Varththai 51
=========
51. ingum uNdu enREnO prahlAdhanaip pOlE
The asuras Hiranyaksha and Hiranyakashipu were brothers. They were both very cruel. Hiranyaksha hid the world under the ocean and Sriman Narayana took the Varaha avatara to restore it; after doing that, He also killed Hiranyaksha. Due to that, Hiranyakashpu developed great hatred toward Him. He performed great penance toward Brahma, obtained several boons from him and started ruling this world and Indraloka. He then put
forth the command that no one should worship Sriman Narayana and instead everyone should worship him.
Prahlada was the son of Hiranyakashipu. Despite being born to this evil asura, Prahlada was a great devotee of Sriman Narayana. While the teachers of Hiranyakashipu's land taught all children that Hiranya was the supreme power, Prahlada prayed only to Narayana and also taught the same to the children in his gurukula. This infuriated Hiranya and he began many attempts at torturing and even killing Prahlada - such as using weapons, having poisonous snakes bite him, crushing him with elephants, throwing him from a mountain-top, throwing him in fire, into the ocean, etc.
Prahlada's mind was always set on Narayana and as such Hiranya was unable to do anything to him.
In spite of everything that Hiranya did to him, Prahlada showed no anger toward him. Instead he advised Hiranya "Vishnu is the antaryami to everything in this universe. Being that the case, where is the idea of considering some as friends and some as enemies. Just as He is inside me, so too He is inside you. He is present everywhere."
At that time, Hiranya showed a pillar and asked Prahlada if He was in it. Prahlada answered that He was everywhere including that pillar. When Hiranya wrecked that
pillar, Sriman Narayana appeared as Narasimha and killed Hiranya by ripping him with his finger nails.
Nammazhvar celebrates this event:
"engum uLan kaNNan enRa maganayk kAyndhu
ingu illaiyA en iraNiyan thUN pudaippa
angu appozhudhE avan vIyath thOnRiya en
singap pirAn perumai ArAyum sIrmaiththE"
Thirukkolur Ammal is asking "Did I say with great conviction that He is everywhere including here (in this pillar), like Prahlada did?"
Varththai 52
==========
52. ingu illai enREnO dhadhipANdanaip pOlE
The name Dhadhipanda means one who has a large yogurt pot. Each day, Dhadhipanda would take a large pot of yogurt and go about selling it. In the evening, he would come back with the empty pot and rest outside his home.
One day, Krishna was sitting in his mother Yashoda's lap and drinking milk. Suddenly she remembered leaving milk on the stove and she left Krishna and ran inside to take the
milk before it got overheated. Krishna became angry at that and threw a stone on a pot containing ghee.
When Yashoda returned, she saw the broken ghee pot while Krishna sat innocently nearby. She became angry at Him and called out to Him while brandishing a small stick. Krishna began to run crying and Yashoda started to run behind Him. While running to escape His mother, Krishna saw Dhadhipanda and his pot. So, he told him "O Dhadhipanda! My mother is angry with me and she is going to hit me. Please hide me in your pot and tell her that you did not see me". So, Dhadhipanda hid Krishna in
his pot. When Yashoda came there and asked if he had seen Krishna and if He was hiding there, he lied "He is not here".
Believing him, Yashoda left. Krishna then called out from inside the pot "O Dhadhipanda! I am not able to breathe inside here. Please let me out". Dhadhipanda was
graced at that time by the Lord and he realized that Sri Krishna was the supreme. So, he told Krishna "O Krishna! Only if You promise to give me moksha, will I let you out".
After a short argument Krishna agreed. Not satisfied, Dhadhipanda also asked for moksha for his pot and Krishna acquiesced. As promised, Krishna gave moksha to both Dhadhipanda and his pot.
No one can say, upon whom the Lord's grace would fall. In the previous varththai, one saw that His grace fell on Prahlada who told that He was everywhere; in this varththai, it is seen that He gave moksha to Dhadhipanda who said that He was not there (near him).
Thirukkolur Ammal is asking "Did I say a lie (that He was not present nearby) for His sake, like Dhadhipanda did?"
