SrI: SrImathE Gopaladesika mahadesikaya namah: Dearest all, Let us continue to enjoy Thirumangai AzhwArs wonderful verses on Thiruvenkatamudiayaan. Now after Periya Thirumozhi today let us enjoy ThirukkuRunthANdakam verse no.7. kalayaami kalidhvamsam kavim lOkadhivaakaram yaSya kObi: prakaaSaabir aavidhyam niHatham thama: I meditate on the Poet, who is like the Sun for the whole world, to destroy the darkness of ignorance(a~jnAnam) with his word and who destroys the Kali dhOsham. [from Sri Satagopan mama?s treatise] Thirukkurnthaandakam (TKT) has 20 moving verses celebrating the rakshatvam of Sriman Narayana and the Maha Viswasam of the Azhwar . After his deep immersion in the mysteries of the Ashtakshara Maha Mantram of the Lord and after visiting the many Divya Desams , at the end of Periya Thirumozhi, Thirumangai is in a mellow mood . In the pasurams of his Periya Thirumozhi, he expressed his fear of being caught in the snares of Samsara and rebirth and cried aloud for the Lord's boon of Moksham. The Lord wanted to enjoy few more Pasurams from his dear Bhaktha and therefore did not respond to the fervent plea of the Azhwar. In his desperation, the Azhwar engaged in a strenous effort to enjoy the auspicious qualities of the Lord by mind , body and speech in TKT and declared his utter servitude to Him under all circumstances. As a result of this exercise, he got his boon of Moksham and overcame the afflictions of Samsara . He continued on in TNT and although there is no clear proof , TNT might have been the last work of Thirumangai judging from the mood of the two Thaandakams. Another school of thought centers on the theme that Sriman Narayana blessed the Azhwar at the end of Composing Periya Thirumozhi and presented himself before him and blessed him. This school believes that the joyous outpourings of the Azhwar in TKT is a reflection of the ecsatatic state and the mindset of the Azhwar. Independent of the correctness of one point of view or the other, the verses of TKT are testimony to the unshakable belief of the Azhwar in the Rakshakatvam and Bhaktha Vaatsalyam of Sriman Narayana.TKT also houses the Mangalasaasanamof the Azhwaar for the Archamurthys of Srirangam, Thirukkudanthai, Thirupper Nagar, Venkatam, Thirukkandiyur, Thirukkadanmallai, Kacchi and Thirumayyam. The Azhwaar seems to point out that the Murthy Jnanam is essential even after understanding the means (Upaayam) and Target (Upeyam) aspects of Saranagati. There are pasurams in TKT that capture the mood of Nirvedam ,where the Azhwaar laments over the time lost in chasing the transient pleasures of life instead of reflecting on the holy feet of the Lord. Like Nammazhwaar, He recognizes that the thought of the Lord and the experience of His Kalyana Gunaas are his food and Water (UNNum SoRu and Paruhum Neer ). His celebration of the Bhakti Yogam in one of the Pasuram is a marvel from the point of succinct capture of the essence of this Yogam. He answers the Rg Vedic Question: Kasmai Devaaya Vidhema.To Which god shall we offer our offerings and obesiance is the question raised by the Rg Veda mantra. Like Nammazhwaar, Thirumangai states unambigouosly that Sriman Naryana is the God , who is the supreme principle and the adoration of HIM is the highest rite (charya) to enjoy Moksha Sukham (eternal bliss). [Thanks to Sri Satakopan swami for his permission] SEVENTH verse is our ThiruvEnkatam verse: immaiyai maRumai thannai emakkuvee tAki ninRa, meymmaiyai virin^tha sOlai viyanthiru varangkam mEya, semmaiyaik karumai thannaith thirumalai orumai yAnai, thanmaiyai ninaivA renRan thalaimisai mannu vArE. 7 The fruits in this world; the bliss in the other world [paramapadham] the ultimate goal [purushaartham] of permanent kaimkaryam [for paramaikAnthins-the devotees who do not seek anything other than His lotus feet and any means except the same Lotus Feet of Sriman Narayanan] are prevalent in this most divine Srirangam filled with fertile gardens; where the Lord of ThiruvEnkatam [who has the most beautiful dark form of dhivya mangaLa ThirumEni and who has the ever aarjava kalyANa guNA] resides? [AzhwAr says TiruvEnkata emperumAn is the Lord of Srirangam]. Those devotees who meditate and contemplate on this emperumAn of ThiruvEnkatam [and of Srirangam] reside on my head forever? means their feet adorn my head. [I am the dAsa of these bhaagawathas]. Sri Ranganathan and the Lord of Thiruvenkatam are saluted here. The greatness of Bhagavathas are also saluted by the Azhwaar, who declares that the feet of the Bhagavathas of the Lord always adorn his head. In the Eigth verse, he pities those, who do not understand the uniqueness of the Bhagavathas or their relationship to the Lord have wasted their lives as Human beings and may as well be born as birds or animals. Azhwaar is disgusted with such people. As a great coincidence, in The Hindu today, under religion column also appears the ThiruvEnkatam and Srirangam are very beautifully mentioned and equated. Same sentiment of this world and the other world is found in Srirangam can also be referred to in Thondaradippodi AzhwAr?s icchuvai and acchuvai. And also engum thiruvarul peRRu of ThiruppAvai. The Divine name [from the Hindu dated 2nd March 2006] The abodes of the Supreme Being glorified by the Azhwars of the Srivaishnava tradition are hailed as Divyadesas and they are 108 in number. Of them Srirangam has a unique distinction in that all the Azhwars have sung in praise of the deity there ? Lord Ranganatha. An interesting aside is related in tradition about an Araiyar (temple minstrel in Srirangam) who went on a pilgrimage to Tiruvenkatam and attempted to compare the excellence of Lord Srinivasa (Tirumala) and Lord Ranganatha. When he started describing them and observed that the ornaments, which adorned them shone with radiance because of their beauty, the Lord of Tiruvenkatam accepted his eulogy. The Araiyar then related that all the Azhwars had composed verses on Lord Ranganatha when Lord Srinivasa immediately asked him to stop comparing them saying that `Chozhiyan' (Tondaradippodi Azhwar) had indeed failed to extol Him. This is related to underscore Tondaradippodi Azhwar's singular devotion to the Lord of Srirangam. His hymns Tirumalai and Tiruppalli ezhuchi are testimony to his absolute loyalty to his chosen deity, said Sri K.B. Devarajan in his discourse. It is said that one who does not know Tirumalai cannot know Tirumal (God). Such is the greatness of this work. Right at the outset he highlights the glory of the Divine name as the means to salvation in the Tirumalai. He declares that reciting God's names has made him fearless: "By the impetus of learning Your names the senses have come under control and Kali overpowered, and we exult stepping on the heads of Yama's agents." Thus the leitmotif of this hymn is the efficacy of chanting the Divine name as the means to liberation in this Kali age. This is stressed on the lines of the Bhagavata Purana, which states that penance, dispassion and wisdom were essential to realise God in the other three Yugas (Satya, Treta and Dwapara), while in Kali devotion (chanting the Divine name) can give the same result. A devotee once asked Parasara Bhattar what the prerequisites were for chanting God's names. He asked in turn, "Is there any eligibility for addressing one's mother?" thereby driving home the truth that devotion is enough to chant the Divine name.. Thirumangai AzhwAr ThiruvaDigaLE SaraNam Regards Namo Narayana dasan __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com ------------------------ Yahoo! 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