Lord Vishnu) was born to King Dridavrata at
Tiruvanchikkalam. From his own writings it is evident
that he belonged to a royal family and ruled over the
Chera kingdom, the present kerala in South India.
As an ardent devotee of Lord VishNu, and especially of
Rama avathAram, he spent most of his time, listening
to religious discourses, bhajans and sthoras.
Like Rama, he was born as a Kshatriya; Like Rama, he
was born in Punarvasu Nakshatra; Like Rama, his Archa
moorthi was that of Lord Ranganatha; Like Rama, he
renounced royal pomp and preferred a simple ascetic
life.
Like Lakshmana, he desired to do service to Bhagavaan;
Like Bharata, even while carrying out his duties as a
King, he considered himself a vassal of the Lord's
Paaduka;
Like Satrugna, he valued Bhaagavata seva above all.
Sri Rama is PERUMAL; Raghu vamsa in which Rama hailed
from worshipped Lord Ranganatha and hence, Sri
Ranganatha worshipped by Rama himself is known as
PERIYA PERUMAL; Thus Srirangam, i.e. Periya Perumal's
temple is known as PERIYA KOVIL; King Kulasekara who
was so devoted to all these, came to be known as
KULASEKARA PERUMAL. And, his work is hence called
PERUMAL TIRUMOZHI.
He composed a poem of 105 verses called " Perumal
Tirumozhi"- a classic
example of the yearning of a Bhakta to serve the Lord.
Every single verse of the 105 verses of this work is
so filled with touching emotion and packed with
palpable sentiments that even a cursory reading is
sure to bring tears flowing from one's eyes and leave
an indelible impression in one's mind.
THANIANS ON PERUMAAL TIRUMOZHI
1. Composed by Emperumaanaar
Innamudham Oottugen Inge Vaa Pain Kiliye /
Tenn Arangam Paada vulla Seer Perumaal - Ponnan /
Silai Ser Nudhaliar vel Seralar Kone - Engal /
Kulasekaran Enre Kooru /
Oh Green hued parrot! Come here.. Let me give you some
sweet amirtham (nectar). You please utter the name of
Azhwar Kulasekara- who composed the sweet divine
verses on the anantha kalyANa guNAs (the most
auspicious qualities) of Lord Ranganatha lying facing
South direction at Srirangam; who is the King of Chera
kingdom; who is a great Prapanna and who is our crown
jewel..
2 Composed by Manakkaal Nambi
Aaram Kedap Paran Anbar Kollaar Enru - Avargalukke /
Vaaran Kodu Kudap Paambir Kai Ittavan - Maatralarai /
Veeram Kedutha Senkol Kolli Kaavalan Villavar Kone /
Seran Kulasekaran Mudi Vendhar Sikaamaniye /
"Kulasekara is the one who put his hand boldly into
the pot containing the deadly King Cobra in order to
vindicate the innocence of the Srivaishnavas when they
were accused (by his ministers) of stealing the
precious pearl necklace; Kulasekara is the one who
vanquished the valour of his enemies; He was the king
of Kolli; he was the Emperor of other kings: the very
gem of the Chera dynasty; the very crown of the
crowned monarchs"
This verse thus refers to the incident that had
happened in AzhwAr?s life. Let us commence our
enjoyment of Kulasekara AzhwAr?s PerumAL Thirumozhi
now?
Swamy Madhavakkannan V"
SrI:
SrImathE Gopaladesika mahadesikaya nama:
Dearest all,
[From the wonderful write up by Paramapadha vaasi Sri
Sevaa Swami]
Where is the time for us to think of God? However, in
whichever manner, whatever ways and means they are-
all that we want is to make money, spend life
joyfully; enjoy? And that is enough for us. That?s the
fast world that we live in. In that, where is the
space for time for God in our daily life? Alas! How
and what will the Lord understand? Even that Sarvagnan
is unable to understand as to why the human beings run
so amuck and do not find time for Himself. For few
dollars more; for few more add-ons to our wardrobe,
eat whenever feels like and whatever that is
available.. partying... that is how our lives are
going on? Humility, peace, love, affection, caring?
these words have become bygone words. Kaalatthin
kOlam? though the world has shrunk, where is humane
nature?
