SrimatE Raamaanujaaya Namaha //
SrimatE Nigamaanta Mahaa Desikaaya Namaha //
SrIman! SrI Ranga Sriyam anupadravam anudhinam Samvardhaya/
SrIman! SrI Ranga Sriyam anupadravam anudhinam Samvardhaya//
KAvEri VardhathAm kAlE, kAlE varshathu vAsava: /
SrI RanganAthO jayathu Sri Ranga Sri cha VardhathAm//
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SRI RANGA SRI VOL.07 / ISSUE # 32 dated 10th January 2006
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IN THIS ISSUE:
1. TIRUPPAVAI PASURAM # 26
MAALE MANIVANNA
(ANBIL RAMASWAMY)
2. TIRUPPAVAI PASURAM # 26
MAALE MANIVANNA
ENGLISH VERSE TRANSLATION
(MS. SHOBA RAMASWAMY)
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ISSUES RELEASED
So far, 208 Regular issues of SRS have been released
apart from Special Issues:
27 Issues of Vol. 1
15 Issues of Vol. 2
42 Issues of Vol. 3
35 Issues of Vol. 4
28 Issues of Vol. 5
30 Issues of Vol. 6 and
31 Issues of Vol. 7
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1. TIRUPPAVAI PASURAM # 26
MAALE MANIVANNA
(ANBIL RAMASWAMY)
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Tiruppavai 26 maalE maNivaNNa
maalE! maNivaNNaa! maarkazhi nIraatuvaan *
mElaiyaar ceyvanakaL vENtuvana kEttiyEl *
NYaalaththai ellaam natuNGka muralvana *
paal anna vaNNaththu un paaNYcacanniyamE *
pOlvana caNGkaNGkaL pOyp paatutaiyanavE *
caalap perum paRaiyE pallaaNtu icaippaarE *
kOla viLakkE kotiyE vithaanamE *
aalin ilaiyaay aruL ElOr empaavaay. 26.
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In the first Paasuram Andal referred to His Paratvam.
Here, she refers to His Soulabhyam
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maalE! Oh! My dear!
? You have greater affection towards us than what we have for you.
? When Sri Sita said that she will not live for more than a month without
you, (maasaad oordvam na jeevishyE), you said that you will not live for
more than a split second without her?
?na jeevEyam kshaNamapi?
? Did not KrishNa say ?
?priyO hi JnaaninOthyartham aham sa cha mama priya:?
maNivaNNaa: One who has the brilliance of emerald
? ?You are a gem that could be held secure in the palm of one?s hand and
one
that can be secured at the tip of a garment (puDavai talaippu)?
? ?You are a gem that is fit to be worn as an ornament on one?s head?
? ?How do we identify you as a gem? What is in your mind is truly
reflected
in your face? Did we not already say ?maNi vaNNan nennalE vaai nErndaan?? We
are thus familiar with your gem like appearance.
? By ?malE?, they refer to His love for them;
? By ?maNi vaNNa?, they refer to their love for Him.
? maNi vaNNaa!: also refers to the resplendent color of the body of
KrishNa
(Deha kaanti)
? This gives a lie direct to the claim of advocates of Nir-guNa,
Nir-aakaara, Nir-avayava Brahman and to prove that the Lord has a ?Subha
Aasraya TirumEni?
? In Svapadesam: Achaarya is like the precious gem staying always in the
heart of the Lord like koustuba maNi.
maarkazhi nIraatuvaan *: For this vratam
? In Svapadesam: ?NeeraDal? means performing ?SaraNaagati? at the feet of
the Lord.
mElaiyaar ceyvanakaL vENtuvana kETTiyEl:
What our elders have observed
? KrishNa asked ?Is there any pramaaNam for your observing this nOnbu?
? No doubt, we have to do as prescribed in the Saastras because the Lord
has
declared:
?Sruti and Smriti are my commands. One who transgresses them is a traitor.
Even if one claims to be my devotee, I will not consider such a one as a
VaishNava fit for my grace?
?Sruti smriti mamaiva agjnaa yah Tad ullanghya vartatE
Agjnaa chEti mama drOhi mama bhaktOpi na vaishNava : »:
? It is not proper to do any thing as we like.-
- Bheeshma was a great Jnaani. When he did Sraaddham for his father, the
father came in person with outstretched palm to receive the piNDam. But,
Bheeshma refused to hand over but placed the piNDam on the floor because
that is what is prescribed in the Saastras.
- During Ekaadasi, one has to recite the appropriate mantra after
Tiruvaradhana and then only proceed with the fasting for the day. Just going
on a fast, without the mantra does not constitute ?upa-vaasam?. This is also
laid down in the Saastras.
