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Re: Periya Thirumozhi- 4.6- KannA! You alone are my rakshakan!, Commentary on this paasuram : Part 1

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Sadagopan • July 29, 1999 


Dear BhakthAs :

Sri MadhavakkaNnan(MK) is doing a laudable kaimkaryam
in translating in his own inimitable way , Kaliyan's
paasurms in the spirit of his much-appreciated 
earlier kaimkaryam of translating Swami NammAzhwAr's
Thiruvaaimozhi .

Sri MK has asked some questions about the words chosen by
Thirumangai mannan in the 9th paasuram containing deep
references to our Vaidhika Matham . AdiyEn will join 
in Sri MK's anubhavam and add a few words in explanation . 

Sri MaadhavakkaNNan said:

>9. (A beautiful pAsuram! Please enjoy the transliteration too below!)
>The Lord of Chandhas (Gayathri?)! The Niyamakan (the Director?) of
>that words that make the Chandas! The Chief of five elements
>(Pancha BhUtham)! The Primordial Chief! The Creator and Cause of
>all creations! The essence of everything! The essence of indescribable, 
>incomprehensible Vedic truths! The One who is here at
>Naaangai KaavaLampaadi! You alone are my rakshakan!
>
>"chandhamaay samayamaagich/
>	chamaya aimbhUthamaagi*/
>andhamaa aadhiyaagi/
>	arumaRai avaiyum anaay!*
>mandhamaar pozhilgaL thORum/
>	mada mayilaalu naangai/
>gandhamaar kaavaLanthaN/
>	paadiyaay! KaLaikaN neeyE!"
>
Introductory Remarks for the ThirunAngUr Paasurams 
***************************************************
Kaliyan started his magnificient mangalAsAsanam of 
ThirunAngUr divya dEsams with MaNimAdak kOil(NandhA viLakkE !
aLatthaRkkariyAi! Nara NaaraNanE !--)in the spirit 
of PaadhmOtthAram(an ancient religious VaishNavite text) 
explaining the relationship between Naran and NaarAyaNan :

naarasthivathi sarva pumsAm samUha: parikeerthitha:
gathi: Aalampanam tasya thEna NaarAyaNa: smrutha:

(Meaning): The entire assembly of jeevans is described as
"naaram". Since the Lord is both upAyam (means)and upEyam 
(goal)for them , He is known as NaarAyaNan ).

naarO narANAm samgAtha: tasyaham ayanam gathi:
thEnAsmi munibhir nithyam NaarAyaNa ithiritha:

(Meaning): This is Lord's own words in Paancha Raathra Samhithai:
The sages call Me always NaarAyanan , since I am the gathi
and ayanam ( upAyam and upEyam) for the entire samUham(asssembly)
of the Jeevans.

Kaliyan proceeded further on in his pilgrimage  
to Vaikuntha ViNNagaram , ArimEya ViNNagaram ,
ThirutthEvanAr Thokai and ThiruvaNN PuruDOtthamam
and asked his mind to enjoy these divya dEsams
and celebrate the bhAgyam of these divya dEsa 
prApthis ( the fulfilment of visits to these divya desams).
 
By the time , he reached ThirunAnkUr Semponsey Koil 
as his next stop ,Kaliyan's mind  was in a state of 
immense tranquility and he described his happy state of  
mind with the words , " kaNDukoNDu uynthu ozhinthEn"
( I have been blessed with the darsanam of
the Divya Dampathis at these divya desams 
and  I have etched that aanandhAnubhavam
in my mind and as a result obtained ujjeevanam /
spiritual fulfilment).

In the next two Thirumozhis dedicated to
Thirut theRRiambalam and ThirumaNik KooDam ,
Kaliyan focussed on Sriman NaarAyana SabdhAnusandhAnam
( celebration of the many meanings of the Sriman 
NaarAyaNa sabdham such as anthar-vyApthi/pervasive
presence inside and  Bahir-VyApthi/immanence everywhere
outside et al as explained by PaadhmOtthAram , Lakshmi Tantram , 
another important Sri Vaishnavite text revealed to us by 
MahA Lakshmi Herself and NammAzhwaar's ThiruvAimozhi ).

As he arrived next at ThirunAngai-ThirukkAvaLampAdi 
kshEthram ,a Pancha KrishNa KshEthram , he was in a mood 
to devote himself to SaraNAgathi anusandhAnam ( celebration
of the SaraNAgathi as the saving grace for mortals).He movingly 
appealed to KavaLampAdik KaNNan for rakshaNam(protection) 
and declared that KaNNan alone is his upAyam/means
for protection from SamsAram ( KaavaLampADi mEya KaNNanE 
kaLai kaNN neeyE )for Moksha siddhi (attaining the boon of
freedom from the cycles of repeated births and deaths)in 
the spirit of the following two MahA BhAratham SlOkams :

KrishNa yEvahi lOkAnAm uthpatthirapi chApyaya:I
KrishNasyahi kruthE bhUtham idham visvam charAcharam II

