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SrI:
SrImathE Gopaladesika mahadesikaya nama:

Dearest all,

Today- Kaartthigai Rohini star is the Thirunakshathram
of ThiruppANAzhwAr. Let us meditate on the Lotus Feet
of Sriya: pathih Sriman Narayanan and pay obeisance to
our Dearest AzhwAr ThiruppANAzhwAr, on his birthday.
He needs no introduction to our 
group of BhAgawathAs. 

Let us enjoy His anubhavam of the Lord?s Lotus Feet. 
His Holiness Srimath Azhagiya Singar had blessed us
with a series on Amalanadhipiraan commentary in his
wonderful and simply chaste thamizh which richly
describes the most beautiful ten verses of
ThiruppANAzhwAr and enable us enjoy the exquisite
divine Beauty of Lord Sri Ranganathan. His writing
made me enjoy the tamil, the narration style, Srimath
Azhagiya Singar?s sowseelyam [stooping down so low to
our level even in his writing to make us understand
the esoteric concepts] and I wished to share with all
of you. (from June 97 issue) ( I am not capable of
writing the translation of Swami?s writings at all!
What I jot down the extract - a little portion here- 
is all that I grasped and could get them drilled into
my head only!)

Emeperumaan?s Lotus Feet have been described and
enjoyed by all our PoorvAchAryAs. In
Amalanaadhipiraan, ThiruppANAzhwAr starts from the
Lotus Feet. He enjoys each and every a~ngam of the
Lord in his ten pAsurams, and has been enjoyed by
Periyavaacchaan PiLLai, Azhaigiya MaNavaaLa perumAL
Naayanaar, Swami Desikan et al in their commentaries
on this lovely Prabhandham. 

Generally, the Paramaikaanthins start from the Feet to
the Crown; while the Ekaanthins start from the Head to
the Feet, as BrahmA did during his asvamEtha yaagham. 

1. It is told by Poorvacharyas that ThirppANAzhwAr
started singing the ten pAsurams (while he was being
carried by LokasAranghamuni on his shoulders, on his
way to Sri RanganAthan sannidhi.) and he finished his 
tenth inside the sanctum sanctorum, and united with
the Lord. 

2.The Lotus flower, blooms only during certain
occasions; depending on the climate, the time
(daytime); some days, it remains fresh; then it 
loses its freshness. But this Lotus of our Lord - the
Feet never gets such dhOshams. When the Lord knew that
AzhwAr had already started his course and is on his
way, singing, the Lotus automatically became fully 
bloomed and became more fresh. It (the Feet) did not
feel like waiting for the AzhwAr to come. It started
going towards him and went straight to him. AzhwAr,
when he saw the Lotus Feet, (mentally ) approaching
him, he, out of his naicchiyam and humility, felt
ashamed and closed his eyes to avoid spoiling such
Lotus Feet and the Beauty. (not to cat his evil eye on
that Lotus Feet).

3.But what happened? The Lotus Feet, did not wish to
leave the AzhwAr?s eye sight and hence went into his
eyes and showed Their Beauty! (adadaa! Parama kripai
of Emperumaan! How Great the AzhwAr is! ) Thirukkamala
paadham vandhu en kaNNinuLLana okkinRadhE vandhu. en.
KaNNinuLLana ?  OkkinRadhE. (I will not translate
further and spoil its beauty!- )  

4.What is so great about Thiruvadi (lotus Feet)? They
have both bhAvanam (the ability to alleviate the
dhOshams of those who pay obeisance to Them) and
bhOgyathvam (the ability to offer the delicious 
sweetness to those who see and enjoy Them and pay
obeisance to Them). No single thing in the world is
both tasty and has medicinal value. Only the Lotus
Feet of Emperumaan has both aspects. 

5.Swami Desikan, in his many slOkAs, have enjoyed the
Beauty of the Lotus Feet. PeriyAzhwAr says : At
Aayarpaadi everywhere one can see on the ground, the
marks of Sanghu and ChakrA (the marks on each sole of 
Lord�s Lotus Feet), since Kutti KaNNan walked
His thaLar nadai everywhere having His Lovely
footprints (with sanghu and chakrA). Also he explains,
as YashOdhA, the ten fingers of Kutti KaNNan shine as
if 
they are impregnated with Pearls, diamonds, Emerald
stones, etc.. 

6.And These Lotus Feet are not just bhOgyam for
ThruppANAzhwAr, Swami Desikan and PeriyAzhwAr alone;
They are for our enjoyment, too! Not just tat. Even
Emperumaan is perplexed as to why all these devotees
and BhAgawathAs look mostly at My Feet and enjoy. What
is so special at My Feet? He wonders and what does He
do? Kutti KaNNan takes the Lotus Feet and the pearl
like shining fingers, with both of His cute short
lovely Hands, and TRIES TO PUT IN ALL THE TOE FINGERS
IN HIS RED CORAL LIPPED PavaLa cchevaay and
Kovvaipaazha idazh (bimbhA fruit like lips). 
PeriyAzhwAr says: pEthaik kuzhavi pidiithuch
chuvaiithu uNNum paadha kamalangaL  VedAs say VishNO:
PadhE paramE madhva uthsa: thEnE malarum
thiruppaadham.

