The first two lines of the ninth Paasuram: introduction

nallai nenjE naamm thozhuthum nammudaya namperumAL
alli mAthar pulha ninRa aayiram thOLan-idam

Azhwars in general and Thirumangai in particular are fond of Maanasa SambhOdhanams (Conversations with their minds). Some times, they will give instructions to it and other times the topic of conversation will be different as seen from the examples below:

1. "Sengkayal tiLaikkum Sunait-ThiruvEngadam adai nenjamE". Kaliyan: PTM 1.8.1
2. "Pilimaamayil nadam cheyyum taDam sunai Pirithi adai nEnjE". Kaliyan: PTM 1.2.1
3. "Salavan salam sooznthazhahAya SaaLakkirAmam adai nenjE" Kaliyan: PTM 1.5.3
4. Some times, the AzhwAr will tell his mind about what he saw that day: "TeLLiya SingamAhiya dEvai ThiruvallikkENi kaNDEnE " Kaliyan: PTM 2.3.8
5. Some times, AzhwAr will reveal to us what is inside his nenju: "minnAr muhil sEr ThiruvEgaDam mEya yenn aanai, yennappan yen nenjil uLAnE" PTM: Kaliyan 1.10.6
6. Some times, AzhwAr's message to his nenjam will be congratulatory: "vaNDu vaazh Vada Venkatamalai kOil koNDu athanODum, meemisai aNDam aaNDiruppARkku adimai thozhil PooNDAy" — Kaliyan: PTM 2.1.3 Here Kaliyan says: "AhO BhAgyam! AhO BhAgyam! Oh My mind! How fortunate indeed that You have been to be blessed to perform Kaimkaryam for the Lord, who has not only ThiruvEnkatam but also the SarvOnnatha dhivya dEsam of Sri Vaikuntam as His place of residence!"
7. Some times, the message to his discouraged mind will be to console it and to lift it out of its melancholic mood:

thuNivu unakkuc-cholluvEn MANAME!
thozhthu yezhu, thoNDarkaL tamakku

piNi ozhitthu amarar peruvisumpu aruLum pEraruLALan EmperumAn
aNi malar kuzhalAr Arambayar tuhilum aaramum vaari vanthu
aNi neer maNi kozhitthu izhintha Gangayin karai mEl Vadariaasramatthu uLLAnE

 — Kaliyan: PTM 1.4.4

Here, AzhwAr asks his mind to become resolute. He asks his mind to worship the Lord on the banks of Ganga River at BadrikAsramam and to overcome its despondency. AzhwAr says that it is a firm and unassailable message from him. AzhwAr asks his mind to join with the ghOshti of BhagavathAs who are worshipping the Lord at BadrikAsramam with MahA VisvAsam that He will remove all of our aarTi (sufferings) and grant us the boon of residence in His Supreme abode. Thus, AzhwAr's communications with his mind will be multi- faceted.

 

CONVERSATION WITH HIS MIND

AT AHOBILAM

 

In the ninth Paasuram on Ahobila NaaTan, the message of Kaliyan to his nenjam is a congratulatory one. Azhwar addresses his nenjam in a mood of gratefulnes: "nallai nenjE!" He has asked his mind before to enjoy the ArchA Moorthys of many Dhivya Desams (SaaLagrAmam, Pirithi, ThriuvEkadam et al). At Ahobilam, Kaliyan finds that he does not need to give any pep talk to his mind or invite its attention to enjoy the dhivya dEsam of Ahobilam. His mind was ahead of the AzhwAr and had fallen in love with the Lord of this dhivya dEsam. AzhwAr is very pleased and seems to say, "sabhAsh". He starts this paasuram with "nallai nenjE!" Oh my mind! You have become possessed now with all auspicious attributes (NaRguNam udayavanAi uLLAy). AzhwAr praises his nenjam for its predisposition of being deeply engaged in the worship of the Lord of AhObilam.

AzhwAr goes on to pin point the special reasons why he is hailing his mind by addressing it as "nallai nenjE!" -

"Oh my trustworthy and pious mind! You have clearly comprehended that Ahobila KshEthram is the dhivya desam very dear to our Lord (Nammudai NamperumAl uhantha idam). Oh my mind! You not only recognized Him as "namm PerumAL" (Our Sarva Swamy, NaarAyaNan, the Para DEvathai) but you went one step ahead by recognizing Him especailly as Sriman NaarAyaNan, who stays here embracing Mahaa Lakshmi (alli Maathar, the Lotus born lady) with His left hand (savyEna hasthEna chenchu suthAm RamAm parishvajantham, LakshmI Nrusimham SaraNam prapadhyE). Oh my mind! You recognized the Lord of this dhivya dEsam not just as Narasimhan but as Lakshmi Narsimhan. It is well known that He is not easily accessible to those, who do not comprehend the equal place that His divine consort holds in granting MOksha Phalan besides being PurushakAra BhUthai. It is because of Her, His glories are hailed with the Naamams of "Sriya: Pathi, IndhirA Kaanthan, MaalOlan, and Ramaa Nruhari. Therefore, my mind, it is for these reasons that I address you as "nallai nenjE!"

In this Paasuram, Kaliyan uses the VisEsha padha prayOgam of "Nammudai NamperumAL". Nammudai means at one level the One who blesses us with His VisEsha darsanam at Ahobilam. "Nammudai" is a short for Nammudaya (Our). This is a way of celebrating VisEsha BhAndhavyam (Special relationship). He is our Mother, Father, Master and every thing. We are Mumukshus (Those desiring Moksham) and He is the Moksha DhAyaka Mukundhan.

