amalanAdhipirAn – Simple Explanation

SrI:  SrImathE SatakOpAya nama:  SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama:  SrImath varavaramunayE nama:

mudhalAyiram

SrI maNavAla mAmunigaL beautifully reveals the greatness of amalanAdhipirAn in the tenth pAsuram of upadhEsa raththina mAlai:

kArththigaiyil rOhiNi nAL kANmininRu kAsiyinIr
vAyththa pugazhp pANar vandhu udhippAl – AththiyargaL
anbudanE thAn amalan AdhipirAn kaRRadhaR pin
nangudanE koNdAdum nAL

Oh people of the world! Behold, today is the great day of rOhiNi (star) in the (thamizh) month of kArththigai. This is the day that thiruppANAzhwAr, who has greatness fitting on him well, incarnated. Those who believe in vEdhas and respect them, learnt the prabandham amalanAdhipirAn composed by this AzhwAr. After learning, they found that this prabandham, in just ten pAsurams, explains beautifully the essence of vEdhas, sadhA paSyanthi (always looking at emperumAn), and they much celebrate this day.

thiruppANAzhwAr showed in the ten pAsurams which he mercifully composed that the divine form of periya perumAL [SrI ranganAthan reclining at the divine abode of SrIrangam] is the only matter for his enjoyment. The archaka [temple purOhitha, priest] at SrIrangam temple, lOkasArangamunivar indulged in an offence with AzhwAr, due to which periya perumAL ordered the archaka to bring AzhwAr to him. The archaka immediately went to thiruppANAzhwAr and prayed to him to accompany him to the temple. But AzhwAr refused saying that he is not qualified to keep his divine feet on SrIrangam. Hence, lOkasAranga munivar carried AzhwAr on his shoulders. In this way, AzhwAr earned the distinguished name of munivAhanar. Legend has it that AzhwAr started composing the pAsurams from the time he entered the temple and  when he reached the presence of periya perumAL, he sang the tenth pAsuram and attained the divine feet of periya perumAL.

Our pUrvAchAryas have shown two different types of connection among the pAsurams in this prabandham. The first is the way AzhwAr enjoyed the limbs of periya perumAL gradually, the way periya perumAL manifested them to him. The second is the listing of benefits that periya perumAL showered. It will be appropriate to enjoy these pAsurams, keeping these connections in mind.

The simple explanation for these pAsurams is being written with the help of the commentaries written by our pUrvAchAryas.

thaniyans

ApAdha chUdam anubhUya harIm SayAnam
madhyE kavEra dhuhithur mudhithAntharAthmA
adhrashtruthAm nayanayOr vishayAntharANAm
yO niSchikAya manavai munivAhanam tham

I worship thiruppANAzhwAr who was blissful experiencing periya perumAL from divine feet to divine crown, who affirmed that he will not engage with any matter other than periya perumAL and who was in brought by lOkasArangamunivar.

kAttavE kaNda pAdha kamalam nallAdai undhi
thEttarum udhara bandham thirumArbu kaNdam sevvAy
vAttamil kaNgaL mEni muniyERith thani pugundhu
pAttinAl kaNdu vAzhum pANar thAL paravinOmE

We celebrated thiruppANAzhwAr who was brought in by lOkasAranga munivar, who entered the sannidhi of periya perumAL alone, who saw the divine feet, beautiful dress, divine navel, very sweet divine stomach, divine chest, divine neck, divine reddish mouth, divine eyes which were like just-then blossomed lotus, divine form as manifested by periya perumAL and who considered praising periya perumAL as the purpose of his living.

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First pAsuram. AzhwAr celebrates experiencing the divine feet of periya perumAL as manifested by him.

AzhwAr enjoys the auspicious quality of purity of periya perumAL, who made him his servitor without any expectation and who made him as a servitor for his devotees too.

amalan AdhipirAn adiyArkku ennai Atpaduththa
vimalan viNNavar kOn viraiyAr pozhil vEngadavan
nimalan ninmalan nIdhi vAnavan nIL madhiL arangaththu ammAn thiruk
kamala pAdham vandhu en kaNNin uLLana okkinradhE

Oh swAmy [lord] who is reclining in thiruvarangam which is surrounded by long protective walls! You are most pure, without expecting anything from me; you are having the purity to make me a servitor not only for you, but for your followers too; you are the lord of nithyasUris [permanent residents of SrIvaikuNtam];  you are residing permanently in thiruvEngadam which is surrounded by fragrant gardens; you have the purity by making your followers approach you easily; you have the purity which does not look at the faults of your followers; you are ruling paramapadham [SrIvaikuNtam] where the rule of lord-servitor is never broken. Your divine feet have entered my eyes on their own.

Second pAsuram. AzhwAr enjoys the thiruppIthAmbaram (the divine, yellow coloured vestment). Just as a boat will be gently pushed by the waves in an ocean, AzhwAr is being pushed from one limb to the next, in emperumAn’s divine form.

