SrImate ra'nga rAmAnuja mahA deSikAya namaH.
tAtparya ratnAvaLi - Submission 30 - Slokam 15 Part 1,
tiruvAimozhi 1.4 - svApadeSam.
· Slokam 15 (svApadeSam of tiruvAimozhi 1.4).
sadhrI bhavyAn (1.4.1) suvAcah (1.4.2) su-carita subhagAn (1.4.3)
kRshNa sArUpya saumyAn (1.4.4)
sva-AhAra udAra SilAn (1.4.5) tanudhRta bhagavan lakshmaNo (1.4.6)
bAlya guptAn (1.4.7) |
chAtra svac-chanda vRttIn (1.4.8) abhigata SiSirAn (1.4.9)
antara'nga ukti yogyAn (1.4.10)
AcAryAn kRshNa labdhau AvRNuta SaThajit preyasI dUta nItyA ||
This is the first tiruvAimozhi for which svAmi deSikan has composed a
Slokam to bring out the inner meaning of this tiruvAimozhi. We saw
that, in his nAyikA bhAvam, AzhvAr sends several birds as messengers
to emperumAn to convey his longing for Him. The inner meaning is
that all these messengers represent the AcAryan ? in other words,
AzhvAr stresses the importance of the intermediary role of the
AcAryan in our attaining the Lotus feet of emperumAn. While every
pASuram of this tiruvAimozhi sings a different aspect of the guNam of
aparAdha sahattvam of emperumAn, it also simultaneously reveals to us
a corresponding guNam of our AcAryan that enables us to attain Him
easily through the blessings of the Lotus feet of our AcAryan.
Slokam 15 brings out the different guNa-s of our AcAryan that help us
to attain the feet of emperumAn. SrImad tirukkuDanthai ANDavan
points out that in these pASuram-s, the birds that are sent as
messengers refer to AcArya-s, and the prayer is to them is to
communicate to emperumAn our deep love to be united with Him. The
two wings of the bird represent j~nAnam and anushThAnam ? the correct
understanding of SAstric knowledge and its strict observance in their
lives.
svApadeSam for pASuram 1.4.1: "am-SiRaiya namDa nArAi" pASuram. In
this pASuram, AzhvAr seeks the `am-SiRaiya maDa nArAi!' ? the female
crane with its beautiful wings, to intercede with bhagavAn so that
bhagavAn grants His Mercy on the jIvan.. svAmi deSikan captures the
AcArya guNam conveyed here through the words "sadhrI bhavyAn". SrI
UV suggests that the pATham may be more appropriately "sadhra para
bhavyAn", and gives the literal meaning as "sahAyattODu SErndavarAi
SubharAna", or "SErnda vastukkaLAL anukUlarAna" ? "One who is
associated with those that endow him with the guNam of being
auspicious or being able to assist in our best interests". The
different interpretations reflect the different aspects of this
association that the AcAryan has, that enable him to guide and assist
us in our best interests ? such as the inseparable association with
emperumAn, being associated with the lineage of prAcArya-s or
pUrvAcArya-s, being equipped with j~nAnam and anushThAnam as the two
wings of a bird, being assisted by the AcArya patni who treats the
disciple as her own child, being endowed with auspicious qualities
such as infinite and selfless mercy towards the disciple, being
associated with easy accessibility, etc. We will see these
interpretations below.
SrImad tirukkuDanthai ANDavan gives the explanation as `eLidAgak
kiTTum paDi bhavyarkaLai iruppavargaL' - those who are so simple that
they are easily accessible, those who are endowed with the quality of
saulabhyam or easy accessibility (sadhri means `along with, together
with'; bhavyam means eLiyan, sulabhan, one who can be easily
approached).
SrI ve'nkaTeSAcArya explains the svAmi deSikan's phrase through the
words - "PurushakAra sAhityattAlE eLidAgak kiTTalAi irukkiRa
AcAryargaLai, sarvadA pEDaiyODE sa'ncarikkaiyAlE bhavya'nkaLai
irukkiRa nAraikaLAga nirUpittAr" ? Our AcArya-s perform the role of
being advocates for us with emperumAn, and represent us to emperumAn
and pirATTi, and so they are easily accessible to us. They are also
simultaneously ever associated with emperumAn, the parama purushan.
Here, AzhvAr compares this role of our AcArya-s to the female crane
with modesty as one of her asttributes, and who is always together
with her nAthan ? the male crane. In addition, AzhvAr identifies
another guNam of AcArya-s here by comparing them to the she-crane ?
aLiyattAi ? one who is endowed with great mercy ? kAruNyam or
dayA. Note AzhvAr's words ? Ah Ah enRu enakku aruLi ? "Feeling
extremely compassionate about my pitiable state, shower your mercy on
me, Oh my Great AcAryan!".
SrI PBA gives the interpretation for the guNa "sadhrI bhavyAn:"
as ""SevalODu kUDiyirukkum nAraigaL pOlE emperumAnODu iNai piriyAdu
irukkum AcAryargaL" ? AcArya-s who are ever inseparably associated
with emperumAn like the she-crane that is always together with its
purushan ? nIyum nin SEvalumAi. (sadhRi ? together with, bhavyam ?
existence).
