|
|||||||
|
|
|
|||||
|
|
|||||||
|
|||||||
|
|
|
|||||
|
|
|||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dear bhagavathas,
Sri.Madhavakannan of Singapore is doing a great kaimkaryam of translating the divya prabandham in a simple English providing the basic meaning of the pasurams.His write ups are concise yet filled with great anubavams. His translations are strictly as per our sampradayam and adiyen has benefitted a lot from his wonderful translations.So far he has completed Thiruvaymozhi and Peria Thirumozhi and few thiruvandhadhis. adiyen is sure that he will continue to enlighten us with the balance prabandhams in the coming days.
Sri.Madhavakannan used to present meanings for every ten pasurams in one posting. Most of you aware that all such postings are being archeived in Sri.Mani's Srivaishnavam page and also in bhakti list egroups site. But since the postings are scattered spanning over a period of two years it may be bit difficult to browse and read them. adiyen is attempting to compile them for the benefit of bhagavathas who can read the entire Peria thirumozhi in say 11 documents.Hope this will be of use to you.
Now over to Sri.Madhavakannan and adiyen won't interfere with him and Thirumangai azhvar,hereafter.
Dasan venkat
Sri:
Dearest Sisters and Brothers, Happy makara sankaranthi! Happy Pongal!
I pray to Divya Damapthis for Their blessings and AchAryAs and ThirumangaiAzhwAr for Their anugraham for my yet another rash, brazen attempt to enter into tranlsation kaimkaryam. Please forgive me for my errors and mistakes. Anything good in it, I am not to be "blamed"; All Emperumaan's grace and AzhwAr's and AchAryan anugraham. All mistakes, blunders are mine; Please pat (slap) my back for that.
ThirumangaiAzhwAr's Periya Thirumozhi is what we are going to enjoy next. All of you know well about this Great AzhwAr, and he needs no introduction. However, for novices like me, just a quick account of his biography:
In his early days, as a king, our Lord Narayana was far from AzhwAr's
thoughts. His spiritual journey started with a commitment he made
to his sweetheart Kumudhavalli in exchange for her hand in marriage.
While most women may have asked for her suitor's everlasting love, or a
diamond ring, or a golden bangle, all our gentle lady Kumudhavalli sought
from AzhwAr was that he must wear the marks of Sri Vaishnava and serve
food (amudhu) for 1,000 Vaishnavaas everyday for a period of one
year. This service, initiated as a price for carnal pleasure,
turned into a labour of divine love towards the devotees of our Lord Narayana.
Years rolled by. AzhwAr spent all his wealth in the service of Vaishnavas.
With his coffers empty, AzhwAr could not continue the service. He
could not bear the thought of having to turn away the Vasihnavas who by
then were accustomed to blessing his abode with their presence.
The feeling of despair turned to anger at the sight of the greedy idle rich strolling around with all their gaudy and ostentatious jewels and showing contempt for the simple and devout Vasihnavas. This was enough to drive our Great AzhwAr to actions. But it was not just fame that was in store for our AzhwAr.
Our Lord Sriya: Pathih Sriman Narayana decided to intervene and turn AzhwAr away from the ways of the sword. He and His consort, our divine mother Sri, appeared before him as a newly wed couple bedecked with priceless ornaments. AzhwAr, who hid himself at ThirumaNankollai, stopped the couple and forcibly relieved them of all the jewellery.
But, there was one piece on our Lord's toe that wouldn't come off however
much AzhwAr tried. In frustration AzhwAr
put his head on the lotus feet of our Lord (!) with the intention of
biting the ring off. He asked the Lord as to what is the magic manthra
for removing? (The Lord must have mis understood that AzhwAr enquires regarding
samsaara bond!) and that sort of SaraNagathy did work! at that moment AzhwAr
was drawn in by the beauty of the lotus feet and realized
the true nature of the couple standing in front of him. The Lord
then instructed the esoteric meaning of the "magic manthra" i.e
"Thirumandhiram" or Ashtaaksharam for the Most Blessed AzhwAr, to get
initiated by the Lord Himself, with Their "thadutthaaTkoLLal".
Thus AzhwAr learnt of the efficacy of the divine name "Narayana" from our Lord Narayana Himself!
He immediately burst out to sing the poem "Periya Thirumozhi" (Great divine poem) consisting of 1,084 verses. The first ten of these verses are dedicated to the name "Narayana." These first 10 emotional verses give aid and comfort to people.
AzhwAr comes down hard on himself with intense self criticism for the
violence he had caused,though for a good cause, for having sought fleeting
worldly pleasures, for having squandered his days on mundane pursuits.
He ends each of
these ten verses with a celebration of the divine name Narayana, for
after finding this sweet name, AzhwAr declares, he was free from all the
sins and assured of the everlasting bliss at the lotus feet of our sweet
Lord Narayana (Biography passage -stole- from Sri Dileepan's
post in Dec 95- in bhakti list - Thanks, Dileepan!)
His compositions were :
1. Periya thirumozhi
2. Periya thirumadal
3. SiRiya thirumadal
4. Thiru nedunthANdakam (TNT)
5. Thiru KurunthANdakam(TKT)
6.Thiru vezhuk kurrirukkai.
His pAsurams are marvellous; excellent and have unsurpassed beauty in them. ParAsara Bhattar made use of his TNT to win over his counter part, an advaitin scholar in his arguments and later the advaitin became his disciple 'nam jeeyar'.
Sri RanganAtha himself heard and was greatly pleased with that argument re-enacted from Bhattar quoting from TNT (Please read excellent posts of Sri V. SadagOpan on TNT and TKT duringFeb 96 from Bhakti Archives - a real feast to each one of you).
Thirumangai AzhwAr (a KING, a person who had all kingly royal comforts) walked all the way and VISITED almost all temples. He is simply GREAT, my dearest brothers and sisters. He is JUST S U P E R B AzhwAr. His wordings are his outpourings straight from his heart.
It is told and declared by Tamil Poets of all kinds that His paasurams contain ezhutthu (writing), sol,(words) poruL, (meanings), yaappu (Grammar), aNi (figure of sppech?) etc.. His songs are so great and so nice to recite! It is simple and quite lucid too for reciters and those who know even little Tamil, can understand the lovely emotional outbursts of AzhwAr and his bhakti.
His paasurams depict mainly the archaavathaarams of Divya dEsams, and when He enjoys Them with the descrition of Divya Desams, they simply immerse us in unbounded limitless bliss and pErAnandham.
Thai AzhwAr, when Kumudavalli had asked him to become a Srivaishnava, got his pancha samskaaram done by ThirunaRaiyoor Nambhi. He got his Thiru ManthrOpadEsam from Sri SowrirAja PerumAL; AzhwAr praises These Lords individually with 100 pAsurams! Nambhi naamam sollil NamO NaaraayaNamE".
This AzhwAr had Great regards for NammAzhwAr. He appealed and requested Sri Ranganathan for lsitening to Thiruvaaymozhi from Kaarthigai sukla Ekadasi and now all Sri vaishnava Divya Desams celebrate this uthasavam of reciting Thiruvaaymozhi.
The essence of Periya Thirumozhi is: The worldly life is sorrowful;
It can be cured only by the grace of Sriman Narayanan; Hence, get saved
by paying obeisance to Him at His Divya Desams (106 Thiruppathis on this
Earth). AzhwAr visited almost about 80 Thiruppathis, all on foot; He sang
1253 passurams, next only to NammAzhwAr; (but NammAzhwAr never went
to any Divya Desams; The Lords came to Him!)… Thirumangai AzhwAr padi
padi paraparappaay Thirndhaar…He declares: If one surrenders to Sriman
Narayanan, "enRum vinaiyaagina saaragilaavE"… (Never will sins accrue to
your account!)..
This prabhandham should be read, re-read, re-re read and enjoyed! So
nice are they… Last Kaarthigai Kritthigai nakshathram (during AzhwAr Thirunakshathram)
as instructed by our KaNNan Swami, I could recite Periya Thirumozhi for
ten days preceding his Thirunakshathram and completed on his birthday.
It was a great feeling of having read his lovely Periya Thirumozhi. Dearest
Sisters and Brothers, my attempting to write these translation is: 1. Those
who do not know Tamil, can get to know the meanings, and enjoy. 2. Those
who wish to know the meanings (though we all know Tamil, it is still difficult
to understand the
meanings) and 3. Being a self-centred person, I myself would like to
enjoy them, by reading the pAsurams and writing these translations.
May I request for all your aseervaathams and wishes for such a rash attempt? (Fools rush in where angels fear to tread).
Thirumangai AzhwAr ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam
"thunjum bOdhu azhaimin.. thuyar varil ninaimin… thuyarileer sollinum nanRaam… (While you sleep, call… or when you feel depressed and sorrowful… call… or no worries.. no problems.. stilll it is so sweet to utter…. Call "Narayana Narayana" says "Thirumangai AzhwAr)
1. I am repenting with tears; I am weltering; Being born into this life of terrible sorrows; I have gone behind the young women running after sensual pleasures from them; (But) due to the grace of our Lord Sriman Narayanan, I have (been blessed to have ) realised the Goal that can save me and yield me the Greatest blissful and eternal happiness; (Without my knowledge even, He had made me) searching for this stage, and NOW I have found the eternal happiness- in the Divine name "Narayanaa". (Not even in Him; in His name- I have found the eternal happiness- because AzhwAr saw Him and PiraaTTi first; But only after hearing His name from the Lord, did AzhwAr find the happiness! Hence, the name is grander than the Lord- Utter NamO Narayana! NamO Narayana!)