Varththai 53
==========
53. kAttukkup pOnEnO perumALaip pOlE
After Dasaratha decided to coronate Rama as the king, he informed that to everyone in his kingdom and with the consultations of his guru's he set a date for the same. The night before the coronation ceremony, Rama performed a vratam along with Sita and prayed toAfter Dasaratha decided to coronate Rama as the king, he informed that to everyone in his kingdom and with the consultations of his guru's he set a date for the same. The night before the coronation ceremony, Rama performed a vratam along with Sita and prayed to Lord Ranganatha. However, due to the ill advise of Mantara, Kaikeyi had a change of
heart and demanded two boons that she had from Dasaratha. With those boons, she asked
that her son Bharatha be crowned the king instead of Rama and that Rama should go to
the forest for 14 years. Hearing that Dasaratha was extremely sad and fainted.
When Rama came to the palace of Kaikeyi, she told Him about the two boons and that it was a royal decree that He go to the forest. Rama immediately accepted it and with great pleasure prepared to go to the forest. Thirukkolur Ammal is asking "Did I show steadiness in my heart and mind like Rama showed in following His father's word and give up the kingdom and go to the forest?"
Varththai 54
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54. kaNdu vandhEn enREnO thiruvadiyaip pOlE
When Rama and Lakshmana went in search of the abducted Sita, on the way they met Kabandha and killed him. Befoire dying, Kabandha told them that they should meet with Sugreeva and make friendship with him and that he would help them in their search of Sita. They did the same and helped Sugreeva become the king of the vanara kingdom.Sugreeva then sent the vanaras in the four directions to find the place where Sita had been
kept. In the southern direction went Angada, Jambavan and Hanuman (thiruvadi).
Knowing that it would be Hanuman that would find Sita, Rama gave him a ring to show to Her to prove that he is indeed the messenger of Rama
Learning from Jatayu's brother Sambhati, that Sita was kept in Lanka, Hanuman was selected by the vanaras to leap across the ocean to meet with Her. Meeting Sita in Lanka, Hanuman showed Her the ring from Rama, gave His message and made Her feel better.
Returning to Rama, he told Him that he had seen Sita ("drushTA sItA"). He also gave Rama the head ornament from Sita that She had given him. Seeing the ornament and hearing the message, Rama became very pleased and embraced Hanuman tightly.
This selfless service by Hanuman is greatly praised by our acharyas.
Thirukkolur Ammal is asking "Did I do service to the Lord like Hanuman did?"
Varththai 55
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55. iru kaiyum vittEnO dhraupadhiyaip pOlE
Due to their jealousy of the Pandavas, Duryodhana and the Kauravas, under the advice of their uncle Sakuni, invited them to a game of dice. In that game, they defeated the Pandavas through the unfair means of Sakuni and took over their kingdom, all their wealth and even themselves. Finally, they made Yudishtra pledge Draupadi in the game and won her as well. Wishing to insult them, they made Duschasana drag her to the court even though she was at that time in need of privacy. This ended in the decision to attempt to disrobe her in public, which Dushcasana began to carry out.
When she cried out for help, no one in the sabha, including Bheeshma, Drona and even the Pandavas, came to her aid. At that time, she remembered the sage Vasishta's words that Narayana is the sole refuge and surrendered to Him with both hands raised over her head
“shanka chakra gadApANe dvArakanilayAchyuta!
govinda! puNDarIkAksha! rakshamAm sharaNAgatam”
Realizing that she can neither depend on her own self nor on others for her protection, she made complete surrender to the Lord. It is next to impossible for a woman to give up her natural sense of modesty and let go of her dress in a public place. Such was her faith in Krishna. At that time, Sri Krishna was in Dvaraka. And from there itself, He made her dress grow, thereby tiring Duschasana and make him give up.
Thirukkolur Ammal is asking "Did I show complete faith in the Lord, like Draupadi (who lifted both
hands and took refuge in Him) did?"
