Varththai 31
===========
31. kudai mudhalAnadhu AnEnO ananthAzhvAn pOlE
AnanthazhvAn is the name for Adisesha on whom the Lord rests. He is always with the Lord; even when He descends to this world, Adisesha accompanies Him in some form and performs services to Him. Since he is in eternal service and is the personification of service, he is called Adisesha.
Poygai Azhvar sings in his Mudhal Thiruvandhadhi about him thus:
“senRAL kudaiyAm irundhAl singAsanamAm
ninRAl maravadiyAm nILkadluL enRum
puNaiyAm maNi viLakkAm pUmpattAm pulgum
aNaiyAm thirumARku aravu”
Alavandar too describes him in a similar fashion in his Stotra Ratnam.
Azhvar says Thiruvananthazhvan is an umbrella when He walks; he is a seat when He sits; he is the footwear when He stands up; he is the float when He is in the milky ocean; he is a lamp; he is a cloth and he is a pillow - thus he is everything when it comes to rendering service.
Thirukkolur Ammal is asking "Have I rendered any kind of service to Him like Adisesha does in various forms?"
Varththai 32
===========
32. koNdu thirindhEnO thiruvadiyaip pOlE
The term thiruvadi refers to both Garuda (periya thiruvadi) and Hanuman (siRiya
thiruvadi). They got this name because they both perform the service of carrying the
Lord. Just as Adisesha does various services (see previous vArththai), so too Garuda acts as the Lord's friend, His servant, His conveyance, His seat, His flag, His umbrella, etc.
Azhvars refer many times to the fact that the Lord rides Garuda and performs various acts.
During His avatar as Sri Rama, Hanuman carried Him and Lakshmana on a few
occasions. When they first arrive to meet Sugreeva, He talks to them and then carries them on his shoulders to Sugreeva. Later when Rama and Lakshmana wage a war against Ravana, he carries them again on his shoulders so that they do not have to stand on the ground and fight.
Thirukkolur Ammal is asking "Did I carry the Lord on my shoulders with affection like Hanuman did?"
Varththai 33
===========
33. iLaippu vidAy thIrththEnO nampAduvAn pOlE
In Sri Varaha Purana, Sri Varaha tells Bhudevi the greatness of singing His praise and the benefits that it gets to the devotee. This is knowns as Kaisika Mahatmyam and in it is the story of the devotee Nampaduvan who sang the Lord's praise all the time.
In south India near the Ksheera river was Siddhashrama. Here a low caste person would come every day early in the morning from a long distance and sing the Lord's praises. He did this for several years. Sri Varaha called him 'mama gAyaka' and therefore his name became Nampaduvan.
One time, in the month of Karththikai on sukla paksha Dvadasi, he stayed awake in the night and left very early to go sing about the Lord. On the way, a brahmarakshas caught him and wanted to eat him. Nampaduvan requested the brahmarakshas to let him go so he can go and sing; he promised that he would return and allow himself to be eaten. The brahmarakshas did not trust him and he started swearing that he would attain a certain sin if he did not return; only when he swore that he would get the sin of equating Sriman Narayana with other devatas if he did not return, did the brahmarakshas let him go.
Namapduvan went to Thirukkurunkudi divyadesam, sang about the Lord and returned as promised. The brahmarakshas was a brahmin called Somasharma in his previous bir th.
Because he committed a sin during a yaga, he was born as a brahmarakshas. Determining that he would be liberated only by Nampaduvan, he asked for the fruit of Nampaduvan 's singing that night so that he may let him go alive. Nampaduvan did not agree. After some more requests, finally Nampaduvan agreed to give him the fruit of his singing one song sung in the Kaisika meter. Receiving that, the brahmarakshas was liberated, was reborn in a good family and finally attained moksha.
Thirukkolur Ammal is asking "Did I sing and liberate someone from their birth as a rakshasa like Nampaduvan did?"
