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Ramanuja List Archive: Message 00098 Dec 2002

 
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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").


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