mummanikkovai

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mummanikkovai

Introduction

MummaNIKKOvai is indeed the distillation of the essence of the genius of
Swamy Desikan .  It is known as his Tamizh Kannik Kavithai , since this
was the first (maiden) song in Tamil composed by him during his residence
at ThiruvahIdhrapuram.It was composed at the command of Lord DevanAthA
.The Lord of Ahindra nagaram appeared in Swamy Desikan's dream and asked
him to compose sthOthrams on Him and to house in them the saarAmsam of the
Four VedhAs .Swamy followed that niyamanam and records that effort with
the statement: " Munthai maRai moyya Vazhi Mozhi Nee YenRu Mukunthan aruL
tantha payan peRREn naanE " . Swamy Desikan's bliss in executing the
command of the Lord and the emanation of his Sri Sookthis with Vedha
arthams is housed in the above passage quoted .  The Vedha garbham of the
individual sections of the MummaNik Kovai will become abundantly clear in
the commentaries on each of these Paasurams .  

Type of prabhandham :
*********************
There are 96 kinds of Prabhandhams in Tamizh .  Swamy Desikan picked the
MummaNik Kovai among them for his prabhandham to eulogize the dhivya
Dampathis of ThiruvahIndhrapuram . 

What is a MummaNik Kovai ?
***************************
It is one, which must have AasiriyappA , VeNN Paa and KattaLaik
KalitthuRai following each other to form 30 paadalkaL .Further all the
paaurams should be in the form of AndhAthis .

The uniqueness of MummaNik Kovai(MMK)
*************************************

This is a great Tamizh Kaavyam . The three aspects of a MahA KhAvyam are
:(1) VyankhyArtham in the words chosen or the dhvani echoed through those
choices of words (2) The dominant rasam ; a khAvyam must have Saanthi
rasam as the DOMINANT one among the nine rasams.  This is true in the case
of MMK ; there are also SrungAra rasam , adhbhutha rasam , KaaruNyam and
Veeram as secondary rasams in MMK (3) AlankAram or aNi is another
requirement of a MahA KhAvyam . Then there are 7 more lakshaNams for the
MahA KhAvyams . All these like seRivu ,TheLivu are also abundantly present
in MMK.  Therefore it is called a unique KhAvyam and is considered a
necklace made up of three kinds of gems ( mummaNI): PurANa Rathnam,
SthOthra Rathnam and manthra Rathnam . 

The Realtionship of MummaNik Kovai to NammAzhwAr's Sri Sookthis
****************************************************************
Swamy NammAzhwAr's first three prabhnadhams are ThiruvAsiriyam , Periya
ThiruvandhAthi and Thiruviruttham . Swamy Desikan chose to follow Swamy
NammAzhwAr in every way in his life .  Therefore Swamy Desikan followed
the exact Yaappus (metres) of Swamy NammazhwAr's Yaappus in MummaNik Kovai
. Further , Swamy Desikan condensed the meanings of the four Prabhandhams
(this includes ThiruvAimozhi as the fourth prabhandham) in his Senthamizh
work , MummaNIk Kovai. 

The Individual Prabhandhams of Swamy NammAzhwAr and MMK
********************************************************

Sri SatakOpar's mudhal prabhandham is Thiruviruttham in KaTTaLaik
KalitthuRai . In this prabhandham , Swamy NammAzhwAr deals with the ahapp
poruLkaL that led to his deep attachment to the Lord . In the Paasurams
set in KattaLik KalitthuRai metre of MMK , we find the same emphasis on
ahapp poruL and that leading to Swamy Desikan's deep Bhagavath anubhavam .

The second Prabhandham of SatakOpar is ThiruvAsiriyam.  This prabhandham
deals with the ecsataic description of Swamy NammazhwAr about the
aprAkrutha ThirumEni of the Lord like a well strung kathambha Maalai with
multi-hued flowers of exquisite fragrance . Aaasiriyap Paa is the metre
chosen by Swamy NammAzhwAr for this prabhandham .  Swamy Desikan described
his exquisite Bhagavath dhivyAnga- Soundharya anubhavam of Sri DevanAthan
in Aaasiriyappaa paatalkaL of MMK

The third prabhandham of Swamy NammAzhwAr is Periya ThiruvanthAdhi in VeNN
Paa metre.Here SatakOpar explained the mulitfaceted relationship that he
has with the Lord and meditated on that anandhaanubhavam . Swamy Desikan
enjoyed similarly the bhAndhavyam ( uRavu) with the Lord and reflected on
that unique relationship.

The fourth Prabhandham of SatakOpar is ThiruvAimozhi , the illustrious Sri
Sookthi , which is the statement of the anubhavam of the SaakshAthkAram of
the Lord .  This enjoyment from direct experience of Lord DevanAthan is
captured in the tenth paattu of MMK. 

Thus Swamy NammazhwAr's experience of Bhagavath anubhavam is echoed by
Swamy Desikan in letter and spirit .This is the greatness of this maiden
Prabhandham of Swamy  Desikan revered as MuMMaNik Kovai.

