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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




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