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 # 07 dated 19th 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 at Ramanbil@xxxxxxxxxxx
Regards
Namo narayana
dAsan Madhava Kannan
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INTHIS ISSUE:
1. Panchaangam ? important dates for Kaartthigai month
By Sri Madhavakannan
2. "THE MIGHTY AND THE ALMIGHTY ? A CLASH OF WILLS?? Part-5"
BY ANBIL RAMASWAMY
(This is from his talk at Sri Hayagrivar Temple , Pondicherry on
31st May 2006)
3. "DRAMIDOPANISHAD TATPARYA RATNAVALI" ? PART- 7":
BY SRI N. KRISHNAMACHARIAR SWAMI OF CHICAGO
4."MAAL UGANDHA AASIRIYAR ? LIFE AND WORKS OF AZHWARS
Part ? 4- THIRUMAZHIAZHWAR BY SRI MADHAVAKKANNAN, SINGAPORE
CO-MODERATOR OF "SRI RANGA SRI"
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ISSUES RELEASED
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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
07 Issues of Vol. 8
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1. PANCHAANGAM- IMPORTANT DATES FOR VIYA ? KAARTTHIGAI MONTH
November 17, 2006-Friday ?Kaartthigai 1- Kaartthigaimonth begins
November 20, 2006- Monday ? Sarva amaavasya
November 26, 2006- Sunday ? SravaNa vratham
November 30, 2006- Thursday ? Srimath Azhagiya Singar 45th Pattam
81st Thirunakshathram
December 1, 2006 ? Friday ? Sarva kaisika Ekadasi
December 2,2006 ? Saturday ? PradhOsham
December 4, 2006 ? Tuesday ? Thirumangai AzhwAr Thirunakshathram
[Thirukkaartthigai]
December 5, 2006- Wednesday ? ThiruppANAzhwAr Thirunakshathram
2. "THE MIGHTY AND THE ALMIGHTY ? A CLASH OF WILLS? ? Part-3"
Man's will and God's 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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GOD'S WILL AND MAN'S FREE WILL
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
? The "Can" 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 is not bound by Karma" BG 4 / 14
"na maam karmaaNi limpanthi na mE karma phale spruhah/
Iti maam yO bhajanthi karmaibhih 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.
? The innate fear generated by our conscience;
? The feeling of shame should we be caught red handed by a
disapproving peer group where we would like to maintain our prestige.
? 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 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 such a grave depravity
needed such a dreadful scourge as AIDS to correct them.
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3."DRAMIDOPANISHAD TATPARYA RATNAVALI" ? PART- 6":
BY SRI N. KRISHNAMACHARIAR SWAMI OF CHICAGO
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SrI:
SrImate SrI ra'nga rAmAnuja mahA deSikAya namaH.
tAtparya ratnAvaLi - Submission 7 - Slokam 5 of avatArikA.
Slokam 5:
Adau SarIrakArtha kramamiha viSadam vimSatir-vakti sAgrA
samkshepo'sau vibhAgam prathayati ca RcAm cAru pAThopapannam |
samyak gItAnubaddham sakalam anugatam sAma SAkhA sahasram
samlakshyam sAbhidheyair-yajurapi Satakaih bhAt-yatharvA rasaiSca ||
The basic concept involved in understanding this Slokam is that it
its accepted tradition by elders to draw certain conclusions based
on the number of Sloka-s in a grantham. For instance, we know that
the gAyatrI mantra has 24 akshara-s. We also know that SrImad
rAmAyaNam consists of 24,000 Sloka-s. Based on the relationship
between the numbers 24 and 24,000, our pUrvAcArya-s declare that
SrImad rAmAyaNam is gAyatrI vyAkhyAnam.
In the current Slokam, svAmi deSikan points out that nammAzhvAr's
tiruvAimozhi contains the essence of the SarIraka mImAmsA (the
brahma sUtra-s), the Rg veda, the sAma veda, the yajur veda, and the
atharva veda. It shows the message of vedAnta in the form of
SarIraka mImAmsA through 21 pASuram-s from the first three
tiruvAimozhi-s, in the same sequence in which Sage bAdarAyaNa (veda
vyAsa) presents the message of the vedAnta to us through the 16 pAda-
s of brahma sUtra (SarIrakArtha kramamiha viSadam vimSatir-vakti
sAgrA).
