SrI:
SrimatE Raamaanujaaya Namaha //
SrimatE Nigamaanta Mahaa Desikaaya Namaha //
SrIman! SrI Ranga Sriyam anupadravam anudhinam Samvardhaya/
SrIman! SrI Ranga Sriyam anupadravam anudhinam Samvardhaya//
KAvEri VardhathAm kAlE, kAlE varshathu vAsava: /
SrI RanganAthO jayathu Sri Ranga Sri cha VardhathAm//
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SRI RANGA SRI VOL.08 / ISSUE # 22 dated 21st April 2007
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IN THIS ISSUE:
1. "BALA KHAANDAM" PART -6 OF SRIMAD RAMAYANAM DISCOURSES IN THE
HINDU TEMPLE OF ATLANTA.
(SRI ANBIL RAMASWAMY SWAMI)
2.TAATPARYA RATNAVALI - SUBMISSION 17 - SLOKAM 12 -PART 3.
(SRI N. KRISHNAMACHARAIAR SWAMI OF CHICAGO)
3. MAAL UGANDHA AASIRIYAR ? Life of ThiruppANAzhwAr
(V. MADHAVAKKANNAN, Singapore)
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ISSUES RELEASED
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15 Issues of Vol. 2
42 Issues of Vol. 3
35 Issues of Vol. 4
28 Issues of Vol. 5
30 Issues of Vol. 6
50 Issues of Vol. 7 and
22 Issues of Vol. 8 (including this)
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1. "BALA KHAANDAM" PART -6 OF SRIMAD RAMAYANAM DISCOURSES IN THE
HINDU TEMPLE OF ATLANTA.
(ANBIL RAMASWAMY)
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27. ASTROPADESAM:
They spent the night there. The next morning, the Sage called the
brothers to finish their morning ablution and get ready to receive
instructions on invoking various Astrams and also how to retract
them. The list of these "weapons of destruction" is mind boggling.
The modern high tech arsenal including the WMD and even nuclear ones
now spoken of with so much of ballyhoo fade into insignificance and
such weapons seem to have been in vogue in the Ramayana period
itself! (Vide VR- Bala- Sargams 27 and 28)
28. SIDDHASRAMAM
In due course, they reached a place called "Siddha-asramam". It was
so called because, it is here that Kaasyapa and Aditi did Tapas and
begot UpEndra (Vaamana) and it was here that Vaamana Himself is said
to have done Tapas and attained Siddhi. It is here that the Lord got
from Mahaabali (Son of VirOchana and Grandson of Prahlaada) the
three worlds on behalf of Indra. When Sukraachaarya tried to prevent
Mahaabali's gift saying that Vaamana was none other than Lord VishNu
who had come to cheat him, he replied:
(Vide (KR-Bala - 425) He said that there was no better blessing if
The Lord himself should beg of him: enakku idan mEl nalam yaadu kol
enraan //
When Sukrachariar tried to prevent the flow of water by stuffing the
mouth of the water pot like a bee, Vamana employed Sudarsana as
Pavitram to pierce it and poke the eye of Sukrachariar. He hid
Mahalakshmi on his chest with the deerskin he was wearing as
Brahmachaari, lest her grace should foil his own plan!
29. YAGA SAMRAKSHANAM
The great sacrifice running non-stop for 6 days and nights commenced
with due rituals like "Sutya-ahas". On the final day, the fire in
the pit suddenly glowed with unusual brilliance indicating the
arrival of Raakshasas headed by Subahu and Maareecha to play
spoilsport. Rama sent the powerful "Maanava-astra" that literally
immobilized Maareecha and pelted him into the ocean a 100 yOjanas
away. Rama sent the "AgnEya-astra" that broke the heart of Subahu,
who fell dead instantly. With Vaayva-astra, he scattered the other
Raakshasas like cotton blown by whirlwind.
Valmiki praises Rama as "Yagjna Rakshakan" (Protector of Sacrifice).
Why? The Lord had forfeited this honor earlier when half way
through, he spoiled the Yagjna of Mahaabali by pushing him down to
the nether worlds. The poet indicates that as Rama, the Lord has now
regained his lost glory!
