sri:
srimathE rAmAnujAya nama:
srimadh varavaramunayE nama:
sri vAnAchala mahAmunayE nama:
In the previous article (http://ponnadi.blogspot.in/2012/11/archavathara-anubhavam-bhattar-anubhavam.html) we enjoyed bhattar's archAvathAra anubhavam.
Let us now move on to see how piLLai lOkAchAryar enjoyed archAvathAra emperumAn.
mAmunigaL, in srIvachana bhUshaNa avathArikai, brings out the glories of piLLai lOkAchAryar and his prabhandhams.
mAmunigaL glorifies in upadhEsa rathina mAlai that there is no equal to srIvachana bhUshaNam which was written by piLLai lOkAchAryar out of his overwhelming krupai towards the ujjivanam of all jIvAthmAs. Actually it is explained that all of upadhEsa rathina mAlai was written by mAmunigaL to glorify piLLai lOkAchAryar and his srIvachana bhUshaNa dhivya sAsthram only.
Beyond his great contributions to protect and nourish the pramANam, piLLai lOkAchAryar had great attachment towards pramEyam - emperumAn as well, that too srIranganAthan. It was during his life time, the muslim invaders arrive close to srirangam. Hearing this news ahead of time, piLLai lOkAchAryar being the leader of the srivaishnava community in srirangam during that times, orders that a wall is built in front of periya perumAL to protect him from the invaders. In spite of his old age, he travels along with NamperumAL and emperumAn's sojourn begins. They travel through dense forests and are attacked/robbed of the valuables by robbers on the way. Eventually the robbers being blessed by piLLai lOkAchAryar's katAksham, becomes purified and comes back to return the valuables. Finally, they reach a place near mathurai named jyOthiskudi (behind Anai malai). At that stage piLLai lOkAchAryar, decides to give up his thirumEni and go to parampadham. NamperumAL who is with him at that time, acknowledges his desire and gives him special honours. piLLai lOkAchAryar gives final instructions to all of his sishyas and identifies his desire to bring up thirumalai AzhwAr as the next leader of the sampradhAyam. He also touches all living and non-living beings near by out of his divine mercy to bless them with his connection which will lead them to salvation as well - it is said in the sAsthram that whether it is bird, human or an animal when blessed by a srivaishnava - they are sure to be delivered. Finally meditating on his AchAryan he reaches paramapadham. We have already seen his charithram in http://guruparamparai.wordpress.com/2012/09/18/pillai-lokacharyar/.
One special thing to note in piLLai lOkAchAryar's works, they closely follow NampiLLai and periyavAchAn piLLai's srIsUkthis. There is nothing that is written by piLLai lOkAchAryar on his own. The ones who have studied the eedu mahA vyAkyAnam of NampiLLai and ashtAdhasa rahasyangaL of piLLai lOkAchAryar can easily observe the principles and even words being the exact same in both the works. So, by enjoying piLLai lOkAchAryar's archAvathAra anubhavam we are also enjoying NampiLLai and periyavAchAn piLLai's archAvathAra anubhavam.
Let us enjoy a few of his works where he establishes the divine glories of archAvathAra emperumAn.
Of his main works (ahstAdhasa rahasyams), mumukshuppadi, thathva thrayam and srIvachana bhUshaNam are considered the most important. That is why vishathavAk shikAmaNi maNavALa mAmunigaL blessed us with vyAkyAnams for all those 3 granthams.
mumukshuppadi gives us the meanings of rahasya thrayam in the clearest and simplest way for us to understand them beyond any doubt. In this grantham piLLai lOkAchAryar, analyses the meanings of thirumanthram, dhvayam and charama slOkam and also explains the glories of the same.
In the dhvaya prakaraNam, piLLai lOkAchAryar brings out the glories of archAvathAra emperumAn. dhvaya mahA manthram has two vAkyams (lines). In the pUrva (first) vAkyam, it is established that we accept the thiruvadi of emperumAn (who is never separated from pirAtti) as the only upAyam. In the uththara (second) vAkyam, it is established that we pray for kainkaryam to pirAtti and emperumAn together for their pleasure.
In the beginning of dhvaya prakaraNam itself, in sUthram 116, piLLai lOkAchAryar identifies one of the most important thing that a srivaishnava should aspire to develop in this life time.
irukkum NAL ugaNtharuLina NilanGkaLilE pravanNanAy gunNANubhava kainGkaryanGkaLE pozhudhupOkkAgugaiyum (இருக்கும் நாள் உகந்தருளின நிலங்களிலே ப்ரவணனாய் குணாநுபவ கைங்கர்யங்களே பொழுதுபோக்காகுகையும்), which means even though we are constantly contemplating about reaching parampadham, while we are here in this samsAram, we should focus on serving the divyadhEsa archAvathAra emperumAns.
In the pUrva vAkyam, srI shabdham is explained as pirAtti who does purushakAram, that is recommending to emperumAn to accept us in spite of our puNyams and pApams.
mathupu shabdham is explained as nithya yOgam, that pirAtti is never separated from emperumAn. She herself says "agalakillEn iRaiyum enRu" (அகலகில்லேன் இறையும் என்று). Even though this NammAzhwAr's thiruvAimozhi 6.10.10 pAsuram, NammAzhwAr is actually quoting pirAtti's words in this pAsuram. This mathupu is very important because if we are sure that pirAtti is present with emperumAn all the time, we can confidently surrender to him, since she will ensure that emperumAn accepts us.
sUthram 136 to 143 are important for the current topic. NArAyANa shabdham is the most important aspect for the current context and this is where archAvathAra emperumAn is glorified. In this context, NArAyaNa represents emperumAn's divine qualities which are brought out by pirAtti's purushakAram. pirAtti subdues his svAthanthriyam and insists him that he should show mercy on the surrendered jIvAthmAs. These divine qualities are explained as:
sUthram 138 - kuRRam kanNdu veruvAmaikku vAthsalyam; kAryam cheyyumenRu thunNikaikku svAmithvam; svAmithvam kanNdu agalAmaikku sauchIlyam; kanNdu paRRukaikku saulabhyam; virOdhiyaip pOkkith thannaik kodukkaikku jnYAna chakthigaL. (குற்றம் கண்டு வெருவாமைக்கு வாத்ஸல்யம்; கார்யம் செய்யுமென்று துணிகைக்கு ஸ்வாமித்வம்; ஸ்வாமித்வம் கண்டு அகலாமைக்கு ஸௌசீல்யம்; கண்டு பற்றுகைக்கு ஸௌலப்யம்; விரோதியைப் போக்கித் தன்னைக் கொடுக்கைக்கு ஜ்ஞான சக்திகள்.)
sUthram 139 - inGguch chonna saulabhyaththukku ellaiNilam archchAvathAram. (இங்குச் சொன்ன ஸௌலப்யத்துக்கு எல்லைநிலம் அர்ச்சாவதாரம்.)
