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thirup pAvai - part 39 - "kathir mathiyam - the winning smile" -

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Sampath Rengarajan • January 17, 1999 


thirup pAvai - part 39 - "kathir mathiyam - the winning smile" -  

Sri ANDAL thiruvadikaLE saraNam

Dear bAgawathAs,

      The beauty of our Lord's face is something that one cannot
comparison (ie.,  it cannot be adequately expressed by the words 
"kathir mathiyam" alone).  "than  oppAr illappan" ie Oppiliappan  
or  Lord of no comparisons. Sage Sri Valmiki delivered in Srimad 
Ramayanam  that "chandra kAnthAnam   rAmam"   (Sri  Raman  has a  
face that is so beautiful similar to Sri Chandran or Moon) first. 
Then it  seems he felt that  he  had  erred and re-addressed the 
Lord again as  "atheeva priya darsanam" ie  (Our Lord is one who  
is  even  more beautiful than that Srichandran or moon).   "Ivan 
Soorya vamsatthil vanthavan  AyiRRE  irunthum  chanthiranai  pOl 
vaseeharikkum thiru mugap polivai uadayan Aha irukkiRan IRe". ie.
Though HE appeared in Soorya vamsam (kathir), HE appears to wear
a smile that is mesmerising  as similar to the beautiful look of 
a full moon or (mathiyam). In the same token, Our Sri RanganAtha
(kArMeni Cehgan) came down to soorya (kathir)  vamsam   ie.,  in 
ikshuvAgu clan and finally ended up in chandra (mathiyam) vamsam 
ie., at the banks of chandra pushkarani and as per the thapas of
Sri Chandran in Srirangam.

       The reference to "Mathi" or moon in a comparison to one's
beautiful face or thirumugam, also represents the smile in one's 
face. The bride  is  looking at the Lord and HIS face. While the
reference to "kathir"  or  sooryan  refers  to  the  victory  or 
winning nature of one's look. At this  instant  the  bride  must 
express her "nAnam"  or   inborn  shyness  of  a female or  "pen  
inam"  in  olden days. And the male  lover   or  the  bridegroom 
displays a broad and winning smile in HIS  face  on  seeing  the  
beautiful "kanni"  or  the   maiden   all   dressed  up  in  her 
marriage  attire (koorai pudavai) and  approaching  the   bride. 
There are several types of smiles one can see in one's  face. Of 
which the current type of smile is of a "winning" kind. ie. This 
smile  itself  wins  HIS  bride  for  HIM. ie the  vaseekaram in 
punnagai or smile earns one the success in convining  the  bride 
to fall for HIM. Most of the lords  who accept Her (Sri ANDAL's) 
"mAlai" (the five  Lords who  were  her   adorer)  sports   this 
smile all  the time even today  as  one  can  see  such in those 
ursava moorthis of these divya dEsams. (*). ie., Sri Ranganathar 
(and  Sri namperumAL), Sri Venkatan, Sri Azhagar, Sri Vadapathra  
sAyee and Sri Krishnan. These Lord offer  their mAlai  in return 
to Her as well.

	We have  addressed  the  "kulam"  and  gothram  for  the 
bridegroom and  now  the beauty of the Lord as the bridegroom is 
being    addressed  for  the  sake  of  Aaychiars  (representing 
jivAtmAs) who  are  potential   candidates  as  brides  for  the 
marriage or "nOnbu" (saranagathi).  We have addressed the beauty 
of the face of this bride groom. The bride needs to be told more
such that she can be convinced of this alliance.  

Sri ANDAL thiruvadikaLE saraNam 
Sampath Rengarajan  

note:  During  adiyEn's visit to Chicago pewrumAL kOil, after we 
have  all  chanted  the prabhandam (thiruvAymozhi) in ghOsti, on 
Srivaikunda EkAdEsi day, i was amazed to see the smile in Lord's 
face and  i  rushed  to convey this to Sri Ragavan.  Smt kalyAni 
was  saying  "Yes,  our  perumAL  is  always  beautiful".   Many 
locallers were adding to that the other perumAL of NA are having 
a north american  type craft work and that we are lucky that our 
perumAL is  beautiful.  Some had  no  clue  as to  what  I   was 
implying. However adiyEn  added  to   Sri  Ragavan   that   when  
perumAL hears the divya  prabandham   sung  like  these HE wears 
a  smile  in  HIS  face  and this is similar to the smiling  Sri 
namperumAL and Sri SarangapAni and that the credit  goes  to the 
Lord for having accpeted this ghOsti and to bless them with  the 
smile and as well to all those who sang these thiru vAy mozhi as  
directed by Sri Varadhan Mama  and  requested  by  Sri  Ragavan. 
After this  incident Sri Ragavan presented adiyEn with perumAL's 
sivantha  mAlai (the red garland).   adiyEn  was  thrilled  with 
this experience. 

	Later the word   spread  around  and  many  have  agreed 
with that and have  reported  to  have seen the  smile  for  the  
first time  and  was commented as well  by  some  earlier  while 
discussing   about  this  year's  festival. adiyEn however added  
that to some specific  members of  the  ghOsti  that   our   Sri
Ranganthar  namperumAL in pomona  must also sport a  smile  soon   
and  that  we  must  all reunite in Newyork  during   July 1999,  
to  do  the GhoSti.  (I will write more on this chicago urasavam 
and some of my own anubavams or personal  experiences with  this  
Aurora SrinivASa perumAL as and  when a fitting passage is dealt 
with.)

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