AchArya hrudhayam – 89

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avathArikai (Introduction)

nAyanAr establishes the aupAdhikathvam (occuring based on a reason, namely karma) of varNa, through an example.

chUrNikai 89

idhin aupAdhikathvam oru rAjA thannai maRai munivanAkkinavan nIchanAkkuviththa rAjAvai vArE uRuppAga yajippiththu svargam ERRinapOdhE theriyum.

Simple Explanation

The aupAdhikathvam of varNa is seen in the incident of a king [viSvAmithra] when he engaged another king [thriSanku] who was turned to be a lowly person by a person [vasishta] who turned viSvAmithra to become a brahma rishi, in a yagya and sent to svargam (heaven).

vyAkyAnam (Commentary)

That is – the aupAdhikathvam of varNa is very clearly understandable in the incident where viSvAmithra who was born in the kauSika clan and had the desire to become a brahma rishi [the title which is usually given to great sages who were born in brAhmaNa family], and performed thapas for a long time; vasishta, the greatly capable sage, made him a brahma rishi as said in perumAL thirumozhi 10.2 “mandhirangoL maRai munivan” (sage viSvAmithra, who has all the manthras (hymns) with him and who is well versed in vEdhams (sacred texts)); thriSanku, a descendant of ikshvAku, did not listen to vasishta’s words and insulted him; seeing that, vasishta’s sons cursed him and turned him into a chaNdALa to have the yagyOpavItha on his chest become the belt worn by chaNdALas; viSvAmithra turned that same belt to a skin cloth which is a limb of yagya and raised him to svargam using the power acquired from penances.

With this, everyone can see the varNa being changeable by karma since 1) a kshathriya by the result of a good deed, becomes a brahma rishi in the same body, 2) a kshathriya by the result of a bad deed, becomes a chaNdALa in the same body, 3) the one who lost his kshathriya nature and became a brahma rishi, even before becoming brahma rishi, engaged a king who lost his kshathriya nature and became a chaNdALa, raised him to svargam, with that same chaNdALa form.

adiyen sarathy ramanuja dasan

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