NANMUGAN TIRUVANDADI

  

NANMUGAN TIRUVANDADI

MAY 2022

INTRODUCTION

Naanmugan TiruvandAdi prabandham is composed by Tirumazhisai AzhvAr who is known to command temple moolavars to obey Him.  His verses ‘vAzhi kEshanE” and ‘pai nAga pAyai churuTTikoL’ are unforgettable in this context.   He composed one more prabandham called Tiruchchandaviruttam’ which is an arithmetical and rhythmic masterpiece. Readers may want to lookup his riveting stories at https://devamrutam.blogspot.com/p/tirumazhisai-azhvar.html

Nanmugan TiruvandAdi is the fourth prabandham in the moonrAm Ayiram identified as iyarpA as compiled by Shree NAthamuni.  As the prabandham starts with the word ‘NAnmugan”, it is named “nAnmugan tiruvandAdi”.  By reason of being placed immediately after the first three tiruvandAdis of the mudal AzhvArs, this prabandham also gets the name ‘nAngAm tiruvandAdi’. 

Tirumazhisai AzhvAr was an ashTAnga yOgi and a scholar.   Wandering in search of absolute truth, He is said to have explored many philosophies one after the other until He was finally satisfied with vaishNava philosophy.  His Guru pEyAzhvAr dispelled all his doubts, transformed and consecrated him as a shree vaishNava after which He never had any doubts that the supreme self is Lord NArAyaNa.  Hence AchArya ManavALa mAmunigaL addresses him as 'tuyya madi peRRa mazhisai pirAn' - the one who attained a spotless mind.

Amazed at His unswerving devotion to Lord VishNu, Lord Shiva, an eminent yOgi himself, awarded Tirumazhisai AzhvAr with the title ‘BhaktisAran’ meaning the “epitome of Bhakti”. Tirumazhisai Azhvar is said to have lived for an incredible 4700 years or more propagating and establishing vaishNava siddhAntam to direct deluded people in the right path of mOksha. 

AzhvAr’s nAnmugan tiruvandAdi is a distinct and clear echo of the absolute truth that Shreeman nArAyaNa is the only one worshipable as the supreme Brahman. Tirumazhisai AzhvAr substantiates the supreme causality and omnipresence of shreeman nArAyaNa with the essence derived from vEdic texts, upanishads, smritis, purANAs and itihAsas.  

Please join us as we follow the crystalline trail of mazhisai pirAn to taste the amaranthine nectar once again.  

ADiyEn

Azhvar EmperumAnAr Desikan TiruvaDigalE SharaNam

AUDIO LESSONS

TANIYAN
TIRUMAZHISAI AZHVAR

By Shri SeerAma PiLLai 

nArAyaNan paDaittAn nAnmuganai, nAnmuganukku

ErAr shivan pirandAn ennumsol seerAr |

mozhi seppi vAzhalAm nenjamE! moipoo

mazhisai paranaDiyE vAzhttu ||

Lord NArAyaNa, the primordial Lord created Lord BrahmA. To BrahmA was born the eminent Lord Shiva.  This ultimate truth is established in the divine prabandham “NAnmugan TiruvandAdi” (which speaks of the supremacy (paratva) and causeless mercy (nirhEtuka KrupA) of Shreeman nArAyaNa.  Oh nenjamE! Let us attain salvation by reciting this prabandham and glorifying the exalted feet of the great Lord mazhisai paran, who was born in the beautiful, flower-filled city of Tirumazhisai.

NANMUGAN TIRUVANDADI 1 TO 10
PASURAMS 2382 TO 2391

Tirumazhisai AzhvAr establishes that the original cause of all cause is Lord nArAyaNa and hence the original cause alone should be the means and the goal for all jeevas.

2382. nAn muganai nArAyaNan paDaittAn nAn muhanum

tAn muhamAi sangaranai tAn paDaittAn yAnmugamAi |

andAdi mEliTTu arivittEn Azh poruLai

sindAmal koNmin neer tErndu || (1)

Tirumazhisai AzhvAr says

Shreeman nArAyaNa created Lord BrahmA.  

Lord BrahmA received the knowledge of the four vEdas with His four heads (nAnmuganum tAn mugamAi), took the lead and created Shankara (the one who does good - sham karOti iti shankarah).  

It is to declare this primeval truth that aDiyEn has composed this andAdi.  May the samsAris of this world analyse its deep meanings carefully and engrave in their hearts without spilling out the essence that Shreeman NArAyaNa is the paradEva - Supreme God. (1)

MahOpanishad says, 

1.ऎको ह वै नारायण आसीत्, न ब्रह्म, न ईशान"

“Eko ha vai nArAyaNa Aseet, na brahma, na eeshAna…"

In the beginning, before any creation, there was only nArAyaNa, neither brahmA nor eeshANa.

NArAyaNOpanishad says, 

2. अथ पुरुषो ह वै नारायणोऽकामयत प्रजाः सृजेयेति ।

atha puruSho ha vai nArAyaNO &kAmayata prajA: sRujEyEti |

The supreme being nArAyaNa willed to create beings.

3. नारायणादेव समुत्पद्यन्ते। 

nArAyaNAdEva samutpadyantE|

All beings including devas like brahmA, rudra, indra, vasu, Aditya, vEda chandas etc. emerged from nArAyaNa.

4. नारायणात्प्रवर्तन्ते ।

nArAyaNAt pravartantE|

Everyone and everything is directed by nArAyaNa to perform specific duties to sustain the universe.

5. नारायणे प्रलीयन्ते।

nArAyaNE praleeyantE|

Everyone/ everything merges into nArAyaNa finally.

2383. tErungAl dEvan oruvanE enru uraippar

Arum ariyAr avan perumai Orum |

poruL muDivumittanaiyE ettavam seidArkkum

aruL muDivadu AzhiyAn pAl || (2)

In earlier research on this topic (tErungAl), vEdic scholars like vyAsa have concluded that nArAyaNa is the only God (dEvan oruvanE).  No one can assess or describe all His greatness as He has limitless attributes - ananta kalyAna guNas.  Even the vEdas (Orum) and vEdAntas (poruL muDivum) can only say this much (ittanaiyE).  Even those who perform sAdhanas strictly (Edu tavam) be it anything like bhakti yoga, gyAna yoga or karma yOga, can attain Him only by the mercy of Lord NArAyaNa who holds the chakra. (2)

NArAyaNa upanishad

देव एको नारायणो | न द्वितीयॊ अस्ति कश्चित् |

dEva EkO nArAyaNa: na dviteeyO asti kashchit

nArAyaNa is the only God.

VishNu Sooktam

परॊ मात्रय तनुवा वृधान । न तॆ महित्वमन्वश्नुवन्ति।

parO mAtraya tanuvA vRudhAna | na tE mahitvamanvashnuvanti|

You transcend all physical measurements, None can ever know and experience Your complete glory.

2384.  pAlir kiDandaduvum paNDarangam mEyaduvum

Alil tuyinraduvumarivAr jnAlattu |

oru poruLai vAnavar tam meipporuLai appil

aruporuLai yAnarinda vAru || (3)

Let me tell You about the supreme Lord in the way I have realized Him. 

He is Lord VishNu who reclines majestically as anantashayana on the milky ocean ksheerAbdi (pAlil kiDandaduvum).

He came down to rest at Tiruvarangam and graces his devotees daily with his saulabhya guNas (paNDu arangam mEyaduvum).  

During the days of praLaya, He reposed sweetly on the banyan leaf as Alilai krishNa and ingested the entire universe into His stomach with His aghaTitaghaTanA shakti (Alir tuyinraduvum)

He is the cause of the universe who also incarnated as avatAra purusha in this world (nyAlattu oru poruLai)

At the same time, He is the close/direct object of enjoyment for the nityasooris in paramapadam, the supreme destination (vAnavar tam meipporuLai)

He is the primeval one lying on the water (ap) which is considered as the first cause of all life according to the Rig vEda. (appil aru poruLai)

How amazing isn’t it! (3)

2385. Aru saDaikkarandAn aNDarkOn tannODum

kooruDaiyan enbaduvum koLgaittE vEroruvar |

illAmai ninrAnai emmAnai epporuTkum

sollAnai sonnEn toguttu || (4)

2385. Is it fair to equate Lord Shiva who attained purity by the locking the ganges in His matted hair, with Lord NarayaNa , the Lord of all dEvas.  There is no one equal to or above Shreeman nArAyaNa.  I also clarify. that any name in this world refers only to my Lord, emmAn, nArAyaNa. 

Since nArAyaNa is the antaryAmi in every being including the dEvas, He is said to be having ‘aparyavasanA vritti”.  He is ‘sarva shabdha vAchya’ meaning ‘all names available in the world point to the antaryAmi brahman, Lord nArAyaNa”.   (4)

nArAyaNOpanishad

न द्वितीयोऽस्ति कश्चित् ।

Na dviteeyO asti kashchit|

nArAyaNa is the one without a second.

nArAyaNa sooktam

यच्च किंचित् जगत्सर्वं दृश्यतॆ श्रूयतॆ अपि वा! 

अन्तर्बहिश्च तत्सर्वं व्याप्य नारायण स्थित: ।

yachcha kiMchit jagatsarvaM dRushyatE shrooyatE api vA! 

antarbahishcha tatsarvaM vyApya nArAyaNa sthita: |

Whatever is seen or heard in this world, all that is pervaded by nArAyaNa from inside and outside. 

2386. togutta varattanAi tOlAdAn mArvam

vagirtta vaLaiyugirttOL mAlE ugattil |

orunAnru neeyuyartti uLvAngi neeyE

aru nAngumAnAi ari || (5)

2386. AzhvAr asserts the sarvavyApitvam, all-pervasiveness of emperumAn.

Oh, Lord Narasimha emerged from a pillar! With Your hands having sharp nails, tore open the chest of HiraNyakashipu who acquired numerous powers of invincibility with His austere penance.  During praLaya kAla, You swallow all the worlds into Your belly and let them out during shrishThi kAla. You are the one who is immanent (antarAtmA) inside all the four types of jeevAtmAs namely dEva (Gods), manushya (humans), tiryak (animals) and sthAvara (plants).  

nArAyaNa is referred as ‘vishvAtmA”, the soul of the universe and “AtmEshvara”, the ruler of the individual souls – nArAyaNa sooktam. (5)

2387. ariyAr samaNar ayarttAr bavuttar

siriyAr sivappaTTAr seppil veriyAya |

mAyavanai mAlavanai mAdavanai EttAdAr

eenavarE AdalAl inru || (6)

2387. All those who refrain from praising Lord NArAyaNa who is all-fragrant (veriyAya – the vEdas refer to Him as ‘sarva gandah’); who showed His amazing feats in His numerous avatAras (mAyavanai); who is attracted to His loving devotees (mAlavanai) and who is the dear husband of Shri (mAdhava), are resting now in lower realms, instead of proceeding to the supreme abode Paramapadam.  (6)

2388.  inrAga nALaiyEyAga inisiridu

ninrAga ninnaruLen pAladE nanrAha |

nAnunnai anriyilEn kaNDAi nAraNanE

neeyennai anri ilai || (7)

2388. Lord NArAyaNa asks AzhvAr, You have rejected all other faiths. So what is so special in Your faith ? Why should I protect You.  

Azhvar replies explaining how He is closely related to nArAyaNa and indispensable for Him. 

Oh Lord nAraNanE! Look! I am fully confident that be it today, tomorrow or any future day, I have Your perfect blessing (paripoorNa anugraham).  I am very well sure that I cannot exist without You and You cannot exist without me.

Why does AzhvAr say that nArAyaNa cannot exist without him?

The word nArAyaNa itself means the one who is the abode of all beings (nAra) – 

नाराणाम् अयनम् यस्मात् तस्मान् नारायण स्मृत:

nArANAm ayanam yasmAt tasmAn narAyaNa smRutaH. (vAchaspatyam)

So, it becomes necessary for both the home and its inhabitants to co-exist mutually.

This divine relationship can also be explained with the Master-Servant relationship (sEshi-sEsha sambandham).  We chEtanas have bhagavat sEshatvam – we existing solely to serve the Lord.  Hence, we jeevas are called sEsha and bhagavAn who is our master is called sEshi. AzhvAr has realised this true relationship with bhagavAn and so He says that there cannot be a servant without a master and a master without a servant. Hence it is proved that jeevAtmA and paramAtmA are mutually dependent on each other.  (7)

2389.  ilaituNai maRRen nenjE eesanai venra

silai koNDa sengaNmAl sErA kulai koNDa |

eeraindalaiyAn ilangaiyai eeDazhitta

kooramban allAl kurai || (8)

2389. Oh heart, nenjE! Who else can we accept as our protector other than Shree rAma who holds the bow that excelled Shiva’s bow in a fight?  Lord rAma, the wielder of sharp arrows (koor amban), destroyed LankA along with its incorrigible, gregarious king rAvANa having ten heads.  Isn’t rAma our sole refuge? 

Shiva Dhanush Pinaka and VishNu Dhanush shArnga

Once, dEvashilpi VishvakarmA made two beautiful bows of which one was taken by VishNu and one by Shiva. Something had to cook!  The dEvas wanted to know whose bow was more powerful.  So, BrahmA arranged for a bow fight.  During the fight, ShivapirAn’s bow bent a bit. Hence VishNu won the bow fight. 

Shiva gave His Dhanush to king dEvarata and it passed on through generations to King Janaka, seetA’s father. This shiva Dhanush was kept for seetA swayamvara and rAma broke it.   

VishNu gave His strong bow to richika rishi and it passed on to Jamadagni and later to ParashurAma.  While returning from mithilA to ayOdhyA after marrying seetA, ParashurAma challenged rAma to bend the vishNu dhanush, Lord rAma bent it effortlessly and got all of parashurAma’s tapObalam in return for His valorous act. (8) 

2390. kurai koNDu nAnmugan kuNDigai neer peidu

marai koNDa mandirattAl vAzhtti karai koNDa|

kaNDattAn sennimEl Era kazhuvinAn

aNDattAn sEvaDiyai Angu || (9)

2390. In tirvikrama avatAra, when VishNu’s feet pierced into brahma lOka, brahmA stooped down in reverence for SarvEshwara (kurai kONDu), and pouring water from His kamaNDalam, washed the lotus feet of VishNu and did mangalAshAsanam with the purusha sooktam mantra.  This sacred water from VishNu's feet became river gangA and flowed profusely. Lord Shiva locked her up in his matted hair to save the earth from flooding.  

Lord Shiva once held the kAlakooTa/halAhala poison that emerged during Samudra manthanam in His neck (kanTha).  Hence, He is referred to as ‘karai koNDa kaNThattAn’ or ‘neelakaNTha”. 

