TIRUVASIRIYAM

 श्री:

TIRUVAYSIRIYAM

JULY 2022

TIRUVASIRIYAM is a prabandham of seven pAsurams in praise of Lord VishNu, composed by NammAzhvAr, the master of all AzhvArs (prapanna jana kooTasthar).  Though this is a short divya prabandham, the meanings of the verses cannot be limited to a small paragraph at all because the veda and vEdAnta sAram contained in this prabandham is measureless.

YAJUR VEDA SARAM

NammAzhvAr has blessed us with four prabandhams namely tiruviruttam, tiruvAsiriyam, periya tiruvandAdi, and tiruvAymozhi which are considered as the essence of the four vEdas rig, yajur, atharva and sAma vEda respectively.

TiruvAsiriyam is the essence of Yajur vEdam because it answers an important question raised in the yajurvEda mantram - कस्मै॑ दे॒वाय॑ ह॒विषा॑ विधेम? Kasmai dEvAya haviShA vidhEma? To which God do we offer our sacrifice or worship? The answer LORD NARAYANA, is elaborated in TIRUVASIRIYAM.

SIXTH ANDADI 

In the moonRAm Ayiram section of divya prabandham text, it is the sixth prabandham and the sixth andAdi prabandham too.

THE NAME TIRUVASIRIYAM

The divya prabandhams have been set in four types of drAviDa chandas namely veNpA, AsiriyapA, kalipA and vanjipA.  TiruvAsiriyam prabandham is composed in the easy, ancient style of tamil prosody named ‘Asiriya pA ஆசிரியப்பா’, hence the name tiruvAsiriyam.  All seven verses end with the rhyming exclamatory syllable ‘E ஏ’.

TIRUVASIRIYAM IS EQUAL TO THE WORD ‘NARAYANAYA’ IN ASHTAKSHARA MANTRAM.

Tiruviruttam is the substance of ‘praNava’ shabdam and ‘namah’ shabdham of aShTAksharam (Om and NamO).

TiruvAsiriyam is the essence of the ‘nArAyaNAya’ padam of ashTAksharam. “nArAyaNAya” means -  "The jeeva exists only for Lord nArAyaNa, not for His own benefit".

TIRUVASIRIYAM AND YAJUR VEDAM – SIMILARITIES

Yajur vEdam has seven kANDas.  TiruvAsiriyam also has seven pAsurams in which is hidden the essence of yajur vEdam.

Yajur mantra has no restrictions on the meter or the length of the lines.  In the same way, tiruvAsiriyam is also in prose style called ‘gadyam’ or vasana naDai ( in tamizh).

Yajur vEdam describes yagyams (fire sacrifices) in detail, giving importance to the adhvaryu priest who makes the yAgashALA ready with yajus mantras.  Just as the adhvaryu priest has a special connection with the deity of the yagya, so also in tiruvAsiriyam, nammAzhvAr has a special relationship with emperumAn Shreeman narAyaNa who is worshipped through the yagyam called tiruvArAdhanam.

PARAMA BHAKTI TO BHAGAVAT PRAPTI

Abhinava Desikan Uttamur Shri VeerarAghavAchAryar swAmi believes that NammAzhvAr,  through his four prabandhams, transcended the four stages of bhakti namely Parabhakti, ParagyAna, Paramabhakti and Bhagavat prApti.  Decoding this statement, it appears that...

1) In tiruviruttam, NammAzhvAr was in the stage of PARABHAKTI.  With the unconditional grace of bhagavAn, he was blessed with the wisdom of shunning the lowly samsAra which has connection with the material body.   He pleaded the Lord to give him mOksha, the supreme goal. 

2) In tiruvAsiriyam, NammAzhvAr enters the stage of PARAGYANA.  BhagavAn could have given mOksha to nammAzhvAr immediately after tiruviruttam, but He probably wanted some more pAsurams from nammAzhvAr’s mouth for the elevation of mankind of Kaliyuga.  Hence, the Lord blessed nammAzhvAr with pratyaksha darshanam. He gave him the vision of ksheerAbdinAtha VishNu reclining on the serpent AdisEsha floating on the milky ocean.  Exhilarated with the sensational tirumEni anubhavam, NammAzhvar engaged himself in praising the beauty of the Lord’s divine form and remained in the company of bhAgavatas. The resultant prabandham was tiruvAsiriyam.