Swamy Desikan ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam 
Daasan, Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri SadagOpan  

Slokas

Commentary

Today , we  will  commence the study of the TEN Paasurams of MummaNikkOvai
. Originally , there were a total of 30 Paasurams but only 10 are
available to us today. According to Tamil Prabhandha lakshaNam , there
should be 30 Paasurams in all in a MummaNikkOvai.  Ten of each of the
thirty should be set in the Tamil poetic metres of ahaval , VeNN Paa and
KattaLik--kalitthuRai.  Unfortunately for us , twenty Paasurams out of the
30 have been lost over time(luptham)  . The available 10 pasurams are set
in the anthAdhi style .

There are two brilliant commentaries on this Prabhandham of Swamy
Desikan. One is by the Vaikunta Vaasi Chetlur Swamy   of
Thiruvaheendhrapuram and the other is by Vaikunta Vaasi SrI SrIrama
DesikAcchAr Swamy of Oppiliappan Sannidhi.  adiyEn  will follow mainly the
commentary of my Oppiliappan Koil AchAryan .

In this Prabhandham , Swamy Desikan starts hailing the glories of
HemAbhjavalli ThAyAr first and follows it with the celebration of the six
meanings of the SrI Sabdham . After that  , Swamy  Desikan shifts to the
salutation of the anantha-kalyANa guNams of Lord DevanAthan and points out
that He is pervasively present in all His creations and He is the friend
of all jeevans.  Our AchAryan states that those who seek the refuge of His
sacred feet will achieve Saamyam ( similarity ) with Him .

Driven by his great love for the Lord of Thiruvaheendhrapuram , Swamy
Desikan emulates the two AzhwArs ( NammAzhwAr and Thirumangai) and takes
on the role of a damsel in deep love (Venkata Naayaki) with the Lord and
speaks to her Lord directly as well as through her girl friend and sevili
thAyAr .The ten Paasurams captuirng this multimode dialog charms our minds
.

First Paasuram of MummaNikkOvai :
**************************************
Swamy  Desikan desires to perform SaraNAgathy at the lotus feet of Lord
DevanAthan and as a first step performs PurushakAra Prapathti to SrI
HemAbhjavalli in the first paasuram .

Oh Lord DhaivanAyaka ! You have earned the name as "Natha Sathyan/
adiyavarkku Meyyan " because You are resolute and infallible in the matter
of blessing Your bhakthAs.  You have blessed us with the divine sight (
Jn~AnakkaNN) to enjoy Your matchless beauty and gain true Jn~Anam .  The
various ThiruvAbharaNams ( Jewelery ) adorning Your body have gained their
brilliant lustre by association with Your broad , blue chest  ! In that
expansive chest resides HemAbhjavalli ThAyAr also , who never ever leaves
that choice place of residence of Hers  . When You incarnate in Your many
forms , Your divine consort takes a corrsponding incarnation/from  and
follows You .She stays as a resplendent rathna dheepam and removes our
dark cloud of ajn~Anam .  She listens to the soulful cries of the
suffering samsAris , recommends them to You for forgiving their trespasses
and thus destroys their karmAs. She makes those , who sought refuge with
Her fall at Your feet and shines as the parama dayA Moorthy ( as the
embodiment of Your DayA ) . Thus SrI HemAbhjavalli , who never leaves Your
side even for a fraction of a second  and enhances Your vaibhavam ,
becomes joyous over our Prapatthi and blesses us in every way .

The multiple meanings of SrI Sabdham is brought out brilliantly by Swamy
Desikan in the following section of this Paasuram:

" vENDurai kEttu , MeeNDavai kEtpitthu ,
theeNDiya vinaikaL mANDida muyanRu ,
Tannadi sErntha Tamar Unai aNUha  , 
Ninnudan sErnthu niRkkum Ninn ThiruvE " .

She is "Thiru"  and He is " Thiruvukkum ThiruvAiya Selvan " or "
MangaLAnAm MangaLam" .

Paasuram 2 : 
*************
In this Paasuram ,  Swamy  Desikan points out that his Prabhandham is
Parama bhOgyam ( supremely enjoyable) to Lord DhaivanAyakan .  Swamy
Desikan says that the Lord of Thiruvaheendhrapuram adorns his Prabhandham
of MummaNikkOvai on His chest  as a  cherished aabharaNam like the
KOusthubha gem necklace .  The Lord elevates the Prabhandham of Swamy
Desikan to the most exalted status by wearing it on His chest , where His
dear , divine consort has a preferred place of residence . Swamy  Desikan
suggests that this Prabhandham dear to the Lord should also be most
enjoyable to His BhAgavathAs .

Paasuram 3 ( Utterance through the ThOzhi/ girl friend) :
**********************************************************
This paasuram is set in the style of Tamil poems called "irangal" , where
the girl friend gets distressed over the suffering state of her Naayaki
due to seperation from the Lord and the girl friend appeals to the Lord on
behalf of the Naayaki to banish the vislEsha janitha sOkam ( sorrow
generated from seperation ) through the boon of SamslEsham ( Union ).

