based on the vyakhyanam of Sri Periyavaccan Pillai
by Smt Sumithra Varadarajan

Sri Thondaradipodi alwar, who started with the prabhandam saying the importance of nAma keertanam then got himself immersed in the beauty of the bhagavan and started calling periya perumal with various bhagavan nAmA's. Due to the joy he experienced he said, I will not prefer even moksha leaving this ultimate joy of nAma keetanam. But then he remembers the various sufferings in the samsara and hence says, due to all these miseries in this leela vibhuti I do not want to have another birth. In the next paasuram alwar proceeds to talk about the magimai of nAma keertanam. Since he did nAma keertanam thinking about the divine form of the bhagavan in the second paasuram people may think that we have to do nAma keertanam along with the meditation on the divine form of the bhagavan only. Now, alwar proceeds to say that it is not a rule that we have to do nAma keertanam along with roopa dyanam(meditating on his form). Though it is a great anubhavam to do both together, still even if we do ThirunAma keertanam without thinking of him still it does give the same result. To explain the same, alwar refers to a short story which has been given in vishnu dharmam. Let us now see the divine meanings in the fourth paasuram.

Paasuram-4
moiththa valvinaiyul nindru moondru Aezhuththu vudaya pErAl
kaththira bhandhumandre parAngathi kandu kondAn
eththanai adiyarAnArkku errangum nam aranganAya
piththanai pettrum andhO! PiraviutpinaggumArE (4)

In this paasuram alwar quotes a upakhyAnam(legend) in Vishnu dharmam. Generally our acharyas refrain from even saying the name of a person who does bhagavata-bhAgavata apacharam. Even bhagavan apologises all our other sins, but he never forgives us if we do bhAgavata apachAram. In sampradayam, nAloorAn was the person responsible for the death of Sri periya nambigal and for koortazhvan losing his eyes. He was also responsible for making Sri Ramanuja flee from Srirangam. Though he was a vaishnavite himself he did all these apachArams, so our acharyas never referred to him with his original name but instead referred to him only as nAloorAn(one person who belongs to a place called nAloor). Similarly here in Vishnu dharamam, there is a reference to a man who was a kshteriya by birth but did not possess any qualities of a kshetriyan, as kshatra bandhu(in tamil-kaththira bandhu). To explain further Sri PVP in his vyakhyanam quotes ashvaththAmA who was a "brahma bandhu". Though he was a brahmin he had all qualities which a brahmin should not have and hence he is refered as brahma bandhu.

Kshatra bandhu upakhyAnam:
Kshatra bandhu was a kshatriya but had all bad qualities. He was a very aragant person who troubled everyone. His relatives and friends couldn't tolerate him and hence he was exiled. He lived alone since even his wife abandoned him. He had one cow and a boy who looked after the cow and with this he made his living. Once he was loitering in the forests when by bhagavat krupai he happens to meet a rishi. "DarshanA deva sadhavaha"(when even a culprit sees a sadhu he becomes good for that moment). Similarly this kshatra bandhu also feels for all his mistakes and he confessed before the rishi. Listening to him the rishi felt sorry for him. If the rishi started telling the prayaschitam for all the deeds of kshatra bandhu till today according to the shastras, it will become neverending and he will also not understand. The rishi thought what good he could do to him. He then asked kshatra bandhu how he managed his living. Kshatra bandhu replied that he had a cow and a cow boy named "Govinda" who looks after the cow and with the milk from the cow he made a living. The rishi immediately asked do you call your cowboy often with his name. Kshatra bandhu replied that since he was the only person who listened to him and since the cow is his only source of living he usually says "Govinda do this! Govinda do that! Govinda have you fed the cow!" etc etc quite often. The rishi heaved a sign of relief and said then you need not worry all your sins will be washed away. Kshatra bandhu couldn't understand how his sins could be washed away. Then the rishi explained to him the magimai of Bhagavan nAma(Govinda nAma). "Yam yam yAnthi smaran bhAvam tyajethyanthe kalebaram" "SAnkEtyam pArihasyam va stomam helana mevava" how ever you recite the bhagavan nAma, with or without thinking of bhagavan, even for the sake of kidding or talking ill of the bhagavan himself still if the nAma is told then it gives palan. And the nAma of bhagavan has the power to wash any type of, any number of sins, in a single moment. So the rishi told him to continue with the same bhagavan nAma keertanam and not to worry about his past. Days passed and kshatra bandhu grew old. He was in his last bed and finally he calls "Govinda"(his cow boy) but then his soul departs. Taking into account all the papams he has done till then, the yama dhoodhas come to take him to naraka lokam. When they approach kshatra bandhu they are stopped by four divya purushas(vishnu dhoodhas). The yama dhoodhas were shocked to see someone stopping them since no one ever had the guts to stop them till today. But seeing the tejas of the vishnu dhoodhas they are taken aback and hence they polietly asked why they were stopping them from doing their duty.

The vishnu dhoodhas then asked the yama dhoodhas what their duty was and what was dharma? The yama dhoodhas replied that they were destined to take all the papa jeevatmas to naraka and whatever has been mentioned in the sastras were dharmam. Then the vishnu dhoodhas made a big lecture to the yama dhoodhas about the bhagavan nAma keertanam and finally completed saying that though kshatra bandhu had done innumerable sins in his various births still he died saying the bhagavan nAmA and hence all his sins were washed out and hence he has become a pure soul. The yama dhoodhas were very surprised to listen to this and hence they asked back, "don't your Narayana know that he didn't call him instead he called only his cow boy?"For this the vishnu dhoodhas replied with a smile, "Our Narayana very well knows that and he also knows that if he had to wait till these jeevatmas say his nAma meditating on his roopam then he has to wait for many many more jenmAs(births). He is so worried seeing these jeevans suffer in samsara that he desperately wants to avail any small chance, to grant the jeevan moksha and take this soul to his feet. Bhagavan nAma, roopa or guna all have the same power. Each one can grant his feet without the help of the other. So the nAma alone has the power to take the soul to the feet of emperuman. Roopa dyanam is not a anga(part) of Bhagavan nAma keertanam.

But then one doubt may arise in all our minds. Then why do alwars and acharyas say that we have to think about the lord and do nAma keertanam as andal says "VayinAl pAdi manathinAl sindikka". We will see why in the next posting.