7.Thus His Lotus Feet are the BhOgyam for Him and for
us. WE ARE ALL BORN IN THIS SRIVAISHNAVA KULAM ONLY TO
_ REPEAT ONLY TO _ ENJOY HIM. 

Let us pay our obeisance to ThiruppANAzhwAr who has
sung such lovely deep pAsurams enjoying the Beauty of
Emperumaan, and to our Jeer who has highlighted this
first pAsuram so beautifully.

I had posted this few years ago:
Subsequently, Sri Sadagopan Swami supplemented the
below message with his wonderful write up as usual:
Let us enjoy that also here: 

Swami Sri Desikan described the AzhwAr's prabhandham
as " Sukavi Sookti" and was so moved by it that he
wrote a 60 plus palm leaves long commentary on the
these uniquely beautiful 10 paasurams that celebrate
the Sarvanga Soundharyam and the anantha kalyANa
guNams of NamperumAL . 

Sri Sampath Rengarajan gave a beautiful presentation
on the subject at Buffalo New York few years ago .
That pravachanam is still ringing in my ears. He
covered the first the three words of the first
Paasuram and it took him an hour to do full justice to
cover those three words ( Amalan, Aadhi and PirAn ) .
Since then ,He has done a lot of research on the rest
of the words of the first paasuram and the words of
the remaining nine paasurams . I request him to share
his rich and personal anubhavam with us in the near
future .

Meanwhile , I will focus on Swami Sri Desikan's
summary of the extraordinary meanings embedded in this
most magnificent first paasuram . Swami Sri Desikan in
his rahasya grantham , Muni Vaahana BhOgam , picks out
15 of the limitless auspicious attributes of Sri
RangaanthA and instructs us on the high point of each
of these 15 kalyANa guNAs . I will focus on this area
of the anubhavam of Swami Sri Desikan 
on this glorious day .

The FIFTEEN GUNAAS  for Sri Ranganaathan picked out by

ThiruppANar according to Swami Desikan are :

1. Moksha Pradhathvam/samsAra VinAsanam ( Conferral of
Moksham and there by freeing us from the recurring
cycles of births and deaths. Conferral of the boon of
Nithya Kaimkaryam to Him and His consort in
paramapadham . 

2. Jagath Kaaranathvam :Being fundamentally
responsible forthe creation , protection and the
dissolution of the Universe .Being the sole cause of
all chEthanams and AchEthanams and not being supported
by any other entity or principle regarding His Jn~Anam
and sakthi .

3. SaraNyathvam :Being the SaraNyan (refuge) for those
, who surrender to Him through the AchArya Mukha
Prapatthi or the other three types of prapatthi
.Assuring everyone that seek Him that there is no need
to look for others to protect them . 

4. UpakArathva Kaashtai : Helping His BhakthAs and
coming to their rescue without hesitation on Kshudra
VyAjam ( very little effort) and making Himself the
object of our enjoyment in spite of His unimaginably
lofty status as Ubhaya VibhUthi nAthan ( Lord of 
Nithya and LeelA vibhUthi).Even after this
extraordinary help , our Lord feels that He is
indebted forever to His bhakthAs because of His
inability to give even more than what He has blessed
us with 
(viz)., Moksham .

5.KrupA Kaashtai : Unique and incomparable Mercy
(KaruNai ) for even those , who commit unspeakable
offenses and yet saving them .This arises from His
saraNAgatha Rakhaka Vratham that led Him to say that
he will offer protection to even RaavaNA , if
he sought His refuge and gave up his ill deeds
.Through
the small act (kashaNa Karthavyam )of Prapatthi , He
is able to give the huge boon of residence in Sri
Vaikuntam .After that granting of the boon , the Lord
feels uncomfortable still over the thought that He has
nothing more to give. 

6.SvAthanthrya Kaashtai : Ability to elvate those,
whom He wants to bless and protecting them in that
status against any body's efforts to counter what He
established through His samkalpam .

7. NirdhOshathva Kaashtai: Being forever blemishless
(amalathvam). Even if He has affiliation to the
blemish-containing entities that causes every one
Aj~Nam and Dukkham , He does not incur any 
Aj~nam or Dukkham . The classic Upanishadic passage of
the two birds sitting on the branch of the same tree
with one experiencing false Knowledge and sorrows and
the other not subject to these experiences.  

8.Swaamithva Kaashtai or Being the supreme Lord of
Every one including Brahman , Indran and all the
others 

9.Soulabhya Kaashtai : ease of access , Bhaktha
Sulabhan . He permits even those , who want to go away
because of the fear of His grandeur to approach Him
comfortably .

