Thirumaalai - Part 33

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

Paasuram-18
"enithirai tivalai mOdha eriyum than paravai meedhE
thanikidandhu arasu seyyum thAmaraikannan emmAn
kaniyirundhanaiya sevvAi kannanai kanda kangal
paniarumbhu vudhirumAlO enseikEn pAviyEnE?"

enithirai tivalai mOdha eriyum than paravai meedhE: Emperuman is seen in his lying posture many times and he likes to be in yoga nidhrai. We all get cheated even if we are awake but in the case of emperuman he knows everything and can never be cheated even if he lies sleeping in yoga nidhrai. So alwars enjoy saying 'VuranguvAn pOl yOgu seitha perumAn'(he lies like sleeping but always stays in yogam). Initially, emperuman lied on a aala elai(banyan leaf) during the pralayam. Then woken up by his kAla devata he started the shrusti. During the pralayam the pralaya water raised to great heights to enjoy the beauty of the bhagavan in the lying posture. Then since if he stays in Srivaikundam alone, he was not easily approachable by the devas. So he came down to pArkadal as vyuha moorthi. Again in parkAdal he is seen lying on Adisesha. During the pralayam he was alone but now there is Adisesha and pirattis to do pAda sEvai. Kamban talks about this beautiful scene. He says "kadalul kayalugal vaigum kadavulE kAnum enbar". The fishes in the ocean are so much attracted by the beauty of emperuman's eyes, that by seeing the fish like eyes of emperuman they think him to be one among them and hence they jump very high to enjoy the beauty of the bhagavan. When he came down as rAma, vishvAmitra enjoyed seeing the bhagavan lying and wondered what bhakyam koushalya mAtha should have, to have enjoyed this beauty for so many years. He says she alone is blessed with motherhood. To surpass the bhakyam of kousalyai came yeshodha who was blessed with Krishna as the son. She and the gopi's enjoyed Krishna do any sort of thing. Krishna used to pretend to sleep and when the gopikas talked about his leelas he will lose himself and smile. All these where enjoyed by the parama rasikas. One bhaktha says I enjoy the 'pOi thookam' of Krishna. After the vibhava avatAra to give us all that bhakyam emperuman is found in lying pose in many of the divyadesams including Srirangam. Here alwar talks about the emperuman lying with water splashing on all sides. But Vyakhyana chakravarthi says like the water in the ocean, droplets are found under the eyes of the bhagavatals who think or talk about him. So whenever they talk about bhagavan tears fall in the eyes of the bhagavatals.

thanikidandhu arasu seyyum thAmaraikannan emmAn: Emperuman rules over the whole world. Here when alwar says thani kidandhu that is he rules lying alone. He lies alone only during the pralayam. As per the Upanishads he alone was there during the pralayam but here alwar says thani kidandhu arasu seiyyum. How can he rule when he alone is there? Actually during the pralayam he alone lies but then just by his sankalpam woken up by the kAlam he creates the whole world. "sO kAmayatha" says the Upanishad. After creation he rules the whole world. But then Sri PVP is not satisfied with saying the emperuman who created the universe after pralayam rules over. He says even in Srirangam emperuman stays alone. There is not even piratti under his feet to do pAda sEvai and here too he is surrounded by water(Kaveri) on all sides like a garland and kavEri is always washing the legs of Periya perumal. So why not we say this perumal who came to save us all from the samsAra thukkam sacrificing his own abode where there are nithya sooris to do nithya kainkaryam to him, only rules over the world.

Actually rangantha is considered to be the king of kings. He always has a senkOl with him. Andal says, "senkOl vudaiya thiruvaranga selvanAr". For virodhi nirasanam he can use his sanghu and chakram but then for changing his bhakthas who commit mistakes he uses only his senkOl. Just by frightening them with the pancha Ayudhams, he changes them. In case of bhakthas his sanghu and chakram are only Abharanams(jewels) and not ayudhams. More than his senkOl here alwar says his eyes themselves have the power to govern everyone. Though sanghu and chakram are generally asAdhArana symbols to the lord but the alwars always consider them to be ordinary symbols. They enjoy the thamarikan and senkanivai as asAdhArana symbols and loose themselves to their beauty. Nammazhvar in his padhigam about thiruvarangar says, "kangulaum pagalum kan thuyil ariyAl kannaneer kaigalal erraikkum , sanghu chakaram endru kai kooppum" the mother says that her daughter(parangusa nayaki) is so much in love with lord ranganatha that she never sleeps either in the morning or in the night. She always keeps weeping in his thoughts. When she says sanghu chakram she remembers his paratvam and hence she folds her palms as a symbol of respect. But then alwar says, "thAmarai kan endrE thalarum" but when she thinks of the beautiful lotus eyes of the bhagavan she looses herself, that is when her deep love is shown. The nAma kannan actually gives two meanings, one is he has beautiful eyes and another one that he makes the eyes of those who look at him beautiful. So alwar says thamarai kannan. There are so many such anubhavams of various alwars about the beauty of the eyes of bhagavan but then it requires a separate series of postings. Emman means he is my swamy and he resides in me always.