As the river GangA emanated from vishNu’s feet, she is called bhagavat-padee or VishNu-padee or shreepAda teertham.  By virtue of bearing the shreepAda teertham on His head, neelakaNTha was purified and hence got the name “Shiva” meaning “the auspicious one” or “the sacred one”. Hence nArAyaNa’s lotus feet is the ultimate saviour for everyone including the dEvas. (9)

2391. Angu AravAram adu kETTu azhalumizhum

poongAr aravaNaiyAn ponmEni yAm kANa |

vallamE allamE mAmalarAn vArsaDaiyAn

vallarE allarE vAzhttu || (10)

2391. Hearing the reverberating sound of the sAmagAnam recited by the nitya muktas in Paramapadam, AdishEshan, the unalloyed loyal servitor of nArAyaNa, mistakes it to be the sound of rAkshasas and spews hot venom.  We, the devotees of nArAyaNa alone can visualize and enjoy this tirumEni of nArayAna seated on His cutely angry aide anantAzhvAn.  His enjoyable tirumEni cannot be experienced by BrahmA, the lotus born, whose thoughts are engaged in the duty of creation; and Shiva having long matted hair, whose thoughts are engaged in the duty of destruction.   (10)

NANMUGAN TIRUVANDADI 11 TO 20
PASURAMS 2392 TO 2401

2392. vAzhttugavAi kANha kaN kETka sevi mahuDam

tAzhtti vaNanguminhaL taNmalarAl soozhtta |

tuzhAimannu neeNmuDiyen tollaimAl tannai

vazhAvaNhai kooppi madittu || (11)

2392. AzhvAr lauds the attribute of rakshagatvam of the Lord during trivikrama avatAram. The learned praised Him with sAma gAnam performimg maNgaLAshAsanam. Amazed at the sulabhatvam of the Lord, AzhvAr instructs his sense organs (karmEndriyAs) to incessantly engage themselves in Him who has vowed to protect his devotees (satyasaNkalpah). 

Oh manamE! This sarvEshvaran adorning the thick tulasi garland on his big crown that suits him exclusively refuses to leave me out of abundance compassion! Hence, without wasting even a second, I request my hands to prostrate Him with folded hands (vaNkai kooppi) and place the head on his tiruvaDis (maDittu maguDam tAzhtti); surrender to Him and do archanai with fresh flowers. Let my mouth glorify Him by singing his divine nAmas. My eyes should enjoy only his divya maNgaLa vigraham; my ears should be drenched with His divine stories and feats alone.

Mukundamala-sloka 16.

जिह्वे कीर्तय केशवं मुररिपुं चेतो भज श्रीधरं

पाणिद्वन्द्व समर्चयाच्युतकथाः श्रोत्रद्वय त्वं श‍ृणु ।

कृष्णं लोकय लोचनद्वय हरेर्गच्छाङ्घ्रियुग्मालयं

जिघ्र घ्राण मुकुन्दपादतुलसीं मूर्धन् नमाधोक्षजम् ॥ १६॥॥

jihvE keertaya kEshavam muraripum chEtO bhaja sreedharam

pANidwandva samarchaya achyutakathAhA shrOtra dwaya tvamshruNu| 

krishNam lOkaya lOchana dvaya harEh gachchAnghri yugmAlayam

jighra ghrANa mukunda pAda tuLaseem moordhan namAdhokshajam||

Oh! Let my tongue (jihvE) forever sing praises of kEshava; Let my mind (manas) contemplate on murAri; my hands perform archana for Him, Shreedhara. Let my ears listen only to the stories of achyuta; Eyes may forever behold the beauty of Krishna; Let my twin feet walk to Hari’s temple, Let my nose smell the pAda tuLasee of that mukunda and head prostrate the Lord adhOkshaja.  (11)

2393.  madittAipOi nAgin madiyArpOi veezha

madittAi madikOL viDuttAi madittAi |

maDukkiDanda mAmudalai kOLviDuppAn Azhi

viDarkiraNDum pOyiraNDin veeDu || (12)

2393. AzhvAr exalts the Lord’s endeavours of Ashrita rakshaNam.

emperumAnE! Your vows are amazing! There are some humans who do not contemplate upon you inspite of accepting the prodigious vEdas. Such men undergo the cycle of birth and death in four types of life forms like devas, humans, plants and animals (madiyAr nAngil pOy veezha). Those who surrender to you are bound to experience your unassuming grace. 

You once removed the grief of the moon god, Chandran. Once, a crocodile caught the leg of the pious elephant Gajendran when he stepped into the pond to pluck flowers to offer you. Both were in these forms due to a curse. When Gajendran called out to You due to Akinchanyam (helplessness), You came rushing, killed the crocodile with your chakram and freed the elephant from the grief, thus absolving them of their curses too. Not only that, You also granted them the highest abode of mOksha sAmrAjyam (iraNDum pOy iraNDin veeDu)!

Bhagavad Geeta- 16.19 

तानहं द्विषत: क्रूरान्संसारेषु नराधमान् |

क्षिपाम्यजस्रमशुभानासुरीष्वेव योनिषु||

tAnahaṃ dvishatah kroorAn samsAreshu narAdhamAn|

kshipAmyajasramashubhAn Asureeshveva yOnishu||

I hurl those devoid of bhakti towards me, into the samsAra to undergo the cycle of birth and death. (12)

2394. veeDAkkum peTTri ariyAdu meivarutti

kooDAkki ninruNDu koNDu uzhalveer veeDAkkum |

meipporuL tAn vEda mudarporuL tAn viNNavarkku

narporuLtAn nArAyaNan || (13)

2394. AzhvAr sincerely urges those who follow strict upAsanAs to adhere to that path which leads to shreeman nArAyaNa.

Oh! samsArees (uzhalveer)! Despite an easy path to attain mOksha and being ignorant about it (veeDAkkum peRRi aRiyAdu); You seem to be roaming in this world straying away from it following a path with strict austerities subjecting your body with upavAsams. The effect of these penances results in your body becoming thin like a skeleton similar to the thin twigs collected by birds to make the nest (kooDAkki)! 

Lord Sriman nArAyaNa is the One who can grant mOksha, which is the true upAyam (mEyporultAn) and the goal (veeDAkkum). Hence surrender to Him as He is easily accessible and attainable. He is glorified by the vEdas as the ultimate one (vEdam mudal poruL tan). He is One who is the epitome of enjoyment for the nityasooris in paramapadam. (13)

2395. nAraNan ennai ALi naragattu

sErAmal kAkkum tirumAl tan pErAna |

pEsapperAda piNachchamayar pESa kETTu

AsaippaTTAzhwAr palar || (14)

2395. AzhvAr exclaims in pain reminded of those men who surrender to other faiths. 

The ultimate desirable one is Sriman nArAyaNa who is the only proficient one to protect his devotees (sarva rakshagan).  Amazingly, he is the one who has captivated me! He is the one who has the ability to guard us from reaching the hells (naraka nAshanan) and grant mOksha. Such is the glory of this emperumAn, says AzhvAr. 

It is disheartening to witness some who have drifted away believing and adopting other faiths considering them to be worthy.  Those samsArees falling prey to such faiths are not the blessed ones. Those who abstain from singing the names of emperumAn and ignorant of His kalyANagunAs are just like a dead body with no reaction. Such jeevas are causing the world to proceed in a downward direction leading to AtmanAshanam, groans AzhvAr. (14)

2396. paladEvar Etta paDikaDandAn pAdam

malarEra viTTirainji vAzhtta valarAhil |

mArkaNDan kaNDa vagaiyE varunkaNDeer

neerkaNDan kaNDa nilai || (15)

2396. The realized souls are those wise ones who know that the one who measured the worlds during trivikrama avatAram is the siddhopAyam and the purushArtam who can grant mOksha; realising that he alone is the rakshagan. They devotedly offer flowers at His tiruvaDis and perform mangaLAshAsanam after prostrating (vAzhtta valar Agil) Him. If they had not realised this direct upAyam that sriman nArAyaNa is the mOkshOpAyam, then their state would have been like mArkaNdEya maharishi says AzhvAr. 

mArkaNDEya maharishi (mArkaNDaN) was a staunch devotee of Lord Shiva ( neeRkaNDaN). He performed several penances to attain him. When Lord shiva manifested before him, mArkaNDEya asked for a long life and the highest abode paramapadam. mArkaNDEya realised that Lord shiva cannot grant mOksha (mArkaNDan kaNDa vagaiyE) and it is only emperumAn who is the purushArtam. Hence AzhvAr appeals to worship and surrender to Lord sriman nArAyaNa and attain mOksha which is the parama purushArta lakshaNam; than prostrating to other demigods who are incapable of the releasing them from the samsAric bondage. 

Srimad Bhagavatam- 12.8.40

श्री मार्कण्डेय उवाच-

किं वर्णये तव विभो यदुदीरितोसुः संस्पन्दते तमनु वङ्गं मन इन्द्रियाणि। 

स्पन्दन्ति वै तनुभृतामज शर्वयोश्च स्वस्यायथापि भजतामसि भावबन्धुः।।

sri-mArkaNDEya uvAca-

kim varNayE tava vibhO yad-udeeritOsuh, samspandatE tam anu vaNg-mana-indriyANi |

spandanti vai tanu-bhrutam aja-sharvayosh ca, svasyayaathapi bhajatAm asi bhAva-bandhuh ||

Oh! emperumAnE! The one who pervades in all beings! How can I describe You? Your power is that which empowers the mind and sensory organs in the demigods like brahmA, Lord Shiva and the chEtanas too. You are the sarvEshvaran and the dearest friend of those who worship you. (15)

2397. nilai mannu en nenjam annAnru dEvar

talaimannar tAmE mATTrAha palamannar |

pOrmALa vengadirOn mAyapozhil maraiya

tErAzhiyAl maraittArAl || (16)

2397. EmperumAn alone is the saviour of His ardent devotees inspite of being the paratvam. 

My unsteady mind which was wandering became calm and peaceful recollecting the amazing endeavours of the Lord during krishna avataram. I realised that sriman nArAyaNa, the dEvAdidEvan (tEvar talai mannar) is the one who protects His devotees in all adverse situations (sarvadA rakshagatvam). 

AzhvAr enumerates them. Long ago during the mahAbharata war, this sarvEshvaran Krishnan fought against the kauravas and caused the death of several warrior kings for his dear devotees, the pAndavas. During the war, the lord saved his favourite bhaktan arjuna from the wrath of killing himself; To fulfil arjuna’s vow and protect him, krishna hurled the sudarshana chakra which covered the almost setting sun, spreading the brilliance of kOTi sooryas which created an illusion of bright daylight at that moment. Having totally surrendered myself to Him, I have no reason to worry. (16)

2398.  Ala nizharkeezh araneriyai nAlvarkku

mElai uhatturaittAn meittavattOn jnAlam |

aLandAnai Azhi kiDandAnai AlmEl

vaLarndAnai tAn vaNangumAru || (17) 

2398. Lord Shiva, the great knowledgeable one among gods (gnyAni-meytavattOn) performed severe penances to procure the true knowledge and the right path he has adopted to attain Lord nArAyaNa (tAn vaNaNgum Aru aRam neRiyai). With great magnanimity, Lord rudran imparted this knowledge to four sages namely agastya, pulastya, daksha and kashyapa under the shade of a big banyan tree. 

AzhvAr assertively proclaims who is the paratvam! He is the Lord who measured the three worlds as trivikrama (gnyAlam aLandAnai)); He eternally reclines in the milky ocean as ksheerAbdhinAthan (Azhi kiDandAnai). During the cosmic deluge He manifested as an infant, ingested the world and protected it in His stomach lying peacefully on a banyan leaf (Al mEl vaLarndAnai). (17)

2399. mArAya dAnavanai vaLLuhirAl mArviraNDu

koorAha keeriya kOLariyai vErAha |

Etti iruppArai vellumE maTTravarai

sAtti iruppAr tavam || (18)

2399. BhAgavata bhakti is considered superior than bhagavat bhakti, says AzhvAr.

The devotees of emperumAn engrossed in unconditional love towards Him, glorify the Lord through songs and worry about His safety (like periyAzhvAr who sand pallANDu) too. They affirm that He is the saviour. They are aware that it is only emperumAn who can release the jeevas from the sAmsAric bondage and grant mOksha. Hence such bhAgavatAs hold a special place in the heart of the Lord.

 Lord Sriman nArAyaNa thus manifested as the valiant Narasimha-moorti for His favourite young bhaktan prahlad, son of asurA hiraNyan who always opposed the Lord and troubled his son. The Lord killed him by splitting his chest with His long and sharp nails. 

Those devotees who take shelter under the feet of such bhAgavatAs or srivaishnavAs (mARRu avarai sAtti iruppAr) or their Acharyas are considered worthy by the shastras. The loyalty and bhakti towards them result in the gaining abundance grace of the Lord thus dissolving their karma vAsanAs and experiencing spiritual upliftment by performing bhAgavata kainkaryam alone. 

NAchchiyAr tirumozhi (10.10) 

ANDAL submits herself to her father, a great bhAgavata and devotee of Lord Vishnu.

வில்லி புதுவை விட்டுசித், தர்தங்கள் தேவரை,

வல்ல பரிசு வருவிப்ப, ரேலது காண்டுமே. 

villi puduvai viTTu chittar tangaL dEvarai 

valla pariSu varuvipparEl adu kANDumE.  

I have now found the way to experience my dear Lord namperumAL who is the supreme controller. Let me take the guidance of my AchAryan Shri PeriyAzhvAr who has had krishNAnubhavan. Thus, ANDAL hints at bhAgavata sambandham and AchArya sambandham being essential to live a peaceful life in connection with krishNa. (18)

2400. tavam seidu nAn muhanAl peTTra varatti

avam seida AzhiyAi anrE uvandemmai |

kAppAinee kAppadanai AvAi nee vaikundam

eepayum evvuyirkkum nee || (19)

2400. BrahmA and the dEvas conferred powerful boons to asuras like hiraNyan and rAvana but rushed to Lord nArAyaNa for protection from the destructive effects of the boons resulting in the various incarnations of the Lord to defend his devotees forever. AzhvAr asserts that emperumAn is the supreme (aishvaryatvam). 

Oh! The one holding the dazzling sudarshana chakra in your hand! Are you not the one who is always desirous to save us with a compassionate glance (uvandu kAppAy)? Are you not that Lord who resolves to protect you bhaktAs (satya sankalpah)? Are you not that emperumAn who liberates all those chEtanas who surrender unto you, granting them the highest abode paramapadam or mOksha?  (19)

2401. neeyE ulagellAm ninnaruLE nirpanavum

neeyE tavadEva dEvanum neeyE |

erisuDarum mAl varaiyum eNDisaiyum aNDattu

iru suDarum Aya ivai || (20)

2401. AzhvAr glorifies the kalyaNagunas of the Lord. 

EmperumAnE! You are the one who governs the whole cosmos (ulagellAm neeyE- sarva dhArakan).

The entire cosmos stands firmly without getting destroyed with your abundant kaTAksham (nin aRuLE- sarva dhArakan).

You are the dEvAdidEvan, the leader of the heavenly beings. Lord brahmA (prajApati), Shiva and several others were ordained leadership due to your grace. 

You possess the quality of sarva vyApakatvam, to pervade in everything in this cosmos.

You are the powerful agni and the mighty mountains! You are omnipresent in the eight directions. You exist permanently as the sun, moon and the whole universe (anantatvam or the endless one). 

nArAyaNA sooktam 4, 5.

