvacharyas' conclusion that wherever Vedas extol Emperuman's greatness, they include Piratti too by implication. Sri Bhattar confirms this-"tat antarbhAvAt na prithak abhidatte tvAm shrutirapi".  However, Divya Prabandas speak warmly and unequivocally of the Divine Consort's magnificence-"Kola TirumAmagaL", "Poovin misai nangai" "unakkErkum Kola malar Pavai" etc. In fact, most of the time, when referring to Emperuman, Azhwars allude to Him only with reference to His inseparable relationship with His Consort, and make it clear that the soul has to surrender itself to the Divine Duo (not merely the Lord) and that all kainkaryam is to be performed to the Divine Couple.

 

 

The aforesaid arguments are not aimed at undermining the sanctity or magnificence of the Shruti, which is after all the Eternal Guidebook unsullied by human authorship, the Primary PramANam, to which the Azhwars themselves pay rich tributes ("Sudar migu Surudi").

Thus, our haloed Sampradaya would appear to have been blessed with two luminous eyes-the Vedas in Sanskrit and the Divya Prabandas in lilting Tamil. That our Poorvacharyas regarded these two bodies of knowledge with equal reverence is clear from Sri "VedAntAchArya" (Master of the Vedic essence) proudly proclaiming himself to be "Chandam migu Tamizh marayOn", and from numerous conceptual formulations of Sri Ramanuja (in his Sri Bhashya, Sri Gita Bhashya, Sri Vedarttha Sangraha, etc.) very obviously founded on Azhwar Sreesooktis.  These two sources of GnAnam form the Lord's eyes too-this appears to be implied in Sri Andal's description, "ThingaLum Adityanum ezundArpOl angaN iraNdum". Perhaps the Sun-like eye represents the Shruti with its blazing brilliance, while the lunar one signifies the Tamizh Marai with its soft, mellifluous rhymes creating waves of bliss in the heart.

Whoever christened these songs collectively as "Divya Prabandam" never said a truer word, for they are truly divine. Their divinity can be ascribed to the following reasons-

1. Divine Content- these are compositions having the Lord and His attributes as their sole subject, untainted by praise of frail mortals. There is absolutely no narastuti in these Prabandas ("en nAvil inkavi yAn oruvarkkum kodukkilEn"-Sri Nammazhwar). In the decad beginning with "SonnAl virOdham idu", Azhwar makes it crystal clear that while praising human beings can bestow on us passing ephemeral pleasures ("Chittrinbam") it is only the Lord's praises which can confer upon us everlasting bliss ("andamil pErinbam").

2.Divine Composers- the Azhwars are the Lord's own avataras ("abhinava dasAvatAram" in the words of Swami Desikan), sent to the earth to reform errant humanity. When the Lord found that His own ten avataras had failed to have the desired impact on the defiant mortals, He tried next to transform them by taking birth as human beings who were apparently part of the errant humanity. Thus the outpourings of these divine beings, devoid of any mistakes ( due to Bhramam) or motivated misguidance (Vipralambham), richly deserve the sobriquet "Divya Prabandam".

3.These Prabandas, though attributed to various Azhwars, are in reality the Lord's own compositions. This is clear from Sri Nammazhwar's repeated assertion that it was Emperuman Himself who composed these pasurams- "PaNNAr pAdal in kavigaL yAnAi tannai tAn pAdi"  "en nenjattirindu ingu irum Tamizh nool ivai mozhindu" etc. This being the case, the Prabandas can be nothing but divine.

"Divya Prabandam" is therefore an extremely apt epithet for these songs celestial.

 

The greatness of any work is measured under three parameters-

"Vaktru VailakshaNyam" (the Author's greatness) "Vishaya VailakshaNyam" (the importance of the subject matter) and "ShrOtru Vailakshanyam" (the distinction of the audience, to whom the work is addressed). The Divya Prabandas score high on all these parameters-the greatness of the Azhwars, who are the composers, is beyond question. Similarly, there can be no better subject, for the Lord and His magnificent attributes form the exclusive matter for these paeans of praise. As for the target audience, it comprises of samsArIs like us. Even if one were to search all the worlds, one wouldn't find a class of people in crying need of and better suited to receive these pearls of wisdom ("anutthamam pAtram imam dayAyA:" as Sri Alavandar puts it.).

We hear that during the times of Swami Desikan, there were objections to the recital of Divya Prabandas and the conduct of AdhyayanOtsavam in Srirangam, on the ground that these were not in Sanskrit, but composed in an alien ("mlEccha") tongue, which the Vedas specifically prohibit. This argument was strongly condemned by Tooppul Pillai, who pointed out the MAtsya PurANa vachanam, which speaks of a King becoming a sinner by extraditing a subject for the "offence" of singing the Lord's praise in an alien language. Further, such restrictions regarding speaking only in Sanskrit apply only during the performance of YagyAs, says the MahABhAshyakAra-"YAgyE karmaNi niyama: anyatra aniyama:". Srimad Bhagavata Purana too confirms that language is a mere vehicle for singing the Lord's praise and it doesn't really matter which language is employed for the purpose. In fact, it goes to the extent of saying that such stotras, even if they contain numerous mistakes, will confer all things auspicious on the author, reciter 

The way Prabandas are now recited in temples is no doubt sweet on the ears, but these emotional outpourings were meant to be sung, not merely recited. In fact, when we listen to eminent VidvAns elaborating these pasurams in appropriate rAgAs, we are transported to a world of bliss. From all accounts, Divya Prabandams were indeed sung, set to tunes appropriate to the emotional content of each pasuram and to lilting beats. Sri Nathamuni appears to have set the prabandas to evocative music and popularized their recital through his disciples. Swami Desikan confirms this-"TALam vazhangi Tamizh marai innisai tanda vaLLal". The Lord's preference to songs vis-à-vis prose is evident in His declaration "VEdAnAm SAma VEdOsmi"-he would appear to prefer the SAma Veda, with its uplifting music, to the prosaic recital of the other Vedas. Similarly, there is no doubt that it would please Emperuman infinitely if we were to render Prabandas in musical tones, rather than recite them blandly in a prosaic fashion. Music, rather 

The greatness of Dravida Vedam is beyond description or narration. Perhaps even the Lord would be hard put to the task. What is said of Swami Desikan's Sreesooktis is equally true of Azhwars' too-"Orondru tAnE amayAdO tAraNiyil vAzhvArkku vAnEra pOmaLavum vAzhvu". It is not necessary that one should imbibe all the four thousand and odd verses-one emotive decad, one evocative pasuram or even a single moving line of a pasuram would be adequate to afford us infinite enjoyment.

Srimate Sri LakshmINrsimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana Yatindra Mahadesikaya Nama:

Dasan, sadagopan.

 

 

 

 

                

 

 

 

 

 

 



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