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NammAzhwar's Tirunakshatram

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muralidhar rangaswamy • June 8, 1998 


Dear Bhaktas,

Sriman Madhavakannan Swamin has blessed us with a shower of nectar 
from the outpourings of NammAzhwar on the Lord of Seven Hills 
on the occassion of the Azhwar's Tirunakshatram. I join him in 
paying obeisance to this great Mahan who blessed us with our 
wonderful Sampradayam. The SharaNagati to the Lotus feet of Lord 
Srinivasa was brought out with consummate effect. Among the three 
Rahasya Mantras, Tiruvenkatan denotes the Charma Shlokam. 
NammAzhwar's unconditional surrender to the Lord Srinivasa 
brilliantly illustrates the the six Angas of Prapatti. Another 
important feature of the Azhwar's outpourings is that the thousand 
verses composed by him contain the essence of the Sama Vedam.

Sri Madhurakavi Azhwar, an ardent disciple of NammAzhwar, 
was a Brahmin belonging to the Sama Shaka. As a result, he posed a 
number of questions to NammAzhwar pertaining to the Sama Vedam. In 
reply, the Azhwar composed 1000 verses in chaste Tamil beautifully 
bringing out the essence of the Sama Vedam. Further testimony in 
support of this fact can be found in the Sanskrit Taniyan for the 
Azhwar-the key reference being "Sahasra ShaakE". It is also instructive 
to observe that Rg, Yajur and Atharva Vedam contain 
references to other deities with the implicit assumption that the 
tribute is for their indweller-Lord Narayana. However, the thousand 
Shakas of Sama Vedam are devoted exclusively to the glorification of 
Lord Narayana, which perhaps points to Lord KrishNa's Bhagavad-Gita 
declaration "VedAnAm SAma VedOsmi".

Swami Desikan acknowldeges the extraordinary contributions of NammAzhwar 
in both the Daya Shatakam as well as the Padhuka Sahasram.
Much has been written about these works in the past in this forum. 
Therefore, I shall not engage in a repititive exercise.

NammAzhwar TiruvadigaLE SharaNam,

Muralidhar Rangaswamy 



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