A Tribute to NammAzhwAr's Thiruviruttham : Part 2
SrI:
Dear VedhAbhimAnis :
Vedam is every thing for us . Please sponsor
One or More of the 500 Vedic Scholars , who
will do the AdhyApaka Kaimkaryam at Srirangam .
It is a life time opportunity for all VedAbhimAnis
to make this happen in our life time and record
selected sessions of Samhitha , Krama , JaDai
and Ghanam renderings of the three Vedams.
DaasOham , V.Sadagopan
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A Tribute to NammAzhwAr's Thiruviruttham : Part 2
SamslEsham and VislEsham as Bhagavad anubhavam
*************************************************************
The prathyaksha-tulya-maanasa-anusandhAnam is
samslEsham . This is equivalent to being with the Lord
and union with Him as His beloved .When AzhwAr does not
get the boon of union with the Lord , he is totally dejected .
He cries out in a heart-rending way . This is VislEsham .
In chUrNikai 118, AchArya Hrusdhaya SoothrakArar
describes the two moods of AzhwAr and connects them
to the feeling state behind them this way :
" jn~Anatthil tamm pEcchu , prEmatthil peNN pEcchu "
In Jn~Ana dasai , AzhwAr is in full control of
himself and speaks as himself ; In prEma dasai
(state) , he is totally out of control with the
feelings of separation and hopelessness and he
assumes the role of a woman deeply in love with
the Lord , who has abandoned her .AzhwAr becomes
ParAnkusa Naayaki .
In both states ( samslEsham and VislEsham ) ,
the clear speech associated with samslEsham
and the agitated speech linked with vislEsham ,
the sEshathva prakAsamaana anjali does not change .
AzhwAr's hands are folded in anjali mudrA in
recogniotion of his relationship to the Lord as
a sEshan to the Sarva sEshi . This unchanged
bhakthi of AzhwAr is described as : " tERiyum
tERAthum MaayOn tiratthinaLE itthiruvE " .This
beautiful girl has the same measure of devotion to her Lord ,
whether she is composed from the experience of union with Him
or agitated during the experience of separation from Him .
For instance ,in the Thiruvaimozhi Pasuram (2.1.10),
AzhwAr describes his immense suffering over separation
from the Lord this way :
" Oh, my supreme Lord ! Oh the first among all Gods !
Why wont You show me Your bewitching countenance ?
My uncontrollable passion for You burns and burns
without an end in contrast to the common materials ,
which stop burning , when their fuel source is exhausted.
Alas ! here, my soul burns and burns in an unparallelled
mannner .This burning process seems to kick my soul outside
of my body . What is the rason for submitting me to this level
of torture ? Oh Lord of many victories ! Please rush to my
(suffering ) side at once and take me in Your comforting arms.
I have grown far too exhausted to bear this separation
any more ".
In the happy state of union with her Lord , ParAnkusa-
Naayaki joyously celebrates her happy mood this way .
The paasuram is 2.5.1 of Thiruvaimozhi and has been
enjoyed particularly by ALavandhAr and RaamAnuja :
" Oh , What a wonder ! My Lord has come to me now
surrounded by all His nithya sUris to keep me in
His company . Oh , What a Bliss ! He has out of His
infinite compassion come to me , who is totally
undeserving of this honor. He seems to say that I
too deserve Him . He is indeed sarvEsvaran .Oh , What
a beauty ! I am enjoying His bewitching form bedecked
with the radiant white conch , the blazingly effulgent
chakram ,the shining sacred thread , the rathna haaram ,
the vanamAlai , the splendid crown . Even the nithya sUris ,
who are always next to him look more radiant now , perhaps
reflecting the great joy of their Lord arising from
His union with me.That is how I intrepret this unusual
radiance of my Lord .He was looking famished prior to
union with a passionate one like me . Without the union
with me (parama bhakthai ) , He was withering away .He has
now gained a special sparkle .All His abharaNams have
become jaajvalyam now . Now I am taking in the beauty of
His lotus-soft eyes , soft red lips , lotus-like feet and
the whole body of golden complexion . I have now gained a
unique and unparalleled joyous experience from this union .
SoorNikai 120 of AchArya Hrudhayam
***********************************
This SoorNikai is as follows :
" adiyOm thodarnthu kuRREval , adichciyOmadikkeezhk
kuRREvalAhai avasthAntharam "
The first half of the above sUrNikai
is the speech from Jn~anam born out
of SamslEsham and is of the form of a masculine speech .
