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"Nara Stuti Sukhama?"

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sadagopaniyengar • May 2, 2003 


                           
Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Veanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

 

                      "Narastuti SukhamA?"

 

               In reply to Sri YudhishthirA's query as to who is the only person entitled to our adoration, adulation, veneration and worship ("kim Ekam daivatam lOkE, kim vApi Ekam parAyaNam! Stuvanta: kam kam archanta:?"), Shri BhIshmA's reply is extremely enlightening. It is only to Sri Mahavishnu that all worship, all praise, all respect and tribute should be addressed. He is the Lord and Master of all the worlds, of all deities big and small, the one without a beginning and an end, the Creator, Protector and Destroyer of all beings sentient and non-sentient-it is this Lord whom we should worship daily with devotion, says Sri BhIshmAchArya ("tamEva cha archayan nityam, dhyAyan, stuvan, namasyamscha yajamAna: tamEva cha"). The considered opinion ("paramO mata:") of this great sage appears to rule out veneration of other deities, be it for whatever purpose. This noted bhakta, for whom the Lord Himself had a lot of regard, categorically states that if you worship, it must be Sriman Narayana as the object th

 

  If worship of other deities is ruled out, ipso facto, the veneration or adulation of human beings, however great they be, is automatically out of the question. The heaping of praise on mere mortals for material considerations has been considered to be a gross misuse of the God-given faculties. Sri Nammazhwar is categorical in this regard-"en nAvil in kavi yAn oruvarkkum kodukkilEn". My tongue shall not engage in praise of mortals, declares Azhwar. Exhibiting extreme contempt for those indulging in eulogisation of ephemeral mortals, Azhwar equates the material possessions for which they are adulated, to mere rubbish-"kuppai kiLartthanna selvam" and condemns mercenary poets lavishing praise for a consideration as deplorably lacking in honesty-"vaLLal pugazhndu num vAimai izhakkum pulaveergAL". Their couplets are but blatant lies-"pacchai pasum poigaL". The stingingly strong language used in these ten pasurams by the normally sober Satakopa Muni evidences his healthy contempt for those engaging in mortal prai

 

        Toeing the Azhwar's footsteps faithfully is Swami Desikan, who composed a stotra in five stanzas (the VairAgya Panchakam), rejecting summarily the riches and regal life proffered by Vidyaranya, the RAjaguru to the Vijayanagar Emperor. Praise of petty Kings, holding sway over limited expanses of land, does not appeal to us, while the omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent Lord, known for His generosity, is available to lavish on us all that we need, says Swami Desikan-"Kshubhyat kshudra narEndra chAtu rachanA dhanyAm na manyAmahE", "triNamapi vayam.. na yAchAmahE MahIswarAn".

 

      We can therefore safely conclude that nara stuti or praise of mortals is repugnant to Azhwars, Acharyas and Maharshis alike.

 

      The Divya Prabandas are the uncontainable outpourings of Azhwars occasioned by boundless bhakti for the Lord. There is absolutely no doubt as to where the loyalties of Azhwars lie, which is evident from each and every word of each and every pasuram of theirs-it is Sriman Narayana and none else who is in their thought, word and composition. Nothing would be farther from our imagination than to find nara stuti or praise of mortals in such works of pure devotion composed by ananya bhaktAs like Azhwars.

  Surprisingly, however, we do find in the Prabandas words of praise, at times lavish, addressed to mortals-Kings and others. If you find this hard to believe, profuse quotes are furnished below to substantiate this apparently unjust allegation. And such is the case with not one single Azhwar, but two, both of them fierce in their defence of the Lord's supremacy vis-à-vis any other deity or being. Ironically, one of these Azhwars was initiated into the AshtAkshara by the Lord Himself, while the other was a zealous defendant of the Lord's supremacy in a King's court. In these cases, what happened to the Azhwars' unshakeable resolve of not singing human praises? Are these cases of rare and excusable aberrations from the general rule of reserving adulation to the Lord, who is the only one eligible for praise ("Stavya:" ,"Keertaneeya:")? If so, are they in tune with the blemishless wisdom ("mayarvara madi nalam") conferred on them by the Lord? Or is there some inscrutable reason for such words of praise, beyond 

 

     Given that nothing but the Gospel Truth can emerge from the unblemished utterances of Azhwars, there must indeed be reason enough, even to mention the names of Kings and others in Divya Prabandas, which are otherwise a copious, continuous and exclusive litany of praise on the Supreme Being. Let us first take a look at the several instances of Kings being mentioned with appreciation in the Aruliccheyal, before delving into the reasons for the same.

