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          tAtparya ratnAvaLi - Part 13 - Slokam 11-1.

        SrImate SrI ra'ga rAmAnuja mahA deSikAya namah.


Having completed the avatArikA in the first ten Sloka-s, svAmi 
deSikan now starts the description of the guNa-s sung by nammAzhvAr 
in each pASuram of tiruvAimozhi. 

It may be recalled that the emphasis of the first Satakam (group of 
100) is the guNa of sevyatvam ? One who is worthy of being 
surrendered to.  Sloka-s 11 to 22 are devoted to describing the 
hundred guNa-s that are contained in the 100 pASuram-s of this first 
Satakam.  Sloka 11 contains the description of the ten guNa-s that 
are the principal subject of the first tiruvAimozhi (tiruvAimozhi 
1.1), of the first Satakam, consisting of the first ten pASuram-s.  
Similarly, Sloka 12 describes the ten guNa-s sung in the ten pASuram-
s of tiruvAimozhi 1.2, and so on.   In general, one pASuram is 
dedicated to each tiruvAimozhi; however, there are exceptions, and in 
some cases, svAmi deSikan dedicates more than one Slokam to a  given 
tiruvAimozhi.  In the case of the first Satakam, there are 12 Sloka-s 
dedidcated for describing the guNa-s sung in the ten tiruvAimozhi-s.

Slokam 11:

nis-sIma-udyad-guNatvAt amita-rasatayA ananata-leelAspadatvAt
svayattAsesha-sattA-sthiti-yatatabhitAvaibhavAt vaiSva-rUpyAt  |
tRyaksha-brahmAtva-bhAvAt sad-asad-avagateh sarva-tatveshu-pUrteh
paSyan-yogI-param tat-pada-kamala-natAvat-vaSAt-Atma-cittam  ||

paratvam is the guNa chosen at the daSakam level for tiruvAimozhi 1.1 
by svAmi deSikan.  This is found in the 4th pAda (last line) of 
Slokam 11 (paSyan yogi param tat?.).    The ten guNa-s identified for 
pASuram-s 1.1.1 to 1.1.10, that are the subject of the current Sloka, 
are those that are identified by svAmi deSikan as supporting the guNa 
pf paratvam at the daSakam level.  

o       pASuram 1.1.1 (`uyarvaRa uyar nalam' pASuram):  nis-sIma 
udyat guNatvAt -   nis-sIma = unlimited, udyad-guNatvAt = having 
superior guNa-s;  One Who has unlimited kalyANa guNa-s (uyarvaRa uyar 
nalam uDaimai). `mayarvaRa madi nalam aruLudal' and `amarargaL 
adhipatiyAi iruttal' are additional guNa-s sung in this pASuram, but 
the guNa that svAmi deSikan has chosen as the principal guNa that 
goes to support the guNa of paratvam at the higher level is `uyarvaRa 
uyar nalam uDaiyavan', or nis-sIma udyat guNavAn.  

o       pASuram 1.1.2 (`mananaga malamaRa' pASuram):  amita rasatayA ?
 In this pASuram, AzhvAr refers to three of bhagavAn's principal guNa-
s:   "muzhu uNar" ? fully j~nAna svarUpan ? personification of 
absolute flawless knowledge, "muzhu nalam" ? totally Ananda svarUpan ?
 total Bliss, and "edir nigazh" ? He has none that can equal Him or 
surpass Him in any aspect in the past, present and future.  Of these, 
the j~nAna and Ananda svarUpatvam are of a different category than 
the last one; Given His j~nAna and Ananda svarUpatvam, the  third 
guNa - that He has none that is equal to Him, easily follows.  
Between the j~nAna and Ananada svarUpatvam, Ananda svarUpam already 
implies j~nAna sva rUpam (note the taittirIya Upanishad ? the 
sequence of anna maya, prANa maya, manomaya, vij~nAna maya, and the 
final stage of Ananda maya, in increasing order of subtlety).  svAmi 
deSikan selects the Ananda svarUpatvam as the guNa of import for this 
pASuram ? "muzhu nalam" ? amita rasatayA.  One could argue that the 
jIva also in its nature is of Ananda svarUpam.  To distinguish 
bhagavAn's Ananda svarUpam from that of the Ananda svarUpam of the 
jIva-s (which is not fully manifested because of the effects of karma-
s), svAmi deSikan adds the word amita ? unlimited, flawless.  
niravadhika Ananda svarUpan.   

Remember that that these guNa-s at the pASuram level are all guNa-s 
that support the guNa at the daSakam level ? paratvam, and the guNa 
at the Satakam level ?sevyatvam.  This concept that is fundamental to 
tAtparya ratnAvaLi, should be kept in mind when meditating on the 
guNa for each pASuram as we go along.  Also note the extent of 
thought and analysis that have gone into the choice of the principal 
guNa for this  pASuram.  This is an example of the rigorous 
analytical thought process that has gone into the selection of one 
principal guNa for each pASuram by svAmi deSikan, which is the unique 
contribution of tAtparya ratnAvaLi.

Also recall that this is a ratnAvaLi ? a garland, that has a thread 
of sequence embedded in it.  There is a connection between the guNa 
in the previous pAsuram with that in the current pASuram and so on.  
The first pASuram talked of His infinte kalyANa guNa-s; the current 
pASuram gives the basis for that ? namely, that His divya Atma 
svarUpam is flawless, and of the nature of Infinite Bliss ? there is 
no room for any negatives.

o       pASuram 1.1.3 (`ilan adu uDaiyan idu ena ninaivu ariyavan' 
pASuram):  ananta leelAspadatvAt ? "nilaniDai viSumbiDai uruvinan 
aruvinan" ? He Who has as His possession everything both sentient and 
non-sentient, in all the worlds above and below ? This refers to His 
leelA vibhUti.  SrI ve'nkaTeSAcArya describes this as "pAtAlam 
Arabhya parama pada paryantamAgavuNDa cetanAcetana vibhUtikan".  

BhagavAn' possessions are being sung here, as one more aspect of His 
paratvam (guNa at the daSakam level).  He owns everything in His 
nitya vibhUti (in SrI vaikunTham), as well as in His leelA vubhUti.  
The current pASuram specifically praises His Lordship of all things 
in His leelA vibhUti.  

When we say that He owns all the things ?cetana-s and acetana-s that 
are imperfect and full of deficiencies, one could argue that this 
conflicts with His being `uyar nalam uDaiyavan' ? (pASuram 1.1.1).  
This is not so.  He is not in the least affected by our deficiencies, 
and on the contrary, He removes all our sins.  
  
Note the other guNa-s in the pASuram ? ilan adu uDaiyan idu ena 
ninaivu ariyavan, pulanoDu pulan alan, and an-nalanuDai oruvan.  The 
first two are further elaborations of `nilaniDai viSumbiDai uruvinan 
aruvinan' (2nd pAda) ? the guNa chosen by svAmi deSikan.   The third 
one is a reference to His kalyANa guNa-s, that we saw in pASuram 
1.1.2 ? muzhu nalam. 

We will continue with pASuram 1.1.4 in the next posting.

-dAsan kRshNamAcAryan

(To be continued)






 
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