30. WHY DID RAMA NOT KILL MAAREECHA?"
HANUMAT NAATAKAM" answers:
"It is because; Rama thought that Maareecha's presence was needed
later for the abduction of Sri Sita"
kluptE kousika nandanEna cha makhE tatra aagataan raakshasaan/
hatvaa amoomuchat aasubhaa vivid asou maareecham ugra akritim//
31. ONWARD TO MITHILA
The Yagjna having been completed with success, they should have
returned to AyOdhya. But, the Sage had "Plan B". He suggested that
they go to Mithila to see the "Sivadhanus" kept by King Janaka. The
dutiful brothers followed the Sage and reached the banks of River
sONa. (Sargam 31).On the way, the Sage kept them engaged with
stories of how Kusanabar's 100 daughters refused to marry Vaayu
without their father's consent, how they were cursed to become ugly
and how finally they got married to Brahmadatta who restored them to
their original beautiful selves. (Sargams 32 and 33).He proceeded to
narrate how this Kusanaabha did PutrakaamEshTi yaaga and
begot "Kaadi" who was Viswaamitra's father and explained that
because he was born in the lineage of Kusa, he was called "Kousika".
(Sargam 34)
32. GANGA AVATARANAM
On their onward journey, they came upon River Ganga (Ganges).The
Sage narrated the story of how Sagara's AswamEdha sacrificial horse
was lost and how his 60000 sons were burnt to ashes by the curse of
Sage Kapila whom they mistook as the thief who stole their horse
when they searched it in Rasaatalam and how Dileepan, (son of
Amsumaan, grandson of Asamanjan and great grandson of Sagara) and
Bhageerata (son of Dileepan) did severe penance to lift their
forefathers to higher worlds by bringing Ganga down from the Heavens
to drench the ashes. He also explained why Ganga was
called "Tripatakaa" and "Jaahnavi". As she flowed through the three
worlds of Heaven, Earth and the nether worlds, she was called
Tripatakaa". While rushing forth with torrential speed, she washed
away the Yaaga Saalai of Sage Jahnu who angrily drank the flowing
waters and later let her off through his ears. She was deemed the
daughter of Sage Jahnu and therefore, was known as "Jaahnavi". In
the process, Bhageeratha could really declare "Mission
accomplished"! The Sage also narrated the story of the birth
of "Skanda" who became the six-faced "ShaNmukha" (Sargams 35 to 44)
33. SAMUDRA MATHANAM (CHURNING OF THE MILKY OCEAN)
Crossing River Ganga, they reached a city called "Visaala" named
after the King "Visaalan" who ruled "Vaisaali". The Sage then
narrated the story of the "Churning of the milky ocean" and
Lord's "Koorma Avataaram" (Tortoise) (Sargam 45) and the birth
of "Maruts" to Kaasyapa and Diti. (Sargam 46 and 47)
(To Continue)
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2. TATPARYA RATNAVALI - SUBMISSION 18 - SLOKAM 12 -PART 3,
Thiruvaaymozhi 1.2 cont'd
(Sri N. Krishnamacharaiar Swami of Chicago)
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-
SrI:
SrImate SrI ra'nga rAmAnuja mahA deSikAya namaH.
pASuram 1.2.7 starting with "aDa'ngu ezhil sampattu".
aDa'ngu ezhil sampattu aDa'ngu ezhil ahdu enRu
aDa'ngak kaNDu ISan aDa'nguga uLLE. (1.2.7)
aDa'ngu ezhil sampattu aDa'ngak kaNDu ahdu ISan adA'ngu ezhil enRu
uL aDa'nguga ? Realize that all the wealth in both the leelAvibhUti
and nitya vibhUti are totally under His control, and become totally
subservient to Him, realizing that you are all part of His wealth.
svAmi deSikan describes the guNa that stands out in this pASuram
as "Subha vibhavatayA" ? Because all His belongings are auspiciously
disposed to our reaching Him. (vibhava ? wealth, Subha ?
auspicious).
In the previous pASuram we saw that bhagavAn is a suhRt (well-
wisher, friend) for everyone without bias. But He has as His
wealth, both the nitya vibhUti and the leelA vibhUti. In His nitya
vibhUti He has the nitya sUri-s who are far above us in
realization. Some of us might feel hesitant to approach Him,
feeling that these nitya sUri-s may laugh at us because of lowly
status. BhagavAn also has as His possession the devatA-s in His
leelA vibhUti, and they are known to create obstacles to our
approaching Him as evidenced by the Sruti. BRhadAraNyaka upanishad
(1.4.10) says: tasmAt eshAm tan-na priyam yadetan-manushyA vidyuh ?