The pinnacle of such saulabhyam can be seen in archAvathAram.
In the next sUthram, it is explained that unlike para, vyUha, antharyAmi and vibhavam, archAvathAram is visible to our eyes all the time. param and vyUham are in different dhEsam which are not reachable in this life for us, antharyAmi is not visible to our eyes (one needs to be a yOgi to see antharyAmi emperumAn) and vibhavam happened in past. But archAvathAram is always present in temples, homes, etc.
sUthram 141 - ivaiyellAm Namakku Nam perumAL pakkalilE kAnNalAm. (இவையெல்லாம் நமக்கு நம் பெருமாள் பக்கலிலே காணலாம்.)
All of these divine qualities can be seen in NamperumAL. mAmunigaL explains NamperumAL as our own perumAL (our dhivya dhEsa/abhimAna sthala/village/home perumAL). It also means NamperumAL since piLLai lOkAchAryar and mAmunigaL were in srirangam while writing the grantham and the vyAkyAnam respecpectively - so their perumAL at that time is srIranganAthan.
In sUthram 142, piLLai lOkAchAryar goes on to explain how archAvathAra emperumAn's thirumEni manifests these divine qualities beautifully.
thirukkaiyilE pidiththa dhivyAyuthanGgaLum, vaiththu anYchal enRa kaiyum, kaviththa mudiyum, mukamum, muRuvalum, AsaNapadhmaththilE azhuththina thiruvadigaLumAy NiRkiRa NilaiyE Namakkuth thanYcham. (திருக்கையிலே பிடித்த திவ்யாயுதங்களும், வைத்து அஞ்சல் என்ற கையும், கவித்த முடியும், முகமும், முறுவலும், ஆஸநபத்மத்திலே அழுத்தின திருவடிகளுமாய் நிற்கிற நிலையே நமக்குத் தஞ்சம்.)
mAmunigaL shows in the vyAkyAnam the relationship with the qualities and the thirumEni. He explains:
Here piLLai lOkAchAryar says "Namakku thanjam" - which means this is the upAyam for us who are prapannas. Others may think karma, jnAna, bhakthi yOgam as upAyam, but for sharaNAgathi nishtars, emperumAn's thiruvadi (thirumEni) is the only way for salvation.
Finally in sUthram 143, he says,
rakshakathva bhOgyathvanGgaL iranNdum thirumEniyilE thORRum (ரக்ஷகத்வ போக்யத்வங்கள் இரண்டும் திருமேனியிலே தோற்றும்).
emperumAn's archAvathAra thirumEni is both protection for us and the object of our joy. Even the weapons, for his devotees, they look like ornaments, but for his enemies, they look like weapons. Then he goes on to explain the glories of thiruvadis, and the full meaning of the dhvaya mahA manthram which ofcourse needs to be heard as kAlakshEpam under an AchArya.
With this piLLai lOkAchAryar fully establishes the glories of archAvathAra emperumAns.
thathva thrayam is also called as kutti bhAshyam (Simple explanation of emperumAnAr's srIbhAshyam). All technical details of chith, achith and Ishavara thathvams are clearly explained by piLLai lOkAchAryar and wonderfully explained by mAmunigaL. Without mAmunigaL's commentary it will be very difficult to understand this grantham fully.
In the Ishvara prakaraNam, all the five different types of manifestations of emperumAn - param, vyUham, vibhavam, antharyAmi and archAvathAram are explained. In the last 3 sUthrams, he beautifully brings out the full glories of archAvathAra emperumAn. Let us enjoy that a bit.
sUthram 200 - archAvathAramAvathu - 'thamarugaNthathu evvuruvam avvuruvam' engiRapadiyE chEthaNarkku abhimathamAna dhravyaththilE vibhavavichEshanGgaL pOlanRikkE dhEcha kAla adhikAra NiyamamillAthapadi saNNidhipanNnNi, aparAdhanGgaLaik kAnNAkkanNnNittu, archchakaparathaNthramAna samastha vyApAranGgaLaiyum konNdu kOyilgaLilum gruhanGgaLilum ezhuNtharuLiyirukkum Nilai. (அர்சாவதாரமாவது - 'தமருகந்தது எவ்வுருவம் அவ்வுருவம்' என்கிறபடியே சேதநர்க்கு அபிமதமான த்ரவ்யத்திலே விபவவிசேஷங்கள் போலன்றிக்கே தேச கால அதிகார நியமமில்லாதபடி ஸந்நிதிபண்ணி, அபராதங்களைக் காணாக்கண்ணிட்டு, அர்ச்சகபரதந்த்ரமான ஸமஸ்த வ்யாபாரங்களையும் கொண்டு கோயில்களிலும் க்ருஹங்களிலும் எழுந்தருளியிருக்கும் நிலை.)
