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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.06 / ISSUE # 28 dated 09/23/05
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IN THIS ISSUE:
1.      ATHIMAANUSHA STHAVAM OF SRI KOORATHAAZHWAN
Part #11
SlOkam 32
(ANBIL RAMASWAMY)
2.      VILAKSHANA MOKSHAADHIKAARI NIRNAYAM OF SRI ERUMBIAPPA
Part # 15
(ANBIL RAMASWAMY)
3.      FROM MAHBHARATA
?YAKSHA PRASNAM?
Part #   58
EPILOGUE -1
(M.K.RAMASWAMY IYENGAR RETD. SENIOR OFFICER OF GOVT. OF INDIA)
4.      ?TRIMURTI? - IN NAMMAZHWAR?S TIRUVOIMOZHI-
PART # 18
(SRI N. KRISHNAMACHARIAR SWAMI OF CHICAGO)
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1.      ATHIMAANUSHA STHAVAM OF SRI KOORATHAAZHWAN
Part # 11
SlOkam 32
(ANBIL RAMASWAMY)
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SlOkam 32
Taadrug guNO nanu babhoovitha raagava tvam (tvE)
Yas taavakam chritam anvaham anva bhunkta /
sO atra Eva hanta! hanuman paramaam vimuktim
budhvaa avadhooya charitam tava sEvatE asou //

?Oh! Lord! When, as Rama, you exhibited all your auspicious qualities so 
much that your ardent Bhakta AanjanEya (known as Siriya TiruvaDi) enjoyed 
them with immense devotion. But, the very same AanjanEya, the son of Wind 
god, who knew mOksham to be the ultimate bliss chose to discard it in 
preference to his enjoying your qualities here on earth itself!?

COMMENTS:
When on the completion of his avataara as Sri Rama, he prepared to return to 
his eternal abode of VaikunTam, VibheeshaNa wanted to accompany him. But, 
the Lord stopped him saying that he should remain on earth for protecting 
Dharma and ordered him to obey without uttering a word in dissent?

Yaavat prajaa dharishyanti taavat svam vibheeshaNa!
raakshsEndra! Mahaaveerya! Lankaastha: svam dhaarayishyasi//
saapitastvam sakhitvEna kaaryam tE saasanam mama /
prajaastvam raksha dharmENa na uttaram vaktum arhasi //

Sri Rama handed over Periya perumaaL along with kOvilaazhwaar asking 
VIbheeshaNa to take it to Lanka.

At that time, he invited Hanuman, (who was then doing Raamajapam in some corner 
of Gandhamaadana mountain) to come with him. Hanuman, however, was not willing 
to go with Sri Rama saying:
?I would like to remain in this earth itself enjoying your auspicious 
qualities you exhibited in such abundance. I have no inclination to come to 
your ?nitya-vibhooti? because such an ?anubhavam? will not be available 
elsewhere than on this earth?

snEhO mE paramO raajan! Tvayi nityam pratishTita: /
bhaktis cha niyataa veera! bhaavO na anyatra gachchati //

The word ?snEha? indicates ?Para bhakti?; ?parama: pratishTita:? indicates 
?Para jnaanam? and ?niyataa Bhakti? indicates ?Parama bhakti?. Thus, AanjanEya 
revealed that here on earth, he has attained all the three stages of Bhakti 
yOga and, therefore, he did not need to proceed to VaikunTam at all!

?hanta!? Azhwaan wonders that when great seers hated life on earth and longed 
to attain Paramapadam, it is strange that AanjanEya was going in reverse gear!

Perhaps Sri Rama created an opportunity to reveal the extraordinary devotion of 
AanjanEya, by devising such a ?question and answer? session!

?hanuman tava charitam atraiva sEvatE?: shows that as ?Chiranjeevi?, Hanuman to 
this day remains on earth singing the praise of Sri Rama and attending 
assemblies where the glory of Sri Rama is sung.

?Yatra yatra raghunaatha keerthanam
tatra tatra krita mastaka anjalim
Bhaashpavaari paripoorNa lOchanam
maarutim namata raakshasaantakam //?