The gods do not like us to know Brahman. This is because the deva-s
consider that we are all like animals that should toil for them
alone, and if we worship bhagavAn and stop worshipping them, it
causes pain to them. This is also declared in the bRhadAraNyaka
Upanishad ? yathA paSurevam sa devAnAm | yathA ha vai bahavah
paSavo bhu~njyuh | evamekaikah purusho devAn bhunakti | ekasminneva
paSavAdIyamAne'priyam bhavati " . But we should remember that the
nitya sUri-s in His nitya vibhUti and the gods in His leelA vibhUti
are both His belongings, and are subject to His will. They will
have no choice except being auspicious to us if He wills so, as
declared in the same mantra in bRhadAraNyaka upanishad ? tasya ha
devASca na abhUtyA ISate. If we surrender to Him with the
realization that we are also part of His vibhUti just as these deva-
s etc. are, and if we realize that it is our birthright to perform
eternal kai'nkaryam to Him, nothing can interfere with that. And
His wealth is available for all of us to enjoy, as we are all His
children, just as a father's wealth is there for the son to enjoy.
This is the message conveyed by the phrase "Subha vibhavan".
AzhvAr's instruction to us in this pASuram is that we should clearly
realize that all that exists is under His control, and we should
therefore surrender to Him with mahA viSvAsam without the slightest
doubt ? ISan aDa'ngu ezhil ahdu enRu uL aDa'nguka.
pASuram 1.2.8 starting with "uLLam, urai, Seyal".
uLLam urai Seyal uLLik keDuttu iRai
uLLa im-mUnRaiyum uLLil oDu'ngE. (1.2.7)
uLLa uLLam, urai, Seyal idu mUnRaiyum uLLi, keDuttu, iRai uLLil
oDu'ngu - Divert your thought, word and deed from involvement in
external diversions, realize that that these instruments that we
have already been gifted with are purely for service to Him, and
devote them totally to Him.
Whatever we need for worshipping Him is available to us all, without
our having to look for something new ? our thoughts, words, and
actions. svAmi deSikan reflects this through the guNa "mAnasAdi
arcya bhAvAt". ? He who is to be worshipped through our thought,
word and deed. To meditate on Him, to sing His praise though our
words, and to prostrate to Him ? these are means that are available
to everyone equally. One does not have to undertake any effort
whatsoever to acquire these three; He has given these to us all, and
this again illustrates that He is sarva saman, or equally accessible
to all without any distinction. These three instruments ? thought,
word and deed, are given to us for the sole purpose of devoting them
to His kai'nkaryam. AzhvAr's message to us that we should realize
this simple truth, turn these three from the pursuit of worldly
interests, and devote them to His worship instead. AzhvAr
explicitly tells us to think ? uLLi, as to why we have been the
mind, the body and the ability to speak, and realize that these are
all given to us for His kai'nkaryam. Once we have realized this,
the next step is `keDuttu' ? removing them from the external
materialistic distractions and turning them inwards, and iRai uLLil
oDu'ngu ? get them immersed in thoughts about Him.
AzhvAr describes the activities of his own "uLLam, urai, Seyal" in
pASuram 8.10.4 ?
po'ngEzh pugazhgaL vAyavAi pulan koL vaDivu en manattAi
a'ngEi malargaL kaiyavAi vazhi paTTODa aruLilE? (tiruvAi.
8.10.4)
"Being immersed in eternal kai'nkaryam to the Lord, my mouth will
utter the infinite kalyANa guNa-s of emperumAn. His captivating
tirumEni's beauty that would madden my senses will remain in my
mind, and my hands will offer flowers at His Lotus Feet" ? note
uLLam, urai, Seyal ? manasAdi arcya bhAvAt.
BhUtattAzhvAr echoes the same thoughts in his 2nd tiruvantAdi
pASuram 21.
tAm uLarE; tam uLLam uL uLadE; tAmarayin
pU uLadE; Ettum pozhudu uNDE ? vAman
tiru maruvu tAn maruvu SenniyarE SevvE
aru narakam SErvadu aridu. (2nd tiruvanTAdi ? 21).