Simple translation:
archAvathAram is - where emperumAn takes up the form that is desired by his devotees, that too in the particular raw material (for example: some may like to see emperumAn in stone statue form, other may like to see him in wooden statue form, he fulfills all those desires). Unlike param, vyUham, vibhavam and antharyAmi which are not seen by everyone all the time and everywhere, archAvathAram is visible to everyone, always and everywhere. Also, in archAvathAram he is fully dependent on the one who worships him, he absolutely takes no offense to any mistakes committed to him and such archAvathAra emperumAn decends himself happily to temples and homes of his devotees.
mAmunigaL, in his vyAkyAnam quotes bhattar's srirangarAja sthavam uththara sathakam slOkam which we have already enjoyed in bhattar's anubhavam - http://ponnadi.blogspot.in/2012/11/archavathara-anubhavam-bhattar-anubhavam.html.
sUthram 201 - ruchijaNakathvamum chubhAchrayathvamum achEshalOka charanNyathvamum aNubhAvyathvamum ellAm archAvathAraththilE paripUrnNam. (ருசிஜநகத்வமும் சுபாச்ரயத்வமும் அசேஷலோக சரண்யத்வமும் அநுபாவ்யத்வமும் எல்லாம் அர்சாவதாரத்திலே பரிபூர்ணம்.)
Simple translation:
archAvathAram fully manifests the following qualities - the ability to attract everyone towards him, being a good shelter to the ones who approach him, being the one who can accept everyone's surrender, being most enjoyable.
mAmunigaL identifies that emperumAn attracts the jIvAthmAs whom he could not change through sAsthram. This can be seen in thoNdaradippodi AzhwAr's anubhavam. mAmunigaL also shows how thiruppANAzhwAr declared that "after seeing his periya perumAL he will see nothing else" - we have already seen this in his anubhavam - http://ponnadi.blogspot.in/2012/10/archavathara-anubhavam-thiruppanazhwar.html. He also identifies that srI sauNaka bhagavAn (rishi) also identified that archAvathAra emperumAn is the one who accepts the form that is liked by his devotees, worshipped by them and finally becomes the fruit of their worship as well.
sUthram 202 - svaswAmi bhAvaththai mARAdikkonNdu ajnYaraippOlEyum achaktharaippOlEyum asvathanthraraippOlEyum irukkach cheythEyum, apAra kArunNya paravachanAykkonNdu sarvApEkshithanGgaLaiyum koduththaruLum. (ஸ்வஸ்வாமி பாவத்தை மாறாடிக்கொண்டு அஜ்ஞரைப்போலேயும் அசக்தரைப்போலேயும் அஸ்வதந்த்ரரைப்போலேயும் இருக்கச் செய்தேயும், அபார காருண்ய பரவசனாய்க்கொண்டு ஸர்வாபேக்ஷிதங்களையும் கொடுத்தருளும்.)
Simple translation:
Even though it looks like in archAvathAram, emperumAn has reversed his role of owner/owned, i.e., he becomes owned and his worshipper becomes the owner, even though he looks like completely ignorant, even though he looks like incapable of doing anything, even though he looks like full dependent, out of his boundless mercy, he fulfills all the desires of his worshippers.
mAmunigaL gives detailed explanation from sruthi and smrithi to establish that even though emperumAn's archAvathAram looks like not capable of anything, he has all the exact same potential in the archAvathAram as he has in paramapadham. He also finally shows that bhattar enjoyed archAvathAram in "AsthAm thE" slOkam in srirangarAja sthavam which is one of the most important slOkams for us and we have already enjoyed that in bhattar's anubhavam (http://ponnadi.blogspot.in/2012/11/archavathara-anubhavam-bhattar-anubhavam.html).
In srIvachana bhUshaNa dhivya sAsthram also piLLai lOkAchAryar establishes the glories of archAvathAra emperumAns.
In upAya vaibhava prakaraNam, prapatthi (surrender) is shown as the upAyam for prapannas. For prapathi, there is no pre-requisite such as dhEsa (place), kAla (time), adhikAri (qualification), prakAram (method) and palam (goal).
sUthram 34 - vishaya niyamamAvathu gunNapUrththiyuLLavidamE vishayamAgai; pUrththiyuLLathum archchAvathAraththilE. (விஷய நியமமாவது குணபூர்த்தியுள்ளவிடமே விஷயமாகை; பூர்த்தியுள்ளதும் அர்ச்சாவதாரத்திலே.)
Simple translation:
The only pre-requisite is to surrender to the right person. That right person should have all the qualities in full. All divine qualities are fully manifested in archAvathAram only. This is explained further subsequently.
sUthram 35 - AzhwArgaL palavidanGgaLilum prapaththi panNnNiRRum archchAvathAraththilE. (ஆழ்வார்கள் பலவிடங்களிலும் ப்ரபத்தி பண்ணிற்றும் அர்ச்சாவதாரத்திலே.)
Simple translation:
AzhwArs have done prapathi at many instances to archAvathAra emperumAns only.
mAmunigaL shows that AzhwArs were divinely blessed with pure knowledge by emperumAn. For us their acts are the ultimate pramANam to follow. They have mainly done prapaththi to archAvathAra emperumAn's only. mAmunigaL mainly highlights that NammAzhwAr performed sharaNAgathi to dheivaNAyakan emperumAn, thirukkurungudi emperumAn, thiruvallavAzh emperumAn and most importantly thiruvEnkatamudaiyAn. Even though he did sharaNAgathi to vibhavAvathaAram, there are only very few instances of them. He also shows thirumangai AzhwAr surrendering to NaimishAraNayam emperumAn, thiruvEnkatamudaiyAn, etc.
sUthram 36 - 'pUrnNam' engaiyAlE ellAgunNanGgaLum pushkalanGgaL. ('பூர்ணம்' என்கையாலே எல்லாகுணங்களும் புஷ்கலங்கள்).
Simple translation:
Since upanishadhs (katavalli and bruhadhAraNyakam) declare that archAvathAram is 'pUrnNam', all qualities (the ones that are required while approach emperumAn - vAthsalyam, svAmithvam, sausIlyam, saulabhyam and the ones that are required while emperumAn delivers us - jnAnam, shakthi, prApthi, pUrthi) are fully manifested here.
sUthram 37 - prapaththikku apEkshithanGgaLAna saulabhyAdhigaL iruttaRaiyil viLakkuppOlE prakAchippathu inGgE. (ப்ரபத்திக்கு அபேக்ஷிதங்களான ஸௌலப்யாதிகள் இருட்டறையில் விளக்குப்போலே ப்ரகாசிப்பது இங்கே).