Varththai 34
===========
34. idaikazhiyil kaNdEnO mudhalAzhvArgaLaip pOlE
Mudhal Azhvargal are the first three Azhvars to appear in this world. They are Poygai Azhvar, Bhoothaththazhvar and Peyazhvar. They were born in three different flowers in the divyadesams of Kanchi, Mallai and Mayilai. Having been given the flawless knowledge by the Lord they went from one place to another every day and experienced Him.
One time the Lord decided to bring them all together in the divyadesam of
Thirukkovalur. It was a dark and stormy night. First Poygaiyazhvar arrived and sought shelter in the ashrama of Mrugandu Maharishi. He was resting in the idai kazhi (the area between the front and back of the house) area. Soon after Bhoothaththazhvar arrived to the same place. They both were able to sit comfortably in that place. Then came Peyazhvar and the three were able to stand only in the narrow area. Shortly after that the three Azhvars realized that a fourth person was in the place and pushing against all of them.
Realizing it was the Lord Himself, Poygaiyazhvar lit a lamp through a verse –
"vaiya thagaLiyA vArkadalE neyyAga veyya kadhirOn viLAkkAga" –
this became the first verse of Mudhal Thiruvandhadhi. In this verse, Azhvar made this world the cup, the ocean as the ghee and the Sun as the light.
Bhoothaththazhvar lit another lamp through a verse –
"anbE thagaLiyA ArvamE neyyAga inburugu sindhai iduthiriyA" –
this became the first verse of Irandam Thiruvandhadhi. In this verse, Azhvar made his love as the cup, his passion as the ghee and his thought as the lamp.
In this light, Peyazhvar saw the Lord with His divine consort and sang the verse
"thirukkaNdEn pon mEni kaNdEn". This became the first verse of Moonram
Thiruvandhadhi.
All three Azhvars thus saw the Lord in the narrow area of the ashrama and sang the first pasurams of the Nalayira Divyaprabandham.
Thirukkolur Ammal is asking "Did I receive the grace of the Lord to see Him, like the first three Azhvars did?"
Varththai 35
35. iru mannar peRREnO vAlmIkiyaip pOlE
After the coronation at Ayodhya, Sri Rama ruled the kingdom for a long time. At one time, when Sita had become pregnant, Rama heard that a washerman spoke ill of the fact
that He had brought back Sita who was imprisoned in Ravana's place and made Her His queen. He then decided to leave Her in the forest.
During this time, Sita asked a boon from Rama that She be allowed to live in the forest for a while. So, Rama asked Lakshmana to take Her to the forest and leave Her near
Valmiki Maharishi's ashrama permanently. Lakshmana followed the order of Rama and did the same.
Valmiki Maharishi took mother Sita to his ashrama and protected Her there. After a while Sita gace birth to the twins Lava and Kucha. When they were born, Valmiki blessed them
by rubbing one child with the tip of the darba grass and the other with its root - the tip of this grass is called Kucham and the root is called Lavam - thus the boys were named.
Valmiki acted as their guardian and brought them up as worthy sons of Rama. He taught them all vidya's and also the Ramayana story.
Thirukkolur Ammal is asking "Did I do service to the Lord and brought up the two princes, like Valmiki did?"
Varththai 36
===========
36. irumAlai IndhEnO thoNdaradippodiyAr pOlE
Thondaradippodi Azhvar lived in Srirangam and just like Periyazhvar at Srivilliputtur, he too maintained a garden there and performed flower service to the Lord. He would make beautiful garlands and present them to Sri Ranganatha daily.
The word "iru" in this vArththai of Thirukkolur Ammal has two meanings - one is "great" and the other is "two".
If used in the first sense, then we can say that Azhvar provided great and wonderful
flower garlands to the Lord. They were great because Azhvar considered himself as the dust under the feet of bhAgavatas - thoNdar adip podi - and gave the garlands only as pure service to the Lord. Also, Azhvar wrote amazing word garlands to the Lord through his works Thirumaalai and Thiruppaliyezhuchchi. We can also say that Azhvar provided great word garlands to the Lord.
If used in the second sense - that is, two - then we can say Azhvar provided two
wonderful garlands to the Lord. One was a pU mAlai – that is, a flower garland and the other was a pA mAlai - that is, a word garland. We can also say that the number two refers to the two word garlands that Azhvar wrote - Thirumaalai and Thiruppalli
Ezhuchchi.
