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thirup paanaazhwaar and "pranavak krithi"

From the Bhakti List Archives

Sampath Rengarajan • Mon Dec 11 1995 - 11:51:06 PST 


Thanks to Mr.PD for bringing  this up again.  Thanks to Mr.  Sadagopan
for  his  excellant  references  and  commentary  on  Swami  Desikan's
"bagwath dyaana  sObaanam".  I have written a small thamizh  sinthanai
"a thought in Tamil"  (part 1) on bagwath  bakthi and love for God.  I
have also  presented  some  views  (part 2) based on a very  primitive
analysis.

Part 1 **********Thetamil introduction starts**********************

oru sinthanai thodarum athan aRimukamum

saamanthi poo malarvathaRkku  thEthi  irukkiRathu
malligai  poovukkum jaathi irukkiRathu
vanamaali en maalavaN meL varum kaathal poo malara
thEthiyum paarppathillai, jaathiyum paarppathillai.

aanmaavil uthithu ithayithil thoYththu kaNkaLil mudinthaal
athu bakthi para vasak kaNNeer

KaNNanaik  kanda  kaNkaLil  arrambiththu  ithayaththai  ooduruvi en
annmaavil aikkiyamaanaal athu para bakthiyaam kaathal

ik  kaathal   varumaayin  aan  pen  maRRum   anthasthu   pEtham  kooda
paarppathillai.
adiyaar onRE, athan piNaippu.
aandavan sEvai mattumE athan  ilakku.
maalavan  "maayai"yaam  kauviri pOl ik kaathalum  than
kaRaikalai thaanE ittukk koLkinRana.
kaalakaalamaaka odik koNdirukkum
iv vadiyaarkaLin kaathal veLLaththil itho innum iru thuLikaL.

"a malaanaathipiraan  thantha adikalE pORRi,
 u yar thiru thamizh maRai chaarum thantha uththama muniyE pORRi,
 m  aRaiththu  MaRai  porul thantha, maraa thirup pugazh
 			- sEr paanaazhwaar thiruvadikaE pORRi

Sampath Rengarajan


    ******************Tamil introduction ends*************************

Part 2

There  were  two  versions  of loka  saaranga  muni's  revealtions  on
aazhwaar accounted so far.  And there was an excellant  commentary and
references  on  "bagwath  dyaana  sObaanam"  and the "basis" on thirup
paanaazhwaar's  "amalanaathi piraan" presented earlier here.  I wanted
to go deeper  and  analyse  into the  notion of Swami  Desikan.  Swami
Desikan  empahsised  that these ten songs has the esssence of "thamizh
maRai"  (4000), and hence the essence of all the vedas, or contain the
essense   of  all  the   vedaanthaarthangaL.  Though  I  donot   claim
authorship or merit for this  primitive  research of mine, I feel that
the causes of all causes Lord  Arangan is the soul reason for this.  I
welcome any comments from all bakthaas of this group.


	Swami  Desikan  implied  that  amalanaathi  piraan  completely
summarises  the inner  meaning of tamizh  maRai.  There are  citations
that when bramhaa was created from achuthan's novel,  subsequently the
rudraas,  and  gayathri  mantram  were  coming  out of his  Face.  For
someone  rational,  birth from umblical chord is meaningful  (bramhaa)
but  the   creation  of  others  from  face  may  not  be  agreed  for
rationality.  But there are clues to support  the  "content"  that HIS
thirumEni "contains"  EVERYTHING and EVERYONE at the end of each cycle
or pralayaa.  And THIS IS THAT particular  thirumEni that the aazhwaar
sees in "Aranga  raajan".  In paadhuha  sahasram in Desikap  prabandam
the  reference  to the other  contribution  of one  other  part of the
thirumEni  is  provided  ie His divine  lotus feet and the  "unfolding
content" was "Ganges"  during the instant of  tiruvikrama  avathaaram.
Quantifying the lord with "physical"  interpretation  is meaningful to
those who knows  what are  present  in HIM.  But for  others  they may
question the validity of the arguement  that the 10 songs on the Lords
thirumEni  ([gross  anatomy],  forgive  me  for  this  word.  This  is
presented here only for the  understanding of the unknown and rational
readers)  alone  represents  the essence of thamizh  maRai.  There are
several  references  to  maahalukshmi  residing in his thiru maarbu or
"chest".  I wanna recall a personal  experience  and share it with the
group.  During the  iraappaththu  festival  as a member of the  ubayak
kaaraas I had the privileage to touch and worship the thiruvangi, (his
dress)  abayahastham,  and thirup  paathukai that  nammperumaan  wears
(uthsavar)  and also the kavachams  that were the  aabaranams  for the
Lord  Arangan  himself  (moolavar).  The  pachchaik  kal or  known  as
maragathak  kal that is in the center of the kavacham for HIS chest is
supposed  to have the  indentations  inside it as  "mahaalakshmi".  We
were told that this is visible only to those who are qualified  souls.
When few of us reported  they didnot see  anything,  few of us did see
the  thiruvuruvam of Sri Mahaalakshmi  carved in the stone.  The thiru
aabaranams are not offered for special darshan of anyone anymore since
last 10 years or so.