Simple translation:
The main qualities that are required for prapathi - vAthsalyam, swAmithvam, sausIlyam and saulabhyam are manifested here brightly. These qualities are present in paramapadham as well - but there all the jIvAthmAs are fully realised, so his qualities are like a lamp that is lit in bright day light. But here in samsAram, the jIvAthmAs are full of ignorance, so emperumAn's qualities are fully utilised - that is why it is said that his qualities are glowing here. The main focus here is on saulabhyam because in archAvathAram he is easily approachable by any one.
In sUthram 38, he explains that emperumAn gives up his svAthanthriyam (independence) and pUrthi (self-satisfied nature) and descends here to help the jIvAthmAs who are not even interested in him to start with.
In sUthram 39, he compares the different manifestation as different types of water for a thirsty person - we have already seen this in the introduction section - http://ponnadi.blogspot.in/2012/10/archavathara-anubhavam-introduction.html.
In sUthram 40, he shows that emperumAn reforms the jIvAthmAs who are not giving up their attachment to material things even after studying sAsthram fully.
He further explains that AzhwArs, AchAryas and us - all 3 types of people surrender to archAvathAra emperumAn and explains them in great detail.
While explaining the glories of mangaLAsAsanam (praying for the well-being of emperumAn), piLLai lOkAchAryar explains how we should spend our time.
sUthram 257 - ugaNtharuLina NilanGgaLai anusandhiththAl UnNum uRakkamum inRikkE ivarudaiya yAthraiyE NamakkellArkkum yAthraiyAgavEnNum. (உகந்தருளின நிலங்களை அநுஸந்தித்தால் ஊணும் உறக்கமும் இன்றிக்கே இவருடைய யாத்ரையே நமக்கெல்லார்க்கும் யாத்ரையாகவேணும்).
Simple translation:
If we truly understand emperumAn descending into archAvathAra sthAnams (temples, homes, etc), we should constantly perform mangaLAsAsanam without thinking about food and sleep like periyAzhwAr did. emperumAn who is sarvEshvaran and extremely tender natured descends to various dhivya dhEsams, etc leaving behind all the comforts in paramapadham. If we understand this truly, how can we do anything other being with archAvathAra emperumAn all the time, serving him and praying for his well-being.
"ugaNtharuLina Nilam" is important here. periyavAchAn piLLai, in thiruneduNthANdakam vyAkyAnam for pAsuram 6 explains "thAn ugantha Ur" excellently. These dhivya dhEsams and other kshEthrams are dear to emperumAn's heart as he descends to give his benediction to jIvAthmAs who are suffering in this samsAram. Neither the NithysUris acknowledge his desire (since emperumAn ends up returning to paramapadham with very few jIvAthmAs every time after taking so much efforts for a long time) nor samsAris acknowledge his efforts since they are so attached to other material aspirations. It is purely emperumAn's desire to be here to help the suffering jIvAthmAs. So, once we understand that he is here for us, we have to dedicate our whole life for archAvathAra emperumAns.
Finally, while explaining bhagavath apachAram, piLLai lOkAchAryar brings out one of the important apachArams we should avoid.
In sUthram 303, one of the bhagavath apachArams shown is "archchAvathAraththil upAdhANaNirUpanNam" (அர்ச்சாவதாரத்தில் உபாதாநநிரூபணம்), i.e., judging the archAvathAra emperumAn based on the rawmaterial that is used to make the vigraham. For example, considering a golden vigraham as greater and a wooden vigraham as ordinary is one of the apachArams.
mAmunigaL shows that comparing archAvathAra emperumAn based on the raw material is like doubting the purity of ones own mother. The various apachArams are discussed in the SrivaishNava lakshaNam series (http://ponnadi.blogspot.in/2012/08/srivaishnava-lakshanam-7.html).
Thus we can understand how piLLai lOkAchAryar enjoyed and established the glories of archAvathAra emperumAn through his rahasya granthams.
In the next article we will see azhagiya maNavALa perumAL nAyanAr's archAvathAra anubhavam.
adiyen sarathy ramanuja dasan
sources: 6000 padi guru paramparA prabhAvam, vyAkyAnams
archived in http://ponnadi.blogspot.in, also visit http://guruparamparai.wordpress.com.
srimathE rAmAnujAya nama:
srimadh varavaramunayE nama:
sri vAnAchala mahAmunayE nama:
In the previous article (http://ponnadi.blogspot.in/2012/11/archavathara-anubhavam-bhattar-anubhavam.html) we enjoyed bhattar's archAvathAra anubhavam.
Let us now move on to see how piLLai lOkAchAryar enjoyed archAvathAra emperumAn.
mAmunigaL, in srIvachana bhUshaNa avathArikai, brings out the glories of piLLai lOkAchAryar and his prabhandhams.
- jIvAthmAs are suffering in this samsAram from time immemorial. Even though every jIvAthmA has the qualification/ability to enjoy bhagavath anubhavam, due to anAdhi kAla karmA (time immemorial kArmic effects), they are bound in this samsAram and their knowledge is covered by ignorance.
- emperumAn out of his causeless mercy, blesses certain jIvAthmAs while they are taking birth. Even with that blessing, for ujjivanam (salvation), they have to understand thathva (true nature of chith, achith and Ishvaran), hitha (do's and dont's) purushArthams (and the final goal) one has to learn that through sAsthram.
- When one tries to learn these from the main part of sAsthram, i.e., vEdham, it is endless, and difficult to comprehend because to establish the truth one has to go through various parts of vEdham and vEdhAntham. These are impossible for a layman with minimum intelligence.
- When one tries to learn these from smrthis, ithihAsams and purANams that are compiled by rishis who have seen the truth by great efforts, in those, for true knowledge seekers, there are parts that are to be accepted and there are parts that are to be ignored. For example, in determining the supreme lord, sAthvika purANams glorify vishnu as the supreme and rAjasa/thAmasa purANams glorify other dhEvathais as supreme. So, it is diffcult to grasp the real truth unless one is very strong in analytical abilities.
- When one tries to understand these through rahasya thrayam (thirumanthram, dhvayam, charama slOkam) which are the essence of all of the vEdham/vEdhAntham and revealed by emperumAn himself out of his kAruNyam, they are very small and have very deep meanings which cannot be easily understood by common people.
