SrI:
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.08 / ISSUE # 17 dated 2nd March 2007
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Dear Bhaagavatas:
IN THIS ISSUE:
1. "BALA KHAANDAM" PART -2 OF SRIMAD RAMAYANAM DISCOURSES IN THE
HINDU TEMPLE OF ATLANTA.
(SRI ANBIL RAMASWAMY SWAMI)
2. TATPARYA RATNAVALI - SUBMISSION 14 - SLOKAM 11 -PART 2.
(SRI N. KRISHNAMACHARAIAR SWAMI OF CHICAGO)
3. MAAL UGANDHA AASIRIYAR- Life of PeriyAzhwAr and ANdaaL.
(V. Madhavakkannan, Singapore)
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ISSUES RELEASED
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15 Issues of Vol. 2
42 Issues of Vol. 3
35 Issues of Vol. 4
28 Issues of Vol. 5
30 Issues of Vol. 6
50 Issues of Vol. 7 and
17 Issues of Vol. 8 (including this)
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2. "BALA KHAANDAM" PART -2 OF SRIMAD RAMAYANAM DISCOURSES IN THE
HINDU TEMPLE OF ATLANTA.
(ANBIL RAMASWAMY)
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7. STORY OF RISHYSRINGA
It was not an easy task for ROmapaada to bring Rishyasringa from the
secluded forest to his city. This was because Rishyasringa was never
exposed to human habitat and he had not seen or known anyone other
than his own father, VibhaaNDaka, whom he served with utmost
devotion. In fact, it is said that he did not even know to
distinguish between a male and a female! He was brought up in such
innocence. They were, therefore, so scared of VibhaaNDaka who would
not let him go away so easily and might even cast a curse on those
who tried to do so. The King was persuaded to send some dancing
girls to entice Rishyasringa into accepting their invitation to
visit the city. They went as ordered, posed themselves as Rishis
from another region and played their charms and spells on him, when
the father was away. The son was mightily pleased and partook of the
sweetmeats and perfumes offered by them. He was so enamored of them
that he started pining for them as they left him. On a subsequent
occasion, he accompanied them to the city.
The question arises how such a great Tapasvi accept their
invitation. It is because he ate the sweetmeats offered by them that
worked havoc on his psyche.
yasya annam yasya jaTarE tasya buddhistu taadrisee//
Lo! And Behold! On his stepping in, the city was literally flooded
with rains. The King offered his daughter, Saantha to him in
marriage and extended unusual courtesies to the son-in-law showering
on him costliest gifts. When VibhaaNDaka came to know of the events,
he got wild but soon calmed down on seeing the courtesies of the
king and the charm of the newlyweds and blessed them.
It is interesting to note that Valmiki uses the words "aajagaama
yadruchchayaa" (came accidentally) to indicate that for
these "accidents" of the arrival of the dancing girls, the Ramayana
story would not have taken off. He uses the same words on two other
occasions for the same purpose, namely when Mantarai walked up the
steps of KaikEyi's mansion and when Soorpanakhaa encountered Rama in
PanchavaTi!
Sumantra suggested that he should be brought to AyOdhya, not for the
rains but for performing the great AswamEdha. He had another reason
for suggesting this. Dasaratha had earlier a daughter
called "Saantha" whom he gave away in adoption to his long standing
friend ROmapaada and this was the same "Saantha" who was married to
Rishyasringa. In other words, it was a rare case of a Son-in-law
performing a sacrifice for his father-in-law to beget sons! And,
this was probably the reason for VasishTa seconding the proposal.
When Dasaratha requested ROmapaada to send the couple and the Sage
consented, it was virtually a homecoming (piranta veeDu) for
Saantha. The couple arrived and the stage was set for the
performance of the great Yagjna.
Rishyasringhar acted as "Brahma" in the "SaangrahiNI IshTi"- the
preliminary rites in the Sacrifice.
8. ASWAMEDHA MAHA YAGJNAM
Dasaratha ordered that the city should be suitably decorated, all
kings and vassals invited to the function. Prime invitees were King
Janaka, a long time friend of Dasaratha and a "Brahma-jnaani", Kaasi
Raja, KEkaya Raja, Dasartha's father-in-law and his son Yudaajit and
of course, ROmapaada. The procedures included Poorva kriyas,
Savanas, Pravargyam, Upusath, Saastravaadam, installation of
Sacrificial posts (Yoopas) Agni-vEDi, worship of the sacred cows,
Vapaa Homam, Anga Homam and honoring the Ritviks. Etc. The main
event was the worship of the Sacrificial Horse by the Chief Queen.
