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SrI:
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.08 / ISSUE # 06 dated 10th November 2006
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EDITORIAL
Dear Bhagavatas:

As Sri Anbil Ramaswamy Swami is in Cleveland, I am sending this on 
his behalf.. Swami is available at: 
25807 Iris Court, Westlake, OH-44145
Phone # (440) 716- 0771 Cell # (770) 876- 9188
You may contact him.

Regards
Namo narayana
dAsan Madhava Kannan
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INTHIS ISSUE:
1."THE MIGHTY AND THE ALMIGHTY ? A CLASH OF WILLS?? Part-4"
BY ANBIL RAMASWAMY
(This is from his talk at Sri Hayagrivar Temple , Pondicherry on
31st May 2006)
2."DRAMIDOPANISHAD TATPARYA RATNAVALI" ? PART- 6":
BY SRI N. KRISHNAMACHARIAR SWAMI OF CHICAGO
3."MAAL UGANDHA AASIRIYAR ? LIFE AND WORKS OF AZHWARS
Part ?3- VAIBHAVAM OF MUDHAL AAZHWAARS 
BY SRI MADHAVA KANNAN SWAMI, SINGAPORE
CO-MODERATOR OF "SRI RANGA SRI"
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ISSUES RELEASED
With this issue, about 233 Regular issues of SRS have been released
so far, apart from numerous "Special Issues" as indicated below:
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
50 Issues of Vol. 7 and
06 Issues of Vol. 8
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1. "THE MIGHTY AND THE ALMIGHTY- A CLASH OF WILLS? ? PART 4-
GOD'S WILL AND MAN'S FREE WILL 
BY ANBIL RAMASWAMY
(This is from his talk at Sri Hayagrivar Temple , Pondicherry on
31st May 2006)
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(Excerpts from Chapter 11of"Hinduism Rediscovered")
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The interrelationship of "Gods will" and "man's free will" may be 
summed up as follows:
?I may do what I like; but whether I can do at all depends on God's 
will. 
?I may live as I choose; but whether I live at all depends on God's 
will. 
?I may breath any air pure or polluted; but whether I breath at all 
is decided by God's will 
?I may see hear, smell, feel or taste as I like (of course, subject 
to mundane limitations and societal restrictions); but whether I am 
enabled to see, hear, smell, feel or taste is beyond my control. It 
is in God's control. 
?The 'may' is within my power and free will 'whether I can at all' 
is in the power and will of God. 

God is no doubt responsible for creation of man but not for the 
differences that exist between them. For a plant to grow land, 
water, air and sunshine are quite necessary. If any one of them is 
absent plants cannot grow. But, what accounts for the growth of 
different kinds of plants say Mango or Neem or Jack-fruit? Neither 
the land nor the water nor the air nor the sunshine is responsible 
for the sprouting of the different plants. But, it is the seed of 
the particular plant sown that is responsible for the sprouting of 
the particular plant. God is responsible for creation much in the 
same way as land, water, air and sunshine but the differences in the 
creatures are due to their past actions precisely as the seeds in 
the case of plants. Our actions depend on our 'Vasanas' inherited 
over countless lives and God dispenses the seeds precisely as per 
our Karma. God is indifferent to the fruits of Karma while we are 
concerned and affected. 

According to St. Bernard " Grace is necessary for salvation; 
Freewill equally so. But grace in order to give salvation; freewill 
in order to receive it. Therefore, we should not attribute part of 
the good work to grace and part to freewill; it is performed in its 
entirety by the common and inseparable action of both; entirely by 
grace, entirely by freewill but springing from the first in the 
second" 

Some scholars think that the idea of a future life depended on 
previous behavior must have developed from a long period of keenly 
observing plants, trees and fields. Hinduism believes that land 
gives 'birth' repeatedly if healthy seeds are sown and tended. They 
saw that plants do not really die; the death of a plant is a process 
by which it renews itself in the spring. In a sense, each life of a 
plant ends in a death in order to be reborn. A plant's re-growth is 
determined by the healthy or unhealthy conditions of former births. 
Scholars believe that Hinduism felt the same to be true of all 
living beings. 