Swamy  Desikan's intense love for the Lord of Thiruvayindhai made him feel
like a lady in deep love with the Lord . Swamy Desikan attained thus the
status of a Naayaki ( Venkata Naayaki ) just as Swamy  NammAzhwAr became
ParAnkusa Naayaki and Thirumangai became ParakAla Naayak under such
circumstances i.  Venkata Naayaki developed intense passion to enjoy the
Lord and for the Lord to enjoy her feminine beauty and charm . Such a
physical union with the Lord was impossible . Venata Naayaki began then to
suffer immensely from the arrows of Manmathan  and  her passion for the
Lord grew further . Unable to bear the sorrowful state of the Naayaki ,
Thozhi speaks in this Paasuram to the Lord about her friends' unbearable
suffering this way :

MozhivAr Mozhivana  mummuRai aahum Ayinthayil vanthu
izhivAr izhiha yenRu innamutha kadalAhi ninRa 
vizhi-vAr-aruL Meyyar melladi vENDiya melliyal mEl
pozhivAr Anangar tamm poom karumpu unthiya poo mazhayE

--- --- Paasuram 3 

(meaning): Thiruvaheendhrapuram has such divinity that all the words
spoken by sakala jeevarAsis including  girls , parrots and nightingale
attain the status of the essence of the Vedams .  Here , Lord
DhaivanAyakan incarnated for the benefit of all to come and have His sevai
(darsanam) . The Lord at this dhivya dEsam invites every one to come and
enjoy Him as insatiable nectar and through His sacred glances showers them
with His auspicious grace . The Naayaki is longing to embrace the Lord
tightly out of Her intense love for Him.  Meanwhile , Manmathan shoots his
flower arrows  on the Naayaki and makes the Naayaki suffer even more .
The girl friend of the Naayaki sees the suffering of her Naayaki and feels
empathetic and describes to the world and the Lord about this sad lot of
her Venkata Naayaki.    
  
Let us have additional reflections on the first three Paasurams that we
covered in the last posting .  Insights of Vaikunta Vaasi Chetlur
NarasimhAchAry Swamy are included here.

Paasuram 1: (AruL tarum adiyAr...)
***********************************
This paasuram starts with the AmruthAsharam of ( A) as in the case of the
Prabhandham of AmalanAdhipirAn of ThiruppANa AazhwAr. AkAram , the first
letter of the alphabet , "A" is the most auspicious because of its
connection to VishNu ( AkArO VishNu Vaachaka: , "A"  ithi BhagavathO
NaarAyaNasya praTamAbhidhAnam abhidhadhathA  kim nAma mangaLam na krutham
? ).  All mangaLams arise from the links to AkAram . This amruthAkshara
prayOgam through the choice of the word , "AruL" at the beginning of
MummaNikkOvai Prabhandham (aruL tarum adiyavar paal meyyai vaitthu theruL
tara ninRa DhaivanAyaka! ) makes this SrI Sookthi very auspicious. 

The Lord is at Thiruvaheendhrapurm to bless His dear devotees with dhivya
Jn~Anam and He becomes " Adiyavarkku Meyyan/Natha Sathyan "  this way .
As Sathya PraTij~nan , He blesses the devotees with knowledge about His
svaroopa , Roopa , GuNa vaibhavams .  He is "Meyyan/Sathyan for all those
who worship Him longingly and is " Poyyan/Asathyan " for those who have no
sincerity in seeking His refuge .

Swamy  Desikan wishes to perform SaraNAgathi at the sacred feet of the
Lord and as a first step in this anushtAnam performs PurushakAra Prapatthi
at the divine feet of HemAbjavalli ThAyAr in the first paasuram . 

Second Paasuram (  ThirumAl adiyavarkku meyyanAr ---):
************************************************************
The thought that the Lord is "Sathyan " to those , who performed
PurushakAra Prapatthi to His Devi is introduced here. All the six
activities of HemAbhjavalli in the line of Her PurushakAram are reminded
here ( SruNOthi/she listens , SrAvayathi/ Makes Her Lord listen to the
cries of SamsAri , SruNAthi/She prepars the samsAri and purifies him for
acceptance by the Lord , SreeyathE/She approaches Her Lord with Her
recommendation , SreeNAthi/She gladdens the heart of Her Lord through Her
VaseekaraNa sakthi nad display of Her dhivya Soundharyam in that context
and srayathE/she joins with Her Lord to accept the Prapatthi after
completing Her PurushakAra activities) . Such a powerful and influential
Mother with Vaalabhyam ( power to hold the Lord under Her sway ) stays at
he chest region of Her Lord along with Srivathsam and Kousthubha gem.
Swamy  Desikan prays for a place in that sacred chest region of the Lord
for his SrI Sookthi of MummaNikkOvai through the appeal housed in this
Paasuram .

Third Paasuram ( MozhivAr Mozhivana -- -- ):
*********************************************
This verse has been identified with the Bhakthi anubhavam of Swamy
Desikan , when through His mind assumed the role of a Naayaki (Vankata
Naayaki) to experience the dhivya soundharyam of Her Lord DhaivanAyakan .
The sixth paasuram of MummaNikkOvai (Aarkkum KaruNai-- -- ) has been
identified with Para Bhakthi and the 9th Paasuram ( VeRppudan onRi-- --)
with Parama Bhakthi of an aasrithan . This is in line with the PramANam ,
" Bhakthi: srungAra VruthyA pariNamathi " ( Bhakthi grows and envelops one
through the experience of love ). 

Another point of view relates the first three pAsurams of MummaNikkOvai
this way : The first Paasuram is about PurushakAram ; the second paasuram
is about Para Jn~Anam and the thirs paasuram deals with the blossoming of
Parama Bhakthi. 

