AparyAthAmrutha sOpAnam : part 2
From the Bhakti List Archives
• November 25, 1997
Dear BhakthAs of Thirukkudanthai ArAvamudhan : The greatness of Thirukkudanthai AarAvamudhan is beyond description . His bhaktha vAtsalyam and bhaktha dAkshiNyam have no match . It is important to spend some time on this subject in the context of the postings on Thirukkudanthai Desikan's mangalAsAsanam that took the form of AparyApthAmrutha sOpAnam . When the sharp-tongued Thirumazhisai commanded Lord AaravAmudhan to get up and speak to him , He obliged and lifted Himself (as told ) slightly and gave His darsanam to the AzhwAr and stayed that way in UdhyOga Sayanam to remind us as to how he responded to the wish of His bahkthA from the village of Thirumazhisai . The AzhwAr asked the Lord as to what was wrong with Him . He queried the reclining Lord as to what was His problem and why He was so tired . The AzhwAr volunteered to take a guess on why the Lord was resting on His serpent bed as though He was recovering after some ardous ordeal . This is how he addressed the Lord : nadantha kAlgaL nondhavO nadungu J~alamEnamAi idantha mey kulungavO vilangu maal varaicchuram kadantha kaal parandha Kaavirikkarai KudanthaiyuL kidanthavARezhundhu pEsu------------------------------- The AzhwAr addresses the Lord here rather abruptly and asks Him : " O Lord resting on the banks of the wide Cauveri river ! What is the reason for You to be so fatigued and needing this profound rest ? Is it because of the enormous exertions arising out of Your wandering in the DandakA forest as Sri RamA or Is it because of carrying your gigantic body of Yours during the incarnation as the Varaha PerumAn ? Please explain to me the reason why You are resting here so exhausted ? Please raise Yourself up from Your reclining position and speak to me " . The Lord is known for His kalyANa guNam celebrated as Sowlabhyam or easy accessibility . He responded to the request of the straight -talking bhakthA and became another YathOkthakAri ( sonna VaNNam seytha PerumAL ) and talked to His Bhakthan . The AzhwAr was moved by the generosity of the Lord in responding to his taunt that he was overcome with emotion and concluded this paasuram with a benediction . Like PeriyAzhwAr , who wished pallAndu to the Lord , Thirumazhisai blessed the Lord with the benediction, VAAZHI KESANE : " kidanthavARu yezhundhirunthu pEsu VAAZHI KESANE " . The AzhwAr was dumb struck with the lightning like rsponse of the Lord , when he commanded Him to get up and explain why he was so fatigued to need His rest . The AzhwAr came down from the height of his sarcasam and fell at the Lord's feet and begged Him to live for aeons and bless His bahkthAs at Thirukkudanthai in that unique UdhyOga Sayanam pose . When NammAzhwAr had the darsana bhAgyam of that udhyOga Sayanam , he described what he saw and the impact of that sEvai on him this way : AarA amudhE adiyEn udalam ninpAlanpAyE neerAi alaindhu karaya urukkuhinRa nedumAlE ! seerAr sennal kavari veesum sezhu neer Thirukkudanthai yErAr kOlam tihazhak kidanthAi kandEn yemmAnE ( Meaning ) : Oh insatibale nectar of a Lord ! O aparyAptha amrutha swAmi of Thirukkudanthai ! I have turned into a slave of Yours after tasting Your insatiable beauty with my eyes . My body melts in love at the darsanam of Yours . My body is like sugar that has dissolved in a glass of water. My love for You flows like the rushing water from a broken dam . The melting of my body is like the pliant gold under the tools of a skilled gold smith . O AarAvamudhA ! are you performing this magic of the extinction of my self by merger with You as a result of Your limitless love for me ? Let me conclude that it is so ! Oh Lord resting on Your mighty bed of AdisEshA in the most majestic form ! Here at Your divya dEsam of Thirukkudanthai , the red paddy stems are waving in the cool breeze as if they are performing chamara (fan ) kaimkaryam to You ! This was the impact of AarAvamudhan's beauty and vAtsalyam for NammAzhwAr . Seven AzhwArs were overcome by the beauty of AarAvamudhan and performed their mangaLAsAsanams with 54 paasurams . These paasurams and their authors are : 1 . BhUthatthAzhwAr : Paasurams 70& 97 of the second ThiruvandhAthi 2. pEy AzhwAr : Paasurams 30&62 of Third ThiruvandhAthi 3. Thirumazhisai : Naanmuhan ThiruvandhAthi ( 36th verse) Thirucchanda viruttham ( Paasurams 56-61 ) 4.NammAzhwAr : Thiruvaimozhi entire decad of 5.8 5. PeriyAzhwAr : Periya Thirumozhi --4 paasurams 6. ANDAL : NaacchiyAr Thirumozhi -- 1 Paasuram 7. Thirumangai : Periya Thirumozhi --17 paasurams ThirukkurunthAndakam - 2 Paasurams ThirunedumthAndakam--3 Paasurams ThiruvEzhukUrririkkai -- 1 Paasuram (46 adigaLs) Siriya Thirumadal--1 Paasuram Periya Thirumadal --1 Paasuram ANDAL enjoyed Him as Raaja GopAlan grazing his cows and calves in AayarpAdi and saluted