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Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Veanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

 

"Narastuti SukhamA?"

 

In reply to Sri YudhishthirA's query as to who is the only person entitled to 
our adoration, adulation, veneration and worship ("kim Ekam daivatam lOkE, kim 
vApi Ekam parAyaNam! Stuvanta: kam kam archanta:?"), Shri BhIshmA's reply is 
extremely enlightening. It is only to Sri Mahavishnu that all worship, all 
praise, all respect and tribute should be addressed. He is the Lord and Master 
of all the worlds, of all deities big and small, the one without a beginning 
and an end, the Creator, Protector and Destroyer of all beings sentient and 
non-sentient-it is this Lord whom we should worship daily with devotion, says 
Sri BhIshmAchArya ("tamEva cha archayan nityam, dhyAyan, stuvan, namasyamscha 
yajamAna: tamEva cha"). The consideredopinion ("paramO mata:") of this great 
sage appears to rule out venerationof other deities, be it for whatever 
purpose. This noted bhakta, for whom the Lord Himself had a lot of regard, 
categorically states that if you worship, it must be Sriman Narayana as the 
object thereof; if you meditate, your thoughts must be filled with thoughts 
only of Him; if you sing, it must be His praise; and if you write, it must be a 
tribute to Him and to none other. 

 

If worship of other deities is ruled out, ipso facto, the veneration or 
adulation of human beings, however great they be, is automatically out of the 
question. The heaping of praise on mere mortals for material considerations has 
been considered to be a gross misuse of the God-given faculties. SriNammazhwar 
is categorical in this regard-"en nAvil in kavi yAn oruvarkkum kodukkilEn". My 
tongue shall not engage in praise of mortals, declares Azhwar. Exhibiting 
extreme contempt for those indulging in eulogisation of ephemeral mortals, 
Azhwar equates the material possessions for which they are adulated, to mere 
rubbish-"kuppai kiLartthanna selvam" and condemns mercenary poets lavishing 
praise for a consideration as deplorably lacking in honesty-"vaLLal pugazhndu 
num vAimai izhakkum pulaveergAL". Their couplets are but blatant lies-"pacchai 
pasum poigaL". The stingingly strong language usedin these ten pasurams by the 
normally sober Satakopa Muni evidences his healthy contempt for those engaging 
in mortal praise or nara stuti. 

 

Toeing the Azhwar's footsteps faithfully is Swami Desikan, who composed a 
stotra in five stanzas (the VairAgya Panchakam), rejecting summarilythe riches 
and regal life proffered by Vidyaranya, the RAjaguru to the Vijayanagar 
Emperor. Praise of petty Kings, holding sway over limited expansesof land, does 
not appeal to us, while the omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent Lord, known 
for His generosity, is available to lavish on us all that we need, says Swami 
Desikan-"Kshubhyat kshudra narEndra chAtu rachanA dhanyAm na manyAmahE", 
"triNamapi vayam.. na yAchAmahE MahIswarAn".

 

We can therefore safely conclude that nara stuti or praise of mortalsis 
repugnant to Azhwars, Acharyas and Maharshis alike.

 

The Divya Prabandas are the uncontainable outpourings of Azhwars occasioned by 
boundless bhakti for the Lord. There is absolutely no doubt as towhere the 
loyalties of Azhwars lie, which is evident from each and every word of each and 
every pasuram of theirs-it is Sriman Narayana and none elsewho is in their 
thought, word and composition. Nothing would be farther from our imagination 
than to find nara stuti or praise of mortals in such works of pure devotion 
composed by ananya bhaktAs like Azhwars.

Surprisingly, however, we do find in the Prabandas words of praise, at times 
lavish, addressed to mortals-Kings and others. If you find this hard tobelieve, 
profuse quotes are furnished below to substantiate this apparently unjust 
allegation. And such is the case with not one single Azhwar, but two, both of 
them fierce in their defence of the Lord's supremacy vis-à-vis any other deity 
or being. Ironically, one of these Azhwars was initiated into the AshtAkshara 
by the Lord Himself, while the other was a zealous defendant of the Lord's 
supremacy in a King's court. In these cases, what happened to the Azhwars' 
unshakeable resolve of not singing human praises? Are these cases of rare and 
excusable aberrations from the general rule of reserving adulation to the Lord, 
who is the only one eligible for praise ("Stavya:" ,"Keertaneeya:")? If so, are 
they in tune with the blemishless wisdom ("mayarvara madi nalam") conferred on 
them by the Lord? Or is there some inscrutable reason for such words of praise, 
beyond the grasp of our mortal faculties?

 

Given that nothing but the Gospel Truth can emerge from the unblemished 
utterances of Azhwars, there must indeed be reason enough, even to mention the 
names of Kings and others in Divya Prabandas, which are otherwise a copious, 
continuous and exclusive litany of praise on the Supreme Being. Letus first 
take a look at the several instances of Kings being mentioned with appreciation 
in the Aruliccheyal, before delving into the reasons for thesame.