2. I, the mahA paavi (sinner), who had run amuck after only carnal desires
calling and blabbering "Oh my dear! My life! My nectar!", spent and wasted
all days and my precious life with thoughts of breasts of women; Such a
paavi- I, have now been blessed to utter with my tongue the Divine name
of Narayana and get saved by paying my obeisance to the most fertile and
beautiful Thirukkudanthai (where swan mates with its spouse in lovely ponds-
AzhwAr implies PiraaTTi’s inseparable state
(nithyaanapaayinI) with the Lord of Thirukkudanthai) . (Naicchiyam
of this AzhwAr is simply excellent and great! If this greatest AzhwAr had
so much of naicchiyam- humility and kaarpaNyam- I just can’t imagine how
on earth we should be weeping and crying for what we are; were and will
be!- kruthaan, kriyamaaNaan, karishyamaaNaa cha sarvam kshamsva!)
3. In spite of desiring for doing good deeds only, I still performed
only bad and wrong deeds (sins); sought women for sensual pleasures; such
days have gone utter waste – and I am thinking of such useless days similar
to the dumb person’s thinking about his past (without being able to narrate
to others- Here AzhwAr is not able to narrate to others for such brazen
shameful acts of his in the past- he keeps silent being unable to narrate
to others). But now, I have realised the Divine name of Narayana – the
name of the Lord – my Emperumaan who never leaves the heart of His devotees-
who is the father of Cupid and who is the master
of all of us.
4. Desiring only for victories, melting and longing only for the transitory, non-permanent temporary objects, craving only for mating the darting eyed women, and having a fickle mind that never stays concentrated on any one thing- I was lost in this life and did not as to what to do and how to get saved to reach the Lord; and due to the Varaaha Perumaan’s grace, the One who is so stunningly beautiful and graceful- who has the huge Beautiful ThirumEni (Divine body) sky high- due to His compassion and dayA on me, I am blessed to have found the esoteric Great Narayana naamam (the Ashtaaksharam) to get saved.
5. I was loitering everywhere at the beck and call of my mind; and I
had robbed the soul (my AthmA) from Him which from time immemorial has
been only His property and was thinking that it is mine; In spite of all
these misdeeds performed, today I have realised the truth and become crystal
clear in my outlook. I am blessed to obtain His grace for getting such
an outlook. Thus, I am qualified to go on the path to Paramapadham. Thinking
of His grace, my past deeds, my being blessed by Him who came to me to
save me, my heart melts; my eyes well with tears for His dayA on this lowly
self; my voice chokes; my tongue stammers;
The tears of joy roll down my cheeks and wet my entire body; Day in
and day out- at all time, I am yelling and shouting "Narayanaa! Narayanaa!
Narayanaa!". (enna great AzhwAr! If one does not get tears in his
eyes while he reads the meaning of this pAsuram, then my translation is
so nonsense and bad that has negated the beauty of the pAsuram!)
6. Oh Bhagwathas of Sriman Narayanan, who always immerse yourselves on Him alone and spend all times doing that alone as your pastime! My Lord- My Emperumaan- My "aNNal" (Big Brother? Father?) , my Father, my everything, the One who helps me at all times, in all ways, who is all relations to me, who removes all my enemies, (klEsa naasan), who rules me, who is fearsome for asurAs, who is my uyir (life), - Such Emperumaan is here showing Himself so gracefully at Tanjore temple and by paying obesiance to Him at this temple, I am blessed to have found out the Greatest, most esoteric Narayana naamam (ashtaakshara manthram)
7. You do not know their life styles (their refers to those human beings
whom you all praise and sing for few dollars more!); you don’t know their
habits; you don’t know their births; you don’t know that they were poor
one day (even though you see them rich now); You don’t even know their
guNam (nature- attributes); you don’t know their karma; To such unworthy
people, who are doing useless, insignificant work, you all praise "Oh Greatest!
Oh KaRpaka tharu (Tree that gives all that one desires for) etc.. etc..
which do not at all match with their actual qualities. Listen to me one
thing; Come here, Oh Poets! Come to Thirukkudanthai! Pay obeisance to this
place! See this Greatest One ArAvamudhan! (Insatiable nectar!) And utter
"Narayanaa!" (whose meaning,
and the person are made for each other in terms of Glory!) Like me,
sing Narayana and get saved!
8. I have not learnt the scriptures/ sasthras; I have sent my heart and mind wherever senses longed and craved for; the foolish I (due to these lowly sinful nature and illiteracy- ajj~nAnam), was not blessed to obtain any good; My pastime was only doing harm and bad to all beings of the world; (by killing them and injuring them in battles); Till yesterday, I was like this; Due to the Greatest mercy and grace of Bhagwaan Sriman Narayanan, my state has been transformed; I have stopped doing sinful deeds; I could contemplate on doing good and way to get saved and am able to be blessed to obtain the ashtaaksharam (Narayana naamam) as the hold and support (to prevent the great grand downfall of my self further and get saved eternally!).
9. It will fetch the Greatest Highest Kulam (of Srivaishnava kulam);
It will yield great fortune (aishwaryam); It will alleviate and destroy
all that can be called as sorrows of devotees; It will also grant the Biggest
Grandest and Greatest Home (Paramapadham); It will fetch the Divine grace
of the Lord; It will grant the strength to enjoy Him; It will do all good
(to you) much much more than what your mother can do; (Which one is so
great?) That is Thirumanthram- Ashtaaksharam _
Naaraayana naamam and I have been blessed to obtain that.
10. Oh Bhagawthas, who recite this ten of Thirumangai mannan! Please
utter "Narayana" when you are down with sorrows or even when you have none
of them ; when you are about to go to bed; Utter this at all times; and
under all circumstances; It can stay as a Poison to all our sins and destroy
them completely to protect us at all times; Utter Naaraayanaa
Naaraayanaa! And be saved!
ThirumangaiAzhwAr after bursting out with the glory and greatness of
Thirumanthram and Narayana naamam, enters to enjoy its greatness and presence
in Sri Vaishnava Divya dEsams. He starts to enjoy Thiruppirithi Divya Desam
in Himalayas. (presently called "Joshimutt"- about 154 miles from badrinath.
Vasudeva PerumAL- Paramapurushan – in NinRa thirukkOlam-
standing posture- prathyaksham to Parvathi. PiraaTTi- ParimaLa valli
Naaacchiyaar. There is also a Narasimhar temple built by Adisankarar.-Since
Thirumangai AzhwAr paid obeisance to about 80 temples on foot, and sang
these mangaLaasaasanams on PerumAL, it is adiyEn’s intent to at least write
about these Divya Desams, as and when we recite and read the respective
pAsurams.(and their meanings) - Erudite members of the group, please correct
whenever I make a wrong statement. This ten is excellent even for its poetic
value and the description of beautiful scenic nature and its charm)
1. The rainy clouds that spray little drizzles on the mountains which make gentle noise; Listening to these noises and looking at the rainy clouds, beautiful peacocks spread its feathers and dance gracefully; the ponds surround the lands everywhere; - such a place is Thiruppirithi which is full of fertile green trees and plants; At this sthlam, Sri Ramapiraan , who killed the king of monkey- Vaali, is showing Himself so mercifully; Oh nenjE! (mind!) please reach this place.
2. Elephants are huge like mountains; they are very strong; and show fearsome anger; - Even such elephants get scared of lions; These lions have huge cave like mouths; Such elephants and lions wander at this place Thiruppirithi where Sri Ramapiraan also is living (for us) – the One who destroyed rAvaNan and his all asurAs and his kingdom. Oh mind!Please reach this sthalam!
3. Slender waist, dark black tresses- the epitome of beauty- Nappinaai PiraaTTi- for her, Emperumaan KaNNan fought with seven oxen and tamed them; - Such Great Lord is here at Thiruppirithi, which is filled with humming bees singing lullaby to the male elephant sleeping on the bed of flowers with its mate on the scenic rocky mountains. (What a narration of picturesque beauty by AzhwAr!) Oh mind! Reach this lovely place!
4. Emperumaan Narasingha perumAn shows Himself here at Thiruppirithi,the
Lord- who tore the chest of hiraNayan- the One, who is worshipped byDevAs.
Thiruppirithi is full of huge varaahams (pigs), (in pAsuram referred to
as "yEnam") tear open the strong rocks with its curvy horns, and the particles
of minerals (maNigaL- precious stone-like particles like emerald, safire
etc.. ) that come out of such breaking of rocks, mix with water falling
from mountains and shine so beautifully! Oh mind!
Reach this beautiful holy place! (Periya vaacchaan PiLLai says "even
the name of Narasimham is enough for the rocks to explode (rocks- asurAs);
these huge Varaaham (ordinary pigs), simply due to being Varaaham (due
to its connection of Varaaha avtaar of the Lord), get their great strength
to break even the rocky mountains, with their horns)
5. Emperumaan, whose Lotus Feet are worshipped by Devas, and who reclines on ThiruppaaRkadal, appears in the same dress and in same form with MahAlakshmi at Thiruppirithi. This place is where huge male elephants (similar to the shape of the mountain itself on Himalayas mountain), pluck the tender bamboo sticks, dip the corner of the stick in honey and offer to their mates; Such a fertile, lovely, beautiful, and holy place (like ThiruppaaRkadal ITSELF.) Oh mind! Reach this pace!
