Search:
Bhakti List Archives

Thirumaalai-69

From the Bhakti List Archives

Varadarajan Sourirajan • October 2, 2002 


Sri Parthasarathi thunai,
Srimathe Ramanujaya Namaha

“ Mattrondrum vEinda Maname Madhilarangar
  Kattrinum meitha kazhalinai keezh- uttra
  Thirumaalai paadum seer Thondaradipodi Emperumaanai
  Eppozhudum peesu”

“ Srimat Krishna samahvaya Namo yaamuna soonave 
  yetkadAkshai kalakshyAnAm sulabha: Sridara: sadaa”

Pranams,

Paasuram-45 (contd)

tuvalath thondAya tholseer thondaradi podi sol:  It is customary for all alwars to complete their prabhandam by adding their signature in the last paasuram.  PeriyAzhvar ends saying “puduvayar kOn vittuchittan”, or “villiputtur pattan”.  Thirumangai alwar and kulasekara alwar adds all their greatness saying, “ AlinAdan,arulmAri, arattamukki, adaiyAr seeyam…..mangai vEndhan” and “kolli kAvalan, koodal nAyagan kOzhikkOn kulasekaran” etc.  But here thondaradi podi alwar politely gives his identity.  He says, this is, the alwar(thondar-adi-podi, the dust under the feet of all bhagavatas) one with a small axe to cut flowers and a flower basket to collect tulasi, and make a beautiful garland and take the same to thiruvarangan.  One bhaktha feels for not having got the bhAkyam of thondaradi podi alwar saying, ”kudalai sumakkAmal vudalai sumandhEnE?” (Instead of carrying the flower basket and doing service to perumal all these time I carried my own body uselessly.)

When thirumangai alwar was constructing the golden madhil in the Srirangam temple, the garden of thondaradi podi alwar was on the way.  Thirumangai alwar gave due respects to the garden and diverted the wall and proceeded construction.  Thirumangai alwar knew the importance of the pushpa kainkaryam of alwar and that perumal will regard it even more important than even the golden madhil.  Similar story happened in the time of bhattar when a king was constructing a wall to the temple, koorathAzhvAn thirumAligai came in the middle but the king didnÂ’t know the bhAgavata magimai and inspite of bhattar requesting him to leave the thirumAligai he didnÂ’t listen and continued with the great apachAram.  But thirumangai mannan was not like that ordinary king but was a alwar himself.  He had due respects to thondaradipodi alwar.  We can see the proof in his thirukurundhandagam were thirumangai alwar has repeated 2 lines from thirumAlai prabhandam of thondaradi podigal.

elaiya pun kavidhai yElum empirArkku eniyavArE:  We have been enjoying the divine meanings in this prabandham as shown by our poorvAcharyas and have drank the essence of the sastras in this prabhandam.  But alwar says, this is just a small poem written by a kid or a beginner.  This prabhandam is not flooded with thatvArtham nor is it very difficult tamil but alwar assures that this poem will be close to namperumalÂ’s heart.  True. Even today namperumal listens with great interest, many times only to this prabhandam.  He may listen to any number of paasurams but when one recites one paasuram from thirumAlai namperumal becomes very very happy and his lips blossom out with a sweet smile.  Namperumal may skip his thirumanjanam but not listening to divya prabandams.  He considers alwar paasurams to be the most purifying thing.  

What is the speciality of thirumAlai, which makes it even greater than the other prabandhams and gives such happiness to namperumal?
ThirumAlai doesn’t dwell deep with vedAnta vishayam though it gives the essence of the same still emperuman cherishes hearing it since throughout the prabhandam thondaradi podi alwar talks only to ranganatha – arangamA nagarulAnE!
Secondly, it has been sung by ‘nam payal’ (emperuman’s kid).  A mother teaches her kid a small story from bhagavatam.  After sometime, the kid repeats the same story.  Though the mother only thought the kid the story still she cherishes listening to the kids way of repeating the story.  Similarly emperuman only bestowed “mayavaru madhi nalam” to alwar but he likes to listen to the mazhalai chol (kid’s talk) of alwar.

Sri PVP ends his vyakhyAnam saying that alwar has sung this excellent prabhandam.  Though alwar has sung due to his naichyAnusandhAnam in many places, many of it truly wholes good only for us.  Here again only when we sing this prabhandam, it really becomes “elaiya pun kavidhai” and we also become close to emperuman’s heart since we have repeated alwar’s words.  We are incapable to sing paasurams of our own but surely we can become close to perumal if we sing the above alwar’s paasurams.

With this the series of thirumAlai postings come to an end.  The last posting will be a conclusion note.

AzhwAr emberumAnAr jeeyar thiruvadigaLE saraNam
Adiyen Ramanuja Dasyai
Sumithra Varadarajan


 



---------------------------------
Do you Yahoo!?
New DSL Internet Access from SBC & Yahoo!

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]



--------------------------------------------------------------
           - SrImate rAmAnujAya namaH -
To Post a message, send it to:   bhakti-list@yahoogroups.com
Group Home: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bhakti-list
Archives: http://ramanuja.org/sv/bhakti/archives/
 

Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/