||    Sri KulasekarA's Birthday , Iswara Samvathsaram    ||

It gives me great pleasure to join on this sacred day of Sri Kulasekara AzhwAr's birth ( Maasi Punarvasu ) to pay my tribute to the great Saint-King from KeralA-Paandya desam . This is also the day in which Sri RanganAtha Swamy Temple foundation stone is being laid at Pomona , NY following the divine blessings of Sri Maha Lakshmi and the 44th Jeeeyar , His Holiness Sri Vedantha Desika MahA Desikan, the builder of the Southern Gopuram of Sri Ranganathan . May this effort thrive and May the object of Sri Kukasekara AzhwAr's deep desire come to reside here on the Banks of Hudson river in New York and bless us all for times to come.

A Tribute to Sri Kulasekhara
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Srimans MadhavakkaNNan and MuraLi Rangaswamy have paid wonderful tributes already this morning. I will follow from there and focus on the deep and profound statements of MahA Viswasam ofKulasekharA enshrined in his salutations and prayer to Sri VitthuvakkOttu AmmAn of MalayALa divya desam ( PerumAL Thirumozhi : 5th decad )

The Divya Desam of VitthuvakkOdu
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The name VitthuvakkOdu comes from the joining of two words : VidhwAns + Kodu or koodiya Idam ( the place of assembly ).

Vedic Scholars , Experts in Kaavyam , Naatakam , Alankaara Saasthram , Tarkam , MeemAmsam and Yogam used to assemble here as residents and gave the name of VitthuvakkOdu to this thiruppathi . They were very respectful of each other and developed deep friendship (Mithra BhAvam). Hence , this Thiruppathi is also known as MitthirakkOdu , the place of assembly of friends .

Location of VitthuvakkOdu
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This Kshethram is at a distance of 10 miles from ShoranUr on the GuruvAyUr-ShoranUr road. It is on the bank of BharathappuZhA river and can be reached from PattAmbhi train station. The garbha graham is semi-circular similar to the traditional ones of KeraLa divya desams.

The method of worship is neither VaikAnasam or Paancha Raathram , but Taantric . There is no chatAri usage . Only Sandal Paste and Tulasi leaves are given as PrasAdam . Potti ( pOtthi ) Brahmins perform Abhigamanam with wet cloth and continue with the daily aarAdhanams devoutly as in the case of GuruvAyUr . There is a temple for the grandson of the Lord ( Lord SivA ) infront of this temple .

The ArchA Moorthys of VitthubvakkOdu
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The Lord's name at this Thiruppathi is Uyya Vantha PerumAl. ThAyAr's name is Thiru VitthuvakkOttu Valli. The name for the Lord is intriguing. Instead of Uyya Vaikka Vantha PerumAL , He is called Uyya Vantha PerumAL or the Lord , who came to be redeemed . Perhaps, he acknowledges the moving SaraNAgathi paasurams of His dear
BhakthA , who deservedly earned the suffix of PerumAL after his name of KulasekharA . Our predecessors have rightfully stated: " PerumALai aRiyAthAr PerumALai aRiyAthArE ". The meaning of this statement is: "One who does not understand the Paasurams of KulasekHara PerumAL would not know about PerumAL ( Sri RamachandrA ) , who performed AarAdhanam to Periya PerumAL , Sri RanganaathA , during His avathAram as the son of DasarathA . Perhaps Sriman NaarAyaNa who is Bhaktha Paaratantryan felt that he should take this name as one who came to be redeemed in the spirit of VaishNava Nampi of Thirukkurungudi , who came to attend KalakshEpams of Sri RaamAnuja on the banks of TamraparaNee river .

The Greatness of KulasEkharA
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Our AzhwAr is considered as the amsam of the Kausthubham gem adorning the chest of Sriman NaarAyaNan . KulasekhaRA was a king of Kolli Naadu in those days , when there was the joint kingdom of Keralaa and Paandya desam . He was born under the star of Punarvasu , the same one under which Sri RamachandrA was born as KausalyA suprajA . Like Chakravarthi Thirumahan , he gave up his kingdom too for dhArmic reasons .He wanted toemulate Ilaya PerumAl and wanted to serve always the Lord ( Bhagavad Seshathvam ). Like BharathA , he wanted to have Paarathanthryam and wanted to perform PaadhukhA PattAbhishEkam . Like SatrugnA, KulasekharA stood for Bhagaavtha Seshathvam celebrated in the Thiruvaimozhi Paasurams of decad 3.7 summarized recently by Sri MadhavakkaNNan. SatrugnA is known as Nithya Satrugnan : The Forever foe of anything that stood in his way to serve BhagavathAls like Bharathan , his brother . In a similar spirit , KulasEkarA defended BhagavathALs in his court , when they were falsely accused of stealing the AabharaNams of his AarAdhana Moorthy . KulasekharA put his hand into a pot containing Cobras to attest to the purity of BhagavathALs and won . Such is the greatness of KulasekharA , who dreamed and sung daily about his pilgrimage to Srirangam so that he can be near to Sri RanganAthA .