3) In Periya tiruvandAdi, nammAzhvAr migrates to the next state of uncontrollable love called PARAMABHAKTI,  and expresses his immediate urge to reach Paramapadam.

4) In tiruvAymozhi, He finally attains Lord Shreeman NArAyaNa - BHAGAVAT PRAPTI. 

 ANANYA BHOGAM

After sharanAgati, a sharanAgata should consider only ‘BhagavAn’ as his enjoyment shunning all other worldly attractions.  This quality of a prapanna is called ananya bhOgyatvam. 

What are the ways to cultivate ananya bhOgyatvam?

In the seven pAsurams of tiruvAsiriyam, NammAzhvAr reveals 7 ways namely..

1) Enjoying the soundaryam (beauty) of Lord VishNu’s wonderful forms. (tirumEni anubhavam)

2) Bhagavat Bhakti and association with bhaktas (bhAgavata sambandham),

3) Service to aDiyArs (bhAgavata sEshatvam),

4) Contemplating on the Lord’s divine feet (tiruvaDi smaraNam)

5) Praising bhagavAn’s kalyANa guNas (nAma sankeertanam, stOtra pArAyaNam, etc),

6) Avoiding the attachment to other dEvatas who can only grant trivial happiness (ananyArha sEshatvam)

7) One pointed devotion to Shreeman NArAyaNa (ananya sharaNyatvam)

It is said that reciting tiruvAsiryam brings ‘Ananda anubhavam’ to the reciter.  So, inviting dear bhaktas to happily fill the seven days of the ensuing week learning seven happy pAsurams of tiruvAsiriyam.

ADIYEN

AZHVAR EMPERUMANAR DESIKAN TIRUVADIGALE SHARANAM

            AUDIO LESSONS - TIRUVASIRIYAM

TANIYAN - TIRUVASIRIYAM

By Shree AruLALa PerumAL EmperumAnAr

காசினியோர் தாம்வாழக் கலியுகத்தே வந்துதித்து
ஆசிரியப் பாவதனால் அருமறைநூல் விரித்தானை
தேசிகனைப் பராங்குசனைத் திகழ்வகுளத் தாரானை
மாசடையா மனத்துவைத்து மறவாமல் வாழ்த்துதுமே

kAsiniyOr tAmvAzha kaliyugattE vandudittu
AsiriyappAvadanAl arumaRainool virittAnai |
tEsiganai parAnkuSanai tigazh vakuLattArAnai
mASaDaiyA manattuvaittu maravAmal vAzhttudumE ||

Let us place our AchArya (dEsikanai), the AzhvAr who was a goad to opposing faiths (parAnkushanai), the one wearing the beautiful vakula garland (vakuLattAranai),  inside our pure hearts cleansed of the dirts like ahankAra and mamakAra (mAsaDaiyA manattuvaittu),  and let us praise Him forever without fail (maravAmal vAzhttudumE) for He incarnated in Kaliyuga to revive the people of the earth (kAsini) and blessed us with the tiruvAsiriyam divya prabandham which is the very purport of the precious vEdas.

TIRUVASIRIYAM 1 TO 3
PASURAMS 2578 TO 2580

2578. sekkar mA mugil uDuttu mikka senjuDar

paridi sooDi, anjuDar madiyam pooNDu,

pala suDar punainda pavaLachchevvAi,

tigazh pasunjOdi maradaga kunRam

kaDalOn kaimisai kaN vaLarvadu pOl,

peetaga ADai muDi pooN mudalA,

mEdagu pal kalanaNindu, sOdi

vAyavum kaNNavum sivappa, meediTTu 

pachchai mEni migappagaippa,

nachchuvinai kavar talai aravin amaLi Eri,

erikaDal naDuvuL ari tuyil amarndu,

sivan ayan indiran ivar mudal anaittOr,

deiva kuzhAngaL kai tozha kiDanda,

tAmarai undi tanipperum nAyaga,

moovulagaLanda sEvaDiyOyE || (1)

2578. In this pasuram, azhvAr gets the sAkshAtkAram of ksheerAbdhinAthan. He describes the extraordinary and attractive divya maNgaLa vigraham of the Lord in the shayana tirukkOlam in pArkaDal.

