JNrlñ                 - ocean of everlasting bliss. t3ñ xiv

It is Thiruvenkatam of rustling streams in fullflow,- where alongthe windingpaths, asceGcs sit rooted in 'sama'dN', with profuselocks knotted and danglingon theback of their heads, like small mounds of earth around which creepers spread allthe year round,- that is our coveted destination.

SU - In Azhwar's imagery, the pious devotees sitting in silent meditation on the Lord along the winding path to Thirumalai, appear transfixed to terra firma as if enmeshed with the trodden path. Refer to Sri Kulasekhera Peruman's thought on similar lines echoing the greatness of this place. “Sim@mnJ genCvnen

 

 

ppsi @tmg ......agflturyt Berti‹&;Jl aG8pj asMus£l - To the Azhwar's fertile imagination, the profuse locks of hair knotted at the back of the 'sa'dhus' heads, are mistakenly overrun by the spreading creepers on the hillside to become a part of the surrounding landscape of boulders, since the 'sa'dhus' sit motionless in the intensity of their meditation.

 

CsutnerCm tuntéeifl(ytéLjié 6l£ugjrj- Thiruvenkatam is our coveted mountain. Refer to Sri Thirumazhisai Piran's ' SI                                                     (gj C  ‹s C sn ', ( sn - Q(y. 40 ).

 

aapauw  @{ggj?er&  0awsuOoea @o¥?Iyaatj¿jé @gQuep @o@fipé @yaso0uxe                   @gaue pmmQsxuJl pe?méaswg                         ylmefl?sa6e Qammg

$1mfñiQsx¥J1¥ñ  assaf1Qu  Qe%p.                            54

Even as You graciouslydescended upon the sacred hills of Thirumalirunjolaiand Thiruvenkatam, mamng them Your favouriteabodes, Younow regard Your shrine in myheart as a favoured residence.On that score, do not ever forsake Your abode of the surging milk ocean. This is my humble prayer.

Although there are severalhills, only Thiiumafimnjolai and Thimmalai are looked upon as most sacred because of their association with the Lord, Who had made them His favoured abodes in order to attract devotees. But after the Azhwar started describing these hills in endearing terms, the Lord finding Azhwar's heart so very inviting, has made that His favourite shrine. Azhwar pleads with the Lord not to give up His other shrines on that score. “ Q meal @CanK

nsé.r gm. @pgeieieir 9.(g,suflsa.  ( .Q(g,ariñ.aur.-10-7-8.). .

 

 

 

The 'vyuhasthala's' of 'Paramapada', 'Kshrira'bdi', and 'arcasthala’s' like Thirumalai are designed to enlist devotees, but after the devotees are gained, the Lord finds ie fulfilment of the former shrines in the heart of the devotee, thereby making the latter the more favoured abode to the Lord.This is the implicit derivative in the usage by Azhwar of the phrase, '                                                                             fi '. ' Do not give up the 'bha'1a'layam'. 'Bha'1a'layam', in contemporary parlance, refers to a provisional sanctum where the 'utsava’ deities are kept when the main sanctum is under renovation etc.

 

'                    ' - the shrine of the devotee's  heart. “ g gmñ Jmn   e6loi›suetit rim      “, (    - no° ). Nara'yana Suktham speaks of the devotee's heart, as the big shrine. Azhwar's

plea with the Lord stems from his concern that the Lord should not give up on the other shrines, after finding the niche of ¥e devotee's heart more appealing than divya desa's. His concern is rooted in his sense of profound gratitude to these shrines for making this happen. His mention of the milk ocean is more illustrative. It applies to other abodes of the Lord also.

 

 

Oh my OmniscientMaster, holdingthe chakra' that is evertriumphant in battles. I had never forgottenYou throughthe cycle of repeated births inview of Your steadfast and ever thoughtful compassion.Grant me that I may now immerse inthe ocean of everlasting bliss.