When such is the case around me everywhere, like a
dream, I get some good anubhavams on PerumAL (Lord
Sriman Narayanan) and how and where do I tell? I need
to tell only myself. I have been telling you very many
times and you would get annoyed if I tell them again.
Like a treasure, due to Bhagavath, Acharya krupai, I
am blessed with this lightning rare thought on
PerumAL. For such a upakAram, should I not fold my
hands in anjali mudra and pay my praNamams to Him?
We do that to others; Let me do now for the Lord? the
anjali mudra. Shall we now enjoy the glories of
PerumAL? We don?t understand and we are not
knowledgeable or bhakthas. Shall we ask someone?
Thought I would ask you? I? I. Mine? Mine?. Without
gap, you all have been singing in praise of yourself.
Why don?t you tell something about the Lord? But?.
You may be asking: what will you understand if I tell?
Are you qualified to follow and understand what I
tell?
Ok.. It is better to ask PerumAL himself to ask about
PerumAL. I have realized. He is none other than
Kulasekara PerumAL.
What a great word he spoke! Is there anything equal to
his?
vannperuvaanakamuyy a,
amararuyya,
maNNuyya,
maNNulagil manisaruyya,
thunbamiguthuyar agala,
ayarvu onRillaa sukham vaLara,
agamagizhum thoNdar vaazha
anbodu thendhisai nOkki paLLikoLLum
aNiyarangan thirumuRRatthu adiyar nangaL inbamigu
perunkuzhuvu kaNdu yaanum isaindhu enRu kolO irukkum
naaLE?
In order to save the upper world (SrivaikuNtam) , the
celestial devas, the earth, the beings on the earth,
and to alleviate the sufferings or sorrows of the
world, to let the world?s great happiness grow
further, the devotees (BhAgawathAs) who enjoy their
heart?s content residing in Srirangam?the Lord
Ranganathan reclining in this Srirangam for the above
sake.
kavEri virajAsEyam
vaikuNtam rangamandiram |
sa vaasudEvO rangESa:
prathyaksham paramam padam ||
Lord Ranganathan is the deity fit for ashtAnga yoga.
PraNava describes Him and Him only. Swamy Desikan in
his BhagavdhyA sopAnam on Lord of Srirangam emphasizes
that Rana vimAnam is indeed PraNava itself. Veda
begins with praNavam. The essence of Vedas is
praNavam. Yogis cherish and enjoy the utterance of
PraNavam and Sri Rangantha in their hearts? cavities
as well. All yogis, munis and AzhwArs have lost their
hearts to Lord Ranganathan. They resort to Lord
Ranganathan for the virtue of dhyAnam faclitity.
DhrusyathE Ranga madhyE? One can physically see in the
middle of Srirangam for evryone?s sake- the same form
that is in the heart of Yogis? The same ParanjyOthi
that is Srivaikuntam? is now with such utmost,
unimaginable sowlabhyam, sowseelyam at Srirangam for
our sake?
Kulasekara AzhwAr laments: Along with these
bhAgwathas, when will I be blessed to join and live
there enjoying Srirangam?s glories?
What a great line! Such a magnanimous AzhwAr!
Obviously it is befitting to address him as perumAL
Himself.
What else does he say actually? Let us enjoy further..
Will we be blessed to get Bhagawath jnAnam, Bhakti at
least after enjoying PerumAL?s Thirumozhi? i.e.
Kulasekara PerumAL Thirumozhi.
We would obviosuly be? Let us begin...
AzhwAr ThiruvaDigaLE SaraNam
Regards
Namo narayana
dAsan
Kulasekara AzhwAr has written only one Tamil
composition called PerumAl Thirumozhi comprising 105
verses, roughly divided into ten decades. The other
one is in Sanskrit ?Mukund mala?.
These tamil verses are divine and very sweet full of
anubhavam and laden and impregnated with bhakti. The
first three decads are devoted more to the glory of
archA moorthy of Srirangam. He specifically expresses
his zeal, craving for having the divine darshan at
Srirangam, the yearning to join and spend the great
time with the company of bhAgwathas at Srirangam. He
declares his madness after God . In the next few
decads, he sings the glory of Thirumala Srinivasan,
the archA moorthy at ThiruvEnkatam and Thillai chithra
kootam and ThiruvitthuvakkOdu, a religious shrine at
Kerala.