6. "Oh ParamapurushA! The One who reclines on AdhisEshan and has His YoghanithrA!" – thus Devas address Him coming in groups; they lower their heads (with their shining golden crown) looking at Emperumaan’s Feet at Thiruppirithi. This place is where clouds hug the top of the mountains and the most fragrant Kurukkatthi flower plants have grown taller than clouds; the bees jump from flowers to flowers (thereby in and out of clouds) and hum; such a marvellous place is Thiruppirithi; Oh mind! Reach this place! (what a description of scenic beauty of Himalayas!)
7. This place of Thiruppirithi, where Emperumaan is showing Himself so gracefully- is where ferocious tigers live inside the forest of these hills; the pepper creepers grow and spread among clouds on top of these hills and tie and hug themselves around huge trees;- In this place on Himalayas, where beautiful ponds are there, BrahmA, and other Devas take bath, offer various kinds of fragrant flowers (se~ngazhuneer, cheNbhagam, iruvaatchi, paadhiri, punnai, kurukkatthi, karumugai, and thaamarai) to Emperumaan’s Lotus Feet and recite Vedas and utter His Divine names to pay their obeisance; Oh mind! Reach this place!
8. It appears like it is always nights- like that there are huge caves at Thiruppirithi; inside these huge caves, there are snakes living in with terrible hunger; in such Himalayan mountain, where Devas, presided by BrahmA, come and address the Lord of Thiruppirithi as "Parama PurushA! AdhimoolamE (Primordial Chief!) MugilvaNNA! (Cloudy Coloured Lord!) and pay their obeisance to His Lotus Feet. Oh mind! Reach this place!
9. This place of Thiruppirithi on Himalayas – where Paramapurushan is showing Himself so gracefully- in order to save all those devotees (who utter His (thousand) names; who know the meanings and contemplate His greatness and pay obeisance to Him) from all sins and sorrows due to their past karmAs; and protect them for reaching His place- This such a Great place- Thiruppirithi is where foolish ignorant bees get scared looking at those red lovely charming mineral filled asOka flowers thinking that they are pieces of fire balls. Oh mind! Reach this place!
10. The dark huge black clouds are so heavy and are full of waters that
they are not able to move fast; they appear to be stationary at one place
on this Himalayas mountain at Thiruppirithi. The thunders that these clouds
make, give huge pythons an impression that they are huge dark elephants
that are standing and are for their (python’s) food and they slowly move
to catch and trap these clouds; (Great! AzhwAr’s poetic narration is beyond
my translation!) And in such a place, Emeprumaan
show Himself so mercifully. Those who recite and sing these pAsurams
of AzhwAr of Thirumangai, (the place where beautiful gardens are there
with bees humming sweetly to pay their obeisance to Emperumaan) will not
have any sorrow dare approach them.
AzhwAr in this ten proceeds to Badrikaasramam. Badari means "ilandhai" fruit. (Badari also is referred to as "Vadari" in Pure Tamil- like Hrishikesh is called as "IrudeekEsan"). Badrikaasramam (Vadari aasramam) is 187 km from Hrishikesh on Himalayas, by bus. One can reach Haridwar by train and from there one has to travel by road.
The place is Badrinath. Moolavar: Badri Narayanan; Sitting posture (vEERRirundha
ThirukkOlam); Thaayaar (Goddess): Aravindha valli; Prathyaksham to Naran.
Tree is "ilandhai" (Badri). Sri BadriNarayanan shows Himself, with jadaa
(tresses as rishi) and chathurbhujam (with Sanghu, Chakram, while the lower
two hands showing Yoga mudhrA, ) in Padmasanam, in "thapasvi" posture.
This is Ashtaaksharam's avathaar sthalam. Since it is on Himalayas,
and is a snowy area, it is closed on
Deepavali and the temple reopens only on ChitrA pourNami (in April),
due to heavy snowfalls and the road blockages. The best time for visiting
this great sthalam is May or September, lest there will be rains/heavy
winter. (There is a lovely picture of Badri Narayanan in this thapasvi
posture in Srimad Pondareekapuram Andavan Ashramam!)
Let us enjoy now AzhwAr's pAsurams on this sthalam. (Note that AzhwAr went on foot all the way and advises us in this ten "Reach this sthalam before the old age strikes you!- The agony of old age is very beautifully described by ThirumangaiAzhwAr in this ten! It is not that we don't know; But we don't realise that we will one day become old!)
(As Vijay Triplicane suggested, please read the Tamil text to enjoy the meanings better; I do not write the transliterated text here only for space constraint- else, the post will be very long! and those who do not know Tamil will anyway not read them; because I know it is more difficult to read the transliteration, unless you have heard of the pAsurams before!)
1. Let us go to Badri and pay obeisance to the Lord- Emperumaan who sucked the life of Puthanai along with her breast milk, (when she had disguised herself like a mother, with an intention to kill KaNNan with her poisonous breast milk). Let us reach this place (Badri) before we get old, having to sit every now and then due to exertion in walking with the support of third leg (the stick) and legs stumbling due to old age; with the back hunched and the head always lowered to see the path (with a poor vision). Before such a situation creeps in, Let us reach Badrinath!
2. Holding the lower back with one hand due to pain, and holding the (walking) stick with the other, body slightly shaking and shivering due to its poor stamina and over exertion, eyes fading and losing its vision time and again, coughing loudly every minute (with terrible pain in the chest due to heavy coughing) - when you walk like that, the young women on the streets giggle and tease saying "hey! look at this "kizha bolt!" . Before such a situation arises, Let us go to Badri and pay obeisance to Badri Narayanan.
3. The skin has dried completely and is wrinkled; the nerves all appear as if they are like Coconut strands ("thEngaay naar"); the mind is completely weak (due to the inability to carry out any active work by the body); the eyes ogling everywhere, to look for the correct, proper path (and is not able, to due to poor vision); the feet and legs refusing to proceed further with all the above problems and shake. Oh Mind! If you can think and realise this, right now, have bhakti and utter devotedly His Divine names and let us go and pay obeisance to Badri Narayanan. Come!
4. Due to old age, the eyes terribly lose its strength; and one becomes almost blind; the dirt from eyes along with tears (due to various reasons, may be a nick from the "dear" daughter-in-law!) roll down the cheeks; the mucus and bile aggravate and one coughs heavily; the legs (and knees) hit against each other when attempting to walk little longer; - before such a situation creeps in, let us go and obeisance to Badinath, - Emperumaan who had lifted the Govardhana mountain effortlessly, as a young boy, to save the cattle from torrential rains.
5. "Oh I had such a lovely time tasting the saliva of young women, and had the beautiful physique which they liked very much"- like that keeps on lamenting and in between unable to continue talking such long statements, coughing heavily; with legs shaking, trying to prevent from falling on the ground by holding the walking stick for support, unable to walk even a foot distance and being there for a long time and unable to walk a little longer- Before such an old age strikes, let us pay obeisance to Badri Emperumaan who wears the most fragrant ThuLasi (basil leaves) garland on His ever Youthful ThirumEni (Divine Body).
6. Before the body gets weaker and weaker with the mouth talking all
rubbish like a mad man, with the body gets thinner and thinner (with the
digestive system malfunctioning), with the mucus and phlegm choking and
irritating the throat resulting in ceaseless coughing, with the weak, feeble
voice due to poor strength and stamina,- Before all these happen, Come
Let us go and pay obeisance to Badri Narayanan Emperumaan who is showing
Himself at Badri, - our Father, - the Primordial Chief,- the
dark hued Beautiful Lord, who had appeared for churning the Ocean to
obtain nectar for the sake of Devas.
7. The lump of phlegm intensifies in the throat and the coughing aggravates; "hey! See, your man- the one who was dear to you and was your mate a few years back" - like that the young women tease addressing each other and laugh at the dying oldies, saying mockingly "...
peppa..peppE.." (AzhwAr says ""pappavappar"). Before such a thing happens, let us pay obeisance to Badri Narayanan who is the Most valuable treasure of ours, that always saves us. ("naasthi pithraarjitham kinchith; na mayaa kinchithaarjitham; hasthi mE hasthi sailaagrE vasthu paithaamaham dhanam" says Swami Desikan. There is an inherited wealth for me which I had inherited from my ancestors (grandfather) and that is Hastigiri Varadan. - The grandfather's property is legally the grandson's while father's is not necessarily!) - here AzhwAr says "vaippum vaazhuvum anaan"- i.e. He says "Emperumaan becomes the upaayam and upEyam (the means as well as the end for us).
8. "You have become sickly coughing ceaselessly and you have thinned (like a skeleton); It is so gruesome to even look at you; Don't stay here; Walk off from this place"- Thus, with utter disrespect and scorn, the beautiful young women address- leave any semblance of love for such beings; - and if ever you wish to get saved, let us go pay obeisance to Emperumaan Badri Narayanan, who wears the most fragrant thuLasi maalai (garland).
9.The five sense organs (karma and jnana indriyas) lose their stamina
and strengths due to old age; the mind feels conspicuous of his disability
and is ashamed to even come out in front of others and show themselves;
sitting alone and laments at the inability and agony of old age that has
struck with the terrible coughing and spitting of phlegm, blabbering all
that comes to mind with incoherent words and murmurs to himself- Before
all this happens, let us all go and pay obeisance to Badri Narayanan who
is worshipped by Bhagawathas offering him thulasi garlands and dancing
and singing His (thousand) Divine names. (KulasekarAzhwAr in his "mukunda
maalaa" 33rd verse sings on the same token "krishna tvadeeya pada pankaja
... kutasthE.." Oh Lord krishna! at
this moment, let my mind (as a royal swan) enter into the Lotus
Feet of yours; How will it be possible for me to remember you at the time
of death, when my throat gets choked up with phlegm, mucus air and bile?"