On the 1st day, they did AgnishTOmam; On the 2nd day, Uktyam; On the
3rd day an Athiraatram and on all days the 6 kratus, namely,
JyOtishTOMam, Aayush-homam, Abhijit, Viswajit, AaptOr-yaamam besides
another Atiraatram again. The horse that roamed the earth returned
after one year successfully completing the great Sacrifice.
All the dEvas who were propitiated in the process were so impressed
that they all came down physically to receive their portion of the
offerings (Havirbaagam) headed by Lord Brahma and Lord VishNu who
joined them later to the joy of all the celestials.
9. PROMISE OF THE DEVAS
When Lord VishNu arrived, the dEvas felt that their days of woe were
at long last coming to an end. The Lord conceded to their prayers
and announced his decision to be born as a human being (Sri Rama) to
get rid of the cruel Ravana, and to rule for 11, 000 years.
dasa varsha sahasraani dasa varsha Sataani cha/
vatsyaami maanushE lOkE paalayan prithveem imam// (VR-Bala- Sargam
16 )
The dEvas were overjoyed and each one of them promised to take
descent at the same time as bears, monkeys and squirrels and beget
children to serve Sri Rama. Accordingly, they begot sons as follows:
Indra's Vaali, Surya's Sugriva, Brihaspati's Taara, KubERa's
Gandamaadana, Viswakarma's NaLa, Agni's Neela, Aswini dEvas' mainda
and Dvi-vida, VaruNa's SushENa, Parjanya's Sarabha and Vaayu's
AnjanEya. (VR- Bala- Sargam 17)
(Incidentally, it is worth noting that Vaali who was to be the
Commander-in-Chief of Sri Rama's army broke his promise and betrayed
Sri Rama by joining hands with RaavaNa)
(To Continue)
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2. TATPARYA RATNAVALI - SUBMISSION 14 - SLOKAM 11 -PART 2.
(Sri N. Krishnamacharaiar Swami of Chicago)
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-
SrI:
SrImate SrI ra'nga rAmAnuja mahA deSikAya namaH.
svAmi deSikan has treated the next three pASuram-s as one group, and
has given the guNa-s for the three pASuram-s in one phrase ?
svAyatta aSesha sattA sthiti yatana bhidA vaibhavAt. svAyatta ?
subservient to Him, under His total control; aSesha ? without
exception, all the acetana-s and cetana-s, including the anya devatA-
s such as brahmA, rudra, indra etc., who are jIva-s subject to their
karma-s; sattA ? being, existence; sthiti - protection; yatanam ?
effort, the ability to function and act; bhidA ? kind, species,
different; vaibhavam ? greatness; here it refers to His Adhipatyam
or Lordship, absolute control.
? pASuram-s 1.1.4, 1.1.5, 1.1.6: svAyatta aSesha sattA sthiti
yatanabhidA vaibhavAt ? svAdhIna trividha cetanAtmaka svarUpa sthiti
pravRtti bhedan (SrI ve'nkaTeSAcArya). He Who is responsible for the
inherent nature, existence and functioning of all without exception.
This includes the people, the deva-s, the acetana-s etc. pASuram
1.1.4 refers to the nature of everything being subservient to Him,
1.1.5 refers to their protection and sustenance being purely under
His control, and 1.1.6 refers to the actions of everything and
everything being under His total and absolute control. All of these
again stand to support His guNa of paratvam (the guNa at the daSakam
level), and sevyatvam, (the guNa at the Satakam level).
SrImad tirukkuDanthai ANDavan's anubhavam is that in the 1st pASuram
of tiruvAimozhi (1.1.1), AzhvAr sang about bhagavAn's kalyANa guNa-
s, tirumEni and aiSvaryam in the form of His nitya vibhUti. 2nd
pASuram sang His svarUpa vailakshaNyam (difference, uniqueness). 3rd
pASuram mentioned His leelA vibhUti. The next 7 pASurams (1.1.4 to
1.1.10) elaborate on the guNa-s sung in the first three pASram-s
further. Of these, pASuram-s 1.1.4 to 1.1.6 ? the subject of the
current posting - elaborate on His leelA vibhUti further, and point
out that the svarUpam, sthiti and pravRtti of all cetana-s and
acetana-s are bhagavad-adhInam. The word adhInam means "bhagavAn
iTTa vazhakkAi irukkiRadu" - as bhagavAn wills it to be.
