Sri: Srimathe Ramanujaya Nama: Dear bhAgavatas, In the eleventh pasuram, Madhurakavi Azhvar uses the word anban three times; and each time it refers to a different person. The first anban refers to Sriman Narayana, the second one refers to Nammazhvar and the third one refers to Madhurakavi Azhvar himself. While it is true that Nammazhvar is the main subject of Kanninun Siruththambu, Perumal gets refered to a few times - in the very first pasuram itself, in the third pasuram, and so on. This should not be suprising (even if Madhurakavi Azhvar says "thEvu maRRaRiyEn"), as it is impossible to separate Nammazhvar and Sriman Narayana. So, in the last pasuram, the first anban refers to the Lord. Why is He being called an anban? anban could mean two things. He is very affectionate to others or that others are very affectionate toward Him. Let's take the latter case first. If someone says that he or she likes/loves someone a lot, it is usually because of something that they see in that person. So, there must be something, some quality of the Lord that makes everyone love Him. The vyakhyadars declare that it is the divine quality of vAtsalyam that everyone loves in the Lord. This vAtsalyam is declared as an ocean (from the Stotra ratnam, "niravadhika vAtsalya jaladhE") and therefore all other divine qualities are considered to be present inside this ocean (like precious stones present in the ocean). Taking the latter case, that He loves others, the question then becomes whether He loves some selectively or if He loves everyone unconditionally. The second anban which refers to Nammazhvar clearly shows that Nammazhvar loves only those that love Him. Whereas in His case all evidences show that He loves everyone, irrespective of how they respond to Him. From the Ramayana, "ripUNAmi vatsala" - affectionate even to His enemies. This is also said in the Jitante Stotram, "devAnAm dAnavAnAm ca sAmAnyam adhidaivatam" - He is the common Lord for both the devas who have devotion to Him and the asuras who oppose Him. So, what would be the quality in Him that makes Him love everyone no matter who they are? Again, the answer is vAtsalyam. For example, a mother would love both her children even if one of them were bad. This is due to Her vAtsalyam. Similarly, He loves us all, even though we are deep in karmas and sins, and that is due to His vAtsalya guNa. Why would He have that kind of love toward all? From the Mahabharata, "sarveshAmEva lOkAnAm pitA mAtA ca mAdhava:" - Narayana is the father and mother to all worlds. From the Bhagavad Gita, "pitAmahasya jagatho mAtA dAta pitAmaha:" - I am the mother, father, protector and grandfather of this world. Alavandar too says in his Stotra ratnam "Evam nisargasuhrudi tvayi sarvajanto: svamin! na citramidamAsrita vatsalatvam" - O Lord! You are naturally friendly to every being and therefore this quality of vAtaslya is not surprising in You. Therefore, the vyakhyadars say that the first anban which refers to Him, speaks of His vAtsalaya guNam. It is this vAtsalyam that Nammazhvar too talks about with the words "nigaril pugazhAy" as he surrenders to Thiruvengadamudaiyan in the "agalakillEn" pasuram. Our acharyas say that His compare-less fame comes out of His vAtsalya guNa - loving everyone no matter who they are. Azhvar Emperumanar Jeeyar Thiruvadigale Sharanam adiyEn madhurakavi dAsan TCA Venkatesan --- Srinivasaramanujan TCA <tcasr@xxxx> wrote: > This is a beautiful translation. One doubt: when the > subject is Nammazhwar, the word "anban" is presumed to > refer to him; why the vyakhya alludes to Vatsalya Guna > of the Lord? > Adiyen,TCASrinivasaramanujan > --- "vtca <vtca@xxxx>" <vtca@xxxx> wrote: > > anban: > > Lordship is not His main quality; showing love and > > affection to all is ("ripUNAmapi vatsala:"). He has > > the > > quality of vAtsalya as one of His kalyANa guNas. His > > love > > reaches everyone without regard ("dEvAnAm > > dAnavAnAnjca > > sAmAnyamadhidaivatam"). __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now. http://mailplus.yahoo.com
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