Sri Bhutat Azhwar expresses his gratitude to the Lord, for blessing him with the thought of the Lord through the successive births, and prays to Him to bless him further with the fmit of his ' sa'dhana" in the shape of everlasting bliss. Azhwar, in a typically egoless spirit, attributes his own practice of constant remembrance, (' ,gJ Q ') to Sriman Narayana Who caused the Azhwar to remember Him always, by abiding with him in his thought.

JN              ñ6lur@iun JJ on - ' grace of constant remembrance'. Similar thought is expressed by Sri Thnimazhisai Piran, ' myJ fJJ m 6ltuneir @JN(gj jet wrong mNmmin

elf gñ — 101 ). Refer also to Swami Nammazhwar 's lines, '

Azhwar adds that the Lord himself must further remove the obstacles in the way of realising the fruit of his bhakthi, and grant him everlasting bliss, for is He not holding the mighty Sudarsana' assuring unfailing success in the obliteration of obstacles, however formidable ?

nrJi sustie6l — 7-1.). ' This Paramapurusha causes the jiva’ to attain bliss. '

 

 

gx¥es1i u{¿jQo%(g% gx Qo -- ?u¥aflg

 

 

-          56

 

When the passion for His vision grows out of hand, how shall one exercise self-restraint, in order not to appear impatient ? Do not despair. Even before the Lord chooses to bless us with the vision of His golden form, the Divine Mother is ever eager to hasten that process.

 

m            egieii — Desire can be assuaged only by ( His ) vision. 'u ‹e           eui2 rJ +ngisi› ' — ( J(y-city .97 ).

ñ  str.        — If it begins to to grow out of hand. Jul ‹9l& John - Is it possible to rein in that desire in order not to appear overly restless ? The implication is that the jiva' ( beloved ) in conformity with ' paratantra' svarupa" must wait for the Master ( Paramapurusha') to take her in His fold, and not run wild in despair; in the spirit of Sita's calm and dignified self- restraint. “ ;ii actin no                 Menu “, ( yn — en° — 39-30 ).” “My protection is His role.”

 

onfi té pt oeirJ - Azhwar's phrase underscores Divine Mother's ' purushaka'ra" role in representing our case before the Lord, with words such as, “p  II  n  116-

 

44.). “ There is none who is free from faults.”           

 

 

vé#•e• uxg *c1s=•••• ••1••s••1

 

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Hear ye in all four directions, hold steadfast to the practice of singing the praise of the gracious Lordblessed by DivineMother, abiding with Him for ever. Let us rightly sing the praise of the sacred Feet of our Master endowed with beautiful longhands.

 

  - The Divine Mother confers all graces on the Lord by virtue of Her association.

 

“- ( Sri Alavanda'r's Chtusloki ). ' Sri is Your name. How shall we speak of You '? As the various Vedic declarations such as Purusha Suktham etc., speak of the 'Param' as the Lord of Sri, it is the blessing of Her constant presence that establishes the ' Param'. “ mile guinea  in agile        “ — “ The principle on which fell the Mother's many graces turned into ' Param. “ As Sri Parasara Bhattar says, “ CaignJgnN g;i;euflJignñ qN n6l in Ji;nb qQ “. “ Whose footprints rest in Sri Murari's chest after taking cognizance of which the Vedanta's round up their philosophical inquiry.” Swami Nammazhwar describes the association in the following terms, ' in  fbtii2sosn                      6la n(gj Cuter›

eo+ p mJ .' ( junk-as. 6-10-10.).

 

Sri Thimmazhisai Piran addresses the Lord as ' en          easn g;qN ', ( N  acn — Q         .-62 ). Azhwar drives home the truth, that it is the Lord of Sri Who is the Supreme Being, not other

gods. ' Q e6lst›e›n C en ;iiCgCpei AniCgeJ'- ( ‹n

— (y .- 53). 'Do not consider as Lord those who have no connection whatever to Sri.'

 

 

 

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