 

Here is an exceptionally eloquent mention, from the prolific pen of Sri Tirumangai Mannan-

 

"Pallavan Villavan endru ulagil palarAi pala vEndar vaNangu kazhal

 Pallavan Mallayar kOn paNittha ParamEcchura ViNNagaram"

 

Liberal praise is lavished here on Parameswara Pallava by Sri Parakala, who is known not to sing anyone but the Lord. This Emperor, belonging to the famed Pallava Dynasty, was also reputed to be of exceptional prowess and bravery, such that the hapless Kings of several countries, (themselves being of no mean accomplishments in archery and other martial arts), who have been comprehensively conquered, fall at his feet, which are adorned by beautiful anklets. This Pallava had MahAbalipuram or Mamallapuram (constructed by Nrsimha Pallava) as one of the principal cities of his empire and was instrumental in carrying out numerous kainkaryams at the Parameswara Vishnugraham (known at present as Vaikunta Perumal Koil in Kancheepuram). According to historical accounts, the Pallavas were Kings with undying allegiance to Lord Sriman Narayana and were responsible for extensive renovations and refurbishing to existing shrines of the Lord and construction of several new and glorious abodes for their favourite deity. This 

 

Another King to come in for favoured mention by the same Azhwar is TondamAn Chakravartthi, again in Peria Tirumozhi-

 

"TuLangu neeN mudi arasar tam kurisil Tondai mannavan tiNdiral oruvarkku

uLankoL anbinOdu innaruL surandu angOdu nAzhikai EzhinOdu iruppa

vaLamkoL mandiram mattru avarkku aruLi seidavAru adiyEn arindu-ulagam

aLanda ponnadiyE adaindu uyndEn aNipozhil Tiruvarangatthu ammAnE"

 

The name "TondaimAn" is derived from the Tondai creeper which adorned the neck of Ilantirayan, who founded the dynasty. His kingdom was hence known as Tondaimandalam, with Kancheepuram as its capital. One of the emperors of this lineage (referred to in the aforesaid pasuram) was an exceptional devotee of the Lord at Tiruvengadam. Srinivasa too was so enamoured of this true servant, that He used to converse with the Chakravartthi, despite the constraints imposed by arcchA samAdhi. We learn from this pasuram that the Lord Himself performed upadesam of the Tirumantram to this sovereign, thereby putting him well on the way to emancipation. It is also learnt that the association between the two was so close that the Lord lent His Discus and Conch to the Tondaman Chakravartthi, to aid and assist him in a war with some Kings. The grateful Emperor, prompted both by this munificent gesture on the part of the Lord and by his natural kainkarya ruchi, built several gOpurams, protective compounds and mandapams for the Lo

 

It is perhaps the same TondamAn Chakravartthi who comes in for mention in the TiruvallikkENi pasuram-

"Tennan TondayarkOn seida nan mayilai TiruvallikkENi nindrAnai"

It would thus appear that this Tondaman ruler has been responsible for numerous kainkaryams at various sannidhis of the Lord and has thus been a BhAgavata par excellence, meriting appreciative mention by the Azhwar.

 

The Kings mentioned so far have been afforded a single line of a pasuram or at best a whole pasuram. However, the King Azhwar waxes positively eloquent about is the Chozha ruler KOcchengaNAn, whose glory has been sung by Azhwar in all of ten pasurams, ostensibly devoted to the Lord at TirunarayUr.

This King was originally a staunch devotee of Siva, for whom he constructed no less than 70 temples ("eN tOL eesarkku ezhil madam ezhupathu seidu"). However, later, he appears to have realised the supremacy of Sriman Narayana and devoted himself to innumerable kainkaryams to the Lord and His devotees.

As is common to new converts, the King appears to have been an exuberant votary of service to the Lord and has hence been featured in each and every pasuram of the 6th Tirumozhi of the 6th Decad of Peria Tirumozhi.  This King appears to have been the ruler of the entire Tamilnadu, including the erstwhile kingdoms belonging to Pandias and the Cheras, and Sri Kalian's account portrays him as the victor in several bloody battles with opponents. The Emperor's devotion to Tamizh and its literature is brought out by the description "Ten Tamizhan" and his bountiful riches from the frequent mention of KavEri and its precious contributions.

