||    Tribute to NammAzhwAr : Thiruviruttham    ||

Sri MadhavakkaNNan is continuing with the blessed kaimkaryam of posting his translations of the individual paaasurams of Thriuvaimozhi . I will provide some additional material dealing with the mood of NammAzhwAr that provides the frame work of AzhwAr's anubhavam of BhagavAn and His consort as SaraNya dampathis and his SaraNAgathi to them .

I will refer to te works of paramapadha vaasis UtthamUr Sri Veeraraghavaacharya Swami , PrathivAdhi Bhayankaram ANNangarAcchArya Swamy and the sUthrams of AchArya Hrudhayam in these postings besides references to relevant Veda manthrams .

Traditonal view holds that the four Sanskritic Vedas correspond to the spirit of the four Prabhandhams of NammAzhwAr (Tamizh MaRais). Thiruviruttham is related to Rg Vedam , ThiruvAsiriyam to Yajur Vedam, Periya ThiruvandhAthi to Atharva vedam and Thiruvaaimozhi to Saama Vedam. There is a common thread that runs across the four Sanskritic Vedams that are mirrored in the four Prabhandhams of NammAzhwAr. We will focus on them without emphasis on tight matching the individual Vedams to their counterpart prabhandhams in these postings. Wherever appropriate, we will quote the Veda Mantrams that would have a close kinship to the spirit of the paasurams of ThirukkuruhUr SatakOpan.

Artha Panchakam : Jn~Ana and ajn~Ana Panchakams
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In an earlier postings during the celebrations for ANDAL , we covered the topic of artha panchakam in the context of the messages in Thiruppaavai paasurams ( Bhakthi Archives ) . We will take off from there and focus on the pentads of jn~Athavya (that which should be known) ajn~Anam and jn~Anam .

NammAzhwAr instructed us that Bhagavadh Vishayam is important and samsAram is unimportant. He wanted us to have the vivEkam (discriminating Knowledge) about the sorrows of samsAram and the blessedness of Bhagavadh anubhavam .

VedAs are described as " traiguNya VishayA vedA : ". ther topics are (1) thyAjyam (2) upAdhEyam and (3) niradhisayAnandham . ThyAjyam deals with items that have to be cast aside , shaken off . upAdhEyam is associated with the acts that make us firmly hold onto the most important entities and principles such as BhagavAn's sacred feet thru mUla Manthram , dhvayam and carama slOkam ( Rahasya thrayams ) as revealed to us by our AzhwArs and AchAryAs . NiradhisayAnandham ( anthamil pErinbam ) is the bliss of Moksham resulting from saraNAgathi with its five angAs that incorporates ThyAjyam , UpAdhEyam and leads to niradisayAnandham .

Five Jn~Athavya ajn~Anams ( Panchakams )
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1. PARASVAROOPA AJ~NAANAM : Forgetting the Lord and His consort through samsAra klEsams ( Bheethis ) as referred to by NammAzhwAr , " maRanthEn unnai munnam " .

2. AATHMA SVAROOPA AJ~NAANAM: " NammAzhwAr's paasura vaakhyams describing this category of ajn~Anam are: " yaanE yennaiaRiyahilAthE ".

3. VIRODHI VISHAYA AJN~AANAM : SatakOpan's
aruLiccheyal vaakyams in this context are :
" Odiya muzhanRum uyirkaLE konREn uNarvilEn "

4. UPAAYA VISHAYA AJN~AANAM: Lack of knowledge about the means is referred to here . PaarAnkusA's blessed words are: " piRavi nOyh aRuppAnENilEnirunthEn " .

5. PURUSHAARTHA VISHAYA AJN~AANAM: Here the reference is to the wrong kind of knowledge that leads one astray and results in not eulogizing the SaraNYan . AzhwAr's anguish is expressed as : " Azhiyankai ammAnai
yEthtAthayartthu " .

The artha pancha ajn~nam results from the rajO and tamO guNAs. GeethAchAryan has elaborated on them in His instructions to ArjunA in the SamsAric battle field of KurukshEthram. The dominance of Satthva guNam leads to Jn~Anam characterized by its pentad.