"We have been given this body and the indriya-s for His worship; We
have been given our minds to think of Him; He has created the lotus
flowers that we can offer to Him; There is plenty of time to
worship Him; We have the head so that we can bow to Him. When we
have been given everything needed to worship Him, there is no
narakam for us" (if only we use all these for His worship!).
poigai AzhvAr conveys the same message in his 1st tiruvantAdi
pASuram 95 ?
nA, vAyil uNDE; namo nAraNA enRu
OvAdu uraikkum urai uNDE; - mUvAda
mAk-kadikkaN Sellum vagai uNDE; en oruvar
tIk-kadikkaN Sellum tiRam?
"We have been given a tongue inside our mouth for praising Him; We
have been given the ashTAkshara mantra that we can repeat
continuously without interruption; we have been the easy path to
SrI vaikuNTham from which we never have to return; When we have all
this, why is it that some people insist on following only the path
to narakam?"
-dAsan kRshNamAcAryan
(To be continued)
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3. MAAL UGANDHA AASIRIYAR ? LIFE OF THONDARADIPPODIAZHWAAR
(V. MADHAVAKKANNAN, Singapore)
SrI:
SrImathE Gopaladesika Mahadesikaya nama:
Dearest all,
Now we enjoy the life of ThoNdaradippodiAzhwAr, who called himself
as "the Dust at the feet of Bhagavatas', was born to a vedic brahmin
by name, vedavisarathar in Thirumandangudi in the month of Margazhi
and in "kEttai" nakshathram, in the family of sOzhiya vaishnava (who
had their "kudumi" (tuft) on the top front portion and not behind);
He was an incarnation of vanamAlA (Divine Garland of Lord Maha
vishnu) and he was named "Vipranarayana". He was taught Tamil,
Sanskrit, vedas, upanishds, etc., at an early age and he mastered
them with no effort and shone like a bright tEjasvi. He was also
well versed in writing and singing Tamil poetry and was fully well
versed in Shastras. He had no pride (vidhya garvam) and was humble
and modest to the core and hence, he was respected by everyone in
the locality.
He became highly devoted to Sriman Narayana and he took a vow to
stay as a bachelor throughout his life so that he could devote his
full time and energy to perform kainkaryam to the Lord Sriya: patih.
Like periyAzhwAr, Vipranarayana too was interested only in poomalai
kainkaryam. He migrated to Srirangam (which he was longing to visit)
after his father's death) and he made a beautiful nandhavanam with
nice trees to give shadows and cool breeze, flower creepers which
yield excellent sugandha flowers,which can be offered to Sriman
Narayana, like, Lotus, karunkuvalai, Alli(lily), Thulasi, etc.,
stream of water flowing in the middle as an offshoot of Cauveri
where swans swim gracefully, and so on and so on. It was a serene
divine atmosphere in the Nandhavanam and our Vipranarayana stayed
there within the garden in a small hermitage. It used to allure
anybody walking down there to visit and get a divine experience. Not
only that, our Vipranarayana's singing pAsurams in praise of Arangan
along with the sruthi of bees and birds humming add beauty to the
place.
Every day our AzhwAr gets up in the wee hours, takes a holy dip in
nearby Cauveri, applies bright TirumaN kAppu, carries out
NityakarmAnushtAnangal, plucks the flowers and Thulasi leaves, makes
beautiful garlands, and takes them to Arangan for adorning Him. He
enjoys when archakAs place them on the Lord and he stands stupefied
by the inexplicable beauty of The Black Emerald; He melts with
tremendous amount of Bhakti rasam generated by the sowndharyam of
the Lord and enjoys His ThirumEni which is like a big huge mountain;
Red Coral lips and mouth(PavaLacchevvAi); Red Lotus eyes; He
addresses the Lord:"O Achutha! There is no enjoyment which is equal
to admiring your such beauty. Even you give me a post of Indra to
rule the Indra lokam and enjoy that position, I still DO NOT NEED
them; I just want to serve your feet!". Such a great AzhwAr is he!
The Lord wanted some fun (Leela krishnan); One day, two sisters were
coming back after performing a dance performance in front of Chozha
king and were attracted by the beauty of our AzhwAr's nandhavanam.
When they saw him closing his eyes and meditating on the Lord, they
were captivated by his tEjas and charm. He ignored their beauty.