These same 21 pASuram-s reveal to us the message of the esteemed Rg
veda with its 21 SAkhA-s (cAru pAThopapannam RcAm).
The sAma veda consists of 1000 SakhA-s. Counting ten pASuram-s (not
counting the phala Sruti pASuram), from each of the 100 tiruvAimozhi-
s in nammAzhvAr-s SrI sUkti the total of 1000 pASuram-s (one hundred
times ten) are considered to reveal to us the message of the
melodious sAma veda (gItAnubaddham sAma SAkhA sahasram).
There are 101 SakhA-s in yajur vedam. The 101 pASuram-s that are
considered as revealing the message contained in the yajur veda
through tiruvAimozhi are: (a) The 100 phala Sruti pASuram-s of the
100 tiruvAimozhi-s' and (b) the 12th pASuram from `kESavan tamar',
which is considered as one pASuram along with the 11th pASuram of
this same tiruvAimozhi. This is further explained below.
The `kESavan tamar' tiruvAimozhi has thirteen pASurams. Excluding
the ten pASuram-s that have been counted as explaining the sAma
veda, and the last pASuram (phala Sruti) that has been accounted for
along with the other phala Sruti pASuram-s, there are two pASuram-s
left (pAsurams 11 and 12); these two together are considered as one
(pASuram 11 starts with padmanAbhan and ends with dAmodaran, and
pASuram 12 elaborates on `dAmodran' further, and so can be
considered as an extension of the previous pASuram). Adding this to
the 100 phala Sruti pASuram-s, we have a total of 101 pASuram-s.
These 101 are considered a gist of the yajurveda with 101 SAkha-s
(samlakshyam sAbhidheyaih yajurapi Satakaih)
The atharva veda has nine SAkhA-s, and the nine pASurams of the
third tiruvAimozhi starting pASuram 1.3.2 (recall that the first
pASuram of the 3rd tiruvAimozhi was grouped with the pASuram-s that
give the gist of the Rg veda earlier), are considered to summarize
the atharva veda (athatvArasaiSca bhAti).
Further support regarding the SarIraka mImAmsA:
upanishad bhAshyakArar has explained that the first 21 pASuram-s of
tiruvAimozhi summarize the SarIraka mImAmsA (the brahma sUtra-s).
svAmi deSikan also points out the above in his dramiDopanishad sAra,
in the 4th Slokam:
dvikAbhyAm dvi ashTA'nghriH dur-adhigama nIti sphuTitA
yadantyA mImAmsA Sruti Sikhara tattvam avRNata |
tadAdau gAtAbhih munih adkika vimSAbhih iha nah
kRtI sAra grAham vyataradati sa'ngRhya kRpayA ||
uttara mImAmsA consists of four chapters, each with four pAda-s, or
a total of 16 pAda-s for the four chapters. dvi asTa a'nghrih ? 16
parts.
adhika vimSatibhih gAthAbhih ? by songs exceeding twenty; this is
interpreted as referring to the number 21.
SrI UV makes the correlation between the 16 pAda-s brahma sUtra and
the 21 pASuram-s of tiruvAimozhi, in his vyAkhyAnam for
tiruvAimozhi, particularly establishing that the order in which the
16 pAda-s of brahma sUtra explain the Supreme Brahman, is the exact
same order (SarIrakArtha kramam) in which the 21 pASuram-s of
tiruvAimozhi concisely summarize the Supreme Brahman. . We won't go
through the detailed mapping in this write-up, but give the first
three or four as examples to illustrate the point.
- 1st pASuram ? uyarvaRa ? conveys the meaning of the brhama Sabdam
that is the topic of the first sUtra ? athAto brahma jij~nAsA.
- 2nd pASuram ? mannan agam malar aRa ? The fact that Brahman is
different from the cetana-s and acetana-s ? satyam j~nAnam anantan
brahma.
- 1st pAda establishes that Brahman is the sRshTi kAraNam, the
Creator of all ? this is also the subject of the first two pASuram-
s, 1.1.1 and 1.1.2.