The three words sattA, sthiti, and yatana that svAmi deSika
n has used are equivalent to the terms svarUpa, sthiti and pravRtti,
that bhagavad rAmAnuja uses in the gadya-trayam. For instance, in
cUrNikA 5 of SaraNAgati gadyam, bhagavad rAmAnuja describes
bhagavAn's leelA vibhUti, and says: "sva sa'nkalpAnuvidhAyi svarUpa
sthiti pravRtti sva Seshata eka svabhAva prakRti purusha kAlAtmaka
vividha vicitra bhogya bhoktRvarga bhogopakaraNa bhoga sthAna rUpa
nikhila jagadudaya vibhava laya leela!". ? "Thy sport is creation,
maintenance, and dissolution of the world, which contain in
themselves many different kinds of enjoyment and suitable places of
such enjoyment, such as prakRti, purusha and kAla which are by their
nature ever under Your service, Oh Lord! In the matter of their
form, their existence, and their activities, they always follow only
Thy wishes and dictates of Thine". The sentence in italics reflects
the idea that svAmi deSikan is extracting as the main thrust of the
three pASuram-s we are looking at right now- svAyatta aSesha sattA
sthiti yatana bhidA vaibhavAt.
? pASuram 1.1.4 ? pASuram starting with "nAm avan ivan uvan":
vividha nirdeSa nirdiSyamAna samasta vastu svarUpam bhagavad
adhInam. What this means is that bhagavAn is the antaryAmi in
everything, and they exist because He is present in them as their
antaryAmi; without Him they do not have an existence. This is the
main guNa extolled in this pASuram ? (yAvaiyum yAvarumAi) ninRa
avarE.
The term svarUpam here can be understood as `amaippu' ? the way the
things are, with their unique attributes that identify them as they
are; all this is as per His will, and under His total control.
SrImad tirukkuDanthai ANDavan explains that if He is not present in
everything as their antaryAmi, then they cannot even have an
existence - "avan uL nuzhaindirAviDil avai irukkavE irukkAdu.
AgaiyAl ellAm avan adhIna'nkaL enRa paDi".
SrI UV gives the following supports ? sarvam khalvidam brahma
(Sruti); jyotIgmshi vishNuh bhuvanAni vishNuh vanAni vishNuh girayo
diSaSca | nadyah samudrASca sa eva sarvam yadasti yannAsti sa
vipravarya || (VP 2.12.37) ? The stars are vishNu; the worlds are
vishNu; forests, mountains, regions, rivers, oceans are vishNu; He
is all that is, and that is not". Lest someone jump to the
conclusion that the above quote is a support for the advaita
philosophy, note that this is just saying that it is their nature ?
svarUpam that they do not exist even for a moment without Him, and
thus the VP quote just declares their total dependence on Him for
their essential nature. SrI UV notes that this supports the Sruti
statement ? bahu syAm prajAyeya ? Let me become many.
? pASuram 1.1.5 ? pASuram staring with "avar avar tama tamadu aRivu
aRi vagai": sakala devatAntara AtmatayA ArAdhyanAi sakala phala
pradan AgaiyinAlE rakshaNamum tad-adhInam. The guNa that is chosen
by svAmi deSikan for this pASuram is sthiti ? protection. One has to
understand the meaning of the full pASuram to appreciate how this
guNa is derived. Very briefly, the idea reflected here is that
bhagavAn has established several devatA-s (such as varuNa, agni,
vAyu etc.,), and has given them powers to bestow the necessities for
the people of the world, such as rain, air, heat, etc. All these are
needed for the protection of the beings in this world. Some may be
tempted to think that it is these gods who are performing at least
some part of the act of our protection. AzhvAr reminds us in this
pASuram that these gods have indeed the power of offering the
protection in their respective areas, only because bhagavAn has
given them these powers, and they are able to perform these
functions only because He is their antaryAmi. In other words, all
these gods are also bhagavad-adhInam ? in other words, they and
their powers do not exist without Him, which is another guNa that
supports the guNa of paratvam. `avar avar vidi vazhi aDaiya,
ninRanarE" - BhagavAn stands as the Supreme One who bestows the
powers to these gods (such as indra, rudra, brahmA etc.)., based on
their karma phalans.
SrI ve'nkaTeSAcArya captures this idea in the following explanation
for svAmi deSikan's choice of sthiti (protection) as the guNa here:
emperumAn sakala devatAntara AtmatayA ArAdhyanAi sakala phala pradan
AgaiyAlE rakshaNamum tad- adhInam. SrImad tirukkuDanthai ANDavan
explains the idea conveyed as follows: antaryAmiyAna nArAyaNantAn
phalan koDukkiRAn enbadAl devarkaLAl Seyyap paDukiRa rakshaNamum
(kAppARRutalum) SrIman nArAyaNan tAn SeikiRAn - aham hi sarva
yaj~nAnAm bhoktA ca prabhureva ca.
