Sri Oppilaippan Thirumanjanak Kattiyam
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1 . Jaya Vijayee Bhava ! Sri Bhagavan NaarAyaNa !
PanchAvathAra ! Swamin ! paraak ! BhU Vallabha ParAk !
( Hail to Thee ! Oh Lord NaarAyaNA ! May Thou be victorious !Oh Lord , who took five manifestations at ThiruviNNagar as Yennappan , Ponnappan , Mutthappan, MaNiappan and ThiruviNNagrappan ! Oh the supreme Master of the Universe ! Hark ! Oh dear one to Bhumi Piraatti ! Hark ! This type of announcements is used at Royal courts by VaithALikAs or KattiyakkArars to announce the presence/arrival of Kings. Our Lord is King of Kings and Deva Raajan . Hence , such a Kattiyam is a fitting start ).
2 .sankalpa kalpalathikAm avadhim kshamAyA :
svEcchA VarAhamahisheem sulabhAnukampAm I
Visvasya mAtharam akinchana kAmadhEnum
VisvambharAm asaraNa: SaraNam prapadhyE II
( It is common tradition to salute the PirAtti of the Lord first because of Her PurushkAram or power to plead with Her Lord to pardon our gross sins and grant us Moksham . Here the Prayer Of Swami Desikan to Bhumi DEvi in his BhU sthuthi is included . This is the first slOkam of BhU sthuthi of Swami Desikan .
Meaning of this slOkam : Bhumi DEvi is like a Kalpaka creeper that grants the wishes desired by those who areHer adiyArs ; She puts up with the trespasses of adiyArs and forgives them. In this matter , She is the limit of forbearance .She readily grant s Her grace to Her adiyArs. She stands in the role of Mother of the universe and treats all chEthanAs with equal affection .She is a veritable wish granting KaamadhEnu for those , who perform Prapatthi to Her , when they are unable to undertake Bhakthi Yo gam as their preferred route for their salvation .I ,Swami Desikan, who has no other succor surrender unto Her with the above
auspicious kalyANa guNAs )
3.Srimacch SaDAri Kalivairi Mahath SarObhi:
nAthAgamAntha gurumukhya gurUtthamaisccha I
samvAnchithAthisayitha priya mangaLou Thau
Bhuvallabhasya charaNou SaraNam prapathyE II
( This is the eighth slokam of Sri Oppiliappan Prapatthi sthuthi . The saraNAgathan says here :
" I perform Prapatthi at the sacred feet of ThiruviNNagarappan , which have received the exalted mangaLAsAsanams of NammAzhwAr, Thirumangai ,Poygai AzhwAr , pEy AzhwAr , Naatha Muni and NigamAntha MahA Desikan ".)
4.yaavadh AvarthathE chakram yaavathee cha VasundharA I
thaavath tvamiha Sarvasya SwAmithvam anuvarthaya II
( This is the twelfth slOkam of Sri Oppilaippan MangaLam . The author prays to the Lord :
" Oh ThiruviNNagarappA ! May Thou Lord over this universe as Sarva Swaami and protect all janthus as long as there are Chandran,Sooryan and the stars ).
5.udhyath kOti divaakarEndhu subhagam peethAmBharAlankrutham
naanAbhUshaNa bhUshitham navaghana shyAmam prasannAnam I
lAvaNyAmbhunidhim nirasthalavaNam Srisankha chakrAnjitham
SrivaikuntapurAdhipam Subhatanum BhUmyA: pathim samsrayE II
( This is the first slOkam of Sri Oppiliappan"s
SuprabhAtham and also serves as a dhyAna slOkam .
Meaning: I worship always the Lord of Bhumi Devi, ThiruviNNagarappan , who appears in effulgence like crores of rising Suns ; He is resplendent with all kinds of Jewelery and is bedecked in a beautiful peethAmbharam ; He has the dark bluish hue remindi ng one of the dark clouds of the rainy season and has a cool countenance , which is a treasure house
of beauty ; He adorns Sudarsanam and Paanchajanyam in His upper hands and destroys completely the sins of those who worship Him ; He has banished any desire for
salt in His naivEdhyams consistent with the promise He made to Sage MarkandEyA to win the hand of his daughter in marriage at Tulasi Vanam ).
