Sri Srinivaasa Vaibhavam- PoigaiAzhwAr anubhavam of ThiruvtEnkatam- 9 [mudhal thioruvanthAthi-82nd verse]

[Guest guest]

SrI:

SrImathE Gopaladesika mahadesikaya namah:

Dearest Srivaishnavas,

 

Let us continue to enjoy Poigai muni’s anubhavam on

Srinivasan of ThiruvEnkatam.

 

padaiyaarum vaatkaNNaar paarasin^aaL, paimpoon^

thodaiyalO dEnthiya dhoopam, - idaiyidaiyin

meenmaaya maasooNum vEngadamE, mElorun^aaL

maanmaaya eythaan varai.

82

 

The spear shaped eyed- shining eyed- women folks in

the wee hours of Dwadasi day, collect flowers, make

garlands with the most fragrant flowers; carry dhoopam

[incenses]; reach ThiruvEnkatam mountain to pay their

obeisance to the Lord who resides there. This mountain

is the place where the Lord who had effortlessly sent

an arrow to kill maareechan.

 

Dwadasi day is the most auspicious day. A day after

Ekadasi Ekadasi is a day when we have to observe the

fast as a vratham. One needs to take sankalpam and

observe vratham and not simply fast. Also as per our

acharyas, only men need to observe this fasting and

ladies as they need to take care of household chores

and the children, they can eat broken rice…

 

The Lord of ThiruvEnkatam is such sowlabhyan and

sowseelyan for being so easily accessible to women

folks also. In the early hours, they take bath in

Pushkarini, dress and decorate themselves and gather

flowers to make garlands to offer to the Lord and pay

their obeisance to the ThiruvEnkatamudaiyaan.

 

Why does AzhwAr refer to the Lord Sri Ramachandra

murthy here’

As he talks about womenfolks paying their obeisance,

AzhwAr refers to Rama who is their favourite. Not

Krishna.

 

Rama is endearing to them.

Rama is the one who is Eka patni vrathan; who cries

when the spouse was abducted; who was loving and

caring for SitA.

Rama never ever wished to kill the enemies.

 

>From the very first thaatakai, he hesitated to kill

her as she was a woman; He let Maareecha go away;

while he killed subaahu;

He even wished to forgive Ravana and gave ample

chances for him to surrender.

kaRpaar raamapiraanai allaal maRRum kaRparO?- asks

NammAzhwAr.. why would anyone learn anything but Rama?

 

 

This also echoes AndAL’s calling Rama as mantthukku

inyaan.

 

Let us enjoy our dear Sri Satakopan Iyengar swamin’s

article on this subject..

 

Sri Kodai Nachiar pays a rare tribute to Sri Rama in

Sri Tiruppavai- She calls Him ‘Manatthukku iniyAn’, a

sobriquet She doesn’t use with regard to any other

avatArA, though several have been alluded to in

Tiruppavai. it must have been a question of

Honesty. An honest person endears himself to us much

more than one who is not. When we think of Sri Rama,

what comes to our mind immediately is the upright

figure, who would rather give His life, than speak

untruth. ‘RamO dvir nAbhi bhAshatE’ says Sri Valmiki,

confirming the Prince’s penchant for adhering to His

word, irrespective of the travails they may land Him

in.

 

Further, as He himself confirms, ‘anritam na ukta

poorvam mE na cha vakshyE kadAchana’

(I have never told an untruth in the past, nor shall I

ever do so).

 

In comparison, Sri Krishna emerges a professional

fibber, right from childhood. No wonder Sri Andal

characterises

Him as ‘ElA poygaL uraippAn’(Master fabricator of

untenable lies). Thus, vis a vis the dishonest Sri

Krishna, Sri Rama’s honest ideals shine, making Him a

‘manatthukku iniyAn’.

 

Sri Rama was a paragon of virtues, and the

personification of ‘Dharma’ or righteousness. Even His

sworn enemies admit this, as is proved by MarIchA’s

words, ‘RamO vigrahavAn dharma:’ Nobody in their right

mind would ever accuse the Prince of Ayodhya of any

moral turpitude, however slight. It is impossible not

to love such a person. In contrast, Sri Krishna is

admittedly described even by His staunch admirer Sri

Periazhwar as a ‘dharmam ariyA kurumban’ (a

mischief-monger sans any appreciation of rights and

wrongs), and Sri Andal herself adds, ‘puram pOl uLLum

kariyAn’(black of heart as of the body).

 

when it comes to a question of marital fidelity, Sri

Rama outshines Dwarakanatha. Prior to marriage, we do

not have any record of Sri Rama’s emotional

entanglements, and after wedlock, His devotion to Sri

Janaki is legendary, His grief at Her separation

intense enough to prompt Him to speak of taking His

own life.

 

Another fourth reason for the sobriquet

‘manatthukkiniyAn’ must be Sri Rama’s unquestioned

valour, which is ever on display. His arrow is as

straight as He is, and as effective on His enemies.

And the wars He fought were all above-board, role

models of ‘dharma yuddha’.

 

Sending back an un-armed, battle-weary Ravana to come

better prepared the next day, was indeed an act of

incomparable courage. He is thus the ‘tOlAda tani

veeran’ sung by Swami Desikan.

 

As far as appearances go, Sri Dasarathi was infinitely

handsome, and capable of stealing the hearts and

sights of not only women, but of men too- (PumsAm

drishti chittha apahAriNam). Even Sri Periazhwar, that

avowed votary of Sri Krishna, reluctantly admits the

superiority of Sri Rama’s looks and His splendour

resembling a thousand Suns shining at their peak

simultaneously-’Kadir Ayiram iravi kalandu eritthAl

ottha neeN mudian-ediril irAman’.

 

The words, ‘ediril iRaman’(the incomparable Rama) are

significant, for Sri Raghunatha was the perfectly

proportioned, virile male, as attested by Sri

Valmiki-’ Sama: sama vibhaktAnga: snigdha varNa:

pratApavAn’.

 

And lastly and perhaps most importantly, Sri Krishna

only preached while Sri Rama also practiced. For

prapannas like us, Sri Rama is infinitely dearer to

the heart, for His whole life was devoted to

Saranagata Rakshanam, as borne out by Sri Vibhishana

Saranagati and others portrayed by Srimad Ramayana.

 

The reasons adduced by Sri Rama to the vAnara veerAs

for granting refuge to Sri Vibhishana are a classic

enunciation of the Doctrine of Saranagati. So much so

that Sri Sita refers to Him as ‘SaranAgata Vatsala:’

And Sri Rama belongs to a line of Emperors, for whom

SaragAgata Rakshanam was a kula dharma, as the episode

of Sipi Chakravarty and the stray pigeon would

indicate to Sri Goda devi that there is none other

than Sri Rama who qualifies for the endearment

‘manatthukku iniyAn’’

 

AzhwAr ThiruvaDigaLE SaraNam

Regards

Namo Narayana

dasan