 

Here is an exceptionally eloquent mention, from the prolific pen of Sri 
Tirumangai Mannan-

 

"Pallavan Villavan endru ulagil palarAi pala vEndar vaNangu kazhal

Pallavan Mallayar kOn paNittha ParamEcchura ViNNagaram"

 

Liberal praise is lavished here on Parameswara Pallava by Sri Parakala, whois 
known not to sing anyone but the Lord. This Emperor, belonging to the famed 
Pallava Dynasty, was also reputed to be of exceptional prowess and bravery, 
such that the hapless Kings of several countries, (themselves being of no mean 
accomplishments in archery and other martial arts), who have 
beencomprehensively conquered, fall at his feet, which are adorned by beautiful 
anklets. This Pallava had MahAbalipuram or Mamallapuram (constructed by Nrsimha 
Pallava) as one of the principal cities of his empire and was instrumental in 
carrying out numerous kainkaryams at the Parameswara Vishnugraham(known at 
present as Vaikunta Perumal Koil in Kancheepuram). According to historical 
accounts, the Pallavas were Kings with undying allegiance to Lord Sriman 
Narayana and were responsible for extensive renovations and refurbishing to 
existing shrines of the Lord and construction of several new and glorious 
abodes for their favourite deity. This Parameswara Pallava is reputed to have 
adorned the Lord with thousands of priceless ornaments, according to Sri 
Periavacchan Pillai. It is kainkaryam of such high order, which prompts Sri 
Tirumangai Mannan to wax eloquent in praise of this King. As is well known, Sri 
Kalian is known to be an unflinching adherent to BhAgavata Seshatvam ("uttradum 
un adiyArkku adimai") and the King's extensive kainkaryam makes him a BhAgavata 
par excellence. It is hence no wonder that Sri Kalian reserves praise of such 
high order for this parama bhAgavata.

 

Another King to come in for favoured mention by the same Azhwar is 
TondamAnChakravartthi, again in Peria Tirumozhi-

 

"TuLangu neeN mudi arasar tam kurisil Tondai mannavan tiNdiral oruvarkku

uLankoL anbinOdu innaruL surandu angOdu nAzhikai EzhinOdu iruppa

vaLamkoL mandiram mattru avarkku aruLi seidavAru adiyEn arindu-ulagam

aLanda ponnadiyE adaindu uyndEn aNipozhil Tiruvarangatthu ammAnE"

 

The name "TondaimAn" is derived from the Tondai creeper which adorned the neck 
of Ilantirayan, who founded the dynasty. His kingdom was hence known 
asTondaimandalam, with Kancheepuram as its capital. One of the emperors of this 
lineage (referred to in the aforesaid pasuram) was an exceptional devotee of 
the Lord at Tiruvengadam. Srinivasa too was so enamoured of this trueservant, 
that He used to converse with the Chakravartthi, despite the constraints 
imposed by arcchA samAdhi. We learn from this pasuram that the LordHimself 
performed upadesam of the Tirumantram to this sovereign, thereby putting him 
well on the way to emancipation. It is also learnt that the association between 
the two was so close that the Lord lent His Discus and Conch to the Tondaman 
Chakravartthi, to aid and assist him in a war with some Kings. The grateful 
Emperor, prompted both by this munificent gesture on thepart of the Lord and by 
his natural kainkarya ruchi, built several gOpurams, protective compounds and 
mandapams for the Lord, apart from conducting His periodical utsavams with 
enviable grandeur.

 

It is perhaps the same TondamAn Chakravartthi who comes in for mention in the 
TiruvallikkENi pasuram-

"Tennan TondayarkOn seida nan mayilai TiruvallikkENi nindrAnai"

It would thus appear that this Tondaman ruler has been responsible for numerous 
kainkaryams at various sannidhis of the Lord and has thus been a BhAgavata par 
excellence, meriting appreciative mention by the Azhwar.

 

The Kings mentioned so far have been afforded a single line of a pasuram orat 
best a whole pasuram. However, the King Azhwar waxes positively eloquent about 
is the Chozha ruler KOcchengaNAn, whose glory has been sung by Azhwar in all of 
ten pasurams, ostensibly devoted to the Lord at TirunarayUr.

This King was originally a staunch devotee of Siva, for whom he constructedno 
less than 70 temples ("eN tOL eesarkku ezhil madam ezhupathu seidu"). However, 
later, he appears to have realised the supremacy of Sriman Narayanaand devoted 
himself to innumerable kainkaryams to the Lord and His devotees.