यच्च॑ कि॒ञ्चिज्ज॑गत्स॒र्वं॒ दृ॒श्यते श्रूय॒तेऽपि॑ वा ॥

अन्त॑र्ब॒हिश्च॑ तत्स॒र्वं॒ व्या॒प्य ना॑राय॒णः स्थि॑तः ।

Yachcha kinchid jagatsarvam drushyatE shruyathE api vaa|

antarbahishcha tat sarvam vyApya nArAyaNah sthitah ||

Lord Narayana manifests himself in all the sentient and non-sentient in all that we see and hear. (20)

NANMUGAN TIRUVANDADI 21 TO 30
PASURAMS 2402 TO 2411

AZHGAIYAN TANE! ARIUVRUVAN TANE!
Yoga Narasimha - Tiruvelukkai

2402. ivaiyA pilavAi tirandu eri kAnRa

ivaiyA eri vaTTa kaNgaL ivaiyA |

eri pongi kATTum imaiyOr perumAn

ari pongi kATTum azhagu || (21)

2402.  AzhvAr enjoys the beauty of the fierce tirumEni of Lord Narasimha as if he witnessed Him directly.

Behold the cave-like wide mouth of Narasimha that emitted raging hot fire! (ivaiyA pilavAi tirandu eri kAnra))

Behold the red blazing eyes of Narasimha! (ivaiyA eri vaTTa kaNgaL)

Behold the Lord of nityasooris who appeared like a soaring fire! (ivaiyA eri pongi kATTum imaiyor perumAn)

Behold the rare stunning beauty of the tirumEni of Narahari who manifested in a roaring lion form! (ari pongi kATTum azhagu)

Narasimha’s form is actually terrible (bhayankara) to perceive.   But AzhvAr adores the beauty of Narasimha’s body.   He opines that His tirumEni is frightful (bhayankaram) only for wicked people like HiraNyakashyapu.  For His faithful devotees, His tirumEni is always enjoyable (parama bhOgyam) and a soothing shelter as it was for dear PrahlAda. (21)

2403. azhagiyAn tAnE ariyuruvan tAnE

pazhagiyAn tALE paNimin kuzhaviyAi |

tAnEzhulagukkum tanmaikkum tanmaiyanE

meenAi uyiraLikkum vittu || (22)

2403. AzhvAr opines that Narasimha is the epitome of beauty (azhagiyAn tAnE). The man-lion form is the most wonderful of all His forms. (ari uruvan tAnE).

In Shreemad BhAgavatam 7.8.17, nArada muni praises Narasimha’s tirumEni as ‘अदृश्यत अति अद्भुत रूपम् adRushyata ati adbhuta roopam - never seen, very wonderful form’. 

In kAmAsikAShtakam, SwAmi Desikan addresses Narasimha sitting in ‘paryankAsanam’ yOga posture at TiruvELukkai as ‘adbhuta kEsari” and “AdipuruSha”,

He is the Ashrita rakshaka not just for prahlAda but for the inhabitants of the universe since time immemorial (pazhagiyAn).   

NArAyaNa sooktam hails Him as:

शास्वतं शिवं अच्युतं

shAsvataM shivaM achyutaM

NArAyaNa is permanent, auspicious, and imperishable.

He Himself came as a child (kuzhaviyAy) to swallow the worlds, to prove that He is the upAdAna kAraNam- material cause of all the seven worlds (Ezhulagukkum tanmaiyanE).  

He preserves all the tanmAtras or guNas like roopa (vision), rasa (taste), gandha (smell), sparsha (touch), and shabda (sound) - (tanmaikkum tanmaiyanE) in their original quality until they are let out again for use in the next shrishThi.  

He preserved all the AtmAs, ( the herbs, seeds and living beings) and carried them in a boat across the pralaya waters during the matsyAvatAram (uyir aLikkum vittu).   

Hence, please surrender at the divine feet of this AdipuruSha (pazhagiyAn tALE paNimin) who has proved His quality of rakshakatva to his devotees at all times. (22)

2404. vittum iDa vENDum kolO viDaiyaDartta

pattiyuzhavan pazhampunattu moittezhunda |

kArmEham anna karumAl tirumEni

neervAnam kATTum nigazhndu || (23)

2404. AzhvAr is asked, “Will the supreme God connect with You just because you did sharanAgati?  How do you know that He is happy with you?  AzhvAr replies giving three examples of how emperumAn’s reaches us by His own causeless effort.

1. When yashOdhA’s brother kumban placed his daughter neeLA as the prize for taming seven incorrigible bulls in his farm, KrishNa arrived at his place and subdued the bulls effortlessly and married neelA dEvi (nappinnai).  In the same way, bhagavAn will somehow reach us, whether we think of him or not,  because He has vowed to do sAdhu samrakshaNam – protect the noble.

2. He is referred to as ‘patti uzhavan’ meaning – Bhakti ploughman.   He Himself acts as the ploughman (uzhavan) who makes the land of eternal samsAris, ready for bearing the crop called bhakti (patti). That being the case, where is the need for us to sow seeds of sAdhanas or puNya karmas?  - vittum iDa vENDum kolO?

3. Think of him with love and the rain bearing nimbus clouds shall gather in front of us, representing krishNa’s dark cloud hued tirumEni. 

AzhvAr hints that after doing sharanAgati, we should live our life contemplating on bhagavAn’s leelas and seeing bhagavAn’s kaTAksham in everything we perceive or experience. (23)

2405. nigazhndAi pAl pon pasuppukkAr vaNNam nAngum

igazhndAi iruvaraiyum veeya pugazhndAi |

sinappOr suvEdanai sEnApadiyAi

manappOr muDikkum vagai || (24)

2405. Oh Lord nArAyaNa! To attract people towards Your resplendent form, You appear in four different colours corresponding to the guNas of the people born in the four yugas.

In kRuta yuga, You appear in milk-white color tirumEni because sattva guNa dominates. (pAl vaNNam)

In trEta yuga, You have a red gold color tirumEni because rajO guNa dominates. (pon vaNNam)

In dwApara yuga, You have a green color tirumEni because tamO guNa dominates. (pasuppu vaNNam)

In kali yuga, You have a dark cloud color tirumEni because of the prevalence of mixed guNas making it difficult for people to get attracted. (kAr vaNNam)

To retrieve the four vEdas lost by BrahmA, You banished the two demons madhu and kaiTabha by taking the Hayagreeva avatAra. (nAngum igazhndAy iruvaraiyum veeya)

You performed the role of a sEnApati, army commander for Arjuna, planning the war strategy for each day.

You became the AchArya for Arjuna seated on the chariot drawn by white horses (suvEdan-shwEta vAhana, arjuna).  

You advised and motivated Arjuna with Your bhagavat geetA to fight the deadly mahAbhArata war, when he was emotional about confronting his kaurava brothers and friends on the other side (pugazhndu manappOr muDikkum vagai).  (24)

2406. vagaiyAl madiyAdu maNkoNDAi maRRum

vagaiyAl varuvadonruNDE vagaiyAl |

vayiram kuzhaittuNNum mAvali tAnennum

vayira vazhakkozhittAi maRRu || (25)

2406.  EmperumAn is sharanAgata vatsalan – the one who does everything for the benefit of His aDiyArs (sharaNAgatas who have surrendered), and not for His own benefit.

EmperumAnE! Ignoring the fact that You are the supreme Lord and the original owner of the whole universe, You took the unassuming form of vAmana (dwarf brahmin boy) and begged mahAbali with modesty. You had chosen an intelligent way of restoring the ownership of all the worlds to your devotee Indra.

Moreover, by measuring the whole world as trivikrama in a magnificent way, You reduced the ahankAra (ego) of mahAbali who was so lavishly rich that his medicines were fortified with diamond powders (vajra bhasma).  

A man of wealth has many enemies, so did mahAbali.  By proclaiming all His wealth in this fashion, You reduced the enmity that mahAbali had with his peers on account of being rich. (vayira vazhakku ozhittAi)

Do You get any personal gains by running all these amazing errands? maRRum vagaiyAl varuvadu oNRu unDE? None, says AzhvAr.  (25)

2407. maRRu tozhuvAroruvaraiyum yAn immai

kaRRai saDaiyAn karikkaNDAi eRRaikkum |

kaNDukoL kaNDAi kaDal vaNNA yAn unnai

kaNDu koLgirkku mAru || (26)||

2407. Oh, kaDal vaNNA, the ocean hued Lord! I am entirely devoted only to You (ananyabhakta).  I don’t worship any other dEvatas other than You (dEvatAntara varjanam).  May You know that the eyewitness (kari kaNDAi) for my one-pointed devotion towards You, is the ascetic yOgi Lord Shiva who has tied up His unkempt hair that accumulated due to His unswerving penance on You.  Hence, with your divya kaTAksham, please bless me that I continue to worship you forever without any diversion.

LORD SHIVA AS EYEWITNESS OF TIRUMAZHISAI AZHVAR'S STEADFAST DEVOTION TO VISHNU. 

Once, Tirumazhisai Azhvar was stitching a rag while contemplating on Lord VishNu.  He was so steeped in bhakti that he did not notice that Lord Shiva and PArvati arrived on Nandi. When PArvati asked Shiva about AzhvAr’s unconcerned behaviour, Shiva replied that He was a servant of VisNu whose mind does not waver at all. 

To show pArvati the intensity of his bhakti, Shiva proclaimed His supremacy to AzhvAr and told him to ask for boons.   AzhvAr asked Him if He could grant him mOksham. Lord Shiva admitted that he was incapable of that and only Lord Narayana could grant him mOksham.  When Shiva persuaded him to ask for something else, Tirumazhisai AzhvAr asked Him if He could cause a thread to be inserted into a needle.  Ired by His taunting question, Shiva caused from his third eye, kAlAgni fire all around.   Being an expert ashThAnga yOgi, Tirumazhisai AzhvAr brought out more powerful fire from an eye that opened from His right toe.  

The scene looked like the horrific praLaya that engulfs the universe at the end of a kalpa.  Perturbed by the devastaion, Lord Shiva then ordered the clouds inside jaTAmuDi to shower copious rain all over to douse the fire.  Amidst the sprawling floods that gushed endlessly, Tirumazhisai AzhvAr was unshaken and lay calm meditating on Shreeman nArAyaNa.

Shiva and PArvati were amazed at his prowess. In admiration of Tirumazhisai AzhvAr's yOganishTha (penance) and dRuDavrata (firm determination and discipline), Lord Shiva who is himself an eminent yOgi, conferred upon Tirumazhisai AzhvAr the title, "BhaktisAran - the epitome of bhakti". Hence Lord Shiva is referred by AzhvAr as the eyewitness.  (26)

2408. mArAn pugunda maDa nenjam maRRaduvum

pErAga koLvanO pEdaigAL neerADi |

tAnkANa mATTAda tAragala sEvaDiyai

yAn kANa vallErkkidu || (27)

2408. Oh, deluded ones! My Lord emperumAn has entered my submissive heart by His own (mAl tAn pugunda).  As He has chosen my heart as His resting place, will I ever desire for any other purushArthas like aishwaryam (wealth) or kaivalyam (AtmAnubhavam)? I have been lucky enough to be endowed with the strong determination (ati avasAya) to see emperumAn’s flower-covered auspicious feet, (tAr agala sEvaDiyai) for the attainment of which Lord Rudra who smears himself with ashes, undergoes severe penance.  (27)

2409. idu vilangai eeDazhiya kaTTiya sEdu

iduvilangu vAliyai veezhttadu idu ilangai |

tAnoDunga vilnuDanga tan tAr irAvaNanai

oonoDunga eidAn ugappu || (28)

2409. It seems AzhvAr’s overflowing bhakti gave Him the vision of rAma sEtu bandhanam, vAli vadham and rAvaNa vadham.

AzhvAr says, “Watch this wonderful rAmleelA!” (ugappu)

This is the sEtu bridge that was built by rAma to destroy LankA (idu ilangai eeDazhiya kaTTiya sEtu)!

This is the monkey (animal) who was killed by rAma! (idu vilangu vAliyai veezhttadu)

See how rAma destroyed LankApuri by wielding his shArnga bow and putting Lord rAvaNa wearing flower garlands, to death with a spate of arrows. (idu ilangai 

tAnoDunga vilnuDanga tan tAr irAvaNanai oonoDunga eidAn. (28)

2410. ugappuruvan tAnE oLiyuruvan tAnE

magappuruvan tAnE madikkil migappuruvam |

onrukkonru OsanaiyAn veezha oru kaNaiyAl

anrikoNDu eidAn avan || (29)

2410.  If I were to describe the specialty of bhagavAn’s divya mangaLa vigraham, I would say:

EmperumAn’s tirumEni is charming to every one’s eye (manOhara vigraham - ugappuruvan tAnE)

EmperumAn’s tirumEni is lustrous. (tEjomaya vigraham - oLiyuruvan tAnE)

EmperumAn’s tirumEni is wonderful. (Ashcharya/mahA adbhuta vigraham – magappuruvan tAnE)

Lord rAma having such auspicious tirumEni was enraged by rAvAna and due to which He had to use a single arrow and strike down the giant body of rAvaNa’s younger brother kumbakarNa, whose long eyebrows were one yojana apart (12.5 kms - miga puruvam onrukkonRu OsanaiyAn).   (29)

2411. avan ennai ALi arangattu arangil

avanennai eidAmal kAppAn avanennadu |

uLLattu ninrAnirundAn kiDakkumE

veLLattu aravaNaiyin mEl || (30)

2411. Lord RanganAtha of Srirangam has taken control of me. He shall protect me from entering the worldly stage and assuming different bodies of suffering, again and again.  Lord RanganAtha has entered my heart and rests comfortably inside, on His own free will. Do you think He will now prefer to go back to ksheerAbdi and lie down on serpent AdisEsha again? I doubt! (30)

NANMUGAN TIRUVANDADI 31 TO 40
PASURAMS  2412 TO 2421

2412. mEl nAnmugan aranai iTTa viDusAbam

tAn nAraNanozhittAn tArahaiyuL vAnOr |

perumAnai EttAda pEihAL pirakkum

karumAyam pEsil kadai || (31)

2412. Once, Lord BrahmA cursed Lord Shiva. Shreeman NArAyaNan, with great compassion, relieved Lord Shiva from this terrible curse, making it known to the entire world (tAragaiyuL).

   Oh pitiable people (pEyargAL) of the world who refuse to sing the glory of Shreeman NArAyaNa, the swAmi of the nityasooris ! The list of woes and agonies one will have to undergo by being trapped in the womb and slipping into the continuous cycle of birth and rebirth (piRakkum karumAyam), will be equivalent to the great mahAbhArata story (kadai).  (31) 

2413. kadaiporuLtAn kaNNan tiruvayiTTrinuLLa

udaippaLavu pOdupOkkinri vadaipporuL tAn |

vAinda guNattu paDAdadu aDaiminO

Ainda guNattAn aDi || (32)

2413. Without sparing even a minute (udaippaLavu), emperumAn shreeman nArAyaNan, solely because of His own sankalpam (tiruvayiRRin uLLa), makes sure that all things (kadai poruL) in this universe exists and functions. Those of us who do not dedicate ourselves to be soaked in the wondrous kalyANa guNas of kaNNan are, but non-existent – apadArtha or asat ( vadai poruL). Hence make it your kartavyam (duty) to attain the tiruvaDi of this emperumAn who is endowed with all the kalyANa guNas.

Taiitireeya Upanishad says: 

असन्नेव स भवति। असद्‌ ब्रह्मेति वेद चेत्‌’

asannEva sa bhavati | asad brahmEti vEda chEt.

If a person considers Brahman as non-existent, he himself becomes non-existent. If he knows Brahman as existent, then he becomes existent.” (32) 

2414. aDi chchahaDam sADi aravu ATTi yAnai

piDittoSittu pEi mulai nanjuNDu vaDippavaLa |

vAipinnai tOLikkA valETTru eruttu iruttu

kO pinnum AnAn kurippu || (33)

2414. In order to protect His devotees, emperumAn performed several deeds.

    He destroyed shakaTAsuran with His divine feet.

    Holding his tail and dancing on his hood, emperumAn restrained the serpent kAliyan. (aravATTi)

   He plucked out the tusks of the rogue elephant kuvaLayApeeDam.

   He sucked the life out of the demoness pootanA when she tried to feed Him poisoned milk.