AzhvAr perceives the beautiful tirumEni of the Lord and starts describing. I can see the emerald-green coloured gorgeous mountain like divya mangaLa vigraham of the Lord. (TirumAlai pAsuram 2- Pachchai mA malai pOl mEni pavaLa vAy kamala senkaN,பச்சை மா மலை போல் மேனி பவழ வாய் கமல செங்கண்). 

His tirumEni is so youthful, tender and pleasant to the eyes. Whoever witnesses it will be freed from the samsara tApam instantly. The huge red clouds of the evening sky (sekkar mA mugil) seem to have wrapped around the waist of the Lord’s greenish tirumEni as a panchakachcham (peetagavADai)! The sun with its infinite lustre has decorated around your head like a dazzling crown (sem suDar paridi sooDi). With all these brilliant beams of the sun rays, the cool and calm moon has found its place adorning the neck like a necklace (am suDar madiyam ppoNDu). The luminance from the various stars in the sky seem to embellish the Lord like pearl jewellery. On this huge dark hued tirumEni, the corals can be seen staggered but one such coral forms your beautiful lips and ever compassionate divine eyes which attracts one like a magnet to contemplate on you incessantly. The glitter from the luminous objects like the peetakavADai, crown, necklace, lips and the divyAbharaNams compete with the effulgence emanating from the emerald-green tirumEni and it is the dark greenish complexion which wins over all the radiating objects. Oh! Lord! Your dark hued tirumEni is incomparable, spread evenly like a green moss and hence I am totally wonderstruck by it. 

AzhvAr now enjoys the shayana tirukkOlam of the Lord. 

I can perceive His divya mangaLa vigraham who is lying on the heart of the surging milky ocean, the pArkaDal. His tirumEni is amiable for enjoyment and worthy to take refuge (shubhAshrayam). It seems as if the soaring waves are the hands of samudrarAjan varunA who is affectionately holding this humongous tirumEni of emperumAn (kaDalOn kai misai). Oh! The beauty of your shayana tirukkOlam is so adorable! The mighty multiheaded AdisEshan spitting venom into the ocean to scare the enemies to protect you is your mattress! You have climbed onto him who gives you all the pleasure and comfort as you repose comfortably in yOganidrA (arituyil) pretending to sleep but busy performing and contemplating on your attribute of rakshakatvam.  SarvEshvaranE! The cool and attractive lotus sprouting from your navel is appealing to the eyes; hence you are solely worthy of worshipping and surrendering. Brahma, Shiva, Indran and all the devas come in groups to pArkaDal to prostrate and praise you.

**AzhvAr, choked with paramabhakti, found that he was short of words to describe the Lord. He says that His divya mangaLa vigraham is incomparable to the things we humans perceive which will reduce His divinity. Unable to describe Him fully, AzhvAr ends the pAsuram with the immeasurable glories of trivikrama avatAra

He says: Once as vAmana and trivikrama, after accepting argyam from mahAbali you measured the three worlds with your beautiful tiruvaDis! I am now totally spellbound by your divine attributes and aghaTitaghaTanA sAmartyam! 

Ending the pAsuram with மூவுலகலந்த சேவடியோயே! ((moo ulagu aLanda sEvaDiyOyE!), AzhvAr wishes Him saying - Oh! My Lord! You should live for many years! paLLAnDu vAzhga! 

A similar feeling of lack of words was expressed by NammAzhvAr in his TIRUVAYMOZHI 3.1.2 - 

ஒட்டுரைத்திவ்வுலகுன்னைப் புகழ்வெல்லாம் பெரும்பாலும் * 

பட்டுரையாய்ப்புற்கென்றே காட்டுமால்பரஞ்சோதீ!

OTTuraittu ivvulagu unnai pugazhvellAm perumpAlum

 paTTuraiyAy puRkeRE kATTumAl paranjOti! 

