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          SrImate Ra'nga RAmAnuja MahA DeSikAya namaH.    
     tAtparya ratnAvaLi Submission 75, Slokam 26 Part 2, 
           tiruvAimozhi 2.4, pASuram-s 2.4.3 to 2.4.5.

·       pASuram 2.4.3:

irakka manattODu eriyaNai arakkum mezhugum okkum ivaL
irakkam ezhIr idarkku en SeigEn arakkan ila'nkai SeRRIrukkE.

This daughter of mine is in extreme distress, and resembled the
hardened lacquer slowly melting, and now resembles the fast-melting wax
held near the fire.  But You continue without any sympathy towards her
condition.  What is there that I can do to deal with You, who destroyed
the city of  La'nkA that was ruled by the rAkshasa by name RAvaNa?

In this third pASuram of this tiruvAimozhi, AzhvAr makes one more
well-known reference to BhagavAn's guNam of His "vyakta kIrti" of
''vyasana nirasanam' or His well-established trait of removing the
distress of His devotees - the instance of the slaying of RAvaNa who
was causing unbearable distress to the sages and other devotees of the
Lord.  SvAmi DeSikan captures the trait of BhagavAn sung in this
pASuram with the words 'kshipta la'nkam' - 'arakkan ila'nkai
SeRRIrukku' - One who destroyed La'nkA ruled by the demon by name
RavaNa.  (kshipta - eliminating).  BhagavAn not only did not stop with
eliminating RavaNa, but He eliminated all the bad rAkshasa-s in La'nkA
(ila'nkai SeRRirukku, not just 'arakkan SeRRIrukku'). - such is the
extent of His concern for the protection of His devotees.

·       pASuram 2.4.4:

ila'nkai SeRRavanE ennum pinnum, valam koL puL uyarttAi ennum uLLam
mala'nga vevvuyirkkum kaNNIr migak kala'ngik kai tozhum ninRu ivaLE.

My daughter is crying out to You with hope, while breathing out hot air
in her agony, recounting that You burnt the whole of La'nkA for the
sake of sItA PirATTi, and that You ride with the flag carrying the
powerful GaruDan.  Tears are flowing out of her eyes as she is
constantly thinking of You with folded hands.

svAmi DeSikan chooses the phrase 'valam koL puL uyarttAi' -  One who
has GaruDan who removes all poison on His high-rising flag -
kshvelapratyarthi ketam -   (kshvela - venom, poison;  pratyartha - to
combat;  pratyarthin - hostile to, inimical;  keta - mark, sign) - One
who has garuDa who removes all poison as His flag.  

It is not very clear what specific instance in BhagavAn's leelA-s is
being referred to here by svAmi DeSikan, when he refers to 'garuDan who
removes all poison'.   The meaning given by SrI Ve'nkaTESAcArya, SrImad
ANDavan, and Sri PBA are all consistent, and give the above meaning for
the words 'kshevala pratyarthi ketam'.  

                V: visha virodhiyAna vainatEyanai dhvajamAgap paDaittum
                A:  visha haranAna garuDanaik koDiyAgak koNDavan
                        P: visha virodhiyAna periya tiruvaDiyaik koDiyAga  
uDaiyavan

SrI UV comments that the incident referred to is garuDan removing the
poison resulting from the nAgAstram that had bound Lord RAma when
indrajit used the nAgAstram (the 'snake' astra) on Lord RAma during the
battle.  SrI UV notes that the guNam of vyasana nirasanam or removal of
distress by BhagavAn is that He can come at an instant as the 'garuDa
dhvajan' (One with venom-removing garuDan in His flag) and help His
devotee.  

