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Sri:
SrimathE Gopaladesika mahadesikaya nama:
Dearest all,

Let us continue to enjoy the verses of TNT. 

Thus, AzhwAr declared and established the Supremacy of
our Lord Sriman Narayanan and His color of dark hued
cloud. AzhwAr goes on to say here that He has other
colors in His Divya mangaLa vigraham. The fruit of
knowing that we are His eternal servants is to enjoy
seeing Him always. AzhwAr blesses us with that
anubhavam herein: 

thiruvadivil karun^edumaal sEyan enRum
 thirEdhaikkaN vaLaiyuruvaayth thigazndhaa NnenRum,
poruvadivil kadalamudham koNda kaalam
 perumaanaik karun^eela vaNNan Rannai,
oruvadivath thOruruven RuNara laagaa
 UzithO Roozin^in REtthal allaal,
karuvadivil sengaNNa vaNNan Rannaik
 katturaiyE yaaroruvar kaaNkiR paarE?    3

thiruvadivil ? the most beautiful and divine thirumEni
(body)
OR 
Thiru vadivil ? on the most beautiful thirumEni of Sri
Mahalakshmi 
Karunedumaal ? having ever lasting love (on Her)
perumAnai ? ubhaya vibhoothi nAthan (The Lord who has
both the Universe and the Paramapadham under His
control
karuneelam ? black and blue
vaNNan thannai ? coloured One is 
thrEthaikkaNN ? during the thrEthA, Krutha, Dwapara
yugas
perum vadivu il kadal ? vast, huge, expansive Milky
Ocean ? from which
amudham koNda kaalam ? even during the time He
consumed endearingly the sweetest nectar that (AND Sri
Mahalakshmi who) appeared (from the ocean)
oru vadivatthu ? in a particular form
or uru- with a particular divya mangaLa vigraham
(divine body)
enRu uNaral aagaa- thus can not be comprehended in a
clearer fashion or manner (Unfathomable)
karuvadivil ? in His dark hued most beautiful divya
mangaLa vigraham (ThirumEni)
kaNN a semvaNNanthannai ? the most beautiful red lotus
eyed one; (matching His divine body)
oozhithoRu oozhi ? in all those (never ending like) l 
o  n   g times of dissolution times;
sEyan enRum ? red coloured One
vaLai uruvaay ? white conch shell colured One
thigazhndhaan enRum ? He shined in most resplendent
manner
yEtthal allaaa- praising Him (other than that)
katturaiyE kaaNgiRpaar yaar oruvar?- is there anyone
who has actually seen Him and comprehended His colour,
nature, and prowess? (AzhwAr says: None)

"By nature, He who has immense Mercy towards His
creation is dark like the water-laden clouds; in tretA
yugam, He is known to have a reddish
color; in kRta yugam His complexion is white like that
of the conch. 

In each yugam devotees can worship Him in whatever
form(s) He chooses to present Himself in, but beyond
worshipping, we cannot precisely understand His true
form.  People can describe this nIla megha SyAmalan
with lotus-like reddish eyes as they want, but none
can describe Him in the form in which He has revealed
Himself to me".


Karu neela- both dark colour and blue colour are
referred to herein. Thus for all four yugas, He takes
on four colours in His divya mangaLa vigraham.

thErEthaikkaNN- TrEtA yuga and others (thus all four
yugas are referred). 

At the same time, the Lord took many forms during the
Koorma avatara time. When Devas wanted to get back
their powers, they went and surrendered to Khseerabdhi
nAthan and prayed to Him for saving them. He suggested
to churn the milky ocean for getting amrutham
(nectar). When the huge manthara mountain had to be
lifted and brought, the strongest devas could not;
they befriended asuras and together they brought. But
they placed the mountain in the middle of milky ocean
to only see it sinking. The Lord mercifully took the
huge Koorma roopam, and had the mountain on His Shell
for the mountain not to sink in? Then when they began
to churn, the mountain began to wobble. So, Devas and
asuras could not restrict the wobbling. Again our Lord
took another form to hold the tip of the mountain. 

Now Devas and asuras churned and they only got tired
and the mountain hardly swirled. So, Sriman Narayanan
(the One and Only One who rushes to help and save,
protect His Asrithars), took two forms ? one for Devas
side and One for Asuras side to act on their behalf
and to apply power to churn. It is all He who did the
show?