- pASuram-s 3 and 4 ? covey that all the cetana-s and a-cetana-s
form part of His Body, and He is the AtmA of all ? the sense of the
2nd pAda
- pASuram-s 5 and 6 ? convey that He is a svatantran, and is not
subject to any other being's control ? pAda 3
- pASuram 7 ? paDar poruL muzhuvadumAi ? His niravadhika mahimA is
sung; He is the upAdAna kAraNa and the AtmA of all; SuDar migu
SurutiyuL uLan ? He is the One who is sung by all the veda-s; - ?
pAda 4, etc.
Additional comments about the Rg veda:
SvAmi deSikan has used the phrase `cAru pATha upapannam RcAm' to
describe the correlation between tiruvAimozhi and the Rg veda. cAru
means `beautiful. `upapannam' means `endowed with'. The common
meaning that we all know for the word `pATham' in the current
context is a reference to the `svara' ? melody, sweetness (as in
Ghana pATham, karma pATham etc.). So, one interpretation for the
phrase could be `the Rg veda with its associated beautiful melodious
svara-s'. This immediately raises the question ? are the other veda-
s not endowed with `cAru-pATha-s'? SrI UV raises this question, and
gives quotes such as `yajureva Sirah' ? declaring the special beauty
of svara-s etc. for the yajur veda. SrI UV gives an interpretation
that overcomes this objection ? the word `pATham' means the number
21 in `gaNana rIti'. Thus, the phrase `cAru pATha upapannam RcAm' is
interpreted as `the esteemed Rg veda consisting of 21 SAkhA-s'. The
interpretation in terms of the number of SAkhA-s is also consistent
with the other statements that are based on the number of SAkhA-s.
Additional comments relating to the yajur veda:
SrI UV's interpretation given above counted all the phala Sruti
pASuram-s in establishing the basis in tiruvAimozhi for the 101
SAkhA-s of yajur veda. There is another view, that counts the 100
tiruvAmozhi-s as counting towards the 101 SAkhA-s of yajur veda. SrI
UV analyzes the support for both the interpretations, and seems to
prefer the count using the phala Sruti pASuram-s. His arguments are
simple to understand, but they are not being included here in order
to avoid too much detail.
Additional comments relating to the atharva veda:
SrI ve'nkaTeSAcArya's vyAkhyAnam refers to `eight SAkhA-s' for the
atharva veda (ashTa SakhamAna atharvaNa vedam), and SrI UV refers
to `nine SAkhA-s'. It is considered by some that the atharva veda
reflects all the nava rasa-s (the nine rasa-s: SR'ngAra ? love;
hAsya ? comedy; karuNA ? pity; raudra ? fury; vIryam ? heroism;
bhayankaram ? fear; bIbhatsam ? disgust; adbhutam ? wonder; SAntam ?
peace). In the very first Slokam of tAtparya ratnAvaLi, svAmi
deSikan had indicated that tiruvAimozhi is the ultimate limit of
SAnti rasa (SAnti SuddhAnta sImA). The other eight rasa-s are
contained in tiruvAimozhi as accessories to the SAnti rasa. SrI
ve'naTeSAcArya comments that the gist of the atharva with its eight
SAkhA-s is thus reflected in tiruvAimozhi. SrI UV prefers to
continue the interpretation in terms of the number of SAkhA-s,
rather than in terms of the `rasa-s', for consistency with the other
comparisons.
As can be seen, there are several ways of explaining which specific
pASuram-s are to be included in order to explain svAmi deSikan's
thoughts reflected in the current Slokam. The point to take for us
from this pASuram is that it is svAmi deSikan's considered opinion
that nammAzhvAr's tiruvAimozhi contains the gist of all the four
veda-s, as well as the SarIraka mImAmsA that summarizes the message
of the upanishad-s. This is one more greatness of tiruvAimozhi.
Note that in the previous Slokam (Slokam 4), svAmi deSikan pointed
out that tiruvAimozhi is an upabrahmaNam like the itihAsa-s, purANa-
s, etc. ? tiruvAimozhi being the best among those that explain the
message of the upanishad-s. In the current Slokam, he points out
that tiruvAimozhi is in all ways equal to all the veda-s and the
upanishad-s.