6. taapAn kshipan prasavithA sumanOgaNAnAm
pracchAya seethaLataLa: pradisan phalAni I
tvath samgamAdh bhavathi Maadhavi labdhapOsha:
saakhA satairadhigathO HarichandhanOsou II
( This is the seventh slOkam of Bhu Sthuthi of Swami Desikan .Here, the famous AchAryA points out that ThiruviNNagarappan's glories grow multifold as a result of His union with Bhumi Devi. Swami compares the Lord to a Harichandhanaa tree saluted by hun dreds of Veda saakhAs and points out that this wish granting tree becomes reinfoced in its power to bless the prapannAs due to its association with Bhumi DEvi.There is only one thAyAr at
ThiruviNNagar(viz)., Bhumi DEvi and the Lord is never ever separated from Her ).
7 .taapatrayeem niravadhim bhavathee dhayArdhrA :
samsAra garma janithAm sapadhi kshipantha:I
maathar bhajanthu madhurAmrutha varsha maithreem
MaayA Varaaha dayithE mayi thE katAkshA : II
( This is the 31st slOkam of Bhu Sthuthi of Swami Desikan. Since ThiruviNNagar is NaacchiyAr Koil , where there is prAdhanyam for Bhumi DEvi , we salute Her especially . Her Lord would enjoy it and welcome it even more than salutations directed at Him .
Meaning of the SlOkam : Oh Mother of the Universe !
Oh Devi who incarnated as the divine consort of Your Lord , who appeared out of His own volition as Varaaha Murthy ! This samsAram is a veritable parched summer.
The three tApams desicate the chethanams in samsAric existence . The intense sufferings from the three kinds of Taapams are instantly quelled by your cool kataakshams . May Your cool glances resembling the nectarine rain fall on me also and destroy my taapams ) .
8.tvam mE aham mE kuthastath tadhapi kutha
idham vEdamUla pramANAth
yEthaccha aNAdhisiddhAth anubhava vibhavAth
tarhi sAkrOsa yEva I
kvAkrOsa: kasya GithAdheeshu mama vidhitha:
kOathra sAkshee sudhee syAth
hantha tvath pakshapAthee sa ithi nrukalahE
mrugyamadhyasThavath tvam II
( This passage is from the Thirumanjanak Kattiyam of ParAsara Bhattar for Sri RanganAthA . This is the first of the stray verses of his Kattiyam sung in front of Sri RangarAjA during His hirumanjanam even today . This is in the form of a captivating di alog between a stubborn chethanam and its Master, the Lord Himself .
The Lord of Srirangam notices the "impunity and stubbornness " of the Jeevan , which considers itself to be a svathanthra purushan . The Lord in wet clothes from His just begun Thirumanjanam reminds the argumentative Jeevan that it is not ind ependent and it is His property as attested by VedAs , GitA and men of wisdom . The Jeevan disagrees with the Lord wearing a TuLasi garland on His wet body . ParAsara Bhattar reminds us that the situation
of the Lord proving His claim over His Lordship over the protsting and deluded Jeevan is like practise of DivyA referred to in smr*ithi texts . Divya practise relates to taking an oath to give testimony . To prove the ancient sesha-Seshi relationship b etween the Jeevan
and the Lord , Parasara Bhattar constructed this wonderful, imaginary dialog :
Lord : tvam mE ( You are Mine ; I own You ).
Jeevan : aham mE ( No, I belong to myself; I am independent)
Lord : Kuthas tath? (No, How could that be possible ?)
Jeeavn :Tadhapi kutha: ? ( How about Your own claim ? )
Lord: idham vEda moola pramANAth ( My claim is based on
the authority of the VedAs )
Jeevan : yEthacchAnaAdhi siddhAth anubhava vibhavAth
( My position however is based on my own experience ,
which is " beginnigless in nature").
Lord : Tarhi SaakrOsa yEva( But that position of yours
has alrady been repudiated )
Jeevan : KaakrOsa: kasya ? ( where and by whom was
this repudiated ? )
Lord: GitAdheeshu mama vidhitha: ( By Me , ofcourse !
I repudiated it clearly in GitA )
Jeevan: kOathra Saakshi: ? ( Pray , who is the witenss
for Your repudiation in GitA ? )
Lord: Sudhee: syAth ( A man of wisdom and clear mind)
Jeevan :Hantha, tvath pakshapaadheesa ( Well , well!
Then Your wise man is partial to You ).
