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A Sanyasi ascends the throne of Ahobilam : Part 7--Nrusimha Paasurams of Kaliyan

From the Bhakti List Archives

V. Sadagopan • July 15, 1997 


Dear Nrusimha PadhukhA SevakAs : 

Thirumnagai AzhwAr's first 100 verses ( Mudal 
patthu )  are extraordinary in scope and content .
They set the stage as it were for the rest of his
AruLichcheyals to flow like a river of nectar .

In the first thirumozhi of this patthu ( VaadinEn ) , 
the incomparable benefits that accrued to him 
from the AshtAkshara UpadEsam from the Lord 
Himself are saluted and the glory of  NaarAyaNa 
naamam is celebrated .

In the second Thirumozhi ( VaalimAvalatthu ) ,
AzhwAr  begged his mind to reach the divya desam 
of Thirupirithi (NandaprayAg ) and worship the archA 
mUrthy there revered as Parama Purushan .

AzhwAr visualized the Lord of this Thiruprithi as KsheerAbdhi
nAthan(at ThiruppARkadal )  , the adhAra sakthi  of all 
avathArams ( AvathAra mUla sthAnam ) . Here, the Lord 
is indeed reclining in the bhujanga sayanam pose as in the 
divya dEsam , ThiruppARkadal , which  can not be visualized
by our mortal eyes . At Thirupirithi , AzhwAr seems to 
suggest that we can enjoy Parama padha nAthan to our 
heart's content in  the ArchA form with out j~nAna chakshus  
at this divya dEsam . 

In the third Thirumozhi ( MuRRa mUtthukkOl ) , he pointed
out that all of us should travel to BadrikAsramam , the place
of residence of the DevathA of AshtAkshara manthram , 
much before old age cripples us and limits our movement .

In the fourth Thirumozhi (YenamunAhi ) , he uses the description
of BadrikAsrama divya dEsam dear to him to instruct us that 
AshtAksharam can bless us with every thing that we desire .
There is nothing that it can not do for us .

In the fifth Thirumozhi ( Kalaiyum Kariyum ) , he reaches 
SaaLagRAAMA kshethram , the place of residence of all
mUrthys , and explained to us that the darsanam of Sri mUrthy 
there would yield us the equivalence of the blessings arising
from the reciting of the thousand names of the Lord . One of 
the Paasurams salutes Sri Nrusimha BhagavAn ( 1.5.7) 
and that paasuram was covered in the previous posting . 

In the sixth Thirumozhi ( VaaNilA muRuval ) , He recognized 
NaimisAraNyam , where the Lord is present in the form of the forest 
where all the noble sages performed the great  sOMa Yajnams . 
He assessed that all of his sins would disappear there , 
because of the sanctity of this Divya Desam .

In the seventh Thirumozhi ( AngaNmA j~aalam anja ) , he moved
southward from the mountainous north to AhObilam and through 
ten exquisite paasurams  coverd  in an earlier posting 
saluted the Lord of AhObilam hills .
 
Here , he was awe struck by the fierce beauty and 
the  inaccessibility of the HiraNya SamhAra KshEthram 
and revealed that Azhagiya Singan , the bhaktha sulabhan 
presides over this divya dEsam . 

In the eighth Thirumozhi ( Kongialarndha malar ) , he begged 
his mind to reach the blessed divya dEsam of ThiruvEnkatam  
and explained to us that ThiruvEnkatamudayAn  is 
the unfailing object of refuge for those , who sought 
His lotus feet as their sole protection . 

In the ninth Thirumozhi ( ThAyE TanthayE yenru) and the tenth
Thirumozhi ( kaNNAr kadal soozh Ilangai ) , Kaliyan continued 
with his salutation to the Lord of saptha giris . Here , he enjoys 
the anishta nivrutthi ( banishnent of inauspiciousness ) as a result 
of the built-in power of the  " Nama: sabdham " of
 " NaarAyaNAya Nama: " portion of  the AshtAkshara 
mahA manthram .   

It is in the tenth Thirumozhi , we find the AzhwAr's 
salutation to Lord Nrusimhan ( 1.10.5 ) following his earlier 
namaskaraNams to this avathAram at the divya desams of 
SaaLagrAmam and AhObilam . We will cover this particular 
ThiruvEnkatam Paasuram celebrating ThiruvEnkatamudAyAn 
as BhagavAn Narasimhan in this posting .