So says the Invocatory (upakrama) Dhyaana Slokas of Srimad RaamaayaNa 
paaraayaNa.

?Is it not because it was here on earth (leelaa vibhooti) that you performed 
superhuman feats (athimaanusha chEshTitam)? Azhwaan seems to ask the Lord.
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2. VILAKSHANA MOKSHAADHIKAARI NIRNAYAM OF SRI ERUMBIAPPA
Part # 15
(ANBIL RAMASWAMY)
----------------------------------------------------------------------ISWARA 
ABHIMAANAM & SADAACHAARYA ABHIMAANAM

What does one who resorts to a Sadaachaaryan do?

Such a one would live strictly according to the dictates presribed in the 
Saastras (which are only the commands of the Lord) and as enunciated by the 
Sadaachhaaryan and would scrupulously avoid all that is proscribed in the 
Saastras (akrityakaraNam and kritya akaraNam).

Only such a one will be saved by the grace of Achaarya from becoming an object 
of ?leela? of the Lord.

Does it mean that one who resorts to the Lord himself directly will be 
subjected to Lord?s ?Leela??

YES. If such folks resort to ?ahamkaaram? (I-ness) and ?mamakaaram 
(mine-ness) without being absolutely and unconditionally devoted to Him, the 
Lord might do so.

For example, the Dvaarapaalakas Jaya and Vijaya, when they gave room for their 
ego that they were the chosen ones to guard the entrance to the Lord?s place, 
they had to suffer he curse of a sage and were born as humans thrice before 
getting back their original posts.

Another example is that of Indradhyumnan who was constantly meditating on the 
Lord. At one stage, he became consumed by ego that there could be none equal to 
him in securing ?Iswara abhimaanam?. Due to another curse of Sage Agastya, he 
was born as an elephant and suffered for long in his fight with a crocodile. 
Only when he totally surrendered himself calling the Lord ?AadhimoolamE?, could 
he get the much needed relief.

It is clear, therefore, that even if one has attained Jnaana and Bhakti, if 
even a tinge of ego should crop up in their attitude, all the attainments will 
be of no avail.

The Lord, however, out of his infinite compassion ultimately shows them mercy 
after subjecting them to a suffering to chasten them. Therefore, nobody can 
take ?abhimaanam? of Iswara for granted and go about developing ahamkaara, 
mamakaara, vishaya praavaNya, Bhagavad ?Bhaagavata apachaara etc. 

If they do so, they go astray from Iswara and have to suffer the 
consequences.

WHEN DOES ONE GO ASTRAY FROM THE LORD?
ERUMBIAPPA lists three circumstances in which one can story away from the Lord.
1.      Devataantara 2. Saadhanaantaram and 3.Vishayaantaram

?matrOr deivam pENa purathiTTu?
?neri kaaTTi neekidiyO??
?pala nee kaaTTi patuppaayO?? are some of the expressions used by 

Azhwaar himself to highlight the obstructions on the way to divine grace.

Adherence to other deities, observance of means other than Bhakti / 
Prapatti, and attachment to worldly pleasures are the three impediments to God 
realization. Of these three, the last one is the most potent deterrent that can 
result in ?aatma naasam? (irrevocably debasing the soul). That is why Azhwaar 
advised clearly ?viDumin mutravum? (totally abandon all attachment to other 
things), and ?irai uLLil aDangE? (take refuge in the Lord).

The Acharyas who succeeded the Azhwar also gave greater emphasis on these 
?giving up? undesirable tendencies known as ?Nivritti dharma? (the don?ts) than 
over ?Pravritti dharmas? (the do?s)

Bhagavad Ramanuja categorically lays down what should be given up and what 
should be adhered to in these words:

?sarva dharmaams cha santhyajya sarva kaamaams cha saaksharaan
lOka vikraanta charaNou saraNam tE vraja vibhO??

Without understanding the full import of Emperumaanaar?s command and without 
following these salutary guidelines, mere  mouthing using such phrases like 
?aDiyEn? and ?daasan? in season and out of season, (without even understanding 
what they actually mean) will only make them a mere hollow platitude.