JN~ATHAVYA JN~AANA PANCHAKAMS
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NammAzhwAr instructs through his prabhandhams , the five branches of Jn~Anam that should be known by the seekers of liberation from the samsAric terrors.

1. PARASVAROOPA JN~AANAM: the abhyAsam ( ways of practice) to recognize Him as being seated in one's heart cavity ( " ninnai nenjil uyyum vahai uNarnthEn " ).

2. AATHMA SVAROOPA JN~AANAM: The development of discriminating knowledge to know the nature of that , which is seated in one's heart cavity as antharyAmi brahmam ( " ninRa onRai uNarnthEnukku " ).

3. VIRODHI VISHAYA JN~AANAM : An understanding of the enemies that stand in the way of aathma svarUpa jn~Anam , the chathrus or VirOdhis and an understanding of them is referred to here . AzhwAr's words are : " ahaRRa nee vaittha maayavallaimpulankaLAmavai nankaRinthanan ". When this knowledge is possessed by the prapannan , then he fully comprehends the nature of the five senses that drag him away from Bhagavadh Vishayam .

4.UPAAYA VISHAYA JN~AANAM : The knowledge of the means to avoid the cycles of births and deaths through the practise of Bhakthi yOgam or Prapatthi yOgam . The prayer for knowledge of the means to avoid rebirth is couched in AzhwAr's moving words: " iruL tarumaa gyAlatthuL inippiRavi vEndAm " .

5. PURUSHAARTHA VISHAYA JN~AANAM : The right knowledge that it is throughb His KrupA that we become blessed and the mahA visvAsam in Him as the never-failing savior is referred to here . AzhwAr's word-clue is : " avanathu aruLAl uRal poruttu yennuNarvinuLLE irutthinEn " .

The predominance of satthva guNa prAchuryam leads to the blessed state of acquisition of Jaathavya panchaka jn~Anam through performing SaraNAgathi under a qualified AchAryA . This way, one gets the katAksham of Madhusoodhanan at the time of birth ( jaayamAna kaala katAksham ) and becomes imbued with Satthva svarUpam and becomes mumukshu .

TWO KINDS OF SAMBHANDHAM
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One is achith sambhandham and the other is NaarAyaNa sambhandham . The former produces haani and danger by invoving us in the afflictions of samsAram . The latter ( NaarAyaNa Sambhandham ) showers us with auspiciousness that are lasting and underlines our unchangable relationship to our Lord ( " ThirumAlE naanumunakku pazhavadiyEN ") and leads to Moksham .

The two categories of people , who overcome the ajn~nams and become enriched with the five kinds of Jn~Anams are: (1) karma khAnda nishtars and (2) BhagavathAs/Thondars . They are called alternatively as anthaNar maRayOrkaL and adiyAr thondarkaL/saara vitthukkaL .

The anthaNar maRayOr is saluted by AzhwAr as , " theeyOmpu kaimmaRayAr , thuNai nool maarvinanthaNar" . The NaarAyaNa paarAyaNAs or the Thiru nAraNan thondars are called Koyilil vaazhum VaishNavan or " aNi aranganThirumuRRatthu adiyAr , Thiru NaaraNan thondar " .

NammAzhwAr describes himself as the Thiru NaaraNan murratthu adiyaar .The thirst for KaNNan ( KrishNa thrushNA ) of SatakOpan is saluted by Parasara Bhattar this way : " rishim jushAmahE KrishNa thrushNatattvamivOdhitham " . Using the Vedic analogy , ParAsara Bhattar compares NammAzhwAr , the Rishi doing yaj~nam as the embodiment of Bhagavadh prEmai in his Sri RangarAja sthavam .

NammAzhwAr and AchArya Hrudhayam
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NammAzhwAr is the VaguLa bhUshaNa bhasakarOdhayam in the words of the AchAryA ,who blessed us with AchArya Hrudhayam . He is the sunrise that dispels ajn~nam and nourishes the artha panchaka jn~Anam in us through his aruLiccheyalkaL . He is our pramAthA . His birth was hinted by SukAchAryA in Bhaagavatham through his never -failing words as a Rishi ( Aarsha pramANam ) . He said that in kali yugam , several NaarAyaNa paarAyaNAL will incarnate onthe banks of TamraparaNee river , KruthamAlA river, Payasvinee river , CauvEry river and MahA nadhi in Dramida dEsam . The birth of NammAzhwAr at ThirukkuruhUr on the banks of Taamraparanee river is alluded to here .