Lord's above conversation with the deluded soulreminding of its eternal sesha realtionship (servitude) to the Lord is to be remembered by us during the Thirumanjanam . He is attesting to that sacred truth with wet cloth and Tulasi garland .
9. SvAmi SvasEsham Svavasam SvabharathvEna nirbharam I
Svadhattha SvadhiyA SvArTham Svasmin nyasyasi mAm Svayam II
( This slOkam is one of the most important slOkam of
SWami Desikan's NyAsa Dasakam , where he performed SaraNAgathi at the lotus feet of Our PerumAL standing as archA on top of Hasthigiri .We recite it regularly to remind of the Sesha-Seshi relationship that cna not ever be cut asunder between us and the Master , our Lord . This uRavu is " ozhikka OzhiyAthu " as Bhumi Piratti pointed out in Her THiruppaavai paasuram .This is the uRavu that ANDAL's father , PeriyAzhwAr , referred to in his
ThiruppallANdu paasuram :
" Yenthai tanthai tanthai tanthai tamm
mUtthappan yEzhpaDik kaal thoDangi
vanthu vazhi vazhi aatc cheyhinROm "
Swami Desikan instructs us here about Saathvika ThyAgam constituted by its three parts (viz)., Karthruthva thyAgam, MamathA thyAgam and Phala thyAgam , in this most important
slOkam . The gist of the meaning of this slOkam is as follows :
Sriman NaarayaNan is the Lord of us all . I am his bonded servant . I stay totally at His command .He gave me Himself this jn~Anam about my status and eternal relationship . With the blessings of this jn~Anam , He has made sure that I understand that t here is nothing else for me to do for my protection and has accepted total responsibility for my protection . The fruits arising out of my protection also belongs to Him . He has made sure that I am not connected with that fruit of that rakshaNam and has now placed me at His own lotus feet and
releived me of all responsibilities and concerns.
10. naNNalariya pirAnE NaaraNA neerAda Vaaraai
vaaitha puhazh MaNivaNNA manjanamAda nee vaarAi
vaNNam azhahiya namBee manjanamAda vaarAi
mANikkamE yenn maNiyE manjanmAda vaarAi
The above four lines are from PeriiyAzhwAr's NeerAttam paasuram that we recite during the Lord's Thirumanjanam . Here PeriyAzhwAr transforms Himself into YashOdhA piratti , the anxious mother chasing the Aayar kulak kozhundhu and persuading her dear so n to stand still so that she can enjoy bathing Him .
The meaning of these four lines assembled here are :
Oh, My NaarAyaNA !Oh Lord who is not easy to approach normally ! Please come hither for Your enjoyable bath . Oh Lord with gem-bedecked aabharaNams ! Oh Lord with the hue of blue sapphire ! Oh Lord of fixed glory ! Please come near to take Your sacred bath . Oh Lord with the ThirumEni celebrated for its unparalleled soundharyam ! Please come over here to permit me to bathe You. Oh my cherished red ruby ! my dear gem of a son ! Please do not run away . Come now and come here so that I can perform Thiru mnajanam for You .
11. ninRa marAmaram saaytthAi nee piRantha ThiruvONam
inRu, nee neerAdavEndum EmpirAn OdAthE vaarAi
nin thiratthEnallEn namBee nee piRantha ThirunannAL
nanRu nee neeradavENdum NaaraNA OdAthE vaarAi
These portions of the Neeraattam paasurams from periyAzhwAr remind YasOdhA Bhaagyam that it is His birthday , when SravaNa nakshathram is in ascendance and it is essential that He should receive His visEsha Thirumanjanam on this special day . YasOdhA a ppeals to her quick-footed son not to run away from her . She concedes that she does not fully comprehend His glories as SarvEsvaran , who felled the YamaLArjunams ( the twin marutham trees in her garden )and performed many adhbhuthams as Her son in gOku lam as an infant .
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Dear BhakthAs : We will continue here with the divya prabhandham-based salutations to ThiruviNNagarappan that request Him to accept our loving invitation to take part in His Thirumanjanam . Kattiya Vaakhyams from 12-15 address Him with affection and eu logize His glories . The meanings of these divya prabhandham sections are given in paranthesis after the Kattiya Vaakhyams :
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
12. aNNal seythalai kadal kadainthathunuL
kaNNuthal nanjuNNakkaNda PerumALE !
pOthalar nedumudip puNNiyap PerumALE !
pUmaru pozhilaNi ViNNahar vaazh PerumALE !
