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            SrImare Ra'nga RAmAnuja MahA DeSikAya namaH.
         tAtparya ratnAvaLi - Submission 66, Slokam 24 Part 2,
             tiruvAimozhi 2.2, pASuram-s 2.2.3 to 2.2.5.


·       pASuram 2.2.3:

ERanaip pUvanai pUmagaL tannai 
vERinRi viN tozhat tannuL vaittu
mEl tannai mIdiDa nimirndu maN koNDa 
mAl tanin mikkumOr dEvum uLadE.

Is there any deity more Supreme than the Lord who was gracious enough
to give a place in His tirumEni to BrahmA and Rudra at an equal status
with MahA LakshmI so that all nitya sUri-s will worship them as well,
and who took the tri-vikrama incarnation so that He could include
everyone in all the worlds under the protection of His feet because of
His concern for all without distinction?

SvAmi DeSikan captures the message of this pASuram with the words
'vAmanatve mahAntam' - He who grew to the most unimaginable trivikrama
form from the tiny vAmana form - mEl tannai mIdiDa nimirndu maN koNDa. 
 'vAmanatve mahatvam' is the guNa sung here - BhagavAn is revealing His
Supremacy over all through His vAmana incarnation, where he grew to
trivikrama incarnation, in which Rudra and BrahmA had association with
His feet in more than one way - by having the divine blessing through
the touch of His feet (BrahmA, Rudra, and all the other beings) -
BrahmA by offering worship, and Rudra by bearing the water that flowed
from His feet in the form of Ganges.  

BhagavAn's parattvam (Supremacy), saulabhyam(ease of accessibility),
vyAmoham (attachment to all), etc., are all sung here.  PirATTi is
equal to Him in all ways, while BrahmA and Rudra are but jIva-s; and
yet, He gives them equal treatment by giving them a place on His divine
body.  In His trivikrama incarnation, BrahmA and Rudra were all
included under His feet; the water from His feet fell on Rudra's head
and flowed as Ganges; BrahmA offered worship to His feet during the
trivikrama incarnation.  Is He the Supreme Deity, or are they?  AzhvAr
asks:  Shouldn't the answer be obvious to everyone?   

A more detailed write-up on this pASuram can be found in the web in the
series "tri-mUrti-s in tiruvAimozhi."

·       pASuram 2.2.4:

dEvum epporuLum paDaikka, pUvil nAnmuganaip paDaitta
dEvan emperumAnukku allAl, pUvum pUSanaiyum tagumE.

Would it even be appropriate to make flower offerings and other worship
to any deity other than our NarAyaNan who created the four-faced BrahmA
in His navel and entrusted him, under His direct control, with the
function of creating all the other deities and the other different
entities?

SvAmi DeSikan describes the guNa sung in this pASuram with the words
'nAbhI padmottha viSvam' - He from whose navel the BrahmANDa was
created along with BrahmA, who then created everything else inside the
BrahmANDa with BhagavAn being his Guide and antaryAmi (uttha - arising
or orinating from, born or produced from) - dEvum ep-poruLum paDaikka,
pUvil nAnmuganaip paDaitta.  SrI PBA explains svAmi DeSikan's words as
' nAbhik kamalattilE (saddvArakamAga) sakalattaiyum paDaittavan'. 
NammAzhvAr makes it clear in his pASuram 2.2.9 (kAkkum iyalvinan kaNNa
perumAn) later in this tiruvAimozhi, that BhagavAn is the true Creator
of everything, just using BrahmA as the medium, but being his antaryAmi
and guide.

The vedAnta declares that Brahman is the One who is responsible for
creation of the world, its sustenance and destruction - 'yato vA imAni
bhUtAni jAyante, yena jAtAni jIvanti, tat-prayantabhisamviSanti, tad
vijij~nAsasva | tad brahmeti | (taitt. bhRgu. 1)'.  AzhvAr points out
that it was from His navel that the BrahmANDa came into being. BrahmA
was created by Him in this, and then subsequent creation took place. 
Thus, He is the Supreme Deity, and no one else.  

Note AzhvAr's use of words - dEvu to refer to all the other deities,
and dEvan to refer to emperumAn, clearly distinguishing that He is
above all, and the Lord of all.  The word dEvan (from div - krIdE - to
indulge in sports) signifies that He indulges in the sports of
Creation, protection, and destruction.  


·       pASuram 2.2.5:

tagum SIrt tan tani mudalinuLLE migum dEvum epporuLum paDaikka
tagum kOlat tAmaraik kaN en ammAn migum SOdi aRivAr yavarE.

tan tani mudalil uLLE migum dEvum ep-poruLum paDaikka tagum SIr tagum
kOlam tAmaraik kaNNan en ammAn migum Sodi mEl evar aRivAr? - No one can
even comprehend the immense beauty and greatness of the tirumEni -
divine form - of our Lord who has all the knowledge and the power to
create all the great gods and everything else by His mere will and
without any other accessories, and who has the beautiful lotus-like
reddish eyes that befit His Supreme Lordship.  

SvAmi DeSikan identifies the key aspect that is presented in this
pASuram in support of BhagavAn's Supreme Lordship as the beauty of His
eyes - 'tad-anuguNa dRSam' - He is One with beautiful lotus-like eyes
that befit His Supreme Lordship - tagum kOlat tAmaraik kaNNan.  

There are some unique aspects of BhagavAn that do not apply to anyone
else - the SrIvatsam mole on His chest, His being the Consort of
LakshmI, His beautiful lotus-like eyes, etc.  AzhvAr specifically sings
about His beautiful eyes here - tagum kOlat tAmaraik kaN en ammAn.  It
is not just the beauty of the eyes that stands out about His eyes; the
very sight of His eyes falling on anyone will wipe out all their sins. 


The beauty of His eyes are sung in the veda-s.  In the Upanishad, when
the process of creation is described, the word 'aikshata' is the one
that is used:  sad eva saumyedam agra AsId ekam eva advitiyam tad
aikshata bahu syam prajayeya (taitt. 2.1.1), and also in the subsequent
description.  Even though the word is generally translated as 'It
thought', it really is derived from the word 'Iksha' - to see.  

By the very beauty of His eyes, He can conquer anyone.  'jitam te
puNDarIkAkaksha namste viSva bhAvana' - The Creator of the Universe,
SrIman NarAyaNan, wins over the devotee by His very lotus-eyes.  

HanumAn describes rAma to sItAdevi through a reference to His
lotus-like eyes that steal the minds of all devotees -  "rAmah kamala
patrAkshah sarva sattva manorathah'.   

In chAndogya upanishad (1.6.7), we have the description -

ya esho'ntarAditye hiraNmayaH purusha ucyate |
tasya yathA kapyAsam puNDarIka evamakshiNI..|| 

He shines like gold in the middle of the Sun, and His eyes shine like
the blossoming lotus.

The write-ups for the nAma-s SubhekshaNah (395), padma nibhekshaNaH
(346), and aravindAkshaH (348) in the SrI VishNu sahasra nAma series
contain a lot more detail about the mahimA - greatness of BhagavAn's
lotus eyes, with many additional supports from the Sruti and smRti-s. 
The material is not reproduced here in the interests of brevity. 

-dAsan kRshNamAcAryan
(To be continued)


      
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