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srI:

SrI  UpakAra  Sangraham - III (15)
-- 
niryANa adikAram
-- 
 Section - 10: SrI NammAzhvAr reveals all these so far described, in the first 
verse of his work, Thiruviruttham.
---- 
Sub-section: 1- Word-by-word meaning of the first verse (continued)
----  
        SwAmi Desikan continues with his word-by-word commentary:
imaiyOr thalaivA! â sambandam otthirukkac ceithE, karma vasatthAlE nAngkaL 
izhanthu kidakka, nityasoorikaL nityAnubhavam paNNumpadi sarvasamanAna 
sarva-swAmiyAnavanE! 
 âimaiyOr thalaivA!â â Oh the Lord of the nitya sooris!
        SrI NammAzhvAr addresses the Lord as âthe Lord of the nitya 
sooris!â This has many connotations. BhagavAn is the Lord of all, then, why 
should the AzhvAr address Him like this? 
        If we consider the context described by the AzhvAr so far, it will 
become clear. The same is indicated by SwAmi Desikan in his commentary:
 âsambandam otthirukkac ceithEâ â The connection between the Lord and the 
creatures is the same. There is no difference at all. That is the connection as 
the Lord is the self of everyone, including the nitya sooris. All of us 
including the nitya sooris have the Lord as our Atma. We are His sareera or 
body, prakAra or mode. We are SEsha and He is the SEshee. We are servants, 
while He is the Master, the only Master. 
When that is the common connection, the Lord takes births in any âyOniâ -- 
any form of life, for the sake of us, the lowest of the lowest! 
SwAmi Desikan further says:
âkarma vasatthAlE nAngkaL izhanthu kidakkaâ  -- Truly we are all equal to 
nitya sooris. That is the real situation. But, we lost the status because of 
our own fault â karma committed in unknown antiquity. That is why we are 
caught in the endless cycle of births and re-births, unlike the nitya sooris 
who never committed any such wrong action.  Some of us have been lucky to get 
back to the original position earlier due to j~nAna, bhakti-yOga or prapatti 
and now as muktas are serving the Lord in His abode.  
        SwAmi Desikan continues:
ânityasoorikaL nityAnubhavam paNNumpadi sarvasamanAna sarvaswAmi-yAnavanE!â 
â 
        Unlike us, the nitya sooris are experiencing continuously the full and 
perfect bliss which is equal to that of the Lord. If they are fortunate, it is 
because of the compassion of the Lord! There is no question of losing the 
enjoyment ever. That too is because of the Lord! But he is supposed to be the 
same for all, including us, the bonded jIvas. He is equal to all without any 
partiality! This is indicated by the expression, âsarva-samanAnavanâ. He is 
the Lord of all! This is indicated by the expression, âsarva-swAmiyAnavanâ. 
Even then, the AzhvAr addresses Him as âthe Lord of the nitya soorisâ!
        How beautifully put by Swami Desikan!
        We go further:
âmeininRu kEttaruLAiâ â Truly standing before us and please listen!
        SwAmi Desikan has some thing to say about the AzhvArâs selecting the 
word. âmeiâ:
âmeiâ â ippadi rakShAyOgya-nAna ennudaiya padikaLum, rakShaNOnmukh-nAna 
unnudaiya padikaLum pramANa-siddhangkaLanRO? avaRRil onRu apramANa-makilanRO 
unakkuk kaNNazhivu collalAvathu enRu thAtparyam. 
        There are ways of appealing to the Lord for help. The elephant Gajendra 
was caught by a crocodile in a pond where he had gone to pluck a lotus flower 
to offer it to the Lord. Hundreds of years he struggled to get himself free but 
met with failure. As a last resort, he called the Lord addressing Him as âOh 
AdimoolamE!â and the story goes that the Lord rushed to the spot riding His 
vehicle, Garuda and saved the elephant. When the elephant cried the Lordâs 
name, the Lord was not physically present before him. Similarly, when Droupathi 
was being stripped of her saree in the Kaurava Assembly, she appealed to the 
Lord to save her. At that time, the Lord was not physically present there. But 
He saved her from the ugly situation. Keeping such episodes in mind SrI 
NammAzhvAr desires for the Lordâs physical present before him to listen to 
his plea. That is why he used the term, âmeiâ â which has several 
meanings including, truth, body etc. The
 AzhvAr wants the physical presence of the Lord in front of him to listen to 
whatever he is going to say. 
        If his intention is merely to seek protection, he need not insist for 
the physical presence of the Lord. Why? SwAmi Desikan states that it is the 
Lordâs duty to provide protection to the good people without their seeking 
the same:
 âippadi rakShAyOgya-nAna ennudaiya padikaLum, rakShaNOnmukh-nAna unnudaiya 
padikaLum pramANa-siddhangkaLanRO?â â It is laid down in the scriptures, 
which are the authority created by the Lord Himself, the qualifications of the 
one deserving protection and the qualifications of the One, that is, the Lord, 
who is the protector. That is why, the AzhvAr mentions the term âmeiâ.  
Because, he is in a condition which requires the actual physical presence of 
the Lord in front of him, he says âmeiâ.  
There is an imaginary conversation between the Lord and the AzhvAr:
The Lord: Oh AzhvAr! Why should I appear before you showing My divya mangala 
vigraham? You want some help which I can render from here and there is no need 
to rush there.
AzhvAr: No, my Lord! You have to come here to save me. 
The Lord: What for?
AzhvAr: It is because adiyEn wants to make a submission to You.
The Lord: That submission you can make straight away. As you know I can hear it 
sitting on the couch of AdiSEsha! I have the capacity to hear every sound. Not 
only that, I can know all that goes in your mind. Nothing can be hidden from 
me. So, you go ahead with whatever you want to say.
AzhvAr: No, my Lord! It is not like what Draupati demanded from You. You 
granted it without rushing to the spot. 
The Lord: Then, what is your plea for which My presence is reqired?
AzhvAr: Oh my Lord! My very plea is your presence here. AdiyEn can be saved 
only by Your physical presence. AdiyEn wants to see You with my eyes, Your 
divya-mangaLa form! Without seeing it adiyEn will not survive. 
The Lord: So, what? 
AzhvAr: Oh my Lord! It is You have propagated the scriptures as an authority to 
be followed. 
The Lord: I am not bound by them, AzhvAr!
AzhvAr: No, my Lord! The same scripture declares You as the Protector and we, 
the jIvas as to protected by You. So, You too are bound by Your own scriptures!
The Lord: You are intelligent! You have trapped Me using My own words! You are 
accusing Me of blind to the authority!
AzhvAr:  AdiyEn cannot accuse You of dereliction of duty. Because, 
âavaRRil onRu apramANa-makilanRO unakkuk kaNNazhivu collalAvathu?â 
Not even one among the scriptures is un-authoritative! So, what prevents You 
from acceding to my plea?  There is no hindrance at all for You to appear 
before me in Your true form, my Lord!
        This may be in the mind of the AzhvAr who says, âmeiâ, and in the 
mind of SwAmi Desikan for explaining thus the significance of this tiny word.

(To continue)
dAsan
Anbil S.SrinivAsan
------                        
 




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