Next , we will study the fourth Paasuram , where Swamy  Desikan enjoys the
Svaroopa , Roopa , GuNa adhisayams of the Lord of Thiru Ayindhai in great
detail (SavisthAram).     

Today , we will study the Fourth Paasuram , where Swamy  Desikan enjoys
the dhivyAthma and dhivya MangaLa Svaropams of Lord DhaivanAyakan seated
with His dear consort , MahA Lakshmi at Thiruvaheendhrapuram .

The Fourth is a long paasuram having 36 lines set in the Tamil metre of
NilaimaNDila AasiriyappA .  We will study them one section at a time
chosen by self-contained messages .

Section 1( First 4 Lines ) :
*************************** 
" Mazhayil yezhuntha mokkuL pOl
   vyaam azhiya onRu azhiyA Adiyavar Meyya ! 

   aru maRayin poruL aaynthu yedukkum kaal
   Thiruvudan amarntha DhaivanAyaka nee ! " 

Oh Lord of all gods ! Oh DhaivanAyakA ! When one evaluates the essence of
the message of the  precious Vedas , the greatness of Your Vaibhavam as
Sriman NaarAyaNan ( One who is never seperated from His divine consort )
becomes crystal clear . The quintessence of the Vedic message is that You
are the eternal One even at the time of MahA PraLayam , when all worlds
disappear like the transient bubbles formed from the downpour of heavy
rain into a  puddle .Even if the impermanent prapancham(world) is
desstroyed during the time of PraLayam , You alone shine permanetly with
no dimunition to Your Svaroopam , Roopam and GuNam. When one analyses all
Veda , VedAntham , it becomes clear that You stand as the Supreme
principle ( Para Tatthvam) as Sriya: Pathi ( The Lord of MahA Lakshmi).

Context for these lines
**************************
ChetlUr Swamy has pointed out that the above four lines stand in for the
first two adhyAyams of Brahma Soothram ( essence of Poorva dhvikam ). The
two lines at the very end of the Paasuram ( KoNDida Yemmai adaikkalam
ulahil kaNDilam gathi Unai anRi maRRonRum ) summarize the third and the
fourth chapters of Brahma Soothram(Uttara dhvikam) .

The very last two lines of this Paasuram ( palvahai ninRa ninn paDi
anaitthinum  tholvahai kAttum  tuNinthu thU maRayE ) according to ChEtlUr
Swamy , this is the essence of SaarIraka Saasthram , where the chEthanams
and achEthanams are reconized as the prAkArams of the  Lord as ascertained
by the Vedam . Thus the complete meaning of SaarIraka Saasthrams is
enshrined in this fourth paasuram  through the genius of Swamy Desikan
with a few choice words .

Section2 ( Lines 5-10):
***********************
Ninn Thirutthanakkum Nee ThiruvAhi 
indhu tann nilavudan ilangu tanmainai

nanthuthal illA nall viLakkAhi 
anthamil amudha aazhiyAi niRRi

PaaRkkadal tannil pann maNi anna 
seer gaNam sErntha seelam yellai ilai 

Oh Dhaiva Naayaka! You shine with Your divine consort inseperably like the
Moon with its rays and enhances the Vaibhavam of PirAtti , who magnifies
Your glories as Her Lord . Oh Lord of Thiru Ayindhai ! You exist as the
insatiable ocean of nectar for those , who sought Your refuge . You shine
as inextinguishable rathna dheepam and bless the devotees with the wealth
of true Jn~Anam .  Just as the milky ocean houses many kinds of gems , You
house the assembly of Your limitless auspicious guNams integrated into the
limitless MahA guNam of Souseelyam ( mingling with even the lowly ones). 

Commenting on the passage (lines 7-8)  , "nanthualillA nall viLakkAhi ,
anthamil amudha aazhiyAi niRRi " , Chetlur Swamy identifies "
nanthutalilla" with Sathyathvam, "nall " with amalathvam , " ViLakkAhi"
with Jn~Anathvam , " anthamil " with ananthathvam , " amudha aazhiyAi "
with Aanandhathvam . Thus , the five Svaroopa nirUpaka dharmams associated
with the Lord's inherent nature  are hinted in  the lines 7-8. Next ,
Swamy  Desikan goes on to describe nirUpitha svarUpa visEshaNams of the
Lord of Ayindhai.
 
 Today , we will continue with the Fourth Paasuram , where Swamy  Desikan
enjoys the dhivyAthma and dhivya MangaLa Svaropams of Lord DhaivanAyakan
seated with His dear consort , MahA Lakshmi at Thiruvaheendhrapuram .

Section 3 (  11-20 Lines ) :
*************************** 
adiyavar pizhaikaL Ninn karutthu adayAthu
adaya aaNDaruLum arasan(um) NeeyE ( 11-12)

uyarntha Nee Unnai yemmudan kalanthanai
Ayindhai Maa-naharil amarnthai yemakkAi ( 13-14)

chitthira maNi yena thihazhum mann uruvil
atthiram aNi yena anaitthum Nee aNithi(15-16)

ViNNUL amarntha viyan uruvathanAl 
yeNNiya EeruraNDu urukkaLum adaithi(17-18)

Panniru nAmam pala pala uruvAi 
inn uru yengum yeythi Nee niRRi (19-20) 

(Meaning) : Oh Dhaiva Naayaka ! Thou art the Emperor of all chEthanams and
achEthanams in all of Your universes , who rules over them and protects
them . The apachArams of Your BhagavathAs will not find the place in Your
ThiruvuLLam ( Lines 11-12) .   