SrI UV brings out some additional finer points for this pASuram. He
notes that "nIyum nin SEvalumAi" can be understood as a reference the
duality of AcAryan and AcArya patni. He points out that AcArya patni
can also equally advocate the case for the disciple to emperumAn. He
gives the example from SrImad rAmAyaNam (reference from IDu
vyAkhyAnam) ? sa bhrAtuS-caraNo gADham nipIDya raghu nandanah |
sItAm uvAca ati-yaSA rAghavam ca mahA vratam || (ayodhyA. 31.2) ?
While firmly holding the Feet of his Brother rAma, lakshmaNa
addressed his words to sItA and to rAma. He notes that sama-
prAdhAnyam or equal efficacy ? primary role, is what is denoted here,
irrespectrive of to whom the request is made. It is explicit here
that upAyatvam is equally in the domain of pirATTi as well as
emperumAn.
Another interpretation for `nIyum nin SevalumAi' is a reference to
AcAryan and to the prAcArya-s (the AcArya lineage going back above
the current AcAryan) ? in other words, a reference to the AcArya
paramparA of the lineage of AcArya-s.
The word maDa in `maDa nArAi' refers to the quality of AcAryan
forgiving the faults of the disciple, and showering his vAtsalyam
(kindness akin to that of the cow towards the calf) on the
disciple. `aLiyattAi' refers to the mercy to remove the sorrow of
the disciple. The reference to `am-SiRai' or the beautiful wings is
a reference to the j~nAnam and anushThAnam, as pointed out earlier ?
"ubhAbhyAm eva pakshAbhyAm yathA ke pakshiNAm gatih, tathaiva j~nAna
karmabhyAm prApyate purushottamah" . The white color of the crane
refers to the sattva guNam of AcAryan.
In the context of singing the glory of emperumAn, the
words `ve'nciRaip puL uyartArkku' was interpreted as One Who has
garuDan who will not spare any enemy of bhagavAn's devotee' ?
stressing bhagavAn's guNam of protecting His devotee at all costs.
When the same phrase is looked at another way, it sings the glory of
AcAryan. garuDan is the form of all the veda-s. AcAryan is one who
has veda as his pramANa or support for all his j~nAna and karma
anushThAna-s that will burn away even the worst sin of his
disciple. `van SiRaiyil avan vaikkil' ? Even if emperumAn is angry
at the enormous sins of the jIva and refuses to as much as look at
the sinful jIva, the prayer to the AcAryan is to take mercy and
forgive the sins and protect the jIva.
`van SiRaiyil avan vaikkil vaippuNDAl en SeiyyumO' ? `What difference
does it make even if He punishes you in the process by putting you in
prison?'. SrI UV gives an example that illustrates the meaning of
these words more than any words of mine can do. When bhagavad
rAmAnuja learned the significance of tiru mantra from tirukkOTTiyUr
nambi after great effort, he imparted the knowledge right away to all
his disciples without testing them much for their fitness to receive
the instructions. When his AcAryan questioned his action, bhagavad
rAmAnuja said that he could not bear to see the suffering of his
disciples, and had to uplift them right away without delay, and that
he himself was willing to undergo any punishment as a consequence.
Such is the extent of mercy of the AcAryan towards his disciples.
All of these guNa-s of AcAryan that are conveyed in this pASuram by
AzhvAr are condensed by svAmi deSikan in two words ? sadhrI bhavyAn.
Now we will look at some pATha bheda-s ? alternate versions of svAmi
deSikan's Slokam 15 for the phrase `sadhrI bhavyAn'. These
different versions are found in SrI UV's commentary for tAtparya
ratnAvaLi.
In the commentary on tiruvAimozhi by SrI periya parakAla svAmi
(padineTTAyirappaDi), he uses the words `prApta upAyAn" instead
of `sadhrI bhavyAn'. The meaning is: "One who is equipped with the
upAya-s or means for attaining Him". The reference is to the
AcAryan's infinite Grace (aLiyattAi!), his two wings of j~nAnam and
anushThAnam (am-ciRaiya maDa nArAi!), and his association with his
prAcArya-s and pUrvAcArya-s (nIyum nin SevalumAi).
Another version given is `sad hRI bhavyAn' ? He who is endowed with
modesty.
A pATham ? "sad-dhI bhavyAn", is also found. This means one who is
endowed with the right kind of knowledge. The right kind of
knowledge is a key attribute of an AcAryan. This appropriate
knowledge finds use in AcAryan's role as purushakAra bhUtan of
emperumAn ? His representative as intermediary in helping the jIva to
attain Him. In onpadinAyirappaDi (na'njIyar), this knowledge is
referred to as "purusha kArattva upayogi j~nana sampat" - the wealth
of knowledge that is of use in enabling the role of purushakArattvam,
or intermediary pleading the case of the jIva to emperumAn. "sad-
dhI" here is explained by SrI UV as "sad-dhi ya vidye veditavye" ?
The possession of the right kind of knowledge, and the ability to
communicate this knowledge to others who are in need of it.
The sheer size of the write-up for this first AcArya guNam far
exceeds the corresponding write-up of bhagavAn's guNam reflected in
this same pASuram. This makes me feel that nammAzhvAr primarily
sings the glory of AcAryan in this tiruvAimozhi, and bhagavAns' guNam
becomes only secondary. Such is the importance of AcAryan in our
sampradAyam ? the prtyaksha daivam or Living God for us, who guides
us in our journey to attain Him.
-dAsan kRshNamAcAryan
(To be continued)
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