SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImadh varavaramunayE nama:
The explanation given by SrImadh ubhayavEdhAnthAchArya kAnchIpuram prathivAdhi bhayankaram aNNangarAchAryAr
This SlOkam (SrISailESa dhayApAthram) had been mercifully composed by SrI ranganAthan. We will confirm that this is the voice of emperumAn. It was SrI ranganAthan who had incarnated as SrI rAma and krishNa. During those incarnations too, he had attained certain individuals [as AchAryas], but he was not satisfied in his divine mind. To get rid of that deficiency, he was very happy that he had attained the perfect AchAryan. This has been manifested in this world in many distinguished ways.
SrISailESa dhayApAthram: During rAmAvathAram, emperumAn had attained an individual who was SailESa dhayApAthram, but he regretted that. Now, he feels uplifted by attaining a person who is SrISailESa dhayApAthram. The individual that SrI rAma had attained during rAmAvathAram, who was SrISailESa dhayApAthram, was sugrIvan. rishyamUkaparvam is the SrISailam (divine mountain) there. The ISan (controller) for that mountain was mAthanga muni. sugrIvan was the receptable for his mercy [dhayApAthram]. A powerful demon, named dhundhubi, called vAli for a fight. The two fought a ferocious battle. dhundhubi fell down, having been killed by vAli. vAli threw the dead body of dhundhubi over a distance of a yOjana (about 10 miles or 16 kilometers by present-day count). While his body was thrown, a few droplets of blood, which oozed out of his mouth, fell on the ASram (hermitage) of mAthanga muni. The munivar was very angry and gave out a curse that the person who desecrated his hermitage as well as those who are friendly towards him will die should they step on to the mountain where he was residing. Immediately, all those who were friendly towards vAli and who were living in that mountain, ran helter-skelter. sugrIva, who had severed his connection with vAli, went there with his important friends and lived in that place. Thus, he became the receptacle for SrISailESar’s mercy. SrI rAma, who befriended sugrIva, saying sugrIvam SaraNam gatha: (I take refuge under sugrIvan) and sugrIvam nAtham ichchathi (I desire that sugrIvan is my lord), became unhappy with sugrIva when sugrIva did not come to help SrI rAma, after monsoon season had ended, for locating sIthAppirAtti. Hence, SrI rAma told lakshmaNa “Oh lakshmaNa! Go to sugrIva and tell him that these are my words: one who had forgotten the good deed done to him is the lowest among people; the pathway of vALi is still open for sugrIva, too. I am willing to send him along with his relatives and friends to yamapuram (hell)” Thus, perumAL had a deficiency earlier of having been let down by a SrISailESa dhayApAthran. Now, as SrI ranganAthan, he feels uplifted by attaining a SrISailESa dhayApAthrar. He says that he salutes mAmunigaL who became the object of mercy of thirumalai AzhwAr (SrISailESa) who was also known by the name of thiruvAimozhip piLLai.
dhIbakthyAdhi guNArNavam: It is well known that during rAmAvathAram, emperumAn had fallen at the feet of the (king of) salty ocean. Going by vibhIshaNAzhwAn’s words “samudhram rAghavO rAjA SaraNam ganthumarhathi” (it is apt for king rAghavan (SrI rAma) to surrender to the feet of the king of ocean), Sri rAma had surrendered before the ocean; but here too, he had only disappointment. Since that king [of ocean] did not turn up to help SrI rAma, he became furious and told lakshmaNa “chApamAnaya saumithrE! sArAmcha AsIvishOpamAn sAgaramaSOshayishyAmi” (Bring me by bow and cruel arrows, lakshmaNa! I will make this ocean bed as a dry place). Thus, in a place where he had attempted to surrender, only rejection took place. To overcome that deficiency, instead of a salty ocean, he bowed down to maNavALa mAmunigaL, who is an ocean of auspicious qualities such as knowledge, devotion and detachment.
yathIndhra pravaNam: “mandhipAy vadavEngada mAmalai vAnavargaL sandhi seyya ninRAn arangaththu aravin aNaiyAn” (SrIranganAthan, who is lying on a serpent bed, is standing as thiruvEngadamudaiyAn at thirumalai to enable nithyasUris to worship him there). rAmAnujar gave divine disc and divine conch to that thiruvEngadamudaiyAn and was praised as “appanukkuch changAzhi aLiththaruLum perumAL” (one who mercifully gave the divine disc and divine conch to thiruvEngadamudaiyAn). It is well known that perumAL considered rAmANujar as his AchAryan. Though there was no grief with rAmANujar, after mercifully hearing the irAmANusa nURRandhAdhi pAsuram 97 “thannai uRRAtcheyyum thanmaiyinOr” (rAmAnujar made thiruvarangaththu amudhanAr (one who composed the prabandham irAmANusa nURRandhAdhi) to attain the divine feet of those who are carrying out kainkaryam to rAmAnujar), perumAL felt that it was better to remain as a disciple to yathIndhrapravaNar instead of to yathIndhrar himself – viz to maNavALa mAmuni himself instead of to rAmAnujar. Hence, he says that he salutes yathIndhra pravaNar.
vandhE ramyajAmAtharam munim: When perumAL had incarnated as SrI rAma and as krishNa, he had been disciple to AchAryars – to viSvAmithrar in SrI rAmAvathAram and to sAndhipani munivar in krishNavathAram. However, he had only dejection in both cases. In king janakar’s palace where he had gone along with viSvAmithran, he heard the narrations about viSvAmithran from SathAnandhar, son of gauthamar, as seen in SrI rAmAyaNam bAlakANdam 51st sargam, wherein SathAnandar told SrI rAma about how viSvAmithra united with mEnaka, how he fought with vaSishta etc where he had displayed thamO and rajO guNams which made him despair thinking “Did we approach such a person as an AchAryan?” In krishNAavathAram, when he went to sAndhipani rishi to learn all the fine arts, he had asked his AchAryan as to what gurudhakhsiNai (an honour given to an AchAryan, usually in the form of remuneration) he wanted, his lost son to be brought back despite knowing that krishNa was indeed SrIman nArAyaNan and could have asked for mOksham itself. Thus, rejecting the two munis who were after material needs, perumAL took an ocean of auspicious qualities and who had total detachment, as his AchAryan.
Thus, only emperumAn could have recited such a SlOkam which has distinguished meanings. Since these are matters which were residing in his divine heart, these could not have been appropriated by anyone else. Hence it is confirmed that these are the words of perumAL himself.
This brings us to the end of yathIndhra pravaNa prabhAvam
dhivyadhampathi thiruvadigaLE SaraNam
AzhwAr emperumAnAr jIyar thiruvadigaLE SaraNam
piLLai lOkam jIyar thiruvadigaLE SaraNam
adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan
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