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Re: svargA /narakA: A la Smt. SumitrA -3: /amararkaL atipati.

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Visu9 • July 14, 2002 


Sri rAmAnujasya caraNau Saranam prapadhE ||

I would like to continue the picture of /svargA and /narakA. In doing so, I seek a model whatever it be that the concept aims to model. We know that all concepts of our ancestors were based on concrete examples. That is unlike modern English, we tend to use nouns to form verbs and the noun is formed from a concrete earth object. Abstractions are almost always generalizations from the particular to the general. In modern life, it is not unusual to eulogize something if it can be sold even though it has no applications. This is kind of entrepreneurship of entrepreneurship if I can borrow a tamil construction. Our ancestors did not invent concepts if they did not have applications.

Let me begin with the very first /pAcuram of /tiruvAy/moZi of /nammAZvAr.

The third and fourth lines read:

/amararkaL ati/pati evan avan

/tuyaraRu cuTaraTI toZut/eZal mananE. 

[Oh, Mind, rise in worship (prostration) of One, Who is the Executive Head of the well-living /amararkaL. 

Sriman /nArAyaNan is /ati/pati: Executive Head of /amararkaL, the /dEvAs. The /dEvAs have executive jurisdiction over the earth, the power being delegated to them by Shri VishNu.

Let us look at the jurisdiction of Shri VishNu. The /taittiriya upa/nishat says:

/Sam naH vishNuH uru/kramaH. 

Peace to Shri VishNu of the highest Order. Order /kramaH is a reference to order of hierarchy. /visNu has the widest executive jurisdiction. The traditional tranlation of the verse above is: /vishNu of wide reach. 

The nature of the reach of Shri /vishNu can be understood by the concept that His seat of power is not located on the Earth here, nor in the Heavens above, but in the bottom abyss of the world/universe visualized as the Oceans and undeneath them. The Oceans are even today a mystery. He who has command of the Oceans has command of the world. 

The executive power of Shri /vishNu is symbolizd and succintly described by the expression: /surya/nArAyaNan. Indeed the Sun is verily the Exceutive Lord of the world seen before our very eyes. His power is awesome. No one can make a living or live without the Sun. There is no better text describing the Power, Which the Sun, is than /Aditya/hrudayam. The last verse reads:

/yAni kruthyAni lOkeshu, sarva/Esha raviH prabhUH.

Whatever action takes place in all the /lOkAs the Sun is verily the Effective Being of those actions. That is, those actions have the Sun as the cause (the source) for actual execution of that action. The Sun is /din/Adhipati. He surely exeutes everyday before our very eyes. 

The symbol of Sun or the name /sUrya/nArAyanan is not enough for ordinary unbelieving mortals. They need a stamp, a seal to show that they have to obey an Executive Power. This power to seal and make a register mark is symbolized by the cakra of Shri vishNu. To further emphasize the wide reach of the jurisdcition of that seal, the cakrA is also called /AZi in /tamiZ. /AZi is the /cakrA of shri VishNu. The name /AZi carries the additional significance that the command of the /AZi covers a wide region including the Oceans and beyond. /AZi = Ocean or Sea. Also depth. Whence /AZvAr. 

The /mangala vAZttup pATal of /cilapp/atikAram aptly describes in three lines all of the above:

/JAyiRu pORRutum jAyiRu pORRutum

/kaviri/nATan tikiri/pOR poR/kOTTU

/mEru valan/tiritalAn

Praise to the the Sun; cherish the Sun.

Since it makes the enabling rounds around the /MEru Mountain 

Just like the /cakrA of the King of the /kAviri! 

The seal of the cakrA also called /dharma/cakra, ARac/cakrA etc. symbolizes jurisdictional powers of a king. /tikiri = /cakram. 

/valam tirital: A round that enables execution of an action. "Let us do it tomorrow" is not execution. If we did it finally, it is execution. /valam purital means that; the action is completed/executed. No longer just a concept, a dream, a goal. But fait accompli. 

How many times don't we stop at 6:00 P.M. because the day is over?! If the Sun does not come tomorrow, the action just waits. No /valam in action. No execution. 

The right eye of  important Gods is the Sun many a time! 

The reference to /mEru and the /tikiri completely describes the wide reach. 

/naH svI/kurvaka asmAt krupAm: Wherefore cause us to have Your Grace. 

/visu

[ The phrase 'amararkaL atipati' in tiruvAymozi 1.1.1 is generally
  understood to refer not to ordinary deva-s per se but to the eternally
  free souls known as the nitya-sUri-s. The word 'amarar' is used in
  both senses by the Alvars. Here the implication is clearly that 
  Narayana is the overlord (atipati) of the nitya-sUri-s, because of 
  the use of the description 'ayarvu arum', those who know no 
  fatigue (ayarvu arum amararkaL). The commentaries on Bhagavad Vishayam 
  are indispensable in providing guidance to us on these points. -- Moderator ]




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