Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:
The Sunny Azhwar
The importance of Sri Nammazhwar to our Sampradaya cannot be captured in words.
The very fact that his magnum opus, Tiruvaimozhi, is reverentially called
"Bhagavat Vishayam" is ample testimony to its magnificence. He is accepted as
the moola purusha or "kootasttha" of the entire clan of surrendered souls
("Prapanna jana kootasttha:") and a standing example to the Srivaishnavite
maxim that at the rarefied heights of bhakti, differences occasioned by caste,
race etc. matter little. It is also a testimony to the liberal outlook of our
much-maligned Sampradaya, that it has accorded a lofty pedestal to a true
bhakta beyond compare, disregarding considerations of birth, caste, etc. Not
only is Sri Satakopa Muni considered to be our spiritual leader, but other
Azhwars, notwithstanding their lofty birth, are held to be adjuncts of the
former. His outpourings occasioned by matchless devotion are accorded the same
elevated status ("DrAvida VEda SAgaram") as the Shruti, which is held to be the
PramANam par excellence. While other Azhwars travelled thousands of miles over
hill and dale to have a dharshan of the Lord at various divyadesams, Sri
Nammazhwar did not leave the tamarind tree where he was born, the Emperumans of
various divyadesams queuing up at ThirukkurugUr, beseeching Azhwar for a
pasuram in their praise. In contrast to other Azhwars, this exalted example of
unparalleled devotion did not waste even a moment in mundane activities and led
a short but sweet life solely devoted to meditation on the Lord and His
auspicious attributes- so much so that he neither ate nor drank, preferring to
substitute all worldly activity by Bhagavat anubhavam, as reflected by his
immortal words, "uNNum sOru, parugum neer, tinnum vettrilai yAvum Kannan
Emperuman". The Lord may boast of a SahasranAmam in His praise, but there is no
devotee, other than Sri KArimAran,
who has been adorned with a thousand slokas, that too by an Acharya of the
calibre of Swami Desikan, in the guise of praising the holy sandals of Sri
Rangaraja. It is only Tiruvaimozhi which can boast of two distinguished mothers-
Sri Satakopa Muni, who begot it and Sri Ramanuja, who contributed to its spread
and glory, with deep devotion ("eendra mudal tAi Satakopan, moimbAl vaLarttha
ida tAi irAmAnusan"). Again, it is only Tiruvaimozhi which can boast of a
plethora of rich commentaries by several distinguished Acharyas-Sri
Tirukkurugai Piran Pillan, Sri Nanjeeyar, Sri Periavacchan Pillai, Sri
Nampillai, Swami Desikan, Sri SAkshAt Swami, Sri Parakala Swamy etc.
Though all Acharyas, without exception, have paid handsome tribute to Sri
Nammazhwar in recognition of his unrivalled contribution, there is one sloka in
particular, attributed to Sri Nathamuni, which speaks volumes about the
Azhwar's greatness-
"Yat gO sahasram apahanti tamAmsi pumsAm
NarayanO vasati yatra sashankha chakra:
Yan mandalam Shrutigatam praNamanti viprA:
Tasmai namO VakuLabhooshaNa BhAskarAya"
In this beautiful tribute, Sri NathamunigaL likens Sri Nammazhwar to the Sun.
Rather than a word-for-word translation of the sloka, the following analysis of
the similarities between the Lord of the Skies and the Lord of the PrapannAs
would make more interesting reading.
1. The Sun generates thousands of rays, each travelling millions of miles to
light up the earth. Similarly, Azhwar'd outpourings consist of a thousand and
odd pasurams and thousands of nectarine words dripping with devotion.
2. The Sun fills the earth with precious light, but for which the world would
wallow forever in benumbing gloom. Likewise, Azhwar's pasurams, by holding
forth the luminous lamp of knowledge, banish the darkness of ignorance from our
souls.
3. The Sun is touted to be the abode of the Paramapurusha. Numerous Shruti
vAkyAs can be found, giving the Lord's address as the centre of the Solar
System-"ya EshOntarAdityE Hiranmaya: purusha:", "SayaschAyam PurushE,
eschAsAvAditye, sa Eka:". The Smrti too confirms this-"DhyEya: sadA Savithru
mandala madhyavarti Narayana:"
More than the Sun, it is in Sri Nammazhwar that the Lord resides with delight,
as Azhwar himself confirms more than once-
"Tirumalirumsolai endrEn, enna, Tirumal vandu en nenju niraya pugundAn".
Further, Azhwar furnishes a graphic description of the magnificent tirumEni
with which the Lord resides forever in Azhwar-
"KaNgaL sivandu periavAi, vAyum sivandu kanindu, uLLE
veN pal ilagu sudar ilagu vilagu makara kundalatthan
KoNdal vaNNan sudar mudian nAngu tOLan kuni SArngan
ON sangu gadai vAL AzhiyAn oruvan adiyEn uLLAnE"
Emperuman inhabits Azhwar's soul as antaryAmi. And even in the rather cramped
space available to Him, He manages to retain all His magnificent and matchless
adornments and weapons and is resplendent with the beautiful white Conch, the
dazzling Divine Discus, the Mace, the long bow which has been the nemesis of
brave warriors like Ravana, etc. Azhwar is able to perceive vividly in his
mind's eye the towering tenant with the large, beautiful lotus-like eyes, lips
resembling a dark red fruit, dazzling white teeth, a magnificent and tall
headgear indicative of His supremacy, attractive ears adorned by fish-shaped
earrings and with a complexion akin to dark, rain-bearing clouds. There is thus
no doubt that Azhwar's tirumeni and soul are places of preferred residence for
the Paramapurusha.
