thiruvAsiriyam – avathArikai (Introduction)

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In thiruviruththam, sarvESvaran (emperumAn) shows his svarUpam (true nature), rUpam (form), guNam (auspicious quality) and the vibhUthi (wealth of both the nithya vibhUthi (paramapadham/SrIvaikuntam – spiritual realm) and the leelA vibhUthi (samsAram – material realm where we live currently)) [and blessed AzhwAr as said in thiruvAimozhi 1.1.1mayarvaRa madhinalam aruLinan” (blessed with unblemished gyAnam enriched with bhakthi)]; having meditated upon his togetherness with nithya and leelA vibhUthis, AzhwAr sees that the residents of nithya vibhUthi are having eternal experience with bhagavAn and have the health/ability to sustain such uninterrupted experience and the residents or leelA vibhUthi are being bound  by karma, engaged in worldly pleasures and are focused on the inferior bodily enjoyments; as in the case of one among a set of brothers who is having a troubled life while other brothers are living happily, will be anguished, AzhwAr too thinks “while I have the same right as nithyasUris who are living happily with emperumAn, I have lost it” and observes that his bodily connection is the cause for his such condition; now, seeing that he does not have the ability to eliminate such bondage himself, he prays at the divine feet of emperumAn in the first pAsuram of thiruviruththam 1 [“poynninRa njAnamum pollA ozhukkum… viNNappamE”] saying “you should eradicate the connection with material world and objects in this material world” and identifies his condition. Is this not what is highlighted by AzhwAr in the first pAsuram? Yes – and since AzhwAr highlights the same principle in the last pAsuram as said in “vallArazhundhAr piRappAm pollA aruvinai” (those who are well versed in these principles, will not be submerged in this ocean of nescience), as the upakrama (beginning) and upasamhAra (ending) matches, it can be said as the essence of this prabandham [thiruviruththam]. As AzhwAr’s desire is not fulfilled immediately [after the first pAsuram], his anguish is expressed in the pAsurams between the first and the last pAsuram.

sarvESvaran did not elimiinate AzhwAr‘s dhEha sambandham (connection with body) immediately as he desired. The reason for that is – He wants AzhwAr to set right this samsAram through AzhwAr’s dhivya prabandhams; this is similar to how emperumAn made bhIshma to enlighten the world while he was lying in the bed of arrows. AzhwAr’s anguish is so unbearable that he cannot stay in this world. emperumAn thinks “AzhwAr is forcing me to bring him to paramapadham to enjoy my qualities; let me make him enjoy the same” and manifests his svarUpam, rUpam, guNam and vibhUthi; though he manifested the same aspects to AzhwAr before making AzhwAr realise the inferior nature of this body, here he is giving an elaborate experience of the same to make AzhwAr think “there is nothing more to go and experience in paramapadham” and thus AzhwAr starts enjoying them now [in this prabandham, thiruvAsiriyam].

Let us enjoy the 1st pasuram next.

adiyen booma ramanuja dasi

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