PeriyAzhwAr says " vaayoru pakkam vaanghi valippa vaarttha neer kuzhi kaNgaL
mizhaRRa, thaayoru pakkam thandhai oru pakkam, thaaram oru pakkam
araRRa, thee oru pakkam vandhu sEra..... appOdhaikku ippOdhE solli
vaitthEn...")
10. About Badri Narayanan -Emperumaan, Thirumangai mannan recited these pAsurams and those who recite them devotedly singing and dancing, will be the rulers of even Paramapadham; They will never ever go to any other world and suffer any more.
AzhwAr, after an excellent portrayal of the agony of old age, enjoys
the Badrikaasramam's greatness in this pAsuram. Reiterating what I had
mentioned and supplementing further on this sthalam, it is Sriman Narayanan
who incarnated as BadriNarayanan under the Badari (Ilandhai ) vruksham
(tree), which is dear to MahA Lakshmi . The Lord did tapas ( penance )
under that sacred tree , when He incarnated as Sri BadrinArayanan to initiate
the people suffering from the scorching flakes of samsAram through
AshTaakshara manthra UpadEsam to us (through Nara NaaraayaNan, who were
also His avathaarams only!- as Sri AndAL
Herself states in Nacchiyaar Thirumozhi. " naamam Ayiram yEttha ninRa
nArAyaNannaranE " ) .
Sriman NaarAyaNA incarnated as a Tapasvi with JatA , with conch and chakrA in His upper hands and Yoga MudrAs in His lower hands and sits in padmAsanam.
1. My Lord- My Master- Emperumaan is the One who appeared as Varraha
mUrthy and brought out the Earth back; who appeared as Sri Rama, and took
the bow to kill the strong rAvaNan of lankA and also destroyed his entire
vamsam. This Greatest Lord of mine is staying at a place called Badrikaashramam
on the bank of Ganges river, where Devas bring the
kaRpaka flowers and offer at His Feet here to pay obeisance to Him.
2. He chased the Maya maarIchan and killed him with His sharp arrow; He aimed a sharp arrow at the chest of Vaali, who had gone on adharmic way; - Such Most virtuous Lord of mine- My Emperumaan stays at Badrikaashramam, where Brahma and other Devas come many times to pay obeisance to Him; where the river Ganges flow from the sky (the top of the mountain) with tremendous noise and with great swift currents of flow.
3. During Ramaavataar, my Lord entered into rAvaNan's place which is otherwise just impossible for any one to enter; especially crossing the deep ocean even surrounding this lankA- He not only entered into lankA, also did He destroy the whole asura vamsam of that strong rAvaNan (who could not be won over by anyone else at all); - Such Greatest Emperumaan of mine - stays at this place of BadrIkaashramam, where the Ganges river, with its lovely sweet waters, flow upto the entire length of mountain top, and appears as if the river hits the sky and beyond the sky, there is a white flag spreading on the sky.
4. Oh mind! I am telling something firm for you; Listen. You go, reach BadrIkashramam, where the river of Ganges flows in such currents that bring along with its clear lovely sweet waters, the sarees of Deva ladies, their garlands and their jewels (which they all leave at the shore for bathing - perhaps!); and pay obeisance to Emperumaan, (who destroys the enemies of His BhakthAs - the enemies that are housed on our body - and grants Paramapadham to them ) to get saved.
5. When YashOdhA saw the infant KaNNan, sucking the breast milk and the life of the rAkshasi Puthanai, she was scared and wondering as to how she is going to life the child from the demon? - The Lord who grew up in such hair raising events- the Greatest Emperumaan stays at BadrIkashramam on the banks of the river Ganges - that falls from the top of Golden colour mEru mountain; that appears to be holding the whole sky at the top (of the mountain).
6. Nappinnai PiraaTTi- who has the beautiful chariot like "algul" (waist band)- who has charming darting, fish like eyes, and for her, KaNNan tamed the seven strong huge shouldered oxen- such Greatest Emperumaan- the cloudy colored Lord of mine stays at BadrIkashramam situated on the bank of river Ganges that flows in such heavy current that it flows (due to the great efforts of Bhageerathan) across the mountains, breaks the rocks on the way, and even gathers the huge elephants on the way.
7. The irAvadham elephant and the nectar (amudham) (that came out of churning the ocean), the heaven (swargam), the kingly status for Devas were all granted to Indran by Emperumaan Sriman Narayanan and He is the One who grants to us anything and everything- Such Most merciful Lord is at BadrIkashramam, situated on the bank of river Ganges- which, on the command and direction from Emperumaan, due to the requests and appeals from DevAs, flows from the manthara mountain, down on Himalayas and runs in different streams so beautifully.
8. Emperumaan- My Lord- the One, -who aimed the sharp arrow at the magic (mAya) Golden deer, mArIchan- who applied His sharp nails on the chest of the strong golden coloured hiraNyan- who removed the sorrow of Sivan's , due to the sin committed by him on BrahmA- stays at BadIkaashramam on the bank of river Ganges which was brought to the earth by the great penance of BhagIrathan. (that's why Ganges is called BhAgIrathi.; the Ganges, when it flowed from the top to the earth, there was a sage Janvar (?)- thus Ganges is also called Jaannavi) who received the water in his ears, as a middleman and then came out of his ears to the earth in order to reduce the great impact (of acceleration due to Gravity? from such a height); that's why after every prANAyaamam, we touch our ears to purify (so called wash with the Ganges water, deemed to be in our ears) our palms and fingers which are "ecchil" due to interaction with our own exhaled air. - terrific! Isn't it?))
9. Clouds- air- mountains- oceans- all other worlds- the whole
lot was all consumed and retained in His "small" stomach - Such a Greatest
Lord is He- who is also the "Nirvaahagan" Director of the moon - the sun-
the space- the time- and everything and everyone. Such Emperumaan- the
Lord of mine- stays at BadrIkaashramam- on the bank of river Ganges- that
came down (due to the effort of BhAgIrathan) via Brahma lOkam to the earth
and the noise literally shook the whole earth- such was the
thunderous sound with which Ganges came down and now it flows serenely
with crystal clear waters.
10. Turbulent currents, huge tides, great speedy flows, crystal clear waters- that's river Ganges! (When I visited Haridwar, I have heard pilgrims saying, "GangA! tErI paani amruth hai (in Hindi)" - GangA! your water is the nectar!).- The bank of such great holy river is BadrIkaashramam, where Emperumaan BadrI Narayanan shows Himself so gracefully - and about Him, ThirumangaiAzhwAr has sung these ten pAsurams and those who recite these ten will not only rule this world, also the dEva lOkam and then finally become Nithyasooris.
After singing mangaLaasaasanam on BadrI Narayanan, ThirumangaiAzhwAr
proceeds to SaaLagraamam Divya dEsam. This Divya dEsam is in Nepal. Moolavar:
SrI Moorthy, ninRa thirukkOlam (Stnading posture); PiraaTTi: SrI Devi naacchiyaar;
Theertham: Chakra theertham; KaNdaki river. The SaaLagraamams that we worship
at home with Thiruvaaradhanam every
mornings, are found in this river KaNdaki. It is the Lord’s Sarva solwabhyam
that He stays permanently in these saaLagraamams in the same pristine glory
as he exists in Parama padham and all Divya desams. (His mercy/dayA, compassion,
sowlabhyam is beyond what one can imagine. "vandharuLi ennenjidam koNda
vaanavar kozhundhE…". "etthiRam iNaindhiRandhEngiya eLivE!": are the lovely
anubhavams of our dearest NammAzhwAr.) Prathyaksham at saaLagraama Divya
dEsam to BrahmA, Ridhran
and KaNdaki. Sung by PeriyAzhwAr and ThirumangaiAzhwAr. Visited also
by RamanujA.
It is about ~170 miles from KaatmaNdu, on the way to mukthi Narayana kshEthram. Some say it is the mukthi Narayana kshEthram itself that is called SaaLagraamam. Others claim that it is only DamOdharakunT, that is SaaLgraama Divya dEsam. (Elders may clarify please!)
1. Emperumaan- Sri Ramapiraan- the One who crossed the dense forests,(where deer, elephants, horses, loiter freely), reached the battle field with His bow and arrows, by building a mountain bridge across the ocean on the sea waters, killed the ten headed rAvaNan,(who had huge tall ramparts and the deep oceans for the protection of his palace, who had the strongest weapons obtained from Devas, the king of demons), stays at this sthalam SaaLagraamam. Oh mind! Reach this sthalam!
2. Big elephants, healthy horses, thunderous chariots (thunderous movements on the earth), tons of army men, are all grouped together in indescribable fashion – and that was destroyed completely at lankA and torn apart by the sharp arrows of Raamapiraan. Such Greatest Lord is worshipped by Devas and all those on the Earth at this SaaLagraamam Divya dEsam that is surrounded by beautiful ponds filled with lovely fragrant lowers on its waters. Oh mind! Reach this place now!
3. The wavy oceans, huge mountains, Time, eight directions, bright moon,
Sun, darkness, and everything in this universe- in all and each one of
them, He is inside as the antharyaami in them; He is the Most victorious
One who has Conch and ChakrA in His Hands; He is the DevAadhi Devan (Chief
of Devas); He is the enemy to the asurAs who do not pay obeisance
to Him and antagonise Him by troubling His BhagwathAs; - Such Greatest
Emperumaan is here at SaaLagraamam, which is surrounded by holy waters;
Reach this sthalam, Oh mind!
