SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImath varavaramunayE nama:
sEnai mudhaliAr – thiruvallikEni
Glories of sEnai mudhaliyAr
sEnai mudhaliyAr is a nithyasUri, celebrated as vishwaksEnar. nithyasUris are those who reside in paramapadham and perform kainkaryam (services) to emperumAn, eternally. They are entirely free from the bonds of samsAram. vishwaksEnar is considered the leader of these nithyasUris. He is the sEnAdhipathi (commander-in-chief) who manages all administrative affairs for emperumAn. While emperumAn enjoys bliss in paramapadham with his pirAttis, nithyasUris, and mukthas, we learn that vishwaksEnar acts like a senior minister and conducts all administration perfectly. ALavandhAr has glorified his greatness in sthOthra rathnam 42 as “thvadIya bhukthOjjitha SEshabhOjinA“. We understand that vishwaksEnar is the first to partake in the SEsha prasAdham (remnants) offered to emperumAn. He is also called as “SEshASanar”, meaning one who eats the SEsha prasAdham of emperumAn. His thirunakshathram is aippasi pUrAdam. A doubt may arise: “How can there be a thirunakshathram for nithyasUris who have no birth?” Just as emperumAn took avathArams and appeared in this world, vishwaksEnar also appeared during the archAvathAram period of emperumAn. During brahmOthsavams in dhivya dhESams, he inspects the streets (nagarasOdhanai) where emperumAn will go for procession. Thus, sEnai mudhaliyAr is considered very important in the SrIvaishNava sampradhAyam. He stands as the third AchArya, after periya pirAttiyAr.
sEnai mudhaliyAr vAzhi thirunAmam
Ongu thulAp pUrAdaththudhiththa selvan vAzhiyE
oNdodiyAL sUthravadhi uRai mArban vAzhiyE
eengulagil satakOpaRkithamuraiththAn vAzhiyE
ezhiR pirambin sengOlai Endhumavan vAzhiyE
pAngudan muppaththumUvar paNiyumavan vAzhiyE
pangayaththAL thiruvadiyaip paRRinAn vAzhiyE
thEngupugazh arangaraiyE sindhai seyvOn vAzhiyE
sEnaiyarkOn sengamalath thiruvadigaL vAzhiyE
sEnai mudhaliyAr vAzhi thirunAmam – Explanation
Ongu thulAp pUrAdaththudhiththa selvan vAzhiyE – May the wealthy one (possessing the wealth of uninterrupted kainkaryam to emperumAn) who appeared under the pUrAdam star in the glorious month of aippasi, live long (pallANdu)!
oNdodiyAL sUthravathi uRai mArban vAzhiyE – ‘oNdodiyAL’ means one who possesses beautiful, curved hands. sUthravathi is the dharma pathni (divine consort) of vishwaksEnar. Long live vishwaksEnar, whose divine chest is the permanent abode of sUthravathi, who has such beautiful, curved hands. nammAzhwAr has also used the term oNdodiyAL in his pAsurams. When describing pirAtti (SrI mahAlakshmi), AzhwAr refers to her as the one with beautiful, curved hands. Just as pirAtti says “agalagillEn iRaiyum enRu” (I will not leave even for a moment) and remains inseparable from emperumAn’s divine chest, sUthravathi likewise remains inseparable from vishwaksEnar. vishwaksEnar is also considered an amSam (an incarnation) of emperumAn. In many dhivya dhEshams, before the commencement of the brahmOthsavam, a ceremony called “thirumuLaichchARRu” takes place where seeds are sown in the soil. It is the aithIhyam (tradition) that vishwaksEnar supervises this ceremony. Before proceeding for nagara sOdhanai (street inspection), they carry vishwaksEnar in a pallakku (palanquin) positioned with his back facing emperumAn to conduct this thirumuLaichchARRu ceremony. While other AzhwArs or AchAryas, when being on procession, are carried facing emperumAn, he (vishwaksEnar) is carried in this manner because he is the prathinidhi (representative) of emperumAn and is thus treated just like emperumAn. Such is his greatness. May vishwaksEnar, whose chest is the abode of his consort sUthravathi, the one with beautiful curved hands, live long (pallANdu)!
eengulagil satakOpaRkithamuraiththAn vAzhiyE – vishwaksEnar is the one who graced nammAzhwAr (who is known as SatakOpan) with good upadhESams in this world. Even though emperumAn personally graced nammAzhwAr with mayarvaRa madhinalam (blemishless knowledge), it was through vishwaksEnar that nammAzhwAr was initiated with pancha samskAram and given good upadhESam. It was sEnai mudhaliyAr who granted nammAzhwAr the position of the next AchArya in the guru paramparai (after himself). May sEnai mudhaliyAr, who thus imparted instructions to nammAzhwAr, live long (pallANdu)!
ezhil pirambin sengOlai Endhumavan vAzhiyE – This line shows that may vishwaksEnar, who leads the administration of emperumAn on his behalf, holding a righteous sengOl (scepter) and a pirambu (cane) in his hand, live long (pallANdu)!
pAngudan muppaththumUvar paNiyumavan vAzhiyE – “thirty-three” refers to the thirty-three types of dhEvas in every universe, consisting of aSwini dhEvathAs (2), dhvAdhaSa Adhithyas (12), EkAdhaSa rudhras (11), and ashta vasus (8). All these thirty-three dhEvas act according to the words of vishwaksEnar. May the distinguished vishwaksEnar, whom these thirty-three serve, live long (pallANdu)!
pangayaththAL thiruvadiyaip paRRinAn vAzhiyE – vishwaksEnar is the one who worships the divine feet of SrI mahAlakshmi, who appeared from the lotus flower. In the guru paramparai, vishwaksEnar is the Sishya (disciple) of periya pirAttiyAr. May he live long (pallANdu)!
thEngupugazh arangaraiyE sinthai seyvOn vAzhiyE – The sannidhi (shrine) of vishwaksEnar is located in the very second prAkAram (enclosure) of periya perumAL in SrIrangam. This line shows: May vishwaksEnar, who always contemplates in his mind on SrI ranganAtha residing in the most glorious SrIrangam, live long (pallANdu)!
sEnaiyerkOn sengamalath thiruvadigaL vAzhiyE – The vAzhi thirunAmam of vishwaksEnar concludes by saying: May the reddish lotus-like divine feet of vishwaksEnar, who is called the commander-in-chief (padhaiththaLapathi) and sEnAdhipathi, live long (pallANdu)!
Thus concludes the vAzhi thirunAmam of sEnai mudhaliAr.
adiyEn govindarAja rAmAnuja dAsan
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