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Sriman Narayana is the Lord of all, the source of all and all beings are enslaved to Him. Yet, the realization of this knowledge, which would lead them to His service and liberation, is lacking in beings, leading them to close association with their bodies and this world, and false ownership of the same, neither of which last much time. Armed with this incorrect knowledge they think that they are the lord of their surroundings and ignore the bliss of being attached to Him. Latching on to the karmas that come out of this behaviour they wallow in them. Seeing this, the Lord, in order to set them on the right path of reaching Him, gave them the Vedas and other Sastras and Himself shone through them.
However, due to their attachment to their karmas the beings ignored this evidence and its importance and so He came down to them as Sri Rama, Sri Krishna and other avatars. In Rama avatar, as Sri Rama He established the duties of a person to obey his elders words; through Sri Lakshmana He showed that a soul's duty is service to the Lord; through Sri Bharata He showed that kainkaryam to the Lord is attained by great attachment to Him; and through Sri Shatrughna He showed that the highest form of service to the Lord is service to His devotees. As Sri Krishna, He taught everyone what true dharma is and how to follow it. Thus, He made clear to them what their relationship is between themselves and Him. But, because one who is far above them came down to their level and lived amongst them, they rejected His Lordship and refused to listen to His words.
Therefore, just as a hunter would catch an animal in the forest using one of its own kind, He decided to teach the beings of this world using a fellow being and sent Periyazhvar to this world. Thus, Periyazhvar's vaibhavam states that even those that were not set in the true path by the Sastras and His avataras were saved by Periyazhvar's birth.
Periyazhvar naturaly possessing His service in his mind took to providing flowers for Him by maintaining a flower garden near His temple.
Periyazhvar is also considered greater than the other Azhvars for the following reasons. Whereas the others did service to the Lord so that He may save them, Periyazhvar considered His safety as everything to himself. They were attached to Him so that He may remove their fears, while Periyazhvar was afraid of what might happen to Him and looked for ways to removing those obstacles.
Similarly, Thiruppallandu of Periyazhvar is considered greater than the prabhandams of other Azhvars for the following reasons. Sastras such as the Vedas, Puranas etc. can be learnt only by a select few. In Thiruvaymozhi of Nammazhvar, the trinity of godheads is spoken of in some places, thereby forcing one to study it carefully and understand the inner meanings of those words. Such issues are not present in Thiruppallandu.
Sri Mahabharatam is so vast that sometimes it is difficult to figure out what is the true meaning of the work. The pranavam, even though posessing all the meanings of the Vedas in it, is so compact that one has to study it extensively to understand all its inner meanings. Unlike both, Thiruppallandu is made of twelve stanzas and explains the true meaning of service to the Lord in an easy fashion. Additionally, as mentioned by Periyazhvar himself, this prabhandam has the ability to take those that recite it to the Lord's lotus feet.
In this pasuram, Periyazhvar upon seeing the Lord with His consorts in this world, fears for His well being and sings that such things should not fall on Him and that His auspicious and divine glory should grow forever.
A question might arise, that seeing the Lord who is bereft of anything bad, should not one be requesting one's personal upliftment rather than praying for His glorification. The answer is that after seeing Him, Periyazhvar submerged in the Bhakti that flowed immediately and as such forgot His unlimited glory and power and assumed that His glorification as his own upliftment and started singing.
Another question might arise, that while Bhakti to the Lord should free the mind, shine the light in and help reach Him, how come it can be said that it clouded Periyazhvar's mind into singing for His glorification. The answer is that this is nothing new to Bhaktas. The residents of Ayodhya had worshipped all dEvatas to protect the guNas of Sri Rama who is the protector of all these dEvatas. Despite knowing that Sri Rama had defeated Thataka and other asuras, upon hearing that Sri Parasurama had come against Sri Rama, Sri Dasaratha feared for his son and when Sri Rama won, he felt that he and his sons were born again. Sri Kausalya also prayed for the glorification of Sri Rama. The Rishis of Dandakaranya also prayed for the well being of Sri Rama who had come to save them. Sri Sita who knows of the greatness of Sri Rama also glorified Him and prayed to the eight directions to stand in His protection. Even after seeing Sri Krishna born with the conch and discus in His hands Sri Devaki and Sri Vasudeva fearing for His well being from Kamsa prayed to Him to hide His form.
Such behaviour is also seen in this world often. A mother who had a child after much waiting would be worried about its well-being all the time, even when the child is under full protection. A person who obtains a priceless gem would stay concerned about its safety even when it is well protected. Being such, it should be no surprise that Periyazhvar was worried about the most beauteous, the most precious Lord when seeing Him in this world.
The question may arise that, such behaviour is alright for those who are trapped in this world and whose knowledge is covered with ignorance; how would this be alright for Periyazhvar who has received the uncorrupted, clear knowledge from the Lord Himself; how could he swap the fact that He is the protector and he is the protected. The answer is that, in the matters of this world it would be inappropriate to switch roles; however, in the matter of the Lord such swapping when made in a manner of praising Him is acceptable.
In addition, such praising of the Lord after realizing the relationship between ourselves and Him is actually brought about by that true knowledge itself. The highest form of being enslaved to the Lord is wishing the greatest glory for Him without considering one's self. This high truth of the Vedantas is what is being stressed in Thiruppallandu.
In the first two pasurams, Periyazhvar wishes the well-being and glory of the Lord. In the next three pasurams, he calls first those who are enslaved to the Lord and later even those who are enslaved to their own selves as well as to the material world. In the next three pasurams all these beings join in with Periyazhvar. In the next three pasurams Periyazhvar and the others sing the glory of the Lord. In the last pasuram, Periyazhvar mentions the fruit of singing these pasurams.
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