spp Qsx(ggyso Jlpsxyjo aewass Qsxpgwppaux    peéeo     op»wso

A long time ago, lying in foetal state, I witnessed the powers of my Lord of Thirukkottiyur. Dmwn by this, I folded my hands in prayer. It is not that only today I have awakened to the drawing power of my Lord's sacred Feet which scaled the heavens and earth aeons ago.

Azhwar recounts in this pasuram, how as a formative child in his mother's womb, he was blessed by Lord's vision, and experienced to his utter amazement, the greatness of His 'svaruparupa guna vibhutis '.

 

&{JJj            g;meiiCa›&—' It is not as if I have become awarn of Him, ( bhagavad-vishayam), only today ’. As if anticipating a question as to if it is possible to have that experience as a mere foetus, Azhwar refers to the Trivikrama'vata'ra.

to&=é-s* n•aD map «mgg Sc-o-< —' cis

sacred Feet which scaled the heaven and earth.' Did the Lord make

this exertion at anybody's behest ? It was like the instinctive reaching out of the mother to the baby in sleep. It is all the ' nirhetuka krupa' of the Lord, Who showers His grace without any apparent reason.

 

 

Even as Swami Nammazhwar eulogises, ' aennnCm Hp@Cw

                  - lying in foetal state. nn• ygi,gJJ aJñCu', ( Vishnu Puranam — 6-5-10.). Starting with this phrase, Vishnu Puranam describes, in six slokas, painful states confronting the foetus. So the Lord is cognizant of all this. Did he not move quickly to understand the helpless state of Parikshit in Uttara's womb, and act to protect him from the 'brahma'stra" launched by Asvatta’ma'? Sri Bhutat Azhwar’s pasuram is on similar lines as Sri Poigai Azhwafs line, ' in  niyfiz                        flux s Sign C nir zenCnN Q(ymyfiaCnmnsii jews',( n› — (y. 6). ’ rmnnpin

ñ mñ  CmJ n      p: I non;iie6l nu e6lJC

en s cuCaxi nJ dJJ;a+ : II, ( Maha'bha'ratham Santhi Parva, 358-73 ). “ He that is still in the mother's womb, who is blessed by Madhusudhana's grace, is a sa'thvika' by nature, and is attuned to ultimate liberation.”

 

eC       mJmy         - The qualities ( of svarupa,rupa, guna, vibhutis, and actions ), of the presiding Deity of Thirukk- ottiyur, which is famous for its bountifully fertile soil texture.

 

mv 6i qp8 - ( As evidence of tWs experience ) I folded my hands'.

 

 

@péur a@aP¥ñj¿j$fi sañnx¥ñ -- $lpéuxñ'

 

88

 

 

Except for those who walk the unfailing path of my Lord of Thiruvarangam, the portals of the bastion of celestials and the abode of my Lord, Sri Vaikuntam, would shut before others who tread their own falliblepath, ever reach them, enmeshed as they are, in the tangledweb of hellish existence. This Iknow now.

 

Here again, Azhwar underscores the point that the Lord's grace and guidance is an integral part of ow spiritu¥ pursuit, seeking oneness with Him, and that they who are daft enough to think that they can find liberation by dint of their own effort, will never be able to cut the gordion knot of samsa'ric existence.

H           oJ mjbmy- Lord of Thiruvarangam, the same Lord who, on Kurukshetra battle-field, rounded up his gospel with the ultimate enunciation that He is the Upa'ya', and told his disciple Arjuna to seek recourse to Him. “ mñ y iaxys n siiyJ“, (Gita

— 18-66).

 

H                        — The Supreme Lord who is ever the unfailing path. The Upanishads drive home this truth, ' Benn-                        i wa ', (Subhalopanishad). ' pnmevaw mineral ', (Narayana Suktham). Since His is the only infallible royal path, ('e‹e+ofl yn ' — Saint Sri Thiagaraja) other paths are fraught with risks of failure.

â                  J&Al - cutting through the impenetrable undergrowth of samsa'ra’. Before one is able to find the root of this undergrowth, and remove this by his own 'sa'dhana'nu-

shtana", the doors of Sri Vaikuntam will have closed down.

smvg;uyoj                      -           |gj— closed down.

— bastion.                  — city of the nithyasuris. ' &pnñ in ', ( Purusha — Suktham ). Instead of meandering aimlessly, one would be advised to seek recourse to the Lord's Feet as the Upa'ya’.

-' This I got to understand after much reflection.'

 

»g&Ié sgQjé1g@g sge%rp% erui @yjags?Iri?ux¿ wr& Qwxél@gi -- ugafluxlñri ua&iur< JCqgjgIu u aaatgas< uoaaEmuuauidluaui& eaauñphuBu nd.   89

 

You finished off the vengeful Kamsa in a burst ofanger, and vanquished the battle-tested elephant by breaking off its tusk.In an earlier age, melting with compassion,You as the diminutive Brahmin,accepted the symbolic offering ofwater from Mahabaliand took away this earth from him.