The humans equate your tirumEni citing examples like lotus, fish etc. These examples seem to degrade your divinity which is incomparable and unparalleled. (1)

2579. ulagu paDaittu uNDa endai araikazhal

suDar poondtAmarai sooDudarku avAvu

Aruyir urugi ukka nEriya kAdal

anbil inbeen tEral amuda

veLLattAnAm sirappu viTTu oru poruTku |

asaivOr asaiga tiruvODu maruviya

iyarkai mAyA peruviral ulagam

moonrinODu nal veeDu perinum

koLvadeNNumO teLLiyOr kurippE || (2)

2579. After enjoying the divya maNgaLa vigraham of the Lord in pArkaDal, NammAzhvAr praises the paramabhakti of the devotees and appealed to the samsArees. 

Oh! My Lord graced me and accepted my bhakti unconditionally due to overflowing compassion! endai! He is the sarvEshvaran! He is vaTapatrashAyee who ingested the worlds during the mahApraLayam and protected them in his stomach displaying his aghaTitaghaTanAsAmartyam which is one of His amazing attributes. 

His divine feet are soft and pinkish like the lotus beautified by the jingling anklets (aRai kazhal)! The great saints and wise who are in the state of paramabhakti aspire to adorn these divine tiruvaDis on their head. Their unstinted devotion for the Lord, concentrating on the antarAtmA; immersed in undaunted devotion craving to adorn His tiruvaDis causes their heart to melt (Ar uyir urugi ukka) and the sweet nectar of paramabhakti profusely flows around them as the taitreeyam 5 says that He is Anandamayee, One who is a paradise of bliss! 

NammAzhvAr is now reminded of the ignorant samsArees and pleads to them. 

Oh! samsArees! Refrain from getting immersed in the trivial desires (oru poruTku) and shackles of this samsara. Do not yearn and cry for other’s wealth, family and power which are temporary. Spend your life consciously engaging yourself in the meaningful pursuit of contemplating on emperumAn, enjoying his divya maNgaLa vigraham and kalyANA gunas.

 AzhvAr says that one can easily reach the first stage of bhakti if one is in a satsangam, has sAtvik food and disciplined practices according to one’s dharma. Then he realises that his voice has not been heard and his request to them is futile. So he says, ”Why should I worry about them? Let them continue chasing their materialistic desires.” 

Let me turn my attention to the great saints and the wise who are always worthy of praise. They enjoyably relish this delicious nectar (amuda veLLam) of bhakti. They consider this period of anticipation to reach the lord very gratifying and pleasurable as kulashEkara AzhvAr says en kaNNiNaigaL enRu kolO kaLikkum nALE?

teLLiyOr kuRippu koLvadu eNNumO? Having enjoyed the sweet nectar of bhakti on the earth will, the wise ones or the saints who are capable of distinguishing between the ultimate bhagavAn and the trivial desires (सारसार विवेकज्ञा as bhagavad rAmanuja glorifies them in VEDANTA SANGRAHA) ever accept a life with abundant wealth, immense strength, the power to rule the three worlds or prefer (nal veeDu) the highest abode of paramapadam? (As tirumaisai pirAn says veeDadAna bOgam eidi- வீடதான போகம் எய்தி in tiruchchandaviruttam).

AzhvAr say that the virATpurushan sriman nArAyaNa is the purushArtam and contemplating upon Him is the nectar that is sweet to savour. AzhvAr always yearned to enjoy the Lord and due to the nirhEtuka krupA of perumAn, he was blessed to relish it on this earth during his lifetime. This paramabhakti of AzhvAr became svayam prayOjanam which became beneficial to him. Hence this experience was blissfully gratifying for AzhvAr. (2) 

2580. kurippil koNDu neripaDa ulaham

moonruDan vaNangu tOnru puhazh ANai

meipera naDAya deivam moovaril

mudalvanAhi suDar viLanga ahalattu

varaipurai tiraiporu peruvarai veruvara |

urumuraloli mali naLirkaDarpaDavara

arasu uDaltaDavarai suzhaTTriya tanimA

deivattaDiyavarkkini nAmALAhavE

isaiyungol oozhidOroozhiyOvAdE || (3)

2580. BhAgavata bhakti is superior to Bhagavad bhakti. 

nammAzhvAr glorifies the inherent divine attributes of the Lord (svaroopa svabhAvam). 