10. Sousselya Kaashtai :Lowering Himself to the level
of even those , who doubt His Lordship (Isavarathvam )
and taking the trouble to answering them and keeping
them in His fold .

11. Vaathsalya Kaashtai: Out of His limitless
affection for His dearest BhakthAs , he ignores their
occasional trespasses and continues to look after
their yoga KshEmam .

12. Parama PrApyathva Kaashtai: Being the sole object
of attainment as parama PurushArtham .

13. Aasritha PakshapAtha Kaashtai: Being Sarva VarNa
samanan ( equal of approach to all four VarNams ), He
blesses those , who seek refuge in Him by cancelling
anything countering His sankalpam to protect His
BhakthAs ).This arises from His predisposition
(pakshapAtham ) to those, who sought His 
protection (aasrithAL) . 

14.BhOgyathva Kaashtai: Conferring the sweetness of 
the enjoyment of His soundharyam .

15.ayathna BhOgyathva Kaashtai : Blessing capacity to
let one enjoy Him without the intercession of the
Indriyams . His svAbhavika anubhAvyathvam is referred
to here .Just as the breeze carries the fragrance of
the flowers , He comes in an unbanishable way and lets
our eyes enjoy His holy feet without  satiety .

All these 15 kalyANa guNams are celebrated in the very

first verse of AmalanAdhipirAn Sri Sookthi according
to
Swami Sri Desikan .

At the very beginning , Swami Desikan states that he
wishes to comment on the Sri Sookthi of ThiruppANar ,
the poet with auspicious attributes .He describes the
AzhwAr , who rode on the back of Loka Saaranga Muni
(Muni Vaahana BhOgar ) as " Mudhitha Mukunda VilOkanar
" or the One , who was intent on having the Sevai of
the Lord of Srirangam , who in turn is elated to see
His BhakthAs .Swami says that he is commenting on this
extraordinary Sri Sookthi brimming with Bhaavam 
and Bhakthi for the enjoyment of the BhagavathOtthamAs
who have controlled their senses (Indriyams) to have 
the Bhagyam of the sEvai of Lord RanganathA .The
slokam is as follows :

vyachikyAsathi BhakthyA viraktha-thOshayA VenaktEsa
Kavi : 
Mudhitha Mukundha vilOkana MunivAhana Sukavi Sookthim
imAm 

Swami points out the uniqueness of this prabhandham of
ThiruppANar among all the other divya Prabhandhams .
He
says that The AmalanaadhipirAn Sri Sookthi is not too
long ( athi vistharam ) , not too short (athi
sankOcham 
not generating any doubts ( SamsayAthi Janakathvam ) ,
Sorrow due to separation from the Lord as Naayikai
(Viraha KlEsam), Sending of messengers to plead the
case to unite the Jeevan with the Lord (DhUtha
prEkshaNam ) , instructions to others
(parOpadEsam ) and crticism of the other mathams
(Para-Matha nirasanam ).IT IS JUST FULL OF BHAGAVADH
ANUBHAVA GHANA RASAM (the rich delight arising from
the total enjoyment of the Lord's soundharyam and
kalyAna guNAs ). All the ten paasurams of this
AdhyAthma Prabhandham thus differ from the aruLic
cheyalkaL of other  AzhwArs according to Swami Sri
Desikan .

At the end of his commetary on this rahasya grantham ,
Swami Desikan describes the nature of the Azhwaar and
the object of his love , Sri Ranganathan  this way :

AzhwAr : aadhi marai yena Ongum arangathuLLE 
aruL aarum kadalaik kaNdavan yenn PaaNan 

Swami salutes with affection the Sukavi as " Yenn
PaaNan " (My ThiruppANAzhwAr ). He describes further
about the object of PaaNan's reverential salutation as
the Lord of Srirangam resting under the PraNavAkAra
VimAnam , the ocean of mercy , Sri RanganAthan .

About the quintessence of the Prabhandham , Swami
Desikan states :

vEdiyar taam viritthuraikkum viLaivukellAm 
vidhai aahum ithu yenru viLampinOmE 

This prabhandham is the seed for all what VedanthIs 
elaborate as the fruits of BrahmOpAsanam . 

Swami goes onto say that the ten paasurams of
ThiruppANar as "pazha maRayin poruL " ( the meaning
of ancient VedAs ). 

Swami Desikan  concludes his commentary with a
beautiful palasruthi slOkam  :

MunivAhana  bhOgOyam mukthaisvarya rasOpama:
krupayA RanganAthasya kruthArthAyathu na: sadhA 

(Meaning ) : This rahasya grantham ( MunivAhana BhOgam
) is equal in anubhavam to the BrahmAnandha Rasam
enjoyed by the Muktha Jeevans in parama Padham . May
this make all of the readers krutha Kruthya:( the ones
, who realized the object of their desires) through
the mercy of Lord RanganAthA .

AzhwAr , Swami Desikan ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam
Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri SadagOpan

Regards
AzhwAr ThiruvaDigaLE SaraNam
Namo narayana
dAsan 


 
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