Srimadh Azhagiya Singar thiruvadikaLE saraNam
Dear bAgawathAs,
thiru viNNagarath thEn - part 2 - Poruth "thEn"
****************************************************
(Prior to embarking on this small journey of drenching in various
"thEn", one will attempt to dwell on a common question in adiyEn's
and many other similar bAgawathAs's mind. ie.. Why make a "big deal"
out of this reference to "thEn" and other such words used in a
simple poetic reference. These poetic references are anyway common
to many other such poems. In this part the question on use of uncommon
words are discussed. A brief analysis is attempted as to why tamil
vEdham is called as tamizh maRai and maRaith "thEn"? The tamil word
maRaiththEn means I have hidden something.) Finally the first of the
21 thEn namely poRuth "thEn" is dealt.
Dear bAgawathAs,
maraith "thEn"
In some of the poorvAchAryA vyAkyAnams on tamil prabhandhams
Samskritham has been referred as the "muRattu bAshai" (tough to
"learn & use" language). It is felt that the samskritha vada mozhi
is not understandable by many commoners. Ofcourse Sanskrit is one of
the oldest and most beautiful language and for every Srivaishanva
both tamil and sanskrit are like their two eyes. AzhwArs incarnated
as per Sriman nArAyanA's thiru uLLam and delivered the vEdhams in an
extremely easy to learn and talk language, ie. tamil. It is said
that those tamil vEdhams are not only easy to learn, they are also
undiluted, unambiguous and unadulterated in their meanings for
samskrtiha vEdhams. While it is said so, there are many AzhwAr
pasurams that contain certain complex or sometime compounded and
uncommonly used tamil words as main references. Some of these
references are hidden in a compounded word ("thEn" references
of this series such as thuRan"thEn", maRan"thEn" etc). Someone
may think that "why all these "muRattu vArtthaigaL" (words that are
somewhat difficult to pronounce and understand) are being used in
the supposedly easy to understand "tamil vEdham"?. Some of these
references are mostly on the surroundings of the divya dEsams.
The compounded and hidden words are mainly on the beauty
and specialty of the buildings, fields, trees, gardens, flowers,
honey, bees and the rivers in a divya dEsam. Why not they simply
refer to the divya dEsams alone and be upto the point (*)?
Is it simply to fill in the lines to suit the poetic meter and standards
alone? ie..They fill in the poetic meter adopted in that pathigam.
It is common to any poetry. However, a person who is not so
familiar with poetic tamil may get tired of some of these repeated
references.
We are all taught that the AzhwAr Sri sukthis are not mere
mortal poems such that one can simply look at them in the poetic
sense alone and be content with that. It is said that they are
embedded with layers of inner meanings. That is why AchAryA after
AchAryA incarnated and delivered so many wonderful vyAkyAnams that
are so unique only to Srivaishnava Sri Sukthis. (Though shaivaites
have their own score of tamil granthams in numbers, it is said that
they donot have many meaningful vyAkyAnams such as ours). If these
pasurams are using very complex compounded & hidden words and have
layers of inner meanings, then comes the question as to how one can
call the tamil prabhandhams as something that is very "clear,
unambiguous" and so on in their effort to provide clear meanings
for vEdhams. It is a very valid question.
The tamil word "maRai" means hide something. ie..They (samskritha
vEdham) hide the thatthuvam of "param poruL" such that many are not
clear about it. Hence the samskritha vEdham is named as "maRai" or hide.
Since tamizh is so sweet as "thEn", the tamil vEdham can be called
as maRaith"thEn". However thamizh vEdhams never hid the concept of
para thaththuvam. They were pretty open about it, and forthcoming
and straight forward as to who is the paramAthmA. In this sense,
the tamil vEdham or the 4000 pAsurams are what they are meant to be
and known for (Swami dEsikan's reference "theLiyAtha maRai nilangaL
theRiginROmE"). But many poorvAchAryAs call divya prabhandhams also
as "thamizh maRai". Is it a simple common terminology to call them
as vEdham? If these pasurams are NOT hiding the para thatthuvam,
then why is it called as "maRai" again? or else what is it hiding
this time around? It is said that these pasurams are also somewhat
secretive and not "very open" in describing about the many of the
paths that lead to the said paramAthmA. ie.. One may ask, "What's
the point in simply learning who is the paramAthmA and not knowing
what to do with that knowledge (on "who is the paramAthmA")?.
One must also learn that the purpose of the jeevAthmA is to
serve the paramAthmA (divya dampathis) eternally. Such "kainkarya
prAptthi" is "always" possible only by attaining mOksham. There
were many mArgAs that the vEdhAs have preached for one to attain
brahmam. However our AchAryAs emphasis that many of these mArgAs
are not possible for the "kali yuga boolOga vAsis" to do, as they
require extremely rigorous pursuit that are not feasible for the
samsAris of kali. The tamil vEdham incarnated in boolOgam towards
the beginning of kali. Their purpose was not only to establish very
clearly as to who is paramAthmA, but also to part with some
knowledge as to how the kali yuga vAsis can attain the same.