4. Emperumaan- Sri Moorthy- is the One, who is at Thiruvooragam; PurushOtthaman
who is at Thirukkudanthai; Ramapiraan, who devastated the asura kulam with
His bow; Lord, who is having His YoganithrA at ThiruppEr, surrounded by
Cauvery; The One who has thousand Divine Names; The One who wears the most
fragrant ThUlasi maalai (Garland) on his
Chest, is staying at SaaLagraamam, full of fertile fields, where thaaraa
water birds (Saarasa PaRavai) live in. Oh mind! Reach this Divine Divya
dEsam!
5. When SoorpaNakai (rAvaNan’s sister) came with a vociferous noise,
Emperumaan made her shout with tremendous pains opening her huge cave like
mouth, by cutting her nose (through IlayAzhwAn- LakshmaNan). He is the
One who has the Divine Conch in His Hand; The Chief of NithyasUris; The
One who lifted the Govardhana mountain as a shelter for the cattle,
and saved them from torrential rains; - Such Greatest Emperumaan is
staying at SaaLagraamam, surrounded by charming ponds. Oh mind! Reach this
place immediately!
6. The life ("uyir") of Puthanai, who came in the guise of a mother,
thayir (curd) and veNNai (butter) were all eaten by Emperumaan KaNNan;
(one should read the pAsuram; for its rhyming uyirum and thayirum- lovely
pAsuram!) The One, who should NOT and need NOT and is NOT AT ALL QUALIFIED
EVEN to go for yaachakam from others- took Vaamana avtaar and went to mahAbhali
saying "Give me three measures of sand ("earth")"; when bhali agreed to
offer, IMMDIATELY, then and there He took the HUGE form of Trivikraman
and measured the whole universe in two steps; - Such "Kaayaampoo" Kaayaa
flower coloured Lord- Blue hued Lord- Emperumaan stays permanently at SaaLagraamam.
Oh mind! Reach this place! (This
reminds me of PeriyAzhwAr pAsuram where as YashOdhA he sang calling
the moon to entertain and play with the Kutti KaNNan; he says "Oh moon!
Don’t neglect and ignore his calling you thinking that he is quite small
and only a kid. I suppose you know what happened to bhali who underestimated
the smallness of the Lord!")
7. Lord- the One who took the form of Narasimhan (who took such an avtaar terrorising the asurA kingdom as a whole) and tore the huge broadchest of strong hiraNyan in a fierce battle with hiraNyan; the unparalleled, limitless, unbounded Lord- the One who is the Moon, the Sun, the Space, the Fire, the Air, the Mountains, anything and everything- the One who has got the most Blissful, Most Beautiful, Most Divine, ThiorumEni (Divine Body) of unparalleled Beauty; - He is here at SaaLagraamam; Oh mind! Reach this Greatest sthalam!
8. Sivan- wearing the burnt up, dried up, human bones, and the ashes
on his body; holding the human skull on his hands and wandered all over
the worlds and the entire universe looking for someone to alleviate and
remove his sin (of having committed the sin of plucking BrahmA’s head)
and finally came to our Emperumaan and pleaded "oh my father! Please remove
my sin!" ("endhaay! Saapam theer"). The Lord, by offering a drop let of
His nectarine Sweat from His Beautiful Divine Chest in his skull,
Sivan could get rid of his sins (Look at the way Emperumaan comes to
the rescue!)- Such Greatest Lord is here at SaaLagraamam, surrounded by
Sandal trees. Oh mind! Reach this sthalam!
9. BhagawathOttamas- The devotees who always at all times offer their service to only Emperumaan, Nithya Sooris, Brahmins (who wear the PooNool), - all of them come flocking to this sthalam saying "This Lord of all- Th Primordial Chief of the Universe should come and bless us".Such a temple Divya Desam is SaaLagraamam, which is surrounded by lovely gardens and beautiful ponds, wherein the Lotus flowers bloom when the lovely fish jumps into the buds (What a narration of beauty and imagination by the Poetic AzhwAr!). Oh mind! Reach this beautiful Holiest sthalam SaaLagraamam!
10. Should all sensible fellows in this world wish to rule the world
of Nithya Sooris, all that they need to do: is to utter the thousand Divine
names of Emperumaan Sriya:Pathih Sriman Narayanan OR read these ten pAsurams
(or its meanings) on SaaLagraamam Divya Desam Emperumaan, which have been
sung by Thirumangai mannan. (Interesting word in the last line of this
pAsuram: "pEr aayiramum OdhumingaL; anRu (OR) ivaiyE pidhaRRuminE". PidhaRRuminE-
means Ramble or blabber these pAsurams;
Mumukshupadi says "this means: even if the kramam is lost or destroyed
unintentionally, even then its beauty or its nature
( swaroopam) does NOT get altered; "sollum kramam ozhiyach chonnaalum
than swaroopam keda nillaadhu".- adadaaaa… )
Let us proceed to NaimisaaraNyam Divya Desam along with Thirumangai
mannan. In this sthalam of Naimi, Bhagawaan shows Himself as the araNyam
itself (araNyam means: Forest- Remember AraNya kaaNdam of Ramayana).
Once, few sages went to BrahmA and asked him "In this vast world, which
place is the best place for thapas (penance)?". BrahmA took few thruNam
(dharbhaippul- grass) and joined them to make a circle. BramhA rolled the
circular (nEmi- circular) dharbhai on the ground and said "Wherever this
nEmi stops, let that be the best place for performing thapas". And
it rolled .. rolled and rolled…. & finally stopped at this sthalam
of dense forest; and hence, thereafter called NaimisaaraNyam. It is in
the banks of the river Gomathi and is reported to be the place where Veda
vyAsa maharishi performed his thapas (penance) for very many years. This
sthalam is situated on the way between Calcutta and Dehradoon. Moolavar:
Devarajan- Sri Hari. NinRa thirukkOlam (Standing posture). Thaayaar: Sri
Harilakshmi (PuNdareeka valli). Prathyaksham to Indran, Sudharman,
Devarishi, SoothapurANikar, and VedavyAsar. There is also a place called
VyAsaghatti, where Sukhabrahmam narrated Srimad Bhagawtham, Bharatham to
King ParIkshith. There is also another temple in this place, called PurANa
mandhir wherein Sukhar's bronze vigraham with parrot nose is consecrated
and besides this temple, there is a Hanumangatti temple, where HUGE HanumAn
shows himself in standing posture carrying Sri Rama, Lakshmana on his shoulders.
ThirumangaiAzhwAr sings on this Emperumaan as "thEnudaik kamalatth thiruvinukku
arasE!" (the King of PiraaTTi, who is born on honey dripping Lotus flower!)
and performs sarangathy to Divya Dampatis, with PiraaTTi for Purushaakaaram
(recommendation). It is an excellent set of pAsurams describing AzhwAr's
outpourings on his naicchiyam again,
lamenting on his past trespasses and running behind women seeking carnal
pleasures. Yet another emotional outpour from AzhwAr.
1. Oh my father! The Lord of NaimisaaraNyam! This stupid self lowly self- I- was considering and seeking only the bright beaming smile, the small forehead, the shoulders and the tender breasts of women as my destination and refuge for a long time. Till this time, I had never thought and understood/realised that this is a blunder and never gave any thought to get rid of this birth and death cycle. Now I (am blessed by You to) have realised. I hate those carnal desires now! I am terribly embarrassed and ashamed of what I was till this date. I have surrendered to Your Feet here!
2. Those beautiful legs that wore anklets,- those dark, long eyes of
women were the only targets for my mind and I forgot all dharmA; I ran
only after sensual enjoyment to the greatest extent as the only pleasure;
I have wasted all my days! DevAdhi dEvA! (Chief of all DevAs!) The One
who has long Hands that can grant huge biggest fruits limitlessly and unbounded!
The Most wonderful Lord! My Father! The Lord of NaimisaaraNyam! Today,
I have reached Your Lotus Feet that are always
worshipped by NithyaSooris lovingly and devotedly.
3. Oh My Master! The One who churned the Ocean for DevAs! My father!
The Lord of NaimisaaaraNyam! I gambled; I stole people as a highway robber;
I ran amuck after sensual desires and went behind women; I loitered as
a vagabond; Such lowly I- now have come to Your Lotus feet, with a spine
chilling fear from those Yama dhUthars (Yama's attendants) and pains
from their cruel punishments.
4. When people, who ignore and desert their beautiful dark- fragrant flowered-long haired spouses, and seek others' wives and others' properties, die, the servants of Yama drag them, torture them with severe punishments; Then, they are pushed to a corner; and are shown a red hot burning statue of a woman. The yama dhUthAs shout at them, angrily.. "Hmmmm… Now go and hug this statue… Go ahead…" and punish them. Oh No! I am scared of such severe tortures; I have heard that You are so compassionate and merciful and save any one who surrenders to You, in spite of ALL THEIR UNWORTHY PAST DEEDS; I have heard that You forgive once someone surrenders to You completely and You are so credible and reliable ("nambhanE".. says AzhwAr). Oh my father! The Lord of NaimisaaraNyam! I have now surrendered to Your Lotus Feet.