Oh Lord of Thiruvaheendhrapuram ! Although You are the Supreme being and
SarvOthkrushtan ( loftiest among all ) , You have blended with us to bless
us and for us to have the nectarine experience of enjoying Your limitless
auspicious attributes . For that purpose , You have taken permanent
residence at Thiruvaheendhrapuram ( Lines 13-14) .

Oh Lord ! In Your mysterious body , which resembles a rare bluish-hued
sapphire (neela rathnam ) , You are adorning resplendent weapons and
Jewelery  representing  all of Your Tatthvams( Lines 15-16) . 

Oh Supreme One ! You have taken the four vyUha roopams meditated on by
Your bhakthAs from Your aadhAra roopam of Para VaasudEvan seated at Your
supreme abode of SrI Vaikuntam ( Lines 17-18) . 

Oh Prabhu ! You take your place as the 12 Urdhva PuNDra Moorthys ( Kesavan
to DhAmOdharan) on the many sections of the upper torso of BhagavathAs
dear to You and protect them . You have also taken many avathArams to
protect them and bless them ( Lines 19-20).

Addiitonal observations from SrI ChEtlUr Swamy on select words
********************************************************************
1) "Ayindhai mAnaharil amarnthanai yemakkAy " :

For us , You sat & waited at Thiruvaheendhrapuram says Swamy  Desikan .

Sugrivan , VibhishaNan met the Lord accidentally (Yaathrucchikam ). For
Swamy  Desikan however , the Lord of Thiru Ayindhai was waiting for His
dear Bhakthan to bless him with special Jn~Anam. That is the unique
BhAgyAdhisayam of Swamy  Desikan   .  Like the Lord of Tholaivilimangalam
dhivya dEsam waiting  for  Swamy NammAzhwAr, here Lord DhaivanAyakan
waited patiently for Swamy  Desikan's arrival at His dhivya dEsam .

2) " Chitthira MaNi yenat-thihazhum " : Bhagavan"s Para VaasudEva Roopam
is referred to here . Swamy  Desikan  sees Lord DhaivanAyakan's archai
even in the Para VaasudEva Roopam of the Lord .

3) "atthira MaNi yena anaitthum Nee aNithi "  : All His weapons and
Jewelery are assembled on His sacred body representing all the Tatthvams
from Mahath ( Re: Purudan MaNivaramAha Paasuram : 41st Paasuram of
AdhikAra Sangraham ) .

4) "ViNNInuL amarntha " : This refers to the Lord described in Paryanga
Vidhyai of Upanishad , where SrI VaikuntanAtan is sitting in the middle of
a  thousand pillared MaNDapam on the lap of AdhisEshan in Parama Padham .

Today , we will complete the coverage of the Fourth Paasuram , where Swamy
Desikan enjoys the dhivyAthma and dhivya MangaLa Svaropams of Lord
DhaivanAyakan seated with His dear consort , MahA Lakshmi as HemAbhjavalli
at Thiruvaheendhrapuram .

 Section 4 (  21-36 Lines ) :
*************************** 
MeenOdu aamai kEzhal kOLariyAi 
VaanAr kuraLAi mazhup-padai muniyAi
pinnumirAmar iruvAip- pAril
tunniya param theer Thuvarai mannanumAik-
kali tavirttharuLum KaRkkiyAi maRRU
malivatharkkeNNUm vall vinai mARRa 
naanA uruvum koNDu naladiyOr
vaann aar inbham ingu uRa varuthi 

-- --  Lines 21-28 of the Fourth Paasuram 

Here the glories of DasAvathAram of the Lord is celebrated .The Lord , who
has taken Mathsya , Koorma , VarAha , Narasimha , Vaamana , ParasurAma ,
Raama , KrishNa avathArams so far and is going to take Kalki avathAram
later to reduce the burden of the world is saluted here in the first five
lines of the Paasuram .

The Lord is recognized as the banisher of the effects of our fierce karmAs
through the taking of such avathArams .  One of the aims of such
avathArams is pointed out as His desire for us to enjoy the ParipoorNa
aanandham of SrI Vaikuntam by the righteous ones right on here at His
LeelA VIbhUthi : " NaanA uruvam koNDu , nalladiyOr vaanAr inbham inguRa
varithi " .

ohr uyir ulahukku yennu(m) Nee Thiruvodu
yEr uyir yellAm yEnthi inbhuRuthi ( Lines 29-30) 

(Meaning ): Oh Lord Dhaiva NaayakA! You exist as the One aathmA for the
entire chEthanams and achEthanams of the entire universe and are joyous
over bearing all these jeevans with Your PirAtti .

yaavarum aRiyAthu yengu Nee surandhu
mEvu uruc-choozhnthu viyappinAl mihuthi( Lines 31-32)

(Meaning ): In a manner that is not easy to comprehend , You enter and
pervade all the jeevans and stay there hidden in a mysterious way .  The
PramANam is : " Ya aathmani thishtan Yamm aathmaa na vEdha".  In AzhwAr's
words , " Udalmisai Uyirenak-karanthu yengum paranthuLan ". He is
pervasively present every where and in every thing .   