Our PurushArtham is Bhagavadh Kaimkaryam. That is Mudal kOdu (the first step). The kadaisi kOdu (the last step) is CharamAvathi Bhagavatha Kaimkaryam of the kind celebrated by NammAzhwAr in Thiruvaimozhi 3.7.10:

"--adiyAr adiyAr tammadiyAr tamakku
adiyAr adiyAr tammadiyAr adiyOngaLE "

(Meaning): " Myself and mine are servants to the servants of the servants of the servants of the servants of the servants of the servants of this lovable Lord "

He declared: " Inbamarum selvamum ivvarasum yaan vEndEn " and spent his days in Bhagavadh/Bhagavadha KAIMKARYAM . He followed the traditional SaraNAgathi maargam established by the Divya Dampathis and spent his last days at Srirangam and ascended to Parama padam from there.

In his VitthuvakkOttu paasurams , he expressed his understanding and practise of the profound meaning of PraNavam with particular emphasis on the letter " U" in the combination of the triad , A,U and M . The Letter "U " stands for AnanyArha Seshathvam asserting that the Jeevan is Seshan to the Lord and the Lord alone . AzhwAr's MahA Visvaasam andaathma SamarpaNam in the true spirit of SaraNAgathi is etched in these verses .

The ten passurams of AzhwAr are moving statements about his Aakinchanyam and MahA VisvAsam . Swami DEsikan captured the mood of the mind of KulasEkharA in his SaranAgathi Granthams like Nyaasa Dasakam , SaraNAgathi Deepikai as well as in Daya Sathakam slOkams . The whole decad is a " VisvAsa PrArthanA pUrvam Aathma RakshA bharam " in the spirit of Swami Desikan's second slokam of Nyaasa Dasakam :

nyasyAmi Akinchana: Sriman anukUlOnyavarjitha: I
visvAsa PrArthanA pUrvam Aathma RakshAbharam tvayi II

First Paasuram : Mother and Crying Child
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Here he described his helpless state to that of an infant , which has been discarded by its mother in anger and disgust because of the screams and tantrums of the wimpering infant . The infant is totally helpless to take care of itself and awaits the mercy of the mother to releive its misery .Azhwar states that his condition is exactly like that infant . He says , "Unn SaraNallAl SaraNillai " . He states further that all of his accumulated samsaaric ills are causing him indescribable pain and they can not be eliminated by anyone except the Lord. He is screaming in anguish to get the Lord's attention and that the Lord like the mother ignoring the infant does not pay attention to him and move in his direction to help him . AzhwAr declares with conviction that inspite of the Lord's lack of initiative to help him , he will not seek help from anyone else .He says : " I will stay forever in the belief that your Lotus feet are my sole refuge and will hold on to them , even if you kick me away .I will wait for your anger to subside and meanwhile hold on to your sacred feet firmly until the dawn of Your DayA ".

Oh DayA mUrhty ! Oh my Lord ! There are a lot of bad sons ( evil PuthrAs : Kuputhra :) , but nobody ever heard of evil mothers (KumAthA). Even with a bad son , a mother shows affection and comes to his rescue. If ordinary mothers behave in this predictable fashion and are compassionate towards their ill-behaving sons , I can not see how Yourself , the jaganmAthA can ignore me ( Your son ) and my sufferings? Hence I am convinced that you will not abandon me .