-dAsan kRshNamAcAryan
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3."MAAL UGANDHA AASIRIYAR ? LIFE AND WORKS OF AZHWARS
Part ? 4- THIRUMAZHISAI AZHWAAR
BY SRI MADHAVA KANNAN - CO-MODERATOR OF "SRI RANGA SRI"
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SrI:
SrImathE Gopaladesika mahadesikaya nama:
... This is a biography of the GREAT AzhwAr by name "Thirumazhisai
AzhwAr" (born at Thirumazhisai, to Bhargava rishi and his dharma
pathni kanakAngi after an unusual of 12 months stay in the womb). It
is told that the saptha Rishis including BhArgava Rishi asked
BrahmA about the most sacred place on the Earth that was fit for
the permanaent residence to do penance. Brahma told them that
Thirumazhisai KshEthram was the best and named it MahIsAra
KshEthram. The Rishis stayed there.
While being there, the wife of BhArgava Rishi KanakAngi gave birth
to a child on a Thai Makam. It was a lifeless one with no form or
parts. Seeing the foetus that came out as just a lifeless lump of
flesh with no arms, legs, etc., they were terribly depressed and
with hard heart and unwillingness left it at the "moongil" (bamboo)
bush and proceeded with their life.
It is His leelA. He has different mission and purpose on each and
every one of His creation. Our most merciful Lord Sriya: patih
appeared with His consort and blessed the "flesh" with Their
katAksham and it turned into an alive, Divya tEjas, cute little
bundle of joy; a fully developed and lovely baby which was later
picked up affectionately by a tribe(Harijan) named "ThiruvALan". A
really blessed couple ThiruvALan and pankaya chelvi, was very much
overwhelmed by the grace of God for this Gift of swarNa vigraham-
like most charming baby boy. This Boy was Thirumazhisai AzhwAr, who
is the amsam of the Lord's Sudarsana chakram
Again an unusual [very interesting incidents have happened in this
AzhwAr's life) phenomenon of not drinking or eating any thing nor any
expelling of any waste by this baby saddened them. They really
longed to see the baby drink or eat something; It was happening for
quite some time and this unusualness news spread everywhere and
attracted lots of people to see and be blessed with the darshan of
this divine child, who was also growing and developing like any
other normal child in spite of no intake. When a simple, devoted
agriculturist old couple paid their visit, they brought some cow's
milk with them and the old lady lovingly placed the baby on her lap
and offered the milk saying "Oh our beloved boy, the one who came
amidst us by the grace of sriman nArAyaNa, please take this milk and
remove our worries, dear" and IT
STARTED DRINKING..
(one can imagine the tears of joy that must have flowed in the hall
and the excitement!) And they were coming everyday to offer the milk
to the baby since then; one such day the baby AzhwAr showed and
signaled the left over milk to be drunk by the old couple; The
moment they partook the left over milk, they regained their youth;
yet another marvel by the Divine AzhwAr, who was none other than
chakrAyudhA (the Discuss of mahA vishNu).
The "young" old couple, later were blessed with a male child whom
they named "kaNikaNNan" who at a later stage became a close
friend/ardent disciple of ThirumazhisaiAzhwAr.
Meanwhile, The BhArgava Rishi puthran( Thirumazhisai AzhwAr)
controlled his Indhriyams and practised AshtAnga Yogam. He studied
all kinds of religions (Saaktham , Saivam et al) and rejected them
all in favor of VaishNavam and recognized that Sriman NaarAyaNn is
the Aadhara Moorthy and Jagath KaaraNa Vasthu (ParamAthmA). Azhwar
stayed at Thiru AllikkENi worshipping GeethAchAryan and met there
with the Mudhal AzhwArs. Few years later, Thirumazhisai AzhwAr
settled at ThiruvehhA , where Poygai AzhwAr was born. KaNikaNNan
served Thirumazhisai as his disciple The AzhwAr, actually had learnt
tried all other religions/doctrines., namely., Buddhism, jainism,
advaitA and in fact became a staunch devotee of SivA (with a name
siva vAkyA). pEyAzhwAr argued with him, showed him evidences from
vEdAs ans smrithis to claim sriman nArAyaNA as the supreme deity,
and finally initiated him into vaishNavic philosophy and named him
bhaktisArar.