Suppose, you give a goldsmith some amount of gold for making a 
chain. Someone else gives some gold for making a ring. The goldsmith 
cannot be blamed of partiality when he delivers the chain to you and 
the ring to the other person. He delivers to the respective 
customers whatever they had desired. Though God has powers to do 
anything he likes, He does dispense the end products exactly as 
desired by the individual creatures as expressed through 
their 'Karma'. 

If one realizes this truth, one would not curse God as being partial 
or without eyes or without mercy. Lord Krishna says 
"Works do not cling to me. In me there is no desire for fruits 
whoever understands me as such; he is not bound by Karma"  

BG 4 / 14 Na mam karmani limpanthi na me karma phale spruhah 
Iti maam yO bhajanthi karmabhir na sa badhyate" 

In the mundane world itself, we are subject to so many restrictions, 
forces and curbs on our actions. Let us see why a person does not 
normally go astray. Quite a few are intrinsically averse to it due 
to their Vasanas. But, a large majority of us do not indulge in 
immoral activities firstly, because of the innate fear generated by 
our conscience; secondly, the feeling of shame should we be caught 
red handed by a disapproving peer group where we would like to 
maintain our prestige;, thirdly, the fear of punishment on detection 
by the police, courts or other law enforcing authorities and last 
but not the least due to the fear of contracting diseases say for 
example - in the case of AIDS. Even people given to beastly habits 
in the matter of food and sex are now returning to the mainstream of 
disciplined life and are inclined to "preserving family values" not 
because of any real change of heart but because of the irony that it 
needed such a dreadful scourge as AIDS to correct them. 

To Continue
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2."DRAMIDOPANISHAD TATPARYA RATNAVALI" ? PART- 5":
BY SRI N. KRISHNAMACHARIAR SWAMI OF CHICAGO
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SrI:
SrImate SrI ra'nga rAmAnuja mahA deSikAya namaH.

tAtparya ratnAvaLi - Solkam 3 - Part 5 of avatArikA.

Slokam 3:

pA'ncAlI gAtra SobhA-hRta hRdaya vadhUvarga pum
bhhAvanItyA
pAyau padmA sahAye praNayini bhajatah preyasI
pAratantRyam |
bhaktih SR'ngAra vRttyA pariNamati muneh bhAva bandha
prathimnA
yogAt prAg uttarAvasthitir-iha viraho deSikAs-tatra
dUtAh ||

One of the very first things that svAmi deSikan emphasizes is the
nAyikA bhAvam that is assumed by nammAzhvAr in finding _expression
to his intense devotion and love towards emperumAn. His inability
to bear the separation from bhagavAn leads to his outpourings
through SR'ngAra bhAvam. In the case of nammAzhvAr, he assumes the
role of parA'nkuSa nAyaki, and expresses the agony of separation
from emperumAn through many of his pASuram-s. This is the topic of
this Slokam by svAmi deSikan.

The natural question can arise in people's minds as to how
nammAzhvAr, who is the personification of bhakti nishThA, can be
distracted by thoughts such as assuming the role of a female deeply
in love with bhagavAn, feeling the pangs of separation, and
indulging in activities such as sending the birds etc. as
messengers. To understand these, one has to have a feel for how a
bhakti yogi's mind acts, what the bhakti yogi goes through as part
of his/her meditation, and what the bhakti yogi's sole goal in life
is. This is what svAmi deSikan explains to us in this Slokam, and
thus explains AzhvAr's nAyikA bhAvam etc.

draupadi was not an ordinary mortal. She was born out of the homa
kuNDam. As such, she excelled in beauty that made her female
friends feel intensely attracted to her beauty, to the point that
they wished they could assume the forms of males so that they could
enjoy her beauty. svAmi deSikan gives this analogy to describe the
assumption of nAyikA bhAvam by the AzhvAr-s ? they feel intensely
attracted to emperumAn to the point that they want to enjoy Him by
assuming the role of His nAyikA-s or consorts. BhagavAn's tirumEni
is so beautiful that the AzhvAr-s are overwhelmed by it, to the
point of their feeling like embracing Him tightly. One upanyAsaka
praises this unique aspect of the devotional outpourings in the SrI
vaishNava sampradAyam, where the nAyikA bhAvam gives the intimacy to
AzhvAr-s where they can take liberty with Him to embrace Him, to
chide Him, to quarrel with Him, etc., and thus enjoy Him in many
different ways. Let us look at a more detailed meaning of the Sloka.