In the last decades, he expresses his mystic
experience of God by enjoying the few episodes from
Srimad Bhagaewatha and Srimad Ramayanam. He has
expressed very beautifully imagining himself in the
role of Devaki as to how she had lost the child leela,
pranks of Kutti KaNNan, and weeps over her plight at
being forced to forsake the joy of being with Kutti
KaNNan and enjoying his mischief. AzhwAr also poses
himself as Yasodha and sings lullaby to Lord Rama
puring out motherly affection towards Rama as a baby.
AzhwAr also pours out as King Dasaratha and laments
over Rama?s exile in the forest.
In these wonderful divine verses, the Bhagawath
kainkaryam and BhAgawatha kainkaryam and Bhagawatha
sEshathvam are spelt out explicitly and clearly.
Swamy Desikan salutes this AzhwAr's prabhandham as
?Nann PoruL sEr Thirumozhi? (the divine utterances
that have deep and auspicious doctrines(meanings)
embedded in them. These uniquely Sri VaishNavA
doctrines are Lord's Parathvam, Prapatti at His sacred
feet, Sesha-Seshi relationship, Bhaktha Paaratantryam
(subservience to BhakthAs), fearlesslness (nirbbhayam)
after SaraNAgathi and others.
The first verse:
iruLiriyas sudarmaNiga Limaikkum neRRi
inaththuththi yaNipaNamaa yiranga Laarntha
aravarasap peruncOthi yanantha Nnennum
aNiviLangu muyarveLLai yaNaiyai mEvi
thiruvarangap perun^agaruL theNNeerp ponni
thiraikkaiyaa ladivarudap paLLi koLLum
karumaNiyaik kOmaLaththaik kaNdu koNdu en
kaNNiNaika LenRukolO kaLikkum naaLE 1.1
In the land of divya desam of Srirangam the darkness
is completely dispelled and shattered by the
resplendent brightness that emanates from the forehead
and the gem stones on the heads of thousand headed
AdhisEshan, the king of snakes, mahaa thEjasvI,
ThiruvananthAzhwAn and on his most beautiful, white,
cool body as the bed, reclines Periya PerumAL Azhagiya
ManavaaLan, the most beautiful divine Lord Sri
Ranganathan the personification of Sowkumaaryam,
Soundharyam and laavaNyam, at whose lotus feet gently
touches the cool crystal clear waters of the river
cauveri as if it washes and worships the Lord?s Lotus
Feet. When will my eyes be blessed to see and enjoy
sEviccufying such Most Beautiful Periya PerumAL?
It is in similar lines of Swami Ramunja?s anubhavam
when Sri Ramanuja asserts in Gadyatrayam. . mamakula
nAtham, mama kula daivatham..
kadhaaham bhagavantam narayanam mama kula natham mama
kula daivatham... sakshaat karavaaNi chaksushaa?. .
Sri Ranganathan is Our Kula nAThan; Our Kula dhanam.
Our Kula Deivam.
Continuing on the wonderful verses on Srirangam by
Kulasekara PerumAL:
When! Oh? when? when.. When am I going to offer
mouthful of praise of the Lord? Alwar expresses his
yearning herein.
vaayOree raiNYNYooRu thuthanga Laarntha
vaLaiyudambi Nnazaln^aagam umizhntha senthee
veeyaatha malarssenni vithaana mEpOl
mEnmElum migavengum parantha than_keezh
kaayaampoo malarppiRanga lanna maalaik
kadiyarangath tharavaNaiyil paLLi koLLum
maayOnai maNaththooNE paRRi ninRen
vaayaara enRukolO vaazhththum naaLE
1.2
AdhisEshan,- who has thousand mouths (heads)which are
always full of praises (sthothras) of Lord Sriman
Narayana; who is of white divine body; exhales fire
above the dhivya Thirumukha maNdalam of Lord
Ranganathan so that no enemies can dare come near Lord
Ranganathan. These flames of fire appear as if they
are the ornament for the dhivya swaroopam of Lord
Ranganathan who is like the blue hued kaaru neydhal
flower so charmingly beautiful; He reclines having His
yoga nidhrA on the bed of AdhisEshan in the land of
Srirangam Periya Koil, surrounded by tall ramparts.
