Dear Sri RanganAtha BhakthAs : Try as I might by racing against time , I could not conclude the series of 18 postings yesterday . Sri RanganAthan seems to want me to linger on and not to rush , when it comes to the beloved paasurams of Thirumangai and NammAzhwAr . Therefore , I will experience the blessed project overrun and conclude the series today with the blessings of the divya dampathis of Srirangam . As I reach this final stretch of the 18 brick kaimkaryam , I thank all of you have responded by joining in this kaimkaryam to build the one and only temple for Lord RanganathA in USA and at the same time appeal most humbly to all of you , who have not participated to join in this life time opportunity . Please help and let your friends and relatives know of this exraordinary opportunity to be of service to the Lord of Srirangam and raise your Kaimkarya Sri . Thank you all . NammAzhwAr's paasurams on Sri RanganAthan ****************************************** NammAzhwAr is fourth in the line of our AchAryAs ( AchArya paramparai ) after the Divya Dampathis and VishvaksEnar . He blessed us with 12 Srirangam paasurams , eleven of which are found in his Thiruvaimozhi ; the twelfth one is positioned in the 28th verse of Thiruviruttham , where he asks for the blesisngs of the Lord of Srirangam resting in the island of Srirangam ( peru neert thiruvarangA aruLAi ). Thiruvaimozhip paasurangaL : " kangulum pahalum " ****************************************************************** Introduction to this deacd (7.2) of ThiruvAimozhi ************************************************** This decad dedicated to Sri RanganAthA in the words is set in the words of the mother of ParAnkusa Naayaki houses one of the high points of AzhwAr's Bhagavadh anubhavam .It is important to understand how AzhwAr built up his appeal to the Lord progressively . In the Thruvaimozhi (TVM) 1.1 ( UyarvaRavyur ) , AzhwAr celebraratd the parathvam of Sriman NaarAyaNA . In TVM 1.3 ( patthudai ), he saluted the soulabhyam of our Lord . In TVM 1.5 ( vaLavEzhulahil ) , he observed his naicchAnusanthAnam and tried to remove himself from th presence of the Lord thinking about his lowliness. In TVM 6.2 ( Minnidai ) , as ParAnkusa Naayaki , he became angry at the Lord and in a mood of praNaya kOPam ( SatakOpan's kOPam ) , She asked the Lord to remove Himself from her presence and stop tormenting her . In the next decad ( TVM 6.3) , the Lord came before His dear BhakthA and united with him(her). This was at ThiruviNNagar ( nalkuravum paasurangaL) . Here AzhwAr performed his saraNAgathi and acknowledged the Lord's acceptance : " ThiruviNNagar sErntha appan tannoppArillappan tanthanan tanathALL nizhalE " . AzhwAr progressed through the rest of the Sixth decad and arrived at ThiruvEnkatam (TVM 6.10) and reminded the Lord of the SaraNAgathi that he had performed earlier at His feet at ThiruviNNagar and described his great hurry( dvarai, avasaram ) to reach the Lord's feet and perform nithya kaimkaryam at Sri Vaikuntam .In the famous tenth verse of this decad ( ahalahillEn IRayum yenralarmEl Mangai uRai mArpA -- ThiruvenkatatthAnE , adiyEn unn adik keezh amarnthu puhunthEnE ) . In our purvAchAryA's commentaries , TVM 6.10 on ThiruvEnkatam( Ulahamunda peruvAyA ) , TVM 7.1 ( UNNIlAviya IyvarAl) and TVM 7.2 on Srirangam ( Kangulum pahalum ) are tightly knit . In their judegement , the connection between these successive decads is as follows : TVM 6.10 On ThiruvEnkatavan ( Ulahamunda ) is PraNavArtham . TVM 7.1 ( UNNilAviya Iyavari) represents the Nama: sabdham . TVM 7.2 ( Kangulum pahalum ) is the sabdhArtham of "NaarAyaNAya ). Together ,they are elaboration of the Mula manthram . The Srirangam paasurams of NammaAzhwAr are then the celebration of the "NaarAyaNa sabdham " and the fourth vibhakthi ( chathurthi ) , which stands for anubhava janitha preethi kaaritham , when one does Kaimkaryam for the Lord such as building a temple for him like us in USA , Thirumangai's building of the ramparts at Srirangam , H.H. the Jeeyar's building of the Raaja gopuram , Thondardipodi's ThirumAlai kaimkaryam and so many others . In the first paasuram, the mother of ParAnkusa Naayaki tells the Lord that her dear daughter has not slept for days and nights .She tells the Lord that her daughter is searching for Him furiously everywhere . The mother then asks the Lord a blunt question : " Oh Lord of the fertile Srirangam ! What do you propose to do with of my dear daughter that You are tormenting ( IvaL tiRatthu yenn seyhinRAyE ?). In the second paasuram, the deeply worried