5. "AiyA! (Sir!) Please offer me one handful of food" poor people, when they begged me like that for food, I simply ignored and even shouted at them with an emphatic "no". Such a "neechan"- lowly self -I, had never thought of the fruits of my misdeeds. Now I am terribly scared and have got great fears of Yama dhUthAs' punishments and cruel words and actions at me; My father! The Lord of NaimisaaraNyam! I have now surrendered to Your Feet! (Save me!).
6. Oh ParamanE! The Lord who reclines on PaaRkadal (Milk Ocean)! My
Father! The Lord of NaimisaaraNyam! With my mind, bent upon going only
towards committing wrong deeds; Performing actions totally adharmic (wrong
and unsaasthric) towards others- Rejoiced hunting (going around with my
"pet" dogs) and killed animals with no sense of vivEkam; - Such a lowly
self- I have now (been blessed by You to have) realised and longed for
Your Lotus Feet and completely destroyed even an iota chance
of my going to Yama's hell.
7. Oh Lord, the One who, under the pretext of getting the fruits (viLAmpazham) hit the asurA (who had come in the guise of a calf) against the tree and destroyed the asurA! Oh DevAdhidevA, the One who has entered into my heart and refuses to leave the same (in spite of), which is full of cruel thoughts only! Oh my Father! The Lord of NaimsaaraNyam! Those who think of doing only wrong and adharmic acts (for material pleasures), who talk only ills and wrong things, who do only misdeeds- and listening to the sufferings and tortures such people undergo in the hell after their demise from this earth, I get terribly scared! Oh Lord! I have surrendered to Your Lotus Feet.
8. Oh My Father! The Lord of naimisaaraNyam! The Lord of ThirukkuRu~nkudi!
The Ocean coloured Lord! Kalipurushan has sent all five servants of his
(namely the sense organs) on me to torture me and drag me to sensual desires
for aggravating my samsaaric ills. Is there any way he can win? No. I am
(blessed by You to succeed in) getting rid of their influence. With my
tongue, I am able to utter Your Sweet Divine Names and perform my ArAdhanA
offering these flowers of pAsurams
praising Your Feet. I have come here surrendering to Your Feet.
9. (A lovely pAsuram!). Oh King of Periya PiraaTTi, the One who is born
from the Honey dripping Lotus Flower! ("thEnudaik kamalatth thiruvinukku
arasE!") Oh Lord, who reclines on the wavy, huge vast milk ocean! My father!
The Lord of NimisaaraNyam! Keeping the flesh and muscles as the walls in
between, having the bones as pillars for support among those
flesh, covering these bones an fleshes with hairs, providing nine holes
in this hut of this sarIram (body)- and when my jIvan leaves this sarIram,
at the time of death, I need to meditate only on Your Lotus Feet for my
protection- this alone is my thought. I am blessed to have realised this,
due to Your enormous grace, and I have now come here surrendering to Your
Lotus feet.
10. "If we think that sorrows dare not come near us, then let us go
to NaimisaaraNyam and pay obeisance to Him"- says Indran to his DevAs and
they all have come to NaimisaaraNyam- About Such Greatest NaimisaaraNya
Emperumaan, Thirumangai mannan has sung these pAsurams, thinking of Him
with tremendous bhakti. Those who recite them (or read these meanings),
will first rule this huge world surrounded by Oceans here on this earth
before joining Nithyasooris in Paramapadham for performing eternal
service to the Lord.
Even in this ten, Thirumangai AzhwAr - Nam Kaliyan has sung mangalaasaasanam
to the Lord with PiraaTTi sambhandham for
purushaakaaram with the line "alli maadhar pulga ninRa aayiranthOLan"..
AzhwAr in the last ten lamented "aiyO! My past deeds are scaring me! The
yama dhUthAs are going to punish me in the hell. I am shivering with fear".
The Lord now gives a gentle reassurance to AzhwAr.. "AzhwArE! The extent
even yamadhUthAs don't do, hiraNyan did on my devotee Prahladan.
Didn't I save him by appearing as Narasimhan? I am still present there
at SingavEL kuNRam only to save all of you.". Thus, here the excited AzhwAr
enjoys SingavEL kuNram Emperumaan and Ahobilam Emperumaan in this ten.
A lovely ten; more so for the sishyas of Ahobila Mutt.
1. Sending spine chilling shivers to everyone in this beautiful world, with His thunderous sound and ferocious roar, with the shining mane, and lustre, Lord Narasimhan appeared and tore the body of hiraNyan with his sharp nails- The place where He appeared and still stays there for protecting us- which is that place? The Place is the hill of SingavEL kunRam where the red eyes fiery lions, offer the ivory tusks of elephants (whom they had killed), to the Lotus Feet of Lord Narasimhan with bhakti.
2. The One, who has a wide large mouth licking the corner of His mouth (with tremendous anger) with His tongue;- who has the bright, sharp, whit teeth - who killed hiraNyan with his sharp nails alone- He is Lord Narasimhan and is present at SingavEL kunRam- the place where the sounds and noises of people quarrelling and yelling when they (while walking through this place) are stopped and robbed by hunters; the place where hunters' bow twangs and drum beats are heard.
3. Large mouth, sharp spear like teeth, majestic appearance, ferocious look, the Unbounded, unparalleled Lord -Sri Narasimhan tore open the chest of hiraNyan and killed him- such Greatest Lord is present at SingavEL kunRam- where the animals (tired due to their strolling here and there), where the mountains and small hills are there, where there are burnt (due to forest fires) bamboo trees are there and nothing else. (one can imagine AzhwAr's walking alone in this remote place those days, all on foot!- )
4. The One who has the sharp spear in his hands that give troubl and suffering to everyone; the enemy of Bhagwathas, - hiraNyan was killed by Lord Narasimhan, tearing his chest with His sharp nails. Such Greatest Lord lives in SingavEL kunRam- where hunter dogs, the deadly eagles (that peck those dead animals that are killed by these dogs), the hot windy air that goes around with scorching sunny rays, the place where no human being can reach except for celestial bodies.
5. The mouth and lips that are slightly bent and folded by the sharp teeth, due to the anger, Sharp sword like bright white teeth,- The Lord Narasimhan appeared like that and tore the chest of hiraNyan and killed him. Such Greatest Lord shows Himself at SingavEL kunRam, where the whirly hot wind raises itself everywhere till the sky due to which none can approach and pay obeisance to this Greatest Lord Narasimham.
6. The eyes that emanate fiery sparks, the huge large mouth, and the sharp teeth in it, - the form of Lord Narasimhan is so scary and what a form! - like that even DevAs run in all directions- such Greatest Lord Narasimhan is present at SingavEL kunRam- where tigers hide themselves behind the dense bushes, and identify the whereabouts of elephants with their footprints on the ground (to kill them).
7. The anger that was on hiraNyan grew up to such an extent for the
apacharams committed on His Bhagwatha (prahaladan) that the flame and intensity
of anger reached and spanned everywhere in the sky went even beyond the
sky to all three worlds; Such Greatest Lord Narasimhan is here at SingavEL
kunRam; where the forest fires make great sounds, in which stones burst
and make further noise; where the hunters go around with sharp deadly bows
and arrows; the place which can not be accessible
to others, even for a second.
8. The place where Brahman and Sivan keep praising the Lord Narasimhan
(with the result there is even a "thazhumbhu" mark on their tongues- i.e.
When we keep doing something repeatedly, it leaves a mark on the part of
the body; Those who do dhaNdaal with the knuckles on the ground on the
ground, will know. It will leave the knuckle joints with scar like mark.
AzhwAr says.. Brahman and Sivan keep repeating the same name so many times,
that the tongue has been thickened and there is a mark in
their tongues… adadaaa!.. I wish we get such a mark, too uttering Narayana
…Narayana…). - Such Greatest Narasimhan stays at SingavEL kunRam, where
the trees make scary sounds with the movements of their twigs in the air,
with the deadly noises from the movement of bamboo trees and the flames
of fire that emanate from such frictions of bamboo trees. - Such a place
where the Lord Narasimhan stays is SingavEL kunRam.
9. Oh mind! You are very good. Let us go to this place SingavEL kunRam,
where the chilli birds screech with their beaks with a sound "cheeeel",
where the tall trees make scary noises with their leaves, where the dense
trees grow so as to even break open the rocks that are on the way, where
Emperumaan Lord Narasimhan- the thousand shouldered Lord- who hugs the
"malar mangai" the Goddess born from Lotus Flower - Periya PiraaTTi-MahAlaksmhi-
who is our Chief and Master- stays permanently.
(alli maadhar pulga ninRa aayiranthOLan")
10. The fiery reddish eyed, valiant ferocious lions, offer the ivory tusks of elephants to the Lord Narasimhan with bhakti at SingavEL kunRam- the Lord Narasingan- Emperumaan stays here permanently at this place. About Him, Thirumangai mannan has composed this garland of ten verses and those who are able to recite them will live with no sorrows and worries.
This ten is so lovely for its ONLY REFERENCE TO LORD NARASIMHAN! The
sound, the light- the scary ferocity- the appearance- the wrath of the
Lord is all unimaginable. It is so huge and so noisy! It is so bright and
so lustrous! There is a verse (is it Manthrarajapadha sthOthram, Murali?)
and a Kambhan's poem on Narasihman referred in Sri Nrusimha
priya August 97- by Sri Mukkur Lakshmi Naraisimhachariar- who used
to get into trance during his performance of Yaagham (I had even witnessed
one!- he used to walk with the anger in his eyes- and his mouth wide open,
throwing some of the yaagha prasadham on few who had assembled there- he
used to walk like a lion, with his stout figure- It is a great sight!).