Now things begin to come out; After all, our Lord?s
actions yielded Him the very Mahalakshmi Herself to
Him. How beautiful He would have been with tresses
falling on the forehead while He churned. Finally He
took Mohini avatharam to distract the asuras from
getting the amirtha (nectar). 

He took different forms and different colours. He
tates so many avathArams. ajAyamaanO bahudhA
vijAyathE? bahusyAm prajAyEyEthi?  

He takes masthya, koorma, varaaha, Nrusimha, Hayagriva
Hamsa et al avathArams. 

How can we ever describe the way He takes these forms
or colours? How can we ever describe the wonderful
beautfy and form of His? ? wonders AzhwAr.       
 
SrI Paraasra BhaTTar also gives reference to SrI
vishNu purANa (1.2.10-1.2.12), which states the
impossibility of describing Him:  "Who can describe
Him who is not apprehended by the senses, who is the
best of all things, the Supreme Soul, Self-existent,
who is devoid of all the distinguishing
characteristics of form, color, etc., is exempt from
birth, growth, aging, death or decay, who exists
everywhere and in whom everything exists always??..". 
- varjjitah Sakyate vaktum yah sadA asti iti kevalam -
All we can do is say that He exists always, but we
can't describe Him in words.

We have the tiatittirIya upanishd mantra - yato vAco
nivartante, aprApya mansA saha (Anandavalli - anu. 4)
- He is inaccessible to words or to mind; He can only
be experienced. Similar passages abound in veda; e.g.,
kenopanishad 1.5 to 1.9 - Brahman is that which
reveals speech, but which cannot be revealed by
speech; that which gives us the ability to see but
which cannot be seen, etc.; ISAVAsya upanishad mantra
4-5 (The Self is inaccessible to the mind since it is
faster than the mind; it is beyond the reach of the
senses; It moves and moves not; It is far for those
who are ignorant, and near for those who are wise; It
is within and without; etc.).

Swami Sri Sadagopan Iyengar writes in his article on
Riot of colours beautifully about the colours that the
Lord takes as below: 

Purusha SUkta describes the Lord as being the colour
of the Sun-
?Aditya varNam tamasa: parastAt?. The reference to
Sun-colour is significant. Just as the Sun is the
antithesis of all darkness or evil, so too the
Paramatma is verily the abode of all good qualities,
and the antithesis of all that is inauspicious
(?akhila hEya pratyanIka, kalyAnaikatAna?).

It is interesting to find from our scriptures that the
Creator of all colours is Himself extremely colourful.
Let?s see some of the hues that He is said to sport on
various occasions.

To start our colourful journey with the Vedas, the
Purusha SUkta describes the Lord as being the colour
of the Sun- ?Aditya varNam tamasa: parastAt?. The
reference to Sun-colour is significant. Just as the
Sun is the antithesis of all darkness or evil, so too
the
Paramatma is verily the abode of all good qualities,
and the antithesis of all that is inauspicious
(?akhila hEya pratyanIka, kalyAnaikatAna?).
 
Describing the TirumEni of the ParamaPurusha, the
ChAndOgya Upanishad has the following to say- 

?Ya EshOntar AdityE hiraNmaya:Purusha:drisyatE
  HiraNmaya:smashru:hiranya kEsa:AprNakhAt sarva Eva
suvarNa:?

The Lord is seen in golden splendour amidst the Solar
System, adorned by golden hair with a golden moustache
and facial hair to match. From head to toe, he is all
glitter like the Yellow metal. It is perhaps this
wonderful tirumEni that Sri PeyAzhwar was able to
witness at TirukkOilUr on that stormy night, which is
evident from his exclamation, ?Tiru kaNdEn, PonmEni
kandEn, tigazhum arukkan aNi
niramum kandEn?.

Though Sri Nammazhwar too endows the Lord with the
colour of red gold,(?Sem ponnE tigazhum tiru
moortthiyai?, ?ANi sempon mEni endAi? etc.), he
himself turns around later and takes objection to the 
Lord?s colour being compared to that of a mere metal,
and says that the purest gold cannot match the glitter
of the Lord?s tirumEni-? sutturaittha nan pon un
tirumEni oLi ovvAdu?.