Paasuram 1.10.5 of Periya Thirumozhi
*******************************************

thooNAyathanoodu ariyAi  vanthu thOnRi
pENA avuNan udalam piLanthittAi 
sENAr ThiruvEnkata maamalai mEya 
kONAkaNayAi ! kurikkoL yennai neeyE 

( Padha Arthams ) :  

thooN aayi : by becoming the pillar first 
(as sarvaAnthAryAmi )

athan oodu : and then incarnating in the middle 
of that pillar (stambham ) 

ari aayi : as half-lion and half-man ( Nrusimha roopiyAi )

vanthu- having entered (that pillar ) in a trice and stayed there

thOnRi -- (and then ) jumping out of it as NrusimhAvathAran

pENA  avuNan udalam pilanthittAi  : to tear into two the body
of the asuran, HiraNyan -- who did not recognize your parathvam --
with your nails alone .    

In the second half of this paasuram , Thirumangai AzhwAr
makes a personal appeal to the Lord of Saptha Giri , who has
taken up his residence at ThiruvEnkatam from his erstwhile 
provenance of ThirupaaRkadal , to remember him and to 
bless him as He blessed PrahlAda before as Saantha Narasimhan .

sEN aar : at the tall peaks of ThiruvEnkatam hills visible over 
a considerable distance 

mEya : (You as ) the one has nitya vaasam there 

kOLL --( with Your )  majestic form 

naakam aNayAi :( after leaving your adiseshA bed in 
the milky Ocean ) , Oh , sEsha sAyee ! 

nee yennai kuRikkoLL  : Please remember to bless me
out of Your own sankalpam ( now that You have moved
over to the lofty hills of ThiruvEnkatam from your restful and 
soft bed of Adhi sEshA at the milky ocean ) just as You blessed 
the long-suffering PrahlAdhhA during your avathAram 
as Nrusimhan . 

Here , AzhwAr reflects on the Lord leaving His moolasthAnam
at KsheerAbdhi (milky ocean )and rushing to enter 
the Jaya sthampam in the court of the disrespectful asuran 
( HiraNyan ) to validate the statement of His bhakthan  
(PrahlAdhan ) that " Hari is everywhere ; He is in this pillar 
and also in that  blade of grass " .You tore apart the offending 
asuran with the sheer power of Your sharp nails . 

Now that You have descended from Your comfortable 
bed at the milky ocean and taken up permanent residence 
on top of ThiruvEnkatam hills to perform Your duties as 
the DayA sindhu to tend to the well being of 
the " SaraNAgatha sasya maalinee " ( the rows and 
rows of the crop of saraNAgathAs ) , You must 
remember me and bless me ! 

The Lord hailed later by Swami Desikan in his dayA sathakam
as " Pala vitharaNa dhaksham , pakshapaathAnabhij~nam ,
praguNam anuvidhEyam " ( efficient in giving the boons besought ,
totally impartial , one known for His  renowned kalyANa guNAs and 
easy to approach/bhaktha sulabhan  ) responded immediately to
Thirumangai's soulful plea for special attention . He entered 
the AzhwAr's mind and shone there . He thus responded with 
alacrity to Thirumangai's sincere pleading . 

In the next paasuram ( Periya Thirumozhi 1.10.6 ) , the joyous 
and grateful Thirumangai thankfully acknowledged the pervasive 
presence of  ThiruvEnkatamudayAn in his mind with the statement ,

" min aar muhil sEr ThiruvEnkatam mEya 
yen aanai yennappan yen nenjil uLAnE " 

(meaning) : The Lord of ThiruvEnkatam with the lustre of
the dark blue rainy cloud incorporating the golden hue of
lightning in its midst is my Lord .  He is my nithya bhOgyan, 
the insatiable nectar of every moment . He is now taken up 
His residenence in my nenju ( the cave of my heart ) . 
The usage of the words " Min aar muhil sEr ' to describe 
the aprAkrutha hue of the Lord is highly evocative. 
The Lord  has  the dark bluish hue of the water-laden 
clouds of the rainy season . Sri Devi (AlarmEl mangai )
residing forever on  His chest has the bright 
golden color of a flashing lightning . The combination of their 
hues is that of " Nava megha garbhA SowdhAmini " 
{ new dark blue cloud of the rainy season incorporating
the gold colored ( HiraNya VarNAm ) lightning in its midst } .

Thirmangai celebrated the NrusimhAvathAram at ThiruvEnkatam 
in this exquisite manner and received the instantaneous blessing
of the Lord of the seven hills . 

I will cover the three reamining Nrusimha Paasurams of 
Thirumangai dedicated to the ThirunAngoor Divya desams 
in a subsequent  posting .

Thirumangai AzhwAr ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam 
Sri Lakshmi Nrusimha Charanou SaraNam aham prapadhyE 
Oppiliappn Kovil VaradAchAri Sadagopan