Varththai 56
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56. ingu pAl pongum enREnO vaduganambiyaip pOlE
Vaduga Nambi (Andra Purna) was one of the close disciples of Swami Ramanuja. His faith in his acharya was unshakeable and superceded even bhagavad bhakti. This is known as Madhurakavi nishtai (also known as Charamopaya nishtai) - the acharya bhakti shown by madhurakavi Azhvar toward Nammazhvar. It is said that he would call Mudhaliyandan and Kooraththazhvan as "iru karaiyar" - meaning that they believe in both their acharya and the Lord. His take was that one should place their faith completely in one's acharya alone (as both the means and the end) and no one else.
One time while he was engaged in preparing milk for Ramanuja at Srirangam,
Namperumal's veedhi procession was occuring. As Namperumal came outside
Ramanuja's mutt, everyone went out to have His darshan. Ramanuja was outside and noticing Vaduga Nambi's absence called him to come outside. Vaduga Nambi refused saying that if he stepped out, then the milk he was preparing for Ramanuja would overheat, overflow and lose its flavor. Such was his acharya bhakti.
Thirukkolur Ammal is asking "Did I show the kind of acharya bhakti that Vaduga Nambi did?"
Varththai 57
===========
57. iru midaRu pidiththEnO selvappiLLaiyaip pOlE
Due to the problems created by the shaivite Chola king, Ramanuja had to leave
Srirangam. He headed to Karnataka to the Hoysala rajya. There he found that he did not have any more divine mud to wear the urdhva pundra. As he was wondering what to do,that night in his dream came the Lord Thirunarayana, who told him to go to Yadavadri.
The Lord told him "Yadavadri is no longer inhabited and I am buried under a mud hill.
Find me from the ground, install me in a temple and perform thiruvardhanam. You will also find the divine mud in Yadavadri for urdhva pundra".
Ramanuja took the help of the Hoysala king, discovered Thirunarayana Perumal and
himself performed thiruvaradhanam for Him for three days. However, as they were not able to find the utsava vigraha, he was sad. Again, Thirunarayana appeared in his dream and told him "Our utsava murthi, Ramapriyar, is with the daughter of the padsha at Delhi. Go there and return Him back here".
Ramanuja, therefore, left for Delhi. There he met the padsha, blessed him and asked him to return Ramapriyar. The king said that if Ramanuja invited Him and He responded, then he could take Him back. So Ramanuja invited Him like Periyazhvar called to Krishna in his divine pasurams "sArngapANi thaLar nadai nadavAnO".
Ramapriyar responded and walked with all His jewels ringing, to Ramanuja and sat in his lap. Ramanuja embraced Him and called Him "vArAy! en selvap piLLaiyE!" (Come my dear child). Ramapriyar also embraced Ramanuja by wrapping His divine hands around his neck. From that day forward, He was called "selvap piLLai" and "yatirAja selva kumAra".
Ramanuja then returned to Yadavadri with Selva Pillai and installed Him in the temple and performed utsavams for Him.
Thirukkolur Ammal is asking "Did I embrace the acharya like Selva Pillai did?"
Varththai 58
============
58. nil enRu peRREnO idaiyARRUr nambiyaip pOlE
In our sampradhayam, the anticipation of the devotees to experience the Lord is greatlypraised. Nammazhvar in his thiruvaymozhi pasuram 7-10-4 says "kaNNapirAn than malaradip pOdhugaLE eppOdhum manaththu Ingu ninaigap peRa vAykkum kol". We also see the great anticipation that Akrura showed on his way to meet Krishna. There is an event related to this that is shown in Idu vyakhyanam.
At Srirangam, the Lord enjoys four brahmotsavams each year. A devotee from
Idaiyatrukudi called idaiyARRUr nambi would come to every utsavam on the first day
itself (angurArppaNam) and attend till the last day. Once he returned home, he would keep thinking of nothing but the utsavam. This was both his sustenance and pleasure. If someone told him that it was time to eat, he would ask in reply whether the next utsavam has neared.