To Continue
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3.      FROM MAHBHARATA
?YAKSHA PRASNAM?
Part #   58
EPILOGUE -1
(M.K.RAMASWAMY IYENGAR, RETD. SENIOR OFFICER OF GOVT. OF INDIA)
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YAKSHA UVAACHA:

Vyaakhyaata: purusha raajan yas cha sarva dhanee nara: /
Tasmaat tava ekO bhraatrooNaam yam ichchasi sa jeevatu //

?Oh! King! I am extremely pleased with the explanations provided by you as to 
who is the wealthiest of them all! I grant you a boon. You may name any one of 
your brothers who shall at once be restored to life?

COMMENTS:

Ideally, the Yaksha should have said ?Oh! King! I am extremely pleased with ALL 
your replies. Not only did I like the answers which are indeed true answers but 
I also liked how you phrased them! Further, you answered then and there. You 
must have asked these questions of your own mind and also answered them to your 
total satisfaction, over and over again?

Instead, he seemed to compliment YudhishTira about the latter?s answer to the 
final question!

It must leave YudhishTira too that evidently the Yaksha had not yet done with 
his test, whatever may be the purpose for which he decided to impose it.

YudhishTira replied calmly without any reflection and without any pretence ? 
?NakulO, Yaksha! Jeevatu?.  ?Oh! Yaksha! Let Nakula be restored to life?

The feather miened Yaksha could have indeed been knocked down by a feather! So 
surprised was he that YudhishTira chose Nakula and not Bheema, the mighty, the 
brother next to him and very dear to him because he was so artless though so 
powerful or Arjuna, the impregnable archer on whose skills the PaaNDavas were 
entirely dependent.

The Yaksha rolled his eyes in great astonishment and raised his eyebrows very 
high in great puzzlement. He pressed YudhishTira to clarify what made him 
choose Nakula who was neither so strong nor so skilled as Bheema or Arjuna and 
above all, the son of his step mother.

Maintaining his poise and equanimity, YudhishTira replied gravely:

Aanrusamsyam parO dharmah pramaarthaaya mE matam /
Aanrusmasyam chikeershaami nakulO Yaksha! jeevatu //

"The very opposite of cruelty that is compassion is what I hold to be the 
supreme Dharma. Its value too is very high. I would like to abide by the 
supreme Dharma. Therefore, I say,
Oh! Yaksha! Let Nakula live?

Dharmaseelah sadaa raja iti maam maanavaa viduh /
Svadharmaat na chalishyaami NakulO Yaksha! Jeevatu //

?There is yet another thing. People have always acclaimed me as a righteous 
king. I shall give up everything not to lose such a reputation. I do not also 
like to swerve from Dharma adopted by me.
Oh! Yaksha! Let Nakula live?

Yathaa kuntee tathaa maadree visEshI naasti mE tayOh /
Maatrubhyaam samam ichchaami Nakula Yaksha! Jeevatu //

In my mind, there is no distinction whatsoever between my mother Kunti and my 
step mother Maadri. I hold them alike. Oh! Yaksha! It is appropriate, 
therefore, that along with me the surviving son of Kunti, the son of Maadri 
too, should.
Oh! Yaksha! Let Nakula live?

Tears welled up in Yaksha?s eyes. He was immensely pleased, no doubt. He was 
also immensely touched. Nodding his head in appreciation and after blinking 
away his tears, he said emotionally:

Yasya tE arthaas cha kaamaas cha anrusmsyam param matam /
Tasmaat tE bhraatara: sarvE jeevantu bhartarshabha//

Yaksha said:
?What, indeed, can I say to you who hold adherence to the code of compassion 
higher than pursuing wealth and desires! Oh! The jewel among the Bhaaratas! 

So be it! Let ALL your brothers come back to life!?

The moment Yaksha uttered these words, all the four brothers of YudhishTira 
sprung to life. They stood up with an athletic grace so natural to princes and 
to great warriors and looked on at YudhishTira and the crane alternately, in 
silence and with curiosity. Wise as they were, it was not difficult for them to 
infer that their brother had, quietly and in his own characteristic way 
performed a rescue act as he had done on an earlier occasion with regard to 
Bheema, when the latter had found himself irretrievably trapped in the coils of 
a python.

