NAMO NARAYANA
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- sri:
- srimate ramanujaya
namah:
- sri padmavati
sametha sri srinivasa parabrahmane namah:
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-
- The Life
and works of AzhwArs
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- by
- Sri U.Ve.Varadachari
Sadagopan
-
- Image of Swami
NammAzhwAr*
-
- Introduction
-
- The twelve AzhwArs flourished
in south India somewhere between the
- fifth and ninth centuries
of the first millenium . The Bhakthi movement
- in India got a great
boost from their Tamil hymns,which are profound and spontaneous
outpourings of their bhagavath anubhavam ( the enjoyment
- of the Divine being)
. Their hymns add up to 4000 in number and are
- revered as " the
sacred collect"(Dhivya Prabhandham ). They house a rich
- vein of philosophical
and theological ideas central to the VisishtAdvaitha VedAntham:
TattvA (ultimate reality ), HithA (the means for attainment
- of that reality )and
the PurushArthA ( the supreme goal of life) .In the
- second millenium , AchArya
RaamAnujA developed further the theory of Supreme reality expounded
by AzhwArs into a clear doctrine with all its philosophical implications
and underpinnings.
Dr.S.M.S.Chari has commented in his excellent book on AzhwArs
( Philosophy
- and the Theistic mysticism
of the ALwArs ) that the AzhwAr's works belong
- to the fourth period
of development of Sri VaishNavam.He identifies Sri VaishNavam
as the oldest monotheistic religion rooted in the VedAs and upanishads
that developedin four stages during its growth: (1) Vedic and
Upanishadic period (2) IthihAsA and PurANic period(3)Agamic period
and (4)the AzhwAr's period. The mystical hymns of the AzhwArs
laden with
- the highest experience
(anubhavam)of the Supreme being as Sriman
- NaarAyaNA is consistent
with the teachings of VedAs, Upanishads ,
- IthihAsAs , Saathvika
PurANAs and Sri VaishNavite AagamAs.
The essence of the twenty four dhivy prabhandhams of the twelve
- AzhwArs as summarized
by Dr.S.M.S.Chari is as follows: " The most strikingfeature
of the Reality as portrayed prominently by the ALvArs
- is that the Supreme
Being of VedAnthA is a personal God in the name
- of Sriman NaarAyaNA
, who possesses not only infinite auspicious
- attributes but also
a spiritual body bedecked with weapons and ornaments ".
Swamy NammAzhwAr , who is considered as the doyen of all the
AzhwArs considers this Supreme Reality (Sriman NaarAyaNA )as
the One endowed
- with "infinite
auspicious attributes par excellence".Swamy NammAzhwAr's
definition of this Supreme Reality has been brilliantly summarized
further
- by Dr.S.M.S. Chari this
way : " He possesses infinite , unsurpassable bliss .
He is essentially of the spiritual knowledge and bliss .He is
distinct from the material objects , which are cognized by the
sense organs and also (distinct)from the sentient souls,which
can be comprehended by the mind cleansed of allimpuriites through
yogic practice. He exists at all times
and in all places. There is none , who is higher than Him and
equal to Him."
Dr.S.M.S. Chari goes on further to comment on the special relationship
- between this Supreme
Reality and the sentients(jeevans) as well as the insentient
(prakruthi).Dr.Chari states : " All the sentient beings
and the non-sentient entities in the universe derive their existence
(sattA ) from
- that One Supreme Person
. Their sustenance (sthithi) also is dependent on
- Him . All their activities
are controlled by His will (Sankalpam) . He abides
- in ALL that exists in
the universe as their anthrAthmA and controls them from within.
He pervade every particle of water in the ocean , every minute
particle of ehter and earth and all the subtle individual souls.
Though He is in every object and in every place, He is invisible.
He is the One , who creates the universe and dissolves it. The
universe is organically related to the Supreme Being in the same
way as the physical body is related to the soul within... This
ParamAthman as a transcendental reality remains unaffected by
the defects of the universe (and its beings) even thoughHe is
hidden in all objects as antharyAmin... The factthat ParamAthman
though abiding in all entities in the universe is free from defects
and also endowed with auspicious attributes reveal the twofold
characterestric of Brahman known as Ubhaya-lingathvA ,
- as pointed out by the
VedAntha SUtrA and strongly upheld by the VisishtAdvaitha VedAnthA
. This theory is fully reflected in the hymns of NammAzhwAr (and
the other AzhwArs).
