usmié*s *••és•= *is*=s•é•*a• s$s* I u'fi >p;

The heart of a true devotee is verily like a shrine, be it Tanjai, or hallowed first among 'divyadesa's’ Srirangam, or Thiruthanga’l, or theever cool Thiruvenkatamthe cherished treasure house ofdevotees, the milkocean, Kadanmallai Aways in the thought ofdevotees, Thirukkovalur,or the high- walled Thirukkudandhai, theabode of my Lord Sri Rama.

  - - Azhwar likens the heart of the devotee to a shrine, since the Lord is seated therein with great love.He is in His favoured abodes, the divya — desa's. Hence Azhwar mentions very appropriately, the heart of the true devotee first, true to the dictum, ' iuJ gñ @suñ ' — that which is preeminent is to be ranked high in the order of things. For it is said in the Upanishad ( eng — Ayr ), ' gi;  ñ g elf Jmn;ñ e  i›susñmnmg                                                                                         ', ' The devotee's heart is to be understood as the Lord's great shrine, mug

that all other shrines are to be interpreted as 'bha'la'laya's only. In an earlier pasuram ( 54), Azhwar had himself proclaimed other shrines as ' a$sti '. Sri Nammazhwar refers to the devotee's heart as the big shrine, 6i heirs ', ( -sts. 3-8-1. ).Azhwar then lists some of the shrines. '     ' also known as '

s& ', ' y ;j&mé ', - Srirangam, considered the crown jewel among divyadesa's and referred to in our tradition

 

 

only as 'Cma$st›'. Sri Thirumangai Maman describes it as '

cgi ‹eIusi&ID

(firm  Q nwsii›, Srirangam that is surrounded by other divyadesa's which are like gardens round it '.

 

- Thiruthangal. By mentioning Tanjai and Thirutangal in the same company as Srirangam and Thiruvengadam, Azhwar drives home the point that no invidious distinction is to be drawn among the divyadesa's.

 

6kn i j - Cool Thirumalai which is looked upon as a treasure- house by all SriVaishnava devotees.

feud - Milk ocean.

 

 — Mahabalipuram the abode of the Lord lying on the bare earth, where the sage Pundarika was blessed, and hence so dear to the devotee's heart.

 

mrs&i - Thirukkovalur where the Lord manifested Himself along with His consort to shower His grace on the first three Azhwars, Poigai, Bhutam, and Pei, in a narrow corridor of a house, where they had taken shelter from rain and storm. Hence called '

 

 

n          Jbmy- high —walled Thirukkudandhai where the presiding Deity was most beloved to Sri Thirumazhisai Piran, and of Whom this Azhwar inquired with such solicitous concern, ' cn›ani  St             Ceun',( Q âoJ  — elf . 61 ).

 

 

 

                                                                               71

 

 

 

When the Supreme Lord of the universe bestirred himself from his bed of the serpentAnantha' puffing out venomousfumes from the mouth, to lift his flower-like foot in order to measure the worlds in all directions, the Sankha’ on his left Hand, blew loud, and the fiery Sudarsana' rendered all adversaries nervous by its sparkle.

 

This pasuram relates the episode of Trivikrama avata’ra', in which the loud thunder of the Lord's Sankha', and the fiery brilliance of Sudarsana' was enough to throw all adversaries into nervous helplessness.

 

nfi       Isutép;[l JN         Jiim — Hearing the thunderous roar of Sankha', lauded lavishly by Sri Andal as ' 6l+nsii Q +;ii fmit I wfisimell ', gladdened the hearts of all devotees to exult, ' gñ u+m n a;ii ', and broke the hearts of adversaries, like it did again, in the Kurukshetra’ war, ' no C npr gu’q  gqn                 gñ gmrJ siimgcqm . ', ( Gita — 1-19 ). Sri Periazhwar echoes the same thought in the line, ' itsdl am ñ ?

 

 

HJa   N  JnmmJ  Q  N  &lJ         @ - As if this was not enough, Lord’s Sudarsana' by its shower of fiery sparkle all-round, stunned all adversaries freezing them on their tracks.

 

permit m - Lord's couch Anantha emitting venomous fumes from its awesome mouths, - is intended to highlight the cold terror of the moment for all adversaries. Sri Thirumazhisai Piran describes it on similar lines, ' fi ymnqñ in C

< @ RAID 6lJffM &IJ6IJ    .' — ( J(;iff @  &  —     . IN. ).

feud C Ng;& - What is the reason for this preemptive action from the Lord 's functionaries ? The reason is their overwhelming eagerness to ensure the undisturbed rest of the Lord,

 

on the milk ocean, jestfully underplayed by Sri Periazhwar as,

 

mgier  Men our   Ji     6lmer  p '

(      n     —   . 5-1-7. ). Lest no harm should come to that beautiful body in apparent slumber on the serpent couch,

even the nithyasuris are always watchfully alert. ' gig  C :

 

eun i u: nuAJJiC ' ( Vishnusuk>am ).

- Lord's foot is like flower in bloom.  in my (Vishnu Sahasrana'mam - 952.)

 

 

Ouxg@@ge j  OAP¥. ¥é0u@gjeé  Ouxgj. we?mé -- ?ux,gj

 

72

 

Rising at dawn, the primates would dip in the flower-laden ponds, and gather the freshly blossomed flowers to offer in worshipful prayer.Oh my heart, you also hasten to recite the names of my Lord, and offer flowers at the lotus Feet of Him Who is the Jewel of Thiruvenkatam.

While in the previous pasuram, Sri Bhutat Azhwar described the exalted status of the Lord, with only 'nithyasuris' surrounding him in constant attendance and alert, in this pasuram Azhwar reassures his heart of the Lord's 'soulabhya“- accessibility, to even primates and people like us.

jb cum          - Kn  - the early hours of dawn

considered very propitious for prayer and meditation. “ iiyngIIl8lo

siimngtt;8y eome;inam  :       II “ “ At the stroke  of

dawn ( bra'hma- muhurtha' ), a Srivaishnava should rise and recite

Hari's name several times.” Sri Andal underlines this in Thiruppa'vai,

 

 

hurt                erflJJ . .. — ( @ riursosu — 6 ). This is 'aJ  en  min'. Like the sages and Srivaishnava's, even the primates of Venkata hill, possess intuitively the virtue of rising at dawn and setting out for the worship of the Lord. Lest anyone should wonder if it is possible, this pasuram sets at rest such scepticism, by reminding us that it is possible due to their habitation in a divya-desa' like Thiruvenkatam. Azhwar is not alone in this, as it will be seen that other Azhwars have dso used similar imagery. For instance, Sri Thirumazhisai Piran also acknowledges existence of similar virtue in the elephants of Thruvenkata forests, in his lines, ' eosuiiunir

 

- 46 ).

 

— Just then freshly blossomed flowers. yJ - The primates pray raising some sounds appropriate to their character. ' nJi       at  Csuni inn        eunweiJzsii eJl+aim N. ' — (                      .- ). The Lord of Thiruvenkatam accepts with love equally the chatter of the monkeys, and the Vedic hymns sung by nithyasuris.

 

 

                                                   — reciting the sacred names of the Jewel of Thiruvenkatam.' Azhwar underlines the importance of prayerful recitation. ( ewdlc mtn ).

 

Ca«ña<su& uaqpaCa avaia›ti Curru <%l - 'Offer flowers at the lotus Feet of the Lord of Venkatam. ' Azhwar emphasises thus, another aspect of devotional service,viz. ' in

mñ '.Thus,Azhwar underlines the importance of all three- fold service.