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Sri Azhagiya Singar and his aruL mohzigaL on ThiruppAvai : Part 1

From the Bhakti List Archives

V. Sadagopan • September 21, 1997 


Dear BhakthAs of GodhA PirAtti :

Few weeks back , we  celebrated Aadi Pooram ,
the birth day of ANDAL of Srivilliputthur , who blessed us with 
the nectar of ThiruppAvai . Although the Isvara Margazhi maasam
is a few months away , I am thrilled today to read the essay of 
the revered 44th Azhagiya Singar of AhObila Mutt on 
the thirty paasurams of ThiruppAvai . It is such a wonderful 
and insightful essay that I thought it would be of wide interest 
to those , who can not  access or read it in Tamil Language .

Sri BharadwAj Jaganathan , President of the Ahobila Matam
of North America has copies of this book housing the article
on ThiruppAvai . I have the blessed opportunity to acquire  a copy 
of this  monograph entitled " Sri Azhagiya Singarin Amudha 
MozhigaL " . This monograph containing the Jeeyar's 32 essays 
have been released by Sri Nrusimha PriyA Trust . May the 
anugraham of His Holiness Sri VedAntha Desika Yatheendhra 
MahA Desikan, the builder of the Raaja Gopuram of
Sri RanganAthA and strengthener of the edifice of 
Sri VisishtAdvaitam be with us always ! 

Sri Lakshmi Nrusimha ParabrahmaNE Nama:
Sri VedAntha Desika YatheendhrAya NamO Nama: 

                             THIRUPPAAVAI SAARAM 
                              ***************************
         Translation of H.H . The Jeeyar's Amudha Mozhi 
          ****************************************************
The divya prabhandham known as ThiruppAvai is capable of 
conferring immense auspiciousness ( mangaLam ) . You can 
ask as to who are the beneficiaries of such mangalam . This 
special group of blessed seven are :

1. Those, who learnt ThiruppAvai from revered elders ,
made it part of their rote memory for recitation purposes and 
understood clearly the traditional meanings of the 30 paasurams 

2. Those , who recite it daily in Bhagavad sannidhAnams 
at home or at temples 

3. Those , who who have paripUrNa bhakthi for Sriman NaarAyaNA
celebrated by the paasurams of ThiruppAvai and reverence for 
bhagavathAs with unquestioned bhakthi for the vibhava
avathArams of Sriman NaarAyaNA such as Sri RaamA and Sri KrishNA .

4. Those , who have reverence for bhagavad bhakthAs of the type 
saluted by the ThiruppAvai paasurams and have a full comprehension
of their own status as Bhagavadh Daasans 

5. Those Bhagavadh Daasans , who stay that way along 
with reverence to bhagavathAs independent of whatsoever 
difficulties or losses or enimities that come their way 
in maintainig thier reverence for BhagavAn and 
His BhagavathAs 

6. Those , who dedicate all their efforts to Sriman NaarAyaNA 
( Sriman NaarAyaNa preethyartham ithi kAryam kruthavAn ) 

7. Those , who do not ask even Bhagavan for any fruits other
than the boon of Moksham .

We make the vow here that ThiruppAvai will confer sakala 
mangaLams for the above group of blessed ones based on 
the following two facts : 

1.In every one of her thirty ThiruppAvai paasurams , ANDAL has
declared that Sriman NaarAyaNan , the fundamental cause
of this universe ; She has declard that Sriman NaarAyaNan 
( veda prathipAdhyan ) is the giver of all boons desired by us .

2. ANDAL has declared unambigously in every one of 
those paasurams that Sriman NaarAyaNan is not only  
the grantor of the desired boons but He is also the provider of 
the fruits of those boons requested by us .

Her description and subsequent salutaions of 
Sriman NaarAyaNan in every one of her thirty paasurams 
are :

*. Sriman NaarAyaNan is none other than KaNNan
( Sri KrishNan )/ to the first paasuram

* He is KsheerAbdhi nAthan ( the Lord reclining
on Adhi Seshan in the milky ocean in yOga NidrA )
/ the second paasuram 

* He is the Lord , who grew immensely to measure 
the earth and the sky ( Ongi UlagaLandhavan ) , 
Vaamanan and Trivikraman ( Third Paasuram ) 

* He is Oozhi Mudalvan , Vaikuntha Naathan , 
PadmanAbhan and PanchAyudhan ( Fourth Paasuram )

* He is DamOdharan ( Fifth Paasuram )

* He is PoothanA samhAran , sakatAsura SamhArakan 
and Hari ( Sixth paasuram ) 