As nammAzhvAr himself quotes in tiruvAymozhi 1.1.1- ‘uyarvaRa uyar nalam udaiyavan yavan avan’, Sriman nArAyaNa is the supreme among all Gods. He is the dEvAdidEvan (mA deivam) who remains unparalleled. He is the paradEvata worthy of seeking asylum. Out of immense compassion for the jeevas, he created the three worlds by His sankalpam (kuRippil koNDu) alone for the welfare of the beings who can get rid of the cycle of rebirths, tread in the path of dharma and ultimately get elevated to enjoy the bliss of the Lord (neRi paDa). He who is the sole refuge is glorified and prostrated by those in the three worlds.

He is the supreme among the three gods Brahma, Rudran and Indran. The shruti,smriti and vEdas are His breath. The Lord commands them never fails to follow them as he values them a lot. He respects and favours those who follow the shAstras (Anai meypeRa kuRuppil). 

This emperumAn who is anantan has a gorgeous tirumEni with a broad chest whose radiance becomes multifold with luminance from the innumerable ornaments adorned on Him (suDarviLaNga agalattu). 

AzhvAr enjoys extolling the incarnation of the Lord as koormam which is fascinating and commendable!

Once the Devas lost their wealth and power cursed by Sage DurvAsa. Hence this was a good opportunity for the asuras to gain power on Indra’s throne. dEvEndran along with the other dEvas surrendered to tirumAl and pleaded to help him regain all that he had lost. emperumAn who is the sarva rakshagan and ever compassionate One, took a resolution and incarnated as koormam (tortoise) for the benefit of the dEvas to give them the divine nectar.  The milky ocean was to be churned to get the nectar. The mighty mandara mountain became a rod and the lengthy vAsuki snake was the rope that wound itself around the mountain. The dEvas and the asuras came together to churn. As they churned, the mountain started sinking and tirumAl took the form of a huge tortoise (koormam) and supported the massive mountain on his back. The most amazing feat was that he effortlessly churned the ocean all alone! While he churned the roaring waves of pArkaDal created sounds like the thunderbolts causing the huge mountains to tremble (varia purai tirai pora peruvarai veruvara urumural olimali) and vAsuki the king of snakes (paDa aravu arasu) enjoyably spread his hoods to relish this precious moment on the cool ocean of compassion (naLir kaDal) freed of responsibility of churning! 

   

The bhAgavatAs are invariably overwhelmed with his amazing kalyANaguNas. Their unstinted devotion of servitude by being loyally subservient to emperumAn alone (bhagavat sEshatvam) is what pleases Him. They are the realised souls who are aware that the Lord has come down to reside on the earth from paramapadam to protect us (rakshakatvam), being accessible (sulabhan) and shedding His true quality of paratvam (supremacy). He comes in search of such devotees as he adores them. It is not easy to get the oppurtunity to perform kainkaryam to such bhAgavatas. Immersed in this ocean of worldly pleasures and accumulation of karmAs, the samsArees are ignorant of the greatness of the bhAgavatAs who have totally surrendered to the Lord. 

AzhvAr asserts that getting the sambandham of bhAgavatAs is not easy. It happens only with His grace. The jeevAs should not consider the bhAgavatAs who are His favourite as their equals (as sajAteeyam). Will I get the opportunity to serve bhAgavatAs? Will I inherit the optimistic attitude to serve them faithfully during my life time, being sub servient to the bhAgavatAs (bhAgavata sEshatvam) not only now but in every kalpa without wasting even a second (oozhidOroozhi OvAdE)? 

In nAnmugan tiruvandAdi 60,  tirumazhisai AzhvAr expresses the same bhakti towards bhAgavatas, and requests for uninterrupted kainkaryam . (nin

tALpArttu uzhitaruvEn tanmaiyai kETpArkku-தாட்பார்த் துழிதருவேன் தன்மையை, கேட்பார்க்கு). 

Hence performing kainkaryam to bhAgavatas is superior to bhagavat kainkaryam says AzhvAr. (3)

TIRUVASIRIYAM  4 and 5
PASURAMS 2581 and 2582 

2581. oozhidOroozhi OvAdu vAzhiya

enru yAn tozha isaiyungol?

yAvahai ulahamum yAvarumillA

mElvarum perumpAzh kAlattu irumporuTku

ellAm arum peral tanivittu oru |

tAnAhi deiva nAnmuha kozhu muLai

eenru mukkaNeesanODu dEvupala nudali

moovulahan viLaitta undi

mAya kaDavuL mAmudalaDiyE || (4)

2581. Having hailed the bhAgavatas in the earlier pAsurams, AzhvAr now emphasizes on worshipping and singing the praise of the divine tiruvaDis of emperumAn without seeking any favour or boon as a result.