When he became 100 years old, due to old age, he lost his strength. During one
brahmotsavam, he was unable to go to Srirangam on the first day itself. As such, he made it there only on the sixth day. Meanwhile, seeing that His devotee was not there on day one, Namperumal wondered "Idaiyatru Nambi has not made it to the first day of our utsavam". Seeing him on the sixth day, Nameprumal became very happy and told him "I would like to give you a boon". Nambi did not ask Him anything. Instead he mentioned "Through the body You gave me, I worshipped for these many years. Now that old age has come, this body is no longer capable of travel". Namperumal replied "From now on, stay here itself" (just as he had told Ramanuja to stay at Srirangam - "atraiva srIrange sukhamAsva"). And as Namperumal reached the next street in procession, Nambi left this
world and reached His divine abode.
Thirukkolur Ammal is asking "Did I worship Him and think about nothing else like
Idaiyatru Nambi did and was told by Namperumal to stay at His place?"
Varththai 59
============
59. nedundhUram pOnEnO nAthamuniyaip pOlE
Nathamunigal's original name is Ranaganathamishrar. He is the primary acharya in Srivaishnava sampradhayam after Perumal, Thayar, Vishvaksenar and Nammazhvar. He is celebrated by Kooraththazhvan in his guru paramparai thaniyan as "lakshmInAtha samArambhAm nAtha yAmuna madhyamAm ...". It was through his great effort that the 4000 divya prabandha verses that were lost were obtained. Nathamunigal was a great exponent of the Ashtanga Yoga. He used that to meditate on Nammazhvar in Azhvar Thirunagari and obtained the Divya Prabandham from Azhvar.
He saw the Lord in everything in this world. One time, while he was in yoga, the Chola king came to his place with the women of his household to see him. After he left,Nathamunigal heard about the incident. He then left behind the king and walked all the way to the capital city of Gangai Konda Chozhapuram. His disciples followed him and met him there. They asked him why he had followed the king. Nathamunigal replied "I saw them as Sri Krishna and His gopikas and that's why I followed them". This is the state described by Nammazhvar "thiruvudai mannaraik kANil thirumAlaik kaNdEnE ennum" - Thiruvaymozhi 4-4-8.
Another time, Nathamunigal was deep in meditation. When he came out of it, the people in his household told him that two men who catch and train animals, a woman and a monkey came to see him and left. Nathamunigal replied "They must be Sri Rama,Lakshmana, Sita and Hanuman" and started heading in the direction that they went. As he went, he asked the people in the way if they had seen this group. They agreed and so he followed them all the way to Gangai Konda Chozhapuram. There when he made his enquiries about the group, people told him that they had not seen any such group.Hearing that, Nathamunigal became extremely sad, collapsed there itself and left for His abode.
Thirukkolur Ammal is asking "Did I walk a long distance looking for the Lord, like Nathamunigal did?"
Varththai 60
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60. avan pOnAn enREnO mAruthiyANdAn pOlE
Because of the troubles created by the Chola king, Ramanuja moved to Thirunarayanapuram in Karnataka and lived there many years (see vArththai 57). While
he was there, he would often remember Srirangam and Kooraththazhvan and missing them both would long for his return. This chola king is called "avyapadeshya" by
Srivaishnava acharyas - that is, one who is not worthy of being called by his name. He later died due to a festering wound in his neck and so was also refered to as "kirumi
kaNdan".
Ramanuja had a disciple called "mARenRillA mAruthi siRiyANdAn" or "mAruthiyANdAn". He called this disciple and told him to visit Srirangam and bring back news about the temple, Kooraththazhvan, Periya Nambigal and others.
Maruthiyandan went to Srirangam and gave the news about Ramanuja to those there. He also heard about Periya Nambigal attaining the Lord's lotus feet and Azhvan losing his eyes and became very sad. At that time, he also heard about the king's death. He became happy on hearing this news (as it meant Ramanuja could return to Srirangam) and walked very quickly back to Thirunarayanapuram.
At Thirunarayanapuram, he met Ramanuja and said "avan pOnAn", meaning that the chola king was dead. Hearing that, Ramanuja too became happy that he could now go
back to Srirangam and embraced Maruthiyandan and another disciple Ammangi Ammal who had gone with him. However, he too became very sad on hearing the news about Kooraththazhvan and Periya Nambigal. Afterward, he consoled himself and returned to
Srirangam.
Thirukkolur Ammal is asking "Did I walk a long distance and give good news to the acharya like Maruthiyandan did?"