- pA'ncAlI gAtra SobhA-hRta hRdaya vadhU varga pum-
bhAvanItyA ? Just as the close friends of pA'cAlI who saw her beauty
as they were taking bath together, were attracted to her so much
that they started assuming the role of males in their minds
- patyA, praNayini padmA-sahAye preyasI pAratantRyam
bhajatah muneh ? SrI parA'nkuSa muni, whose devotion and dedication
to emperumAn who is the Lord of all and the loving Consort of padmA
(mahAlakshmi) developed into the level where he prayed for complete
subservience to bhagavAn
- bhAva bandha prathimnA ? and since his attachment to
bhagavAn grew to such an extent that
- bhaktih SR'ngAra vRttyA pariNamati ? his natural love to
emperumAn in the form of his natural devotion (bhakti) started
manifesting itself in the form of love towards him that resembled
the love that His Consort would have towards Him (SR'ngAra bhAvam ?
intense attraction).
- The yogAt prAg uttarAvasthitir-iha viraho deSikAs-tatra
dUtAh - In AzhvAr's pASuram-s, we see that sometimes he feels close
to emperumAn, and feels happy, and at other times, he feels the
intense separation from Him, and starts sending messengers in
different forms to bhagavAn, to inform Him of his longing for union
with Him. What does all this mean? In the fourth line of this
Slokam, svAmi deSikan explains that for one in bhakti yoga, the
times when the bhakta is immersed in deep and concentrated
meditation of Him, this is the time of association with Him
(samSlesham), and the intervening states when this concentration is
broken, it is a feeling of intense separation from Him (viSlesham).
They undergo the experience of intimate and full enjoyment of Him
during their periods of intense meditation, and when they are not in
meditation, they long for that same union with Him physically, and
since that does not materialize, it manifests itself in the form of
their intense feeling of separation, which turns into expressing
themselves in their nAyikA bhAvam. Since the AcArya-s show the path
that will result in the continued state of meditation on Him for
prolonged intervals without interruption, they are
called `messengers' or dUta-s in our tradition. This is what svAmi
deSikan points out in the fourth line ? yogAt prAg uttara avasthih
iha virahah; deSikAs-tatra dutAh.

Thus, in a nutshell, svAmi deSikan explains the concept of nAyikA
bhAvam that is so common and widely prevalent in our AzhvArs'
compositions, the cause of samSleshham (union with Him) and
viSlesham (separation from Him) that AzhvArs exhibit repeatedly, and
the role of the AcArya-s in our tradition, all in the four short
lines of this Slokam.

-dAsan kRshNamAcAryan

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To Contimue
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3."MAAL UGANDHA AASIRIYAR ? LIFE AND WORKS OF AZHWARS
Part ? 2- BY SRI MADHAVA KANNAN SWAMI, SINGAPORE
CO-MODERATOR OF "SRI RANGA SRI"
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SrI:
SrImathE Gopaladesika mahadesikaya nama:
Alwars (in pure Tamil "AzhwAr") means "One who immerses  himself".  
They really, deeply immersed themselves in their devotion and bhakti 
towards the Lord Sriya:  Pathi  Sriman  Narayanan.  The  AzhwArs  
are  reported  to  be  incarnations  of  NithasUris of Sri 
Vaikuntam,  namely, the weapons, the Vanamaali, the GarudA, et  al.  
They lived like human beings and burst out bhakti laden great works 
for the sake of humanity.  The works of Alwars stood mysteriously a 
replica of the Vedas themselves and therefore came to be known as 
Dravida Veda.  In fact, there is a  view that even the great  
Rishis  are no match to the  greatness  of the  Alwars  because  
these  Rishis  got their  'jnAnam'  ( wisdom)  as a result of their 
own  actions of 'spiritual  merit' ( Punyam) whereas the wisdom of 
the Alwars was the  direct result of the Lord's divine grace and 
therefore  called ' Divyam'.  It is because of this that the works 
of Alwars is called ' Divya  Prabandham' are 4000  poems 
(pAsurams).  