AzhwAr later declares his struggles in his pAsuram:
sAkkiyam kaRROm samaN kaRROm, sankaranAr/
Akkiya Agama nool aRinthOm bhaktiyAl/
senkatkariyaAnai sErnthOm yAm theethilamE/
yenkatkariyathOnRil/
"After my futile efforts to know the supreme principle through
jainism, Buddhism philosophies and saivite religion. I am blessed by
sriman nArAyaNa to take refuge at the Lotus feet of Sriya: Pathi and
have escaped all problems and misfortunes since then."
1) BhaktisArar visited various sthalams (temples) and came to
Thiruve:ka (bhoodhathAzhwAr's birthplace) and was allured by the
beauty of the Lord and the scenic beauties and decided to stay there
for some time. Our Kanikkannan, too joined bhaktisArar and served
him as an ardent disciple (sishyA) to AzhwAr.
2)There was also an old lady (unmarried) who devotedly, whole
heartedly served AzhwAr by cleaning, mopping, drawing "kOlams" etc..
AzwAr was greatly impressed by her indefatigable service and
devotion towards AzhwAr and appreciated her openly; The old lady was
moved and regretted that she joined him at this age only and not
when she was able so that she could have continued to serve for more
years. Hearing that, azhwAr's kind heart melted and showered his
graceful look (katAksham) on the lady, who was immediately
transformed into an extremely beautiful young lady. (This AzhwAr's
miracles are really great, dear vaishNavALs) Later, during
a "nagarvalam", the pallava king saw her in azhwAr's place and
married her.
3) After some years, when the king actually noticed that his queen
is not ageing and has got the same youthful look while he was
getting old, he found out that it was AzhwAr's divine katAksham that
did the magic. He asked Kanikkannan who was summoned to the court to
make a request to AzhwAr on behalf of the king, Kanikkannan refused
saying he and the AzhwAr will not yield and sing for a mortal. That
enraged the king and he ordered to banish Kanikkannan from his
kingdom. Kanikkannan said "this is not the only sthalam for me; The
entire world is His" and walked off.
He went to azhwAr and narrated the incident which forced him to
leave that place and begged for his pardon for leaving him; AzhwAr
felt very sad that his dearest friend/devoted disciple is leaving
him. He did not feel like staying there without kanikannan. Hence,
AzhwAr, too decided to push off from Thiruve:ka. AzhwAr went
straight to the temple and prayed wholeheartedly with tears in his
eyes and requested the Lord also to come along with them, as he can
not think of living without the Lord.
Kanikkannan pOginRAn kAmaru poon kacchi
maNivaNNA1 nee kidakka vEndA
sennAppulavanum pOginrEn neeyum unRan
painnAgappAi suruttikkoL
" Kanikkannan is going out of kanchi Manivanna, I am also leaving
with him. You don't have to lie down here any more; You also roll
your "nAgam" (serpent bed) and follow me" and FRIENDS, OUR LORD
FOLLOWED THE AZHWAR WITH THE SNAKE ROLLED AND TUCKED UNDER HIS ARMS.
The king next day got the news that the temple is desolated and the
entire city looks dark and lifeless, he understood his folly and
rushed immediately to chase the trio. He caught them on the way and
prostrated on the ground, repenting for what he had done; requested
them to forgive him for his mistake and to come back to kanchi.
AzhwAr and Kanikkannan, understanding the sincerity of his regret
and repentance requested the Lord again to return and stay at
kanchi. Needless to say, the Lord obeyed.
Kanikkannan pOkkozhindAn kAmaru poon kacchi
maNivaNNA1 nee kidakka vEndum
sennAppulavanum pOkkozhindEn neeyum unRan
painnAgappAi viritthukkoL
4)Once on his way to Tirukkudantai, he stopped for a while to take
rest and he sat on the "ThiNNai" ( a sort of bench-pial) in front of
a house in Perumpuliyur. A few brahmins were reciting vedas inside
that house. On seeing the "harijan" (our AzhwAr), they stopped their
recitation since, as per tradition and shAstrAs, Veda was not to be
recited in the presence of a person belonging to the fourth caste
and our AzhwAr immediately understood and was about to leave when
the Brahmins started their recitation.