When queried as to whether emperumAn has manifested his causeless mercy anywhere, AzhwAr shows the narration of thrivikrama and enjoys it.

uvandha uLLaththanAy ulagam aLandhu aNdam uRa
nivandha nIL mudiyan anRu nErndha nisAsararaik
kavarndha vengaNaik kAguththan kadiyAr pozhil arangaththu ammAn araich
chivandha Adaiyin mEl senRadhAm ena sindhanaiyE

emperumAn’s divine crown during the time when he blissfully measured the divine worlds, extended up to the upper limit of this egg-shaped universe. SrI rAma, who destroyed the inimical demons with his cruel arrows, is reclining as periya perumAL in SrIrangam, which has fragrant gardens. My thoughts centred on the divine vestment which is adorning his divine waist.

Third pAsuram. In this, AzhwAr enjoys the divine lotus-like navel. After siring brahmA, that divine navel became more beautiful, he says.

thrivikrama, whom he enjoyed in the previous pAsuram, now manifests as thiruvEngadamudaiyAn and he says that periya perumAL and thiruvEngadamudaiyAn are the two divine forms of the same emperumAn.

mandhi pAy vada vEngada mAmalai vAnavargaL
sandhi seyya ninRAn arangaththu aravin aNaiyAn
andhi pOl niRaththAdaiyum adhan mEl ayanaip padaiththadOr ezhil
undhi mEladhanRO adiyEn uLLaththu innuyirE

emperumAn stands at thiruvEngada hill, in the northern direction of thamizh dhEsam, where monkeys jump around playfully and where nithyasUris come and worship him as SrInivAsan. He is lying on the sweet mattress of thiruvanandhAzhwAn (AdhiSEshan) at SrIrangam. Hasn’t my AthmA, which is in my heart, settled on that periya perumAL’s divine vestment, which looks like the reddish sky, and on the divine navel which is located above that vestment, which looks more beautiful having sired brahmA?

Fourth pAsuram. AzhwAr enjoys the divine stomach of emperumAn which is conjoined with the divine navel. While the divine navel sired only brahmA, the divine stomach says “Haven’t I kept the entire world inside me!”

Wouldn’t emperumAn remove one’s ego and possessiveness before accepting him? AzhwAr says that just as emperumAn demolished the protective walls surrounding lankA, he would remove his enemies too.

chadhura mAmadhiL sUzh ilangaikku iRaivan thalai paththu
udhira Otti Or vem kaNai uyththavan Odha vaNNan
madhurA mAvaNdu pAda mAmayil Adu arangaththammAn thiru vayiRRu
udhara bandham en uLLaththuL ninRu ulAginRadhE

periya perumAL is reclining as the Lord in SrIrangam which has beetles humming sweet tones and great peacocks dancing. Such periya perumAL had driven away from the battlefield, rAvaNa, who was the king of lankA, which is surrounded by four different types of protective layers. emperumAn, who has the complexion of ocean, later severed the ten heads of rAvaNa with a cruel arrow.  udharabandham, the divine ornament which is decorating the divine stomach of that periya perumAL, is firmly established in my heart and is roaming around.

Firth pAsuram. In this, AzhwAr enjoys the divine chest of periya perumAL. emperumAn’s divine chest which has SrIvathsa and kausthuba identities which represent the sentient and insentient entities, is more valuable than that (divine stomach) which contains the worlds within it during deluge. It is also the residing place for periya pirAtti who is the identity for perumAL. AzhwAr enjoys that divine chest as it invites him to see its beauty.

Even after ego and possessiveness are destroyed, wouldn’t pApA and puNya (vices and virtues respectively) not follow a sentient entity? AzhwAr says that emperumAn will get rid of them, too.

bAram Aya pazhavinai paRRu aRuththu ennaiththan
vAramAkki vaiththAn vaiththadhanRi ennuL pugundhAn
kOra mA thavam seydhanan kol aRiyEn arangaththu ammAn thiru
Ara mArvu adhu anRO adiyEnai AtkoNdadhE

periya perumAL severed the connection with deeds which were like a huge load, which were following me from time immemorial and he made me to be affectionate towards him. Not stopping with that, he entered my heart. I do not know what a huge penance I would have performed in my previous births to get this fortune. The divine chest of periya perumAL, who is the lord of SrIrangam and who has thiru (SrI mahAlakshmi) and divine chains, enslaved me, his servitor.

Sixth pAsuram. AzhwAr enjoys emperumAn’s divine neck in this pAsuram. [The neck told AzhwAr] While pirAtti and sentient as well as insentient entities may reside on the chest, during the time of danger (deluge), it is I who swallows the worlds and protects them. Hearing these words of the divine neck, AzhwAr enjoys it.

Has emperumAn removed the sins of anyone like this? AzhwAr reminisces on the way emperumAn removed the curse of rudhra when brahmA cursed him and the curse of chandhra (moon) when he was losing his brightness.

thuNda veN piRaiyan thuyar thIrththavan anjiRaiya
vaNdu vAzh pozhil sUzh aranga nagar mEya appan
aNdaraNda bagiraNdaththu oru mAnilam ezhumAl varai muRRum
uNda kaNdam kaNdIr adiyEnai uyyakkoNdadhE

emperumAn removed the sorrow of rudhra who has chandhra, who is in the form of crescent on his head. Alternatively, emperumAn removed the sorrow of crescent shaped moon. He is periya perumAL who is the swAmy (master) who is fitting well inside SrIrangam which is surrounded by gardens having beetles with beautiful wings. AzhwAr says that the divine neck of that periya perumAL, which swallowed those who reside in the egg-shaped universe, the universes, the coverings which are outside the universes, the unique earth and all other entities, uplifted him.