I do not wish to write the translation of Kambhan's ! Read in tamil and
enjoy.
Bheegara! Bheegara! Bheegara! Bheegara! BheeshaNa! BheeshaNa! BheeshaNa!
BheeshaNa!
Hala! Hala! Hala! Hala! Hala! Hala! Hala! Hala! Han! Han! Han! Han!
Han! Han! Han! Han!
Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ithi mahaa aTTahaasah!
That is Emperumaan Narasimhan's ferocious sound and roar that even pulled BrahmA down from his throne as if it tells him "dEi BrahmA! You have granted left right and centre, boons to guys like this… and see I need to take all these forms to comply with your boons as well as destroy the enemies". (from KuRai onRum illai"). Kambhan's poems on the Thuderous laghters of Lord Narasimhan are:
aar adaa siritthay sonna arikolO? a~njippukka/ neer adaa pOdhaadhu enRu
nedunthaRi nEdinaayO?/
pOr adaa? porudhi aayin puRappadu! PuRappadu! pnRaan/ pEr adaa ninra
thaaLOdu ulaghu elaam peyarap pErvaan/
piLandhandhu thOOnum aa~nghE piRandhadhu seeyam pinnai/ vaLrndhadhu
dhisaigaL ettum bhagiraNdam mudhala maRRum/
aLandhadhu appuRatthuch cheygaiyaar aRindhaRaiyaghiRpaar/
kiLarndhadhu gagana muttai kizhindhadhu keezhum mElum…/
What a Tamil! What a poem! There is a video cassette on Ahobilam that
I had once seen a couple of months ago wherein H.H Sri Azhagiyasingar beautifully
explains as to how Narasimha avathaaram is better than all other avathaarams.
Mathsya Koorma Varaaha avtaars are basically animal forms; while Rama Krishnadhi
avtaars are all human forms; Only Narasimham is both human and animal form.
One who had never tasted milk but ate only sugar and the other who had
never tasted sugar but drank
only milk, were given a cup of warm milk with a spoon of sugar.
The taste was naturally better than just sugar; or just milk! Afterwards,
they have been drinking only milk with sugar! (That is Lord Narasimhan!
Those who have tasted Him will NOT LOOK FOR JUST SUGAR OR MILK! "tvayi
rakshathi rakshakai kim anyai; tvai cha arakshathi rakshakai kim anyai"
says Swami Desikan in Kaamaasikhaashtakam.. meaning: "O Narasimhaa!
you are sarva sakthan. When You are resolved to protect some one, where
is the need to seek the protection of other Gods? When You
are resolved NOT to protect some one , which other God is capable of protecting
him?
ThirumangaiAzhwAr after his anubhavam on SingavEL kunRam, was called
by the Lord "AzhwArE! Why are you exerting yourself at SingavEL kunRam
calling the Divya dEsam :"deivam allaal sella voNNaa SingavEL kunRam" (other
than DevAs, none can access this sthalam) in the last ten?. Not to worry.
Here in ThiruvEmkatam, I am showing myself so easily
accessible for everyone. Come and be blessed! Let us go to TirumalA
along with AzhwAr.
1. ThiruvEmkatamudaiyaan Sri Srinivasan is none other than KsheeraabhdhinAthan and KaNNan. GopAlan- the One who befell the fragrant Kurundha tree- My Master- The Red Lotus eyed Beautiful Lord- Pundareekaakshan- The One who is having His YoganithrA on the Milk Ocean- The One who conquered pakAsuran- Sriman Narayanan is showing Himself so gracefully at this sthalam, ThiruvEmkatam, where lovely fishes jump with joy in beautiful ponds.
2. KaNNan- the One who sucked the poisonous breast and sucked puthnai’s
life making her cry with pain and die; He is in a reclining posture at
Thiruvara~ngam (Srirangam) and ThiruppARkadal. He has grown at ThiruvEmkatam
(ThirumalA); The realised sages (j~nAnis) have described Him and praised
calling Him daily as "veLLiyaan (Silvery Lord!), Kariyaan (Dark hued Beauty!),
Neela MaNivaNNan (Blue hued Emerald like Beauty!). Such Greatest Most Beautiful
Sowlabhyan is here at
ThiruvEmkatam. Oh mind! Go and reach this sthalam. (Here AzhwAr says
"piLLaiyaay uyiruNda enthai piraan avan perugum idam"- means: My Father-
My Lord- The One who sucked the life as an infant KaNNan- is growing here
(at ThirumalA!). Periya vaacchaan PiLLai says "thottil piLLai pEy uyiruNda
pinbhu niRka kaRRadhu Thirumalaiyil" means: The child that was
put in the cradle, after sucking the rAkshasi’s life, has learnt to
stand only at ThirumalA."- What an anubhavam!)
3. The One who learnt His charming steps, breaking even the Marudha trees(while doing so), The Purest Lord- The One who has the Divine Conch in His Hand- The One whose Lotus Feet is always worshipped with great devotion by DevAs and Nithyasooris- The One who saved and protected the suffering and lives of cattle by lifting the mountain of Govardhanam effortlessly as an umbrella from torrential heavy down pour by Indran- My Perumaan- is here at ThiruvEmkatam. Oh mind! Reach there.
4. ThiruvEmkatamudaiyaan is Sri Parthasarathy Himself. The One who drove the chariot for Arjunan, presided (sort of) the MahAbhAratha KurukshEthra battle, and (enabled pANdavAs) win the battle- the One who dances with cowherd girls- the One who stays in the heart of His devotees who think of Him and meditate on Him- the One who shows Himself at Thiruvidaventhai- the Para~nchudar- the JyOthI- Emperumaan – is here at Most beautiful ThiruvEmkata mountain. Oh mind! Reach there.
5. The One who appeared as the young Brahmachari dwarf boy and begged mahAbhali with His small Hands (for the whole universe ultimately)- the One who appeared as Sri Raman and sent the arrow through seven trees (saala vruksham) at a stretch- the One who lives in Thirumaaliru~nchOlai- the One removed the sorrow of GajEndran elephant and granted mOksham to the animal- is showing Himself at ThiruvEmkatam. Oh mind! Reach there.
6. ThiruvEmkatamudaiyaan is the One who ate the whole Universe. The
One who (once), in order to protect the seven directions, seven worlds
during mahApraLayam (Cosmic cycle), ate them and retained them in His stomach
and lied down on a small Banyan leaf- the One who removed the sorrow of
the white moon (can someone explain the sorrow of moon that
was removed by the Lord?)- the One who appeared as Narasimhan (Lion
faced Lord) and tore the chest of hiraNyan with sharp nails to kill him-
Such Greatest Emperumaan is at ThiruvEmkatam mountain. Oh mind! Reach there.
7. The Lord is The Earth, Water, Fire, Air, Space (five elements of Nature)- has thousand Divine Names- is NOT bounded by KarmAs; - Such Greatest Lord- Emperumaan is growing here at ThiruvEmkatam, the top of which is hugged by clouds, the snowy droplets falling from the sky, where the clouds land up and take rest on top of this mountain, where fertile gardens surround the lovely ThiruvEmkatam. Oh mind! Reach there.
8. He is in the Pancha bhUthams (the five elements of Nature)- He is the Chief of DevAs- He is the Nayakan of Periya PiraaTTi- MahAlakshmi- He is My Emperumaan- staying at ThiruvEmkatam, the most beautiful fertile land, where gypsy women take care of the field. Oh mind! Reach there.
9. Emperumaan- The One who protects and saves from their Birth cycles,
those who utter Parama bhOgya, most Divine Thiru ashtaakshara manthram
always- stays at ThiruvEmkatam which is fully surrounded by the lovely
gardens full of most fragrant flowers, which is standing like the Thilakam
(pinnacle- Zenith- the Highest point) of all worlds. Oh mind! Reach here!
(here AzhwAr says in the first line "pEsumin Thirunaamam ettezhutthum solli"
– means: Utter! (pEsumin) the most divine shtaaksharam; it is also to be
read as "pEsum in Thirunaamam" – means: Utter (pEsum) the sweetest to the
tongues of those who utter (in)
Thirunaamam ettezhutthum – (ashtaaksharam)).
10. The Lord of ThiruvEmatam, which is surrounded by the most beautiful
ponds where the red charming fishes swim, jump and play, is here showing
Himself so gracefully at this sthalam and Thirumangai nagar Kaliyan has
sung these ten pAsurams about this Emperumaan of ThiruvEmkatam. Those who
read these ten (or their meanings) sweet garland of Tamil words realising
the glory of ThiruvEmakatam Emperumaan, with not an iota of doubt and with
mahAviswAsam on Emperumaan, ARE SURE to reach
Paramapadham after ruling this world.
Thirumangai AzhwAr had requested his mind to proceed to TirumalA.
But even after AzhwAr reaches there, ThiruvEmkatamudaiyaan doesnot welcome
him nor does He speak to AzhwAr. AzhwAr is depressed and thinks that his
enormous sins alone are the cause for the Lord's ignoring him. AzhwAr
appeals to the Lord Srinivasan to pardon his great sins and save him. AzhwAr
surrenders to Lord Sri nivasan and AlarmEl Mangai Sri MahAlakshmi. Needless
to say, this is REALLY AN EXCELLENT TEN from AzhwAr.
