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Thirumangai Vedupari (Repost: section missed)

From the Bhakti List Archives

V. Sadagopan • January 7, 1996 


Dear Members of the Prapatti Group:

There was a recurring problem in transmitting the full
text after the picture of the Ratham. Hence I am posting that
section  once again. Thanks Mani for repostingefforts ! Thanks Dileepan for
suggesting to send the text as a separate posting!. Here is the rest of the
text:

The above structure is indicative of the shape of a Ratham or a 
temple chariot , Swami Desikan has  also constructed a similar
 Ratha Bhandam in his Padhuka Sahasram. The use of Ratha Bhandham 
is more popular in the Tamil poems composed by Azhwars and Nayanmars.
NakkiradevanayAnAr"s twelfth Thirumurai provides  another Ratha Bhandham. We
will
focus on the TKV of Thirumangai here.

To gain a perspective on TVK, we have to understand the structure of 
Naaliyra Divya Prabhandham and its relationship to Ashtaksharam,
which Thirumangai received as Upadesam from the "Peethaka Vaadai 
PirAnAr as Brahma Guru ".The first thousand or MudalAyiram is associated
 with the meaning of OmkArA or Pranavam; the second thousand (Thirumozhi 
Aayiram) of Thirumangai has the purpose of Nama: Sabdhaartham (significance 
of salutation and performing SaranAgathi at the Lotus feet of the Lord);
the third thousand (Thiruvaimozhi of NammAzhvAr ) explains
 the Narayana -SabdhArtha ; the fourth thousand  (IyarPaa) explains the
Chathurthyartha 
(the significance of the dative suffix-"AAYA" in NARAAYANAAYA ). 

In his TVK, Thirumangai constructed an orderly chariot of words
 and seated Sri Sarangapani inthe center of that Chariot. Then he 
asked for the Lord"s blessings and boons. The Azhwar used a Tamil 
meter known as Aasiriyappaa for his TVK. In this poem, Thirumangai
celebrates Sriman Narayana as the supreme being and states that He
is transcendent and immanent. He points out that Periya Piratti always
resides in His chest and gives him thereby His name Srinivasan. He states 
that all Jivans from the highest status--holding Brahma to the lowest worm 
are subservient to Him. The other aspects of Sriman Narayana covered in
the TVK are: His creation and preservation of this Universe ; His various
 incarnations and Leelas; His grace to Maheswara to enable Him to 
administer the Samharam or the dissolution of the Universe ; a describtion of 
Sriman Narayana's divine  and beautiful form ; His deep attachment to His
three Devis(Sri, BHu and Nappinnai or Nila ).; the natural beauty of the 
Divya Desam of His celebrated as Thirukkudanthai, where He rests in
 the Udhyoga Sayanam pose.

In the next posting, I will comment on the meaning of selected sections 
of TVK and dwell on the significance of the numbers starting from 
compartment one of the First deck and its orderly ascent to the seventh deck
 with its  13 compartments followed by a mirror image like descent from those 
13 compartments back to deck one. While engaged in this tight rope balancing
act of a superb kind, Thirumangai housed the VisishtAdvaita Tattvas and
principles in the individual compartments of the Ratham that he designed for 
the Divya Dampathis of Bhaskara Kshetram.

Kaliyan Thiruvadigaleh Saranam,

Oppiliappan Koil  Varadachari Sadagopan