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Sri DehaLIsa SthOthram --Part 3

From the Bhakti List Archives

V. Sadagopan • September 11, 1997 


Dear Members of the Bhakthi group :

I will recommence my posting on the MathiL
Koval Idaikazhi Aayan and the eulogy of Swami 
Desikan on this Lord of special significance to
the Mudal AzhwArs . 

Swami Desikan acknowledges in Srimadh Rahasya 
Traya Saaram ( AchAryakruthyAdhikAram ) the purposeful
deed of the Lord in pressing tightly the three AzhwArs huddled
together in the rEzhi of Mruugandu maharishi's aasramam this
way :

pAttukkuriya pazhayavar moovarai(p)  pandorukkAl 
    mAttukkaruL taru mAyan malinthu varutthuthalAl 
nAttikkiruL seha nAnmaRai anthi nadai viLanga 
     veetukkidaikkazhikkE veLikkAttum ammeyviLakkE 

( Meaning ) : The Lord of wonderous deeds , who blesses 
His wealth (viz) the chEthanAs,  pressed Himself  tightly once 
upon a time at ThirukkOvalUr  the three of His great bhakthAs ,
who were extraordinarily qualified to sing about Him .

When squeezed tightly by Him in a limited space , there
arose the true lamp of light ( the three ThiruvandhAthis ) ,
which served to banish the darkness of  false knowledge 
and helped to illumine the world with the effulgence of 
the essence of the four vEdAs and revealed the two upAyAs ,
Bhakthi and Prapatthi for our salvation . 

In the next verse , Swami Desikan still has the blessings 
of these AchAryAs in mind and acknowledges their munificient
help this  way :

teruLuRRa senthozhiR selvam peruhi iRanthavar paal 
aruLuRRa sinthainAl AZHIYAA VILAKKU YERRINARE 

(MEANING ) : with a mind full of DayA , they ( the AzhwArs as
AchAryAs )  lit the undimming lamp of sampradAyam with
their vivEkam-filled words to enhance the kaimkarya sampath
of the distinguished disciples of theirs .

Swami Desikan salutes the Lord of ThirukkOvalUr , who elected
the three capable Tamil poets as " mAttukkaruL taru mAyan " .
Here , Swami  recognizes the Lord as Aayan or the herder of 
cows (chEthanAs). He wonders why GopAlan decided to focus
on these three AzhwAr instead of the illustrious sage  MrganDu 
in whose house this drama was played out . 

Swami answers by suggesting that  these three AzhwArs 
had not only vEda vEdAnga Vij~na sampath ( eiswaryam ) 
but they also were skilled in distilling the essence of 
the vEdAs (paramArtham )  in chaste and sweet Tamil 
for the easy comprehension of the mumukshus .

The Lord's compression led to their enjoyment of the blessed 
anubhavam of His sowseelyam and sarva Jana RakshaNa 
deekshai and resulted in the advent  of the three thiruvandhAthis 
dealing with the tattva-hitha -purushArthams celebrated 
by the three vEdAs .

 Swami Desikan suggests that the three andhAthis 
are the elaboration of the three rahasyams . Just as 
the lamp lit in the rEzhi illumines the inside and outside of 
the house , the lamp of true knowledge lit by  the three AzhwArs 
revealed through its jyOthi the meanings hidden in the vEdAs ,
viz., artha prapancham and sabdha prabhancham . 

Elsewhere , Swami Desikan points out that 
the sugar cane that incarnated on the banks of 
peNNai river (artha Brahmam ) got squeezed 
intensely by the three AzhwArs and yielded the sweet sugar 
juice of the three prabhandhams  ( sabdha Brahmam )  and 
became the honey to enhance the sweetness of His lotus feet .

Poygai AzhwAr described his kaimkaryam this way :

" Deeming the world as lamp-bowl , the full sea as ghee ,
the fierce-rayed sun as the luminous wick , I have twined 
a garland of speech for the feet of Him , who wields the red
flaming discus so that there may be freedom from the ocean
of misery " .

pUtattAzhwAr took the cue from Poygai AzhwAr and described
his devoted service this way : 

" Devotion as the lamp-bowl , aspiration as the ghee , 
the mind that has melted out of delight 
as the wick , with melting soul , I have lit the bright flame of 
devotion to NaarAyaNan in the revealed Tamil language in verse " .

The God-intoxicated PeyAzhwAr built on the vision of kaimkaryam
of his colleagues and described his knowledge-vision of the divine 
from " deeper perception of God"s eternal di-unity as the divine twosome ,
comprising of Sriman NaarAyaNA and His consort Sri Devi . His 
blessed utterance arising from the saakshAthkAram of the divya 
dampathis at the rEzhi of MrganDu muni came out this way :

" The Mother have I beheld in the ocean-hued ! 
   The form of goden splendour have I seen . 
   The radiant sun-like Form I have perceived .
   The beautiful discus that glows fiery in battle
   And the lovely conch in beauteous hands have I seen " 

In his 94th verse , pEyAzhwAr described his happy state
of the expeience of the Lord within him :

" Thinking , keeping the lamp of knowledge , searching for 
the Lord have I possessed Him now. The wondeful Lord 
of all , having entered into me inseparably ( never to separate
again ) has STOOD  and LAIN HIMSELF down in me ."  

The anubhavam  of the antharyAmi Brahman by the AzhwArs of yore 
inspired Swami Desikan to eulogize the Lord of ThirukkOvalUr
through his own sthOthram , where he named the Lord as dEhaLeesan
or the Lord of dEhaLi .

Mudal AzhwArgaL , Swami dEsikan thiruvadigaLE SaraNam
Oppiliappan Koil Varadachari Sadagopan