   He reined in the seven bulls in order to woo nappinnai who had beautiful lips like the coral, and graceful shoulders.

   Performing such deeds, emperumAn established His superiority!  (33) 

2415. kurippenakku kOTTiyoor mEyAnai Etta

kurippenakku nanmai payakka veruppanO |

vEngaDattu mEyAnai meivinainOi eidAmal

tAnkaDattum tanmaiyAn tAL || (34)

2415. I desire (kuRippu enakku) to worship and pray to the Lord who resides in tirukOshTiyur and the perumAn who stands blessing us in the holy tirumalA. I desire fervently to derive ecstacy by constantly contemplating on Him!

    My emperumAn, out of immense compassion, has rid me of all ailments (nOy); He has severed the karmas that keep me locked in the shareeram and has prevented me from slipping into the vicious cycle of life and death. Would I ever forget to meditate on the divine tiruvaDi of my swAmi?!  (34) 

2416. tALAl ulaham aLandavasavE kol

vALA kiDandaruLum vAitiravAn neeLOdam |

vandalaikkum mAmayilai mAvalli kENiyAn

aindalaivAi nAhattaNai || (35)

2416.  The swAmi resides in tiruvallikENi, in mAmayilai, where the waves of the ocean lash along the shores. He reclines on the five headed AdisEshan, calm and composed, without responding to the appeals put forth by us! Is His silence because of His exhaustion after measuring up the worlds with His divine feet during the Trivikrama avatAram?    (35) 

2417. AhattaNai kuDandai vekKA tiruvevvuL

nAgattaNai arangam pEranbil nAhattu |

aNai pAr kaDal kiDakkum Adi neDumAl

aNaippAr karuttanAvAn || (36)

2417. EmperumAn reclines gracefully on His serpent bed, anantAzhvAn, in the divya kshEtrams tirukkuDandai, tiruvekkA and tiruvevvuL (tiruvaLLUr).  He rests in the same posture in tiruvarangam, tiruppErnagar and tiru-anbil too. Even in tiruppArkadal the primordial emperumAn, sarvEswaran, reclines calmly on AdisEshan. 

    The reason why He is reclining is only to rest in His ardent devotees' minds and hearts, making it His permanent abode. (36)

** PoorvAchArya's vyAkhyAnam gives a deeper and loftier perspective to these verses. EmperumAn Shreeman nArAyaNan resides with great contentment in the divyadesams, as archAmurthis, and also in paramapadam and srivaikuNTam. But His desire is to enter and lodge Himself in the hearts and minds of His devotees.  Once He makes His way into the devotees ' hearts, His inclination to reside in the divyadesams will wane off! Pillai ulagAsiriyar interprets thus in srivachanabhUshaNam.

NammAzhvAr, in periya tiruvandAdi, also reflects the same sentiment.

கல்லும் கனைகடலும் வைகுந்த வானாடும்,

புல்லென் றழிந்தனகொல் ஏபாவம்,-வெல்ல

நெடியான் நிறங்கரியான் உள்புகுந்து நீங்கான்,

அடியேன துள்ளத் தகம்.

2418. vAnulavu teevaLi mAkaDal mAporuppu

tAnulavu vengadirum taNmadiyum mEl nilavum |

koNDal peyarum disaiyeTTum soozhchiyum

aNDam tirumAlahaippu || (37)

2418. The enormous universe that is made up of the expansive space, the fire, air that is present all over, the large ocean, the huge mountain ranges, the fiery sun, and the cool moon that rise and set, the clouds that float above, the eight directions and the sheaths that envelope the earth...all exists and functions only because of emperumAn sarvEswaran's divine sankalpam (agaippu). (37) 

2419. agappil manisarai Aru samayam

puhaittAn porukaDal neervaNNan uhaikkumEl |

ettEvar vAlATTum evvAru seihaiyum

appOdu ozhiyum azhaippu || (38)

2419. The swAmi who is dark like the turbulent ocean abandons the undeserving people (agaippil manisar) who embrace faiths that are against the vEdas and get disillusioned.

   EmperumAn alone, being the antarAtma of the dEvas, grants the wishes of the bhaktas. If He decides to be indifferent (ugaikkumEl), all the yagyas and invocations performed for the dEvatas will be in vain (ozhiyum). The ego of the dEvatas will also be shattered (dEvar vAlATTum).  (38) 

2420. azhaippan tiruvEngaDattAnai kANa

izhaippan tirukkooDal kooDa mazhaippEr |

aruvi maNi varinri vandizhiya yAnai

veruvi aravu oDungum verpu || (39)

2420. I call out to Him voicing my desire to have the darshan of tiruvEnkaTamuDaiyAn.  The tirumalA hills are dotted with streams and rivers which bring forth precious gems along with them. The elephants gaze in awe at the glittering gems. The cobras crawl (aravu oDungum) into their holes fearing the flashing glitters of the gems, thinking them to be lightning. In my earnest desire to reach and unite with emperumAn of tiruvEnkaTam, I draw circles and try connecting them (tirukkooDal * to predict my luck! This verse can be construed as having written by AzhvAr in nAyaki bhAvam.  

** 'KooDal izhaittal' is a chance freehand drawing of a bigger circle enclosing smaller circles, closing the eyes.   The lovelorn girl counts the smaller circles and based on whether the number is odd or even, she concludes about the prospect of union with her lover. In general practice, even results are considered positive. This game is also referred by other names like kooDal, kooDal vaLaittal and kooDal kuri.

 

ANDAL, yearning to unite with krishNa, has dedicated one full decad ending with the phrase ‘kooDiDu kooDalE”, titled as nAchchiyar tirumozhi 4.

NACHCHIYAR TIRUMOZHI - 4

teLLiyAr palar kaitozhum dEvanAr 

vaLLal mAlirum SOlai maNALanAr 

paLLi koLLum iDattu aDi koTTiDa 

koLLumAhil nee kooDiDu kooDalE.  (39) 

2421. enru vEngaDam pADinEn veeDAkki

nirkinrEn ninru ninaikkinrEn karkinra |

noolvalaiyil paTTirunda noolATTikELvanAr

kAlvalaiyil paTTirundEn kAN || (40)

2421. While recounting the names of various hills, I chanted, by chance, the name of tirumalA. The mere mentioning of this holy mountain has secured me the ultimate goal, mOksham. I feel blessed and blissful when I realize that by merely mentioning His divine abode, emperumAn has endowed me with the highest reward.

   The Lord LakshminAthan, the consort of mahAlakshmi, is bound, as if by a net (nool valai) by the sacred texts, vedas and shAstras (noolAtti kElvanAr) . To His divine tiruvaDi, I too remain tied and bound.   (40)

NANMUGAN TIRUVANDADI 41 TO 50
PASURAMS 2422 TO 2431

2422. kANaluruginrEn kallaruvi muttudira

Ona vizhavil oliyadira pENi |

varuvEngaDavA ennuLLam puhundAi

tiruvEngaDam adanai senru || (41)

2422. In the divine sthalam of TiruvEnkaTam, one could hear the sound of the gushing waterfalls which spatter pearls, and the divine dhwani of the sacred hymns being chanted on the TiruvONa tirunAL (Onam tiruvizhavil - the day when the star is sravanam, the birth star of Lord SrinivAsa).  "Oh Lord! the one who is dwelling at Tirumala! Though you have left tirumala now and have come to rest in my heart, I still wish to visit to go to the puNya kshetram tiruvEnkaTam and have a glimpse of the Lord, says AzhvAr. (41)

2423. senRu vaNanguminO sENuyar vENgaDattai

ninru vinaikeDukkum neermaiyAl enrum |

kaDikkamala nAnmuhanum kaNmoonrattAnum

aDikkamalam iTTEttum angu || (42)

2423. Oh BhAgavatas, pleads AzhvAr. I humbly request all to reach the lofty hill TiruvenkaTam, the hill that burns all our sins (vEm = sins, and kaTa = burn) and pray to Lord Govinda who is generous.  One who arouse from the lotus (Lord BrahmA) and the three eyed Lord Shiva also worship Him by offering lotus petals at His tiruvaDi. (42)

2424. mangul tOi senni vaDavEngaDattAnai

kangul puhundArhaL kAppaNivAn tingaL |

saDaiyEra vaittAnum tAmarai mElAnum

kuDaiyEra tAm kuvittu koNDu || (43)

2424.  Similar feel is depicted in this verse too.  Joining their hands in venerance, both Lord Shiva who wears the moon on His matted hair (Chandra-mouli), and Lord BrahmA seated on the lotus, carry together the pearl studded umbrella ( tiru muttu kuDai) and other things like the visiri (saamaram) necessary for worship during sunset (sandhyA kAlam) when harati (காப்பு அணிவான்)is offered/done for Lord SrinivAsa as a regular practice.  AzhvAr admires the lofty peak TiruvenkaTam again, hailing it to be as high as the clouds (மங்குல்தோய் சென்னி). (43)

2425. koNDu kuDangAlmEl vaitta kuzhaviyAi

daNDa arakkan talai tALAl paNDeNNi |

pOmkumaran nirkum pozhil vENgaDa malaikkE

pOm kumararuLLeer purindu || (44)

2425.  Please visit  TiruvEnkaTam when you are fit and young enough to travel and worship (கிளரொளி இளமை கெட்டவன் முன்னம்) the emperumAn residing there, pleads AzhvAr highlighting the story of how the Lord taking the form of a young child (kumaran, meaning He is nitya yuva) pointed out to the 10 heads of rAvaNa by stepping on them one by one,  and warned BrahmA not to grant him the boon of invincibility,  and revealed that he is none other the crooked minded LankA king.* 

*The story narrated here has reference in the 45th pAsuram ("AmE amararkariya") of mudal tiruvandAdi and in the 77th pAsuram ("Aytta arumaRaiyOn) of moonrAm tiruvandAdi.  However, this story has not been highlighted in any purANa. (44)

2426. purindu malariTTu puNDareeka pAdam

parindu paDukADu nirpa terindengum |

tAnOngi nirkinrAn taNNaruvi vEngaDamE

vAnOrkkum maNNOrkkum vaippu || (45)

2426. TiruvEnkaTam is a divine dwelling not only for samsAris but also for the nityasooris serving Him at SrivaikunTha. 

Tirumala hills is the permanent abode where SrivaishNavas offer humbly offer fragrant flowers at his lotus feet and chant "jitantE punDarikAksha,, pallANDu pallANDu".  Lord SreenivAsa of the tirumala abound with waterfalls, stands tall in His guNas showering His blessings not only to the humans but also to the worshipping nityasooris like AdisEshan, ananthazhvAn and GaruDa. He is truly a precious treasure for His devotees.  (45)

2427. vaippan maNivaLakkA mA madiyai mAlukkenru

eppozhudum kaineeTTum yAnaiyai eppADum |

vEDuvaLaikka kuravar villeDukkum vEngaDamE

nADuvaLaittu ADudumEl nanru || (46)

2427. An interesting natural scene of tirumalA has been narrated in this verse.  An elephant on being carried away by the beauty of the moon, lifts his trunk high up to catch hold of it and offer the moon as a lamp to Lord SreenivAsa நந்தா விளக்கு)*.  But the hunters trap the elephant and the tribals shoot arrows at it. As AzhvAr himself visualizes that chandran should be placed as the lamp before emprumAn, he imagines the same with the elephant.

It is natural that all species living in TiruvenkaTam attempt to capture the moon as it appears to be closer to the seven hills. AzhvAr requests everyone to visit VenkaTam and enjoy its beauty. *"மாமதியை மாலுக்கு மணிவிளக்காய் வைப்பன் என்று".  (46)

2428. an maNi vaNNanoor ALiyum kOLariyum

ponmaNiyum muttamum poomaramum panmaNi |

neerODu poruduruLum kAnamum vAnaramum

vEDumuDai vEngaDam || (47)

2428. At TiruvenkaTam where the sapphire coloured TirumAl resides, several types of gems would also fall along with the waterfalls says AzhvAr. TiruvenkaTam which is also termed tirupati is also sacred for all hunters, lions, yaaLis, elephants, monkeys, trees, floral shrubs and even for navaratnas.  (47)

2429. EngaDamE viNNOr tozhuvaduvum meimmaiyAl

vEngaDamE mei vinai nOi teerppaduvum vEngaDamE |

tAnavarai veezha tannAzhippaDai toTTu

vAnavarai kAppAn malai || (48)

2429. AzhvAr says that the Nityasooris can feel only the paratva guNa of emperumAn at VaikuNTham and if they desire to cherish the lord's Sowlabya and Sowseelya gunas they have to settle only at TiruvenkaTam.

When the devas were put to trouble by the asuras, (daanavar veezha), VishNu, bearing the chakra, protected them, and saved them.  The same emperumAn now resides at Tiruvenkatam to protect His dear bhaktas.

TiruvenkaTam is also the abode wherein all diseases would be cured on reaching there, (மெய் நோய் தீர்ப்பதுவும்) assures AzhvAr.*

*An interesting story lies behind this statement. (It is found in BrahmANDa purANa and Bavishyottara purana) 

To the west of TiruvEnkaTam is Nandipuram wherein lived mAdhavan, son of a brahmin named Purandaran. One day when he was with his wife Chandrareka in the floral garden, he got attracted to another beautiful kanniga named Maanini.  Subsequent to that, leaving his family, he went behind her and then got engaged in robbery, murder and finally lost all his wealth and health.  He wandered and finally reached TiruvenkaTam and regained all his wealth and health, got rid of his sins and regained his brahma tejas. Thus, it has been proved that Tirumalai is also the divine place for getting cured of our diseases. (48)

2430. malai Amai mEl vaittu vAsukiyai SuTTri

talai Amai tAnoru kai paTTri alaiyAmal |

peerakkaDainda perumAn tirunAmam

kooruvadE yAvarkkum kooRRu || (49)

2430. In the earlier verse, AzhvAr mentioned about the Lord saving the devas. In this pAsuram AzhvAr elaborates the story of the Lord's koormavAtaram thereby revealing how He protected the devas. Taking the form of a tortoise, he held the mandara mountain above his back, sent GaruDa to press its peak carefully from above, and churned the ocean by using vAsuki snake as the churning rope, without allowing the ocean to overflow.

Hence one should always utter the nAmam of the emperumAn who is known for His generosity and kindness. This only can be the fitting tribute that a jeevAtmA (who has the mouth) can offer to the ParamAtmA. (49)

KAPISTHALAM, ARRANKARAI KIDAKKU KANNAN

2431. kooRRamum sArA koDuvinaiyum sArA tee

mARRamum sArAvahaiyarindEn ATTrangarai |

kiDakkum kaNNan kaDal kiDakkum mAyan

uRaikiDakkum uLLattu enakku || (50)

2431. The lord (relaxing at TirupArkaDal) who (KaNNan urai kiDakku) is the Ashrayaneeyan to Lord BrahmA and the dEvas, the Kannan who at the KurukshEtra war preached to Arjuna from the seat of the chariot, the charama shloka, "ஸர்வதர்மான்........மோக்ஷயிஷ்யாமி", the same Lord is blessing us from Kapisthalam, the divya dEsam along the river kAvEri,  visualises AzhvAr.**As the divya sooktis like these have firmly seated in his manas, AzhvAr is confident that no other evil spirits and thoughts will ever come near him.