The fact that the function of sthiti ? protection, is assigned to
the gods by bhagavAn, is conveyed to us in the following Slokam in
the gItA:
devAn bhAvayatAnena te devA bhAvayantu vah |
parasparam bhAvayantah Sreyah param avApsyatha || (gItA 3.11)
"By this (sacrifice), you propitiate the gods who form My Body and
have Me as their self. Worshiped by sacrifices, may these gods, who
have Me as their Self, nourish you with food, drink etc. Thus
supporting each other, may you attain the highest good called
moksha".
The key concept relevant for us here is that bhagavAn has
established the gods such as varuNa, vAyu etc. to give us the
necessities for our living. Thus, in a sense they are performing the
act of rakshaNam. But this should not taken to mean that these gods
are doing the actual act of rakshaNatvam of us. It is He who is
giving them this power, based on their karma phalan and their
rigorous worship of Him, and they are purely subservient to Him ?
they are His adhInam ? under His control, subservient to Him.
BhagavAn is the Ultimate Enjoyer and Recipient of all our offers to
these gods:
aham hi sarva yaj~nAnAm bhoktA ca prabhureva ca | (gItA 9.24)
"I am the only Enjoyer and the only Lord of all sacrifices".
Bhagavad rAmAnuja explains that "I am the only Lord" here means that
He is the only One who bestows the benefits or the rewards
everywhere.
? pASuram 1.1.6 ? pASuram starting with "ninRanar irundanar
kiDandanar": svAmi deSikan gives the guNa for this pASuram
as `yatana vaibhavAt" ? BhagavAn is the One Who gives the power to
the cetana-s to indulge in any kind of activity or desist from any
activity ? all their actions are bhagavad adhInam ? under His total
control. SrI ve'nkaTeSAcArya explains yatana vaibhavam
as "cetanAcetana samasta vastu pravRtti nivRttikaLum tat-sa'nkalpa
adhInam".
SrImad tirukkuDanthai ANDAvan explains the concept involved here by
pointing out that He is the antaryAmi in those whose actions include
standing, sitting, lying down, or walking. (ninRanar irundanar
kiDantanar tirindanar) This covers everything a cetana can do, and
these are examples of pravRtti. Those who desist from doing any of
these actions ? ninRilar, irundilar, kiDantilar, tirintilar
(nivRtti) also have Him as their antaryAmi, and so He is responsible
for their inactions also. Works and the absence of works are all as
He ordains. SrImad ANDavan's words are: niRpadu, utkAruvadu,
paDuppadu mudaliya pravRttikaLaic ceikiravarkaLukkum avan
antaryAmiyAga irukkiRAn
(To Continue)
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=
3. MAAL UGANDHA AASIRIYAR- Life of PeriyAzhwAr and AndaaL
(V. Madhavakkannan, Singapore)
Before getting into periyAzhwAr charithram, let us have a glance at
the Great Villiputthoor charithram, where periyAzhwAr hailed from.
In "Then PAndya" kingdom, there is a small town called putthoor,
where great sholars pundits were residing. Nearby there is a forest
where there were hunters living in it. The chief of these hunters
had two sons named villi and kaNdan.
One day these two guys villi and kaNdan went inside the forest for
hunting as usual. They spotted a tiger and it escaped the arrows
from their bows. KaNdan started chasing vigorously and went deep
inside the forest. After som time, the tiget hid behind a tree and
pounced on kaNdan and killed him. Villi waited for kaNdan for along
time and started seraching for him with a worried look on his face
about his dearest brother. When he spotted the dead body of kaNdan,
his heart almost stooped with grief and cried heavily and fell
unconscious on his darling brother's body.
During his unconsciousness, he had a scene in front of his eyes;
Sriman NarAyaNan with His consort VishNu pathni MahAlakshmi appeared
and uttered opening His "pavaLachchevvAi" thus:"O villi, Do not
lament and cry. Do not worry. We will get back your brother's life.
And you both go to find out the Big Banyan tree in the midst of this
forest where my moorthy has been lying for quite a long time. You
both will also find a cave nearby the tree where there is lots and
lots of Golden jewels and coins and treaure available. You can take
them as much as you wish. using that wealth, you both need to
deforest that place and build a temple and surrounding town." Then
the Lord disappeared.
