Naama Mahima
From the Bhakti List Archives
• July 10, 1997
Dear Naama SahasrAbhimAnis : Sri Sudarshan's evocative essay on the mysteries of Naamaa reminded me of PeriyAzhwAr's exhortation to us in his Thirumozhi 4.6 . This decad starts with the paasuram : " Kaasum kaRayudaikkooraikkum ----- " . Nine out of the ten paasurams of this decad end with the refrain , " NaaraNan tam annai naraham puhAL " . In the previous decad , AzhwAr chastised those , who run around with out performing kaimkaryam to the Lord. Then he went on to cajole them to abandon their worthless ways with his upadesam as an AchAryA out of his deep compassion for them . He appealed to them to recite the Lord's names atleast before their last moments . His target audience was not paying much attention even then . AzhwAr decided to encourage them by other means to engage them in the recitation of the names of the Lord . He came across another ruse to involve them in reciting the puNya NaamAs of the Lord. He appealed to them and asked them to consider naming their sons with the names of the Lord . He asked them to enjoy the bliss of calling their sons by those delectable and sacred names assoicated with the Lord ( same line of reasoning goes for the naming of girls with the thousand names of Maha Lakshmi ) . He coaxed them to follow this practise and pointed out the benefits of observing such a practise . He told them that the naming of the children with the names of the Lord and calling them by those sacred names such as NaaryaNA , Maadhava, GovindA and Kesava with affection will save the mothers of the children from entering Narakam and pave their way to Moksham . He repeated this thought in every paasuram of this decad except the pala sruthi paasuram . Azhwaar out of his infinite mercy for the suffering jeevans pointed a way to escape the snares of the samsAric Taapam and pointed a way out through the message enshrined in these paasurams . Paasuram 1 : Kaasum karayudaikkooraikkum----- Oh, the mindless ones , who name your sons with lowly and meaningless ( ungodly ) names out of your longing to get a few pennies or out of your hope to get a pudavai with golden border or out of expectation to get a sheaf of grain ! Please name your son " Kesavan , the klesa naasan ( One who destroys the mental agitations ) ! Please experience the bliss of calling your son by this delectable name of the Lord all your life ! The mother of the child bearing Lord NaarAyaNA's name ( Kesavan ) would never experience the pangs of hell ( narakam) . Paasuram 2 : " Angoru kooRai araikuduppathan aasayAl--" Oh , Ladies! Please name your children with the names of the Lord such as Lotus eyed NedumAl ( SemkaNN NedumAl ) or Sridharan and call that son with affection by those names. Please do not follow the path of those mindless ones , who out of their greed for wearing a nice looking pudavai name their sons with empty names associated with lowly men , who are of low spiritual attainments and thus are degenerate . If you name your son with names of NaarAyaNan such as Sridharan or Ambuja Lochanan and accumulate your puNyam by calling them by these names of the Lord with affection , you as the mother of this son bearing the Lord's name will never be exposed to the sufferings of Narakam . Paasuram 3 : Ucchiyil yeNNaium suttiyum vaLayum ---" Oh , Ladies , who beget children out of your desire to acquire the oil for rubbing your children's head , for decorating the forehead of your child with a pendant or to decorate their arms with pretty bangles ! Please name your child with the Lord's names and call them by those sweet names , even if you have to support them through the livelihood of begging in htis broad land . You as the mother of the child bearing the Lord's name will never enter hell and suffer its terrors . Paasuram 4 : " Maanida saathiyil thOnRiRRu ---" If you name the human being born in the species of men with the names of those under the yoke of karmA out of your desire to get worldly goods during this life , there is no reward waiting for you in the other world . Oh, Mothers ! on the other hand , if you name your sons with the names such as MaadhavA and GovindhA , the names of NaarAyaNA having GarudA as His vaahanam , you as mothers of the sons with my Lord's name will never be scorched by the flames of hell . Paasuram 5 : malamudai ootthayil thOnRiRRu ohr mala ootthayai malamudai ootthayin pErittAl marumaikkillai Kulamudai GovindhA ! GovindhA ! yenru azhaitthakkAl nalamudai NaaraNan tammannai narham puhAL Oh, Mothers ! If you name the lowly assemblage of flesh, blood , fat , bile and other body fluids born out of a similar body with the name of another unclean , lowly being , there is no saving grace for the other world ! If on the otherhand , you name your children with the name of the Lord born in the kulam of the shepherd folks and call them repeatedly , GovindhA , GovindhA , our Lord , who has the natural inclination to rush to the side of those , who address Him by His name will make sure that you never will go near the gates of narakam and suffer there . Paasuram 6 : " Naadum Naharamum aRiya naatu----" Oh , those , who name your children with the names of lowly men for the sake of instant recognition by the rural and city folks that your sons also have the name of these famous men! Through this act , you lower yourselves at their feet and show your reverence for them and thereby fall into the same pit of their ungodly lives ! Oh , unwise people following this practise ! Please name your sons with the name of the Lord , who kicked SakatAsuran with His tender feet and destroyed him , while He was a toddler resting in His cradle ! Please call your sons with the names such as DaamOdharan and other names of NaarAyaNan . The mothers of children with NaarAyaNA's name will never descend into hell and undergo the tortures of Narakam . Paasuram 7 : " MaNNiR piRandhu maNNAhum ---" Oh, Unworried ignorant ones , who name your sons ( and daughters ) with the names of the perishable humans born of earth and becoming earth at the end ! Please name your sons with the names of the Lord with the complexion of the dark cloud of the rainy season and call them by those sacred names with feeling ! If you do so , the mother of your sons will never have to worry about the sufferings in hell . Paasuram 8 : Nambi pimbi yenru naattu maanida pErittAl mambum pimpum yellAm naalu nALil azhungippOm semperumtAmaraikkaNNan pErittu azhaitthakkAl NambihAL ! NaaraNantammannai naraham puhAL When deluded people name their sons with the name of the local leaders and chieftains of villages in the hope of securing some comforts in this world and call those sons "this nambi" and " that pimbi " , should know that the perishable glory of these people whose names were given to the sons will disappear in a few days . There is no lasting benefit in naming the sons with the names of these people with alpAyus and alpa keerthi . If on the other hand , those who give the name of the Lord with beautiful, red lotus-like eyes to their sons have no worry about the mothers of such sons suffering in hell . Paasuram 9 : ootthaikkuzhiyil amudham paayvathu pOl , unghaL mootthirappiLLayai yen muhil vaNNan pErittu kOtthukkuzhaitthu guNAlamAditthiriminO naatthahu NaaraNan tammannai naraham puhAL Just as the divine nectar fit for consumption by the pure-minded falls into a dirty pit and sanctifies that dirty and loathsome pit , the naming of the sons with the Lord's names purifies them of their sukla sONitha PariNAmam associated with the birth in human wombs . When the sons named with the Lord's names are treasured and played with by calling their names , the mothers of such sanctified children will jump over the hazards of entering hell . Paasuram 10 : Palasruthi Paasuram seeraNi mAl thirunamamE idatthERRiya veeraNi tol pugazh vittuchittan virittha OraNi oN Tamizh onpathOdu onrum vallavar pEraNi vaikunthatthu yenrum pENi irupparE These ten verses composed by VishNucchitthA , who wears as jewelery , his valor associated with the conquest of his IndriyAs list and describe the lasting benefits arising from the naming of one's children with the thousand names of the Lord , who is devoted to His devotees and has for His jewelery , His own anantha kalyANa guNAs . That VishNucchitthA known for his everlasting glory for invoking pallANdu to the Lord composed these ten Tamizh paasurams with clear meanings to serve as the matchless jewelery for those , who wish to learn and benefit from their mesages .Such people , who recite these paasurams and reflect on their meaning and implement their messages in their lives would have the blessings of being permanent residents of Sri Vaikuntam and offering nithya Kaimkaryam to the Lord . Sri PeriyAzhwAr ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam Oppiliappan Kovil VaradAchAri Sadagopan
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