*"ஆற்றங்கரைகிடக்குங்கண்ணன்" - Though these words do not directly refer to the emperumAn residing at the divya desam Kapisthalam, yet our poorvacharyas like Shree nAdamunigal, Alavandar, emperumAnAr, BhaTTar have interpreted it to be so.  PiLLaiperumAL aiyyangAr has stated in his 108 tirupati andAdi that the line ("பொங்கரவமேறிக் கவித்தலத்திற்கண்டுயில்வோன்") refers only to kapisthalam.  *Also, this is the only pAsuram sung in praise of kapisthalam emperumAn among the 4000 verses. (50).

NANMUGAN TIRUVANDADI 51 TO 60
PASURAMS 2432 TO 2441

2432. enakkAvAr AroruvarE emberumAn

tanakkAvAn tAnEmaTTrallAl punakkAyA |

vaNNanE unnai pirarariyAr en madikku

viNNellAm uNDO vilai || (51)

2432. AzhvAr proudly expresses the compassion showered on him by emperumAn.

Dear Lord! You are the sarvEshvaran! One with dark blue tirumEni like the kAyam poo! You are the unparalleled one, beyond one’s imagination, the one filled with divine attributes which befit you alone (tanakkAvAn tAnE maRRallAl). 

 The chEtanAs in this world (leelA vibhuti) are aimlessly rushing and clinging to other gods in search of worldly desires. They have failed to realise that You are the ultimate goal and the path to pursue. 

Due to your bountiful grace on me (nirhEtuka krupA), I have completely surrendered to you having realised that you are the right path (upAyam ) and the goal (upEyam); possessing the divine attribute of protecting me at all times (sarvadA rakshagan). This wonderful journey to attain you can be experienced only by those residing in the leelA vibhooti. Even the nitya sooris relish your tirumEni in paramapadam but not the path to reach you. Whereas, I am extremely fortunate to enjoy both the path and goal. 

EmperumAnE! I assert with pride and humility (sAtvika ahankAram) to remain sub servient to you forever (sEshatva bhAvam) like a true prapanna with your grace as you alone are the purushArtham. Is there anyone equal to me in this world or the upper worlds (enakkAvar Ar oruvarE) who has gained this wisdom? No, says AzhvAr. (51)

2433. vilaikkATTpaDuvar visAdiyETTruNbar

talaikkATbalitirivar takkOr mulaikkAl |

viDamuNDavEndanaiyE vErA vEttAdAr

kaDamuNDAr kallAdavar || (52)

2433. AzhvAr is upset seeing the scholarly samsArees who flaunt their knowledge due to pride (takkOr). They subjugate themselves to slavery for money and power. Some men willingly stand up to satisfy others by praying to get their heads beheaded to please the demigods (narabali). Some accept gifts as dAnam which are given to get rid of some diseases (visAdi eRRunbar). They are under the impression that these methods are the perfect ways to attain liberation from the worldly bondage. They fail to realise that they are accumulating more sins and karmAs.

They have forgotten to worship and unconditionally surrender to emperumAn kaNNan who effortlessly killed the evil putana by sucking the poisoned milk from her breasts (mulaikkAl viDamuNDa vEndanai). It is this kaNNan alone who is the sarva shaktan who has the attribute to remove our deep-rooted miseries and effortlessly elevate us to a higher plane due to His grace. (52)

2434. kallAdavar ilangai kaTTazhitta kAkuttan

allAloru deivam yAnilEn pollAda |

dEvarai dEvarallArai tiruvillA

dEvarai tErElmin dEvu || (53)

2434. AzhvAr proclaims his unstinted devotion to Lord rAma.

I proudly claim that I will remain devoted to ramapirAn alone who destroyed the city of Lanka with the ignorant ones as its residents. Having worshipped the demigods previously, I have realised that sriman Narayana along with tAyAr is the paradEvatA (the supreme One). 

Oh! The chEtanAs! Are demigods who grant trivial reliefs worthy enough to surrender? They are servants of emperumAn who rules them and dwells in them; they are bereft of the divine attributes and absolute freedom (svAtantryam). Yet they declare themselves to be the ultimate (dEvarallArai). Those gods who do not have the sambandham of goddess lakshmi are undeserving to be worshipped (tiruvillAda dEvarai) and glorified. Hence, do not waste your lifetime pursuing them worthlessly considering these demigods as the supreme being. 

Tiruchchandaviruttam - pAsuram 69

காணிலும்மு ருப்பொலார்செ, விக்கினாத கீர்த்தியார்,

பேணிலும்வ ரந்தரமி, டுக்கிலாத தேவரை|

ஆணமென்ற டைந்துவாழும் ஆதர்காள்! எம் மாதிபால் பேணிநும் பிறப்பெனும்பி

ணக்கறுக்க கிற்றிரே||

 kANilum uruppolAr sevikkinAda keerttiyAr,

 pENilum varam taram miDukkilAda dEvarai |

ANam enRu aDaindu vAzhum AdargAL! 

em AdipAl, pENi num piRappennum piNakku aRukka kiRRiRE|| 

 Oh the unperceptive ones! Even though you resort to surrender to the devas with unpleasant forms and unspeakable glories, they are incapable of fulfilling your wishes. Therefore, should you not worship the Lord who is the primordial of all forms and get relieved from the cycle of birth? (53)

2435. dEvarAi nirkumaddEvum addEvaril

moovarAi nirkum mudupuNarppum yAvarAi |

nirkinradellAm neDumAlenru OrAdAr

karkinradu ellAm kaDai || (54)

2435. It is a fact and the absolute truth stated clearly in the vEdas and purAnas that emperumAn is the supreme One who dwells in all the entities in both vibootis. He resides as the antaryAmi in the sentient and the non-sentient; in dEvendran, agni and varunan who are considered as the prime gods during sacrifices (dEvarAy nirkum dEvum). He is the Adi bhagavAn who incarnated as brahma, shiva and vishnu due to his sankalpam (addEvaril moovarAy). Knowledge and learning become fruitless if one does not adhere to this absolute truth which is existing since ages.

VISHNU PURANAM 1-2-66

सृष्टिस्थितित्यन्तकरणीं ब्रह्म विष्णु शिवात्मिकां।

स संज्ञा याति भगवानेक एव जनार्धन।।

Srushti sthitityantakaraNeem brahma vishnu shivAtmikAm|

sa sangyA yAti bhagavAnEka Eva janArdhana||

Sriman nArAyaNa as janArdhana is the supreme one who creates, sustains and destroys assuming the forms of brahmA, Vishnu and Shiva respectively. (54)

2436. kaDaininru amarar kazhal tozhudu nALum

iDaininra inbattarAvar puDaininra |

neerOdamEni neDumAlE ninnaDiyai

yArOdavallAr avar || (55)

2436. AzhvAr helplessly exclaims seeing the ignorant samsArees.

Dear Lord! The people on this earth sincerely worship and surrender to the feet of demigods wasting several years of their life. These gods demand severe austerities and sacrifices to grant the desired fruits. The reality is that they cannot grant mOksha (kaDai ninRa amarar kazhaltozhudu)! Falling prey to these demigods, the ignorant jeevAs worship them for attaining swargam (a provisional enjoyable abode after death-iDaininRa vinpaTTarAvar) and procuring materialistic desires which are temporary. 

Instead, they should focus on You who is the ultimate goal (paramapurushArtan); One who can fulfil all our desires while on the earth and also endow permanent release from this samsAram after death. 

mAlE! sarvEshvaranE! Is there anyone who has realised the truth that you are the supreme who has pervaded in everything (sarva vyApitvam)? Has anyone aspired to understand this and totally surrender at the divine tiruvaDis of You who has a huge gorgeous divya maNgaLa vigraham like the massive ocean which envelops the earth? (55)

2437. avar ivar enrillai anangavEL tAdaikku

evarum edirillai kaNDeer uvari |

kaDal nanjamuNDAn kaDanenru vANarku

uDaninru tOTTrAn orungu || (56)

2437. The kalyANaguNa of being the eternal sole protector (sarvadA rakshaka) suits only Lord KrishNa, says AzhvAr. He relates two instances.

Lord krishnA who is the sarvEsvaran is unparalleled in terms of beauty, strength and endeavours (evarum edir illai kaNDeer). He is the antaryAmi in all beings. 

Some knowledgeable demigods (avar-rudran or brahma) also possess powers, promising to protect those who worship them. The samsArees residing on the earth (ivar) are filled with ignorance about these demigods; unaware that emperumAn is omnipresent. 

As the sarvasvAmi, emperumAn instigated Lord shiva to drink the poison halAhala (kaDal nanjamuNDAn) and restrained it to his throat due to his attribute of satya sankalpam and rakshagatvam (to honour a vow and offer protection) during koorma avatAram.

Once, bAnAsura (vAnar) played mrudangam while Lord shivA danced with joy. Extremely impressed, rudran granted bANAsura a thousand arms, immense strength, wealth; promised to guard at his city gates with his family (oruNgu tOnRAn) and protect him as he was indebted to repay bANa for pleasing him (kaDan enRu). 

 One day bAnasurA’s daughter ushA carried away Lord krishnA’s grandson Anirudh to her palace desiring to marry him. Here kaNNan is reffered to as anaNgavEl tAdaikku- the father of pratyumnan who is the incarnation of kAmadEvan. Lord krishna came with His army to rescue aniruddha. A war raged between the two armies. Shiva instigated the saiva-jvara (deity having three heads and three legs) which was countered by emperumAn’s Vaishnava-jvara.  Shiva along with his family and army fled from the battlefield incapable fighting Lord Krishnan or protecting banAsura as promised. (56)

2438. orungirunda nalvinaiyum teevinaiyumAvAn

perungurundam sAittavanE pEsil marungirunda |

vAnavartAm dAnavartAm tArahai tAn ennenjam

AnavartAm allAdaden || (57)

2438. “I honestly proclaim”, says AzhvAr. emperumAn nArAyaNan is the one who governs and regulates every act done by all which includes the devas, asuras and the beings on this earth. He efficiently controls our good and bad deeds (orungirunda nal vinaiyum tee vinaiyum AvAn). He is the sarva shaktan who effortlessly uprooted the kurunda trees as kaNNan! Is there anything in this world without His presence as antaryAmi in them? This sarvEshvaran has resolved firmly to reside in my heart (en nenjam Anavar). (57)

 

2439. ennenjam mEyAn iruL neekki embirAn

man anja munnorunAL maNNALandAn ennenjam |

mEyAnai illAviDaiyETTrAn vevvinai teerttu

AyAnukku AkkinEn anbu || (58)

2439. AzhvAr expresses his abundant adoration for the Lord.

The emperumAn who does nityavAsam in me is my supporter or upakArakan who removed my ignorance of knowledge. He who incarnated as trivikraman with a gigantic tirumEni terrifying king mahAbali (man anja) by measuring the three worlds; manifested in this form in my heart resolving to dwell in it permanently (en nenjam mEyAnai)! emperumAn is unstintedly devoted to his bhaktAs.

With humility I express my indebted love towards the Lord who rejoices removing the misery of his dear bhaktas who hold Him in their heart. Once Lord shiva whose vehicle is the bull incurred brahmahatti dOsha due to lack of reminense over emperumAn; he begged all gods to absolve him of the curse. Finally, out of compassion for his dear bhakta, Lord nArAyaNa relieved him from the misery that had inflicted him (vem vinai teertu). (58)

2440. anbAvAi Aramudam AvAi aDiyEnukku

inbAvAi ellAmum neeyAvAi ponpAvai |

kELvA kiLar oLi en kEsavanE kEDinri

ALvAikku aDiyEn nAnAL || (59)

2440. In jubilation of the limitless affection showered on him, AzhvAr glorifies sriman nArAyaNa. 

Dear Lord! Overwhelmed with your nirhEtuka krupai, I remind you that I wish to eternally remain subservient performing kainkaryam to you. 

AzhvAr indirectly declares to us the benefits one gains by surrendering to Him.

anbAvAy- You are the personification of affection!

Aramudam AvAy- One who is the pure nectar which when consumed remains unquenchable. 

aDiyEnukku inbAvAy- You instigated in me to consistently think of you and experience you reaching the state of parama bhakti.

ellAmum nee AvAy- You are the eternal One who is worthy of contemplating and enjoying. It was you who blessed me to enjoy you on this earth and also get a glimpse of you in the nitya vibhooti. 

ponpAvAy koLVA kiLaroLi- The dear consort of Goddess Laxmi who is lustrous, filled with divine radiance due to her proximity.

En kEsavanE! One who is the source of creation of Lord brahmA and Lord shivA!

 You have showered limitless affection on me. No other demi-god other than you is my rakshagan (ALvAy). I remain indebted to you for having graced me to perform kainkaryam without any hindrances and uninterruptedly experience you (kEDu inRi). Having always aspired to remain your sEshabhootan, I surrender to you once again. I request you to protect me (aDiyEn AL). (59)

2441. ALpArttu uzhitarvAi kaNDu koLenrum nin

tALpArttu uzhitaruvEn tanmaiyai kETpArkku |

arumporuLAi ninra aranganE unnai

virumbuvadE viLLEn manam || (60)

2441. tirumaisai AzhvAr seems have a fond conversation with the ranganAtham. 

aranganE! You are unattainable and difficult to decipher for those who think you are easy reachable by merely acquiring knowledge through the shAstras or memorizing them. They fail to realise that one can reach you only if You desire (your sankalpam is necessary). 

 You are a sulabhan who is very easily accessible to a true devotee. Your attribute of sausheelyam (becoming one among us) is worthy of praise. Being the paratvam, it is we who should come in search of you; instead you have willingly come down to this earth, reclining at sriraNgam in the archai form to grace us lovingly as we are your possessions. With abundant compassion, striving to liberate us to paramapadam you seem to be waiting eagerly, looking out with concern; to shower abundance grace on those bhaktAs who wish to surrender to you (AL pArttu uzhittaruvAy). 

 Dear Lord! As you were looking out for your bhaktas, I consider myself extremely blessed to get your nirhEtuka krupA kaTAksham. Please favour me by giving uninterrupted kainkaryam at your feet (enRum kaNDukkoL) without neglecting you under any circumstances. Bless my innate desire to remain your sEshabhootan forever and spend my life pondering over your divya tirumEni and kalyANaguNas pining for you alone (unnai virumbuvadE villEn manam). Do not desert me, dear Lord! (60)

NANMUKAN TIRUVANDADI 61 TO 70
PASURAMS 2442 TO 2451

Tirumazhisai AzhvAr pleads that his desire to enjoy the tiruvaDis of Lord Shreeman nArAyaNa should be persistent. 

2442. manakkEdam sArA madusoodan tannai

tanakkEtAn tanjamAha koLLil enakkEdAn |

inronri ninrulahai yEzh ANai OTTinAn

senRu onri ninra tiru || (61)|

2442. The compassionate krupai of Emperuman without any expectations is showered abundantly on those who take refuge in Him, says AzhvAr.

One who takes refuge in the feet of madhusUdanan will never experience any misery in their life (manakkE dam sArA). He was the Lord who eliminated the distress of Lord Brahma by vanquishing the asuras madhu and kaitabha who stole the vEdas. He is that bountiful wealth, the matchless Lord, the ruler of the seven worlds who resides in my heart resolving not to leave me (senRu onRi ninRa tiru). His copious compassion that he has showered on me without any expectation (nirhEtuka krupA) shows that I am extremely blessed. 