=========
51. ingum uNdu enREnO prahlAdhanaip pOlE
The asuras Hiranyaksha and Hiranyakashipu were brothers. They were both very cruel. Hiranyaksha hid the world under the ocean and Sriman Narayana took the Varaha avatara to restore it; after doing that, He also killed Hiranyaksha. Due to that, Hiranyakashpu developed great hatred toward Him. He performed great penance toward Brahma, obtained several boons from him and started ruling this world and Indraloka. He then put
forth the command that no one should worship Sriman Narayana and instead everyone should worship him.
Prahlada was the son of Hiranyakashipu. Despite being born to this evil asura, Prahlada was a great devotee of Sriman Narayana. While the teachers of Hiranyakashipu's land taught all children that Hiranya was the supreme power, Prahlada prayed only to Narayana and also taught the same to the children in his gurukula. This infuriated Hiranya and he began many attempts at torturing and even killing Prahlada - such as using weapons, having poisonous snakes bite him, crushing him with elephants, throwing him from a mountain-top, throwing him in fire, into the ocean, etc.
Prahlada's mind was always set on Narayana and as such Hiranya was unable to do anything to him.
In spite of everything that Hiranya did to him, Prahlada showed no anger toward him. Instead he advised Hiranya "Vishnu is the antaryami to everything in this universe. Being that the case, where is the idea of considering some as friends and some as enemies. Just as He is inside me, so too He is inside you. He is present everywhere."
At that time, Hiranya showed a pillar and asked Prahlada if He was in it. Prahlada answered that He was everywhere including that pillar. When Hiranya wrecked that
pillar, Sriman Narayana appeared as Narasimha and killed Hiranya by ripping him with his finger nails.
Nammazhvar celebrates this event:
"engum uLan kaNNan enRa maganayk kAyndhu
ingu illaiyA en iraNiyan thUN pudaippa
angu appozhudhE avan vIyath thOnRiya en
singap pirAn perumai ArAyum sIrmaiththE"
Thirukkolur Ammal is asking "Did I say with great conviction that He is everywhere including here (in this pillar), like Prahlada did?"
Varththai 52
==========
52. ingu illai enREnO dhadhipANdanaip pOlE
The name Dhadhipanda means one who has a large yogurt pot. Each day, Dhadhipanda would take a large pot of yogurt and go about selling it. In the evening, he would come back with the empty pot and rest outside his home.
One day, Krishna was sitting in his mother Yashoda's lap and drinking milk. Suddenly she remembered leaving milk on the stove and she left Krishna and ran inside to take the
milk before it got overheated. Krishna became angry at that and threw a stone on a pot containing ghee.
When Yashoda returned, she saw the broken ghee pot while Krishna sat innocently nearby. She became angry at Him and called out to Him while brandishing a small stick. Krishna began to run crying and Yashoda started to run behind Him. While running to escape His mother, Krishna saw Dhadhipanda and his pot. So, he told him "O Dhadhipanda! My mother is angry with me and she is going to hit me. Please hide me in your pot and tell her that you did not see me". So, Dhadhipanda hid Krishna in
his pot. When Yashoda came there and asked if he had seen Krishna and if He was hiding there, he lied "He is not here".
Believing him, Yashoda left. Krishna then called out from inside the pot "O Dhadhipanda! I am not able to breathe inside here. Please let me out". Dhadhipanda was
graced at that time by the Lord and he realized that Sri Krishna was the supreme. So, he told Krishna "O Krishna! Only if You promise to give me moksha, will I let you out".
After a short argument Krishna agreed. Not satisfied, Dhadhipanda also asked for moksha for his pot and Krishna acquiesced. As promised, Krishna gave moksha to both Dhadhipanda and his pot.
No one can say, upon whom the Lord's grace would fall. In the previous varththai, one saw that His grace fell on Prahlada who told that He was everywhere; in this varththai, it is seen that He gave moksha to Dhadhipanda who said that He was not there (near him).
Thirukkolur Ammal is asking "Did I say a lie (that He was not present nearby) for His sake, like Dhadhipanda did?"
