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Re: Why learn of anything but Rama?

From the Bhakti List Archives

M K Sudarshan • April 26, 1997 


At 03:06 PM 4/23/97 -0700, Sri.Mani Varadarajan wrote:
>
>kaRpaar iraama piraanai allaal maRRum kaRparO?
>puRpaa muthalaap pulleRum paathi onRu inRiyE,
>naRpaal ayOththiyil vaazum charaacharam muRRavum,
>naRpaaluk uyththanan naanmukaNnaar peRRa naattuLE. 
>
>				thiruvaaymozhi 7.5.1
>				(by Nammalvar)
>
>Why would anyone want 
>   to learn anything but Rama?
>
>Beginning with the low grass
>   and the creeping ant
>with nothing
>   whatever,
>
>he took everything in the good city Ayodhya
>   everything moving,
>      everything still,
>
>he took everything
>   everything born 
>of the lord
>   of four faces,
>
>he took them all
>   to the very best of states
>
>
>			[translated by A.K. Ramanujan]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What a lovely verse, indeed !!

It reminded me immediately of Saint Tondar-adi-pOdi's similar-sounding verse
from pasUram #7 from the "tirUmAlai" :

  pulaiyaram-Aki ninra puttodu samanam ellAm
   kalaiyarak kaRRa mAndar kAnbarO ? kEtparO tAm ?
  talaiyarUp pUndUm sAkEn sattiyam kAnmin aiyA !
   silaiyinAl ilangai seRRa dEvanE dEvan AvAn !

(my free non-literal translation):

  Hark! this is the Truth 
   That saivaite, jain and buddhist 
   Mired in untruth 
  knows not;
  
  Hark Sire! He's One Truth
   To swear by! Yea, I offer thee my head for it:
   The One who quelled Lanka, behold ! is the ONE
  I know is TRUTH -- need I another ?!

adiyEn,
sudarshan