Thirukkolur Ammal is asking "Did I provide the Lord with such great garlands, as Thondaradippodi Azhvar did?"
Varththai 37
===========
37. avan uraikkap peRREnO thirukkachchiyAr pOlE
Sri Kanchi Purna (Thirukkachchi Nambigal)'s name was Gajendra Dasa. He was born in a family of merchants. His father once gave him a large sum of money and asked him to
invest it and grow it. Nambigal spent it all in the service of the Lord and His devotees.
After a couple of years, his father asked him about the money and where he had invested it. Nambigal said that he had invested it in the divine abode of the Lord. His father
became angry with him and so Nambigal left his household and went to Srirangam,where he began to do service at the divine feet of his acharya Swami Alavandar. Later,
per his acharya's order, he returned to Kanchi and started doing fan service to Sri Varadaraja Perumal. When the two were alone, Sri Varadaraja would some times talk to him.
At that time, Ramanuja who was known as Ilaiyazhvar at that time, was residing in Kanchi as well. He wanted to become Nambigal's disciple but Nambigal did not accept it
stating that as a a Vaisya he could not accept Ilaiyazhvar who was a brahmin as his disciple.
Ramanuja then asked Nambigal if he could ask Varadaraja about the questions in his mind. Nambigal agreed and that night placed Ramanuja's request to the Lord.
Varadaraja gave six answers to Nambigal and told him that those would answer the questions in Ramanuja's mind. The six replies were:
1. Sriman Narayana is supreme
2. The jIvAtma is different from the paramAtma
3. Complete surrender is the means to salvation
4. Moksham will be attained by one who has surrendered at the end of his birth
5. For one who has surrendered, remembrance of the Lord at his deathbed is not necessary
6. Ramanuja should take refuge with Maha Purna (Periya Nambigal) and take him as his acharya
Thirukkolur Ammal is asking "Did I have the fortune of conversing with the Lord like Thirukkachchi Nambigal did?"
Varththai 38
===========
37. avan uraikkap peRREnO thirukkachchiyAr pOlE
Sri Kanchi Purna (Thirukkachchi Nambigal)'s name was Gajendra Dasa. He was born in a family of merchants. His father once gave him a large sum of money and asked him to
invest it and grow it. Nambigal spent it all in the service of the Lord and His devotees.
After a couple of years, his father asked him about the money and where he had invested it. Nambigal said that he had invested it in the divine abode of the Lord. His father
became angry with him and so Nambigal left his household and went to Srirangam,where he began to do service at the divine feet of his acharya Swami Alavandar.
Later, as per his acharya's order, he returned to Kanchi and started doing fan service to Sri Varadaraja Perumal. When the two were alone, Sri Varadaraja would some times talk to him.
At that time, Ramanuja who was known as Ilaiyazhvar at that time, was residing in Kanchi as well. He wanted to become Nambigal's disciple but Nambigal did not accept it
stating that as a a Vaisya he could not accept Ilaiyazhvar who was a brahmin as his disciple.
Ramanuja then asked Nambigal if he could ask Varadaraja about the questions in his mind. Nambigal agreed and that night placed Ramanuja's request to the Lord.Varadaraja gave six answers to Nambigal and told him that those would answer the questions in Ramanuja's mind. The six replies were:
1. Sriman Narayana is supreme
2. The jIvAtma is different from the paramAtma
3. Complete surrender is the means to salvation
4. Moksham will be attained by one who has surrendered at the end of his birth
5. For one who has surrendered, remembrance of the Lord at his deathbed is not
necessary
6. Ramanuja shiuld take refuge with Maha Purna (Periya Nambigal) and take him as
his acharya
Thirukkolur Ammal is asking "Did I have the fortune of conversing with the Lord like Thirukkachchi Nambigal did?"