Nammudaya PerumAL has to be comprehended as Lakshmi SamEtha Narasimhan and not Just as Narasimhan. MahA Lakshmi takes on the appropriate roopams befitting the appropriate avathArams and does not leave His side even for a second (NithyaivaishA JaganmAthA VishNO: SriranapAyini). Even in the Vamana avathAram, where He had to appear as a bachelor, He hid Her under the deer skin attached to His Yajn~Opaveetham. "Nammudai" PerumAL (Our PerumAL) is thus a special PerumAL, who can only be understood through His PradhAna VisEshaNam (vIz). PirAtti as per AruLALa PerumAL EmperumAnAr's Sri Sookthi:

aakAriNasthu vijn~Anam aakaara Jn~Ana pooravkam
tEnAkArm Sriyam Jn~AthvA Jn~AthavyO BhagavAn Hari:

Here, the AchAryan states that a vasthu's visEshaNam has to be understood first before one can comprehend the vasthu. Therefore, BhagavAn's tatthvam can be understood only after comprehending the Tatthvam of PirAtti, His chief / primary VisEshaNam.

Swamy ParAsara Bhattar focuses on this unique sambhandham of MahA Lakshmi with Hari NaarAyaNan this way in one of the slOkams of GuNa Rathna KOsam:

Bhavathee sambhandha-dhrushDyA Harim,
paSyEma prathiyAma yaama cha paricharAn prahrushyEma

Meaning:

"Oh MahA Lakshmi! It is only through Your sambhandham, we enjoy Him (Your Lord); it is why we worship Him, perform kaimkaryams to Him and derive bliss by such kaimkaryams. He thus becomes "Nammudai NammperumAL" because of Your Sambhandham".

(Note: adiyEn's meanings and commentaries for Swamy Alavandar's Guna Ratna Kosam can be accessed at: http://www.sundarasimham.org/ebooks/ebook38.htm)

Oh Lakshmi! Because of yourself being His PradhAna VisEshaNam, He is saluted in Sri VishNu Sahsra Naamam as:

Sridha: SriSa: SrInivAsa: Srinidhi: SrivibhAvana:
Sridhara: SrIkara: SrEya: SrImAn lOkathrayAsraya:

(Note: Elaborate meanings and commentaries written by Sri. Narasimhan Krishnamachari Swamy in five volumes for the individual nAmas of Sri VishNu Sahasranamam can be accessed at: http://www.ahobilavalli.org/ ebooks_s4.htm)

Because of this VisEshaNam, Kaliyan introduces Ramaa Nruhari (MaalOlan) as "Nammudai Namm PerumAl".

Lord RanganAtha is generally referred to as Namm PerumAL. He was presented by Brahma DEvan to the Kings of IshvAku dynasty in which Lord Ramachandra was born. At AyOdhyA, Lord Raamachandra worshipped Lord RanganAtha during His Vibhava avathAram as the son of King DasaraTa.

NrusimhAvathAram is however earlier than RaamAvathAram and Lord Raamachandran worshipped Ahobila Narasimhan and blessed us with the Sthuthi of Nrusimha PanchAmrutham. From this extraordinarily beautiful SthOthram composeed by none other than Lord Raamachandra in front of MalOlan, we can conclude why Kaliyan's visEsha Padha PrayOgam of "Nammudai Namm PerumAL" belongs to Lakshmi Narasimhan alone. The detailed write ups on Nrusimha PanchAmrutha SthOthram of Lord Raamachandran can be accessed at: http://www.sundarasimham.org/ebooks/ebook35.htm

Sri RAmA at ahobilam yogAnanda nrusimhan sannidhi [picture]

SrI bhAshyakarar kalakshepa mandapam at ahobilam

 

ALLI-MATHAR PULHA NINRA AAYIRAM THOLAN

 

Ahobila KshEthram is saluted by Kaliyan as "Alli-maathar pulha ninRa Aayiram thOLan idam". Sarva Swamy Narasimhan was praised by PrahlAdhan and was pleased by that moving sthuthi; He banished then His anger and became a Saantha, Soumya Moorthy. Now MahA Lakshmi approached and embraced Him. Out of the joy from that embrace, Lord Narasimhan grew thousand arms to return that embrace and placed Senju Lakshmi on His lap and became MaalOlan. BhagavAn did not have thousand arms when a joyous SithA Piraatti embraced Him during RaamAvathAram, when he returned victorious from the battle with 14,000 rAkshasAs. In NrusimhAvathAram,

When MahA Lakshmi (AllimAthar) embraced (pulha) Him, He developed thousand arms to hold Her tight and became aasritha vathsalan (Pulha ninRa Aayiram thOLan) and stayed at Ahobilam (Aayiram thOLan idam ithuvAm).

This Aayiram ThOludayAn became Nammudai Namm PerumAl, when He jumped in to the cupped palms of AdhivaNN SaThakOpa Jeeyar to travel from village to village to bless us with Pancha SamskAram and Bhara NyAsam. Thus He has become Nammudaya Namm PerumAL. He comes to us even if we can not get to AhObilam. He comes with His PaadukA SEvakar. That is why He is our (Nammudai) VisEsha PerumAL.