The second half is that of a woman , who out of
unrequitted love is agitated and speaks in the voice
of a disappointed lover . The soothrakAra describes this
latter state as avasthAntharam .
EmperumAn's aprAkrutha divya vigraham ( the divine form
beyond the elements of nature ) destroyed the masculinity
of the AzhwAr and transformed him into an emotionally
involved woman ( ParAnkusa Naayaki ) . That aprAkrutha
ThirumEni of the Lord has been described as being
surrounded by the worshipping nithya sUris and in the
center of a flood of effulgence : " kuzhumit thevar
kuzhAngaL kai thozhac chOthi veLLatthinuLLE
yezhuvathOruru " .The flood of prEmA of NammAzhwAr
flowed towards that radiant presence of the Lord just as
the ordinary floods hasten towards their home , the ocean .
AzhwAr's prEmai flowed both in the maculine and
femenine form to the Lord and mingled with it .
Friends , Mother and the Naayaki: their stats of mind
************************************************************
The samslEsha-VislEsha anubhavams of NammAzhwAr
are cast as paasurams sung by the friends of
ParAnkusa Naayaki , her concerned mother or by
her lamenting self . In sUrNikai 133 , the sUtrakAra
of Acharya Hrudhayam gives us an explanation
of the relative roles of ParAnkusa Naayaki with
her mother and friends :
" sambhandhOpAya palangaLil uNartthi ,
tuNivu pathaRRamAhiRa parajn~AvasthaikaLukkut
thOzhi , thAyAr , mahaL yenru pEr "
Reason for the paasurams thru the mouth of ThOzhi
************************************************************
The ThOzhi is the one , who intercedes and unites the
nAyakan and nAyaki ( the ParamAthmA and the jeevAthmA ).
In Thirumanthiram ( mUla manthram ) , praNavam denoting
ananyArha sEshathvAdhi sambhandha jn~Anam is the reason
( hEthu) for the union and that prajn~Avasthai came forth
as the paasurams uttered by the mouth of the ThOzhi .
Reason for the paasurams of the Mother
**********************************************
The prajn~AvasthA in response to the flight of
the daughter due to her (daughter's )firm belief
in upAyam to abandon her mother's home to travel
to her nAyakan's home is the basis of the mother's
paasurams . The thuNivu ( determination ) of her little
daughter to run away leaving the comfort of the
hearth and home for an uncertain future with some one
she(mother ) does not yet trust pains her . The nAyaka
prAvaNyam , which makes her daughter run away instead of
patiently waiting for Him to show up upsets the mother
and she tries to calm down the agitation of the love-lorn
daughter . She reminds the daughter of kula maryAdhai.
She reminds the daughter that in the SiddhOpAyam of
union with the Lord , calmnes is needed and presses on
upAyathAvasAyam as an essential ingredient . That
prajn~AvasthA ( state of consciousness ) of the mother
comes out as her paasurams restraining her daughter
in a state of concern and affection . The Nama: padham
of mUla manthram takes on the role of the Mother just as
the PraNavam took on the role of ThOzhi .
The Naayaki's paasurams and NArAyaNa padham
********************************************************
The daughter ( naayaki ) does not worry too much
about what others might say ( kula maryAdhai ) in
her state of immense agitation over the union with
her Lord . Her dvarai ( impatience and hurry )
to unite with her lord and enjoy his anantha kalyANa
guNAs ( vailakshaNyam ) drives her and in that
prajn~AvasthA , she can not hold on to her life
any more. The prApya dvarai of the nAyaki pours
out as her paasurams . She places these paasurams
at the lotus feet of her Lord and begs for His grace to
bless her with His union . He is NaarAyaNan ( the last
or charama sabdham of mUla Manthram ) and He is the one
qulaified by praNava (sEshithva svarUpam ) and
nama: sabdham ( saraNyathva svarUpam ) . He is the One
with the svarUpa , guNa vibhUthis (attributes ) implied
by NaarAyaNa sabdham . Like an arrow leaving the bow ,
nAyaki hastens towards the target of Sriman NaarAYaNan
with her paasurams .AdiyEn will cover the Rig Veda Saamyam of Thiruviruttham in
the final posting .AdiyEn ParAnkusa Daasan ,
Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri SadagOpan Please send your samarpaNams in support
of Veda PaarAyaNam to :Sri Hari Raghavan , 231Dixon Landing Road , Apt
150Milpitas , CA 95035
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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