Kadal soozh Ilankai RaavaNanai seRRa PerumALE !
kOthil senkOl kudai mannaridai nadantha PerumALE !
( Oh Lord , who commanded the army of devAs and asurAs as well as churned the milky ocean
to bring out the nectar !Oh Lord , who witnessed during that occasion Your grandson , ParamEsvaran partaking the Haala Haala Visham for the protection of the world and its beings to please You ! Oh Lord with the resplendent , tall crown decorated with the garlands made up of freshly blossomed flowers of the day ! Oh Lord residing eternally in the KshEthram of ThiruviNNagar known for its beautiful groves populated with diverse flowering trees ! Oh Lord , who ended the life of the arrogant RaavaNA , the king of LankhA surrounded by the Oceans ! Oh Lord, who walked among the rows of kings assembled in DuryOdhanan's court on behalf of
the PaandavAs as their ambassador(Paandava DhUthan)!
13. Vanthu kuRaLuruvAi nimirnthu maavali
vELviyil maNNaLantha EmpirAnE !
nila madanthai tannai idanthu pulhik
kOttidai vaitthu niRkum EmpirAnE !
(Oh Lord, who appeared at the Yaj~na saalai of MahA Bali as a dwarf and then expanded in all directions as Thrivikraman to measure the earth , the sky and the region in between with Your two steps ! Oh Lord , who brought back BhUmi dEvi from below the ocean , embraced Her and positioned Her with great affection by the side of Your gigantic tusk and who gives us Your darsanam as BhU VarAha PerumAn !)
14. kunRaal kuLir maari Tadutha aruLALA !
kOlAl nirai mEyttha yemkOvalar KaNNA !
(Oh most benovlent KaNNA , who protected the residents of Gokulam from the wrath of Indran by lifting Govardhana Giri as an umbrella against his ferocious ice storm mingled with boulders ! Oh Lord who took the simple duties of a cowherd to graze the co ws for the pleasure of being with the GopAs and Gopis at BrindhAvanam !)
15. undhimEl naanmuhanai padaittha PemmAnE !
tannadiyAr manatthenRum amudhamAhi thihazhvOnE !
( Oh magnanimous One , who created the four-faced BrahmA on a lotus that sprouted out of Your naabhi!
Oh Lord , who always pervades the heart region of Your dear ones as nectarine presence there !)
16. Aazhi mazhaik KaNNA ! poovaip poo VaNNA !
mey niNru kEttaruLAi adiyEn seeyum ViNNappamE !
( Oh Mandala nirvAhaka Parjanya PrabhO ! Oh Lord , who nourishes the world with abundant , life giving rains in Your role as the power behind VaruNa Devan ! Oh Athasi pushpa samaana varNa !Oh Lord, who has the blue hue of the KaasAm poo ! Please bless us by listening to our humble and fervent request ! )
17. yEkikrutha dhyumaNi Bimbha sahasra dheepthi kireetamum
(with Your resplendent Crown shining with the unified radiance of thousands of Suns)
kuDila kunthaLa kaanthi rUpamaana thrukk kuzhar KaRRayum
(with Your abundant curly locks of shining black hair)
vikacha pankaja lOchanamudaya unn Thirumuha mandalamum
( with Your face lighting up with the lustre of a just blossomed lotus )
ashtami Chandranukku samAnamAna Thiru neRRiyum
( with Your forehead shining like the beautiful, semi-circular ashtami Moon )
laavaNya varshiNi lalADa taDE Bibhrath Urdhva punDramum
( With Your ThirumaNN kaappu shining and blessing us with its radiance from its palce
in Your forehead )
aakarNithE aasA: prasAdhayithum Thiruccheviyum
( With Your ears, which have the power to fulfill the people's prayers at the same
instant they receive the appeal for help from Your adiyArs)
kandharpa lAncchana tanu samAnamAna makara kuNdalangaLum
( with Your lovely Makara Kundalams reminding us about the insignia of the fish on the flag of
Manmathan , Your son )