The salutations of AchArya Hrudhaya grantha karthA
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This great pramAthA ( NammAzhwAr ) , who used pramANam ( saasthrAs ) to establish the supremacy of Sriman NaarAyaNA as pramEyam ( the one to be understood as the jagadh kaaraNam ,RakshaNamm and SamhAram ) .

The exact words in AchArya Hrudhayam are: "SataraiOtti mathAvaliptharkku ankusamittu , nadAviya kooRRamAi " ninRavar SatakOPar. These words break into following four subdivisions :

1.SataraiOtti (2) Mathavaliptharkku (3) ankusamittu and (4) nadAviya kUrramAi .

He is SatakOpar , one who angrily drove away the sata vaayu or Satars , who engaged in propagating darsanams of their own , which used sushka tarkams that wont stand up before the parathvam of Sriman naarAyaNA. Therefore , he engaged in the relentless effort to set things straight and drove away kudhrushtis /Satars from propagating ajn~Ana panchakam . This is the meaning of "SataraiOtti " , which SatakOpa stands for .

Mathavaliptharkku and ankusamittu : Being ParAnkusA , he controlled the rampaging elephants running around causing destruction thru their spread of vipareetha Jn~Anam with the use of ankusam (goad ).

nadAviya kooRRamAi : He was the mrthyu ( kooRRam or samhAra mUrthy ) to the samsAric afflictions of chEthanAs , who was in the range of his eye sight or those who read his prabhandhams and declared , " tvadh paadha mUlam saraNam prapadhyE " in recognition of him as the divya PaadhukhA of the Lord .

I will continue with the VislEsham and samslEsham moods of NammAzhwAr in this posting.

SamslEsham and VislEsham as Bhagavad anubhavam
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The prathyaksha tulya maanasAnusandhAnam is samslEsham. This is equivalent to being with the Lord and union with Him as His beloved. When AzhwAr does not get the boon of union with the Lord , he is totally dejected . He cries out in a heart-rending way . This is VislEsham .

In chUrNikai 118, AchArya Hrusdhaya SoothrakArar describes the two moods of AzhwAr and connects them to the feeling state behind them this way :

jn~Anatthil tamm pEcchu , prEmatthil peNN pEcchu

In Jn~Ana dasai , AzhwAr is in full control of himself and speaks as himself ; In prEma dasai (state) , he is totally out of control with the feelings of separation and hopelessness and he assumes the role of a woman deeply in love with the Lord , who has abandoned her .AzhwAr becomes ParAnkusa Naayaki .

In both states ( samslEsham and VislEsham ) , the clear speech associated with samslEsham and the agitated speech linked with vislEsham , the sEshathva prakAsamaana anjali does not change . AzhwAr's hands are folded in anjali mudrA in recogniotion of his relationship to the Lord as a sEshan to the Sarva sEshi . This unchanged bhakthi of AzhwAr is described as : " tERiyum . tERAthum MaayOn tiratthinaLE itthiruvE " .This beautiful girl has the same measure of devotion to her Lord , whether she is composed from the experience of union with Him or agitated during the experience of separation from Him .

For instance ,in the Thiruvaimozhi Pasuram (2.1.10), AzhwAr describes his immense suffering over separation from the Lord this way :

" Oh, my supreme Lord ! Oh the first among all Gods ! Why wont You show me Your bewitching countenance ? My uncontrollable passion for You burns and burns without an end in contrast to the common material , which stop burning , when their fuel source is exhausted. Alas ! here, my soul burns and burns in an unparalleled mannner .This burning process seems to kick my soul outside of my body . What is the rason for submitting me to this level of torture ? Oh Lord of many victories ! Please rush to my (suffering ) side at once and take me in Your comforting arms. I have grown far too exhausted to bear this separation
any more ".