 Some of the flattering allusions to this King are as follows:

"Chezhum Ponni vaLam kodukkum ChOzhan"

 

"kazhal mannar mudi mEl kAgam Era

deiva vAL valam konda Chozhan"

 

"Ponni nAdan, ten tamizhan vada pula kOn Chozhan"

 

" ulagam AndaTen nAdan kuda Kongan Chozhan"

 

"silai tadakkai kula Chozhan"

 

Tirukkulatthu vaLa Chozhan"

 

"Padai Mannar udal tuNiya pari mA uyttha

 TerALan KOcchOzhan"

 

"Chembian KOcchengaNAn" etc.

 

It is clear from the aforesaid that here too, the recording of the Ruler's redoubtable prowess, etc. are merely to indicate the glory of a BhAgavata who performed meritorious kainkaryam for the Lord and His devotees, especially after having been a staunch Saivite earlier.

 

Our friend the Tondaman Chakravartthi comes in for more praise in the pasurams devoted to Ashtabhujakaram sannidhi-

 

"Mannavan Tondayar kOn vaNangum neeNmudi mAlai VaiyiramEghan 

 tan vali tan pugazh soozhnda Kacchi attabuyakaram"

 

This pasuram records the contribution of Raja VayiramEghan of the Tondai Kulam, by way of renovations, ornaments for the Lord, creation of trusts for the daily worship of the Lord and for feeding His devotees, conduct of periodical festivals etc.

 

We now turn to the PeriAzhwar Tirumozhi, which too contains a couple of references to Pandiya Kings. The first is a reference to the Malayadhvaja Pandia Maharaja having blazed a path from his kingdom to the MahAmEru parvatam, conquering the kings en route and establishing his flag with the Fish Symbol atop the mountain as token of his victory. Azhwar likens this to the placing of the Lord's feet on the heads of all beings (perhaps during TrivikramAvatAra). Here are the lines from the relevant pasuram-

"Paruppadatthu Kayal porittha Pandiyar kula pati pOl

  tiruppolinda sEvadi en chenniyin mEl padittAi"

 

This Azhwar has a special association with Pandia Kings, as his tanian itself would indicate-"Pandian kondAda Bhattar PirAn vandAn". The Ruler had absolute faith in the overriding supremacy of Sriman Narayana and was a parama bhakta of the Lord. For the same reason, he had an unflinching loyalty and devotion towards the Azhwar, who established Narayana Paratvam in a sadas specially convened for this purpose, by citing appropriate pramANAs from the Shruti. It is out of a desire to record for posterity the greatness of this regal devotee of the Lord that Sri Periazhwar mentions the following in the TirumAlirumsOlai pasuram-

 

"konnavilum koorvEl kOn NedumAran ten koodal kOn Tennan kondAdum Tirumalirumsolai"

 

Sri KoorattAzhwan too records in his SundarabAhustavam this episode of the Pandya Raja being overwhelmed by the boundless beauty of Sri Azhagar of Tirumalirumsolai and performing innumerable kainkaryams at the shrine-"idam imE shruNumO Malayadhvajam nripam iha svayamEva hi Sundara! sharana sAtkritavAn iti"

Swami Desikan too records with gratitude the contribution of the Chieftain GOpaNArya, who restored Sri Rangaraja to His AstthAnam and paved for resumption of worship at Srirangam, brought to a standstill by the Muslim invasion.

 

We thus find that while Azhwars' general rule has been to eschew praise or even mention of ordinary mortals, they have none the less been appreciative of the kainkaryams performed by various Kings at numerous shrines and recorded their appreciation in no uncertain terms, both as a token of recognition for services rendered to the Lord and as encouragement for others to adopt a similar path. There has thus been only BhAgavata stOtram in Divya Prabandas and Acharya Sreesooktis, and not mere nara stuti or praise of mortals. BhAgavatAs, despite being mortals, stand on a totally different footing and on a lofty pedestal not accorded to ordinary people of mundane persuasions. Azhwars' mentions are not mere paeans of praise lavished upon rulers of dubious valour for material considerations, but records of exceptional religious kainkaryam performed by Kings of yore, much in the fashion of epigraphs found in various shrines, setting these outpourings of timeless tribute against a historical background.

 

Srimate Sri LakshmINrsimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

Dasan, sadagopan

 

 



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