Bhagavad Geeta- 2.1

सञ्जय उवाच-

तं तथा कृपयाविष्टमश्रुपूर्णाकुलेक्षणम् |

विषीदन्तमिदं वाक्यमुवाच मधुसूदन: ||

sanjaya uvAca-

tam tathA kṛipayAviṣhṭam ashru poorNAkulekshaNam|

visheedantamidam vAkyam uvAcha madhusoodanah||

EmperumAn slayed the demon Madhu and hence he is called MadhusudanA. Here Lord krishna is addressed as madhusUdanA who slays the devil of doubt that has arisen in Arjun’s mind preventing him from discharging his duty as a warrior, overcome by grief, says Sanjaya. (61)

2443. tiruninra pakkam tiravidenrOrAr

karuninra kallArkku uraippar tiruvirunda |

mArvan sireedaran tan vaNDulavu taNDuzhAi

tAr tannai sooDi darittu || (62)

2443. Some ignorant and foolish samsArees firmly hold on to the demigods and also preach that they are the paradEvatA, without realising that they also undergo the cycle of birth and death being born through a womb (karu ninRa). They fail to comprehend the supreme entity! 

The one who is decked with honey laden tulasi garland around his head encircled by swarming bees is the paratvam or the supreme entity, proudly called shreedharan; who permanently holds periya pirATTi on His right chest (tiru ninRa pakkam) is the paradEvata. (62)

2444. darittirundEnAhavE tArAgaNa pOr

viritturaitta vennAhattunnai terittezhudi |

vAsittum kETTum vaNangi vazhipaTTum

poosittum pOkkinEn pOdu || (63)

2444. Dear Lord! To gain the ultimate benefit of existence in this world, I cherish using my sense organs in the right way towards you alone. I devotedly contemplate upon you who is the antaryAmi of tiruvanantAzhvAn who has described the movement of the stars in astrology (tArAgaNam pEr virittu uraitta) in detail. He must have gained that knowledge with your grace alone. 

Dear Lord! I spend my time reading the scriptures written by our poorvAchAryas which glorify you, I cherish writing about you; I relish hearing those spiritual renderings praising you from the texts written by our seers. My past time is also enjoyably worshipping you by performing archana to you with the proper upachArams. (63)

2445. pOdAna iTTiranji EttuminO ponmahara

kAdAnai AdiperumAnai nAdAnai |

nallAnai nAraNanai nammEzh pirapparukkum

sollAnai solluvadE soodu || (64)

2445. AzhvAr tells us how we should spend our time in a worthy manner.

Worship the lord nArAyaNa alone who is the illustrious one. He is the one who adorns the appeasing makara kuNDalam in his attractive ears shining like the alluring gold metal (pon makaran kAdAnai). He is the creator or the jagatkAraNa bhootan (Adi) filled with abundant glories (perumAnai). He is our ruler who is filled with abundant compassion (vAtsalyam-nallAnai) always favouring his devotees. Honour Him by offering flowers with pure devotion at his feet, recite his divine nAmas and prostrate him with reverence. Reciting and glorifying his names is the best practice to adhere in our life (cholluvadE soodu). Availing this excellent opportunity will surely help us to get rid of the vicious cycle of birth and death. Undoubtedly it is only Lord nArAyaNa who can help us cross the ocean of samsAra without experiencing the miseries caused during our lifetime. 

tiruvAymozhi 1.6.1 

பரிவதி லீசனைப் பாடி, விரிவது மேவலுறுவீர்.

பிரிவகை யின்றிநன்னீர்தூய், புரிவது வும்புகை பூவே. 

parivadil eesanai pADi, virivadu mEvaluRuveer

pirivagai inRinanneertooy,purivadu vampugai poovE.

Oh! Those bhaktAs who have strong conviction to sing the glories of sarvEsvaran who is the pure one bereft of any scar, do not neglect him once their desires are fulfilled; instead, they offer pure water, some incense and flowers which are easily available with steadfast devotion. (64) 

2446. soodAvadu en nenjattu eNNinEn sonmAlai

mAdAya mAlavanai mAdavani yAdAnum |

vallavA sindittiruppErku vaihundattu

illaiyO solleeriDam || (65)

2446. AzhvAr questions emperumAn.

Dear Lord! You are the most gorgeous one with an alluring personality being the epitome of the word beauty (mAdAya)! I have always cheered your attributes overflowing with immense concern and love eternally gracing your devotees! Enjoying these kalyANagunAs, sincerely acknowledging them with devotion; I contemplate incessantly on them according to my capacity. Will I be able to enjoy a seat in SrivaikuNTham to reside with you permanently? Dear Lord! Please respond to my question, says AzhvAr. 

I have resolved to accept that this past time of mine of pondering over the attributes and reciting His nAmas is the righteous way to live a life (en nenjattu eNNinEn). I am now confident that I will attain paramapadam. 

AzhvAr calls upon the samsArees. 

Oh! The foolish ignorant ones! Do not assume that by adopting karma yoga, gyAna yoga or bhakti yoga and undergoing strict penances and upavAsas you will attain paramapadam. Surrender to sriman nArAyaNa! (65)

2447. iDamAvadu en nenjaminrellAm paNDu

paDanAhaNai neDiyamArku tiDamAha |

vaiyEn madisooDi tannODu ayanainAn

vaiyE ATcheyyEn valam || (66)

2447. AzhvAr proudly expresses His mahAvishvasam towards emperumAn. 

Before transforming me as his dear devotee, Lord nArAyaNa resided in His beautiful abode tiruppARkaDal reclining on the multihooded and multitasker AdisEsha. Now, the sarva shaktan sriman nArAyaNa proudly resides in me (iDam Avadu en nenjam) resolving to make my heart his permanent residence! 

Having gained some wisdom and sharp knowledge to discriminate between the supreme emperumAn and the demigods due to emperumAn’s proximity; to express my loyalty towards Him, I will not accept Lord shiva who is sheltering the crescent moon on his head or Lord brahmA as the ultimate One. I will neither be subservient to them nor perform kainkaryam to them. The reason obviously is because emperumAn is the sarva shaktan (possessing supernatural strength) to perform amazing feats with his divine kalyANagunas. 

Tiruchchandaviruttam-pasuram 65.

நிற்பதும்மொர் வெற்பகத்தி, ருப்பும்விண்கி டப்பதும்,

நற்பெருந்தி ரைக்கடலுள், நானிலாத முன்னெலாம்,

அற்புதன னந்தசயன, னாதிபூதன் மாதவன்,

நிற்பதும்மி ருப்பதும்கி, டப்பதும்என் நெஞ்சுளே.

niRpadum Or veRpagattu iruppum viN kiDappadum 

naR perum tirai kaDaluL nAnilAda munnelAm 

arputan ananda sayanan Adi bootan mAdhavan 

niRpadum iruppadum kiDappadum en nenjuLE || 

AzhvAr enjoys the lingering greatness of the Lord in his mind. Oh Lord! you descended and stood (nirpadum) atop the seven hills of Tiruvengadam, seated in the eternal abode (paramapadam) and in lying state in the mighty TirupArkadal at the time of my lack of cognizance. Now you reside within my heart in all these three states. Oh! Sriman nArAyaNa, you are the same (arputan) TiruvENgaTavan who does wonders, rests in Tirupparkadal and is the Athibothan who graces us along with your consort Mahalakshmi always beside you. (66)

2448. valamAga mATTAmai tAnAha vaihal

kulamAha kuTTrandAnAha nalamAha |

nAraNanai nApadiyai jnAna perumAnai

seeraNanai Ettum tiram || (67)

2448.   I am confident that reciting his divine names will always honour me with goodness (valamAga). He is one possessing the true knowledge (gnyAna perumAnai). He is the sarvEshvaran overflowing with abundant kalyANagunas (seeraNanai). He is the one who instigates me to sing his praises with my tongue (nAraNanai nApatiyai). Since He has favoured me with abundant grace of contemplating and singing His names, I have realised that He is my purushArtam (upEyam or the final goal). Hence, I will not be affected even if this act of mine causes good or bad effects in my life; whether it bestows me of birth in a good or bad family or gives me immense strength or fatigue (valamAga,mATTAmai tAn Aga,kulamAga,kuRRam tAnAga). 

PERIYA TIRUMOZHI - 1.1.9 

குலம்தரும் செல்வம் தந்திடும் அடியார் படுதுயராயினவெல்லம்,

நிலந்தரஞ்செய்யும் நீள்விசும்பருளும், அருளொடுபெருநிலமளிக்கும்,

வலந்தரும்மற்றுந்தந்திடும் பெற்ற, தாயினு மாயினசெய்யும்,

நலந்தருஞ்சொல்லை நான் கண்டுகொண்டேன், நாராயணவென்னும்நாமம்.

kulam tarum Selvam tandiDum aDiyAr paDu tuyarAyinavellAm

nilam taram Seyyum neeL viSumbu aruLum aruLoDu peru nilam aLikkum |

valam tarum maTTrum tandiDum peTTra tAyinum Ayina Seyyum

nalam tarum Sollai nAn kaNDu koNDEn nArAyaNA ennum nAmam. 

 

I realised the greatness and the goodness of the ‘nArAyaNa nAmam’ that gives the best of the clan and wealth. Waning away the sufferings of His devotees, it will take us to the heavenly abode. His grace will lead us to the path of serving Him. Bestow on us the strength to relish Him. Surpassing the mother’s love it makes us realise our inner self too. (67)

2449. tirambEnmin kaNDeer tiruvaDi tan nAmam

marandum purandozhAmAndar irainjiyum |

sAduvarAi pOduminhaLenrAn namanum tan

tooduvarai koovi sevikku || (68)

2449. Lord yamA’s respect towards prapannAs.

As Lord yamA’s (namanum) attendants were leaving to discharge their duties carrying their noose of death; Yama called upon them and whispered in their ears, ‘Dear attendants! Do not show your authority or rudeness towards the prapannAs; keep away from bhAgavatAs who may have forgotten to praise the Lord yet firmly refrain from worshipping the demigods (puRam tozhA mAndar-dEvatAntara sambandham). Do not go near them! Behave like a sAdhu with them by being humble and prostrate them with devotion (sAduvarAy pOdumingaL).

YAMA GEETA in Vishnu puranam- 3.7.14

स्व पुरुषं अभिवीक्षय पाश हस्थम्, वदति यमः किल तस्य कर्णमूले।

परिहर मधुसूदन प्रपन्नन्, प्रभुरहं अन्य नृणां अवैश्नवानाम्।।

sva purusham abhiveekshya paasha hastam, vadati yamah kila tasya karNamoole|

parihara madhusoodana prapannan, prabhuraham anya nrNaam avaishNavaanaam||

With noose in hand, when the servants of Yama were ready to leave to perform their duty, their Lord Yama whispers a command in their ears , " Avoid those who are prapannas of Madhusudhana. I am the master for those who have not surrendered to Vishnu!" (68)

2450. sevikku inbamAvaduvum sengaNmAl nAmam

puvikkum puviyaduvE kaNDeer kavikku |

niraiporuLAi ninrAnai nErpaTTEn pArkkil

marai poruLum attanaiyE tAn || (69)

2450. The greatness of His tirunAmams. 

The sweet Bhagavan nAmas of the lotus eyed lord (seNkaNmAl-puNDareekAkshan) has always been a feast to the ears (karNAmrutam). Not only that, it is also the only refuge for the samsArees which is cool like a shadow to get over the trivial times in our life on this earth (puvikku puviyum aduvE). emperumAn is the personification of perfection who is complete on His own(paripoorNan), possessing amazing kaLyANagunAs (kavikku niRai poruLAy ninRAnai), fit to be glorified and sung as a poetry! If we dwell deeper into the vEdas we will realise that even it proclaims that the greatness of His divine names alone is praiseworthy. 

I feel extremely fortunate and blessed to sing and enjoy the benefits of reciting Bhagavan nAma without any effort which is due to the boundless grace showered on me by emperumAn. 

MUKUNDAMALA SLOKA 18.

हे मर्त्याः परमं हितं श्रुणुत वो वक्ष्यामि सङ्क्षेपतः

संसारार्णवमापदूर्मिबहुलं सम्यक् प्रविश्य स्थिताः ।

नानाज्ञानमपास्य चेतसि नमो नारायणायेत्यमुं

मन्त्रं सप्रणवं प्रणामसहितं प्रावर्तयध्वं मुहुः||

Hey martyAha! param hitam shruNuta vO vakshyAmi saNkshEpatah

samsArArNava Apadoormibahulam samyak pravishya sthithA:|

nAnAgyAnam apAsya chEtasi namO nArAyaNAyEtyamum

mantram sapraNavam praNAm sahitam prAvartayadhvam muhu:||

Chanting Bhagavan nArAyaNa nAma which is very soothing to our sense organs will help us cross the ocean of samsara, wiping off our sorrows, guiding us to take the right path leading to moksham. (69)

2451. tAnoruvanAhi daraNiyiDandeDuttu

EnoruvanAi eyiTTril tAngiyadum yAnoruvan |

inrA arihinrEn allEn irunilattai

senrAngaDi paDutta sEi || (70)

2451. AzhvAr glorifies vAmana and varAha avatArams. 

The incarnations of Lord Vishnu have been always extraordinary proving His aghaTtaghaTanA sAmarthyam. 

Sriman nArAyaNA approached the sacrificial place of mAhAbali as vAmana, asked for just three feet of land. After accepting the argyam from him, His feet comfortably grew huge along with him to cover the worlds revealing that he is the sarvEshwaran (tAn Oruvan Agi).

Once during the cosmic deluge, emperumAn took the form of a gigantic boar (En oruvanAy-varAham) and retrieved mother earth (dharaNi) who had got stuck in the dirty slush of the ocean bed and effortlessly held her on His canine tooth! 

These unbelievable endeavours are not being described by me alone! Even the learned men and bhaktas have been aware of His feats since ages. (70)

NANMUGAN TIRUVANDADI 71 TO 80 
PASURAMS 2452 TO 2561

CHARAMA SHLOKA 18.66

Tirimazhisai AzhvArs elaborates on the re-assuring charama shlOka, one of the three rahasyas of shree vaishNava sampradAyam.

2452. chEyan aNiyan siriyan mihapperiyan

Ayan tuvaraikOnAi ninra mAyan anru |

Odiya vAkkadanai kallAr ulaGattil

EdilarAm meigyAnamil || (71)

2452. Chanting and understanding charama shlOka is essential.

BhagavAn, the unreachable (chEyan) and the supremely great one (miga periyan), appeared as a young lad among the cowherds (Ayan Ay ninRa chiriyan), and made himself easily approachable to them (aNiyan).  This wonderful Lord indeed became the king of dwAraka (duvarai kOn Ay ninRa mAyan), and instructed the promising charama shloka to Arjuna in the great battle of bhArata (mAyan anRu Odiya vAkku). Those who neglect the learning and understanding of krishNa"s charama shlOka are considered destitute of true knowledge, and enemies of bhagavAn (Odiya vAkkadanai kallAdAr ulagattil Edilar, mey gyAnam il - bhagavat virOdhi).

Bhagavat GeetA, 18.66

सर्वधर्मान्परित्यज्य मामेकं शरणं व्रज |

अहं त्वां सर्वपापेभ्यो मोक्षयिष्यामि मा शुच: || 66||

sarvadharmAn parityajya mAmEkam sharaNam vraja |

ahaM tvAm sarvapApEbhyO mOkshayiShyAmi mA shucha: ||

BhagavAn KrishNa says:

Surrender unto Me alone, giving up all paths to mOksha,

I shall relieve you of all sins. Do not worry!