koNDida yemmai adaikkalam ulahil
kaNDilam gathi unai anRi maRRonRum(Line 33-34)

(meaning ): We have not come across any one or any thing that will accept
us as the entiites to be protected ( rakshaNa vasthu) .There are no other
recourse for us except You (Gathi--gamyathE ithi gathi: , gamyathE anEna
ithi gathi: according to ChEtlUr Swamy ) .

palvahai ninRa Ninn paDi anaitthinum 
toll vahai kAttum thuNinthu thUmaRayE ( Line 35-36)

(Meaning): Oh Lord Dhaiva NaayakA ! The pristinely pure VedAs attempt to
explain some what boldly  Your ancient Svaroopam , Roopam , VibhUthia and
GuNam ( Padi), which stands gloriously in so many limitless ways .  Only
the ancient Vedam can make such an attempt , which is beyond the
capability of others .

The Five Svaroopa NirUpaka dharmams   (Sathyathvam , Amalathvam ,
Jn~Anathvam , Anantathvam and Aanandhathvam ) of the Lord of Thiru
Ayindhai are saluted in this paasuram along with the doctrine (Tatthvams )
that adorn the Lord's body as Asthrams and AabharaNams ( Vide: 80th
Paasuram of Desika Prabhandham ).   

We have indicated earlier as to how the meanings of the mighty Dhvaya
Manthram are echoed in the passages of this paasuram ( Ninn Thiruttanakku
= SrImath sabdham , Seer gaNam sErntha = NaarAyaNa sabdham , Manuruvil =
linked to CharaNaa sabdham thru connection to body of the Lord  ) .  
 
Let us study today the 5th and the 6th Paasurams of MummaNikkOvai .

Fifth Paasuram:
****************
This paasuram is specifically addressed to Ayindhai Nagar NaarAyaNan .

ThU maRayin uLLam tuLangAt- tuNivu tarum
aamm aRivAl aarndhu adimai aahinROm -- Poo maRayOn
pArAyaNatthil paNiyum Ayindhai nagar
NaarAyaNanArkkE  nAmm 

(Meaning ): We have acquired clear and firm Jn~Anam through our intense
study of the Vedaas not created by any humans ( apourushEya Vedams ). We
have been blessed as a result of such studies to become the eternal
servants of Lord Dhaiva Naayakan of Thriu Ayindhai  , who is worshipped
and saluted by by Brahma DEvan himself devoted to VedAdhyayanam at all
times .

Two more aspects of elaboration on the meanings of Dhvya Manthram passages
are seen in this Paasuram according to SrI SrIraama DesikAcchAr Swamy :

(1) "SrimathE NaarAyaNAya " found in the second padham of Dhvayam is
echoed in the Paasuram passage : " NaarAyaNArkkE nAmm adimai aahinrOm ".
" NaarAyaNArkkE"  refers to BhagavAn , who is the meaning of NaarAyaNa
sabdham . " NaarAyaNArkke nAmm " also is an echo of Andal"s ThiruppAvai
Paasuram Passage : " UnakkE nAmm aatccheyvOm ". 

(2) Nama: sabdham in the second paadham :" TuLangA thuNivu " stands for
unassailable VisvAsam in NaarAyaNan .

The whole Paasuram is therefore about becoming the eternal servants of the
Lord of Thiru Ayindhai after gaining clear and true Jn~Anam about SrIman
NaarAyaNa Tatthvam through travels in the Vedic path .

Sixth Paasuram :
*******************
aarkkum karuNai pozhivAn Ayindhayil vanthu amarntha
kaark- koNDalaik- kaNDa Kaathal puna-mayil kaNN paniyA
vErkkum muhizhkkum vithir-vithirkkum veLhi yevvuyirkkum 
pArkkinRavarkku ithu nAmm yenn kol yenRu payiluvamE

(Meaning ) : How can I describe the sad and agitated state of my Mistress
, who in this state of seperation from her Lord is heaving huge sighs ,
has tears in her eyes , has sweat in her limbs and , trembles with fear
and shyness ?   How can I describe the cause behind these strange effects
on my mistress , who was beautiful like a peacock roaming without care on
the gardens in the slopes of the hillocks ?  It all happened after she
experienced seperation (vislEsham ) from Her Lord , who is like the dark
rainy cloud ( KaaLamEgham ) , who has taken His residence at
Thiruvaheendhrapuram to mingle with the low and the high and drenches them
all with the downpour of the rain of Mercy (KaruNai ) .

Additional comments 
************************
The friend of the lady , who was blessed with the dhivyAnubhavam of the
Lord's Svaropam , Roopam and GuNams describes the changes in her mistress
as the Lord withdrew this divine anubhavam.

The experience of Swamy Desikan in Bhagavath anubhavam at Thiru Ayindhai
and his sorrow , when he does not experience it , is the subject of this
Paasuram .

" Aarkkum karuNai pozhivAn Ayindhayil VANTHU amarnthAn " : The Lord known
for His soulabhyam and DayA for all left secretly SrI Vaikuntham and chose
Thiruvaheendhrapuram deliberately as His new seat of residence . Why did
he do that ? Swamy Desikan has hinted earlier " Ayindhayil amarnthenAi
yemakkAi " ( You hurried up and waited for our arrival at Thiru Ayindhai )
.