- When one tries to learn these through the aruLicheyal (dhivya prabhandhams) of AzhwArs (who are blessed by emperumAn with pure divine knowledge), they are also reasonably big in size and the meanings are difficult to understand directly. For example, in some places, as explained in vEdhAntham, AzhwAr talks about thrimUrthy sAmyam (brahmA, vishNu, shiva at the same level), sAmAnAdhikaraNam (everything as sharIram and emperumAn as sharIri), anyApadhEsam/svApadhEsam (external meaning/internal meaning), etc. These principles are difficult to understand for everyone.
- Finally, it was the AchAryas starting from NAthamunigaL who were divinely blessed by AzhwArs, clearly explained the truth based on the aruLicheyal and vEdham/vEdhAntham. These AchAryas are experts in sAsthram and also very merciful, so they took the essence of all sAsthram and gave the meanings to us clearly through their explanations and vyAkyAnams. But up to piLLai lOkAchAryar, most of the rahasya arthams (the essence of our sidhAntham) were never documented in great detail and even if they were documented, there were not many granthams which were written exclusively for rahasya arthams in detail. It was piLLai lOkAchAryar who fully dedicated himself to explaining and documenting the rahasya arthams so that they can be easily understood by even a common person. It is because of this reason where he was fully focussed on chEthana ujjIvanam (salvation of jIvAthmAs), his glories are multi-fold compared to all the pUrvAchAryas.
mAmunigaL glorifies in upadhEsa rathina mAlai that there is no equal to srIvachana bhUshaNam which was written by piLLai lOkAchAryar out of his overwhelming krupai towards the ujjivanam of all jIvAthmAs. Actually it is explained that all of upadhEsa rathina mAlai was written by mAmunigaL to glorify piLLai lOkAchAryar and his srIvachana bhUshaNa dhivya sAsthram only.
Beyond his great contributions to protect and nourish the pramANam, piLLai lOkAchAryar had great attachment towards pramEyam - emperumAn as well, that too srIranganAthan. It was during his life time, the muslim invaders arrive close to srirangam. Hearing this news ahead of time, piLLai lOkAchAryar being the leader of the srivaishnava community in srirangam during that times, orders that a wall is built in front of periya perumAL to protect him from the invaders. In spite of his old age, he travels along with NamperumAL and emperumAn's sojourn begins. They travel through dense forests and are attacked/robbed of the valuables by robbers on the way. Eventually the robbers being blessed by piLLai lOkAchAryar's katAksham, becomes purified and comes back to return the valuables. Finally, they reach a place near mathurai named jyOthiskudi (behind Anai malai). At that stage piLLai lOkAchAryar, decides to give up his thirumEni and go to parampadham. NamperumAL who is with him at that time, acknowledges his desire and gives him special honours. piLLai lOkAchAryar gives final instructions to all of his sishyas and identifies his desire to bring up thirumalai AzhwAr as the next leader of the sampradhAyam. He also touches all living and non-living beings near by out of his divine mercy to bless them with his connection which will lead them to salvation as well - it is said in the sAsthram that whether it is bird, human or an animal when blessed by a srivaishnava - they are sure to be delivered. Finally meditating on his AchAryan he reaches paramapadham. We have already seen his charithram in http://guruparamparai.wordpress.com/2012/09/18/pillai-lokacharyar/.
One special thing to note in piLLai lOkAchAryar's works, they closely follow NampiLLai and periyavAchAn piLLai's srIsUkthis. There is nothing that is written by piLLai lOkAchAryar on his own. The ones who have studied the eedu mahA vyAkyAnam of NampiLLai and ashtAdhasa rahasyangaL of piLLai lOkAchAryar can easily observe the principles and even words being the exact same in both the works. So, by enjoying piLLai lOkAchAryar's archAvathAra anubhavam we are also enjoying NampiLLai and periyavAchAn piLLai's archAvathAra anubhavam.
Let us enjoy a few of his works where he establishes the divine glories of archAvathAra emperumAn.
Of his main works (ahstAdhasa rahasyams), mumukshuppadi, thathva thrayam and srIvachana bhUshaNam are considered the most important. That is why vishathavAk shikAmaNi maNavALa mAmunigaL blessed us with vyAkyAnams for all those 3 granthams.
piLLai lOkAchAryar - mAmunigaL, sriperumbUthUr
mumukshuppadi gives us the meanings of rahasya thrayam in the clearest and simplest way for us to understand them beyond any doubt. In this grantham piLLai lOkAchAryar, analyses the meanings of thirumanthram, dhvayam and charama slOkam and also explains the glories of the same.
In the dhvaya prakaraNam, piLLai lOkAchAryar brings out the glories of archAvathAra emperumAn. dhvaya mahA manthram has two vAkyams (lines). In the pUrva (first) vAkyam, it is established that we accept the thiruvadi of emperumAn (who is never separated from pirAtti) as the only upAyam. In the uththara (second) vAkyam, it is established that we pray for kainkaryam to pirAtti and emperumAn together for their pleasure.
In the beginning of dhvaya prakaraNam itself, in sUthram 116, piLLai lOkAchAryar identifies one of the most important thing that a srivaishnava should aspire to develop in this life time.
irukkum NAL ugaNtharuLina NilanGkaLilE pravanNanAy gunNANubhava kainGkaryanGkaLE pozhudhupOkkAgugaiyum (இருக்கும் நாள் உகந்தருளின நிலங்களிலே ப்ரவணனாய் குணாநுபவ கைங்கர்யங்களே பொழுதுபோக்காகுகையும்), which means even though we are constantly contemplating about reaching parampadham, while we are here in this samsAram, we should focus on serving the divyadhEsa archAvathAra emperumAns.