These works of AzhwArs are  non-paralleled  in every sense- be it 
in  sentiment,  style or  syntax. They  take  even a casual reader  
on a  guided  tour  into the  esoteric  exegesis of the Vedas 
without  offending the  provisions of exclusions  and prohibitions  
enjoined in the study of the Vedas in original.  (by Sri Anbil  
Ramaswamy, USA)  

AzhwAr's  paasurams (poems) called  naalaayira  dhivyap  prabhandam  
composed by  twelve  AzhwArs. The  paasurams were collected and 
brought out by one of the much  revered Sri vaishnava AchAryAs 
called Sriman  Naathamuni.  By the time of sriman  Naathamuni  (9th 
century A.D.)  the AzhwAr  paasurams  were not lost or unknown.  It 
was by divine grace of Sriman  Narayanan that Sriman  Naathamuni 
came to know  of the Tamil poems praising Lord Vishnu. It is 
believed that Sriman  Naathamuni  heard some devotees visiting his 
home town of VeeranaaraayaNapuram  (present day  kaattu mannaarkudi 
near  Mayilaadurthurai or Mayavaram) singing a few (11) Tamil  songs 
starting with "aaraa amudhE adiyEn udalam" and ending with  
"... kurugoor sadagOpan 
kuzhalil maliyach sonna Or 
aayiratthuL ippatthum, 
mazhalai theera vallaar kaamar 
maanEy nOkkiyarkE." 
(NammAzhwAr's Thiruvaaymozhi 5.8.1 - 5.8.11) 

Sriman Naathamuni was greatly excited and enchanted with the 
exquisite beauty of  the poems.  He  approached  the  devotees  and  
enquired  about its origin.  The  ending of the 11 
poems, "aayiratthuL  ippatthu,"(means this ten of the thousand)  
suggested  that  there  are  many  more  such  poems  (may be  
thousand?).  This  possibility intrigued Sriman Naathamuni.  
Unfortunately,  the devotees were unaware of any other poems  
besides the eleven  they had just finished  reciting.  However, they 
suggested to Sriman  Naathamuni  that he may try  enquiring  in the 
town of thiruk  kurugoor,  present day AzhwAr  thiru nagari near  
thirunelvEli.  So he set out to travel from  kaattumannarkudi  to 
thiruk  kurugoor,  a long  journey  indeed  in his  time.  There he 
found one  paraangusa  daasar.  From him, Sriman Naathamuni learnt 
11 more paasurams called  kaNNinuN  sirutthaambu.  These were  
composed by  Madhurakavi  AzhwAr and all 11  paasurams are in praise 
of kurugoor  SadagOpan  (NammAzhwAr).  Sriman Naathamuni  was 
excited to have doubled his collection.  But this only whetted his 
desire to  seek out the more than 1,000,  promised in the first set 
of paasurams he fell in  love with at his home town.  
Paraangusa  daasar  suggested  that he  repeatedly  recite  this 
great  kaNNinuN  sirutthaambu  (sung in  praise  of Sri  Sadagopan-  
NammAzhwAr)  in the  hope of  pleasing the Lord.  Sriman  Naathamuni 
took his advice  sincerely and recited it  about  12,000  times!  It 
is said that  NammAzhwAr  was  impressed  with  Sriman  
Naathamuni's  persistence and appeared  before him.  NammAzhwAr was 
so impressed  that he revealed to Sriman  Naathamuni  not just the 
1102  paasurams  of his own  "thiruvaay mozhi", but also all the 
rest of the paasurams  composed by the other  eleven  AzhwArs.  From 
this, we may deduce  that it is Sriman  Naathamuni,  who  gathered 
the Tamil treatise (these 4000 peoms) praising Lord Vishnu  composed 
by  the twelve AzhwArs.  Sriman  naathamuni  called this  collection 
of paasurams or  prabhandams naalaayira dhivya prabhandam or 
draavida vEdham.   (Courtesy:  from Sri Vaishnava Home page of Sri  
Mani Varadarajan,USA)  