Standing in front of such most divinely beautiful Lord
Ranganthan, holding the two huge pillars
(maNathooNgaL) , when will be the day when I can sing
His praise to the fullest powers of my speech?
Tradition avers that Azhagiya manaVaaLan (Lord
Ranganathan)? s divine fragrance from the ThirumEni
(Dhivya mangaLa vigraham) have taken shape of the two
huge pillars in His sanctum sanctorum.
Another wonderful interpretation: Lord Ranganathan?s
divine beauty is so captivating and arresting that it
would keep one off balance when seeing and enjoying
and hence one needs to hold onto the two pillars to
remain in balance. It is also enjoyed that Sri
Ranganayaki sits in front of Lord?s standing (one can
enjoy on Panuni Utthiram dhinam) for the same reason
that she can not stand His beauty and she is simply
overwhelmed by His majestic enchanting Beauty.
He is Azhagan personification of Beauty.
ThoNdaradippodi AzhwAr for no reason says.."icchuvai
thavira yaan pOi indra lOkam ALum acchuvai peRinum
vENdEn. Aranga maa nagaruLaanE!
Oh Lord Ranganatha of Srirangam! (or Pomona!) Leaving
this taste of enjoying Your ThirumEni, even if granted
to rule the Paramapadham, I do not want that. (Because
Enjoying Him at Paramapadham is like going from one
air-conditioned hall to the other hall. While enjoying
Him at Srirangam is like going underneath a Huge
Banyan tree for a cool shadow after being in a
scorching Heat of samsaaric afflictions. Which is more
enjoyable and more relieving! (veyyilil
iruppavanukkuthaan nizhal arumai theiryum.).
AzhwAr also tells:
kudathisai mudiyai vaitthu guNathisai paadham neetti
vadthisai pinbu kaatti then thisai lankai nOkki
kadal niRak kadavuL enthai arvaNait thuyilumaa kaNdu
udal enakku urugumaalO? en seyghEn ulagatthIrE?
What a sweet Pasuram! The Lord Ranganathan- who has
His Thirumudi in the West; Thiruvadi towards East;
back facing North and the Eyes looking to South
(lankA)..(as assured to Sri VisbhIshaNAzhwAn) is of
Blue hued Ocean coloured, Divinely Beautiful Form. Oh!
My body is melting.. what can I do, oh worldly people!
AzhwAr says: Not just my heart melts looking at the
Beautiful Divya mangaLa vigraham of Lord Rangan. Also
my Body is melting. I am not able to stand. (That is
why there are huge pillars at the sannidhi says-
KulasekharAzhwAr) . He addresses the world (us).. What
can I do? tell me.
Question: why does he address us (world)? why not
Nithasooris, or the Lord Himself.. Perhaps, they can
give soultion to AzhwAr's problem. Not us. Then, why
should he address us..
Because:
We simply go into the sannidhi, look at the Lord..
(thinking of our own
worries, whom to cheat, how to make faster buck.. how
to avoid this.. how to get that rise.. how to
anti-campaign against the colleague who is in a better
position to get elevated in the office.. is all what
we could think of, when dIpa / camphor ArAdhanai is
shown..) and come out completely unaffected by the
Lord's Divine beauty (ThirumEni azhaghu)..
AzhwAr is simply stunned at our (no) reaction. That is
why he asks us: Tell me world! How are you able to
maintain composure looking at Such a Beauty! Hats off
to you all!
(as read in archives from Sri Vijay Triplicane's Post
quoting vyAkhyAna
chakravartthi- Sri Periyavacchaan Pillai's vyakhyanam-
Thanks Sri Vijay) Pat yourselves on the back for being
unhurt by the Lord's Beuaty!
