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Tirumangai Alvar: Undam ADigaL

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Mani Varadarajan • March 24, 1999 


[ A forwarded message from Sri A. Bharat of Bangalore,
  who has temporarily unsubscribed from the List due
  to other commitments. ] 

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Date: Wed, 24 Mar 1999 21:35:18
To: mani@be.com
From: "A. Bharat" 

Dear Mani

Here's a beautiful moment from the enjoyment of
AzhwArs and AchAryas:

Tirumangai mannan is enjoying the pranks of KrishNa.
He has been unusually naughty today.YashOda is finally
stirred up to lift up a stick to threaten him.But she doesn't
strike him; instead she warns him -< undam-aDigaL munivar>
your father will be angry with you.This simple statement
has a lot of emotional history behind it:
Normally parents hanker for a child and are desperate to 
get it.Here is a child, who is self-existing and parentless,
desperately hankering for a father.VAlmIki says
 he lovingly selected a father.
When a thirsty man comes at last to a pond,he doesn't
merely stop with drinking the water;he throws it on his
face and hands and may even jump in and swim in it.Thus
this father-seeking child doesn't stop with one parent;
he keeps adding them - one in this birth, TWO in the next
one..Such was NandagOpa to him.So when YashOdA uses the
emphatic -UNDAM ADIGAL.. she has a wealth of meaning behind
it.She knows KrishNa will feel the prick.At least Tirumangai
AzhwAr thinks so!

This beautiful piece of insight is from the Arumbada-urai
of Periya Tirumozhi 2.2.4 which quotes the above line
from 10.4.8.

EmberumAnAr TiruvaDigaLE SaraNam!
aDiyEn
BHARAT 


----- End forwarded message -----