Due perhaps to historical reasons, much of these treasures had been 
lost to  humanity  for a while.  Thus It was given to the great  
Naathamuni  to  retrieve  and  revivify them in their  pristine  
glory for the benefit of  posterity.  The long  line of the lineage 
of  preceptors  who followed him kept the torch  burning and  handed 
them over to successive generations .  We can justifiably be proud 
of the rich heritage.  It is our duty,  therefore, to familiarize  
ourselves  with the  lives  and  works of these  preceptors, the  
least we can do as a token of our  gratitude for the invaluable 
treasures bequeathed to us.

We do not have authentic and full information about the lives of 
AzhwArs other than what is narrated in the Guru parampara. However, 
on the basis of their verses and the verses written by acharyas as 
thaniyans [invocatory verses on the respective azhwArs and paying 
obeisance to them], we can give an indication of their lives, period 
and their greatness.

Mudhal AzhwArs: [first three among the 12 AzhwArs]

These three AzhwArs namely Poigai AzhwAr, bhoothatthAzhwAr and 
PaeyAzhwAr are the earliest among the 12 AzhwArs and are called 
mudhal AzhwAr. According to the traditions, they were born in the 
same year of SiddArti, same month of Aippasi and on three 
consecutive days respectively. The stars were: ThiruvONam, avittam 
and Sadhaym. They were not born like us; they appeared and hence 
they were ayOnijas. Their period was estimated as 7th century A.D. 
(Though we are not attaching any significant importance to it, it is 
better to have a datum)

Poigai AzhwAr, an incarnation of MahAvishNu's paanchjanyam (Divine 
conch, sanghu in Tamil) is also called Adhi kavi. poigaiAr appeared 
on the ThAmarai mottu (lotus bud) in a pond in tiruve:ka near 
kancheepuram in the proximity of Yathothkaari temple. He is so named 
because of his birth in Poigai [tank]. He is also knows as Saroyogi, 
indicating his birth in a saras. [Remember bhootham saras cha 
mahadhaahvya bhatta nAtha? sloka]. 

BhoothatthAzhwAr the second AzhwAr was born at Kadanmallai 
[Mahabhalipuram] near Chennai. He was found near the Kurukkatthi 
flower and hence also called as poo thatthAzhwAr. Another view is: 
He is named so because of the possession of divine jnAnam out of 
God's grace [Sri SMS Chari writes in his book on AzhwArs: bhootha ?
Sanskrit equivalent of Pootha means- etymologically one who has 
gained sattaa or sustenance by spiritual knowledge [bhoo sattaayaam 
vaachi]. He is also known as bhootha muni, hence. He is an 
incarnation of Divine mace (called kaumOdaki) of our Lord 
mahAvishNu.  

The Third AzhwAr- paey AzhwAr was born at Mylapore in Chennai. The 
term paey means one who is possessed. And this AzhwAr was possessed 
and intoxicated with the intense love and bhakti for the Lord Sriman 
Narayanan and hence he was called paey AzhwAr. He is also called 
Mahadhaahyvar, signifying his greatness as one who had experienced 
God. He is an incarnation of the sword of mahAvishNu (called 
nandaki), appeared in sevvalli (Red alli-lily) flower in a well of 
AdhikEsava perumAL koil at mylapore (in madras).  