In the pUrva vAkyam, srI shabdham is explained as pirAtti who does purushakAram, that is recommending to emperumAn to accept us in spite of our puNyams and pApams.
mathupu shabdham is explained as nithya yOgam, that pirAtti is never separated from emperumAn. She herself says "agalakillEn iRaiyum enRu" (அகலகில்லேன் இறையும் என்று). Even though this NammAzhwAr's thiruvAimozhi 6.10.10 pAsuram, NammAzhwAr is actually quoting pirAtti's words in this pAsuram. This mathupu is very important because if we are sure that pirAtti is present with emperumAn all the time, we can confidently surrender to him, since she will ensure that emperumAn accepts us.
sUthram 136 to 143 are important for the current topic. NArAyANa shabdham is the most important aspect for the current context and this is where archAvathAra emperumAn is glorified. In this context, NArAyaNa represents emperumAn's divine qualities which are brought out by pirAtti's purushakAram. pirAtti subdues his svAthanthriyam and insists him that he should show mercy on the surrendered jIvAthmAs. These divine qualities are explained as:
sUthram 138 - kuRRam kanNdu veruvAmaikku vAthsalyam; kAryam cheyyumenRu thunNikaikku svAmithvam; svAmithvam kanNdu agalAmaikku sauchIlyam; kanNdu paRRukaikku saulabhyam; virOdhiyaip pOkkith thannaik kodukkaikku jnYAna chakthigaL. (குற்றம் கண்டு வெருவாமைக்கு வாத்ஸல்யம்; கார்யம் செய்யுமென்று துணிகைக்கு ஸ்வாமித்வம்; ஸ்வாமித்வம் கண்டு அகலாமைக்கு ஸௌசீல்யம்; கண்டு பற்றுகைக்கு ஸௌலப்யம்; விரோதியைப் போக்கித் தன்னைக் கொடுக்கைக்கு ஜ்ஞான சக்திகள்.)
- vAthsalyam - the motherly forbearance like how a cow loves its calf - this ensures that emperumAn does not discard us due to our mistakes/sins
- svAmithvam - the proprietorship, that he is the owner and we are the owned - this ensures that emperumAn takes care of us who are fully owned by him
- sausIlyam - magnanimity, mixing with everyone irrespective of their position - this ensures that jIvAthmAs will have the confidence to go to him knowing that he is magnanimous to accept anyone
- saulabhyam - easy accessibility - this ensures that he is quickly and easily approachable
- jnAnam, shakthi, prApthi and pUrthi - Using these qualities he fulfills the desires of the jIvAthmAs.
sUthram 139 - inGguch chonna saulabhyaththukku ellaiNilam archchAvathAram. (இங்குச் சொன்ன ஸௌலப்யத்துக்கு எல்லைநிலம் அர்ச்சாவதாரம்.)
The pinnacle of such saulabhyam can be seen in archAvathAram.
In the next sUthram, it is explained that unlike para, vyUha, antharyAmi and vibhavam, archAvathAram is visible to our eyes all the time. param and vyUham are in different dhEsam which are not reachable in this life for us, antharyAmi is not visible to our eyes (one needs to be a yOgi to see antharyAmi emperumAn) and vibhavam happened in past. But archAvathAram is always present in temples, homes, etc.
sUthram 141 - ivaiyellAm Namakku Nam perumAL pakkalilE kAnNalAm. (இவையெல்லாம் நமக்கு நம் பெருமாள் பக்கலிலே காணலாம்.)
All of these divine qualities can be seen in NamperumAL. mAmunigaL explains NamperumAL as our own perumAL (our dhivya dhEsa/abhimAna sthala/village/home perumAL). It also means NamperumAL since piLLai lOkAchAryar and mAmunigaL were in srirangam while writing the grantham and the vyAkyAnam respecpectively - so their perumAL at that time is srIranganAthan.
In sUthram 142, piLLai lOkAchAryar goes on to explain how archAvathAra emperumAn's thirumEni manifests these divine qualities beautifully.
thirukkaiyilE pidiththa dhivyAyuthanGgaLum, vaiththu anYchal enRa kaiyum, kaviththa mudiyum, mukamum, muRuvalum, AsaNapadhmaththilE azhuththina thiruvadigaLumAy NiRkiRa NilaiyE Namakkuth thanYcham. (திருக்கையிலே பிடித்த திவ்யாயுதங்களும், வைத்து அஞ்சல் என்ற கையும், கவித்த முடியும், முகமும், முறுவலும், ஆஸநபத்மத்திலே அழுத்தின திருவடிகளுமாய் நிற்கிற நிலையே நமக்குத் தஞ்சம்.)
mAmunigaL shows in the vyAkyAnam the relationship with the qualities and the thirumEni. He explains:
- jNanam, shakthi, etc - The weapons that are held by emperumAn in his hands and used to destroy the enemies
- vAthsalyam - seen in emperumAn's thirukkai (hands) which tells everyone "dont fear", I will accept your mistakes
- svAmithvam - The crown on his thirumudi which shows that he is the owner of everything
- sausIlyam - The beautiful smiling face which invites everyone and shows that he is happy to be in the midst of us
- saulabhyam - The lotus feet which are firmly situated on the pItam which shows that he has descended to protect us and will not leave us
Here piLLai lOkAchAryar says "Namakku thanjam" - which means this is the upAyam for us who are prapannas. Others may think karma, jnAna, bhakthi yOgam as upAyam, but for sharaNAgathi nishtars, emperumAn's thiruvadi (thirumEni) is the only way for salvation.
Finally in sUthram 143, he says,
rakshakathva bhOgyathvanGgaL iranNdum thirumEniyilE thORRum (ரக்ஷகத்வ போக்யத்வங்கள் இரண்டும் திருமேனியிலே தோற்றும்).
emperumAn's archAvathAra thirumEni is both protection for us and the object of our joy. Even the weapons, for his devotees, they look like ornaments, but for his enemies, they look like weapons. Then he goes on to explain the glories of thiruvadis, and the full meaning of the dhvaya mahA manthram which ofcourse needs to be heard as kAlakshEpam under an AchArya.
With this piLLai lOkAchAryar fully establishes the glories of archAvathAra emperumAns.
thathva thrayam is also called as kutti bhAshyam (Simple explanation of emperumAnAr's srIbhAshyam). All technical details of chith, achith and Ishavara thathvams are clearly explained by piLLai lOkAchAryar and wonderfully explained by mAmunigaL. Without mAmunigaL's commentary it will be very difficult to understand this grantham fully.