? What is ?Upa-vaasam?? It means ?upa? together and ?vaasa? staying
with?.
On Upa-vaasm days, we are supposed to constantly stay tuned in mediation
with the Lord. This is said to be ?staying with God?
But, the gOPis say:
? ?We are just cowherd girls. We know no Saastram or PramaaNam. All that
we
know is the precedent set by elders (SishTa aachaaram).
? Is it not said ?dharma gjna samaya: pramaaNam vEdaasa cha?? Meaning
?The
?achaaram? of elders (Sishta agrEsar) carry the same force as what is
prescribed in the Vedas??
? In Svapadesam, the practices by SishTas are far more valid than
PramaaNams
(Authority).
? ?AnushTaanam? based on such scriptures like Vedas, Gita etc is valued
higher than ?PramaaNam?
? Even in following SishTa Aachaaram, one has to be discreet ?VivEkam?.
In a
Sraddham, in order to prevent a pet cat from polluting the offerings, a
father caged it with a basket with openings enough for breathing while not
?letting the cat out of the bag?. Without knowing why his father did what
he did, when the son?s turn came to do Sraddham for his father, the son took
to task the priest for not bringing a cat and covering it with a basket! The
son obviously thought that the covering of the cat in a basket was part of
the ritual! If he had used his ?VivEkam?, he would not have behaved in this
fashion.
kEttiyEl *: If you listen
? This is like Nammazhwar who asked the Lord ?Hark! Listen to my petition?
? This is also like Mark Antony?s call in Julius Caesar:
?Friends! Romans! Countrymen! Lend me your ears!?
? When KrishNa asked what they wanted based on the anushTaanam they
cited,
they draw out a long list of things they need.
- For waking up (TiruppaLLi ezhuchi), they want huge white colored Sangus
(conches) that can bring out deafening sound (Jnaalathai ellam naDunga
murlvana paalanna vaNNathu paancha janniyamE)
- For setting out in procession, they want huge drums (saalap perum
paraiyE)
- For singing the praise (PallaaNdu), they want Araiyars well versed in
the
art
- For brightening the atmosphere, they want bright lamps (Kola viLakkE)
- For signaling to those at a distance, they want flags atop
(koDiyE)
- For protecting the Lord in procession from Sun and rain, they want an
impressive canopy. (vithaanamE)
? The first three are based on sounds; the latter three are based on
visual
effects. Thus, the ?son-et-lumiere? aspects have been brought out to
publicize the event.
? Among the instruments of sound,
- Sangu represents ?PraNavaakaaram?;
- Parai represents ?Naada brahmam?; and
- PallaaNDu represents ?Veda gOsham?
? Among the visual objects,
- ViLakku represnts ?Jnaanam?
- KoDi represents ?Kainkaryam?
- Vithaanam represents ?Vairaghyam?
? ?I can understand that you asked for ?paRai? earlier.
But, How come, now you come up with a long wish list?? asks KrishNa.
? The gOpis reply:? These are nothing new or extraordinary. They are
strictly in accordance with the practice of our forefathers. And, we are
asking for just that only. You cannot deny us.??
NYaalaththai ellaam: The whole earth
natuNGka muralvana *: making a shattering sound
paal anna vaNNaththu : white like milk
? In Svapadesam: Like ?Kseera annam?, the white color of the conch is
very
dear to PerumaaL.
? Also, like the swan that can separate milk from water, the Acharyas
extract the essence of the scriptures and make it available to us.
un paaNYcacanniyamE * : Your special conch
? This Paancha-janyam conch was born in the ocean, grew up in the body of
Pancha-janan and became a weapon in the hands of the Lord. Similarly,
KrishNa was born in Madurai, grew up in AyarpaaDi and moved to Dwaraka to
rule.
pOlvana caNGkaNGkaL
? In Svapadesam: PraNavam is like the Sangu (Conch) that dispels all
inauspiciousness and bestows ?sEshatva jnaanam?
pOyp paatutaiyanavE *: Round and big in size
caalap perum paRaiyE : Very big percussion instrument (drum)
pallaaNtu icaippaarE *: Those who praise
? Andal gives so much importance to the instruments of sound because, for
all happy occasions, we see Naada-swaram, Mridangam etc that resound
auspiciousness used to stave off undesirable background noises.
kOla viLakkE : Auspicious lamps
kotiyE : flags
vithaanamE *: Canopies
aalin ilaiyaay : You who recline on the leaf of banyan tree
? KrishNa asks: ?You could have told me yesterday itself. (nennalE)?
? Also, are you kidding? I have only one Sangu. You are all 5 lakh
strong.
How can I give one Sangu to each one?. And, you stipulate that each Sangu
should be as white and as big as my ?Paancha janyam?. How is this possible?
