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Re: speciality of azwar aruLich cheayl over other shAstrAss

From the Bhakti List Archives

M K Sudarshan • March 26, 1997 


Dear Sri.Rengarajan,

Your last post recounts a very interesting tale and you conclude with its
moral as follows:

The moral of this acahraya
>vaibavam is 
>such that not only our poorvachaRyaaLs but also periya perumal of
>srirangam
>had in THEIR mind that azwar aruLichceyal is the most important shastram
>of all.

>Sampath Rengarajan

Now, I find this sort of conclusion hard to endorse.

The way you have expressed it, it seems as though there is a competitive
cleavage between Vedic 'sruti' as "pramANam" and "azwar aruLichceyal" !!

I was taught the "taniyan" to "kanninUn-siru-thAmbu ....":

"vErOnrUm nAn ariyEn vEdam tamizh seyda
mAran sadagOpan vangUrugoorErengal
vAzhvAm enrEthUm madhurakavIyAr
emmai AzhwAr avarE aran"

Now the above says that "mAran" served the 'veda-sAstrA-s' in Tamil for our
benefit !! It does not mean that "sruti-s" thereby became any inferior to
"azwar aruLichceyal" in the process !! I find it fantastic that you use the
superlative statement: "azwar aruLichceyal is the most important shastram
>of all."

One must certainly equate "azwar aruLichceyal" with "vEda-sAstra"; but how
can one grant a superior status to the former on the basis of mere dizzy
love for Tamil as a language that Sri.Rengarajan is obviously suffering from
!! Mark the verse in "kanninUn-siru-thAmbu" which clearly uses the phrase
"vEdam tamizh seyda" (aruLichceyal) !!

I was taught that the verse "vErOnrUm nAn ariyEn", in ESSENCE, echoes the
sentiments of souls otherwise unable to know or experience the truths of
"vEdic-sAstrA-s" but who are nonetheless enabled, through the Grace and
Kindness of the great "AzwAr" "mAran-sadagOpan's aruLichceyal", to be
blessed with the same "anUbhAvam" (much as "madhura-kaviyAr" was)!!

This I thought was the essence of the above verse !!

Now the way you categorically state it all, Sri.Rengarajan --- "azwar
aruLichceyal is the most important shastra of all." --- it seems like we
poor souls have got it all completely wrong ! 

Have I understood you properly ? 

sudarshan