In the middle of the pond, the crane continued its one-legged stance with a 
half-quizzical and half-amused expression on its face and with its head 
slightly inclined to one side, it kept looking at the five brothers. All of 
them realized suddenly that all their fatigue, thirst, sense of frustration had 
vanished completely.

YudhishTira, however, felt that there were a few loose strands that required be 
gathering and tying up; there were also a couple of points that needed to be 
settled?
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4.      ?TRIMURTI? - IN NAMMAZHWAR?S TIRUVOIMOZHI-
PART # 18
(SRI N. KRISHNAMACHARIAR SWAMI OF CHICAGO)
-----------------------------------------------------------------tri-trimUrti 
in tiruvAimozhi ? Part 18.
3.10.4 (27)

parivu inRi vANanaik kAttum enRu, anRu paDaiyoDum vandu edirnda
tiripuram SeRRavanum maganum pinnum a?ngiyum pOr tolaiya
poru SiRaip puLLaik kaDAviya mAyanai Ayanai pon cakkarattu
ariyinai acyutanai paRRi yAn iRaiyEnum iDar ilanE.

The main message conveyed in this pASuram is that resorting to anya devatA-s 
such as rudra cannot be depended upon for protection, whereas surrendering to 
emperumAn will always lead to unconditional protection by Him.  In this pASuram 
nammAzhvAr declares that by resorting to the Lord who defeated rudra and his 
son subrahmaNya when they teamed up to defend bANAsura, has garuDa as His 
vehicle, cakra as His weapon, and One who never lets down anyone who surrenders 
to Him, AzhvAr is perfectly at ease and beyond any concern about 
his choice.

By pointing out that rudra and subrahmaNya could not protect bANAsura, AzhvAr 
indicates that resorting to anya-devatA-s cannot be relied upon to protect us; 
by pointing out that he is resorting to the One Who never forsakes those who 
seek His protection, AzhvAr is also pointing out that acyuta (literally meaning 
?One who never lets His devotee slip? ? na cyAvayati iti a-cyutaH) will always 
protect His devotee.   In fact, He ended up protecting even rudra, subrahmaNya, 
and bANAsura himself, when they surrendered to Him in the end.

The incident referred to in the pASuram with respect to bANAsura is as follows: 
 ushA, the daughter of bANAsura, fell in love with aniruddha, the grandson of 
kRshNa.  ushA conspired to get aniruddha into her antah puram.  

When bANAsura came to know that aniruddha was with his daughter ushA, he tied 
aniruddha with nAgAstra.  kRshNa came to release him.  bANAsura sought the help 
of Siva against kRshNa.  In his pride over having burnt the tri-pura-s, Siva 
declared that he will protect bANAsura against kRshNa.  He was squarely 
defeated.  subrahmaNya came next to defend bANAsura, and met the same fate.  
Thus, neither could defend bANAsura who had taken refuge in them.  

When bANAsura was finally abandoned by Siva and subrahmaNya, he 
continued to fight kRshNa, and all his thousand shoulders were severed by 
kRshNa with His cakrAyudha.  Ultimately rudra, subrahmaNya, and bANAsura 
surrendered to kRshNa, and He forgave all of them and spared bANAsura?s life.  
kRshNa is none other than the One who has declared, in His rAma incarnation, 
that He will never forsake anyone who has surrendered to Him.  

In this pASuram, nammAzhvAr declares that he has no regret whatsoever in 
choosing this emperumAn for taking shelter any day (ariyai acyutanaip paRRi yAn 
iRaiyEnum iDar ilanE).