4. The Sun (or the Lord residing in the luminous orb) is the object of worship
for all on earth. It is the Sun to whom prayers are addressed by everyone
thrice a day during Sandhyavandanam. Right from the brahmachAri to the
enlightened Maharshis pay obeisance to the Sun. Sri Nammazhwar is similarly
adored and adulated by one and all, from exalted Acharyas like Sri Bhashyakara
and Swami Desikan right down to the unlettered devotee, as the "Prapanna jana
kootasttha", as the Satakopa Muni for whom the glorious Lord was mother,
father, wife, children and coveted wealth all rolled into one ("MAtA, PitA,
yuvataya: tanayA vibhooti: sarvam yadEva niyamEna madanvayAnAm").
5. It is the Sun which makes the lotus bloom. The lotus is like a chaste lady
who is gladdened only by the presence of her husband. No amount of heat, other
than the Sun's, can make the flower open its petals. Sri Kulasekhara Perumal
attests to this-"Sen thazhalE vandu azhalai seididinum senkamalam antaram sEr
vem kadirOrkku allAl alarAvAl". Likewise, Sri Nammazhwar too makes the lotus of
our soul bloom with divine wisdom, through the enlightening Tiruvaimozhi and
other prabandas. Since he himself has been blessed with blemishless wisdom,
Azhwar is able to impart enlightenment, eradicate the gloom of ignorance and
restore to the soul its original attribute of boundless wisdom, which was
hitherto clouded due to enshackling Karma.
Looked at in a different way, Sri Nammazhwar, through his immeasurably sweet
pasurams, makes the lotus eyes of the Lord bloom with delight.
6. The Sun is the crowning centrepiece of the Solar System, with all other
planets orbiting around the luminous Master, conceding supremacy and
importance. There are some planets like the Moon, whose glory is a reflected
one, borrowed from the Sun. Similarly, among the elite group of the Lord's
devotees, Sri Nammazhwar glows as the luminous, Sun-like centrepiece in a
gem-studded garland. It is an accepted tenet of our Sampradaya that Sri
Nammazhwar is the "angi" and all other Azhwars "angAs", attesting to the
primacy accorded to this scion of TirukkurugUr. It is said, for instance, that
Sri Parakala's prabandas are but an expansion and reiteration of Sri
Nammazhwar's outpourings.
7. The Sun absorbs salty water from the seas through the process of evaporation
and causes precipitation in needy areas, providing people with life-giving
water. Sri Satakopa Muni too imbibed the entire expanse of
difficult-to-comprehend Shruti and blessed us all with the quintessence of Veda
and Vedanta in the form of easily comprehensible, incredibly sweet Tiruvaimozhi
pasurams. It is for this immeasurable contribution that the Azhwar is acclaimed
as "Vedam Tamizh seida MAran Satakopan", "eidarkku ariya maraigaLai Ayiram
intamizhAl seidarkku ulagil varum Satakopan", etc. Swami Desikan records this
with gratitude in Sri Guruparamparasaram thus-"Samudra jalatthai vAngi
sarvOpajeevyamAna taNNeerAga umizhumA pole, VEdArtthangaLil sAratama amsatthai
sarvarukkum adhikarikkavalla bhAshaiyAlE sangrahitthu kAtti". The immeasurable
aid these pasurams are of in interpreting the intricate purport of the Shruti
is brought out by the same Acharya thus-"Seyya Tamizh mAlaigaL nAm teLiya Odi,
teLiyAda marai nilangaL teLigindrOmE".
However, as Azhwar himself says in relation to the Lord, though we might hold
up several worldly things as examples of the Lord's glory, they can at best be
indicative illustrations and can never hope to fully reflect Emperuman's
magnificence-"otturaitthu ivvulagu unnai pugazhvellAm perumpAlum patturaiyAi
purkkendrE kAttumAl ParanjOthI". Similarly, comparing Azhwar to the Sun would
give us only a glimmering of the former's greatness and can never serve as a
comprehensive comparison. For instance, among all the points of similarity, we
are also able to observe several dissimilarities-
The Sun offers suffers eclipses and is often masked by dark clouds. However,
Azhwar's glory can never be hidden and always shines forth through his immortal
compositions.
The Sun performs his duty of illuminating the world due to fear of the Lord,
who is a hard task master-"bheeshOdEti Soorya:" says the Upanishad. Azhwar's
kainkaryam and outpourings, on the other hand, are prompted by an overwhelming
love and affection for Emperuman and are a result of "anubhava janita preeti",
adoration born out of extremely sublime experience of divinity in all its
facets.
The Sun is but a jeevatma like us, albeit an exalted one, whereas Azhwar is a
nitya sUri or a permanent resident of Sri Vaikunatam, sent down to the mundane
worlds for the express purpose of reforming errant humanity, a task at which
the Lord Himself, despite numerous avataras, admitted defeat.
The Acharya Hridayam too follows in the footsteps of Sri Nathamuni in ascribing
to Sri Nammazhwar the glory of destroying internal gloom and drying up the Sea
of Samsara, a feat which could not be achieved by the Sun, as also by Sri Rama
who took birth in the Sun's own dynasty (Ravi kulam) -
" Aditya Rama DivAkara Achyuta BhAnukkaLukku pOgAda uLLiruL neengi sOshiyAda
piravikkadal vattri vikasiyAda pOdil kamalam malarndadu VakuLa BhooshaNa
Bhaskara udayatthilE"
"Yasya SArasvatam srOtO VakuLAmOda vAsinam
ShrutInAm vishramaAyAlam ShathArim tam upAsmahE".
Srimate Sri LakshmINrsimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana
Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:
Dasan, sadagopan
"
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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