In his prEma dasai , AzhwAr takes on the role of Naayaki and talks like a hurt beloved over the neglect of her Lord. Nayaki is clearly agitated.

In the happy state of union with her Lord , ParAnkusa-Naayaki joyously celebrates her happy mood this way . The paasuram is 2.5.1 of Thiruvaimozhi and has been enjoyed particularly by ALavandhAr and RaamAnuja :

" Oh , What a wonder ! My Lord has come to me now surrounded by all His nithya sUris to keep me in His company . Oh , What a Bliss ! He has out of His infinite compassion come to me , who is totally undeserving of this honor. He seems to say that I too deserve Him . He is indeed sarvEsvaran . Oh , What a beauty ! I am enjoying His bewitching form bedecked with the radiant white conch , the blazingly effulgent chakram ,the shining sacred thread , the rathna haaram , the vanamAlai , the splendid crown . Even the nithya sUris , who are always next to him look more radiant now , perhaps reflecting the great joy of their Lord arising from His union with me. That is how I interpret this unusual radiance of my Lord .He was looking famished prior to union with a passionate one like me . Without the union with me (parama bhakthai), He was withering away . He has now gained a special sparkle .All His abharaNams have become jaajvalyam now . Now I am taking in the beauty of His lotus-soft eyes , soft red lips , lotus-like feet and the whole body of golden complexion . I have now gained a unique and unparalleled joyous experience from this union.

SoorNikai 120 of AchArya Hrudhayam
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This SoorNikai is as follows :

" adiyOm thodarnthu kuRREval , adichciyOmadikkeezhk
kuRREvalAhai avasthAntharam "

The first half of the above sUrNikai is the speech from Jn~anam born out of SamslEsham and is of the form of a masculine speech . The second half is that of a woman , who out of unrequitted love is agitated and speaks in the voice of a disappointed lover . The soothrakAra describes this latter state as avasthAntharam .

EmperumAn's aprAkrutha divya vigraham ( the divine form beyond the elements of nature ) destroyed the masculinity of the AzhwAr and transformed him into an emotionally involved woman (ParAnkusa Naayaki). That aprAkrutha ThirumEni of the Lord has been described as being surrounded by the worshipping nithya sUris and in the center of a flood of effulgence: " kuzhumit thevar kuzhAngaL kai thozhac chOthi veLLatthinuLLE yezhuvathOruru " .The flood of prEmA of NammAzhwAr flowed towards that radiant presence of the Lord just as the ordinary floods hasten towards their home , the ocean . AzhwAr's prEmai flowed both in the maculine and femenine form to the Lord and mingled with it.

Friends , Mother and the Naayaki: their stats of mind
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The samslEsha-VislEsha anubhavams of NammAzhwAr are cast as paasurams sung by the friends of ParAnkusa Naayaki, her concerned mother or by her lamenting self. In sUrNikai 133, the sUtrakAra of Acharya Hrudhayam gives us an explanation of the relative roles of ParAnkusa Naayaki with
her mother and friends :

" sambhandhOpAya palangaLil uNartthi ,
tuNivu pathaRRamAhiRa parajn~AvasthaikaLukkut
thOzhi , thAyAr , mahaL yenru pEr "

Reason for the paasurams thru the mouth of ThOzhi
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The ThOzhi is the one , who intercedes and unites the nAyakan and nAyaki (the ParamAthmA and the jeevAthmA). In Thirumanthiram (mUla manthram) , praNavam denoting ananyArha sEshathvAdhi sambhandha jn~Anam is the reason (hEthu) for the union and that prajn~Avasthai came forth as the paasurams uttered by the mouth of the ThOzhi .

