
Lord Sri Lakshmi
HayagrIvan
Saama Samhitha
& Thiruvaimozi
In its importance in YaagAs
and sacredness, Saama Veda SamhithAs rank next to Rig VedA. The Lord of
GeethA however has put this Saama samhithA on the top of all four
SamhithAs with His declaration that He is Saama VedA among the VedAs. This
samhithA consists of hyms chanted by udhgAtri priests at the Soma YaagAs.
Many of the hymns originate from Rig Vedam and have been rearranged
without reference to the original order in the Rig Vedam and set to music.
Only 75 verses of the total of 1,875 verses of Saama Vedam are not to be
found in Rig Vedam. The remaining 1,800 verses are essentially the
repetitions of Rig Vedic verses. The important distinction however is that
they are sung instead of being recited. The Rig Vedam deals with knowledge
and Saama Vedam deals with UpAsanA, Worship and
DhyAnam.
In singing, the priests of
the Yaj~nams follow specific styles through alteration of prolongation,
repetition, modulation, rests et al. These become the various styles of
Saama GhAnams: congregational (GrAma gEya GhAnam), AraNya ghAnam (Forest
song style), Uha ghAnam and Uhya GhAnam.
Saakhaas of Saama
Vedam
Saama Vedam had originally
1001 branches. We have very few left now. NammAzhwAr's celebrated
Thiruvaimozhi is recognized as the Saama Veda
SaarArtham.
ThiruvAimozhi and
Saama Vedic Content
" Vedam Tamizh seytha MaaRan
" is one of the salutations to Swamy NammAzhwAr. In this context ,
ThiruvAimozhi , which deals with Bahgavath PrApthi (Attainment of the
Lord) , is considered as the precious gift of this AzhwAr to us
on the quinessence of
Saama Vedam . BhagavAn says in Gitaa that among the Four VedAs , He
is in Saama Vedam . Such is the glory of Saama Vedam and by
extrpolation, its Tamizh derivative ,
ThiruvAimozhi.
The Four
PurushArthams (Goals of Life)
The four goals of life
identified by the VedAs are : Dharma , ArTa , Kaama and Moksha . The
ultimate and the most precious PrurushArTam in life is Moksha ( release
from the cycles of births and deaths and ascent to the Supreme abode of
the Lord , Sri Vaikuntam , to engage in blemishless Kaimkaryam there to
the dhivya dampathis ) . The bliss ( Aanandham arising from Bhagavath
Kaamam) granting the boon of enjoyment of BrahmAnandham by the
Muktha Jeevan equal to that of the Parama Padha Naathan
through the successful execution of Bhakthi or Prapatthi yOgam
is the message of Saama Vedam and the Paasurams
of ThiruvAimozhi rooted in the
Saama Vedam . The Supreme Brahman , Sriman NarayaNan of VisishtAdhvaitham , His KalyANa
guNams are the objects of meditation , salutation and singing of both
Saama Vedam and ThiruvAimozhi . We shall illustrate this Saamyam between
the Sanskritic and Tamizh Vedam in the next essay .
Moksha PrApthi thru dheerga SaraNAgathy is the
precious PurushArtham covered by ThiruvAimozhi :
Tatthvam for Sri
VaishNavAs is : " asEsha chid-achith prakAram Brahma yEkamEva
tatthvam". Brahman is the one and only truth , the two others (
sentients and insentients) are His (Brahman's)
aspects.
In ThiruvAimozhi ( 2088) ,
AzhwAr echos this tatthvam : avayavai thOrum udal misai
uyirenak-karanthengum paranthu" ( He is pervasively present in all . He is
indeed the sath. All are His body . He is the indwelling soul ( antharyAmi
Brahman).
Elsewhere in ThiruvAimozhi ,
AzhwAr instructs us : " uruvinan , aruvinan (2084) AND uruvam
ivvuruvuhaL ( 2090) ". Here , AzhwAr states that He is the soul of all
sentient beings; He is also present in non-sentient
beings.
Hitham
for Sri VaishNavan is prapatthi (SaraNAgathy ) or Bhakthi yOgam to
practise to reach Him . In ThiruvAimozhi Paasurams 2095 & 2100 ,
AzhwAr points this out : " iRai sErmin" ( Worship the Lord with bhakthi );
iRai uLLuha ( Meditate on the Lord ).
The jeevan recognizes thru
AchArya UpadEsam that it is the unconditional servant (sEshan ) and He is
the Supreme Lord ( sEshi).The jeevan transforms from samsAri ( Bhaddha
Jeevan) to asamsAri (muktha Jeevan) thru the anushtAnam of Bhakthi or
Prapatthi Yogam . Bhakthi yOgam is difficult to practise and therefore
Prapatthi yOgam is the only means left for us in Kali yugam
.