As if conjecturing the Lord's mind as to how the Azhwar could be so sure of the Lord carrying out the devotee's wish underlying his act of surrender, Azhwar enumerates three illustrative episodes, as if telling the Lord, ' This is how You are.

 

  - Finishing off the vengeful, angry Kamsa, in a greater burst of anger. As Sri Andal says, ' been suaSl{f;  H iiH sa JeirpH axisii '- Sri Krishna was like a smouldering cauldron of fire in the stomach of Kamsa “m

 

 

The Paramapurusha took birth here to punish Kamsa for his evil of ' bha'gavadapachara", of which the Lord takes an irrevocable view. As Swami Nanjiyar has commented,     concur i

 

'. Next the Azhwar refers to the Kuvalaya'peeda episode.

 

 

 

— melting concern.

rsii           — accepting the symbolic offering of water, in his hand. ' maxé                             Ji 61 Jiginñe   — ( Jñ   Jgin.- 6).

 

Lord 's Hand is described as generously long to make the favour — seeker put up both his hands, to say                           enough, enough '. turk — Mahabali who was determined to give anything to anyone in his sacrificial altar.

 

 

inmate           accepting the gift of land as the celibate Vamana. 'â @ @Cpnr nuñsii en suJsu ñ

: s igiaxtaxurñ ' — 'concealing His Consort on His chest with deer skin'. Such was the concern and compassion of the Lord for his devotees like Vasudeva', Devaki, Indra' and so on.

 

 

After approaching and submitting in self-surrender to the Lord of Sri, of pink-lotus eyes, the Supreme Being and our Master, would I not rule over this world, and even walk the corridors of paradise, as a celestial among celestials?

 

As if anticipating another poser from the Lord, suggesting ' leave aside what I did for other devotees; tell me what it is that you want’. Azhwar proceeds to reassure the Lord that he got everything he wanted when he surrendered at His F eet.That, by itself, to Azhwar is like ruling over this wide earth, and walking the regions of Sri Vaikunta, with complete freedom.

 

us& mé MCsn m - 'would I not rule over this earth.

' is only illustrative. It refers to the whole 'lilavibhuti’.

 

 

Would I not mesh with Vaikunta as a celestial among celestials? 'gi& ' implies freely roaming the inner corridors, even the private

chambers of the Lord and divine Mother.

 

tnr — Lord of Sri.

61 n - The Paramapurusha' with eyes like pink lotus flowers. “ heirs min      mnnuñ tj iiinJaC                            0ndJ quite n.QQ pm “, ( Chadogya Upanishad ). ' He has two eyes resembling the lotus flowers opened up in the sun's rays. His name is, 'The Exalted One '. '              ' also indicates eyes reddened by melting concern towards the devotees. ‘T•me6lJCgQ eqn ji;g

‹s(y@ mñ qeunn6lpñ I

(g,s«itfi iiqei(g,jj; gdsu 8u gé(g,giuaJj jsnuevy riuQ “II, (Mahabharatham. Uttaraparva — 47-33 ). Sri Krishna says, The distant cry of ' Govinda ' by Draupathi weighs heavily on my heart like a compounded debt.'

 

Comm               -' our Lord ’.” mNm;iieiieunAJ “,( Saranagati- gadyam ).

  — approaching and worshipping Him in self-surrender and with folded hands. Azhwar says that all that he did was one act of worship. That, by itself, had melted the heart of the great Lord. As Swami Alavandar says, “ ;iisugfiñJ Qfii

ñ C n@wH : I ge gen @  iummnJmCm g: titPuaJ5l Q p             mCg II”, ( Stotra Ratnam — 28). ' One act of surrender at Thy sacred Feet. by anyone anytime, in whatever manner, wipes out all sins then and there and makes all the good to multiply.

It never suffers any reduction.'As Swami

Nammazhwar sings,'

fi6l

e

,

Caer

‹ct’.6lgi&

,

Our

 

'remit-6lazi.1-2-7).

 

As Hanuman exulted at the sight of the victorious Rama after decimating His enemies,'mJ fia nmniiynii n C sum  mn- g8 i a : I. ' I have reaped a bonanza similar to heavenly kingdom.’

 

4sé. m e. u{ggyA.é  0Pyx.o@  Quyjgj&.¿ .

 

 

91

 

Oh confused men, who worry over how best to avoid entering the terrible hell after you have shuffled off your mortal coils. Try to pray to His sacred Feet beforehand, He who scaled the worlds surrounded by dark oceans and has been objectified in various Scriptures.