Him as " Kudanthai kidantha kudamAdi " . PeriyAzhwAr , her father , enjoyed AarAvamudhan as the Bala GopAlan and took on the role of YasOdhA piratti to visulaize Him walking with the uncertain gait of a toddler and marking his walking path with the insignia of sankhams and chakrams to denote His parathvam as Sriman NaarAyaNan . He longs to see that gait of the Lord like a little elephant adorned with His waist belt studded with little bells , which move in rhythym with his tender steps . BhuthatthAzhwAr describes SaarangapANi ( AarAvamudhan ) as the top expert in dhanur vEdham and salutes Him as " yEvalla yenthai " . He reveals to us that this great archer's favorite resting places are th heart caves of His bahkthAs and divya dEsams like Thirukkudanthai . PEy AzhwAr relates to Him as the panchAkruthi svarUpan rsdiding in the Para , VyUha , Vibhava, ArchA and antharyAmi forms in a paasuram that echos the Vedic passage : ambasya pArE bhuvanasya madhyE---prajApathisccharathi garbhE antha : " . Thirumazhisai spoke to Him directly and got Him to get up to speak to him . In moving verses of Thirucchnada viruttham , the AzhwAr lovingly addresses Him as " Kudanthai uLL kidantha PundareekanE " . He reveals to us that the Lord is Bhaktha sulabhan with the paasuram words : nAhatthaNaik Kudanthai--kidakkum aadhi NedumAl aNaippAr karutthanAvAn " . The Azhwar states with authority that the Lord, who rests at Thirukkudanthai on AdhisEshA will choose as His preferred temple (place of residence ) the heart caves of His dear BhakthAs . Thirumangai celebrated AarAvamudhan in his ThirukkurmthAndakam as " Kudanthai mEya kurumaNit thiraL " or the most beautiful assembly of nava rathnams at Thirukkudanthai . In his ThirunedumthAndakam verses, he takes on the Naayaki bhavam and performs nAma sankeerthanam. In the last verse of ThirunedumthAndakam , he describes how he as Parakaala Naayaki waited for her Lord just as a dutiful and obedient dog filled with parama viswaasam would wait for its master : " taNN Kudanthai kidantha Maalai NediyAnai adi nAyEn ninanithittEnE " . In ThiruvEzhukUrririkkai , Thirumangai pours out his profound love for AarAvamudhan in a verse form constructed in the form of a seven-tiered chariot . He seats the Lord in the middle of that chariot and enjoys His veda svarUpam and soundharyam . The depth of meanings of the paasurams of ThiruvEzhukUrririkkai have been coverd in an earlier posting . In his siriya and periya Thirumadals , Thirumangai becomes parakaala Naayaki and engages in vipralambha sringAram and teaches us that the end goal of Dharmam , Artham and other purushArthams is Bhagavadh Kaamam . He shows us that Kaamam ( Bhagavadh Kaamam ) is the highest purushArtham of all the four goals of life. In the many beautiful verses of Periya Thirumozhi , Thirumangai celebrates the sanctity of the Moola Manthram that he was initiated into by the Lord Himself as " peethaka vaadaip pirAnAr bhirama guruvAhi vandhu " . In this particular decad , Thirumangai blames himself first for going after siRRinbham and forgetting to worship AarAvamudhan at Thirukkudanthai and next comforts himself for gaining utthama gathi through the recitation of the name of Sriman NaarAyaNA : "------------------- soozh punar KudanthaiyE thozhuthen naavinAlyuua naan kandu kondEn NaarAyaNAvennum nAmam " He is overcome with the power of reciting the name of Srman NaarAyaNA and instructs others to come and join him and thereby save themselves from leading degenrate lives : " ------------solluhEn vammin soozh KudanthaaiyE thozhumin naRporuL kaaNmin paadi neeryuumin NaarAyaNAvennum nAmam " . Thirumangai arrives at the Divya dEsam of SaaLagraamam in HimalayAs . From the snow clad scenery , his mind shifts to the green cauveri delta and there to the Lord of Thirukkudanthai , resting joyously on his serpent bed . This powerful memory led to another beloved paasuram on AarAvamudhan from the snowy depths of SaaLagrAmam : " UrAn Kudanthai utthaman oru kaalirukaal silai vaLayath tErAvarakkar tEr veLLam seRRaan vaRRA varu punal soozh pErAn pErAyiramudayAn----" Here AzhwAr celebrates SaarangapANi as Sri Ramachandran , who destroyed Karan and DhUshaNan , who attacked Him at JanasthAnam , while riding their chariots. The Uttaman of Thirukkudanthai destroyed them through the power of His skills in DhanurvEdam . After eulogising the Uttaman of Thirukkudanthai , he goes on to acknowledge the Lord of SaaLigrAmam . In his Thiruneermalai paasuram , Thirumangai is overpowered with the thought of AarAvamudhan and weaves him into the paasuram of Thiruneermalai perumAL . At ThiruvAli , He jointly salutes VayalALi MaNavALan and " TaNN Kudanthai KudamAdi " . At ThirunarayUr , after receiving SamAsrayaNam from Srinivasan , his mind still wanders over to Thirukkudanthai and sees AarAvamudhan in NarayUr SrinivAsan : " kongEru