Reason for the paasurams of the Mother
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The prajn~AvasthA in response to the flight of the daughter due to her (daughter's) firm belief in upAyam to abandon her mother's home to travel to her nAyakan's home is the basis of the mother's paasurams . The thuNivu ( determination ) of her little daughter to run away leaving the comfort of the hearth and home to an uncertain future with some one she(mother ) does not yet trust pains her. The nAyaka prAvaNyam , which makes her daughter run away instead of patiently waiting for Him to show up upsets the mother and she tries to calm down the agitation of the love-lorn daughter . She reminds the daughter of kula maryAdhai. She reminds the daughter that in the SiddhOpAyam of union with the Lord , calmnes is needed and presses on upAyathAvasAyam as an essential ingredient . That prajn~AvasthA (state of consciousness) of the mothercomes out as her paasurams restraining her daughter in a state of concern and affection. The Nama: padham of mUla manthram takes on the role of the Mother just as the PraNavam took on the role of ThOzhi .

The Naayaki's paasurams and NArAyaNa padham
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The daughter ( naayaki ) does not worry too much about what others might say ( kula maryAdhai ) in her state of immense agitation over the union with her Lord . Her dvarai ( impatience and hurry ) to unite with her lord and enjoy his anantha kalyANa guNAs ( vailakshaNyam ) drives her and in that prajn~AvasthA , she can not hold on to her life any more. The prApya dvarai of the nAyaki pours out as her paasurams . She places these paasurams at the lotus feet of her Lord and begs for His grace to bless her with His union . He is NaarAyaNan ( the last or charama sabdham of mUla Manthram ) and he is the one qulaified by praNava (sEshithva svarUpam ) and nama: sabdham (saraNyathva svarUpam) . He is the Onewith the svarUpa , guNa vibhUthis (attributes ) implied by NaarAyaNa sabdham . Like an arrow leaving the bow , nAyaki hastens towards the target of Sriman NaarAYaNan with her paasurams .

AdiyEn ParAnkusa Daasan ,
Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri SadagOpan

P.S: I will come back to the Thiruviruttham paasurams of NammAzhwAr after a special kaimkaryam to Sri RanganAthA . The RathnAngi for Sri Ponnappan , the MaaNickka Kondai/Maragatha KiLi/golden jata kothsu kaimkaryam for Sri Bhumi Devi and the Mutthangis for the uthsavar divya dampathis of Oppilaippan KOil celebrated by NammAzhwAr's saraNAgathi has now been completed with your particpation .I have no more requests to make to you on behalf of Kaimkaryam for Sri Oppiliappan .

My only prayer is that you all be blessed with the darsanam of the aprAkrutha divya vigraham of the SaraNya dampathis at Oppiliappan Koil. Please stay at my home in the Sannadhi street of Oppilaippan Koil during your visits. The name of my home is " SatakOpa Bhavanam ".

I have got only ONE kiamkaryam that I want to get involved in my life for a very special and sacred reason . That is the Kaimkaryam of realizing the construction of the Temple for Sri RanganAthA and Sri RanganAyaki at Pomona , New York . Sri Anand wrote recently about his unique and moving anubhavam of BhUmi pUjA for the construction of that special temple modeled in every way after the holy temple in Srirangam.

A great Bhaagavatha , Dr.Venkat Kanumalla has lived every moment of his life to realize that dream come true . A group of Sri RanganAtha PrEmis have contributed time and money to bring the kaimkaryam to the half way mark . The prANa prathishtai for the vigrahams have been done by parama padavaasi , His Holiness , the 44th Jeeyar of AhObila Mutt.

The murthys of Srirangam ( periya PerumAL ) is the kula dhanam for every one of us . AzhwArs have poured out their hearts over the mahimai of Sri Ranganathan . Our AchAryAs have rooted themselves in Srirangam to be near Him and serve Him and His divine consort . The saraNAgathi Gadhyam was born there . Many miracles have happened to keep our sampradhAyam alive .

I plan to write a series of articles in the Bhakthi list about the greatness of Srirangam and the SaraNya dampathis there .

Although we have many kaimkaryams to support , this particular one is very special and immediate one . Dr.Venkat Kanumalla will describe the status of the Kaimkaryam and seek your most valued help .

Please , Please help to the best of your ability . Sri RanganAthA's blessing will always be with you and your family . I will post a similar appeal in SaraNAgathi jouranl so that additional bhakthAs could be made aware of the urgent need for their support to this unique and special temple under construction for the Sesha sAyee on the banks of the Hudson river in New York .

DaasOham , Sadagopan

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