The only mArgam that "suit" the boolOga vAsis in kali is the
saranAgathi or prapatthi mArgam. There were several references to
AzhwAr doing saranAgathi to the Lord. However, these references
were interpreted differently by different SrivaishnavAs. Some of
them argue that these references are not necessarily talking about
prapatti or saranagathi mArgam as such and question these mArgams.
These references were somewhat implicit about the yAgam or ritual
saranagathi. Hence it somehow makes one feel that these tamil
vEdhams as "thamizh maRai". ie, These also hide the true nature of
the main and only mArgam that is easy to pursue in kali. It is said
that due to some reasons divya dampathis made only Srivaishnavas
know about the para thatthuvam very clearly. It is also said that
due to some other reasons, only a few among them were made to
understand the implicit references to the prapati mArgam. Thanks
to many of our poorvAchAryAs who wrote about these. The references
to saranagathi, its angAs, angis are derived and understood
from these pAsurams from AzhwAr Sri sukthis due to these vyAkyAnams(*).
Many poorvAchAryAs beginning from Sri peria vAcchAn pillai have
explicitely mentioned about this prapatthi mArgam in their
vyAkyAnams for these pasurams. This is a knowledge one may have to
obtain from the sadAchAryA's kAlakshEmam of these 4000 pasurams. Of this
knowledge, the most important knowledge is to do a "saranAgathi" or
"Athma samarpanam" at the holy feet of the divya dampathis "through
a sadhAchAryA". How can one do such saranAgathi and what does
one do after doing saranAgathi ? In what way all these analysis
and the current flow of thEnARu can explain this ?
maRaitha "thEn" ?
The actions one has to perform as being a prapanna are the
essence of some of these pasurams we deal in this series. However,
these pAsurams are very candid about all these information and we
have to gain the understanding of them after doing kAlakshEbham from a
sadhAchArya. Having mentioned a bit about the saranAgathi
margam and its most suitable nature, it is time to deal those
"muRattu vARtthaigaL" and hidden references in tamil vEdham. Why
did they hide this concept (saranagathi mArgam, prapanna shAshtram
and the description of our destiny)? In tamil maRaitha"thEn" means
why did you hide ?. It also means "maRaitha thEn". ie.. The tamil
prabhandham that hide all these very important concepts is nothing
other than this "thEn" or 4000 divya prabhandham.
As mentioned earlier many of these compounded words are on
the nature of the surroundings of a divya dEsam are very sweet
like honey and and are very poetic and can be called as kavith
"thEn". In particular these poetic references on the surroundings
are about the towns, fields, buildings, trees, flowers, honey, bees,
rivers and so on. Besides the poetical value and being a component
of the meter, these references have special meanings as such.
Each and every one of these 108 divya dEsams are Srivaikundam
themselves. Since perumAL is doing a nityA vAsam, these are to be
seen as a Srivaikundam incarnate in boolOgam. When such Srivaikutam
incarnates in the boolOgam, along with that comes the inmates of
the Srivaikundam. When a jeeva nathi sAram is referred in a pAsuram
it must be considered as a reference to the "vEdhAm" surrouding that
Srivaikunda divya dEsam. (kAvEri is also known as vishnu
mAyA). When a "SiRu nathi" is cited, it may be understood as many
upanishads that are constantly staying in that divya dEsam and are
praising the Lord of that divya dEsam. When many elegant and very
beautiful buildings and their enormous height, golden nature is
mentioned it indicates the great nitya suris who constantly
surround the paramAthmA.
They view or keep having darshan of the paramAtha from where they
are and they never move away. In tamil, they are referred as "imai
kottAmAl pArtthuk koNdE irruppavargaL". ie.. they never move around
and station themselves permanently around divya dampathis. The
reference to height and other aspects of these structures indicate
the greatness of those nitya suris (height, golden nature). When
fertile fields are mentioned they show the great palans, these
"jeeva nathis" (vEdhams) have rendered to this divya dEsam ie.. the
"vEdha vitthukkaLAna mahA purushargaL" and mahAns who constantly
surround that city and pass on that gentle breeze of vEdha swAsam
in and around that divya dEsam. They are fertile due to the rivers
(vEdham), and the boomi (divya dEsam) vAsam. The huge and very
beautiful walls that surround the divya dEsam are to be considered
as the strong gaurds of the Srivaikundam.
The gardens that has the flowers and trees may refer to the
rare collection of granthams and Sri sukthis on this Lord. Above
all, the Bees that buzz these gardens must be consdiered as the
"AchAryALs" who incarnate often and seek the essence of these
Srisukthis and granthams collect them in their hives for our
benefits. There is a clear reference provided by Sri thirumangai
AzhwAr for this interpretation on bees. Finally the essence of all
these Sri sukthis and granthams must be that Honey or "thEn" we
all seek. Such "thEn" is easily provided by our great AchAryALs
who collect it and pass on to us. In the midst of all these our Lord
Sri thiru viNNagarath thEn is majestically standing and looking at us.