kaama saraasanasya maathrukA rUpamaana puruvankaLum
( With Your bewitching brows reminding us of the bow
of Manmathan )
aalakshya Satthvam athivEla dayOttharangamAna kaNNKaLum
( With Your mercy-laden befriending eyes that resemble the well stocked ocean full of life and lulled there
by the gentle waves of Your DayA )
avaikaLil uLLa anAmaya Vaakhya garbhangaL koNda
katAkshangaLum
( With the embedded message in Your eyes that are pregnant with the concern for our KshEmam )
nigama nisvasithamAna Thiru mookkum
( with the beauty of Your nose that inhales the Vedams as its prANan )
kovaip Pazhatthai pazhikkum thiruvatharankaLum
( With Your beautiful red lips , which defeat easily the beautiful red hue of Kovai fruits)
sankha nibhamaana thiruk Kazhutthum
( with the beauty of Your neck reminding one of a lovely conch in its shape )
aajAnu lambhithamAna thiruk kaikaLum
( with Your long arms reaching all the way down to the knees)
padhAravindham kANpikkum dakshiNa karamum
( With Your right hand showing Your lotus feet)
samsAra saagaram ivvaLavu thaan yena kaaNpikkum
vaama kati hasthamum
( With Your left hastham indicating that the fearsome ocean of Samsaram is only thigh deep )
Srivatsa Kousthubha RamA vanamaalika angamAyudya
Thiru maarpum
( With Your chest housing Srivatsam , KousthubhA
gem, Periya PirAtti and the Vyjayanthi Vana Maalai)
aardhram tama mathanam aasritha tArakamAna ThiruvuLLamum
( With Your ThiruvuLLam that is moist with the flow of DayA and offering protection to those who seek
Your refuge )
dayithOpadhAnamaana Thirut thodaikaLum
( With the strong and beautiful thighs serving as the pillows for Your devis)
gOpAngaNEshu krutha chankraNamAna jaanukkaLum
( with Your Beautiful knees that crawled across the houses of GopAs of Gokulam )
Ramaa MaheebhyAM samvAhithamAna charaNa padmankaLum
( with Your sacred feet pressed by Sri and BhU devis )
sankha chakrAdhi aayuthankaLUm, azhagiya AbharaNankaLUm
sErnthu jaajvalvyamAi viLangum devareerikku , adiyEN
seyyum oru viNNappamum ithuvE
(May I as Your adiyavan beseech You to listen to my humble request as You give us the blessings
of sEvai of Your SubhAsrayam in Archai at ThiruviNNagar with Your sacred weapons , beautiful ornaments ,
golden yellow peethAmparam and sarvAnga Soundharyam ? )
DandakAraNyatthil nadantha kaLai aaravO
BrindhAvanatthil aadi Odiya vaattam theeravO
OthamAkadalaik kadanthEri RaavaNanai azhittha kaLaippO
singamathAi avuNan thiralAham keeNda asathiyO
Bhumip pirAttiyai thEdi Odiya thApam theeravO
ThAyAi vantha pEyin uyirai urinchiya mayakku aravO
paanchAli koonthal mudikka Bharathap pOrr seytha asathiyO
kaNNinuNN siRut thAmpinAl uNdAna vidAi theeravO
Devareer Thirumanjanam KaNdaruLi , kOlam seythu ,
inghE ninRu , adiyOmOdum ninnOdum pirivinRi
aayiram pallANdu , manperu vaanaham uyya, amarar uyya ,
maNN uyya , unn tann leelA vibhUthiyil manisar uyya ,
thunbamihu tuyarhaL ahala , ayarvonrilA aanandham vaLara ,
ahamellaam poorikkum Thondar uLLam kuLira , Sri MarkanDEya
Maharishi kaNdu kaLitthu pallANdu paada ,
YennappanE , Yenn MaNiyE , MutthE , PonnE ,
amudhamE , pallvahayum parantha PerumAnE ,
Devareer manjanamAdi aruLvathE !
Parama NaarAyaNa ! BhUvallabha ! SravaNa
VenkatEsA ! Jaya Vijayee Bhava !
Sankha tArA , Padhma TaarA , Sahasra TaarA
mukEna theerttha thrayam prakatayathi
AbhishEka Vaari .
Bumi Devi SamEtha Sri Oppiliappan
Thiruvadit ThaamaraikaLE SaraNam .
AzhwAr, AchAryan ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam .
DaasAnu Daasan Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri SadagOpan
Subhamasthu , KrishNArpaNam .