Varththai 53
==========
53. kAttukkup pOnEnO perumALaip pOlE
After Dasaratha decided to coronate Rama as the king, he informed that to everyone in his kingdom and with the consultations of his guru's he set a date for the same. The night before the coronation ceremony, Rama performed a vratam along with Sita and prayed toAfter Dasaratha decided to coronate Rama as the king, he informed that to everyone in his kingdom and with the consultations of his guru's he set a date for the same. The night before the coronation ceremony, Rama performed a vratam along with Sita and prayed to Lord Ranganatha. However, due to the ill advise of Mantara, Kaikeyi had a change of
heart and demanded two boons that she had from Dasaratha. With those boons, she asked
that her son Bharatha be crowned the king instead of Rama and that Rama should go to
the forest for 14 years. Hearing that Dasaratha was extremely sad and fainted.
When Rama came to the palace of Kaikeyi, she told Him about the two boons and that it was a royal decree that He go to the forest. Rama immediately accepted it and with great pleasure prepared to go to the forest. Thirukkolur Ammal is asking "Did I show steadiness in my heart and mind like Rama showed in following His father's word and give up the kingdom and go to the forest?"
Varththai 54
==========
54. kaNdu vandhEn enREnO thiruvadiyaip pOlE
When Rama and Lakshmana went in search of the abducted Sita, on the way they met Kabandha and killed him. Befoire dying, Kabandha told them that they should meet with Sugreeva and make friendship with him and that he would help them in their search of Sita. They did the same and helped Sugreeva become the king of the vanara kingdom.Sugreeva then sent the vanaras in the four directions to find the place where Sita had been
kept. In the southern direction went Angada, Jambavan and Hanuman (thiruvadi).
Knowing that it would be Hanuman that would find Sita, Rama gave him a ring to show to Her to prove that he is indeed the messenger of Rama
Learning from Jatayu's brother Sambhati, that Sita was kept in Lanka, Hanuman was selected by the vanaras to leap across the ocean to meet with Her. Meeting Sita in Lanka, Hanuman showed Her the ring from Rama, gave His message and made Her feel better.
Returning to Rama, he told Him that he had seen Sita ("drushTA sItA"). He also gave Rama the head ornament from Sita that She had given him. Seeing the ornament and hearing the message, Rama became very pleased and embraced Hanuman tightly.
This selfless service by Hanuman is greatly praised by our acharyas.
Thirukkolur Ammal is asking "Did I do service to the Lord like Hanuman did?"
Varththai 55
==========
55. iru kaiyum vittEnO dhraupadhiyaip pOlE
Due to their jealousy of the Pandavas, Duryodhana and the Kauravas, under the advice of their uncle Sakuni, invited them to a game of dice. In that game, they defeated the Pandavas through the unfair means of Sakuni and took over their kingdom, all their wealth and even themselves. Finally, they made Yudishtra pledge Draupadi in the game and won her as well. Wishing to insult them, they made Duschasana drag her to the court even though she was at that time in need of privacy. This ended in the decision to attempt to disrobe her in public, which Dushcasana began to carry out.
When she cried out for help, no one in the sabha, including Bheeshma, Drona and even the Pandavas, came to her aid. At that time, she remembered the sage Vasishta's words that Narayana is the sole refuge and surrendered to Him with both hands raised over her head
“shanka chakra gadApANe dvArakanilayAchyuta!
govinda! puNDarIkAksha! rakshamAm sharaNAgatam”
Realizing that she can neither depend on her own self nor on others for her protection, she made complete surrender to the Lord. It is next to impossible for a woman to give up her natural sense of modesty and let go of her dress in a public place. Such was her faith in Krishna. At that time, Sri Krishna was in Dvaraka. And from there itself, He made her dress grow, thereby tiring Duschasana and make him give up.
Thirukkolur Ammal is asking "Did I show complete faith in the Lord, like Draupadi (who lifted both
hands and took refuge in Him) did?"