   During the praLayam (perumpAzh kAlam), the deluge, the universe was devoid of any chEtana and achEtana (iruporuL)-- living and non-living things. Soon afterwards, emperumAn Himself (tanivittu), being the material, instrumental and supportive cause, created all of it*.

   He created the four-headed Lord BrahmadEva* (putEL). And just as a healthy sapling (kozhumuLai) brings forth leaves, branches, flowers and fruits, BrahmA created what made up the living and non-living entities**. He created the three eyed Rudra and all the dEvas.

    Thus, He created the three lOkas from His divine navel. He is the one of endless wonders and awe inspiring.  He is the most superior of all. 

   May we be blessed to relentlessly meditate on emperumAn's divine tiruvaDi, which is the sole reason for our survival. May we also elevate ourselves like the bhAgavatas and sing the glory of the divine tiruvaDis to derive immortal bliss! 

* tani vittu... EmperumAn is the sole creator, He being the material, instrumental and supportive causes of creation. In the case of a mud pot, 

Material Cause is -  Mud

Supportive Cause is - The wheel, water

Instrumental Cause is -  The Potter

EmperumAn creates the Universe, chEtanam and achEtanam by being the sole reason for creation.

** EmperumAn's shRushThi is of two patterns viz. advAraka srushti and sadvAraka shRushThi. By being the advAraka shRushThi kartA, He created the entire universe. By being the sadvAraka shRrushThi kartA, He created BrahmA and deputed him to create the rest of the entities.  (4) 

2582. mA mudal aDippOdonru kavizhttu alartti

maN muzhudumahappaDuttu oNsuDaraDippOdu

onru viNselee nAn muha puttEL

nADu viyanduvappa vAnavar muraimurai

vazhipaDa niree tAmaraikkADu |

malaikkaNNoDu kanivAyuDaiyadu

mAi irunAyirAyiram malarndanna

karpahakkAvu parpalavanna

muDitOLAyiram tazhaitta

neDiyOikkalladum aDiyadO ulagE || (5)

2582. EmperumAn spread and placed one of His divine lotus (pOdu) tiruvaDis, which is the reason for creation (mAmudal), over the entire earth and claimed it to be His. 

   He extended His other beautiful and luminous lotus tiruvaDi and stopped (niRE) at Lord Brahma's satyalOka, much to the exhilaration of BrahmA and the other devas. They performed tirumanjanam to the tiruvaDi, as prescribed in the sacred texts. 

    Can the world be subservient to anyone other than the paramapurushan (neDiyOy), whose eyes glow like a forest full of blooming lotuses; whose lips are like the red kOvai fruit; who flaunts a crown that glistens as if a thousand suns ( nAyiRu) were put together and who has a thousand shoulders as if it were an orchard filled with exotic karpaga vrukSham.

   AzhvAr extols the saulabhyam and sausheelyam of emperumAn, and how He reaches out to devotees making himself easily accessible while taking the vAmana avatAram.  AzhvAr exclaims that one can be subservient to this compassionate paramapurushan and none other.  

STORY OF VAMANA-TRIVIKRAMA AVATARA

After consecration as Chakravarti, on the death of his father HiraNyakashipu, PrahlAda ruled over his kingdom for several years in a dhArmic way, spreading the message of bhakti on Lord Narayana and making his subjects true vaishNavas, until he became aged. He then coronated his grandson Bali as the next heir to the throne, as his son virOchana was malicious and conceited like HiraNyakashipu. PrahlAda advised Bali to be a dhArmic king and a true vaishNava and retired to the Himalayas to do penance.

    Bali was a righteous king and one day, called his ministers and informed them of his intention to go to the Himalayas to perform penance.  He asked them to take care of the kingdom until he returned. 

    Delighted with Bali's penance, BrahmA appeared and asked him what his wish was. Bali wanted his bhakti, strong faith, and commitment to remain a vaishNava, and his righteousness, to remain as steadfast as his grandfather Prahlada's. Further, he wanted to rule over all three lOkas and remain invincible. BrahmA granted some the boons and Bali returned to his kingdom, sONitApuram. 