Charama shlOka 18.66 is the most precious shlOka of the bhagavat geetA as it grants mOksha, the 'summum bonum' of human life.    The verse is termed ‘charama’ because it is the ultimate, last or final knowledge that takes the jeeva to ParamAtmA.  It gains more weightage when compared to other texts because it has been uttered by BhagavAn krishNa Himself.  KrishNa taught the prapatti mArga that outclasses all other yOgas like karma yOga, gyAna yOga and bhakti yOga, not only to the helpless Arjuna but to the entire world.  He promised that He shall dissolve the sins of one who surrenders to Him alone, giving up every other dharma.

AzhvAr says that the non-believers/non-followers of this promising dictum are far from reaching Him, as also said in the bhagavat geetA, chapter 16.19 - 

तानहं द्विषत: क्रूरान्संसारेषु नराधमान् |

क्षिपाम्यजस्रमशुभानासुरीष्वेव योनिषु || 19||

tAnaham dviShata: kroorAnsaMsArEShu narAdhamAn |

kshipAmi ajasram ashubhAn AsuriShu Eva yOniShu || (19)

I constantly hurl the hateful, cruel and unrighteous people into the wombs of those with similar inauspicious and demoniac nature in this material world. (71)

2453. illaram illEl turavaram illennum

sollaram allanavum sollalla nallaram |

Avanavum nAlvEda mAttavamum nAraNanE

Avadu eedu anru enbAr Ar || (72)

2453.  'sarva dharmAn parityajya' - Throwing more light on the other dharmas, AzhvAr says:

If one thinks that karma yOga of a gruhasta is the ultimate path, it is not. (illaram illEl)

If one thinks that gyAna yOga of a sannyAsi is the ultimate path, it is not. (turavaram illEl)

If one thinks that bhakti yOga of a seeker is the ultimate path, it is not. (sol aRam allanavum .. sol allEl)

It is Lord nArAyaNa who is the ultimate path that grants us His ultimate abode called “Paramapadam”. Hence, one should surrender at His feet which is called prapatti yOga.   Can anyone refute that it is only bhagavAn nArAyaNa's anugraham that can give us relief from bondage? (nAraNanE yAvadu eedenRenpArAr?)

The omnipresence of nArAyaNa:

In karma yOga that involves dedicated action by a gruhasta (householder), it is Lord nArAyaNa who directs the karma yOgi to do the right karma (nal aRam)

In gyAna yOga that involves in-depth study of the vEdas, it is Lord nArAyaNa who grants the right knowledge and penance to the sannyAsi. (nAl veda mAttavam)

In bhakti yOga that involves deep devotion, again it is Lord nArAyaNa who grants the required devotion (AvaNavum) to the bhakti yOgi.  His indispensability in all paths is to be understood this way. (72)  

2454. ArE arivAr anaittulahum uNDu umizhnda

pErAzhiyAn tan perumaiyai kAr serinda |

kaNDttAn en kaNNan kANAn avan vaitta

paNDai tAnattin padi || (73)

2454.  'mAm Ekam sharanam vraja - BhagavAn alone is the one to be surrendered – ananya sharaNyatvam'

Who is aware of the greatness of Lord nArAyaNa sporting the glorious chakra? Are aRivAr? He is the magnificent, ocean hued Lord who ingests and regurgitates all the massive worlds during praLaya. Lord krishNa’s charama shlOka 18.66, containing the exhaustive essence of all ancient knowledge, is unknown even to Lord BrahmA having eight eyes and Lord Shiva having the blue hued neck. 

BhagavAn does the act of sAdhu samrakshaNam and duShTha nigraham independently without anyone’s provocation or help (nirapEksha), and solely due to his unconditional compassion (nirhEtuka krupa) to save the worlds. Other dEvatas wait for the devotee to perform certain yagya or tapas or dAna in the prescribed manner, in order to grant results.  But KrishNa, through his bhagavat geetA, unconditionally promises to relieve the sharaNAgata (prapanna- surrenderer) of all pApas by bearing the responsibility all by Himself (avan vaiitta paNDaittAnattin pati).  (73)

2455. padi pahaijnarku ATTrAdu pAi tiraineer pAzhi

madittu aDainda vALaravam tannai madittavan tan |

vallAhattu ETTriya mAmEni mAyavanai

allAdu onru EttAdu en nA || (74)

2455. After enunciating about the genuine affection of KrishNa towards His devotees, AzhvAr promises that His tongue shall not praise any other Lord other than SArvEshvara Lord KrishNa having the pure, divine form.  (divya mangala vigraha).  Once upon a time, the resplendent serpent sumukha who was chased by his hereditary enemy GaruDa, rushed and sought refuge at the feet of Lord VishNu lying on the cool serpent AdisEshan floating on the sprawling milky ocean. Lord vishNu, overflowing with compassion, protected sumukha by ordering GaruDa to bear the serpent around his neck.  

Sumukha and GaruDa

GaruDa and Sumukha were hereditary enemies.  Indra’s charioteer and close aide mAtali wanted to get his daughter GunakEsi married to the nAgakumAra sumukha residing in the bhOgavati city of pAtAla lOka.  Sumukha’s grandfather Aryaka hesitated to the proposal saying that Sumukha was destined to be killed by GAruDa within a month. MAtali consoled him saying that his dear Lord Indra would grant the boon of long life to sumukha.  They all approached Indra who granted long life to sumukha as requested.  Sumukha married GuNakEshi.   Hearing of this, GaruDa chased sumukha who then approached Lord VishNu and wound up around His feet asking for protection against GaruDa.  GaruDa landed at the scene and warned VishNu boasting that He was the strongest vehicle who holds the strongest Lord VishNu.  To reduce his ego, Lord vishNu put His right hand on GaruDa’s shoulder. GaruDa could not bear the weight of VishNu’s hand and fell off.  In some time, He realized Lord vishNu’s indispensability and fell at His feet. Though GaruDa is vishNu’s close aide, VishNu ordered GaruDa to bear sumukha around his neck and protect him at all costs. This story shows that bhagavAn protects anyone who surrenders to Him and does not spare anyone who troubles his devotees. (74)

2456. nAkkoNDu mAniDam pADEn nalamAha

teekoNDa senjaDaiyAn senru enrum pookkoNDu |

vallavArEtta mahizhAda vaikunda

selvanAr sEvaDimEl pATTu || (75)

2456.   Tirumazhisai AzhvAr says with determination, I shall not praise any person with my tongue that has been made for the sole purpose of singing the praise of the sublime feet of Shree VaikunThanAtha.  He is the supreme Lord who is regularly praised and worshipped with flowers by Lord Shiva having fire-red colored matted hair.

In Tirumazhisai AzhvAr’s charitram, we have seen that his sishya kanikaNNan himself refused to praise the king pallavarAya. There is no wonder that the guru of such a disciplined sishya refused to praise anyone other than the Lord. Read the detailed story of Tirumazhisai AzhvAr at https://devamrutam.blogspot.com/p/tirumazhisai-azhvar.html (75)

2457. pATTum muraiyum paDu kadaiyum palporuLum

eeTTiya teeyum iru visumbum kETTa |

manuvum surudi marai nAngum mAyan

tana mAyaiyil paTTa tarpu || (76)

2457.  AzhvAr reasons out his strong determination by saying that all words (vAchaka) and references (vAchya) emerge due to bhagavAns divya sankalpa. 

(pATTum muRaiyum) – All structured literature available in prose, poetry and music (recitable shlokas and pAsurams)

(paDu kadaiyum) - the ancient stories contained in the purANas

(pal poruLum) – the morals contained in the itihAsas,

(eeTTiya teeyum iru visumbum - the quintuplication (pancheekaraNam) concept of the panchatabhootas like fire (agni) and sky (AkAsha), 

(kETTa manuvum) - the manusmritis that were composed by Manu. Sage Manu is extolled in the Taittireeya Samhita, 2.2.10.2 of yajur vEda thus : 

' मान॒वी ऋचौ॑ धा॒य्ये॑ कुर्या॒द्यद्वै किं च॒ मनु॒रव॑द॒त्तद्भे॑ष॒जं '

'mAnavee Ruchau kuryAdyadvai kiM cha manuravadattadbhEshajaM'

‘One should insert the phrases of Manu, Whatever Manu said is medicine’. ||

(shuruti maRai nANgum) - the four eternal vEdas called apaurushEya (which were only heard) and which are recited by mere utterance (vocally - uchchAranam) and non-utterance (silently - anuchchAraNam).  

All of the above are tattvas that have emerged out of the divine sankalpa of the wondrous Lord shreeman nArAyaNa (mAyan tan mAyaiyil paTTa tarpu). (76)

2458. tarpennai tAnariyanElum taDangaDalai

karkoNDu toortta kaDal vaNNan Er koNDa|

vevvinaiyum neenga vilangA manam vaittAn

evvinaiyum mAyumAl kaNDu || (77)

2458. 'aham tvAm sarva pApEbhyO mOkshayishyAmi, mA shucha:'

In the previous two pAsurams, AzhvAr talked about his firm dedication and sharanAgati towards the Lord. In this pAsuram, he talks about bhagavAn’s firm compassion towards AzhvAr.

The dark ocean- hued Lord rAma is the one who blocked the vast southern sea (Indian ocean) by building a dam made of mountain stones.  Forgetting all my mistakes and remembering only my good deeds like bhakti and dAsya, the Lord who is the repository of ananta kalyANa guNas, has kindly graced me and relieved me of the terrible sins that I was captivated by.  I am sure He will remove all my sins entirely from the root because His mind is constantly concentrated on my welfare, without getting diverted anywhere else.

In this context, it is soothing to read swAmi dEsikan's nyAsa dashakam - 3. 

स्वामी स्वशेषं स्ववशं स्वभरत्वेन निर्भरम् ।

स्वदत्तस्वधिया स्वार्थ स्वस्मिन्नयस्यति मां स्वयम् ।।3।।

swAmee svasEsham svavasam svabharatvEna nirbharam | 

svadatta svadhiyA svArtham svasmin nyasyati mAm svayam ||

 SwAmi Desikan says that BhagavAn, the supreme Lord Himself makes us His servant, takes control of us, takes responsibility of protecting us and thus removes our worries about ourselves.  He on His own accord gives us the knowledge of Himself, makes us surrender everything to Him, and embraces/accepts us, thus freeing us of all blemish and responsibility.  (77)

2459. kaNDu vaNanginArkku ennAngol kAmanuDal

koNDa tavattArkku umai uNartta vaNDalambum |

tAralangal neeNmuDiyAn tan peyarE kETTirundu angu

Ar alangal AnamaiyAl Aindu || (78)

2459. Once Lord Shiva reduced Manmada/kAma’s body to ashes because he disrupted His tapas. To get solace from the destructive mood, Shiva was doing penance in Himavat Mountain. PArvati circumambulated Him and asked Shiva, “Everyone meditates on You. Whom do You medidate upon? Lord Shiva replied, “I meditate upon nArAyaNa”.  The moment He was reminded of nArAyaNa nAma by pArvati, Lord Shiva swooned like a faded garland realising His dependence (pAravashyam) on Lord Hari (angu Ar alangal Anamai) - His heart melted, His voice weakened, and He was drenched in tears. He asked pArvati to keep uttering few more nArayaNa nAmams so that He could hear some more.

Recollecting this story, AzhvAr says, If such is the divine ecstacy on just hearing His name, I wonder what would happen to those who directly see and worship Lord nArAyaNa, the one having a tall, glorious crown ever fragranced by flower garlands that are hovered around by buzzing bees?  (vaNDu alampum tAr alangal neer muDiyAn, kaNDu vaNanginArkku ennAngkol?)

Lord Shiva's deep devotion towards VishNu is evident in the verses of VishNu sahasranAma too. In the last phalashruti verses, pArvati asks Shiva the easiest way to chant sahasranAma.  Shiva replies that uttering the name ‘rAma' thrice is equal to chanting his thousand names. 

पार्वत्युवाच

केनोपायेन लघुना विष्णोर्नामसहस्रकम्।

पठ्यते पण्डितैर्नित्यं श्रोतुमिच्छाम्यहं प्रभो॥२६॥

श्री ईश्वर उवाच

श्रीराम राम रामेति रमे रामे मनोरमे।

सहस्रनाम तत्तुल्यं राम नाम वरानने॥ 

PArvati uvAcha

kenOpAyena laghunA vishNOrnAma sahasrakam|

paThyatE panDitair nityam shrOtum ichChAmyaham prabhO||

Shree Ishwara uvAcha

ShreerAma rAma rAmEti ramE rAmE manOramE|

sahasranAma tattulyaM rAma nAma varAnanE|| (78)

2460. Aindu koNDu Adi perumAnai anbinAl

vAinda manattirutta vallArhaL Einda tam |

meikundamAha virumbuvarE tAmumtam

vaikundam kANbAr viraindu || (79)

2460. The parama bhAgavatas worship the AdiperumAn, jagat kAraNa nArAyaNa with fond love, and contemplate on Him  continually.  They become so engrossed  that they lose interest in worldly activities and further consider their body (mey - dEham) to be a disease (kundam). Waiting to get rid of the disease of samsAra, they become restless to attain VaikunTham as soon as possible, without any further delay. (79)

2461. virandaDaimin mElorunAL veLLam parakka

karandulaham kAttaLitta kaNNan parandulaham

pADina ADinakETTu paDunaraham

veeDina vAsar kadavu || (80)

2461.  On a positive note, AzhvAr says that on hearing about the increasing number of such bhAgavatas singing the glories of bhagavAn and dancing in divine ecstacy, the terrible naraka and its punishers shall soon perish.  Hence, he advises all of us to follow the path of bhAgavatas and immediately attain the impermanent KrishNa who protects and preserves all the worlds even during the cosmic deluge. (80)

NANMUGAN TIRUVANDADI 81 TO 88
PASURAMS 2462 TO 2470

PEYAZHVAR MEETS TIRUMAZHISAI AZHWAR

2462. kadavu manam enrum kANalAm enrum

kudaiyum vinaiyAvi teerndEn vidaiyAha |

naRRamizhai vitti ennuLLattai neeviLaittAi

kaRRamozhiyAkki kalandu || (81)

2462.  In upadEsha ratnamAlai, SwAmi manavALa mAmunigaL hails Tirumazhisai AzhvAr as ‘tuyya madi peRRa mazhisai pirAn துய்யமதி பெற்ற மழிசை பிரான்’ – the Lord who attained a clear mind. 

In this pAsuram, AzhvAr reveals that he gained clarity of mind due to bhagavat sankalpam.

AzhvAr says:

Sometimes, I used to feel that the ‘mind’ is a hindrance to the attainment of the absolute Lord.  Sometimes, I used to feel that the ‘mind’ is an instrument to see the absolute Lord. 

मन ऎव मनुष्यानाम् कारणम् बन्ध मॊक्षैयॊ:

mana Eva manuShyAnAm kAraNam bandha mOkshayO: 

(amrita bindhu upanishad)

The mind alone is the reason for bondage and mOksha.

