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SriRangaSri List Archive: Message 00081 Dec 2006

 
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--- In tiruvenkatam@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, "sudarshan madabushi" 
<sudarshan.madabushi@...> wrote:

Dear members,

The TiruppAvai is often referred to by Vedantic scholars as "upanishad
saaram" -- the Essence of Upanishadic thought. The reason for it is
that many of the themes of the Upanishads (such as Katopanishad,
Chaandogya, Brihadaaranyaka, Kena, and Taittiriya) find their distinct
echo in the fine poetic cadences of the TiruppAvai. To take only one
of several examples, the simple phrase, "mElai-yaar seyyvenagal" in
Stanza 26 resonates strongly with the ringing passage found in the
"sIkshaavalli" of the Taittiriya Upanishad:

    atha yadi tE karma-vichikitsaa vaa vruttavichikitsaa vaa'syaat
       yE tatra brAhmanAh sammarshinah:
    yUktA aayukthAh
    alUkshA dharma kaamaah'syUh
    yathaa tE tatra vartEran
      tathA tatra vartEttaah:

(meaning):
    "When in doubt regarding any act or conduct in life, follow the
example and custom of good and wise-men (i.e "mElai-yaar seyyvenagal")
who live amongst you, who are known to judge impartially, who by
themselves are devoted to good deeds, who are without bitterness or
rancor, and who are life-long committed to dharmA."

The TiruppAvai also abounds in allusions and veiled references to
SriVaishnavite hagiography. Traditional commentators like
Periavaachaan Pillai and others have shown how certain stanzas in the
TiruppAvai are capable of being read and construed as pithy
biographies or life-sketches of the 10 AzhwArs, the holy saints of the
Srivaishnava faith. Stanzas 6 right through to Stanza 15 in the
TirupAvai have been commented upon by Tamil SriVaishnavite scholars
(vide "muvaa-aiyara", "aaraayira padi") as each portraying either
events in the life or specific character-traits of the 10 "aazhwArs".

The TiruppAvai also stands tall as an all-time favorite amongst the
classic works of ancient Tamil literature ("sanga-tamizh"). Tamil
literary scholars draw attention to the richness of the language
employed by ANdAL. They find in it many examples of grammatical,
euphonic and idiomatic excellence: simile, metaphor, alliteration,
poetic scale and construction, prosody, syntax, onamotopoeia,
allegory, epigram, irony, pun etc., all of these literary graces
present in the TiruppAvai hearken back to the glorious days of the
ancient Silapadikaaram, the Tirukkural etc. Later giants of Tamil
literature like Kamban, for example, were indeed truly inspired in
part by the sheer classicism and majesty of the TiruppAvai.

The TiruppAvai is also a work in which one may easily find resonances
of a great many themes found in the ancient Indian "itihAsAs" and
"purANAs" --- like the Ramayana, Mahabharatha, Vishnu-purANA,
BhAgavatham etc. A mere phrase in a TiruppAvai stanza can arouse in
the minds of readers vivid remembrance of a whole chapter, say, from
the Srimadh Bhaagavatham. A phrase, for example, like "mathinaal osai
paduttha thyre-aravam kettilaiyO..." (stanza 7)  is at once highly
evocative of the lovely village and languid pastoral life-styles of
Brindavan where the events of the youthful days of Lord Krishna's
avatar were all enacted --- so poignantly described opera-style in the
Srimadh Bhaagavatam. Similarly, a phrase such as "ullatthu kondu
munivargalUm, yOgigallUm meLLa ezhundu ari-yenra pEr aravam" (Stanza
6) immediately evokes in one's mind the dark and silent forests of
Dandakaranya, in the Valmiki Ramayana, where the wandering "r-shis",
monks and mendicants had the good fortune to behold -- with naked,
mortal eyes --the Almighty Himself, in the avatar of Lord Rama.

                                      ************************

During the period of the sacred month of "maargazhi" (dec-jan) in the
past years (in 2003 and 2005, if I recall correctly), I had
contributed to the Tiruvenkatam Group ( a few other cyber-groups like
Oppiliappan & Srirangasri), two separate series of postings on the
TiruppAvai, wherein it was sought to be explained how, besides its
great Upanishadic resonances or its contextual references to the
"purAna" or "itihAsa", the TiruppAvai can also be well understood and
appreciated for the singular way it deals with lesser known, but
equally significant Vedantic themes. In the first of those 2 series of
postings, entitled "Salvation in Numbers", it was explained how
"Satsangh" -- i.e the constant company of God's devotess, or
"bhAgavatha-sambhandham" being an effective path to salvation -- forms
an integral and underlying theme of the TiruppAvai. The second of the
series of postings (2005), entitled "marrai nam kaamangaL maatru",
sought to explain how the TiruppAvai can be appreciated and understood
too as an elaborate treatise on the great Vedantic theme of "kaama" or
Human Desire.

(Both the above series of postings are hosted in the archives of the
Tiruvenkatam Group Yahoogroup Home Page under the section marked
"Files").

This year (2006), with the advent once again of the holy month of
"maargazhi", I consider it a God-blessing and my unalloyed delight to
be able to once again take up the TiruppAvai as a subject of
contemplation and begin penning yet another series of postings on what
I venture to describe as a rather unusual proposition --- viz.: the
proposition that AndAl's great poetic work can serve us well indeed in
yet another extraordinary capacity.

It is my proposition that the TiruppAvai -- and especially some of the
exquisite Tamil phrases and expressions contained in the work --
serves as a very handy and innovative aid for ordinary people like us
to arrive at a deeper understanding and appreciation of the most
central, perhaps the most philosophical too -- and certainly the most
poignant -- chapter in the whole of the "Srimadh Valmiki Ramayana": I
mean the "Sundara Kaandam"! Such an understanding infinitely enhances
one's enjoyment of Valmiki's magnum-opus.

Starting today, the first day of the sacred month of "maargazhi" 2006,
let us set sail aboard the stately boat of the Tiruppavai and
adventure out into a month-long journey of delight --- a journey of
the spirit that will carry us along the course of the deep, gentle and
wonderful narrative stream of the "sundara-kaandam" where picturesque
sights and breath-taking beauty-spots await us.

                                           *******************
                                         (to be continued)

Regards,
daasan,
Sudarshan

--- End forwarded message ---




 
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