Sri RanganayikA samEtha Sri Ranganatha ParabrahmaNE
Namah
AzhwAr ThiruvaDigaLE SaraNam
Regards
Namo narayana
dAsan
SrI:
SrImathE Gopaladesika mahadesikaya nama:
Dearest all,
Continuing on the wonderful verses on Srirangam by
Kulasekara PerumAL? When! Oh! When am I going to offer
flowers at the lotus feet of Lord of Srirangam along
with the glorious group of His devotees?
emmaaNpin ayann^aan_gu naavi Nnaalum
eduththEththi eeriraNdu mukamuNG koNdu
emmaadu mezhiRkaNka Letti NnOtum
thozhuthEththi yinithiRainca ninRa sempon
ammaanRan malarkkamalak koppoozh thOnRa
aNiyarangath tharavaNaiyil paLLi koLLum
ammaanRa NnatiyiNaikkee zhalar_ka LittaNG
katiyavarO tenRukolO aNugum naaLE
1.3
Chathurmukha BrahmA (the four faced Brahma), praises
his Lord (His Father Sriman Narayanan- from whose
lotus navel sprouts out the Lotus Flower in which
BrahmA is seated and was born), with all his four
tongues (meaning: reciting vedic hymns) and with
divine sthotras praising Lord?s most auspicious and
wonderful divine kalyANa guNAs; and making fullest
utility of his eight eyes (form four faces) enjoying
the dhivya sowndhayram of the Lord? in such a majestic
form. Such most beautiful Lord with His most wonderful
divine Navel shown visibly reclines on the AdhisEshan
in the sannidhi of Srirangam (which is like an
ornament to this samsaara saagaram).
When will I be able to approach Him, offer praising
Him with the flowers at His Lotus Feet in Srirangam
along with the glorious congregation of BhAgawathas?
Alavandhaar expresses the same sentiment-
yadvaa sramaavadhi yathaa mathi vaapya shaktha:
sthowmyEva mEva khalu tEpi sadhAsthuvantha:
vEdhA: chathurmukha mukhAscha mahaarNavaantha:
kOmajjathOr aNukulaachalayOr visEsha:
Even if powerless (to praise), I, until I get tired,
or as far as I am able [with my level of intellect,
jnAnam], praise. The Vedas which never ever stop
praising Him; the chathumukha, Rudra and others [below
those Vedas]; also praise only in similar fashion.
Don?t they? [based on what they understand to their
intellect or until they get tired]. In this deep, vast
ocean [of glories], how does it matter, if the objects
immersed are the huge mountain or a small atom? Both
are submerged.
Until I get tired let me praise. After two days, if he
stops? the Lord may ask: You are not tired. And why
did you stop?.. So Alavandhar says: until I get tired
and /or to the best of my intellect, jnAnam, I will
praise. If he knows, he may stop due to being tired;
if he is still able, he may not have jnAnam to
continue.
What Alavandhar! You had mentioned that you are
unashamed as you can not utter the praise mentioning
my glories fully and you would still continue. That
itself is praise. That?s why Alavdnahr uses the word
sthowmi.. (in present tense) and not sthOshyaami
(future tesne) as he has already started praising.
Vedas always praise. Hence it may apply. But Brahma,
Rudras do not do always. However as far as possible,
they do. Here in this verse, Alavandhar touches upon
only BrahmA, as he is the father of Rudra. And hence
even if BrahmA can not, it is obvious other will not
be able to. Thus even if they utter praise, they do
not reach the ultimate. Only if one thinks that he
utter the praise fully, that is wrong; but NOT the
very praise itself. Even if small and minutest praise,
it still is great and is required. Thus, whether it is
mountain praise, or atomic size praise, all get
immersed in the ocean of His glories and hence get
submerged.
If they are submerged, why should one praise at all?
Alavandhar asks: why did BrahmA, Sivan praise? It is
the duty of sEshan [servants] to praise the Master
[SEshi] to seek His dayA, grace and blessings; to seek
His pleasure; to praise Him with preethi [love], with
devotion; to praise Him with manas, vaak and kaayam
[word, thought and action]. Seshan [servants] are
blessed to be recipient of [sEshi] His grace by
praising Him with such manO vaak kaayam obeisance and
praise. Thus, even praising is the blessings from Him
to do so; and hence I start to praise
Sri RanganayikA samEtha Sri Ranganatha ParabrahmaNE
Namah
AzhwAr ThiruvaDigaLE SaraNam
Regards
Namo narayana
dAsan