? To this, the gOpis reply: What is not possible for you? You have
?agaTita
gaTanaa Saamarthyam?. You are the one who can accomplish what others cannot
even imagine. Did you not deposit for safekeeping all the 14 worlds in your
tiny tummy when you were reclining on a tinier banyan leaf as Baala Mukundan
during the Mahaa PraLayam? You can do all these by the dint of your
Sankalapam and effortlessly. You can duplicate, triplicate and multiplicate
yourself, let alone a Sangu. Now, only YOU seem to be kidding!?
? Shall we tell you how you can do these?
- Your one Sangu can become many so each one of us can get one Sangu
- Your Saarngam bow can become as many Parais
- Your arrows issuing forth from your bow can act as so many beating rods
- Your ?Koustubham? that represents ?Jeeva abhimaani? can multiply to
represent all Jivatmas who can sing paeans of praise (pallaaNdu isaippaar)
- Your ?Sudarsana Chakram? is so brilliant that it can act as so many
bright
lamps
- You have GaruDa on your flag. He can multiply to provide as many flags
as
needed
- Your ?Adi sEsha? who is your canopy can enlarge himself sufficiently to
cover the vast expanse that represents the ?Yaaga bhoomi? the place of vow
sufficient to protect the 5 lakh gOpis.
? The expression ?aalin ilaiyaai? is said to refer to ?VaTa patra sayee?
of
Srivilliputtur. whom Andal visualized as KrishNa and dedicated her
Prabandham.
? There is an interesting point here: A poet imagined that the Lord
became
curious to know what was so great and enjoyable about His own feet that
devotees were vying with one another to fall at His feet and experience
them. So, He chose a private location and a private occasion (not open to
public view) to test this. What better place and time to do this than at the
time of the great deluge when none would be around? So, He leisurely
reclined on a banyan leaf floating on the vast seas as Baala Mukundan and
put His foot toe into His mouth and enjoyed the nectar flowing out from
there!
? You measured the three worlds with two feet. Now, you are, perhaps,
trying
to measure with one foot!
? We cannot measure with our finite and faulty vision the unimaginably
infinite capacity of the Lord. We can at best marvel but can never question
how and why.
? In Charama slOkam, ?aham? denotes ?Paratvam? and ?maam? denotes
?Soulabhyam?. In this Paasuram, ?maNi-vaNNa? denotes His ?Soulabhyam? and
?aalin-ilaiyaai? denotes His ?Paratvam?
aruL: Please grace us
ElOr empaavaay. The usual refrain
? In Svapadesam, this Paasuram is said to denote Baahya Yaagam (i.e).
Aaraadhana performed after ?hrid yaagam? or ?Maanaseeka Aaraadhana?.
? In Tiruvaaraadhana, we offer 6 Aasanas and offer the appropriate
?upachaaras?. The six articles requested represent these six upachaaras -
- In Mantraasana, we blow the conch (Sangu)
- In Tirumanjanam (snaanam), we play several ?mangaLa vaadhyams? (Parai)
- In Alankaaraasanam, we recite several stOtras and Prabandhams
(pallaaNDu
isaippaar) and offer ?Mantra Pushpam?
- In BhOjyaasanam, the act of offering ?neivEdhyam? is figuratively
referred
to as lighting the lamp (ViLakku)
- In Punar Mantra Aasanam, we are supposed to enquire whether PerumaaL
intends (Tiru uLLam) to go on ?sanchaaram? by offering Flag upachaara (koDi)
- In Paryankaasanam, we place PerumaaL on a bed under a canopy.
? This Paasuram denotes the all the five angas of Prapatti:
- ?saalap perum pariyE? denotes ?Anukulya Sankalpam?
- ?poippaaDu udayanavE? denotes ?Pratikulya varjanam?
- ?PallaaNdu IsaippaarE? denotes ? Mahaaviswasam?
- ?KoDi? denotes ?kaarpaNyam?
- ?Vithaanam? denotes ? Goptrutva varaNam?
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To Continue
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2. TIRUPPAVAI PASURAM # 26
MAALE MANIVANNA
ENGLISH VERSE TRANSLATION
(MS. SHOBA RAMASWAMY)
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?Oh! Thirumaal! Gem-Blue one!
If you permit, we will relate
The rules our elders set
For those who undertake
The Sacred Maargazhi bath-
Like your Panchajanyam,
Milky-white
Which makes the world tremble
With it?s call
Conches we require,
Huge drums
Singers of hymns,
Crafted lamps,
Pennants, Steamers?
Oh! Baby afloat on the Banyan leaf
Grant us these.
Oh! My Maidens!?
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To Continue
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