	One can conclude that  describing  the creation,  preservation
and destruction of the universe,  everything in it and every soul that
dwells in it, will truly  represent the "Life Science".  Based on some
fumdamental belief and in the line of our philoposhy, If we talk about
the process of physical creation of the universe, and the existance of
various  medium,  maintenance  of this order by various  faculties and
destruction  and the "start all over again"  cycle, it will  represent
the true nature of life science, all holy books that talk about it and
all scientific theories that were invented, to be invented,  unfolding
to be  unfolded  etc..  While  Such  rational  science  is  by  itself
dis"covering" many new facts, one should view the two other "creations
(rudraas  etc, and ganges) or unfolding  contents at the start" listed
above and one would also take into account some other  references from
4000.  There are references to "uNdu umizhntha thEvarkal" and "echchil
thEvarkaL" in the Tamizh maRai implying that HE contained or swallowed
all the  demigods in Himself and unfolded or created them at the start
of every  cycle.  But he alone  existed  for ever.  There  are so many
references  that  Ezhisai  or 7  musics,  (also 7 worlds  and 7 seas 7
mountains)  and aaru angams or six vedangams,  (also six gunaas), five
boodams  or  elements  , 4 vedass,  three  lords, and the two  (divine
couple) are all concluded in one syllabal  ("pranavam"  ie the concept
of  amalnaathi  piraan)  (the  modern  theory  of the  universe  being
condensed  into dense sound material and unfolding from that, may find
support from this) and that the cycle unfolds and folds again as shown
in several paasurams in 4000.

	The research points to the fact that in each shektram the lord
is in one  form or  another.  In  arangam,  he is in the  form  of the
"pranavam"  and his  mode is the  "creator  of  pranavam"  itself.  ie
"pranavak  krithi".  "pranava" by virtue of  containing  everything in
itslef  at  the  time  of  unfolding  and  folding,  is the  cause  of
everything.  At some  point  when  the  cycle is not even  started  or
between the end and start, the  "pranavaa"  itself was  contained  and
unfolded or created by this Lord Arangan who is the "pranavak krithi".
Hence HE is the causes of all causes.  Amalannathi  piraan's reference
to this implied meaning makes it the "container of all maRai" and thus
amalanaathi  piraan  might have been  viewed by Swami  Desikan  as the
essence of all essences.

	 As  Arangan, He not only  condensed  everything  to one sound
syllable or "oR ezhuththu" but also HE CONTAINED them all in his mouth
as Lord Krishna.  Saint MaarkandEya  experienced this scene as "seeing
everything insde HIM and yet outside HIM".  This is the highest degree
of "vishnu  maayaa"  which cannot be  quantified  or described  to our
perceptual faculties and cannot be conceived by physical, material and
mortal  intelligence  (the memory of each birth or born soul).  So the
azhwwar  has simply  chosen to praise his  thirumEni  in  "amalanaathi
piraan" that CONTAIN  everything and thus that  represents  every life
science,  or  holy  books,  instead  of  going  into  the  details  of
every holy book.

	Since HE revealed HIS  Universal  form only during Sri Krishna
avathaaram  and also  showed the entire  universe in HIS mouth  twice,
once to Yasodaa  and then to  MaarkandEya  muni (who was sucked in and
breathed out), aazhwaar chose to praise Lord Sri  Krishnaa's  physical
eyes.  In Srimath  Bagwath  Geetha Lord  initiate  Arjuna with his own
eyes to see the  Universal  form and so the apt  reference  is made to
Krishnaa's  eyes here.  One can, not only, see this  reference in this
aazhwaars song but in many other  aazhwwar's song.  Hence the aazhwaar
finally suggests that a simple surrender to the "eyes of the LORD will
do than to witness this maayaa and not understanding a bit of it".

KaNan kaNkaLai kanDum, Arnagan adikaLai adainthum vaazhvathE kuRi,

Sampath Rengarajan