Varththai 39
===========
39. anuppi vaiyum enREnO vasishtaraip pOlE
One time Vishvamitra maharishi came to Dasaratha and asked him to give Rama to help protect the rishi's yaga from the rakshasas who were disturbing it. Dasaratha did not want
to send Rama with the rishi, since He was young and Dasaratha could not bear separation from Him, even though he had promised the rishi anything he wanted. Vishvamitra was
not pleased and became angry at Dasaratha. Dasaratha offered to go himself with the rishi but Vishvamitra wanted only Rama. At that time, Vasishta who was the rajaguru of
Dasaratha intervened.
Seeing the future with his powers and that Vishvamitra was going to give weapons training as well as great weapons to Rama, he told Dasaratha to send both Rama and Lakshmana with Vishvamitra.
Thirukkolur Ammal is asking "Did I see the benefit for the Lord and ask the father to send his son with the sage like Vasishta did?"
Varththai 40
==========
40. adi vAnginEnO kongiRpirAttiyaip pOlE
Here, the phrase "adi vAngudhal" refers to requesting and receiving acharya padukas. Kongu Piratti's story is found in 6000padi Guru Parampara Prabhavam. Her original name is Sumathi and she belonged to a town called Kollaikkalam in Kongu desam. One time there was a great famine in the land. So, she and her husband left their town and moved to Srirangam. At Srirangam, she heard and saw the greatness of Swami Ramanuja and the quality of the people who were his disciples. She too desired to become his
devotee and did so. At that time, she received the name Kongu Piratti (or Kongil Piratti) from Ramanuja.
After some time, the famine lifted from the land and she desired to return to her home town. At that time, she approached Ramanuja, seeked his blessings and also obtained his ivine padukas for performing thiruvaradhanam.
Several years later, due to the distrubance of the Chola king, Ramanuja had to leave Srirangam and move to Thirunarayanapuram. On the way, he went through the town where Kongu Piratti was living. She proved to Ramanuja and his disciples that she had a connection to Ramanuja's divine feet by showing them his divine padukas and how she got them; then she hosted them at her place and made them happy.
Thirukkolur Ammal is asking "Did I have the fortune of receiving acharya padukas like Kongu Piratti did?"
===========
31. kudai mudhalAnadhu AnEnO ananthAzhvAn pOlE
AnanthazhvAn is the name for Adisesha on whom the Lord rests. He is always with the Lord; even when He descends to this world, Adisesha accompanies Him in some form and performs services to Him. Since he is in eternal service and is the personification of service, he is called Adisesha.
Poygai Azhvar sings in his Mudhal Thiruvandhadhi about him thus:
“senRAL kudaiyAm irundhAl singAsanamAm
ninRAl maravadiyAm nILkadluL enRum
puNaiyAm maNi viLakkAm pUmpattAm pulgum
aNaiyAm thirumARku aravu”
Alavandar too describes him in a similar fashion in his Stotra Ratnam.
Azhvar says Thiruvananthazhvan is an umbrella when He walks; he is a seat when He sits; he is the footwear when He stands up; he is the float when He is in the milky ocean; he is a lamp; he is a cloth and he is a pillow - thus he is everything when it comes to rendering service.
Thirukkolur Ammal is asking "Have I rendered any kind of service to Him like Adisesha does in various forms?"
Varththai 32
===========
32. koNdu thirindhEnO thiruvadiyaip pOlE
The term thiruvadi refers to both Garuda (periya thiruvadi) and Hanuman (siRiya
thiruvadi). They got this name because they both perform the service of carrying the
Lord. Just as Adisesha does various services (see previous vArththai), so too Garuda acts as the Lord's friend, His servant, His conveyance, His seat, His flag, His umbrella, etc.
Azhvars refer many times to the fact that the Lord rides Garuda and performs various acts.
During His avatar as Sri Rama, Hanuman carried Him and Lakshmana on a few
occasions. When they first arrive to meet Sugreeva, He talks to them and then carries them on his shoulders to Sugreeva. Later when Rama and Lakshmana wage a war against Ravana, he carries them again on his shoulders so that they do not have to stand on the ground and fight.
Thirukkolur Ammal is asking "Did I carry the Lord on my shoulders with affection like Hanuman did?"