The description of the Lord of VitthuvakkOdu as the Mother of the Universe by KulasEkharA reminds one of Swami Desikan's prayer to the Lord of ThiruvEnkatam in Daya sathakam :Maatha: DayE ! mE mana : tvAm prasAdhayithum icchathi " . He says : " Oh DayA dEvi! my mind wants to gladden Your heart . You are afterall my Mother.As Your dear child , I want to make You happy by presenting You with nourishing victuals to please You . I look around to see what I have gotin my collection to give You .I see that I have only one item in plenty in my possession (i-e., ) the bundles of my accumulated sins . I conclude that they will serve as food for You and perform prapatthi at Your sacred feet and offer my paapa raasis as the naivEdhyam . With mahA visvAsam in You and your power to wipe out my sorrows ( taru thuyaram tadAyEl unn saraNallAl saraNillai ) , I offer these bundles of sins to You as food. What do You do ? In one second , you swallow them and stand there famished suggesting that what I offered is not enough for You to appease Your hunger . Oh DayA svarUpi ! please take the role of my Mother and do not be angry at me and enfold me in Your hands in affectionate embrace and feed me the milk of Jn~anam and thus protect me . There is no one else for me as refuge. I wish tosurrender my soul at Your sacred feet . Such thoughts are echoed by Swami Desikan in the following DayA Sathaka SlOkam:

Outhsukhya pUrvamupahruthya mahAparAdhAn
maatha: prasAdhayithum icchathi mE manastvAm I
aalihyathAn niravasEshamalabhdha trupthi:
tAmyasyahO Vruhshagireesa dhruthA DhayE tvAm II

Second Paasuram :Pathivrathi& ill-behaving Consort
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Here , AzhwAr compares himself to " KondAnai
allAl aRiyA kula mahaL " and concludes that
" un kurai kazhalE kURuvanE " .

Oh VitthuvakkOttammA ! I am Your bonded servant . If You do not come to my rescue , others will laugh at You as a negligent Master. They will laugh at me as well and point out that I am the foolish girl , who puts too much belief in Your action to protect me and I am going to be surely disappointed . Whatever these people of the village say , I will have enduring visvAsam in Your public statement , " MaamEkam SaraNam vraja" and will wait for you to take the first step towards me. My state is similar to a Chaste woman , whose husband engages in despicable acts . Even if the neighbors laugh at her for her "stupidity " to be faithful to him , she will continue to wish for his KshEmam and will perform without let kaimkaryam to him . My status is similar to that pathivrathai . Even if you declare that You will not protect me , I will hold onto Your lotus feet adorned with the silampu denoting You as a mahA Veeran ; I will not let go off your protective feet . I want to remind you that Our relationship is not dissolvable .

Third Paasuram : Aggreived Citizen& Irresponsible King
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In this paasuram , AzhwAr compares his state of Ananya SaraNAgathithvam by invoking the example of a negligent and derelict king , who does not come to the rescue of the suffering citizens. That king wears the scepter and crown for the express purpose of protecting his subjects. That is his kshathriya dharmam . Even when he fails to discharge his avowed duties , the people have no other recourse except to expect him to protect them . My status is similar to that. Even if You wont cast Your benovolent glances in my direction and take note of my suffering , I will stay at Your feet reminding You of Your dharmam as SaraNAgatha Rakshakan and will wait in my helpless state without seeking relief from anyone else . Like the fish in the ocean , Who know that they have no other place to go even if the waters of the Ocean dry up , Oh Lord of VitthuvakkOdu surrounded by the rich and wet fields of paddy , I will stay with mahA visvAsam in You as my protector. I will not look to powerless demi-Gods , who pretend to offer protection and finally reveal their helplessness . I will firmly place my faith in You and You alone as my protector and rest my case for Aathma RakshaNam at your sacrd feet .AzhwAr states here: " unn paRRallAl PaRRilEn " .

Fourth Paasuram : The ill patient and the Surgeon
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Here AzhwAr compares his relationship with the Lord as one between a sick patient needing help and the Doctor, who could cure the illnes with surgery . The patient has cancer and the surgeon has to perform an operation to cut the flesh and remove the cancerous growth. The patient is going to suffer immensely from the pain of surgery. Once the operation takes place and the patient is cured of his long sickness, he is utterly grateful to the surgeon for saving his life. AzhwAr says that his status is like the trusting patient , who casts the burden of protection to the mAyAvi surgeon , the Lord ,and bears with all the intermediate sufferings during the period of surgery . He says that he will comprehend the pain as activities on the part of the Lord to save him and will wait to be cured and offer his thankfulness later to the Lord for His mahOpakAram .He says that he will wait for the dayA of the Lord to perform the surgery and cure him of the fearsome cancer of SamsAram .