"santhana theNRal salikkAmal veesum aruL paarvai"(*).
poRuth"thEn"
Having explored the usage of many "alankAra vArtthaigaL" such as
"thEn" and bees of Sri AzhwAr pAsurams, we enter into the intended
substance of this series. Sri thiru mangai AzhwAr delivered 3 pathigams
on our Lord Sri Oppiliappan. In the first pathigam he describes his
"arucchi"
or hatred towards samsAram. In this pathigam he explains the extreme
trouble he had to undergo due to samsAric life & lowkeekam.
He also cries in fear about the difficulties that may arise out
of this samsAric drought. By citing all these he tries to plead to
thAyAr to stand or act as the "purushAkAram" (mediatrix) and give
him the refuge under perumAL's holy feet.
The tamil word poRuth"thEn" means I was tolerating. Sri
AzhwAr describes as to how he was enduring many insults. "adiyEn
used to consider the bandhukkaL or the samsAric relatives as my
friends. However they were all actually acting as my shathrus or
foes. They treated me as an "aNNiyan" whenever they didnot want
me. They used to abuse my relationship with them and took it for
granted. They took all the possible help from me and yet they
used horrible and abusive remarks that (the words that will hurt
and make deep wounds in one's heart or "puN padutthum sol") at me.
I used to tolerate these words. I was self controlling. In fact
I used to think that "these people didnot use those abusive
remarks at some other person or strangers. Atleast they didnot hurt someone
else. If these words have been used at someone else, they would
have felt heart broken. Atleast it didnot happen. I am thankful that
these were used at me. Due to this someone else has been spared
from getting heart-broken".
"After all, these words are mere sabthams. Only when we see
the meanings for these abusive words it may be hurtful. Any word
mean nothing if we donot see its "poruL" or meaning. Even when we
say "thEn", our mouth begins to drool. It is because our mind knows
that "thEn" means very sweet. If this dravyam is named something
else other than the word "thEn", we may not feel the same way when
we pronounce the word "thEn". Hence without the "poRuL" or meaning,
the word is only a sound. So I treated those words as mere "Osai"
or noise and tolerated such. I tolerated them at my heart. Besides
even if I have to see the meaning, it is after the all Lord Sri
thEnappan (Sri Oppiliappan) who serve as the "poruL" or meaning for
every word and it is the same Sri thEnappan who stood as the "suvai"
or taste for "thEn". How can HE ever be hurting ? In view of Lord
residing in any poruL i tolerated the "pun sol" in my heart. i.e, My
reaction to those "pun sol" stayed deep inside my heart. I never ever
showed my feelings in anyway through my external senses. i.e I never
even reacted in anyway that might suggest that i was hurt by those
"pun sol". My mind was looking forward to those "thEn sol" on the
Lord and so these "pun sol" never bothered me. Many people will
brood over such insults or hurtful words even if they donot outwardly
react.
Many will show it up in their faces. Many will want the opponent's blood
for
it. Many others will try to revenge in someother way. Some will want
a last word from the opponent. Some will keep it in their hearts but
will give a "bit of their mind" to others. Some will show it to someone
else. But AzhwAr keeps it in his heart, controlled and tolerated.
Some of these "thEn" must also be referring to someone or something
indirectly.
porumaiyAna "thEn" - i.e porumaiyil boomiyai pOnRu undO? this porumaiyAna
thEn or poRuth "thEn" in the "nenchil" or "thiru mArbu" is referred to
Sri Boomi dEvi thAyAr. It is rather a tradition to refer to thAyar
first as similar to "poo mannu porunthiya maarban". No wonder the very
first
word of this pathigam has an implicit reference to Sri Boomi dEvi thAyaar.
Sri kumutha vaLLi nAcchiyAr samEtha Sri thirumangai AzhwAr thiruvadikaLE
saraNam
Sri boomidEvith thAyAr samEtha Sri Oppiliappan thiruvadikaLE saraNam.
adiyEn irAmAnusa dAsan
* - When our Lord thiru viNNagarath thEn is in the midst of all these
"alankaaraa varNanaikaL" and ramyamana sooznilai, He is constantly
looking at us with HIS "thEn" paarvai. Such thEn paarvai is, the "thiruk
kaN paarvai" of Lord "thEn" appan and is such that it is having the
effect of the gentle breeze that carries the fragrance of sandalwood
and is continuosuly blowing without any tireness. Such "santhanath
thenRal pOnRa paarvai" is also the "aruL kalantha eerap paarvai". i.e
when one is receiving His belssings from His eyes one is also feeling
the "santhana theNRal" blowing on them gently and making them feel
very light, and happy.
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