mother asks the Lord : What is going to happen to my dear one and where is all this going to end ? In the third paasuram ,the mother persists in her line of questioning and asks the Lord to explain to her the purpose of the Lord's taking a permanent abode at Srirangam . Is it for us to enjoy Your beauty ? If so what have You done to my daughter and what remedy do You propose to get her out of her suffering on behalf of You. In the fourth paasuram , the mother does not pipe down. She acts as a prosecutor and demands the Lord to tell her what He in His infinite wisdom proposes to do . I do not know what you have in mind . Please tell me about it demands the harried mother. She marvels at the infatuation that the Lord has caused in the mind of her daughter and appeals now to the Lord : " Please take pity on my daughter. She clearly does not deserve this treatment at Your hands . Is what all you are doing (to cause pain to my daughter) arise from my own past sins ? They say that You come to the rescue of devotees , who seek after You . They say that You will not let them sink in morass. My daughter is a tender one going through all of these sufferings for You . She is MahA Lakshmi herself . How can you have such a hard heart and abandon her and not listen to her soulful appeals .I know not what end she will have due to Your heartlessness. As the mother was going on , some thing miraculous happened . When the mother was wondering how her daughter was going to reach her goal of union with the Lord of Srirangam , she found out that her daughter had already reached the feet of the Lord with the hue of the rain-laden clouds . The mother concludes on a happy note that like the rain-laden clouds bless the world with the rejuvenatiing rains , The Parama DayALu of Srirangam has showered His benovolent compassion on her daughter and made her dreams come true. The key passages from the set of 10 paasurams of this decad according to Sri Vaathsalya AhObilAcchAr swamy are , The paasura Vaakhyams are included in the paranthesis : Paasuram 1 : He is the one to be worshipped and approached as Sevyan ( ThiruvarangatthAi ! sankusak karangaL kai koopum: the little hands perform anjali ) Paasuram 2: Lord of Srirangam is the most delectable to enjoy as athibhOgyan : ( Muhil VaNNA ! ThAmaraik KaNNA !) Paasuram 3: SaguNa mangaLa Vigrahan : ( KaaNumARu aruLAi! KaNNanE ). Paasuram 4: He is far superior to worldly wealth and enjoyemnts: ( sittanE ! Sezhu neert thiruvarangtthAi!). Here the beautifully chosen word , sittan stands for Sri+ Ishtan =ThirumAl or MaalOlan and as such , the supreme wealth for all of us). Paasuram 5: He is the PurushArtham and He is the one , who blesses that PurushArtham ( Himself ) to Us : ( alai kadal kadaintha aaramudhE ! santhitthu unn SaraNam sArvathE ) ). Paasuram 6:He is Soulabhyan for Prapatthi : ( veyya VaaLL tandu sanku chakkaram vill yEnthum ViNNOr mudahl ! TaNN punal soozh ThiruvarangatthuLLAi ! ) Paasuram 7:He is the skilled one in banishing the sufferings of those , who sought His refuge : ( tunba inbangal padaitthAi ! TheerthanE ! paRRilAr PaRRa ninRAnE !) Paasuram 8:YathOktha Kaari (who is sonna VaNNam seytha PerumAL ) : ( KunrEnthi KOnirai kaatthavan ) Pasuram 9: He is the NirupAdhika suhruth ( One interested in our happiness always: yenraikkumE namakku anban ) : ( Thiruvarangam koil kondAnE ! AaimahaL anbanE ! NilamahaL kELvanE ! ThirumahaL maar sErvanE ! Yennudai AaviyE ) Paasuram 10 : He is the One who assists us in reaching the mahA padhavi of Sri Vaikunta Vaasam : ( MuvulahALi ! VaanOr TalaivanE ! IvaL aNuhi adainthanaL Muhil VaNNan adiyE ) . Sri PiLLai Lokam Jeeyar has intrepreted these ten Sriranga Paasurams of NammAzhwar in yet another splendid way . He has equated the words of the paasurams to the Lord's Paratthvam ( Supermacy ), KaaraNathvam ( supreme Cause behind the universe), VyApakthvam ( Pervasiveness as AntharAthmA ), Niyanthrutthvam (Supreme Leadership as YajamAnA ), KaaruNkatthvam ( embodiment of DayA ) , SaraNyathvam ( serving as Sarva lOka saraNyan ), Sakthimathvam ( Omnipotency ) , Sathya Kaamatthvam ( true volition ) , Aapath sakatthvanm ( Helper of the distressed ) and aarthi haratthvam ( remover of the samsAric afflictions ) . The greatness of the Paasurams of NammAzhwAr are beyond description . It is a bhAgyam to write about them . Subhamasthu ! Thiruvarangan ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam . Oppilaipapn Koil VaradAchAri SadagOpan
Home Page
http://www.ibiblio.org/sripedia |
oppiliappan-subscribe@yahoogroups.com To subscribe to the list |