NammazhwAr, (our azhwAr), the greatest azwAr about whom we will see 
later, has addressed these three azhwArs as "innkavi pAdum parama 
kavigaL" meaning the greatest poets who sang the loveliest songs or 
the sweetest songs; All three azhwArs were blessed with tamizh jnAnam
(knowledge) and bhakti uLLam; All of them, though were not known to 
each other, were singing the glories of sriman nArAyaNan, and were 
going from place to place visiting the PerumAL temples to get 
blessed with Lord's Darshan. They had no other thoughts but for 
nArAyanan and lived like sanyAsis (recluses); The Lord perhaps 
wanted them to get together and liked to listen to their discussion 
about Him and His kalyANa guNAs.  
So, they had come to Thirukkovilur and each of them had a separate 
Darshan of Trivikraman (the Lord who appeared as vAmanan, a small 
brahmachari boy, took the huge tall form as Trivikraman and measured 
the entire universe in one step in vAmanAvatAram) 
called "UlagaLandha perumAL. 

Let us enjoy this wonderful scene from sri Sdagopan Iyengar Swami's 
article]<quote>It was a dark and stormy night at Tirukkovalur, with 
rain coming down in torrents, the threatening roar of thunder 
shaking all souls and with flashes of lightning serving as the only 
illumination. It was a night when none would venture out and 
everyone had shut himself up tight in his home. Yet, it was a night 
on which three Yogis, who had the Lord entrenched in their hearts, 
chose to be out and about. When they reached Tirukkovalur separately 
by different routes, they found all houses shut, all choultries 
locked up, with the inmates unlikely to open up. The first to reach 
was Poigayazhwar, who found a narrow passage in the front portion of 
an ashramam belonging to Mrigandu Maharshi and lay down, prepared to 
spend the night among the inhospitable and confined environs. 
Sometime later, Bhootattaazhwar too discovered the same place and
finding someone already occupying the space, enquired whether there 
would be room for one more person. The first occupant welcomed the 
stranger, saying that if there was space enough for one person to 
lie down, two could sit there. An hour or so passed and there came 
knocking another worthy, wet and drenched to the skin and seeking 
shelter in the passage. He too was welcomed by the other two, who 
thought that three could at least stand comfortably in the small 
space, which could seat two and provide a bed for one. The three 
Azhwars were thus standing in the pitch dark, sharing with one 
another their experiences of the Lord and His auspicious attributes. 

All of a sudden, they felt rather tight pressed. Where they were 
standing comfortably earlier, they now felt that the available space 
had diminished, as if a fourth person, unknown to the other three, 
had entered the narrow passage and was crowding them. Apparently, 
someone had sneaked into the already constricted space without 
announcement and was standing as one with them.

As it was pitch dark and they had no way of producing light, 
Poygaiazhwar hit upon the idea of lighting a novel lamp. Using the 
elements of nature as ingredients, considering the whole earth as a 
lamp, the waters of the salty seas as oil and with the shining Sun 
as the wick, he lit a glorious lamp that would shine forever and 
show up with clarity even the tiniest speck of dust. For his part, 
Bhootattaazhwar lit another lamp, using entirely home-made 
ingredients, all available within oneself and yet the hardest to 
find in any human being: he fashioned a lamp out of his unfathomable 
love for Emperuman. Oil for the lamp was his uncontrollable urge to 
see the Lord and the wick was his intellect, made sweet and melting 
by constant contemplation of the Lord's auspicious attributes.

Such was the extraordinary illumination provided by the two lamps 
lit by these two Yogis, that the third, Sri Peyazhwar, was able to 
see clearly the fourth person who had been squeezing them tight. 
First and foremost, Azhwar's eyes alighted on the glorious form of 
Sri Mahalakshmi adorning the broad chest of the intruder-"Thiru 
kanden" sang out Sri Peyazhwar, exulting in the wonderful spectacle 
that greeted his eye. Having realized, from the presence of the 
Divine Consort, that it was none other than the Paramatma Sriman 
Narayana who had entered the passage and was squeezing the trio, 
Azhwar's sight fell next on the glorious golden tirumeni of the 
Paramapurusha-"Ponmeni kanden". The brilliant and blazing complexion 
of the stranger imprinted itself upon Azhwar's eyes, prompting him 
to comment ecstatically on the same-"Tigazhum arukkan ani niramum 
kanden". The Lord's Divine Discus and the Cosmic Conch adorning His 
upper hands presented a spectacular sight to the thirsty eyes of 
Azhwar-"Serukkilarum Ponnaazhi kanden, puri Shankham kai kanden".

