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appOdhaikku ippOdhu

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Parthasarati Dileepan • December 11, 1995 


This post is intended to clarify the p.s. about Sisubalan in my last
post.  I request the patience and forgiveness of the group if this
clarification is unnecessary.

My p.s. declared, rather impetuously, that we all know what
happened to Sisubalan.  The answer of course is that he was
awarded the thiruvadi mOksham of our Lord Sriman Narayana.
This is beautifully described by Nammaazhvaar:

kEtpaargaL kEsavan than keerththi yallaal maRRum kEtparO,
kEtpaar sevisudu keezmai vasavukaLE vaiyum,
sEtpaaR pazampagaivan sisubaalan, thiruvadi
thaatpaal adaindha thanmai yaRivaarai yaRindhumE?

               -- thiruvaay mozhi 7.5.3

"Learned are those who revere the grace of our Lord Sriman Narayana;
 the grace that let Sisubalan reach His lotus feet,
Sisubalan, the old enemy driven to hurling vile insults that burn
the ear drums of those within earshot;
yet our Lord let him near His lotus feet;
Those who lend their ears to such glory of our Lord Kesavan
will hear nothing else."

Sisubalan attained mOksham because he underwent a change of
heart at the moment he was about to be struck down.  Upon seeing
our Lord in all His glory, Sisubalan was inevitably drawn by His
beauty and wished for union with His thiruvadi and got it.

We surely can draw faith from the story of Sisubalan that our Lord
will undoubtedly save us no matter how grave our sin is.  But,
Sisubalan cannot be a role model for us.  The time for performing
prapatti is not when we are about to leave this world, but right here
and now.  Even the exalted soul Periaazhvaar was fearful that he may
fail to remember our Lord's thirunaamam when Yama's agents are
upon him.  In ten beautiful paasurams of Periaazvaar Thiru mozhi
(4.10.1 - 4.10.10) aazhvaar repeats this theme "appothaikku
ippOdhE sollivaiththEn."  The first of these 10 paasurams is:

thuppudaiyaarai_adaivadhellaam
     sOrvidaththuththuNaiyaavarenRE
oppilEnaakilumn^innadaindhEn
     aanaikkun^ee_aruLseydhamaiyaal
eyppu_ennaivandhun^aliyumpOdhu
     angu_Edhumn^aanunnain^inaikkamaattEn
appOdhaikku_ippOdhEsollivaiththEn
     arangaththaravaNaippaLLiyaanE!

"The meek surrender to You, confident that
You will save them when their strengths are gone;
I am of no merit, yet I surrender unto You,
with unshakable faith that You will save me,
       like You saved GajEdran.
O! the Lord of Sri Rangam, slumbering upon the snake-bed,
when old age is upon me, I won't think of You;
So, let me surrender unto You, right here and now.



-- Dileepan