- The significant feature
of the philosophical theory of reality is the
- presentation of the
concept of the organic relationship of body and soul .
- The SupremeBeing , which
is equated with the universe is conceived as
the Universal Soul (Athman) and all that exists in the universe
as its body(SarIra). This concept of body-soul relation ( SarIrAthma-bhAva)
constitutes the unique doctrine of VisishtAdvaita VedanthA (PradhAna-
paritanthrA ) as expounded later by RaamAnujA ...The relationship
that exists between IsvarA and the universe is of the nature
of AdhAra-AdhEya.That is, IsvarA is AdhArA, the Supporter and
the
- universe is AdhEyA ,
the supported , as in the case of jIvA and the body."
Dr.S.M.S. Chari analyses brilliantly the concept of Godhead as
a Supreme
- person (PurushOtthamA
) and the way in which the Upanishads , IthihAsAs
- and PurANAs, AgamAs
and the AzhwArs dwell on them. He says: "The concept
- of Godhead as a Supreme
Person (PurushOtthamA ) has several aspects. It
- covers God's essential
nature (SvarUpA ) , the divine attributes (djivya-guNAs),
the divine personality ( dhivya mangaLa vigrahA ), the divine
incarnations
- ( dhivya avathArAs),
and the divine activities ( dhivya leelAs). The Upanishads have
accorded greater importance to the essential nature of God as
the Supreme Being. The AgamA treatises have paid more attention
to the visual aspects of the divine personality .The IthihAsAs
and PurANAs , on the other hand,have emphasized the divine attributes
and divine functions.The religious have developed their attention
to such selected divine attributes as are of emotional appeal
to the devotees. The AzhwArs on the other hand , have dwelt on
ALL these aspects of the Divinity (Divine Attributes, Divine
Personality, Divine Incarnations and Divine Activities). The
uniqueness of the Dhivya
- Prabhandhams (of the
AzhwArs ) lies in presenting a grand description of
the Divine Being full of emotional appeal to the devotees. "
The
Dates of the Twelve AzhwArs
- Both VedAntha Desikan
and MaNavALa Maamuni support the chronological
- order of the twelve
AzhwArs in this sequence :
1. Poygai AzhwAr
- 2. PUthatthAzhwAr
3. PEy AzhwAr
4. Thirumazhisai AzhwAr
5. NammAzhwAr
6. KulasEkarar
7. PeriyAzhwAr
8. TonDaradippodi
9. PaaNAzhwAr
10. Thirumangai
-
- ANDAL and Madhura Kavi
are remaining two of the set of twelve
- AzhwArs . ANDAL is the
avathAram of one of the divine consorts
- of the Lord and is the
foster daughter of PeriyAzhwAr . Madhura
- Kavi is the prime disciple
of Swamy NammAzhwAr . ANDAL and
Madhura Kavi are thus contemproaries of PeriyAzhwAr and
- NammAzhwAr in a chronological
sense.
There is a wide variation in the dates of the twelve AzhwArs.
They range
- from dhvApara YugA to
Kali YugA . Modern scholars accept dates ranging
from the 5th to the 9th centuries A.D based on historical facts
referred to
- in the Paasurams of
the AzhwArs. It is important to know that the precise determination
of the dates of birth and the length of their lives of the
- AzhwArs are not "really
relevant " for the study of their philosophy and the understanding
of their upadEsams as AchAryans to uplift those suffering from
SamsAric afflictions.
The 24 Prabhandhams of the Tweve AzhwArs
The divine -collect of the Four Thousand has been classified
into
- 24 individual prabhandhams
with four parts.
The first part consists of the ThiruvAimozhi of NammAzhwA with
- 1,102 hymns.
The second part houses the Periya Thirumozhi of Thirumangai with
- 1,084 hymns along with
ThirukkurunthANDakam (20 hymns) and ThiruneDunthANDakam (30 hymns).
The third part, MudalAyiram, is constituted by the two prabhandhams
of PeriyAzhwAr (ThiruppallANDu and PeriyAzhwAr Thirumozhi), ANDAL
(TiruppAvai and NaacchiyAr Thirumozhi) , KulasEkarar (PerumAL
Thirumozhi) ,
ToNDaradippodi ( ThiruppaLLIyezucchi and ThirumAlai), ThiruppANAzhwAr
(AmalanAdhipirAn ) , Madhura Kavi (KaNNInuNN SiRutthAmpu) and
the Thirucchandha Viruttham of Thirumazhisai .