Varththai 56
==========
56. ingu pAl pongum enREnO vaduganambiyaip pOlE
Vaduga Nambi (Andra Purna) was one of the close disciples of Swami Ramanuja. His faith in his acharya was unshakeable and superceded even bhagavad bhakti. This is known as Madhurakavi nishtai (also known as Charamopaya nishtai) - the acharya bhakti shown by madhurakavi Azhvar toward Nammazhvar. It is said that he would call Mudhaliyandan and Kooraththazhvan as "iru karaiyar" - meaning that they believe in both their acharya and the Lord. His take was that one should place their faith completely in one's acharya alone (as both the means and the end) and no one else.
One time while he was engaged in preparing milk for Ramanuja at Srirangam,
Namperumal's veedhi procession was occuring. As Namperumal came outside
Ramanuja's mutt, everyone went out to have His darshan. Ramanuja was outside and noticing Vaduga Nambi's absence called him to come outside. Vaduga Nambi refused saying that if he stepped out, then the milk he was preparing for Ramanuja would overheat, overflow and lose its flavor. Such was his acharya bhakti.
Thirukkolur Ammal is asking "Did I show the kind of acharya bhakti that Vaduga Nambi did?"
Varththai 57
===========
57. iru midaRu pidiththEnO selvappiLLaiyaip pOlE
Due to the problems created by the shaivite Chola king, Ramanuja had to leave
Srirangam. He headed to Karnataka to the Hoysala rajya. There he found that he did not have any more divine mud to wear the urdhva pundra. As he was wondering what to do,that night in his dream came the Lord Thirunarayana, who told him to go to Yadavadri.
The Lord told him "Yadavadri is no longer inhabited and I am buried under a mud hill.
Find me from the ground, install me in a temple and perform thiruvardhanam. You will also find the divine mud in Yadavadri for urdhva pundra".
Ramanuja took the help of the Hoysala king, discovered Thirunarayana Perumal and
himself performed thiruvaradhanam for Him for three days. However, as they were not able to find the utsava vigraha, he was sad. Again, Thirunarayana appeared in his dream and told him "Our utsava murthi, Ramapriyar, is with the daughter of the padsha at Delhi. Go there and return Him back here".
Ramanuja, therefore, left for Delhi. There he met the padsha, blessed him and asked him to return Ramapriyar. The king said that if Ramanuja invited Him and He responded, then he could take Him back. So Ramanuja invited Him like Periyazhvar called to Krishna in his divine pasurams "sArngapANi thaLar nadai nadavAnO".
Ramapriyar responded and walked with all His jewels ringing, to Ramanuja and sat in his lap. Ramanuja embraced Him and called Him "vArAy! en selvap piLLaiyE!" (Come my dear child). Ramapriyar also embraced Ramanuja by wrapping His divine hands around his neck. From that day forward, He was called "selvap piLLai" and "yatirAja selva kumAra".
Ramanuja then returned to Yadavadri with Selva Pillai and installed Him in the temple and performed utsavams for Him.
Thirukkolur Ammal is asking "Did I embrace the acharya like Selva Pillai did?"
Varththai 58
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58. nil enRu peRREnO idaiyARRUr nambiyaip pOlE
In our sampradhayam, the anticipation of the devotees to experience the Lord is greatlypraised. Nammazhvar in his thiruvaymozhi pasuram 7-10-4 says "kaNNapirAn than malaradip pOdhugaLE eppOdhum manaththu Ingu ninaigap peRa vAykkum kol". We also see the great anticipation that Akrura showed on his way to meet Krishna. There is an event related to this that is shown in Idu vyakhyanam.
At Srirangam, the Lord enjoys four brahmotsavams each year. A devotee from
Idaiyatrukudi called idaiyARRUr nambi would come to every utsavam on the first day
itself (angurArppaNam) and attend till the last day. Once he returned home, he would keep thinking of nothing but the utsavam. This was both his sustenance and pleasure. If someone told him that it was time to eat, he would ask in reply whether the next utsavam has neared.