Varththai 33
===========
33. iLaippu vidAy thIrththEnO nampAduvAn pOlE
In Sri Varaha Purana, Sri Varaha tells Bhudevi the greatness of singing His praise and the benefits that it gets to the devotee. This is knowns as Kaisika Mahatmyam and in it is the story of the devotee Nampaduvan who sang the Lord's praise all the time.
In south India near the Ksheera river was Siddhashrama. Here a low caste person would come every day early in the morning from a long distance and sing the Lord's praises. He did this for several years. Sri Varaha called him 'mama gAyaka' and therefore his name became Nampaduvan.
One time, in the month of Karththikai on sukla paksha Dvadasi, he stayed awake in the night and left very early to go sing about the Lord. On the way, a brahmarakshas caught him and wanted to eat him. Nampaduvan requested the brahmarakshas to let him go so he can go and sing; he promised that he would return and allow himself to be eaten. The brahmarakshas did not trust him and he started swearing that he would attain a certain sin if he did not return; only when he swore that he would get the sin of equating Sriman Narayana with other devatas if he did not return, did the brahmarakshas let him go.
Namapduvan went to Thirukkurunkudi divyadesam, sang about the Lord and returned as promised. The brahmarakshas was a brahmin called Somasharma in his previous bir th.
Because he committed a sin during a yaga, he was born as a brahmarakshas. Determining that he would be liberated only by Nampaduvan, he asked for the fruit of Nampaduvan 's singing that night so that he may let him go alive. Nampaduvan did not agree. After some more requests, finally Nampaduvan agreed to give him the fruit of his singing one song sung in the Kaisika meter. Receiving that, the brahmarakshas was liberated, was reborn in a good family and finally attained moksha.
Thirukkolur Ammal is asking "Did I sing and liberate someone from their birth as a rakshasa like Nampaduvan did?"
Varththai 34
===========
34. idaikazhiyil kaNdEnO mudhalAzhvArgaLaip pOlE
Mudhal Azhvargal are the first three Azhvars to appear in this world. They are Poygai Azhvar, Bhoothaththazhvar and Peyazhvar. They were born in three different flowers in the divyadesams of Kanchi, Mallai and Mayilai. Having been given the flawless knowledge by the Lord they went from one place to another every day and experienced Him.
One time the Lord decided to bring them all together in the divyadesam of
Thirukkovalur. It was a dark and stormy night. First Poygaiyazhvar arrived and sought shelter in the ashrama of Mrugandu Maharishi. He was resting in the idai kazhi (the area between the front and back of the house) area. Soon after Bhoothaththazhvar arrived to the same place. They both were able to sit comfortably in that place. Then came Peyazhvar and the three were able to stand only in the narrow area. Shortly after that the three Azhvars realized that a fourth person was in the place and pushing against all of them.
Realizing it was the Lord Himself, Poygaiyazhvar lit a lamp through a verse –
"vaiya thagaLiyA vArkadalE neyyAga veyya kadhirOn viLAkkAga" –
this became the first verse of Mudhal Thiruvandhadhi. In this verse, Azhvar made this world the cup, the ocean as the ghee and the Sun as the light.
Bhoothaththazhvar lit another lamp through a verse –
"anbE thagaLiyA ArvamE neyyAga inburugu sindhai iduthiriyA" –
this became the first verse of Irandam Thiruvandhadhi. In this verse, Azhvar made his love as the cup, his passion as the ghee and his thought as the lamp.
In this light, Peyazhvar saw the Lord with His divine consort and sang the verse
"thirukkaNdEn pon mEni kaNdEn". This became the first verse of Moonram
Thiruvandhadhi.
All three Azhvars thus saw the Lord in the narrow area of the ashrama and sang the first pasurams of the Nalayira Divyaprabandham.
Thirukkolur Ammal is asking "Did I receive the grace of the Lord to see Him, like the first three Azhvars did?"
