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 ____________________________________________________________________________________ Looking for last minute shopping deals? Find them fast with Yahoo! Search. http://tools.search.yahoo.com/newsearch/category.php?category=shopping ------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SriRangaSri/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SriRangaSri/join (Yahoo! 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