When villi came back to consciousness, he did not know whether what
he saw (in his unconscious state) was true at all and was confused.
But suddenly kaNdan got up alive as if he just woke up from sleep
(without any wound even). Villi explained the whole thing to his
darling brother and both of them hugged each other for having been
blessed by the Lord and having been chosen by the Lord to establish
the temple for Sriya: pathih. (I wish we too had been just hunters
like villi and kaNdan, rather than studying all sorts of degrees and
leading a life which in now way helps us reach towards the Lord.)
Then they did exactly as was told and with great enthusiasm built
the temple with the co operation of all his people (who were
pleasantly surprised at the Lord' mercy on their kulam). The place
became an excellent sthalam and the temple looked majestic with
VadabhathrasAyee as the moorthy. The place even today is being
referred as Villiputthoor (named after the brother Villi).
Great scholars, BhaktAs, pundits migrated from putthoor to this holy
place and started residing in this place. One of them was Mukunda
Bhattar and he was a VaishNava GnAni and his wife was Padmavalli, a
GuNavathi and a perfect match for Mukunda Bhattar. Both of them were
parama bhaktAs of VadabhatrasAyee. On an auspicious day they were
blessed with a male child and they named the child as VishNu
chittar; means the one who thinks of VishNu always in his mind. The
kid lived upto his name fully and always was contemplating on ways
and means to achieve the Lord's DayA. He did not wish to spend and
waste his time on education (vEdAs and SasthrAs) and concentrated
only on praising the Lord. (PoiginRa Gnanamum pollA ozhkkamum... ).
He knew that when Lord KrishNa appeared he had a liking for wearing
Garlands made from variety of flowers. He chose that kainkaryam to
pluck flowers in the early morning and make an excellent garland out
of it to adorn the idol of Sri VadabhatrasAyee. He even sold some of
his property and bought a small place near his home (and the temple)
and converted that into a beautiful Nandavanam (a Garden). He grew
all kinds of creepers and plants for various flowers and the Holy
Thulasi. The place also housed a small beautiful pond where there
was a clear crystal like water as pure as VishNuchittar's heart and
mind. His time was wholly spent on cultivating this garden only and
beatify them in order to get more and more and flowers for the Lord.
(What a superb life! What a great Bhakti!) The flowers bloomed;
Tulasi plant became bigger and bigger; The entire Garden looked
divinely beautiful and had an exquisite sugandham (smell) due to
jasmine, rose, lotus, pArijAtham, alli, Thulasi, etc., etc.. Every
morning, before the Sun rises VishNu chitthar took bath completed
his NityakarmAnushtAnangal, went to his garden and plucked all kinds
of flowers to prepare garlands and garlands of various types for the
Lord, while he sang songs in praise of the Lord. He used to take
them to the temple and enjoy the scene of Lord wearing all his
garlands. He got an immense satisfaction and great amount of
blissful happiness in that. He was also blessed with a spouse Vrajai
who also had similar taste for performing service to the Lord.
(Never complain about your wife (or husband); If she had been
better, she would have got a better husband!)
During those times (9 th century CE), there was a king by
name "VallabhadEvan" ruling that area (Then madurai). He was a good
king and was ruling excellently; He was a great VishNu BhaktA and
wished to know the meaning of vEdAs and the glory of the Supreme
truth. He enquired his chief minister on his desire and as to how to
go about pursuing his interests. The minister said " Let us bring
vEdic scholars and ask them your questins and seek clarifications
from them; Whoever furnishes good, satisfactory reply and clarifies
you can be greatly rewarded, O mighty king.". The king agreed and
the announcement was made throughout the kingdom and it was alos
told that there will be a bag containing Golden coins hanging at the
top and with the power and truth of the vEdic statement/principle,
it shall fall automatically. There were many scholars, pundits,
vEdic viRpannargaL, arguments, discussions, seminars, pArAyaNams,
etc, etc,; But the bag still was hanging! The true vEdic underlying
principle/statement was known to anybody; The king was terrible
disppointed. The Lord now plays! Sriman NarayaNan, Sri Vadabhatra
sAyee appeared in VishNuchitthA's dream and said" O BhaktA, I am
impressed with your poomAlai kainkaryam. Tomorrow you go the palace
and speak vEdic principles and get the reward". VishNuchitthar said"
I am not at all well versed in vEdAs; I did not even study them; I
wasted(!) my time without learning all these vEdAs; I have doing
only a simple Garland preparation for you, Lord. I can not tell any
vEdic truths, since I do NOT know.". The Lord smiled; O
VishnuchittA, You are only an instrument. We will speak through you.