solaik Kudanthaik kidanthAnai nankOnai naadi NarayUril kandEnE " He sees that when he sought for the Thirukkdanthai UtthAnasAyee , he found Him in NarayUr. In another beautiful NarayUr pasuram , He visualizes AarAvamudhan as VarAhap perumAn , Ramachandran and Trivikraman : " kidantha nampi Kudanthai mEvik kEzhalAi ulahai idantha nampi yengaL nambi --------------------------- nadantha nampi nAmam sollil namO nArAyaNAya " NarayUr Srinivasan is known usually as NarayUr nampi . Here , Azhwaar invokes the nampi name five times and relates it to AarAvamudhan . We witness Thirumangai's special abhimAnam for AarAvamudhan again in the paasurams " devoted " to the emperumAns of ThirunAhai , ThirupEr , ThirukkaNNapuram and other thirupathis . Finally in his Periya Thirumozhi 11.6 paasuram , he gives the upadEsam for all of us to gain salvation : " kondarkkaim maNivaNNan taNN Kudanthai nahar paadi aadeerhaLE " He recommends to all of us sinking in the samsAric ocean to overcome our sufferings by reciting the name of the parama kAruNeekan , AarAvamudhan and singing and dancing with joy from that anubhavam . NammAzhwAr's anubhavam of AarAvamudhan ***************************************************** After his mangaLAsAsanam of Srivaramangai's ThOdhAdhri nAthan , NammAzhwAr leaves the banks of TamrabharaNi and arrives at the Cauveri delta and rests at the sacred feet of AarAvamudhan . He cries out in ecstasy , " yemmAnE ! yenn veLLai mUrthy ! Yennai aaLvAnE " . NammAzhwAr addresses his Lord as the Lord of purest form and nature . He remembers his Lord taking infinite forms and says all those forms add lustre to Him . In the third pasuram , he admits that he is incapable of folowing any upAyA to gain His grace. He laments over his powerlessness. He makes it very clear to AarAvamudhan that he will always cling to His lotus feet as a prop with unshaken faith and go about doing things ( yennAn seyhEn yArE kaLaikaNN yennai yenn seyhinrAi ? unnAlallal yAvarAlum onrum kurai vEndEn-- kudanthai kidanthAi--sennALenthALL annAL unathALL piditthE selakkANE ) . In the fourth paasuram , AzhwAr explains his pitiable state. He says that he is head over heels in love with the Lord of Thirukkudanthai . He says that he is turning around on all sides in the hope of seeing the Lord appear in the physical form and is suffering from his frustrations in not being able to have that darsana sowbhAgyam . In the fifth paasuram , he confesses that he is cursing his fate over his dhurbhAgyam in not being able to see the Lord in the physical form and embrace Him .He pleads wiht the Lord movingly to unite him with His sacred feet . In the sixth paasuram , AzhwAr begs the Lord to devise a method to cut his karma bhandhAs and have dhruva smrithi of the Lord and Lord alone . In the seventh pasuram , he addresses the Lord of Thirukkudanthai as his valiant Lion , beautiful golden splendor and the lotus-eyed oudhAryan of sarva mangaLams . He points out that the Lord has arrived at Thirukkudanthai to captivate and enslave him and to consummate their relationship as seshan and seshee . In the eighth paasuram , he addresses the Lord as " mAmAyA " ( wizard ) and confesses that he has no helper other than the Lord . He ventures forth to say that he is not sure , whether the Lord will rush to his help or not . He begs for the boon of steadfast attachment to the Lord's feet until his last moments . In the ninth paasuram , the AzhwAr thanks the Lord for His great upakAram in teaching the elements of Athma JnAnam and transforming him to become a loving servant of His from the earlier haughty state . AzhwAr sees the Lord move from left to right to help bhakthAs assembled on all sides to have the darsana sowbhAgyam equally . In the tenth paasuram , AzhwAr acknowledges that his soul is enjoying the sweet nectar of AarAvamudhan inspite of his past karmAs and their fruits trying to latch on to him . He thanks the Lord for chasing them away . He reminds the Lord about their newly established relationship as Master and Servant and points out to the Lord that it will be a blot to His name , if he reverted to making him suffer and beg for help . In the eleventh and final paasuram , AzhwAr describes himself as the one , who clings to AarAvamudhan"s sacred feet forever . He instructs us that the mastering of his ten paasurams on AparyApthAmrutha Swami will wipe out our spiritual immaturity and lift us closer to the Lord and Sri VaishNavAs . These great anubhavams of AzhwArs were on the mind of Thirukkudanthai Desikan , when he composed and presented his AparyApthAmrutha sOpAnam along the tradition of Swami Desikan's Bahgavadh DhyAna sOpAnam and ThiruppANar's AmalanAdhipirAn . AzhwAr , AchAryAL THiruvadigaLE SaraNam Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri Sadagopan
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