Especially the more beautiful younger sister, by name devadevi got
more offended and in fact, challenged the other sister that she
would make our AzhwAr her slave with her beauty. In spite of her
sister's warning and caution not to enter into such an apacharam and
endanger herself, deva devi was adamant and decided to embark on it.
Disguised and dressed as a sannyasini, she requested him to accept
her service to him at his place. Unaware of the plot, he agreed;
However he did not let her stay inside his hermittage. He maintained
the distance and was as usual performing his kainkaryams unaffected
by her presence. She was desperate and felt sad that she was getting
nowhere near her vow. One day, when it rained heavily she got
drenched and was shivering. Vipranarayana could not say no for her
coming into his hermitage (which he avoided till then) and devadevi
slowly aroused his sensual desires and our poor Vipranarayanar was
hooked!. She virtually made him a slave for her beauty and he forgot
all sorts of kainkaryam and singing. His thoughts were only about
devadevi and he became so engrossed in his desire for her that he
could not bear even a moment separation from her.
When she achieved what she wished, she went back to her place in
uttamarkoil (near SriRangam). Her mother didnot allow Vipranarayana
to see her unless he brought some money, true to their profession
(which he did not have naturally). Vipranarayana felt isolated and
was heavily lamenting the separation from devadevi and did not know
what to do. In the meanwhile, our Lord Tiruvarangan felt it was
enough for Him to playwith His bhakta and hence, appeared as a
servant of Vipranarayana calling Himself "Azhagiya manavala dasan"
and went to deva devi's house. He handed over the Big Golden vessel
(Thanga vattil) saying that Vipranarayana asked him to give this to
her. devadevi's mother went in search of our Vipranarayanar and let
him meet her daughter (without telling him why she allowed now;
AzhwAr, too did not ask). Next morning, the archakas found one of
the "vattils" missing in the Lord's Sannidhi and immediately
informed the king. The servant maid of deva devi informed in the
meanwhile other homes where she used to work for about this Golden
vattil in deva devi's house and the news reached the king. The king
after knowing the story arrested our Vipranarayanar without
listening to his pleas that he was not at all aware of any Golden
vattil; nor did he have any servant working for him, since he
himself was so poor. No amount of request or plea helped and he
landed up in a dark cell! There he realised everything; his
mistakes, his follies, his apacharams of not performing kainkaryams
to the Lord etc..
The Lord appeared in the king's dream and narrated the whole
incident and said that Vipranarayana, His dearest Bhakta, was
innocent and he was at no fault at all. Immediately, the king
released Vipranarayana and prostrated at his feet and begged for his
pardon. Vipranarayana felt greatly moved by the Lord's mercy and
daya and sang pAsurams full of bhakti . Having gone through a
traumatic experience with devadevi, he never looked back and since
then, he became a staunch bhakta and called himself the dust at the
feet of bhakas (ThoNdaradippodi AzhwAr).
[Sri Uttamoor Swamy rejects the above incident in AzhwAr's life
saying that this is the false allegation of other avaidika and non-
vedic people (about whom AzhwAr sang strongly against and in
categorical terms.).
He composed two poems namely., Thirumalai (a garland for the Lord)
and ThiruppaLLiyezhucchi (waking up the Lord). His pAsurams are
really excellent marvellous compositions and one is certain to get
moved by the bhakti and longing for the Lord Ranganatha. He did not
sing any other sthalam ; He sang only in praise of SriRangan.
Before concluding Just one look at one of his GREAT PASURAMS and let
us get blessed by Him.
"OorilEn kANiyillai; uRavu maRRu oruvar illai;/
pAril nin pAtha moolam paRRilEn parama moorthee;/
kAroLi vaNNanE (en) kaNNanE! kadharuginREn;/
AruLar kaLaikaN ammA! arngamA nagaruLAnE!/"
Meaning: I have no place; no properties; no relatves; none other
than you; I know only your Lotus feet; O Lord of Blue hued sky
colour! You only are my refuge. Can you not hear my cries? Is there
any one else to save me except you?"
An excellent pAsuram and how aptly it matches with our lives! May
Lord Sri Ranganatha and His AzhwAr ThoNdaradippodiAzhwAr shower
Their grace and blessings on us, poor mortals, to help us get rid of
this vicious circle of samsara sagaram.
ThoNdaradippodiAzhwAr thiruvadigaLe saraNam
Regards
Namo Narayana
dAsan
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