Not to worry; Just proceed. (ennE BhagawAn's vAtsalyam to bring His
BhaktA to the limelight!)
The Lord appeared in the Chief minister's dream too and asked him to
arrange to bring VishNuchittar the next day in the palanquin with
full honours(GREAT!). The Next day VishNuchittar prayed the Lord and
boarded the pallakku (palanquin) and came to the palace with full
honours. The scholars laughed at his greed for they knew his limited
(or no) knowledge on vEdAs. They made sarcastic statements at him
loudly. But once our VishNuchittar started his explanation (after a
small prayer) the murmurs stopped; The sarcasm disappeared; People
sharpened their ears.
The king, the ministers the people and the scholars, everybody could
follow the simple statements which were full of deep meanings and
were coming as if the waves were coming out of the great ocean; The
entire meaning of his statement was clearly understood by one and
all and when VishNuchitthar made a concluding statement that Sri
MahAvishNu, the Sriya: pathih, is the only paramporuL who is
protecting and blessing the whole Universe and all beings and is the
only underlying principle of all four vEdAs, the bag FELL by itself!
and fell into the hands of VishNuchitthar. The king got up
immediately with full of tears in his eyes and prostrated at the
feet of VishNuchitthar. He appreciated "I am now clear. You have
clarified all my doubts. Sriman NarAyaNanE paramporuL. I have NEVER
heard such deep meanings in such simple explanation". All scholars
lowered their heads in utter shame and removed their pride and
celebrated VishNuchittahr's victory. The king gave away further more
lots of prizes and addressed him "BhattarpirAn". VishNuchitthar
said "O king, I am dumb. I never spoke. It is HE who spoke here
thorugh me. He is the flutist. I am only a bamboo stick. I am only a
plant. He is the one who bloomed the flower. I am only a puppet. He
is the karthA and a puppetter. Please do not say anything to me.
Please do not prostrate at my feet. Let us all prostrate at HIS
FEET. Come." and he said this deeply moved, hands shaking and
shivering due to the Lord's mercy on his lowly self.
The king made VishNuchitthar sit on the Royal Elephant and arranged
for a great procession in the streets of his kingdom. Everywhere
people thronged to see the blessed soul and everywhere people were
shouting "BhattarpirAn vAzhga! BhattarpirAn vAzhga!". VishNuchitthar
was all the time crying with Anandha kaNNeer and was having his
palms glued together with his mind fully thinking of him and His
mercy. When all these festivities were going on, Do you think our
Lord will lie down in PARKADAL. No! He has also wished to see this
great scene and enjoy His BhakthA being admired and appreciated. He
along with MahAlakshmi appeared on GarudA in the sky and the whole
lot of crowd, the king the ministers, the jealous scholars everybody
SAW HIM AND HIS CONSORT ON GARUDA! (What a blessed place and blessed
people. Were we not even insects in that place during that time?).
Seeing the Lord VishNuchitthar was ecstatic and using the bells
which the elephant was wearing he made THALAMS and sang "pallaaNdu,
pallaaNdu PallAyiratthAndu PalakOdi NoorAyiram" (Long live for many
years, Long live for many years for Hundreds of thousands of years!)
He is giving AsirvAdhams to the Lord! for living eternally and for
ever!. That is why he is called PERIYA AZHWAR - The eldest AzhwAr
because he greeted the Lord himself! pongum parivu- says Sri
Manavala MaamunigaL.
After being conferred "Bhattar pirAn", periyAzhwAr continued on his
mAlai kainkaryam, while he enjoyed singing pAsurams on kannan. He
sang as if he became His mother, yasOdhA. He bathed him, fed Him,
dressed Him; played with him; and enjoyed and imagined all thollai
inbam which yasOdhA had undergone. The Child's azhaghu, mischiefs,
leelAs, were all sung by periyAzhwAr. All his pAsurams are to be
read, re-read and enjoyed. All were bhakti laden pAsurams and taste
like Grape fruit soaked in Honey.
One such day (on Adi pooram day) when he was plucking flowers and
thulasi leaves in his beautiful nandhavanam, he heard a faint cry of
a baby, which appeared as an incarnation of BhoomAdEvi. He was
pleasantly surprised to find a little bundle of joy with beautiful
pretty limbs and a divine golden face with great amount of tEjas, he
immediately picked up the female child with both the arms lovingly
and showered her with lots of kisses. His wife vrajai was extremely
thrilled to hug the God-given child in their nandhavanam and melted
with vAtsalyam for the kid. When they hugged the child they felt as
if it is Lord BalakrishNan himself whom they were holding; They were
getting tremendous amount of joy by bringing up this blessed pretty
girl, whom they named "kOdhai".