At the other end of the spectrum, Emperuman sports a
jet-black colour too, as opposed to the sparkling
golden hue indicated in the Vedas. Especially in Sri
KrishnAvatAra, He is a blackie, as almost all the
Azhwars testify-

?KaNNan enum karum deivam?
 ?Karia mEni misai veLia neeru siridE idum peria kola
tadam kaNNan?
 ?karu mAmugil pOl vaNNan KaNNan?
 ?kAnagam ellAm tirindu un karia tirumEni vAda?
 ?kAr tiraL anaya mEni KaNNane unnai? etc.
  Thus the Lord is credited with the colour of clouds
and the black sea- ?kArAr kadal vaNNan pin pOna
nenjamum?(Siriya Tirumadal)

It is significant to note that the very name Krishna
denotes one who is black. Perhaps He was given this
name, looking to His colour at birth. He is indeed a
Black Diamond, says Sri Nammazhwar- ?KaiyAr
chakkaratthu en Karu mANickkamE?.

Sri Andal goes a step further and, in a damaging
expose, reveals that Sri Krishna?s heart is as black
as His body-?puram pOl uLLum kariyAnai?.

That the Lord sports the colour of blue-black clouds
is evident from Sri Vishnu Sahasranamam too, the
prelude to which says, ?MEgha shyAmam peetha kousEya
vAsam?. On this black body, the attire of yellow silk
sits well. Not only Sri Krishna, but Sri Rama too
sported the
colour of black clouds-?RAmam indIvara syAmam?.

Another colour that the Lord sports is green-a green
that is restful to the eyes,says Sri Tondaradippodi
Azhwar- 

?Pacchai mA malai pOl mEni?.  Sri Nammazhwar concurs
in TiruvAsiriam, ?Pacchai mEni miga pagaippa?.
Maragatam is a precious stone with a green hue, and
several Azhwars have indicated that Emperuman is of
this   colour- ?VAmanan en maragata vaNNan? says Sri
Nammazhwar. 

His colour is compared to that of other gems too-like
?Mani?. Azwars are fond of calling the Lord
?MaNivaNNA?-(? MarutthuvanAi nindra MAmaNivaNNA?,
?VaikundA MaNivaNNanE en pollA tirukkuraLA?, etc.).

Sri Tirumangai Mannan is so perplexed by the galaxy of
colours that the Lord sports from time to time, that
he seeks elucidation from Emperuman Himself as to what
His true colours are- 

?Munnai vaNNam Palin vaNNam- muzhudum nilai nindra 
 Pinnai vaNnam koNdal vaNNam- vaNNam eNNum kAl
 Ponnin vaNNam maNiyin vaNNam puraiyum tirumEni
 Inna vaNnam endru kAttIr IndaLooreerE?.

Addressing Lord ParimaLa Ranga at Tiruvindalur, Azhwar
says, ?You were the colour of milk in Kritha Yuga, You
acquired the hues of pure red gold in the TrEtha Yuga,
and in DwApara Yuga You were the colour of a Blue
Diamond: Shastras tell us that your real colour is
that of the rain-bearing clouds. I am confused by all
these changing colours- do tell me what your true
colours are!?. [Thanks to Sri Sadagopan Iyengar Swami]

Swamy Desikan in his SrI RanganAtha PaadhukA Sahasram
refers to the different colors of the Lord's ThirumEni
(SlOkam 532): 

maNibhi: sitarakthapeetha krishnai: 
bhavathI kaanchana paadhukE ! vichithrA
yuga bhEdha vikalpitham MurArE:
yugapadh dharsayathIva VARNA BHEDHAM

Oh divine sandals of the Lord RanganAthA ! On Your
body, adiyEn finds of colored gems .That reminds me of
the different hues of the Lord  displayed in the four
yugams: White In Krutha Yugam, when the Dharmam is at
its highest peak; red in ThrEthaa Yugam, Yellow in
DhvApara Yugam and "black" in kali Yugam, where the
dharmam is at its lowest point .

Katturai dhaan undo? kaaNgiRpaarthAm uLarO?- Though
Vedas declare and describe as much as possible, can
one comprehend? Can one utter? Even Nitya, mukthars
who are with paripoorNa expansive jnAnam can not
fathom the kalyANa guNAs, and the beauty and glory of
the Lord. Even if they enjoy, they can not describe or
utter. Even if they utter words, one can not
understand fully the meanings of those words in its
entirety. 

semkaNNa vaNNan- red lotus eyed Lord? It can also be
read as mean sem vaNNa kaNNan thannai.    


AzhwAr ThiruvaDigaLE SaraNam
Regards
Namo Narayana
  




      
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