In the Ishvara prakaraNam, all the five different types of manifestations of emperumAn - param, vyUham, vibhavam, antharyAmi and archAvathAram are explained. In the last 3 sUthrams, he beautifully brings out the full glories of archAvathAra emperumAn. Let us enjoy that a bit.
sUthram 200 - archAvathAramAvathu - 'thamarugaNthathu evvuruvam avvuruvam' engiRapadiyE chEthaNarkku abhimathamAna dhravyaththilE vibhavavichEshanGgaL pOlanRikkE dhEcha kAla adhikAra NiyamamillAthapadi saNNidhipanNnNi, aparAdhanGgaLaik kAnNAkkanNnNittu, archchakaparathaNthramAna samastha vyApAranGgaLaiyum konNdu kOyilgaLilum gruhanGgaLilum ezhuNtharuLiyirukkum Nilai. (அர்சாவதாரமாவது - 'தமருகந்தது எவ்வுருவம் அவ்வுருவம்' என்கிறபடியே சேதநர்க்கு அபிமதமான த்ரவ்யத்திலே விபவவிசேஷங்கள் போலன்றிக்கே தேச கால அதிகார நியமமில்லாதபடி ஸந்நிதிபண்ணி, அபராதங்களைக் காணாக்கண்ணிட்டு, அர்ச்சகபரதந்த்ரமான ஸமஸ்த வ்யாபாரங்களையும் கொண்டு கோயில்களிலும் க்ருஹங்களிலும் எழுந்தருளியிருக்கும் நிலை.)
Simple translation:
archAvathAram is - where emperumAn takes up the form that is desired by his devotees, that too in the particular raw material (for example: some may like to see emperumAn in stone statue form, other may like to see him in wooden statue form, he fulfills all those desires). Unlike param, vyUham, vibhavam and antharyAmi which are not seen by everyone all the time and everywhere, archAvathAram is visible to everyone, always and everywhere. Also, in archAvathAram he is fully dependent on the one who worships him, he absolutely takes no offense to any mistakes committed to him and such archAvathAra emperumAn decends himself happily to temples and homes of his devotees.
mAmunigaL, in his vyAkyAnam quotes bhattar's srirangarAja sthavam uththara sathakam slOkam which we have already enjoyed in bhattar's anubhavam - http://ponnadi.blogspot.in/2012/11/archavathara-anubhavam-bhattar-anubhavam.html.
sUthram 201 - ruchijaNakathvamum chubhAchrayathvamum achEshalOka charanNyathvamum aNubhAvyathvamum ellAm archAvathAraththilE paripUrnNam. (ருசிஜநகத்வமும் சுபாச்ரயத்வமும் அசேஷலோக சரண்யத்வமும் அநுபாவ்யத்வமும் எல்லாம் அர்சாவதாரத்திலே பரிபூர்ணம்.)
Simple translation:
archAvathAram fully manifests the following qualities - the ability to attract everyone towards him, being a good shelter to the ones who approach him, being the one who can accept everyone's surrender, being most enjoyable.
mAmunigaL identifies that emperumAn attracts the jIvAthmAs whom he could not change through sAsthram. This can be seen in thoNdaradippodi AzhwAr's anubhavam. mAmunigaL also shows how thiruppANAzhwAr declared that "after seeing his periya perumAL he will see nothing else" - we have already seen this in his anubhavam - http://ponnadi.blogspot.in/2012/10/archavathara-anubhavam-thiruppanazhwar.html. He also identifies that srI sauNaka bhagavAn (rishi) also identified that archAvathAra emperumAn is the one who accepts the form that is liked by his devotees, worshipped by them and finally becomes the fruit of their worship as well.
sUthram 202 - svaswAmi bhAvaththai mARAdikkonNdu ajnYaraippOlEyum achaktharaippOlEyum asvathanthraraippOlEyum irukkach cheythEyum, apAra kArunNya paravachanAykkonNdu sarvApEkshithanGgaLaiyum koduththaruLum. (ஸ்வஸ்வாமி பாவத்தை மாறாடிக்கொண்டு அஜ்ஞரைப்போலேயும் அசக்தரைப்போலேயும் அஸ்வதந்த்ரரைப்போலேயும் இருக்கச் செய்தேயும், அபார காருண்ய பரவசனாய்க்கொண்டு ஸர்வாபேக்ஷிதங்களையும் கொடுத்தருளும்.)
Simple translation:
Even though it looks like in archAvathAram, emperumAn has reversed his role of owner/owned, i.e., he becomes owned and his worshipper becomes the owner, even though he looks like completely ignorant, even though he looks like incapable of doing anything, even though he looks like full dependent, out of his boundless mercy, he fulfills all the desires of his worshippers.
mAmunigaL gives detailed explanation from sruthi and smrithi to establish that even though emperumAn's archAvathAram looks like not capable of anything, he has all the exact same potential in the archAvathAram as he has in paramapadham. He also finally shows that bhattar enjoyed archAvathAram in "AsthAm thE" slOkam in srirangarAja sthavam which is one of the most important slOkams for us and we have already enjoyed that in bhattar's anubhavam (http://ponnadi.blogspot.in/2012/11/archavathara-anubhavam-bhattar-anubhavam.html).
In srIvachana bhUshaNa dhivya sAsthram also piLLai lOkAchAryar establishes the glories of archAvathAra emperumAns.
In upAya vaibhava prakaraNam, prapatthi (surrender) is shown as the upAyam for prapannas. For prapathi, there is no pre-requisite such as dhEsa (place), kAla (time), adhikAri (qualification), prakAram (method) and palam (goal).
sUthram 34 - vishaya niyamamAvathu gunNapUrththiyuLLavidamE vishayamAgai; pUrththiyuLLathum archchAvathAraththilE. (விஷய நியமமாவது குணபூர்த்தியுள்ளவிடமே விஷயமாகை; பூர்த்தியுள்ளதும் அர்ச்சாவதாரத்திலே.)
Simple translation:
The only pre-requisite is to surrender to the right person. That right person should have all the qualities in full. All divine qualities are fully manifested in archAvathAram only. This is explained further subsequently.
sUthram 35 - AzhwArgaL palavidanGgaLilum prapaththi panNnNiRRum archchAvathAraththilE. (ஆழ்வார்கள் பலவிடங்களிலும் ப்ரபத்தி பண்ணிற்றும் அர்ச்சாவதாரத்திலே.)