Kodhai with their love, affection, and bhakti laden pAsurams and
Bhagavadh kankaryam grew up with a GREAT amount of Bhakti for kannan
(not surprisingly, since, kannan was also brought up by periyAzhwAr
in the same house through his pAsurams). KOdhai grew up with "koLLai
azhaghu", and with lots of intellect and GnAnam on bhagavadh
vishayangaL. She also developed a great amount of affinity to kannan
while she helped her father in his kainkaryam. She also used to
pluck flowers and prepare garlands along with her father. Her talks
and thoughts were always on kannan. With the garlands, she used to
accompany her father to VadapathrasAyee temple to have His darshan.
Years rolled by and kOdhai grew up like a beautiful mullai creeper
(kodi); Along with that, her bhakti for kannan too exponentially
grew up and she longed to see him and be blessed by him. Her love
fir the Lord was so much that she even wished to marry him. She took
a vow to marry him only and could not think of getting married to
any other person. She even dreamt of him coming to her like a male
elephant adorned with pattu and peethAmbharam for the Great marriage
with kOdhai. She spent her time always with such dreams of SenkaN
thirumAl holding her hands and "agni valam". PeriyAzhwAr seeing all
this got worried as to how he could make his darling daughter
accomplish her wish( when it is not just impossible for anyone to
marry the Lord).
Once, periyAzhwAr as usual prepared garlands of flowers and thuLasis
and kept them in a safe, clean place and came out. KOdhai, seeing
such beautiful garlands, thought for a while, "If I am going to
marry only him, why should I not wear these garlands before He
does?" and she did wear them. ( What an apachAram for an ordinary
person! But our kuzhandhai is sAkshAt BhoomAdEvi and is there any
thing wrong in wearing His garlands?) She saw herself wearing the
garlands one by one and admired her beauty by looking at the mirror.
When she heard some footsteps, she immediately removed them and
placed them as usual. When periyAzhwAr adorned the Lord with those
garlands, that day the Lord looked exquisitely beautiful and there
was even a smile on his lips. The garlands were spreading an
excellent sughandham throughout the temple and every one was talking
about the speciality of garlands that day. PeriyAzhwAr did not know
why on that day it was so different and special when there was
nothing extraordinary he did on that day. It was same flowers; same
thuLasi and same way of preparations. Why then all this good smell
and beauty? He did not know. (We know.).
This continued everyday. Kodhai wore them secretly and saw herself;
Lord enjoyed wearing them with great amount of happiness and
satisfaction with good smell. No one knew why. One day on a krishna
jayanthi day, periyAzhwAr saw kOdhai wearing the garland and he got
terribly angry and depressed; felt very much sad and hurt and with
lots of sorrow and "vEdhanai" asked her" kOdhaiyE, my child, why did
you do such a mahA pApam? Is it not meant for the Lord, Sriman
nArAyaNan? How can you impurify by your wearing them, my child?".
Kodhai replied with regret and justification" appA, When there is
Sriman NarayaNan is in my heart I wished to see him wearing them;
Will the Lord get angry by a bhakthA wearing it?".
She was welled with tears with the feeling of guilt and
periyAzhwAr's heart melted seeing his darling child crying. He
lightly hugged her and consoled her saying "Not that, kOdhai, This
is meant for the God our Lord, Will it not become impure by our
wearing it, kaNmaNi.. Okay. Do not worry.. Do not do this again.
Today I will make another garland. Let it become waste. Don't cry."
He made another set of garland and adorned the Lord and that day
there was no smell; no beauty and no brightness on His face; nor
there was any smile on His lips, too. The bhattars (archakAs) were
also confused.
PEriyAzhwAr felt sad that he became angry with his sweet child that
day for the first time and the Lord also did not look well with the
second set of garlands. He had a restless sleep and just before
dawn, Govindhan appeared in his dream. He opened His red beautiful
coral lips and said" My dearest vishNuchittarE! PeriyAzhwArE!,
BhattarpirAn!, For singing paamaalai(pAsurams) and wearing my
poomaalai(garlands) only, kOdhai appeared as your daughter and that
is what I love to wear, too. She has ruled over me with her
paamaalai and poomaalai and hence, shall be called "AnndAL"
hereafter. Do not try to stop her from wearing the garlands. She
should continue wearing them." PeriyAzhwAr woke up and realised
kOdhai's perumai and greatness. He became excited greatly thrilled
to know that she is the one who ruled the Lord and called her "
ANdALE!". He explained everything to her and AndAL's face became red
with "vedkam"(shyness) and blushed. She became widely known
as "Soodikkoduttha sudar kodi".