This mEgam ( cloud ) from varshA kAlam ( rainy  season ) pouring  down the
rain of DayA  fills all uplands and downlands ( pours on lofty ones and
lowly ones without let ).

Lord of Thiru Ayindhai is compared to the Kaar koNDal ( dark, rain bearing
cloud of the VarshA kaalam ) and the lady in love with the Lord is
compared to the happy peahen ( Puna Mayil). Her anurAgam from the Lord
causing saslEsham and her despair on vislEsham (seperation ) from Him are
described in this Paasuram  movingly . 

 Let us study today the 7th Paasurams  of MummaNikkOvai housing many
Upanishadic tathtvArTams .

Foreword on the Paasuram
*****************************
As referred to in the previous Paasurams , Lord of Thiru Ayindhai revealed
His Svaroopam , Roopam and GuNam to Swamy  Desikan / Venkata Naayaki and
then disappeared .  Venakta Naayaki was sorrow stricken about the
seperation and wondered whether the Lord withdrew Himself because of His
lack of Dayaa for her or because of her unfitness to enjoy the Lord . Lord
now appears before her (Swamy  Desikan ) and states that none of the above
reasons contemplated by her was correct . The Lord revealed that He has to
follow strcitly the rules of ArchAvathAram , where He does not have the
freedom to embrace Venakata Nayaki in a physical form (archAvathAra
MaryAdhai ) . Lord DevanAthan appealed to Venkata Naayaki not to grieve
over this and revealed some more of His auspicious guNams to console her .
Venakta Naayaki was thrilled now from that Bhagavath  anubhavam and
eulogized further her Lord"s Vaibhavam  through this 7th Paasuram of
MummaNikkOvai.   

Seventh Paasuram:
*******************
This paasuram praises further the auspicious attributes of  Ayindhai Nagar
NaarAyaNan .

This Paasuram is in Nilai maNDila AasiriyappA like the fourth Paasuram and
has 20 lines :

Payinmathi NeeyE payinmathi taruthalin
veLiyu NeeyE veLiyuRa niRRalin
thAyu(m) NeeyE chaayai tanthu uhatthalin
tanthayu(m) NeeyE munthi ninRu aLitthalin 

-- -- -- ( Lines 1-4)  

(meaning): Oh Lord who is true to Your devotees ! By blessing us with the
special Jn~Anam to enjoy Your roopam and Svaroopam , You are like the cool
Moon that comforts  the whole world with its soothing  rays
(nilavu/kiraNams ). You are the embodiment of tEjas ( tEjOmayan ) since
all the radiant bodies are shining from a small portion of Your vast
brilliance. You protect every janthu by placing them in the comforting
shade of Your sacred feet and therefore take on the role of their Mother ,
who gave birth to them . During PraLaya Kaalam , You stand alone and give
name and form to the Jeevans , which had no indhriyam or SarIram at that
time ; next , You create and protect them at that time and thus serve as
the Father of all those Jeevans .

uRavu(m) NeeyE thuRavAthu ozhithalin 
uRRathu(m)  NeeyE siRRinbham inmayin
aaRu(m) NeeyE aaRRukku aruLtalin
aRamu(m) NeeyE maRa nilai mAytthalin
-- -- -- ( Lines 5-8 )

(Meaning) : You are our relation in every way (Sarva Vidha Bandhu) since
You never fail to come to our rescue . You are the fitting and appropriate
phalan for our upAyams ( Bhakthi and Prapatthi yOgams practised for Moksha
siddhi ) since you are the opposite of the transient pleasures (alpa
sukhams) of this world . You are also the means since you bless us with
the phalan for practising that upAyam .  You are the dharma svaroopi , who
destroys all of our Paapams . 

thuNaivanum NeeyE iNai ilayAthalin 
thuyyanum NeeyE SeyyAL uRaithlin
kAraNam NeeyE NaaraNanAthalin
KaRpaham NeeyE Nall padham tarutalin
IRaivanum NeeyE kuRai onRu ilAmayin
inbhamum NeeyE thunbham tudaitthalin

-- -- -- ( Lines 9-14) 

(Meaning ): You are our fitting companion , since there is no one to match
You. You are the purest One ( Parisuddhan) , since Periya PirAtti resides
on Your chest without seperation .  You are the kAraNam( cause/reason )
for this universe , since You are recognized by the NaarAyaNa sabdham  .
You are the wish granting Kalpaka tree , since You bless us with residence
in Your Supreme Abode to perform nithya kaimkaryam to You there forever .
You are  the SarvEswaran since You alone do not have any  blemishes
(kuRaivu onRumilA Govindhan) ; (i-e)., There is no deficecy in Your Roopam
, GuNam or VibhUthi .  You are paramaanandha svaroopan since You drive
away all sorrows of those who seek Your refuge and let them enjoy You as
Parama bhOgyam .

yAnum NeeyE yennuL uRaithalin
yenathum NeeyE unathanRi inmayin
nallAy NeeyE pollAngu ilAmayin
vallAy NeeyE vaiyyam uNDu umizhthalin
yej~nnam aahum Meyya ninn iyalbhE
aj~nnE okka aRivathu AaraNamE 

-- -- -- ( Lines 15--20) 

(Meaning ) : You are not seperated from us  , since You are our  indweller
. You are my vasthu/Master as the commanding and owning Lord , since no
chEthanam or achEthanam can have independent existence and have a Master
(sEshi) other than You .  Since every vasthu in this universe is Your
property , You are the true Lord of all what we consider as ours .  You
are the supremely lofty One , since you have no dhOshams whatsoever.  The
dhOshams of the vasthus of the universe do not get attached to You . You
are the omnipotent One , since You swallowed the entire world during the
praLaya kaalam and then released it . Oh Lord , who is true to Your
bhaktha janams !  Only the Vedams can attempt somewhat to eulogize Your
wonderous vaibhavam and we are incapable of engaging in such an attempt .  