Seventh pAsuram. AzhwAr enjoys emperumAn’s divine mouth and divine lips. The divine mouth says “Though the divine neck swallows, only I initially take in the worlds and only I tell comforting words such as mA Sucha: (do not worry)” Hearing this, AzhwAr enjoys them.

rudhra et al are dhEvathas (celestial entities), hence emperumAn protected them. But will he protect you? AzhwAr responds, saying that emperumAn will protect him, who desires only emperumAn, more than the celestial entities who desire other benefits.

kaiyin Ar suri sangu anal Azhiyar nIL varai pOl
meyyanAr thuLaba viraiyAr kamazh nIL mudi em
ayyanAr aNi aranganAr aravin aNaimisai mEya mAyanAr
seyya vAy ayyO ennaich chindhai kavarndhadhuvE

periya perumAL has the divine conch which is curled, the divine disc which emits fire, divine form which is like a huge mountain and long divine crown, which is  fragrant with the divine thuLasi. He is my swAmy (lord), reclining on the sweet bed of thirvandhAzhwAn (AdhiSEshan) in the beautiful SrIrangam, and has amazing activities. Such emperumAn’s reddish, divine mouth attracted me.

Eighth pAsuram.  AzhwAr enjoys the divine eyes of emperumAn in this pAsuram. Though the mouth may say anything, it is only the eyes which manifest vAthsalyam (motherly forbearance) and which point out the supreme being to us. Thus, AzhwAr enjoys those divine eyes.

In the fourth and fifth pAsurams it was shown that ego, possessiveness and past deeds were removed. Even if these are removed, if avidhyA (ignorance) is still present in a person, wouldn’t these ego, possessiveness etc return? AzhwAr says that just as emperumAn destroyed the demon hiraNya kashyapu who manifests thamO guNa (quality which displays ignorance and laziness) which is the representative of avidhyA, he would remove our thamO guNa too.

pariyan Agi vandha avuNan udal kINda amararkku
ariya Adhip pirAn arangaththu amalan mugaththuk
kariyavAgip pudai parandhu miLirndhu sevvariyOdi nINda ap
periya Aya kaNgaL ennaip pEdhaimai seydhanavE

emperumAn tore apart the demon hiraNya kashyap who came with a huge form; he is not easily approachable even for celestial deities such as brahmA; he is the causative entity for all, who carries out benefits for all and reclines at SrIrangam. The long, great divine eyes of such emperumAn, which are with black complexion on the divine face of emperumAn, which are expansive, which are splendorous with reddish lines, made me bewildered.

Ninth pAsuram. In this, AzhwAr enjoys the entire divine form of emperumAn. AzhwAr enjoys emperumAn’s agadithagatanA quality (ability to bind together features or entities which cannot be bound together). thamO guNa could be got rid of, only when one has knowledge about vEdhAntham [the end part of vEdhas, also referred to as Upanishads]. But AzhwAr was born in a clan which is not qualified to read vEdhas. When this query was raised, AzhwAr responds saying “Just as emperumAn swallowed all the worlds and slept on a tender banyan leaf, displaying a quality which we cannot even think of, he would remove my thamO guNa too”.

Ala mAmaraththin ilai mEl oru pAlaganAy
gyAlam Ezhum uNdAn arangaththu aravain aNaiyAn
kOla mA maNi Aramum muththuth thAmamum mudivu illadhu Or ezhil
neela mEni aiyO nIRai koNdadhu en nenjinaiyE

One who ate up all the worlds and slept on a tender leaf of the huge banyan tree is reclining on the sweet mattress of thiruvandhAzhwAn (AdhiSEshan) at SrIrangam. The black divine form of that periya perumAL, which is without any comparison, which is adorned with many ornaments such as a chain made of great gem stones, chain of pearls etc attracted my heart’s modesty. Alas! What can I do for this!

Tenth pAsuram. In the end, AzhwAr saw kaNNan emperumAn in periya perumAL’s form, and saying that he is not keen on seeing anything else, attains the divine feet of that emperumAn and reaches SrIvaikuNtam.

koNdal vaNNanaik kOvalanAy veNNey
uNda vAyan en uLLam kavarndhAnai
aNdar kOn aNi arangan en amudhinaik
kaNda kaNgaL maRRonRinaik kANAvE

One who has the complexion and qualities of cloud, one who was born in the clan of cow-herds and has a divine mouth which stole and ate butter, one who attracted my mind and who is the leader of nithyasUris, is lying at SrIrangam. My eyes, which have seen that insatiable emperumAn, will not see anything else hereafter.

Source: http://divyaprabandham.koyil.org/index.php/2020/04/amalanadhipiran-tamil-simple/

adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan

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