The fourth and the final part , IyaRppA , containsthe three ThiruvandhAthis
- of Mudhal AzhwArs(Poygai,
PUtham and pEy ),Naanmukhan ThiruvandhAthi
of Thirumazhisai , the remaining three prabhandhams of Swamy
NammazhwAr ( Thiruviruttham , ThiruvAsiriyam and Periya ThiruvandhAthi)
,the three more prabhandhams ofThirumangai ( ThiruvEzhukURRIrukkai
, SiRiya Thirumadal,PeriyaThirumadal ) and RaamAunsa nURRandhAthi
ofThiruvarangatthu AmudanAr .
The dhivya Prabhandham (divine collect of 4,000 hymns) is considered
- as the elaboration of
the three rahasyams,ashtAksharam, Dhvayam and
- Charama slOkam ,sacred
to the Sri VaishNava samprahdAyam.
The
Commentaries on the Dhivya Prabhandhams
- All the 4,000 hymns
have been commented on by our poorvAchAryAs.
- Among them , the entire
set of of 24 prabhandhams have been commented
- on by only two poorvAchAryAs
, PeriyavAcchAn PiLLai and the Periya
- ParakAla MahA Desikan
.
The first of all these commentaries is by ThirukkurhaipirAn PiLLAn
,
- a direct disciple of
AchArya RaamAnujA; latter commissioned PiLLAn
to write this commentary on Swamy NammAzhwAr's ThiruvAimozhi.
This commentary is known as Bhagavath Vishayam and consists of
6,000 padis
or granthAs( a unit of 32 letters). PiLLAn has followed his AchAryan's
views strictly in this grantham. This commentary is terse and
preciseat the same time.Swamy Desikan salutes this commentary
as the most authentic one to comprehend the mind and message
of Swamy NammazhwAr.
There
are seven other commentaries on ThiruvAimozhiin the following
chronological order. Most of them, unless otherwise indicated
are in MaNipravALam, Sanskritized Tamil :
1. NanjIyar (1113 A.D), the disciple of ParAsara Bhattar(9,000
padi)
2. PeriyavAcchAn PiLLai (1168 A.D)(24,000 Padi)
3. Vadakku ThiruveedhippiLLai (1167 A.D) (Idu 36,000 padi)
4. VaadhikEsari Azhagiya MaNavALa Jeeyar(1242 A.D),12,000 padi
5. RangarAmAnuja Muni (1650 A.D), Sanskrit Commentary : 9,000
padi
6. Periya ParakAla Swamy (1676 A.D),18,000 padi
7. SaakshAth Swamy (1700 A.D),24,00o padi.
Swamy Desikan's detailed commentary (Nigama parimaLa ) unfortunately
- does not exist anymore.
It would have been wonderful to enjoy the
- ParimaLam (fragrance
) of Nigamam ( Tamizh vedam) from NigamAntha
- MahA Desikan. We arefortunate
however to have his other two Sanskrit
- works , Dramidopanishad
SaarA and DramidOpanishad Taatparya-
- RathnAvaLi.To these
commentaries , we have to add the insightful grantham
- of Azhagiya MaNavALa
PerumAL Naayanar (brother of Sri PiLLai LokAcchAr and a contemproary
of Swamy Desikan )dealing with the inner meanings of Swamy NammAzhwAr's
ThiruvAimozhi. Among these commentaries , those of Swamy Desikan
, Azhagiya MaNavALa Jeeyar (1242 A.D),SaakshAth Swamy
- and Periya parakAla
Jeeyar are close to PiLLAn's 6,000 padi. Those of Nanjeeyar,
periyavAcchAn PiLLai and Vadakku ThiruveethippiLLai are considered
by Dr.S.M.S Chari as somewhat independent
commentaries of ThiruvAimozhi.
The
Life and the upadEsams of the AzhwArs:
1-3. Mudal AzhwArgaL (Poygai, Putham and Pey )
4. Thirumazhisai AzhwAr
5. NammAzhwAr
6. Madhura Kavi
7. PeriyAzhwAr
8. ANDAL
9. KulasEkarar
10. ThoNDaradippodi
11. ThiruppANAzhwAr
12. Thirumangai AzhwAr
-
- These will be described
under individual headings.
- RaamAnuja Daasan , V.Sadagopan
-
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- *photo credit: Sri Mani
Varadarajan
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