As is common to new converts, the King appears to have been an exuberant votary 
of service to the Lord and has hence been featured in each and every pasuram of 
the 6th Tirumozhi of the 6th Decad of Peria Tirumozhi. This Kingappears to have 
been the ruler of the entire Tamilnadu, including the erstwhile kingdoms 
belonging to Pandias and the Cheras, and Sri Kalian's account portrays him as 
the victor in several bloody battles with opponents. The Emperor's devotion to 
Tamizh and its literature is brought out by the description "Ten Tamizhan" and 
his bountiful riches from the frequent mention ofKavEri and its precious 
contributions.

Some of the flattering allusions to this King are as follows:

"Chezhum Ponni vaLam kodukkum ChOzhan"

 

"kazhal mannar mudi mEl kAgam Era

deiva vAL valam konda Chozhan"

 

"Ponni nAdan, ten tamizhan vada pula kOn Chozhan"

 

" ulagam AndaTen nAdan kuda Kongan Chozhan"

 

"silai tadakkai kula Chozhan"

 

Tirukkulatthu vaLa Chozhan"

 

"Padai Mannar udal tuNiya pari mA uyttha

TerALan KOcchOzhan"

 

"Chembian KOcchengaNAn" etc.

 

It is clear from the aforesaid that here too, the recording of the Ruler's 
redoubtable prowess, etc. are merely to indicate the glory of a BhAgavata who 
performed meritorious kainkaryam for the Lord and His devotees, especially 
after having been a staunch Saivite earlier.

 

Our friend the Tondaman Chakravartthi comes in for more praise in the pasurams 
devoted to Ashtabhujakaram sannidhi-

 

"Mannavan Tondayar kOn vaNangum neeNmudi mAlai VaiyiramEghan 

tan vali tan pugazh soozhnda Kacchi attabuyakaram"

 

This pasuram records the contribution of Raja VayiramEghan of the Tondai Kulam, 
by way of renovations, ornaments for the Lord, creation of trusts for the daily 
worship of the Lord and for feeding His devotees, conduct of periodical 
festivals etc.

 

We now turn to the PeriAzhwar Tirumozhi, which too contains a couple of 
references to Pandiya Kings. The first is a reference to the Malayadhvaja 
Pandia Maharaja having blazed a path from his kingdom to the MahAmEru 
parvatam,conquering the kings en route and establishing his flag with the Fish 
Symbol atop the mountain as token of his victory. Azhwar likens this to the 
placing of the Lord's feet on the heads of all beings (perhaps during 
TrivikramAvatAra). Here are the lines from the relevant pasuram-

"Paruppadatthu Kayal porittha Pandiyar kula pati pOl

tiruppolinda sEvadi en chenniyin mEl padittAi"

 

This Azhwar has a special association with Pandia Kings, as his tanian itself 
would indicate-"Pandian kondAda Bhattar PirAn vandAn". The Ruler had absolute 
faith in the overriding supremacy of Sriman Narayana and was a paramabhakta of 
the Lord. For the same reason, he had an unflinching loyalty anddevotion 
towards the Azhwar, who established Narayana Paratvam in a sadas specially 
convened for this purpose, by citing appropriate pramANAs from the Shruti. It 
is out of a desire to record for posterity the greatness of this regal devotee 
of the Lord that Sri Periazhwar mentions the following in the TirumAlirumsOlai 
pasuram-

 

"konnavilum koorvEl kOn NedumAran ten koodal kOn Tennan kondAdum 
Tirumalirumsolai"

 

Sri KoorattAzhwan too records in his SundarabAhustavam this episode of the 
Pandya Raja being overwhelmed by the boundless beauty of Sri Azhagar of 
Tirumalirumsolai and performing innumerable kainkaryams at the shrine-"idam imE 
shruNumO Malayadhvajam nripam iha svayamEva hi Sundara! sharana sAtkritavAn iti"

Swami Desikan too records with gratitude the contribution of the Chieftain 
GOpaNArya, who restored Sri Rangaraja to His AstthAnam and paved for resumption 
of worship at Srirangam, brought to a standstill by the Muslim invasion.

 

We thus find that while Azhwars' general rule has been to eschew praise or even 
mention of ordinary mortals, they have none the less been appreciativeof the 
kainkaryams performed by various Kings at numerous shrines and recorded their 
appreciation in no uncertain terms, both as a token of recognition for services 
rendered to the Lord and as encouragement for others to adopt a similar path. 
There has thus been only BhAgavata stOtram in Divya Prabandas and Acharya 
Sreesooktis, and not mere nara stuti or praise of mortals. BhAgavatAs, despite 
being mortals, stand on a totally different footing and on a lofty pedestal not 
accorded to ordinary people of mundane persuasions. Azhwars' mentions are not 
mere paeans of praise lavished upon rulers ofdubious valour for material 
considerations, but records of exceptional religious kainkaryam performed by 
Kings of yore, much in the fashion of epigraphs found in various shrines, 
setting these outpourings of timeless tributeagainst a historical background.

 

Srimate Sri LakshmINrsimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana 
Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

Dasan, sadagopan

 

 



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