* He is Kesavan and NaarAyaNan ( seventh Paasuram )

* He is the lord of all gods/ DevAthi Devan (eighth paasuram) 

* He is Maadhavan and Vaikunthan ( Ninth paasuram )

* He is ThuzhAi mudi NaarAyaNan ( One who has 
the fragrant Tulasi on His crown )/ tenth paasuram

* He is Muhil VaNNan ( one with the hue of the dark 
clouds of the rainy season ) / eleventh paasuram 

* He is Sri Raaman ( Twelfth Paasuram )

* He is puLLin vaai keendAn( KrishNan )  and 
the one who destroyed the rAkshasAs of LankhA
( Sri Raman ) / thirteenth paasuram 

* He is the sankodu chakkaram yEndhum 
pankayakkaNNan ( The lotus eyed-one , who adorns 
the divine disc and the conch on his hands )/ fourteenth
paasuram 

* He is the KuvAlayapeeta mardhanan ( one who
destroyed the royal elephant of king kamsA )/
fifteenth paasuram 

* He is Mayan MaNivaNNan ( sixteenth paasuram )  

* He is ulagaLandhAn , DEvathi DEvan ( 17th paasuram )

* He is the Nappinnai Naathan ( Lord of Nappinai )/
eighteenth paasuram 

* He is malarmArbhan KaNNan ( one whose chest 
is adorned by Vyjayanthi garland ) / 19th paasuram 

* He is UpEndran ( 20th paasuram ) 

* He is ParamjyOthi KaNNan ( 21st paasuram )

* He is Paramapadha Naathan ( 22 nd Paasuram )

* He is PoovaNNan ( 23rd paasuram ) 

* He is Trivikraman , Raaman and KrishNan 
( Twenty fourth paasuram )

* He is VasudEva suthan , YasOdha nandanan
( twenty fifth paasuram ) 

* He is the " aalinilayil paLLikondavan ( one who
rsts on the leaf of a pupil tree during the time of 
the great deluge ) / 26th pasuram 

* He is Govindhan ( 27th paasuram )

* He is Govindhan , iRaivan ( 28th Paasuram )

* He is the one saluted by the naamam , GovindhA
( twenty ninth paasuram )

* He is Madhavan , Kesavan , SelvatthirumAl ( 30th
paasuram ) . 

Thus , every paasuram of  ThiruppAvai celebrates  
Sriman NaarAyaNan as the supreme protector of
every one , who sought refuge in Him . Every paasuram
celebrates one or other avathArams of Sriman NaarAyaNA
in an easy-to-understand manner . It has  accomplished 
this excellent task like a gold smith enmeshes the different
gems in a gold setting  to create a beautiful ornament . 

ThiruppAvai brings before our eyes the sarvOthkrushta 
Sriman NaarAyaNan and his avathArams ( NaarAyaNa
Murthys ) without any doubts or confusion about their 
identity . 

Paavai means a uruvam( form)  with limbs such as
hands , legs , head et al . Hence , our learned elders have 
called this Thiruppaavai as a Vigraham . Thiru means 
MahA Lakshmi ; Thiru also means Sriman NaarAyaNan .
On this basis also , we conclude that ThiruppAvai is 
the vigraham for MahA Lakshmi and Sriman
NaarAyanan . Thiruppaavai is therefore the divya
mangaLa vigraham made up of the paasurams of 
ANDAL . We can now comfortably conclude that the Lord 
incarnated as Thiruppaavai for ANDAL . In the thirumEni
( vigraham ) of Raaman , only BhagavAn is there ; in 
the ThirumEni of SeethA devi , only MahA Lakshmi is
there. In contrast , in the body of ThiruppAvai ( sabdha
rUpa vigraham ) , both Lakshmi and Her consort take
their united residence as the divya dampathis . This is 
the esoteric specialty of the incarnation of ThiruppAvai
as an independent  divine incarnation . 

We will continue with the essence of each of the paasurams
of ThiruppAvai as revealed to us by Paramapadha Vaasi ,
H.H Sri Vedantha Desika Yatheendhra Maha Desikan 
of Ahobila Mutt . 

Sri Lakshmi Nrusimha ParabrahmaNE NamO nama:

SrimathE SrivaNN SatakOpa Sri VedAntha Desika 
Yatheendhra MahA DesikAya Nama : 

SrimathE Sri Lakshminrusimha divya PaadhukhAsevaka
SrivaNN SatakOpa Sri NaarAyaNa Yatheendhra MahA DesikAya
Nama: 

Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri Sadagopan