    He performed many yagyas and gave away copious dhAnams and gifts. His kulaguru, ShukrAchArya was pleased with mahAbali's conduct and blessed him. As he grew in stature, he became proud and arrogant. He tried to reclaim the swargalOka which had been captured earlier by HiraNyakashipu. Bali sent ShukrAchArya as His emissary to Bruhaspati and demanded that swargalOka be surrendered to him or to face a war. Indra sought a months' time and sought the help of BrahmA and Rudra, who were unable to help him. Indra, then went to Lord VishNu, who promised to intervene at the right time, especially since, MahAbali was His ardent devotee. 

    At the end of the stipulated time, Bali marched forth to wage a war against Indra. Seeing IndralOka barren, he acquired Indra's throne and claimed to be the king. He demanded that Bruhaspathi serve as his guru. Bruhaspati, however refused saying that Indra was a title to be won by performing a hundred ashwamEda yagas. What was deceitfully captured would not amount to be the title. He went to rishi KAshyapa's ashram and reported the plight of Indra to Rishi and his patni, aditi. Aditi worshipped Lord Vishnu to save her son Indra.

    Lord Vishnu was born as vAmana to KAshyapaa and aditi and grew up as a brAhmin boy. He was taught the vEdas and scriptures by kAshyapa. One day, when Bali was performing a yagya on the banks of the river NarmadA, vAmana moorti entered the sacrificial ground seeking alms. Delighted at the prospect of gifting, to a glowing, young Brahmachari BrAhamNa, Bali promised to give him whatever He sought. The young vAmana asked for three feet of land. He grew up, taking viswaroopam, as trivikrama and measured the earth with one tiruvaDi and the upper world with His other tiruvaDi. He demanded to have His third feet measure. Bali offered his own head. VAmana placed His tiruvaDi on Bali's head and pushed him into the underworld, thereby extinguishing his arrogance. (5)

TIRUVASIRIYAM 6 and 7
PASURAMS 2583, 2584

2583. O O ulaginadu iyalvE eenrOLirukka

maNaineerATTi paDaittiDanduNDumizhndu

aLandu tEnrndu ulahaLikkum mudarperum

kaDavuL nirpa puDaipala tAnari

deivam pENudal tanAdu |

pullarivANmai porundakkATTi

kolvanamudalA vallana muyalum

inaiya seihai inbu tunbaLi

tonmAmAya piraviyuL neengA

panmA mAyattu azhundumA naLirndE || (6)

2583. When AzhvAr went to the places of the samsAris and checked whether they were worshipping the almighty Shreeman NArAyaNa, as pleaded by him, he was shocked and saddened that they were only making efforts to move away from emperumAn and were taking refuge under the other Gods for their survival and protection.  

Unable to tolerate the hasty attitude of people who dwell on the earth chasing and enjoying materialistic things without realizing their irreparable loss, AzhvAr cries out aloud saying "O, O" to the extent that it could be heard in the lOkas measured by emperumAn in His Trivikrama avatAra. 

AzhvAr says that this is the greatest loss for the AtmA.

*eenrOLirukka maNaineerATTi*

A mother is one who holds him in her womb for ten months and even before giving birth she sacrifices her pleasures, she then bears the pain of labour, nurses and cuddles him with utmost care and passion at every stage of his life at the cost of her health and dedicates her body and soul for the sake of her kin.  But the child after growing up without even realizing her penance and unconditional love gives bath to a wooden plank failing to appreciate and compliment her help.

AzhvAr relates this deed to that of those people who are praising other dEvatas ignoring emperumAn. MaNai here refers to achEtanas. NerATTi refers to upachAras.  MaNai NeerATTu refers to dEvatAntara bhajana.

AzhvAr assumes emperumAn to be the mother. AzhvAr says He is the supreme lord who created the chetanas and during pralaya (time of submerge) emperumAn takes the incarnation of a boar and dug the earth out; again he kept the earth safely in His stomach and spits it out during the time of creation; again in his Vamana avatar he seized all the worlds from Mahabali and proved Himself to be the protective entity. 