Now after Your divine intervention (through AchArya pEyAzhvAr), I am totally clear of all these habitual confusions of my mind.   Oh, Lord nArAyaNa, the one having immortal power and knowledge!  To prove Your unconditional grace on me, You have partnered with me, guiding me to write this prabandham in eloquent tamizh language.   You have also manifested as the ‘meaning’ of all tamizh ‘words’ that surface in this prabandham.  By engaging my mind in composing this prabandham, You have indeed sown the seed of bhakti in my heart, thereby converting it into an ever-fertile, invulnerable farm. (81)

2463. kalandAnen uLLattu kAmavEL tAdai

nalandAnum eedoppadu uNDO alarndalarhaL |

iTTEttum eeSanum nAnmuhanum enrivarhaL

viTTEtta mATTAda vEndu || (82)

2463. KrishNa the father (tAtai) of pratyumna (the amsha of manmadA  - kAmavEl) has entered into me and merged into my heart giving me the perfect pleasure of worshipping Him inside me. Even the four-faced BrahmA, and Shiva who offers beautifully bloomed flowers and sings stOtras, cannot worship him satisfactorily.  Is there any one as blessed as me to be a fully satisfied worshipper of the Lord dEvAdidEvan. (eedu oppadu nalam tAnum uNDO). (82)

2463. vEndarAi viNNavarAi viNNAhi taNNaLiyAi

mAndarAi mAdAi maTTrallAmAi sArndavarkku |

tannATTrAn nEmiyAn mAl vaNNan tAnkoDukkum

pinnAl tAn seyyum pidir || (83)

2464.  BhagavAn, the bearer of the rotating disc/chakra (nEmiyAn) and the personification of affection (mAl-vaNNan),  assumes many roles namely:-  as the benevolent king of His citizens (vEndar Ay), as the supernal Lord who bestows prosperity to the residents of all the worlds (viNNavar Ay), as the supreme Lord who grants heavenly bliss (viN Ay), as the Lord who showers His cool, kind grace (taN aLiyAy) on all His devotees, as the Lord who helps like a relative (mAndar Ay),  as the Lord who cares like a mother (mAdu Ay) and as the go-getter who does all other welfare not listed above (maRRa ellAmAy).  

Not satisfied with all His kindness (ARRan), He finally gives Himself to His devotees, granting them everlasting bliss (mOksha and paramapadam), never to be separated from Him (pinnAl tan kuDukkum). Such is the wonderful grace of emperumAn (tAn seyyum pidir).  (83)

2465. pidirum manamilEn pijnahan tannODu

edirvan avanenakku nErAn adirum |

kazharkAla mannanaiyE kaNNanaiyE nALum

tozhakkAdal pooNDEn tozhil || (84)

2465. AzhvAr proclaims His ananyabhOgyatvam meaning He spends all His time in bhagavat kainkaryam/service of the Lord alone and nothing else.

Every day, I am engaged in the loving service of Lord KrishNa, considering the kainkaryam as my nityAnuShThAnam (daily duty).   I am not the one having a disturbed mind (pidirum manamilEn). I am no less than Lord Paramashiva, the mahAgyAni full of knowledge.  In fact, He is not comparable with me because I am entirely devoted to my King krishNa whose anklets resound His victory over evil, whereas Lord Shiva must engage His faculties in doing justice to His duties. (84)

2466. tozhilanakku tollaimAl tannAmaEtta

pozhudenakku maTTraduvE pOdum kazhisinatta

vallALan vAnarakkOn vAli madanazhitta

villALan nenjattuLan || (85)

2466. Expanding on the previous pAsuram, AzhvAr says that all His time is spent in doing rAmanAma sankeertanam.  He cherishes how Lord rAma, the expert wielder of the shArnga bow, quashed the ego of the powerful and wrathful vAnara king vAli.  The kind Lord performed this act not by killing vAli directly, but by supporting sugreeva who had a reason to fight.  This benevolent Lord resides inside my heart showering his blessings continuously. Being nurtured by His grace, how will my mind move astray from Him into other thoughts even for a moment? Contemplating on the ancient Lord rAma and singing His tirunAmas, is my only pastime. (85)

2467. uLankaNDAi nannenjE uttamanenrum

uLankaNDAi uLLuvAruLLattu uLan kaNDAi |

tannoppAn tAnAi uLan kAN tamiyErku

ennoppArkku eeSan imai || (86)

2467.  Dear obedient heart! Know that Lord PurushOttama enjoys residing inside the heart and gains nutrition by being worshipped by the devotee.  (uLan kaNDAy nal nenjE!).  He is committed to protect us at all times (uttaman enRum uLan kaNDAy).  He does nityavAsam in the heart of yOgis who meditate on Him constantly (uLLuvAr uLLattu uLan kaNDAi).  Be assured that Lord nArAyaNa, the one who has no equal, will be there by His own will to protect us (tannoppAn tAnAi uLan kAN), and all other helpless people like us (tamiyErku ennoppArkku eeSan imai). (86)

2468. imaya perumalai pOl indiranArkku iTTa

samaya virunduNDAr kAppAr samayangaL |

kaNDAn avai kAppAn kAr kaNDan nAnmuhanODu

uNDAn ulahODu uyir || (87)

2468. KrishNa gobbled up all of Indra’s rightful annual offering of food which was heaped up like the huge HimAlaya mountain.   When the angry Indra caused torrential rains, who protected the cowherds and the cows?

Who created the vEdic philosophies?

Who protects all the philosophies?

Who relieves Shiva and BrahmA from all afflictions?

Who protects and preserves all the universe and the jeevAtmAs during praLaya?

It is indeed Lord nArAyaNa (sarvarakshaka) who protects everything. (87)

2469. uyir koNDu uDalozhiya ODumpOdODi

ayarvu enra teerppAn pErpADi seyal teera |

sindittu vAzhvArE vAzhvAr sirusamaya

pandanaiyAr vAzhvEl pazhudu || (88)

2469.  At the time of death, the yamadhootas leave the body (shareera) and run away with the soul (AtmA).  To be fearless at that time and remember bhagavAn, it is important to live a life spending all the time on bhagavan nAma sankeertana and not waste our time in trying some upAyas or rituals to attain Him. Beware that such difficult ritualistic practices shall lead to karma-bandham and shall bear no result. Whereas, bhagavan nama alone can grant us bhagavat smaraNam at all times which in turn shall definitely grant us relief from all miseries.

PeriyAzhvAr also prayed, அப்போதைக்கு இப்போதே சொல்லி வைத்தேன், அரங்கத்து அரவணைப் பள்ளியானே!

'appOdaikku ippOdE solli vaittEn, arangattu aravaNai paLLiyAnE!'

People who take own effort to do hard penance to attain bhagavAn are called pravrRutti dharma niShThas. People who consider bhagavAn Himself as the means, and also perform kainkaryam entirely for enjoying bhagavAn (swayam prayOjanam) are called nivRutti dharma niShThas.  AzhvAr advises us to join the second category. (88)

NANMUGAN TIRUVANDADI 89 TO 96
PASURAMS 2470 TO 2477

2470. pazhudAgAdu onrarindEn pArkaDalAn pAdam

vazhuvA vahai ninaindu vaihal tozhuvArai |

kaNDu irainji vAzhvAr kalanda vinaikoDuttu

viN tirandu veeRRiruppAr mikku || (89)

2470.  In this pAsuram and the next, AzhvAr reveals the parama rahasya that “bhAgavata bhakti is greater than bhagavat bhakti”.  (pAsuram 18 also speaks of bhAgavata bhakti)

AzhvAr declares with great confidence that he has found a flawless path to mOksha which is bhAgavata bhakti – worshipping bhAgavatas (pazhudu AgAda onRu arindEn). BhAgavatas are devotees of VishNu who do undiluted service at the divine feet of bhagavAn ksheerAbdinAtha.  Those who visit such bhAgavatas in person, prostrate them, and serve them shall get rid of all their karmas and enter Paramapadam and enjoy everlasting bliss staying there. In bhagavat bhakti, people tend to have a small doubt in their minds about the certainty of mOksha. In bhAgavata bhakti, there remains no doubt as it shall not push one to samsAra bandham at all.

A verse from varAha purANam reads:

सिद्धि: भवति वा नॆति शंशय अच्युत सॆविनम् |

निश्शंशयस्तु यद् भक्त परिचर्य आत्मानम् ||

Siddhi: bhavati vA nEti shaMshaya achyuta sEvinam |

nishshaMshayastu yad bhakta paricharya-ratAtmAnam||

They who serve the infallible Lord achyuta may or may not attain perfection. But they who devoutly serve the supreme Lord’s devotees shall certainly attain perfection. There is no doubt about that. (89)

2471. veeTTrirundu viNNALa vENDuvAr vEngaDattAn

pAl tirunda vaittArE panmalarhaL mEltirunda |

vAzhvAr varum madipArttu anbinarAi maTTravarkkE

tAzhvAi iruppAr tamar || (90)

2471. AzhvAr explains why bhAgavata bhakti is flawless.

It is true that devotees who worship Lord SrinivAsa of tirumalA by offering fresh flowers shall qualify to rule ShreevaikuNTham.  

But those devotees who are certified as ‘aDiyArkku aDiyAr’ and recommended by the bhAgavatas who are close to the Lord saying “He is our person”, shall be blessed with special bliss. 

This is the secret of our Guru Parampara that embraces the lineage of all our AchAryas (sannyAsis and bhAgavatas) who are totally immersed in bhagavat bhAgavata kainkaryam.

Padma purANam, padmOttara kAnDam, 29,31

आराधनानाम् सर्वॆषां विष्णॊ:आराधनं परम् ।

तस्मात् परतरं प्रॊक्तम् तदीयाराधनम् परम् ॥

स्वाराधनं विहायानि स्वभक्तान् अर्चयन्ति यॆ: ।

तॆभ्य: प्रसन्न भगवान् सिद्धिम् इष्टं प्रयच्छति ॥

ArAdhanAnAm sarvEShAM viShNO: ArAdhanaM param |

tasmAt parataraM prOktam tadeeyArAdhanam param ||

swArAdhanaM vihaayaani swabhaktAn archayanti yE: |

tEbhya: prasanna bhagavAn siddhim iShTaM prayachChati ||

Of all kinds of worship, worship of Lord viShNu is the best. Better than the worship of Lord viShNu is the worship of His devotees/bhAgavatas (tadeeyArAdhanam).  If one does not worship Lord viShNu, but only worships His bhAgavatas, bhiagavAn becomes immensely pleased with him and grants all his desires. (90)

2472. amarAvAr yAvarkkum tAmarai mElArkum

amararkkum AdaravArttArkkum amararhaL |

tAL tAmarai malarhaLiTTiranji mAl vaNNan

tAL tAmarai aDaivOm enru || (91)

2472.  In this pasuram AzhvAr reveals the supremacy of the ShreevaishNavas.  He says that His aDiyaars who offer fragrant flowers at emperumAn's divine feet (who always surrender with the faith that emperumAn is the only upAyOpEyam உபாயோபேயம்),  are the real beneficiaries than Lord Brahma, Lord Shiva,  and other Nityasooris who reside at SrivaikunTham and worship Sriman NArAyaNa .(ubhaya vibhooti nAtha உபயவிபூதிநாதன்). (91)

2473. enrum marandariyEn ennenjattE vaittu

nirum irundum neDumAlai enrum |

tiruvirunda mArban siridaranukku ALAi

karuvirunda nAL mudalA kAppu || (92)

2473. AzhvAr says with pride that perumAl in His form as Sreedharan with His consort MahAlakshmi, has protected and guarded me from the very beginning - from my existence in my mother's womb. I don’t remember to have forgotten Him ever.   "As stated by PeriyAzhvAr in TirupallaNDu 11

"அல்வழக் கொன்றுமில்லா அணிகோட்டியர்கோன்அபிமானதுங்கன் செல்வனைப் போலத் திருமாலே! நானுமுனக்கு பழவடியேன்", all jeevAtmAs surviving in this universe are bound to be under the governance and mercy of emperumAn concludes AzhvAr. (92)

2474. kAppu marandariyEn kaNNanE enriruppan

Appangozhiyavum palluyirkkum Akkai |

koDuttaLitta kOnE guNapparanE unnai

viDattuNiyAr meiteLindAr tAm || (93)

2474. "காப்புமறந்தறியேன்"..There are two ways of interpreting this term. 

'I will not deny the fact that emperumAn is my protector’; and  'I will not forget to sing His praise (MangalAshAsanam)'.

AzhvAr refers to the time of the Pralayadasai when the AtmA (wavering like a bird losing its feathers) loses its indriyas and shareera ( karaNa-kaLEbaram).  To help the AtmAs reach Him again, You, the kind Lord, give them another body and wait for them. (pal uyirkkum Akkai koDuttu aLitta kOnE).

 

AzhvAr says that anyone who realizes that the cosmic force is only KaNNan, would never prefer to detach themselves from Him and from His tirukalyANa guNas (mei teLindAr tAm unnai viDa tuNiyAr). (93)

2475. meiteLindAr en seyyAr vErAnAr neerAha

kaiteLindu kATTi kaLappaDuttu paiteLinda |

pAmbinaNaiyAi aruLAi aDiyErkku

vEmbum kariyAgum Enru || (94)

2475.  Quoting a proverb, 'vEmbum kariyAgum வேம்பும் கறி ஆகும்' meaning - "One who desires to eat neem leaves would surely relish its taste considering it to be another vegetable", AzhvAr pleads to emperumAn to consider him, overlook all his blunders, forgive, and bless him.

Adding one more proverb - " mei teLindAr en cheyyAr மெய் தெளிந்தார் என் செய்யார்"' meaning "Those who have true knowledge can fulfill anything they desire",  AzhvAr is sure that the supreme Lord reposing on the multi-hooded AdisEshan, would not opt to point out his mistakes but only look at his good and show mercy.

The incident referred is:  Lord krishna supported the pANDavas in the Kurukshetra war thereby paving the way for the fall of duryOdhana and his brothers, as it is His dharma to put an end to Ashrita virodhis and ultimately save the mother earth from their wicked hands. (94)

2476. EnrEnaDimai izhindEn pirappiDumbai

AnrEn amararkkamarAmai AnrEn |

kaDanADum maNNADum kaiviTTu mElai

iDanADu kANa ini || (95)

2476. The last two pasurams are sAttu pAsurams (சாற்று பாசுரம்).

AzhvAr exclaims that he has joyfully accepted the truth of (slavery) "ஏன்றேன் அடிமை" and complete surrender to Him. He says that he has acquired the knowledge and bhakti (which even the other prime gods like BrahmA and Shiva failed to inherit and cannot come near me - amararkku amarAmai AnREn) in understanding that VaikunTham, His TirunADu is the only divine abode.  Even heaven (kaDa nADu), this bhoolOkam (maN nADu).and other lokas are mere places. AzhvAr expresses that he is extremely contented, and he is filled with paramabakthi ready to serve emperumAn with the nityasooris. (95)

2477. iniyarindEn eeSarkkum nAnmuharkkum deivam

iniyarindEn emberumAn unnai ini arindEn |

kAraNan nee kaTTravai nee karpavai nee narkirisai

nAraNan nee nangarindEn nAn || (96)

2477.  AzhvAr started the first pAsuram by announcing that nArAyaNa is the supreme cause - sarva kAraNa.  He then supported His statement with the secrets contained in the shrutis, smRitis, itihAsas, purANas and upanishads. He finally concludes his NAnmugan TiruvandAdi with the proclamation note that he has fully realised the paratvam of Shreeman nArAyaNa over all other Gods like BrahmA and Shiva.

AzhvAr lists the unique qualities of emperumAn.

KAraNan nee - You are the cause for origin and the functioning of the entire Universe;

KaRRavai nee - You dwell in all that was known prior to this,

Karpavai nee - You dwell in all that would be known in future. 

nal kirisai nAraNan nee - nArAyanA!  You are the permanent, causeless protector. 

As promised in the first pAsuram, this prabandham began with the intention of establishing the paratvam of Shreeman NArAyaNa and ended stamping the truth that Shreeman NArayaNa is indeed the supreme brahman. (96)

 

ஆழ்வார் திருவடிகளே சரணம்.