In this and the next three pasurams, the Azhwar in his overflowing compassion for the 'samsa'ris', of the world, gives out his message of faith and prayer. In this pasuram, he cautions against the all-too- common notion that prayer and meditation can wait till after the evening of one's life. If one follows the proclivities of one’s nature, to the logical end, then the gates of hell will be wide open to receive him at the end of life's journey. So Azhwar rightly advises us to shake off our inertia, and go to the Lord beforehand. How can one be sure that He is the One to seek? We have Azhwar's assurance on this. He is the One who has been objectified in Sruthi,Smrithi, Iithiha'sa Pura'na's.They all speak eloquently about the Parathvam of Narayana. To a possible question whether it is appropriate to say of Him, merrJginen', or literally  Who has been measured or determined ',when the Srutis whisper, ' tuCg;r aunCwn Jean JiC  ', - 'from whose quarters the words turn back', it can be submitted that to say that He is difficult to spell out specifically is also some measure of objectivisation, to be guided by. That is why, Sruti in recognizing “ iuerixuinn                             “, ( to whom It is not comprehensible ), quickly adds, '

 

Jinixu ', ( by him, It is comprehended ). Even the Vedapurusha' Who declares about Himself, ' Cm gIIi n mesh ', ( Purusha- Suktham).- ' I know this Purusha", adds as if to fill the blank, to the next question 'How?' ' Ji ’, - ' The immeasurably Great '.

 

asjés<sñ ;g@ g§aaJmpnsñsuali ner$ga&- He who scaled all the worlds surrounded by dark oceans.  ' en                                        ñ gis ’, He pervaded the universe in all sides.This He

did for the apparent purpose of fulfilling the need of the celestials, but underlying this, was the overarching purpose of casting His net, far and wide, to bring as many ' chetana's',(devotees), as possible within His net. His sacred Feet touched and blessed all and sundry beings all over, in a spontaneous outpouring of His “ soulabhya',souseelya',ka'runya',va’tsa1ya'dhi guna's”.

 

 hymn Ceqnui&  Cnut —  So that you can avoid the catastrophe of hell later on.'

  -Try to worship Him beforehand.

For this life and body is a fleeting phenomenon. “ a n i6lsnefJ or lieu “, ( Q(ysunñ —61a . 1-2-2).

 

 

                                                                                      92

Chant His names and glorify Him, He that has a long memory and a flag that sports Garudathe eagle kingand is ever Qorified by celestials, Who killed Kamsa before he could even s‘tir, by amere kick. If you glorify His namesthus, it will usherin the desired blessings foryou.

 

Purusha'rtha's or goals of human life can be classified into two general categories, viz. ' anishtaniwithi '- removal of suffering and pain which everyone is averse to, and 'ishtapra'pthi' — attaining desired ends. In the previous pasuram, Azhwar spoke about the former goal. In this pasuram, he says that even for getting what one wants in life, one should have the Lord's grace.

 

tyrant (pNn p â 6iogj — Kamsa 'vadham' is an instance of the Lord conferring both the purusha'rtha's on celestials. This He did with just one kick by His Foot.” up& nreiJr‹c

Isamgmfi+mCn g&ñ+wdlmnai”,( Q(yeuniii —6lnn.9-2-2. ). This the Lord did, before Kamsa could even dare to lift his little finger against

 

  — ever glorified by celestials for the Lord's countless acts of kindness.

N — He Who sports mighty Garuda,

hailed as ' 8su                            ',on His flag., symbolic of Lord's supreme quality as the Protector of everything. Even the ancient Tamils in their various poetic works, had repeatedly glorified the flag sporting Garuda as attesting to the Lord, as 'Parama'. ' Coeaei

Stan CiuaN ', ( oJmnnei —1), ' Steer eaoN  meuna

»i;a«»pe<re« ', ( »jxr<a —2j, ' qsr«n« ;fi<jg

 

we  •-=i°=«#8#x6w*i',(u/mc et —3),'dd@gg*ii

61 nN - He who has a long memory.The Lord never forgets the devotee who chants his names in prayer.

n §fJ       ncir - glorify His names. '   eunCeon I n Lynn : - ' They who chant His names achieve long-

lasting fruits'.

ment - desired results. “y                                                                                  mñ N           ñ

LJffJbl6D6Tf   &tD 1 6  &6lJ tLJtD LJ&6IJJ QtD &- IDLE JeffSU.HD

nwf            “ II ' This mantra' will reach to us worldly prosperity,

IOT

 

 

celestial bliss and otherworldly joys, everlasting happiness and the Lord's proximity itself.' Lest one should doubt if a ' prapanna", like Azhwar should propagate the message of 'na'ma japa",etc.it may be clarified, that since that is an integral part of 'prapath marga", and the world is composed of a diverse range of people with varying levels of predisposition, most of whom can at best evolve in slow step-by- step stages. Even the 'Shastra's ' advocate different goals and ways of achieving them, while stressing the truth of the Lord being the Way'

 

and the supreme tGoa1'. So Azhwar says,

amijj;;tii', - It (Lord's name), will facilitate quick realisation of all our desires.