AndAL wrote TiruppAvai (30 verses) as a nOnbu to perform prapatti to
the Lord and seek refuge at His Lotus feet. There were great seers
who came later appreciated the depths of this philosophical
composition of AndAL. When periyAzhwAr brought marriage discussion
to kOdhai, she mentioned only Govindhan's name as Her groom.
PeriyAzhwAr knew well of her intentions, since he himself was the
culprit for his bringing her up only with kannan's thinking at all
times. He also knew that Sri AranganAthan was her heartthrob who
stole her heart. He was rightfully worried as to how it is possible
to get her married to the Almighty. His worry and burden increased
day by day as much as Sri AndAL's love for the Lord increased.
The Lord appeared in periyAzhwAr's dream and asked him to come to
Sri Rangam the next day. He also appeared in the king Pandyan
vallabhan's dream and asked him to arrange to bring AndAL and
periyAzhwAr to Sri Rangam with full honours. Next day the King along
with his parivArangal, Srirangam kOil archakAs, the chief officers,
ministers, all people of Sri villiputthoor, thronged at
periyAzhwAr's house. Palanquin, kudai(umbrella), kavari, temple
elephant and Royal elephant were all brought to bring the blessed
great father and the daughter. The ladies beautified the already
beautiful lloking AndAL with pattu, ponnagai, maNI, etc.,.
PeriyAzhwAr and vrajai brought kOdhai slowly lovingly and
affectionately to the palanquin. Sri AndAL boarded and sat down in
the palanquin, symbolifying "peNmayin ilakkaNam". Throughout the way
there were arches of flowers and decorations and festive looks.
People thronged to see the blessed Beauty of Villiputthoor. (How
nice it would have been, sister and brothers.- How great our Sri
AndAL would have looked in such an attire with the pretty face
getting prettier with "nANam".) They reached Sri Rangam and the
temple. They were guided straight to the Sanctum sanctorum, the
sannidhi of Thiruvarangan. Our kOdhai stepped into the inner court,
looked at him and His face and immediately merged and united with
the Lord as a JOTHI (a light).
PeriyAzhwAr and Vrajai were saddened with terrible grief and were
crying heavily for having missed their darling daughter to the Lord.
Even though periyAzhwAr knew all bhakti and vEdha poruL, etc., etc.,
he could not control his tears for the separation from his dearest
kOdhai.
"Oru magaLai udaiyEn; ulagam niRaindha pugazhAl |
ThirumagaL pOl vaLartthEn senkaNmAl dhAn koNdupOnAn ||"
(meaning: Only one daughter I had; The one who became very famous
(with her love for Lord); I brought her up like mahAlakshmi; (Now I
have lost her;) That Red lotus eyed Lord has snatched her from me)
(Poor periyAzhwAr. We can really feel his feelings and sadness.
Those who have sisters and daughters will know the feelings; More so
when the daughter will not even come home for thalai DeepAvaLi or
delivery, etc., She has gone for ever!)
PeriyAzhwAr and vrajai felt old suddenly for having lost the child.
With the help of the king, he consecrated an AndAL deity in Sri
Villiputthoor and till last day he was doing his usual kanikaryam of
Maalai to Sri VadabhathrasAyee but with a heavy heart thinking of
kOdhai always.
pAthagangaL theerkkum paramanadi kAttum*/
vEdham anaitthukkum vitthAgum *- kOdhai thamizh/
ayyaindhum ainshum aRiyAdha mAnidarai/
vaiyam sumappathum vambhu./
(The one which removes all our sins and shows the feet of The Lord;
Equal to all vEdAs and even the essence of all vEdAs; they are the
THIRTY verses of ThiruppAvai sung by kOdhai; and if one doe not know
that, he (or she) is a BURDEN to the earth.- Oh my dearest sisters
and brothers, Please make it a point to recite these excellent 30
verses every morning and be blessed by Sri ANdAL, who is none other
than Bhoomi pirAtti and can only save us from our samsaaric
afflictions.)
PeriyAzhwAr thiruvadigaLE saraNam
AndAL thiruvadigaLE saraNam
dAsan
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