When he became 100 years old, due to old age, he lost his strength. During one
brahmotsavam, he was unable to go to Srirangam on the first day itself. As such, he made it there only on the sixth day. Meanwhile, seeing that His devotee was not there on day one, Namperumal wondered "Idaiyatru Nambi has not made it to the first day of our utsavam". Seeing him on the sixth day, Nameprumal became very happy and told him "I would like to give you a boon". Nambi did not ask Him anything. Instead he mentioned "Through the body You gave me, I worshipped for these many years. Now that old age has come, this body is no longer capable of travel". Namperumal replied "From now on, stay here itself" (just as he had told Ramanuja to stay at Srirangam - "atraiva srIrange sukhamAsva"). And as Namperumal reached the next street in procession, Nambi left this
world and reached His divine abode.
Thirukkolur Ammal is asking "Did I worship Him and think about nothing else like
Idaiyatru Nambi did and was told by Namperumal to stay at His place?"
Varththai 59
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59. nedundhUram pOnEnO nAthamuniyaip pOlE
Nathamunigal's original name is Ranaganathamishrar. He is the primary acharya in Srivaishnava sampradhayam after Perumal, Thayar, Vishvaksenar and Nammazhvar. He is celebrated by Kooraththazhvan in his guru paramparai thaniyan as "lakshmInAtha samArambhAm nAtha yAmuna madhyamAm ...". It was through his great effort that the 4000 divya prabandha verses that were lost were obtained. Nathamunigal was a great exponent of the Ashtanga Yoga. He used that to meditate on Nammazhvar in Azhvar Thirunagari and obtained the Divya Prabandham from Azhvar.
He saw the Lord in everything in this world. One time, while he was in yoga, the Chola king came to his place with the women of his household to see him. After he left,Nathamunigal heard about the incident. He then left behind the king and walked all the way to the capital city of Gangai Konda Chozhapuram. His disciples followed him and met him there. They asked him why he had followed the king. Nathamunigal replied "I saw them as Sri Krishna and His gopikas and that's why I followed them". This is the state described by Nammazhvar "thiruvudai mannaraik kANil thirumAlaik kaNdEnE ennum" - Thiruvaymozhi 4-4-8.
Another time, Nathamunigal was deep in meditation. When he came out of it, the people in his household told him that two men who catch and train animals, a woman and a monkey came to see him and left. Nathamunigal replied "They must be Sri Rama,Lakshmana, Sita and Hanuman" and started heading in the direction that they went. As he went, he asked the people in the way if they had seen this group. They agreed and so he followed them all the way to Gangai Konda Chozhapuram. There when he made his enquiries about the group, people told him that they had not seen any such group.Hearing that, Nathamunigal became extremely sad, collapsed there itself and left for His abode.
Thirukkolur Ammal is asking "Did I walk a long distance looking for the Lord, like Nathamunigal did?"
Varththai 60
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60. avan pOnAn enREnO mAruthiyANdAn pOlE
Because of the troubles created by the Chola king, Ramanuja moved to Thirunarayanapuram in Karnataka and lived there many years (see vArththai 57). While
he was there, he would often remember Srirangam and Kooraththazhvan and missing them both would long for his return. This chola king is called "avyapadeshya" by
Srivaishnava acharyas - that is, one who is not worthy of being called by his name. He later died due to a festering wound in his neck and so was also refered to as "kirumi
kaNdan".
Ramanuja had a disciple called "mARenRillA mAruthi siRiyANdAn" or "mAruthiyANdAn". He called this disciple and told him to visit Srirangam and bring back news about the temple, Kooraththazhvan, Periya Nambigal and others.
Maruthiyandan went to Srirangam and gave the news about Ramanuja to those there. He also heard about Periya Nambigal attaining the Lord's lotus feet and Azhvan losing his eyes and became very sad. At that time, he also heard about the king's death. He became happy on hearing this news (as it meant Ramanuja could return to Srirangam) and walked very quickly back to Thirunarayanapuram.
At Thirunarayanapuram, he met Ramanuja and said "avan pOnAn", meaning that the chola king was dead. Hearing that, Ramanuja too became happy that he could now go
back to Srirangam and embraced Maruthiyandan and another disciple Ammangi Ammal who had gone with him. However, he too became very sad on hearing the news about Kooraththazhvan and Periya Nambigal. Afterward, he consoled himself and returned to
Srirangam.
Thirukkolur Ammal is asking "Did I walk a long distance and give good news to the acharya like Maruthiyandan did?"
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