SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImath varavaramunayE nama: SrI vAnAchala mahAmunayE nama:
avathArikai (Introduction)
nAyanAr says “AzhwAr only saw previously existing collection of pAsurams and revealed them”.
chUrNikai 47
nAl vEdham kaNda purANa rishi manthra dharSigaLaip polE ivaraiyum rishi muni kavi ennum.
Simple Explanation
Just as those who saw four vEdhams, purANas and manthras were said to be rishi, muni and kavi, AzhwAr is also said to be the same.
vyAkyAnam (Commentary)
That is,
nAl vEdham kaNda purANa rishi
As said in periya thirumozhi 8.10.1 “nAl vEdham kaNdAnE” (One who visualised the four vEdhams), just as ISvaran did in the beginning, vEdha vyAsa too visualised the four vEdhams and visualised the sequence of eighteen purANas as said in “ashtAdhaSa purANAnAm karthA sathyavathIsutha:” (vyAsa, the son of sathyavathi composed eighteen purANas). Such vEdha vyAsa is indicated here.
In “nAl vEdham kaNdAn“, nAyanAr could also be implying emperumAn visualising the four vEdhams in the form of vyAsa instead of directly visualising and revealing them. vyAsa is said to be bhagavAn himself in the sense that he is an AvESa avathAram (Partial incarnation) of bhagavAn as said in “sankIrNa budhdhayO dhEvA brahma rudhra purassarA: | SaraNyam SaraNam jagmu: nArAyaNamanAmayam | thair vigyApithakAryasthu bhagavAn purushOththama: avathIrNO mahAyOgI sathyavathyAm paraSarAth ||” (dhEvas starting with brahmA, Siva et al, having a bewildered mind, surrendered unto nArAyaNa who is the refuge for all and who has no faults; such purushOththama who heard their request, incarnated as a great sage as the son of parASara and sathyavathI) and mahAbhAratham “krishNa dhvaipAyanam vyAsam vidhdhi nArAyaNam prabhum” (Know that vyAsa who is known as krishNa dhvaipAyana, as nArAyaNa himself).
Such vEdha vyAsa bhagavAn, having visualised the past sequence of vEdhams and revealed it, considering the meanings such as “dharSanAth rishi” (One who visualises is a rishi), “mananaSeela: muni:” (one who meditates is a muni) and “kavi: krAnthidharSI” (kavi is the one who sees new things), he is said as rishi, muni and kavi as said in mahAbhAratham “SrUyathAm simhanAthOyam rishEsthasya mahAthmana: dharmE chArthE cha kAmE cha mOkshE cha bharatharshabha:” (Oh janamEjaya! Let vEdha vyAsa rishi’s work be heard which is like a lion’s roar in the matters of dharma, artha, kAma and mOksha), mahAbhAratham “Evam vidham bhAratham thu prOktham yEna mahAthmanA | sOyam nArAyaNas sAkshAth vyAsarUpI mahAmunI” (By which great personality, this mahAbhAratham was spoken, that vyAsa, the great muni) and mahAbhAratham “sAkshAllOkAth bhAvayamAna: kavimukhya: pArASarya:” (Among the kavis who purify the world, vyAsa is foremost). Those who have visualised manthras are said in vEdham as “nama rishibhyO manthra kruthbhya:” (Obeisances to those rishis who have seen the manthra), “bhagavAn Saunakamuni:” (Saunaka muni, the lord) to imply that they have said what was already existing and visualised by them. If they have been said as kavi, please see wherever such reference is found.
Thus, just as they were said in this manner, AzhwAr who have seen the pre-existing nature of these dhrAvida (thamiz) pAsurams, is said to be rishi, muni and kavi implying he visualised existing collection and spoke those as said in SrIrangarAja sthavam 1.6 “rishim jushAmahE krishNa thrishNA thathvamivOdhitham | sahasra SAkAm yO dhrAkshIth dhrAvidIm brahma samhithAm ||” (We worship the rishi who knew the upanishath known as thiruvAimozhi which has thousand pAsurams on the supreme lord, who is the embodiment of desire for krishNa who incarnated in this world), parAnkuSa ashtakam “SatakOpa munim vandhE SatAnAm budhdhidhUshakam | agyAnAm gyAna janakam thinthriNI mUlasamSrayam ||” (I worship SatakOpa muni who destroys the knowledge of Sata (a type of air which causes ignorance), who causes knowledge for the ignorant ones and who lives under the divine tamarind tree) and thiruvAimozhi 3.9.10 “ulagam padaiththAn kavi AyinERku” (poet of emperumAn who created the world).
adiyen sarathy ramanuja dasan
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