Fifth Paasuram : The tired albatros bird and the Ship
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In this paasuram , he describes his helpness with a soul-stirring cry : Where will I go ? What will I do ? He compares himself to a sea bird , which was sitting on the mighty tall mast of a ship in the middle of the ocean . The big bird thought it was strong enough and decided to leave the safety of the towering mast and discover the land to rest. It flew for hours and hours away from the ship in search of comforting land to rest. The bird did not sight the land and was mighty tired . It recognized how foolish it was to abandon the safety of the ship's mast and to venture forth on its own to cross the ocean . It returns chastised and sits on the mast to complete safely its journey to the other side of the ocean. AzhwAr compares his status to this bird , which cast safety to winds and was going to endanger its life . He says in this context: " Oh Lord who destroyed the royal elephant of Kamsa that came rushing to you in anger with blood-shot eyes ! Where can I go for refuge forgetting your strong pair of feet ? Is it possible to forget them and look for safety anywhere else ? Please tell me ." Yengu POyhEn ? Unn iNai adiyE adayallAl , yengu pOyhEn ? " .

As a vivEki , I have evaluated Your power and that of other Gods and comprehend very well that You alone have the power to bless me with the fruits of Moksham . I used to be like the restless sea bird , which left the safety of the mast and wandered here and there . I have now fully understood that Your sakthi and grace have no match in all the worlds . I am therefore desirous of performing nithya Kaimkaryam to You. I wish to place my AathmA at Your sacred feet . Swami Desikan echoed the thoughts of AzhwAr in an AshtabhujAshtaka Slokam this way :

sakthim saraNyAnthara sabdha bhAjAm
sAram cha samthOlya palAntharANAm I
tvadh dAsya hEtho: tvayi nirvisangam
nyasthAthmaNAm nAtha Bibharshi Bhaaram II

KulasEkhara perumAL ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam
Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri Sadagopan

Sixth Paasuram:The Lotus Flower & the Sun
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In this paasuram , AzhwAr compares his relationship to the Lord as similar to the one between the red lotus and the Suryan that makes it blossom in the morning . The lotus flower can only react to the rays of the Sun to blossom . If one brings a red hot ember and brings it close to the closed lotus flower , it wont respond . When the mighty Sun is there , the lotus does not seek the help of the puny warmth of the tiny flame from the red hot ember . Azhwar states in the context that he will not seek the help of chillarai daivams , when the Lord of VitthuvakkOdu is standing there fully eager as Visva paripAlanan and Jagath Rakshakan to come to his rescue . Swami Desikan echos the sentiment of KulasekharA in his dilaog with Lord VaradarAjA of Kanchipuram :

kim vaa kareesa mayi rakshaNeeyE
dharmAdhi bAhya sahakAri gavashaNEna I
nanvasthi visvaparipAlana jAgarUka:
sankalpa yeva bhavathO nipuNa:sahAya: II

Seventh Paasuram: The Crops and the rain clouds
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AzhwAr compares himself to the crops (paimkoozhkaL), that wait pateiently for the nourishing rain-bearing clouds (maitthezhundha Maamuhil) . He says that he will longingly wait for the shower of grace of the Lord and think of him with great affection ( chittam miha unn paal vaippEn adiyEnE ) .

In a Daya sathaka slOkam , Swami Desikan evokes the mood of the crops , which are waiting to be nourished by the life-giving down pour of Daya Devi , who incorporates the auspicious kalyANa guNAs--Vaatsalyam , Souseelyam , Soulabhyam and aasrtitha rakshaNam -- of ThiruvenkatamudayAn . Daya Devi soaks the suffering people with her cool and nourishing showers in a timely manner and protects the bhakthAs as visualized by Swami Desikan:

sAram labdhvA kamapi mahatha: SrinivAsAmbhurAsE :
kAlE kAlE ghana rasavathee KaaLikEvAnukampE I
vyakthOnmEshA mrugapathi girou visvamApyAyanthee
seelOpagyam ksharathi bhavathee seethaLam sadhguNaougam II

SrinivAsa AmbhurAsi (the vast Ocean named SrinivAsA) is the source of the power of the life-giving down pour of rains originating from the dark Cloud of DayA Devi that cool the world (visvam aapyAyanthee) and creates the invigorating seasonal floods made up of the streams of the auspicious attributes of the Lord of seven hills (kaalE kaalE seela upagyam, seethaLam sadh guNa Ogam ksharathi). VitthuvakkOttu AmmAn is the same as " SrinivAsa dayAmbhOdhi pareevAha ParamparA ".