*puDaippalatAnari deivam pENudal*

AzhvAr feels sad for the samsAris. The worldly pleasures like having children and possessing wealth may bring joy and happiness but are all temporary materialistic pleasures says AzhvAr.

The samsAris would worship various deities according to their individual desire and belief. But these dEvatas are only doing their respective duties (God for wealth (aishwaryam), God for health etc).

But to attain mOksha it is only to the supreme God SRIMAN NARAYANAN one has to surrender. And one should realize that these dEvatas and all chEtanas, achEnatas and every single entity were all kept in the stomach of emperumAn (who took many avatars to protect and save His BhAgavatas) when he was lying on a tiny soft (aalilai) banyan leaf during praLaya. AzhvAr feels sad that the chEtanas aren't taking efforts to realise His sanctity and march forward towards attaining Him.

*The same reference has been given by Tirumangai AzhVar in Periya Thirumozhi 11 -6-6."பெற்ற தாயிருக்க மணை வெந்நீராட்டுதிரோ மாட்டாத தகவற்றீரே". (6)

2584. naLir madi saDaiyanum nAnmuhakkaDavuLum

taLiroLi imaiyavar talaivanum mudalA

yAvagaiyulagamum yAvarumagappaDa

nilaneer teekAl suDariru visumbum

malarsuDarpiravum siriduDan mayanga |

oruporuL purappADinri muzhuvadum

agappaDa karandu OrAlilai sErndavem

perumAmAyanaiyalladu

orumAdeivam maRRuDaiyamO yAmE || Seven ||

2584. Pitying the samsAris who do not worship Lord NArAyaNa, AzhvAr adds on, "I am not able to tolerate this insensible act". Yet, I am satisfied and delighted that I am firm in my stand to worship only emperumAn. 

AzhvAr also clearly states that EmperumAn doesn't show any distinction or discrimination among His bhaktas, be it rich or poor.  He treats everyone alike and keeps them in His small stomach during pralaya time.

NaLir  madichchaDaiyanum....Rudran (Eswaran), despite the fact that he is having strands of matted hair to show that he is carrying out sadAnushThAnam,  hides the truth (that he too faces several hurdles and hindrances while doing His role of samhAra lord) and places the cool chandran on his head to show that he is in immense joy, just like people who carry heavy load on daily basis and earn their living) and keep the fragrant pine leaf on their heads and pretend to be happy.(தாழை மடலைக்கீறி).

NAnmuga KaDavulum.... 

The deity brahma has four faces and he is the one who has created Lord Rudran too. 

Even these two deities (of creation and destruction) are within the universe states AzhvAr.

Nilam neer tee kAl suDar iruvisumbum malariya suDar......These are collectively known as the Panchabhootas or five elements (namely earth, water, fire, wind and ether) which are the cause behind the functioning of all entities within this cosmic world.

AzhvAr says its his bhAgyam (pride) to describe all the elements (kept in his stomach) one by one in detail though he has stated all these chEtanas and achEtanas earlier.

சிறிதுடன் மயங்க...

1.The first interpretation ... 

உடன் மயங்க..

He kept the entire universe in a small space in his stomach.

2.The second interpretation..

உடல் மயங்க..

All the things without omitting anyone is kept inside His (பேதை குழவியான) small stomach. 

We can never think of any deity other than SHREEMAN NARAYANA as the Supreme power** and he was the one who was resting on a tiny banyan leaf as a tender delicate child.* Thus AzhvAr focuses on the paratva guNa of emperumAn in this pAsuram. 

*(பாலன் தனதுருவாய் ...........மெய்யென்பர்(முதல் திருவந்தாதி 79)

**அன்றெல்லாருமறியாரோ.......அல்லாதார் தாமுளரே...(பெரியதிருமொழி -Tirumangai  AzhvAr) 

AzhvAr strongly and fittingly concludes this prabandham by saying "Do we have another deity to attain and surrender?"(ஒருமா தெய்வம்மற் றுடையமோ யாமே?)

Though NammAzhvAr has not mentioned his name in the last pAsuram and there is no 'phalashruti' according to the usual practice, this prabandham concluding with the paratvam of emperumAn Shreeman NArAyaNa is considered to be complete, as beleived by our AchAryas. (7)

AZHVAR EMPERUMANAR DESIKAN TIRUVADIGALE SHARANAM