Sri:
Srimathe Ramanujaya Nama:
Dear bhAgavatas,
In the eleventh pasuram, Madhurakavi Azhvar uses the word
anban three times; and each time it refers to a different
person. The first anban refers to Sriman Narayana, the
second one refers to Nammazhvar and the third one refers
to Madhurakavi Azhvar himself. While it is true that
Nammazhvar is the main subject of Kanninun Siruththambu,
Perumal gets refered to a few times - in the very first
pasuram itself, in the third pasuram, and so on. This
should not be suprising (even if Madhurakavi Azhvar says
"thEvu maRRaRiyEn"), as it is impossible to separate
Nammazhvar and Sriman Narayana.
So, in the last pasuram, the first anban refers to the
Lord. Why is He being called an anban? anban could mean
two things. He is very affectionate to others or that
others are very affectionate toward Him.
Let's take the latter case first. If someone says that he
or she likes/loves someone a lot, it is usually because
of something that they see in that person. So, there must
be something, some quality of the Lord that makes everyone
love Him. The vyakhyadars declare that it is the divine
quality of vAtsalyam that everyone loves in the Lord. This
vAtsalyam is declared as an ocean (from the Stotra ratnam,
"niravadhika vAtsalya jaladhE") and therefore all other
divine qualities are considered to be present inside this
ocean (like precious stones present in the ocean).
Taking the latter case, that He loves others, the question
then becomes whether He loves some selectively or if He
loves everyone unconditionally. The second anban which
refers to Nammazhvar clearly shows that Nammazhvar loves
only those that love Him. Whereas in His case all evidences
show that He loves everyone, irrespective of how they
respond to Him. From the Ramayana, "ripUNAmi vatsala" -
affectionate even to His enemies. This is also said in
the Jitante Stotram, "devAnAm dAnavAnAm ca sAmAnyam
adhidaivatam" - He is the common Lord for both the devas
who have devotion to Him and the asuras who oppose Him.
So, what would be the quality in Him that makes Him love
everyone no matter who they are? Again, the answer is
vAtsalyam. For example, a mother would love both her
children even if one of them were bad. This is due to
Her vAtsalyam. Similarly, He loves us all, even though
we are deep in karmas and sins, and that is due to His
vAtsalya guNa.
Why would He have that kind of love toward all? From the
Mahabharata, "sarveshAmEva lOkAnAm pitA mAtA ca mAdhava:"
- Narayana is the father and mother to all worlds. From
the Bhagavad Gita, "pitAmahasya jagatho mAtA dAta
pitAmaha:" - I am the mother, father, protector and
grandfather of this world. Alavandar too says in his
Stotra ratnam "Evam nisargasuhrudi tvayi sarvajanto:
svamin! na citramidamAsrita vatsalatvam" - O Lord! You
are naturally friendly to every being and therefore
this quality of vAtaslya is not surprising in You.
Therefore, the vyakhyadars say that the first anban
which refers to Him, speaks of His vAtsalaya guNam. It
is this vAtsalyam that Nammazhvar too talks about with
the words "nigaril pugazhAy" as he surrenders to
Thiruvengadamudaiyan in the "agalakillEn" pasuram. Our
acharyas say that His compare-less fame comes out of His
vAtsalya guNa - loving everyone no matter who they are.
Azhvar Emperumanar Jeeyar Thiruvadigale Sharanam
adiyEn madhurakavi dAsan
TCA Venkatesan
--- Srinivasaramanujan TCA <tcasr@xxxx> wrote:
> This is a beautiful translation. One doubt: when the
> subject is Nammazhwar, the word "anban" is presumed to
> refer to him; why the vyakhya alludes to Vatsalya Guna
> of the Lord?
> Adiyen,TCASrinivasaramanujan
> --- "vtca <vtca@xxxx>" <vtca@xxxx> wrote:
> > anban:
> > Lordship is not His main quality; showing love and
> > affection to all is ("ripUNAmapi vatsala:"). He has
> > the
> > quality of vAtsalya as one of His kalyANa guNas. His
> > love
> > reaches everyone without regard ("dEvAnAm
> > dAnavAnAnjca
> > sAmAnyamadhidaivatam").
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