Let us study today the 8th , 9th and the 10th Paasurams  of MummaNikkOvai
. With this posting , the series on MummaNikkOvai will reach the Poorthy
stage .  

Foreword for the Paasurams
*****************************
In the 8th Paasuram , Swamy  Desikan celebratates the Parathvam (Supermacy
) and Soulabhyam (Ease of access) of Lord Dhaiva Naayakan . In the 9th
Pasuram , the foster mother of Venakata Naayaki is on a mode of
conversation with the birth mother about her daughter's unquenchable love
for the Lord of Thiruvaheendhrapuram .  In the concluding 10th Paasuram ,
Venkata Naayaki sings further about the glories of the Lord of
Thiruvaheendhrapuram .  Beyond this 10th paasuram , the remaining 20
paasurams of MummaNikkOvai are no longer available to us due to our
misfortunes .  

The Eighth Paasuram 
***********************
AaraNangaL tEda Ayindhai nahar vanthu uthittha
KaaraNarAy ninRa Kadal VaNNar -- NaaraNanAr
ippadikku mikka anRu yeduttha paadham kazhuva
mey padikkam aanathu ponn veRppu 

(Meaning ) : Adiyavarkku Meyyan ( Natha Sathya PerumAL) measured the
entire universe with one of His feet and let the other foot travel upto
Brahma lOkam . There Brahma Devan performed Thirumanjanam for the Lord's
sacred feet and the waters that flowed from that abhishEkam was held by
MahA Meru Parvatham serving as a storage vessel. Unsurpassable is the
glory of this Lord ! While the VedAs search to find words to describe the
Vaibhavam of this Lord , who is the cause of this universe , He arrives at
this Karma BhUmi for protecting His devotees and stands at
Thiruvaheendhrapuram to be enjoyed by His parama bhAgavathAs .

The Ninth paasuram
**********************
veRppudan onRi Ayindhayil vevvinai theer marunthu onRu
aRputhamAha amarnthamai kEttaruL vENDi niRkka
paRpil amarntha SeyyAL padi kAttiya paNpudai yemm 
vill puruvak-- kodikku ohr vilangA mayal peRRanamE

(Meaning ) : In the worldly parlance , the oushadhams growing in the
mountains are capable of curing the diseases of the Human beings. The
medicine known as Natha Sathyan standing near OushadhAdhri however  is
powerful to cure the debilitating disease of SamsAram .  My dear daughter
knowing the power of this medicine known as Dhaiva Naayakan wishes to
partake this rare medicine  . My beautiful daughter like the lady having
Her home in the Lotus flower (MahA Lakshmi ) can not bear to be seperated
from her Lord .  Her bow--shaped brows  and golden-hued body can  send
anyone who sees her into raptures . My daughter known for this exquisite
beauty is suffering now from her inability to have the desired union with
her Lord .

The Tenth Pasuram:
**********************
The Natha Sathya PerumAL fears now that His further delay in appearing
before the longing Venkata Naayaki will cause damage to His Sarva-
rakshathvam and ultimately would lead to the loss of Venkata Naayaki
herself . He was afraid that others may chastise Him for His indifference
. Hence , He appeared before Venkata Naayaki so that she can enjoy Him to
the fullest . Venkata Naayaki was now overwhelmed with that aanandha
anubhavam and broke out into an exquisite paasuram eulogizing her Lord : 

peRRanai NeeyE maRRuLavellAm
peRuvathu Ninnai uRuvathu koLvAr
NinnAl anRi mannAr inbham
Nee Ninporuttu  Nee yenn poruttu illai
Ninn uru ninRum minnuru thOnRum
Ninn Tanakku  nihar Ninnadi adaivAr
Ninn PaalanRi anbAl uyyAr
VaaraNam azhaikka vantha KaaraNanE 

(Meaning ) : Oh Lord who rushed to this earth , when Gajendran screamed "
AadhimUlamE "to invite Your attention for rescuing  him from the jaws of
the powerful crocodile !  You ran to the rescue of GajEndhran and gained
the title of Sarva Rakshakan . Those seeking Your refuge recognize You as
the Jagath KaaraNan and accept You as their upAyam and Gathi(Phalan ) .
There is no one besides You  , who blesses the saraNAgathan with Moksha
Siddhi .  No other divinity has the power to grant that parama purushArTam
.The fruits of all karmAs are enjoyed by You even if the karmas were
directed at some other god (Sarva dEva namaskAram Kesavam prathigacchathi)
.  All the objects in this universe were born out of Your body .  Those
who prostrate before You and perform AarAdhanam for You become almost
equal to You. There is no room for any one to thrive unless they hapepn to
be Your devotees .      


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