Simple translation:
AzhwArs have done prapathi at many instances to archAvathAra emperumAns only.
mAmunigaL shows that AzhwArs were divinely blessed with pure knowledge by emperumAn. For us their acts are the ultimate pramANam to follow. They have mainly done prapaththi to archAvathAra emperumAn's only. mAmunigaL mainly highlights that NammAzhwAr performed sharaNAgathi to dheivaNAyakan emperumAn, thirukkurungudi emperumAn, thiruvallavAzh emperumAn and most importantly thiruvEnkatamudaiyAn. Even though he did sharaNAgathi to vibhavAvathaAram, there are only very few instances of them. He also shows thirumangai AzhwAr surrendering to NaimishAraNayam emperumAn, thiruvEnkatamudaiyAn, etc.
sUthram 36 - 'pUrnNam' engaiyAlE ellAgunNanGgaLum pushkalanGgaL. ('பூர்ணம்' என்கையாலே எல்லாகுணங்களும் புஷ்கலங்கள்).
Simple translation:
Since upanishadhs (katavalli and bruhadhAraNyakam) declare that archAvathAram is 'pUrnNam', all qualities (the ones that are required while approach emperumAn - vAthsalyam, svAmithvam, sausIlyam, saulabhyam and the ones that are required while emperumAn delivers us - jnAnam, shakthi, prApthi, pUrthi) are fully manifested here.
sUthram 37 - prapaththikku apEkshithanGgaLAna saulabhyAdhigaL iruttaRaiyil viLakkuppOlE prakAchippathu inGgE. (ப்ரபத்திக்கு அபேக்ஷிதங்களான ஸௌலப்யாதிகள் இருட்டறையில் விளக்குப்போலே ப்ரகாசிப்பது இங்கே).
Simple translation:
The main qualities that are required for prapathi - vAthsalyam, swAmithvam, sausIlyam and saulabhyam are manifested here brightly. These qualities are present in paramapadham as well - but there all the jIvAthmAs are fully realised, so his qualities are like a lamp that is lit in bright day light. But here in samsAram, the jIvAthmAs are full of ignorance, so emperumAn's qualities are fully utilised - that is why it is said that his qualities are glowing here. The main focus here is on saulabhyam because in archAvathAram he is easily approachable by any one.
In sUthram 38, he explains that emperumAn gives up his svAthanthriyam (independence) and pUrthi (self-satisfied nature) and descends here to help the jIvAthmAs who are not even interested in him to start with.
In sUthram 39, he compares the different manifestation as different types of water for a thirsty person - we have already seen this in the introduction section - http://ponnadi.blogspot.in/2012/10/archavathara-anubhavam-introduction.html.
In sUthram 40, he shows that emperumAn reforms the jIvAthmAs who are not giving up their attachment to material things even after studying sAsthram fully.
He further explains that AzhwArs, AchAryas and us - all 3 types of people surrender to archAvathAra emperumAn and explains them in great detail.
While explaining the glories of mangaLAsAsanam (praying for the well-being of emperumAn), piLLai lOkAchAryar explains how we should spend our time.
sUthram 257 - ugaNtharuLina NilanGgaLai anusandhiththAl UnNum uRakkamum inRikkE ivarudaiya yAthraiyE NamakkellArkkum yAthraiyAgavEnNum. (உகந்தருளின நிலங்களை அநுஸந்தித்தால் ஊணும் உறக்கமும் இன்றிக்கே இவருடைய யாத்ரையே நமக்கெல்லார்க்கும் யாத்ரையாகவேணும்).
Simple translation:
If we truly understand emperumAn descending into archAvathAra sthAnams (temples, homes, etc), we should constantly perform mangaLAsAsanam without thinking about food and sleep like periyAzhwAr did. emperumAn who is sarvEshvaran and extremely tender natured descends to various dhivya dhEsams, etc leaving behind all the comforts in paramapadham. If we understand this truly, how can we do anything other being with archAvathAra emperumAn all the time, serving him and praying for his well-being.
"ugaNtharuLina Nilam" is important here. periyavAchAn piLLai, in thiruneduNthANdakam vyAkyAnam for pAsuram 6 explains "thAn ugantha Ur" excellently. These dhivya dhEsams and other kshEthrams are dear to emperumAn's heart as he descends to give his benediction to jIvAthmAs who are suffering in this samsAram. Neither the NithysUris acknowledge his desire (since emperumAn ends up returning to paramapadham with very few jIvAthmAs every time after taking so much efforts for a long time) nor samsAris acknowledge his efforts since they are so attached to other material aspirations. It is purely emperumAn's desire to be here to help the suffering jIvAthmAs. So, once we understand that he is here for us, we have to dedicate our whole life for archAvathAra emperumAns.
Finally, while explaining bhagavath apachAram, piLLai lOkAchAryar brings out one of the important apachArams we should avoid.
In sUthram 303, one of the bhagavath apachArams shown is "archchAvathAraththil upAdhANaNirUpanNam" (அர்ச்சாவதாரத்தில் உபாதாநநிரூபணம்), i.e., judging the archAvathAra emperumAn based on the rawmaterial that is used to make the vigraham. For example, considering a golden vigraham as greater and a wooden vigraham as ordinary is one of the apachArams.
mAmunigaL shows that comparing archAvathAra emperumAn based on the raw material is like doubting the purity of ones own mother. The various apachArams are discussed in the SrivaishNava lakshaNam series (http://ponnadi.blogspot.in/2012/08/srivaishnava-lakshanam-7.html).
Thus we can understand how piLLai lOkAchAryar enjoyed and established the glories of archAvathAra emperumAn through his rahasya granthams.
In the next article we will see azhagiya maNavALa perumAL nAyanAr's archAvathAra anubhavam.
adiyen sarathy ramanuja dasan
sources: 6000 padi guru paramparA prabhAvam, vyAkyAnams
archived in http://ponnadi.blogspot.in, also visit http://guruparamparai.wordpress.com.
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