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From the Bhakti List Archives

Vijay Triplicane • August 26, 1998 


	We have been having an interesting as well as healthy
discussion on the Most Favoured Dhivya dhEsam. Along these lines I
thought of sharing an interesting thirumAlai pAsuram. 

kudathisai mudiyai vaiththuk
 kuNathisai paatham neetti,
vadathisai pinpu kaattith
 then_thisai yilankai nOkki,
kadaln^iRak kadavuL enthai
 aravaNaith thuyilumaa kaNdu,
udalenakku urukum aalO
 enseykENn ulakath theerE! (2)   (19)

	In this pAsuram AzhvAr addresses the people(samsArIs) of this world.
He basically seeks advice from them. Here is his problem. He says,
"On seeing my beautiful Lord who has his head westward, his holy feet
eastward, his back northward and facing lanka in the south, sleeping
on the serpent bed, I can't control myself. I am moved by His immense 
beauty and am rendered senseless. Dear samsAris, please tell me how to
regain my senses." 

	Superficially this looks like any other pAsuram talking about
the beauty of our dear Lord. But the vyAkyAna chakravarthi, parama
kAruNigar Sri periyavAccAn piLLai adds an interesting twist here. 

	Why does the AzhvAr ask the help of samsAris? He could have asked
the fellow AzhvArs or the Lord Himself. He himself gives an
explanation. The other AzhvArs themselves have lost control on seeing
Arangan. So there is no point asking them. It is like a broken ship
seeking help from an already sinking ship. ( "Ottai OdaththOdE
ozhugal OdamAm iththanaiyiRE!" - Odam - little ship, ozhugal -
leaking.)

	Why not the Lord himself? Then it amounts to explicitly
expressing his inability to the perumAL. Also perumAL would feel
proud of Himself that He has defeated the AzhvAr. (This is to be
taken in a lighter vein...). So AzhvAr doesn't want to accept defeat
at the hands of even perumAL Himself. 

	So he asks the samsAris. Unlike the other AzhvArs, they are even
more stronger and stable after worshipping perumAL. They don't seem
to be moved as much as the AzhvArs. So he asks them to share the
secret on how to keep themselves stable. He says,"You seem to have
taken some medicine to keep your muscles tight. Why don't you give me
a handful so that I can also try it out. (uN^gaL iRukku vAdha
parihAraththilE enakkum oru chiRAN^gai idavalligOLE? iRukku vAdham -
a type of paralysis where one cannot move his muscles, chiRAN^gai - a
handful)

	No other perumAL has made an AzhvAr go thro this much of
difficulty after just seeing Him. It drove the AzhvAr to such an
extent that he seeks advice from the lowly samsAris. Such is the
beauty of our dear araN^gan. Without any doubt Srirangam is the Most
favoured! 

thirumAlai aRiyAdhAr thirumAlai aRiyAdhArE
(One who doesn't know thirumAlai, the dhivya prabhandham,
 doesn't know thirumAl, the Lord.)

adiyEn
-Viji
(Vijay Triplicane)