They forgot the next line and at what point they had left the
recitation. The AzhwAr broke open a paddy seed that was lying there
with his fingernail to indicate the exact context which had a
reference to the paddy seed. The brahmins were simply flabbergasted
and astonished and realized the greatness of the AzhwAr and asked
for his pardon.
5)When the Archaka ( priest) of the local temple wanted to honor the
AzhwAr, knowing fully well his bhakti and GnAna, some people
objected and spoke ill of the AzhwAr. Tha AzhwAr felt hurt and
prayed to the Lord to show himself to these people in his physical
body to prove that the antaryAmi is the same Narayanan in all living
beings, irrespective of the jAti, caste,creed colour, etc.,
Akkarangal Akkarangal Enrum Aavadhu En Kolo
Ik Kurumbai Neekki Ennai Eesanaakkka Vallaiyel
Sakkaram Koll Kaiyane Sadankar Vai Adangida
Ut Kidantha Vanname Puram Posindhu Kaattide
Meaning:" What is the use of your having those resplendent hands if
you cannot remove the idiosyncrasy of these ignorant folk and make
me powerful in their midst? Lord, with the divine discus in your
hand ! Teach these fools a lesson by showing yourself appearing in
my very physical body" Again, The Lord obeyed the AzhwAr and showed
himself off in the body of AzhwAr and the protestors were simply
astonished and prostrated and begged for his pardon. (It only again
goes to prove that no one is superior or inferior by birth; it is
just bhakti and love for Him which will make us dearer to Him- No
one chooses his kulam, parents, life; It is all His mercy)
'TIRUCHANDA VIRUTTAM'
On reaching Tirukkudantai ( Kumbakonam), he let the birch bark leaf
containing his writings in the waters of river Kaveri. The leaf
floated back to him holding his works viz.,'Tiruchanda Viruttam' ( a
poem of beautiful verses) in which he sang the following beautiful
verse:
NinRadhu Enthai Ooragathu Irundathu Enthai Paadagathu
AnRu Vekkanaik Kidandhathu EnnilAtha MunnelAm
AnRu NAn PiRandilEn PiRandhapin MaRandilEn
NinRadhum Irundhadhum Kidandhathum En NenjuLe
" Before I was born, He was standing in Ooragam, was sitting in
Paadagam and was lying down in Tiruvekka.At that time I was not born
with wisdom; When once I was born with this wisdom, I never forgot.
Therefore, the Lord left all those places and has taken permanent
abode in my heart". The idea is that the great Gnanis never
considered themselves as born at all until they realized this '
Artha gnAnam'. And, once they realized this, they had no other
avocation than being immersed in the thought of the Lord. This is
how Mumukshup padi explains this sentiment.
'NAANMUGAN TIRUVANTADHI'
The other work of the AzhwAr is 'Naanmugan Tiruvantadhi'- an Antadhi
commencing with the words 'Naanmugan' - a reference to the four
faced Brahma. The first stanza of the Antadhi categorically states
Naan Muganai Naraayanan Padaithaan- Naan Muganum
Thaan Mugamaaai Sankaranaithaan Padaithaan
Yaan Mugamaai Anthaadhi Melittu Arivithen - Aazh Porulai
Sinthaamal Konmin Neer Therndhu
"The four faced Brahma was born to Narayana and to this Brahma was
born Sankara. I am declaring this truth in this Antadhi. Resort to
this without any doubt, if you desire to wipe out the pangs of
birth"
The AzhwAr was so straight forwarded, outspoken, fearless and
established the oneness and supremacy of Sriman Narayanan and
srivaishnavam. He became an exemplary Sri vaishnava AcharyA and it
is told that he spent about 700 years meditating on Tiruvallikkeni
perumAL Sri Venkata krishnan.
AzhwAr EmperumAnAr Desikan ThiruvaDigaLE saraNam
Regards
Namo narayana
dAsan
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