PurushArTam for Sri VaishNavan is the supreme
Bliss ( brahmAnandham) of performing nithya kaimkaryam to Sri
Vaikunta NaaTan after arriving in Sri Vaikuntam via the archirAdhi maargam
. After Moksham , the liberated soul never returns to samsAric
world . AzhwAr describes that Supreme abode of the Lord as : "
meetchiyinRi Vaikuntha Maanahar ( TVM 2523); The Lord is seated in the
hall of splendid effulgence . Numerous eternally liberated Jeevans and
liberated jeevans serve Him there . AzhwAr says that he joins that blessed
assembly and enjoys the endless bliss that he longed for : MaamaNi
MaNtapatthu anthamil pErinpatthu adiyarOdu irunthamai ( TVM 3172) .AzhwAr
describes that bliss as Saayujya Moksham , the best of all PurushArTams .
It is the bliss , never-to-end.
ThiruvAimozhi 1.2 is an
outstanding summation of PurushArtham .In the very first Paasuram ( Veedumin muRRavum--) , Azhwaar
says: " Renounce all
things except the Lord . Enough ! then surrender your soul to the Lord ,
who is its actual Master and owner .He resides in your soul ; indeed , He
resides in the souls of all in the world.All souls are body to Him . He is
the Lord of the upper world , Paramapadha .Relinquishing all( desires) and
surrendering the soul to Him, you have secured Parama Padham also in an
assured manner ".
In the third paasuram ,
AzhwAr says: " Banish from your heart the feeling of independence from
God. The soul and body are subservient to Him .Once you have acquired this
spirit of complete surrender , it is a matchless and unexceeked state of
attainment ".
In the sixth Paasuram ( TVM
1.2.6) , Azhwar talks about the infinite Dayaa of the Lord : " His Love
for the surrendered soul is His most eloquent attribute --may be , more
than His Lordly supermacy ".
In the 8th paasuram( TVM
1.2.8), AzhwAr talks about the true sense of subservience to be practised
by the individual soul: " We have three faculties : Thinking with the
heart ( uLLam) , speaking with the tongue ( urai) and acting with the body
(seyal) -- use these three to serfve Him; cut off all other attachments
--Let all the three faculites converge on Him .Think of Him and of His
activities ; talk of Him , recite His names ,sing His praise; perform
praNAms and PradakshiNams and other services . These are concrete
manifestations of the concept of subservience (sEshathva) , that is being
cherished in the heart ".
Saama
Vedic Echos in ThiruvAimozhi
Let me
quote some Saama Veda mantrams that have the links to Swamy
NammAzhwAr's instructions to us in
ThiruvAimozhi:
PoorvArchika Saaman 11
: " Day and night , we approach You , Lord ,with reverential homage ,
through sublime thoughts and noble deeds".
PoorvArchika 191 : " Oh
resplendent Lord , Come to bless us ; we offer You our loving prayers ;
please accept and enjoy them. May You be enshrined in our worshipful jeart
".
PoorvArchika 203: " There is
no one , oh resplendent dispeller of darkness , Superior to You ; no
one better than You; there is no one , verily , such as You are
".
PoorvArchika 206: sunITO ghA sa martyO yam marutoO yam aryama. mitras
pAntyadruhah
(Meaning ): " Fortunate in
Life is that mortal , whom the faultless Supreme Lord of vital
principles , Lord of Justices , and the Lord of Light , gives
protection ".
PoorvArchika Saaman 224: "
How amazing ! Even a little praise of Him , He magnifies and accepts it
with delight , ieed , while we exalt Him , we exalt ourselves
".
PoorvArchika Saaman 229: "
--- We solicit Your friendship since only Your friendship is unbroken and
ever-lasting "( tavEdhagum sakhyamastruham) .
PoorvArchika 242: " Oh Friend
! do not worship anyothers but Him , the divine One. Let no
grief perturb You . Praise Him alone , the radiant , the
showerer of benefit s. Durign the course of self-realization , go on
repeatedly utterign hymns in His honour ".
PoorvArchika 260: " Oh Lord
of Resplendence ! Turn us not away but share in our Joy . You are our
Protector , You are kith and kin ; turn us not away ". ( Rig Vedam :
VIII.97.7)
PoorvArchika 291: " Oh
Opulent Lord , mighty as thunder , the wielder of adamantine justice , I
shall not sell my devotion to You for all the wealth in the
world , not for a hundred , not for a thousand , nor for a million , for
You are the Lord of countless wealth ( Rig Vedam:
VIII.1.5).
PoorvArchika 439: " For
killing the serpent of Nescience , we adore the resplendent Lord with our
verses , and thus the learned persons extol the Supreme Lord " (Rig Vedam
V.31.4) .
To be continued
,
NamO veda PurushAya
,
Daasan , Oppiliappan Koil
Varadachari Sadagopan
NamO Saama veda PurushAya
,
Daasan , Oppiliappan Koil
VaradAchAri Sadagopan
P.S: Please
support the Saama Veda AdhyApAkAs ( Samhitha , Jadai and
Ghanam ) at
Srirangam during the forthcoming SathAbhishEkam .Thank you . Please send
your samarpaNams to Sri Matam NA C/O :
Srihari
Raghavan
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Landing Road, Apt 150
Milpitas , CA
95035
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