1. Oh EmperumaanE! The One who lives in TirumalA, full of most fragrant
flowers and gardens and dense bushes of bamboo trees! Caring only and worrying
constantly about the bodily relations like mother, father, children, wife,
and other relatives, as the permanent ones, I suffered terribly and am
deeply immersed in samsaaric ills (nOyE pattu ozhindhEn..). With the great
craving to see You, Oh ThiruvEnkadavaa! I (adiyEn), this dog like self,
have reached You, considering You only as my Eternal relation. Please show
nercy on me and save me to take me over to You as Your eternal servant.
(A lovely pAsuram explaining that
Emperumaan alone is nirupAdhika bhandhu. All others are dEha bhandhus
only.- body relations- unthannodu)
2. Oh my dear Elephant like Beautiful Lord of cool ThiruvEmkatam! The One who stays at ThiruvEmkata mountain, full of honey dripping, bee humming flowers and gardens! I have committed enormous sins and have earned full credits to enter into hell (royally), got myself trapped in the trap of women's beautiful deer like eyes for many many years. Thinking of all those sins, now I regret and have surrendered to Your Feet at TriumalA. Please save me and take me over to You as Your eternal servant.
3. Oh Lord, the One shows Himself so gracefully at TirumalA, which is full of huge mountain like cool rainy clouds! Due to no sense (for fellow beings- no vivEkam), I have killed many lives. I have never ever offered food to beggars, when they begged me. I have never ever uttered sweet pleasing words at anyone. With all those (dis)qualifications, adiyEn has come to You to get saved by You, Lord. Please save me and take me over to You as Your eternal servant.
4. Oh Lord of ThiruvEmkatam, where dark, big clouds land to relax
on the earth! I have been born in all bodies (in various births), died
very many times, and not performed any good deed at all in any of
my previous
births (otherwise I would not have been suffering here in this samsaaram
in simhapuri!); I have been under lots and mots of sufferings and sorrows;
and now adiyEn has reached You here and held You as the only refuge.
Please save me and take me over to You as Your eternal servant.
5. Oh Lord of ThiruvEmkatam, where tall huge mountains are like ramparts for TirumalA! I have suffered terribly for having committed incorrigible sins; I am even ashamed and have no strength even to praise Your Feet even. Oh Lord! the One who is capable of protecting the whole Universe! (thuppA!) Now, My Father! adiyEn has reached You. Please save me and take me over to You as Your eternal servant.
6. Oh Lord of ThiruvEmkatam, where tall sky scraper mountains are there! I have been terribly trapped in this body composed of five senses, sense organs, red water (blood), pus, bones, flesh, hair, foul smelling wounds on this physical body, etc.., and I am remorse with tears, thinning down and grieving heavily. adiyEn now has reached You. Please save me and take me over to You as Your eternal servant.
7. Oh Lord of ThiruvEmkatam, surrounded by most beautiful gardens roamed
by elephants! Oh Strongest Lion like EmperumaanE! I have committed enormous
numerous sins, without my knowledge when I was young; After I
grew up, I lived (and worked) for others (women) and have become poor
(in my jnAnam and vivEkam)! Now adiyEn has reached You. Please save me
and take me over to You as Your eternal servant. (Here "yEzhaiyaanEn" means
not materially poor; i.e. being equipped with great wealth is not being
rich; only the realisation of our relationship with the Lord is being aware
of our richness. That's the reason AzhwAr also starts Periya Thirumozhi-
"vaadinEn"- means: I have been fading in my life, though I
have been a king!).
8. Oh Lord of ThiruvEmkatam, where cool gardens with honey dripping
from their stems, flood the entire mountain! My Master! EmperumaanE! I
(have committed so many sins and) have taken numerous births! And in this
birth, due to Your Grace, You have intervened on my way and I have come
here to pay my obeisance to You, with a craving to see You. adiyEn has
reached You in order not to take any more birth. Please save me and
take me over to You as Your eternal servant.
9. Oh Most wonderful Lord! Oh alarmEl mangai maNALA! Madhava! (Master
of Sri MahALakshmi!) Oh Lord of ThiruvEmkatam, surrounded by lotus ponds,
where honey rolls down from the mountain top to these lotus ponds! I
have committed only sins and nothing but sins- sins after sins and
more and more sins. There is no other strength or refuge for me, now. I
know NONE ELSE BUT YOU to save me. There is none who can save me, except
You.
adiyEn has surrendered to Your Feet. Please save me and take me over
to You as Your eternal servant.
10. Emperumaan- the eye of all worlds- the life and jIvan of all beings-of Dark hued ThirumEni like black clouds- The One who is known by Vedas (and from Vedic truths), The One who is worshipped by Nithyasooris- The Lord of ThiruvEmkatam- about whom Thirumangai mannan Kaliyan has sung these ten pAsurams and those who read them will HAVE NO SORROWS/SINS, to their account.
ThirumangaiAzhwAr proceeds to plead the Lord of TirumalA for His
unbounded limitless mercy that pours out on His own out of His Greatest
compassion on us. let us enjoy this nice ten on AzhwAr's plea.
1. Oh Lord! The One who killed rAvaNan, the king of lankA, which is surrounded by oceans, by piercing his strong chest with Your sharp arrows! (Raamaa!), Oh Lord of ThiruvEmkatam, where even dEvAs come and pay obeisance to You! aNNA! Please have mercy on me and alleviate my sorrows.
2. Oh Lord! The one who thrashed and chased away maali and other asurAs of lankA that day, by riding on GarudA and sending the Strong ChakrA! Oh Lord of ThiruvEmkatam, where even Sun and Moon deviate from their tracks due to the tall Vemkata Mountain! Oh Lord! the One who wears ThuLasi maalai on Your Head! Please shower Your grace on me!
3. Oh Unparalleled Lord! the Chief of all! the One who had the vast deep Oceans, the Big Huge Earth, the Tall mountains, and everything in the Universe in His stomach during mahApraLayam (Cosmic Cycle), and reclined on the small banyan leaf to protect the Universe and beings! Oh Lord of ThirumalA! ArAvamudhE! (Insatiable Nectar!) Please show mercy on me!
4. Oh Lord! The One - Cowherd Boy- who ate the butter that is kept in the hanging rope ("uRi') as the sweet nectar! The One who appeared as Vaamanan and measured the whole Universe in two steps of His "little" (?) Feet! The Lord of ThiruvEmkatam! dEvaadhi dEvA! Please show mercy on me!
5. Oh Lord! The one who appeared from a pillar and tore the body of hiraNyan and killed him! NarasimhA! The One who has AdhisEshan - ThiruananthAzhwAn as His Bed! The Lord of Great ThiruvEmkatam! Please come out of Your own will and out of Your Greatest compassion, have mercy on me!
6. Emperumaan- The One who has saved me from this most sorrowful births and deaths by taking me to Him, and alleviating my sorrows- the One who shows Himself so gracefully at TirumalA, where the clouds take a nap and relax along with the lightning- is in my heart and shows Himself there! 9Can you all see this? Till last pAsuram, AzhwAr says "Please show mercy on me and now he declares: He is in my heart! It is real!)
7. Oh Lord! The One who conquered the seven Oxen and killed them for joining the deer-like eyed- most beautiful Nappinnai PiraaTTi! The One who is so SWEET like the Honey! (thEnE!) the King of ThiruvEmkatam! You have come to reside permanently in my heart!
8. The Lord- Em perumaan- the One who is at the farthest distance (inaccessible
at all) for non-bhakthas- the One who is very easily accessible for His
bhakthAs, with a mere desire to seek Him; the Most wonderful Lord (because)
for He has decided (out of His own will) to stay in my heart too; The One
who shows Himself so beautifully at TirumalA, where the most precious and
valuable diamond stone, pearls, are all simply dropping from the breakage
of bamboo tree stems and scattered all over the mountains (because of which
also its lustre gets manifolded)- Such Greatest Lord is ThiruvEmkatamudaiyaan-
Sri nivasan-
Cowherd boy, KaNNan- whose Lotus Feet only do I know and I know of
NOTHING ELSE.
9. Oh Lustrous light which never ever dims and extinguishes! Oh
Lord- the One who alleviates our sorrows! Oh Lord- the One who is capable
of ANYTHING AND EVRYTHING THAT we seek for(including Paramapadha vaasam)!
Oh perumAnE! ChinthAmaNI! The One who is at ThirumalA! my Lord! You came
to me; You entered into my heart (out of Your Greatest Compassion and dayA!);
You stayed there; and NOW adiyEn (I) shall never ever LEAVE YOU. (I simply
can not resist my temptation of writing the transliterated version here
for its superb, simple style and lovely meanings! Read and
enjoy!)
"vandhaay; en manam pugundhaay; manni ninRaay/ nandhaadha kozhu~n
chudarE! ye~ngaL nambhI!/
chinthA maNiyE! ThiruvEkatam mEya/ endhaay! * ini yaan unnai
yenRum
vidEnE!/"
10. The Lord who shows Himself gracefully at TirumalA where hunters roam around (in the dense forests of ThiruvEmkatam)- the Lord of most strongest shoulders- the Lord whose beauty is like Blue hued Emerald stone- Emperumaan Srinivsan- about whom Kaliyan has sung and blessed us with these garland of words (pAsurams) - and those who read them (or these meanings) will be blessed to perform Nithya Kaimkaryam (eternal servitude) at Srivaikunatm, like Nithya sooris.
Narayana! Narayana! Narayana!
ThirumangaiAzhwAr ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam
Narayana dAsan Madhavakkannan
| Back to Prabandham | Home | Contact |