(Meaning):KrishNan alone is the root cause of 
all these worlds; He alone is the uthpatthi
sthAnam (origin place) for these worlds. These
worlds  attain layam in Him at the end of a yugam. 
The chEthana-achEthana prapancham /world 
exists solely for His enjoyment ).

yE cha vEda vidhO viprA yamcha adhyAthma vidhO janA:I
thE vidanthi MahAthmAnam KRISHNAM DHARMAM SANAATHANAM II

(Meaning): Those scholars , who have studied the Karma 
KhANDam of the VedAs and those , who comprehend the inner
meanings of the JnAna KhANDam of the VedAs (Upanishads)
dealing with the Supreme Being recognize and salute 
Krishnan as the eternal siddhOpAyam (Bhagavan or Siddha
upAyam , the means to attain Him).

amrutham saadhanam saadhyam tamm pasyanthi manIshiNa:I
Yajn~Akhyam paramAthmAnam VishNum dhyAyan na seedhathi II

(Meaning): The pradhibhuddha adhikAris( nanku uNarnthavar,
those qualified ones with clear and fullcomprehension )
reognize the Lord , who is Yaj~na svarUpan as the eternal ,
imperishable One (Akshara Brahmam ) and as the durable means
(UpAyam ) and fruit (phalan). They have stated firmly
that those who meditate on Him would be freed of all
samsAric afflictions and will attain His parama padham 
(Sri Vaikunta Lokam ).

This unceasing meditation on the Lord as the never-failing
means is attested by Kaliyan in the way in which Swami
NammAzhwAr taught him in his ThiruvAimozhi (5.10.11):

NahaNaimisai NampirAn charaNE SaraN namakkenRu ,
naadorum yeka chinthayanAi KuruhUr SatakOpan MaaRan-- 

(meaning): The sacred feet of the Lord resting on
AdhisEshan is our only refuge .This was the only  
thought that ThiukkuruhUr SatakOpan had in his mind.

Comments on the 9th Paasuram section on  ThirukkAvalampADi KaNNan
*****************************************************************
In the earlier pasurams , Kaliyan declared his ananya gathithvam
with the statement : " kadavuLE KaavaLam taNN PaaDiyAI
KaLai kaNN neeyE , KaathanE Kaavalam taNN pAdiyAi
kaLai kaNN neeyE , KarutthaNE KaavaLam taNN PaadiyAi
kaLai kaNN neeyE ".

As Kaliyan reached the 9th paasuram before the Phala sruthi
paasuram , he was overcome by the Immensity of the NaarAyana
(Para)Tattvam and broke forth in a rapturous celebration of
the Sarva Rakshaka Prabhu ( protector of one and all), 
who gave him(Kaliyan) His darsanam at KaavaLampaadi 
as Sri KrishNan .This prepared him for the performance of 
SaraNAgathi at the feet of ThiruveLLakkuLatthu ammAN 
standing impatiently next in the line as it were 
for him at the next station of ThiruveLLakkuLam
divya desam as RahshOpakEkshakan ( One who impatiently 
waits for the SaraNAgathi of kaliyan ).ThiruveLLakkuLam 
was indeed the next stop in the divya desa yAthrai of 
Kaliyan . 

Now coming back to the 9th paasuram
on ThirukkAvalampADik KaNNan , the portion 
for our discussion is as follows  :

" chandamAi SamayamAhi Samayavaim bhUthamAhi
anthamAi AadhiyAhi arumaRai avayum aanAi--"

These two magnificient lines are about the Para
Tattvam (Supreme Lorship)of Sriman NaarAyaNan as 
the DhArakan ( who bears the Jeevans as His Body/svarUpam ),
as the NiyanthA ( who commands us with His sankalpam ),
as the sEshi ( as the Lord with no one equal or greater
than Him and  who receives the fruits of our rakshanam ),
as the Svatha-Sarvaj~nan (natural Omniscient one),
as the Sarvasakthan ( Omnipotent one), 
as the Parama KaaruNIkan ( the most merciful one),
as the sarva SaraNyan ( the refuge for one and all),
and as the MOksha pradhan ( the sole granter of Moksham ).

Let us now enjoy the meanings of the individual 
words chosen by Kaliyan .I will first give the meanings
in VaishNava paribhAshai (coded lamguage) and then break
the codes for a learer understanding :

(1)ChandhamAi= by becoming the svAthanthrya sakthi of the Jeevans,
(2)Samayam aahi=by becoming the kaala dhravyam with its many divisons
(3)samayam ei bhUtham aahi=by becoming the prapancham defined by
                        the five elements(pancha bhUtham), which
                        arise after Mahath , ahankAram and other
                        achEthana tattvams
(4)antham aai=by becoming the Pralayam
(5)Aadhi aahi=by becoming the many created beings as upAdhAna kAranam
(6)aru maRai avaiyum aanAi=You became the timeless VedAs , which describe
                        all these wonderous doctrines related to You.

The detailed meanings of these six words or group of words
will be covered in the next posting.

Kaliyan ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam,
Daasan , Oppiliappan Koil Varadachari Sadagopan