AzhvAr is not explicitly referring to any specific incident where
BhagavAn riding GaruDan is rendering help to remove the distress of His
devotee; however, in his detailed vyAkhyAnam for this pASuram in his
tiruvAozhi vyAkhyAnam, SrI UV  comments along the following lines:  

"valam koL puL uyarttAi" does not pertain to rAmAvatAram (which is
referenced by AzhvAr at the start of the pASuram - 'ila'nkai
SeRRavanE'), but is used here with reference to instances such as the
gajendra moksham.  For rukmiNi devi, He came in garuDa vAhanam.  So
also was the case when He released the girls in narakAsuran's prisons. 
In rAmAvatAram, when RAma Himself was bound by nAga pASam by indrajit,
garuDan came and released Him from the nAgAstram, and BhagavAn gave him
the high position in His flag - garuDa dhvajAnusmaraNAt visha vIryam
praSAmyati - 'meditation on the garuDa dhvaja of BhagavAn removes the
potency of the worst poison' ".  

However, except for the case of garuDan removing the effect of the
nAgAstram that had bound Lord RAma, none of the instances given by SrI
UV have the context of poison beoing removed by garuDan  - kshvela
pratyarthiketum.  The example relating to removalof poison by GaruDan
is also a case of garuDan helping Lord RAma, and not Lord RAma helping
the devotees; it is to be understood that incarnation is a leelA of
BhagavAn, and He is One who has garuDa as His eternal servant, is the
antaryAmI of garuDan, and gives him the power to remove the effect of
the worst poison etc.  Thus the sense in which BhagavAn's guNam is to
be understood here is that He is One who helps His devotees in distress
by hurrying with garuDan who has the power to destroy BhagavAn's
enemies as His vAhanam and as His flag.   SrI Ra'ngachari has described
this guNam of BhagavAn with the following words:  "On His ensign is
venom's antidote (GaruDa) - assurance of security to the distressed."

AzhvAr uses the word 'valam koL puL uyarttAi', where 'valam koL puL'
refers to 'the strong and mighty garuDan'.  He is both the vAhanam
(vehicle) and flag for emperumAn.  In pASuram 1.4.1 (a'nciRaiya maDa
nArAi pASuram), AzhvAr refrs to the role garuDan plays in BhagavAn's
function of protection of His devotees - Ve'nciRaip puL uyarttArkku,
which is captured by svAmi DeSikan as 'trANe baddha-dhvajatvAt' - vem
SiRaip puL uyarttArkku - BhagavAn has raised His flag declaring that He
will protect His devotee at all costs.  It is the same idea that is
conveyed here.  

z       pASuram 2.4.5:

ivaL irAp pagal vAi verI-i tana kuvaLai oN kaNNa nIr koNDAL vaNDu 
tivaLum taNNam tuzhAi koDIr enat tavaLa vaNNar tagavugaLE.

Because she has not succeeded in having Your sight, she is incoherent
in her talk day and night, and is full of tears welling in her
beautiful eyes constantly.  You decorate Your tirumEni with the cool
and fragrant tulasi garlands that attract a large crowd of bees, but
You are not giving Your tulasi garland to her, which is all what she
asks for.  Is this the type of behavior that speaks for Your impartial
and unbounded Mercy towards Your devotees?

The attribute or guNam of emperumAn that is to be enjoyed in this
pASuram is the very beauty of His tirumEni, further enhanced by the
beautiful, cool, and fragrant tulasI garland that He wears - the very
meditation on which will remove all sins of the devotee.  That the very
sight of His tirumEni destroys all our sins and purifies us is well
known.   AzhvAr singles out the purifying nature of the divine tulasi
garland decorating His tirumEni in this pASuram - 'vaNDu tuvaLum taNNam
tuzhAi koDIr' - that AzhvAr in the nAyaki's role longs for, since even
the contact with the tulasi garland that has come in contact with His
divine tirumEni will help remove the distress that the devotee in
undergoing when separated from Him.  SvAmi DeSikan captures this
thought through the words  'Srama hara tulasI mAlinam' - One who wears
the tulasI garlands that remove the devotee's distress.  

-dAsan kRshNamAcAryan
(To be continued)



      

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