Varththai 35
35. iru mannar peRREnO vAlmIkiyaip pOlE
After the coronation at Ayodhya, Sri Rama ruled the kingdom for a long time. At one time, when Sita had become pregnant, Rama heard that a washerman spoke ill of the fact
that He had brought back Sita who was imprisoned in Ravana's place and made Her His queen. He then decided to leave Her in the forest.
During this time, Sita asked a boon from Rama that She be allowed to live in the forest for a while. So, Rama asked Lakshmana to take Her to the forest and leave Her near
Valmiki Maharishi's ashrama permanently. Lakshmana followed the order of Rama and did the same.
Valmiki Maharishi took mother Sita to his ashrama and protected Her there. After a while Sita gace birth to the twins Lava and Kucha. When they were born, Valmiki blessed them
by rubbing one child with the tip of the darba grass and the other with its root - the tip of this grass is called Kucham and the root is called Lavam - thus the boys were named.
Valmiki acted as their guardian and brought them up as worthy sons of Rama. He taught them all vidya's and also the Ramayana story.
Thirukkolur Ammal is asking "Did I do service to the Lord and brought up the two princes, like Valmiki did?"
Varththai 36
===========
36. irumAlai IndhEnO thoNdaradippodiyAr pOlE
Thondaradippodi Azhvar lived in Srirangam and just like Periyazhvar at Srivilliputtur, he too maintained a garden there and performed flower service to the Lord. He would make beautiful garlands and present them to Sri Ranganatha daily.
The word "iru" in this vArththai of Thirukkolur Ammal has two meanings - one is "great" and the other is "two".
If used in the first sense, then we can say that Azhvar provided great and wonderful
flower garlands to the Lord. They were great because Azhvar considered himself as the dust under the feet of bhAgavatas - thoNdar adip podi - and gave the garlands only as pure service to the Lord. Also, Azhvar wrote amazing word garlands to the Lord through his works Thirumaalai and Thiruppaliyezhuchchi. We can also say that Azhvar provided great word garlands to the Lord.
If used in the second sense - that is, two - then we can say Azhvar provided two
wonderful garlands to the Lord. One was a pU mAlai – that is, a flower garland and the other was a pA mAlai - that is, a word garland. We can also say that the number two refers to the two word garlands that Azhvar wrote - Thirumaalai and Thiruppalli
Ezhuchchi.
Thirukkolur Ammal is asking "Did I provide the Lord with such great garlands, as Thondaradippodi Azhvar did?"
Varththai 37
===========
37. avan uraikkap peRREnO thirukkachchiyAr pOlE
Sri Kanchi Purna (Thirukkachchi Nambigal)'s name was Gajendra Dasa. He was born in a family of merchants. His father once gave him a large sum of money and asked him to
invest it and grow it. Nambigal spent it all in the service of the Lord and His devotees.
After a couple of years, his father asked him about the money and where he had invested it. Nambigal said that he had invested it in the divine abode of the Lord. His father
became angry with him and so Nambigal left his household and went to Srirangam,where he began to do service at the divine feet of his acharya Swami Alavandar. Later,
per his acharya's order, he returned to Kanchi and started doing fan service to Sri Varadaraja Perumal. When the two were alone, Sri Varadaraja would some times talk to him.
At that time, Ramanuja who was known as Ilaiyazhvar at that time, was residing in Kanchi as well. He wanted to become Nambigal's disciple but Nambigal did not accept it
stating that as a a Vaisya he could not accept Ilaiyazhvar who was a brahmin as his disciple.
Ramanuja then asked Nambigal if he could ask Varadaraja about the questions in his mind. Nambigal agreed and that night placed Ramanuja's request to the Lord.
Varadaraja gave six answers to Nambigal and told him that those would answer the questions in Ramanuja's mind. The six replies were:
1. Sriman Narayana is supreme
2. The jIvAtma is different from the paramAtma
3. Complete surrender is the means to salvation
4. Moksham will be attained by one who has surrendered at the end of his birth
5. For one who has surrendered, remembrance of the Lord at his deathbed is not necessary
6. Ramanuja should take refuge with Maha Purna (Periya Nambigal) and take him as his acharya
Thirukkolur Ammal is asking "Did I have the fortune of conversing with the Lord like Thirukkachchi Nambigal did?"