-          parivu inRi vANanaik kAttum enRu ? ?Without any shadow of doubt, we 
will defend bANAsura? ? so saying
-          tiripuram SeRRavanum maganum pinnum a?ngiyum ? Siva who had the fame 
of burning the three cities, his son, and fire which was the devatA for 
bANAsura?s city
-          anRu paDaiyoDum vandu edirnda ? came to confront kRshNa (who had 
come to release His grandson aniruddha from bANAsura) with their forces
-          pOr tolaiya ? (but Siva and the others got squarely defeated and) 
had to leave the battlefield with the feeling that they will never again get 
involved in a fight with kaNNan
-          poru SiRaip puLLaik kaDAviya mAyanai ? (kaNNan) who steered garuDa 
with the wings that could conduct the necessary war with these people
-          Ayanai ? kaNNan who came in the simple form of a cowherd, against 
the likes of Siva and his sons who were reputed to be deva-s with accolades to 
support them
-          poR-cakkarattu ariyinai ? kaNNan who, nonetheless, was none other 
than the Supreme Lord of all, with the golden cakra that destroyed the thousand 
shoulders of baNAsura when he put up a fight with bhagavAn.   Note the use of 
the adjective ?pon? cakkaram instead of ?SuDar? cakkaram.   The beauty of the 
cakra as a decorative ornament for bhagavAn is enjoyed here.
-          acyutanai ? One Who never lets down anyone who surrenders to Him. 

This includes His forgiving Siva, subrahmaNya, bANAsura etc.
-          paRRi ? by resorting to Him (instead of any of the other 
devatA-s)
-          yAn iRaiyEnum iDar ilanE ? I do not have the slightest concern.
-          tiripuram SeRRavan ? This refers to the ?pride? that Siva had 
because of his success in burning the three cities.   People praised him for 
this act, and he forgot that this act of his was possible only because bhagavAn 
was his arntaryAmi, and also because bhagavAn was the sharpness of the arrow of 
Siva, the strength of the bow, and the tartness of the bowstring all at the 
same time.  

Forgetting all this, Siva took false pride in his accomplishment, and thought 
that he can defend bANAsura against kRshNa, and learned his lesson by being 
squarely defeated.

nammAzhvAr?s tiruvAimozhi pASuram 1.1.8 also describes bhagavAn being the force 
behind the tiri-puram incident:

puramoru mUnru eRittu amararkkum aRiviyandu
aran ayan ena ulagu azhittu amaittuLanE.       (1.1.8)

The bANAsura incident is also sung by tirumazhiSai AzhvAr in tiruccanda 
viruttam (71):

vaNDu ulAvu kOdai mAdar kAraNattinAl veguNDu
iNDa vANan Irai?njUru tOlgaLait tuNittAn
munDan nIran makkaL veppu mODi a?ngu ODiDak
kaNDu nANi, vANanukku ira?nginAn em mAyanE.

?kaNNan severed the thousand shoulders of bANAsura who fought with Him on the 
matter of ushA, the daughter of bANAsura.  rudra, his sons, agni, etc., who had 
come to support bANAsura ran from the battlefield defeated.  KANNan felt 
ashamed that He made these great people run like this defeated, and took pity 
and spared the life of bANAsura?.

pASuram 53 of tiruccanda viruttam is another pASuram that sings the praise of 
the Lord with regard to the bANAsura incident:

mODiyODu ilaccaiyAya SAbam eidi, mukkaNNan
kUDu SEnai makkaLODu koNDu maNDi ve?njamattu
ODa vANan Ayiram karam kazhitta Adi mAl
pIDu kOil kUDu nIr ara?ngam enRa pEradE.   (tiruccanda. 53)

pUrvAcAryas? anubhavam is that it took four days for aniruddha to be 
released from bANAsura?s place, because he had not sought kRshNa?s 
protection before going to ushA?s palace; but nammAzhvAr did not have to be 
under anyone else?s control even for a second, because He is a devotee who has 
surrendered to kRshNa totally ? such is the power of surrender to Him.

In his dramiDopanishad tAtparya ratnAvaLi, svAmi deSikan picks up on the 
victory that bhagavAn had over rudra, subrahmaNya, agni, bANAsura etc., and 
enjoys this pASuram by pointing out that bhagavAn is sure to be victorious in 
any endeavor that He undertakes? jaitra vyApAra yogAt ? veRRit-tozhil vallamai. 
 Om jaitra vyApAra yogAya namaH
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