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UpadEsa Rathna Maalai(URM): Part 8 (Madhura Kavi Paausrams: 25-26)

From the Bhakti List Archives

Sadagopan • November 1, 1999 


Dear BhakthAs: 

The Paasurams 25-26 ) of URM pay tribute to 
Madhurakavi AzhwAr and what he stands for in
our SamprahdAyam (viz)., the predominant position
given to achAryaaLs even over the Lord Himself and 
Bhaagavatha Seshathvam .

paasuram 25: The importance of Madhura Kavi's Birthday 
*******************************************************

yErAr Madhura Kavi ivvulahil vanthu uthittha 
   seerArum Chitthirayil Chitthirai NaaL --paarulahil
maRRuLLa AazhwArkaL vanthu uthittha nALkaLinum
   uRRathu yemakku yeRu nenjEOr 

(meaning): Oh My mind! Please reflect on the fact
that the birthday of the auspicious Madhura Kavi 
( ChitthrA Nakshathram in the month of Chitthirai ) 
is even more sacred for celebration than that of
the birthdays of all the other AzhwArs .

(Comments): MM alludes here to the unique greatness of
Madhura Kavi celebrated by Sri PiLLai LokAcchAr in 
the fourth prakaraNam of Sri Vachana BhUshaNam .Swami
Desikan salutes the greatness of Madhura Kavi in Prabhandha
Saaram and in Guru ParamparAsAram. In Prabhandha Saaram ,
Swami Desikan performs MangaLAsAsanam for Madhura Kavi
with great reverence: "thERiya Maa Jn~Anamudan , ChitthirayiR
Chitthirai nALL vanthu thOnRi , aaRiya nal anbhudanE 
KuruhUr Nampikku antharanga adimai seythu , MaaRanai allAl 
anRi yenRum maRanthum maRRu Devu aRiyEn yenum Madhura Kavi--".
Here Swami Desikan states that Madhura Kavi incarnated on
this earth with " thERiya Maa Jn~Anam "( full, crystal clear 
Jn~Anam or ParipUrNa parisuddha Jn~Anam ) and performed
uninterrupted antharanga kaimkaryam to Swami NammAzhwAr 
with mature parama Bhakthi .Swami Desikan explains further
the reason for Madhurakavi's unique glory among AzhwArs :
" maranthum thEvu maRRaRiyEn yenum Madhura Kavi". Madhura Kavi
stated that even by mistake or forgetfulness , he never 
recognized any one as his Sarva Swami except KuruhUr SatakOpan.

When Madhura Kavi incarnated on this earth, Lord KrishNA 
was still with the people of the earth in his Vibhava Vaibhavam.
Even when the Lord was there , Madhura Kavi was determined 
to seek the Lord through a SadAchAryan and hence passed up
the opportunity to have direct sambhandham with the Lord 
Himself and waited for the avathAram of SatakOpan .When
NammAzhwAr incarnated , Madhura Kavi sought the sacred 
feet of NammAzhwAr  as his sole " thAraka PhOshaka Bhogyam "
(for his succour, sustenance and enjoyment ) and showed 
to the people of the world that AchArya Bhakthi is 
far superior to Bhagavath-Bhakthi .The ennobling message 
that Madhura Kavi left for us is that any amount of 
Bhagavath bhakthi will not redeem one, if they do not 
seek the sacred feet of a SadAchAryan .Swamy NammazhwAr 
was deeply rooted in Bhagavath Bhakthi first
and then engaged in the celebration of BhaagavathAs. 
Madhura Kavi on the other hand  pushed aside Bhagavath
Bhakthi and engaged only in AchArya Bhakthi to demonstrate
the greatness of BhAgavatha SEshathvam .Swami Desikan 
concludes that the path taken by Madhura kavi is an
ancient route that has been recognized as sacred by
BhagavAn Himself as Bhagaavtha Priyan .

Paasuram 26: Why KaNNinuNN sirutthAmpu became part of 4000 ?
************************************************************

Vaayttha Thirumanthiratthin matthimamAm patham pOl
  seertha Madhura Kavi sey kalayai--aartha Pukazh
Aariyarkal thAngaL aruLiccheyal naduvE
  sErvitthAr thARpariyam thErnthu 

(meaning ): Our great PoorvAchAryALs joined Madhura Kavi's
Prabhnadham of KaNNinuNN SirutthAmpu in the sacred 
NaalAyira Dhivya Prabhandham inview of the blessed
message that this prabhandham houses.They recognized 
very well that Madhura Kavi's Prabhandham is exactly like 
the middle padham in our beloved AshtAksharam (viz).,
Nama: padham and therefore this prabhandham fits
very well in the middle of the sacred collect of 
the Four Thousand .

(Comments): All the AzhwAr's prabhandhams other than 
that of Madhura Kavi extolled the svarUpa rUpa guNa vibhUthi
chEshtithams of Sriman NaarAyaNan .Madhura Kavi's Paasurams
dealt only with the celebration of NammAzhwAr .There may be 
people who might question the wisdom of combining under 
one roof the prabhandhams that praise the Lord and the Prabhandham 
that bypasses the Lord and focuses only on the AchAryan.
We celebrate the other AzhwAr's Prabhandhams since they
deal with the deep meanings  of the three rahasyams 
( Thirumanthiram ,Dhvayam and Charama slOkam). 
In Thirumanthiram , the middle padham is nama: sabdham ,
which stands for the most important tattvam of
BhAgavatha sEshathvam. Madhura Kavi's prabhandham 
celebrates this BhAgavatha Seshathvam  exclusively
and hence PoorvAchAryALs decided that KaNNinuNN 
SirutthAmpu has its rightful place in the middle
of Dhivya prabhandham .

Swami Desikan in Guru paramparA Saaram devoted
one verse to all the other AzhwArs including 
Swami NammazhwAr and set aside a WHOLE Verse
to celebrate Madhura Kavi's incomparable glory .
Swami Desikan explains that there are ten kinds
of Sambhandham between the Isvaran and the Jeevan .
Madhura Kavi turned these ten kinds of sambhandham 
to his AchAryan and sang his prabhnadham to glorify
the AchAryan over the Lord Himself and to seek his
AchAryan as his sole refuge . Swami describes 
the ancient and sacred route shown by Madhura kavi
this way : " anbarkkE avatharikkum Aayan niRka ,
arumaRaikaL Tamizh seythAn aruLE koNdu thunpu aRRa
Madhura Kavi thOnRak Kaattum thol VazhiyE nall Vazhi--".

AzhwAr  EmperumAnAr Jeeyar ThiruvadigaLE saraNam ,
Daasan , Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri SadagOpan