Varththai 38
===========
37. avan uraikkap peRREnO thirukkachchiyAr pOlE
Sri Kanchi Purna (Thirukkachchi Nambigal)'s name was Gajendra Dasa. He was born in a family of merchants. His father once gave him a large sum of money and asked him to
invest it and grow it. Nambigal spent it all in the service of the Lord and His devotees.
After a couple of years, his father asked him about the money and where he had invested it. Nambigal said that he had invested it in the divine abode of the Lord. His father
became angry with him and so Nambigal left his household and went to Srirangam,where he began to do service at the divine feet of his acharya Swami Alavandar.
Later, as per his acharya's order, he returned to Kanchi and started doing fan service to Sri Varadaraja Perumal. When the two were alone, Sri Varadaraja would some times talk to him.
At that time, Ramanuja who was known as Ilaiyazhvar at that time, was residing in Kanchi as well. He wanted to become Nambigal's disciple but Nambigal did not accept it
stating that as a a Vaisya he could not accept Ilaiyazhvar who was a brahmin as his disciple.
Ramanuja then asked Nambigal if he could ask Varadaraja about the questions in his mind. Nambigal agreed and that night placed Ramanuja's request to the Lord.Varadaraja gave six answers to Nambigal and told him that those would answer the questions in Ramanuja's mind. The six replies were:
1. Sriman Narayana is supreme
2. The jIvAtma is different from the paramAtma
3. Complete surrender is the means to salvation
4. Moksham will be attained by one who has surrendered at the end of his birth
5. For one who has surrendered, remembrance of the Lord at his deathbed is not
necessary
6. Ramanuja shiuld take refuge with Maha Purna (Periya Nambigal) and take him as
his acharya
Thirukkolur Ammal is asking "Did I have the fortune of conversing with the Lord like Thirukkachchi Nambigal did?"
Varththai 39
===========
39. anuppi vaiyum enREnO vasishtaraip pOlE
One time Vishvamitra maharishi came to Dasaratha and asked him to give Rama to help protect the rishi's yaga from the rakshasas who were disturbing it. Dasaratha did not want
to send Rama with the rishi, since He was young and Dasaratha could not bear separation from Him, even though he had promised the rishi anything he wanted. Vishvamitra was
not pleased and became angry at Dasaratha. Dasaratha offered to go himself with the rishi but Vishvamitra wanted only Rama. At that time, Vasishta who was the rajaguru of
Dasaratha intervened.
Seeing the future with his powers and that Vishvamitra was going to give weapons training as well as great weapons to Rama, he told Dasaratha to send both Rama and Lakshmana with Vishvamitra.
Thirukkolur Ammal is asking "Did I see the benefit for the Lord and ask the father to send his son with the sage like Vasishta did?"
Varththai 40
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40. adi vAnginEnO kongiRpirAttiyaip pOlE
Here, the phrase "adi vAngudhal" refers to requesting and receiving acharya padukas. Kongu Piratti's story is found in 6000padi Guru Parampara Prabhavam. Her original name is Sumathi and she belonged to a town called Kollaikkalam in Kongu desam. One time there was a great famine in the land. So, she and her husband left their town and moved to Srirangam. At Srirangam, she heard and saw the greatness of Swami Ramanuja and the quality of the people who were his disciples. She too desired to become his
devotee and did so. At that time, she received the name Kongu Piratti (or Kongil Piratti) from Ramanuja.
After some time, the famine lifted from the land and she desired to return to her home town. At that time, she approached Ramanuja, seeked his blessings and also obtained his ivine padukas for performing thiruvaradhanam.
Several years later, due to the distrubance of the Chola king, Ramanuja had to leave Srirangam and move to Thirunarayanapuram. On the way, he went through the town where Kongu Piratti was living. She proved to Ramanuja and his disciples that she had a connection to Ramanuja's divine feet by showing them his divine padukas and how she got them; then she hosted them at her place and made them happy.
Thirukkolur Ammal is asking "Did I have the fortune of receiving acharya padukas like Kongu Piratti did?"
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