Eighth Paasuram : Flow of the river of Daya
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Fascinated by the thought of the cool rains joining together into small streams and then becoming a mighty river that vends its way to the vast ocean , AzhwAr revels over the thought of the auspicious guNAs of the Lord rescuing him from the heat of SamsAram . He says : "VitthuvakkOttammA ! unn pukkilangu
seer allAl pukkhilan kANN" . The waters that descended from the rainy season clouds fall on the hill , form tributaries , blend together down stream and head towards the Ocean , the very source of that rain carried by the clouds . Whichever turn and twist the rivers take, they end up finally in the ocean and nowhere else . AzhwAr points out that a similar situation exists for him . Like the flowing rivers heading to the source , the Sea , Azhwar says that the KalyANa guNAs of the Lord flow in His mind and end up travelling to the Lord without any distraction or deviation .

The seventh and the eighth paasurams realte to the subject of the nourishing rain ( The Lord's DayA )that reaches us thru AchAryAs . AchAryAs in their infinite compassion for us absorb the essence of BhagavAn's dayA ( Saaram LabdhvA ). EmperumAn is the vast assembly of water (Ocean ) ; NammAzhwAr is the cloud , which drank deep and held the water of DayA from that ocean. He showered those waters on the mountain known as Naatha Muni and generated the bhakthi pareevAham (floods of Bhakthi). Those floods broke up into two streams named uyyakkondAr and MaNakkAl nampi. Those two streams merged with the river named ALavanthAr. That river entered the lotus pond known as RaamAnujA. The waters of that never-drying pond flow into the fields and nourish them to maintain life . Sri Rama DesikAchAr visualizes the tradition nurtured by NammAzhwAr , KulasEkharar and through them to the present day AchAryAs , when he comments on the meaning of " Saaram LabdhvA ". This is the same" SrinivAsa DayAmbhodhi pareevAha paramparA " that KulasEkharA invoked both at VitthuvakkOdu and on top of the seven hills.

Ninth Paasuram : Abject surrender at the Lord's sacred feet
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Here AzhwAr declares that He will continue to think of the Lord ceaselessly , even if the Lord in His sport as MaayAvi discards him . He says : Oh Lord adorning the Sudarsanam shining like a bolt of lightning in Your hand! Through Your MayA , I will ask for the strength to discard the temptations of material wealth and seek You instead as my permanent wealth . Some times Your MayA will tempt me to think about perishable wealth . I am determined with Your grace to escape that temptation and seek You and You alone as the central goal and purpose of my life ".

In eight of his Paasurams on the Lord of this divya Desam , AzhwAr addresses the Lord as "AmmA , VitthuvakkOttu AmmA " . The reason perhaps is that he visualized the incomparable karuNA ( DayA ) of the Lord as a piraatti named DayA Devi . He stood at the feet of the Daya Devi of "Uyya Vantha PerumAL " of VitthuvakkOdu and inspired later Swami Desikan to invoke the blessings of the DayA Devi of the Lord of Seven Hills . One can hear the resounding echos of Swami Desikan's appeals to the Daya Devi of Lord SrinivAsA in the following passages of the magnificient prayers housed in DayA Sathakam :

** svayam na: nijAbhiprEtham pradhiSasi

** jagat dhrushtyA hithamithi klupthai:
akluptha palAntharai: amathi vihithai:
yadhrucchayA dharmAyithai: anyaisccha

** tvayA yeva tvayi nyastha svarakshaNa
bharam maam tvAm nAthE nivEsaya

These statements of Swami Desikan tie in with the ananyArha SaraNAgathi ( NinnayE taan vEndi ) of KulasEkharA in his VithuvakkOdu Paasurams .

The essence of AzhwAr's upadEsam is that those who understand the linitless power of the DayA of the Lord and perform Prapatthi to Him with MahA VisvAsam in Him as the one and only protector will not fall into Narakam , but will end up in Sri Vaikuntam as a result of MokshAnugraham granted by the Lord .

Tenth Pala Sruthi Paasuram
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Here , the AzhwAr reminds once again the Lord of VitthuvakkOdu that he will cling to His sacred feet even if He (the Lord) tries to extricate Himself from his hold (nee vEndAyEyAdinum maRRArum paRRilEn). He tells us that those , who recite these ten verses dealing with his SaraNAgathi to the Lord at this divya desam will never ever land in narakam ( NaRRamizh patthum vallAR naNNAr narakamE ) .

May we travel in the path laid out for us clearly by KulasEkhara AzhwAr and the AchAryAsthat followed him ! namO nArAyaNA !

KulasEkhara PerumAL thiruvadigaLE SaraNam
Oppiliappan koil VaradAchAri Sadagopan
 

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