The three Azhwars, inspired by the grand spectacle of Emperuman's 
glorious form in their midst, poured out their devotion in a hundred 
beautiful verses each, brimming over with Bhakti. 

These are the paasurams which served as forerunners of the four 
thousand nectarine verses that were to be composed by the other
Azhwars. Though there is no direct internal evidence in the Divya 
Prabandas of one Azhwar eulogizing another (except in the case of 
Sri Madhurakavi and Sri Andal), Sri Nammazhwar refers to these 
three "pioneer" Azhwars as "Paaley Tamizhar, Isaikaarar, patthar", 
paying generous tribute to their devotion and the beauty of their 
compositions. 
<unquote>

Each of these 100 verses (pasurams) flowing from their mouths as if 
they are clear stream of water; in andhadhi style. These three works 
which constitute the earliest poetical compositions contributed by 
the Vaishnava saints of South India contain philosophical and 
theological ideas of Srivaishnavam.  Sriya: Pathi listened to them 
to the utmost pleasure and satisfaction all their pasurams and after 
blessing them, disappeared.  

>From then on, they always went together to other temples, and On 
their way, the three azhwArs also were blessed with  

1. a darshan of sitapiratti, lakshmana, bharatha, sathrukna, 
hanumathsametha Sri Ramachandra at Ayodhdhi,  

2. a darshan of Lord ThiruvEnkadamudaiyAn down the hill (not at 
tirumala, but at tirupathi), when they hesitated to step on the Hill 
and turned back; such a place is called "AzhwAr theertham" even 
today.  

3. Offering a charkAyudhA to Vishnuvarthanan, a king at kanchipuram 
for winning a battle. and  

4. later, joining with another azhwAr, by name Thirumazhisai azhwAr 
(on their way)  

A Glance at their marvelous compositions:  

1. poigaiAzhwAr composed the first 100 pAsurams "mudhal 
thiruvandhAdhi" (andhAdhi means the first word of one verse will be 
last word of the previous verse )starting with the first one: vaiyam 
thagaliyA, vArkadlE neyyAga/ veyyakkadirOn viLakkAga/ sudarAzhiyAn 
adikkE soottinEn son mAlai/ Idar neenghugavE enRu/  
Meaning:Lord nArAyaNa, who holds the Divine chakrAyudha, is the 
cause of this wonderful universe and the seas. I am singing these 
mAlai(Garland) of verses(pAsurams) and dedicating to Him, whose 
vision I had is the light of the lamp of the earth, and oil being 
the seas, the sun being the source of the light;  

2. BhoodaththAzhwAr composed the second 100 pAsurams "irandAm 
thiruvandhAdhi" starting with the first one: anbE thagaliyA, ArvamE 
neyyAga/ inburugu sindhai idu thiriyA/ naNpurugi GnAna chudar 
viLakku EtrinEn/Gnana thamizh purindha nAn/  
meaning: Here, it is the love as the lamp and involvement as the oil 
and azhwAr says" I dedicate myself to the service of the lord, by 
singing this song that blesses wisdom(GnAna), with love as the lamp, 
endearing involvement as the oil(Ghee), and knowledge as the wick of 
the torch".  

3. PEyAzhwAr composed the third 100s called "moonRAm 
thiruvandhAdhi", with the first one as follows: thirukkaNdEn, 
ponmEni kaNdEn- thigazhum/arukkan Ani niRamum kaNdEn-seruk kiLaRum/ 
ponAzhi kaNdEn puri sangham kai kaNdEn/ en Azhi vaNNan pAl inRu/ 
What a song! AzhwAr just says:" I now beheld the Goddess by the side 
of my Lord who has the luster of blue ocean; I saw the lustrous 
divine body of golden colour [of Mahalakshmi]; I perceived the 
radiant sun-like form; I saw the most beautiful chakra that glows 
fiery in the battle field and the lovely conch shell [sankhu] in the 
most beautiful hands of the Lord.

AzhwAr EmperumAnAr Desikan ThiruvaDigaLE saraNam
Regards
Namo narayana
dAsan
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To Continue
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