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A Tribute to NammAzhwAr's Thiruviruttham : Part 2

From the Bhakti List Archives

Sadagopan • March 28, 1998 


Dear BhakthAs and BhagavathALs :
I will continue with the VislEsham and samslEsham
moods of NammAzhwAr in this posting .

SamslEsham and VislEsham as Bhagavad anubhavam
***********************************************

The prathyaksha tulya maanasAnusandhAnam 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 unconmtrollable 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 his prEma dasai , AzhwAr takes on the role of Naayaki
and talks like a hurt beloved over the neglect of her Lord.
Nayaki is clearly agitated .

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 to 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 ParAnkusa Daasan ,
Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri SadagOpan 

P.S : I will come back to the Thiruviruttham 
paasurams of NammAzhwAr after a special kaimkaryam
to Sri RanganAthA . The RathnAngi for Sri Ponnappan  ,
the MaaNickka Kondai/Maragatha KiLi/golden jata kothsu
kaimkaryam for Sri Bhumi Devi and the  Mutthangis
for the uthsavar divya dampathis of Oppilaippan KOil
celebrated by NammAzhwAr's saraNAgathi has now been completed 
with your particpation .I have no more requests to make to
you on behalf of Kaimkaryam for Sri Oppiliappan .

My only prayer is that you all be blessed with the darsanam
of the aprAkrutha divya vigraham of the SaraNya 
dampathis at Oppiliappan Koil .Please stay at my home in 
the Sannadhi street of Oppilaippan Koil duirng your visits .
The name of my home is " SatakOpa Bhavanam " .

I have got only ONE kiamkaryam that I want to get 
involved in my life for a very special and sacred reason .
That is the Kaimkaryam of realizing the construction
of the Temple for Sri RanganAthA and Sri RanganAyaki 
at Pomona , New York . Sri Anand wrote recently about 
his unique and moving anubhavam of BhUmi pUjA for
the construction of that special temple modeled in 
every way after the holy temple in Srirangam .

A great Bhaagavatha , Dr.Venkat Kanumalla has 
lived every moment of his life to realize that 
dream come true . A group of Sri RanganAtha PrEmis
have contributed time and money to bring the kaimkaryam
to the half way mark . The prANa prathishtai for the
vigrahams have been done by parama padavaasi ,
His Holiness , the 44th Jeeyar of AhObila Mutt. 

The murthys of Srirangam ( periya PerumAL ) is
the kula dhanam for every one of us . AzhwArs have 
poured out their hearts over the mahimai of 
Sri Ranganathan . Our AchAryAs have rooted themselves
in Srirangam to be near Him and serve Him and His
divine consort . The saraNAgathi Gadhyam was born there .
Many miracles have happened to keep our sampradhAyam alive . 

I plan to write a series of articles in the Bhakthi 
list about the greatness of Srirangam and the SaraNya
dampathis there . 

Although we have many kaimkaryams to support , this 
particular one is very special and immediate one . Dr.Venkat
Kanumalla will describe the status of the Kaimkaryam and
seek your most valued help .

Please , Please help to the best of your ability .
Sri RanganAthA's blessing will always be with you 
and your family . I will post a similar appeal
in SaraNAgathi jouranl so that additional bhakthAs 
could be made aware of the urgent need for their support 
to this unique and special temple under construction for 
the Sesha sAyee on the banks of the Hudson river in 
New York . 

DaasOham , Sadagopan