GITA 10.35

GITA 10.35

SWAMI YAMUNACHARYA

yath padhAmbhOruhadhyAna vidhvasthAsEsha kalmasha:
vasthuthAmupayA dhOham yAmunEyam namAmitham

This sloka in praise of Swami Alavandar (ஆளவந்தார்) was composed by Swami Ramanuja. Like his grandfather Swami Nathamuni, Swami Alavandar also was born in this kshetram, Kattu Mannar Koil. Iswara Muni was the son of Swami Natahamuni and Swami Alavandar, whose original name was Yamunai Thuraivan (யமுனைத்துறைவன்) was the son of Iswara Muni. We will now see briefly, how Yamunai Thuraivan became Swami Alavandar and how he became the Acharya of Swami Ramanuja. 

There was a King in the region where Yamunai Thuraivan lived when he was a boy. Tha King had a vidwan (pundit) Akki Alwan (ஆக்கி ஆள்வான்) and the King was very proud that none could defeat his vidwan in learning. But the King was also aware that Yamunai Thuraivan was also well learned and so he wanted to engage him in a debate with his vidwan Akki Alwan. So a letter was sent to Yamunai Thuraivan to come to the Royal Assembly. But Yamunai Thuraivan rejected it and a fierce argument took place between the King and his Queen, who supported Yamunai Thuraivan. It was decided between them that in case Yamunai Thuraivan won a debate with Akki Alwan, the King would grant him half his Kingdom. Accordingly, a palanquin was sent to invite Yamunai Thuraivan. 

When Yamunai Thuraivan arrived, the Vidwan mocked at him and asked him whether he had studied anything? Yamunai Thuraivan replied that setting aside what he learnt, he wanted Akki Alwan should refute some simple statements Yamunai Thuraivan would make and establish his refutals with proper supporting Shastras. Yamunai Thuraivan put forward Three statements. First was that Akki Alawan's  mother was not infertile. Akki Alwan should refute this by stating that his mother was infertile and had no children! The Second statement was that the King was righteous and Akki Alwan should refute this by saying that the King was not righteous! Finally, the Third statement was even more disastrous! Yamunai Thuraivan stated that the Queen was a chaste woman and Akki Alwan should refute it by stating that the Queen was not chaste! Akki Alwan was terribly embarrassed as each statement was potent with serious consequences. So, Akki Alwan demanded answers from Yamunai Thuraivan, failing which he would be subject to serious punishments by the King!
Yamunai Thuraivan accepted and gave fitting replies. For the First statement, according to Shastras, the banana tree which gives only one yield is considered infertile and so any woman who had only one child is supposed to be infertile! And, Akki Alwan was his mother's only child!
As per Shastras, though a King may be righteous, any misdoings by his subjects are considered as the King's misdoings and so that way the King is not righteous!
Since the Queen differed with the King regarding the supremacy of Akki Alwan, as per Shastras, she was not 100% chaste!
Thus Akki Alwan was defeated and the Queen was very much pleased and conferred the title "nammai alavandeer!" (நம்மை ஆளவந்தீர்! you have come to rule us!), indicating her triumph over the King! Thus Yamunai Thuraivan became Alavandar ("Come to Rule" )! Yamunai Thuraivan also got half the Kingdom and became a King! But how can a King become an Acharya?!
Swami Nathamuni had a disciple Uyyak Kondar (உய்யக்கொண்டார்). His disciple was Manakkal Nambi(மணக்கால் நம்பி) and Yamunai Thuraivar became his disciple. Swami Nathamuni had left lots of learning to be imparted to his grandson and had accordingly instructed his disciple Uyyak Kondar. He could not do that and this responsibility was passed on to Manakkal Nambi, who could not get the audience of King Yamunai Thuraivan! He devised a plan and supplied 'tuduvalai' greens (தூதுவளை கீரை) to the royal cook to properly cook and serve in the daily meals for the King Yamunai Thuraivan. The cook did that and this went on for nearly six months. Then Manakkal Nambi suddenly stopped the supply. The King noticed the change and wanted to meet the person who was supplying the greens. When Manakkal Nambi appeared again, the cook promptly took him to the King Yamunai Thuraivan! The King asked Manakkal Nambi as what was he expecting in supplying greens to the King. Manakkal Nambi replied that he did not want anything but wanted to give the King the 'wealth' his grandfather had deposited with Nambi. Then Nambi told that the great 'wealth' of Bagawat Gita was to be passed on to Yamunai Thuraivan. Then he preached Gita to Yamunai Thuraivan and he learnt it with great enthusiasm. Then, he wanted Nambi to show him the Lord mentioned in Gita and Nambi took him to Srirangam and got him a darshan of Lord Sri Ranganatha. The Lord also graced Alavandar specially and immediately, Alavandar renounced his kingdom and family and took to Sanyasam or priesthood. His disciple was Swami Periya Nambi, whose disciple was Swami Ramanuja. Swami Ramanuja was not the direct disciple of Swami Alavandar. Like Ekalavya to Drona, Swami Ramnuja was not a direct disciple of Swami Alavandar.
In his lifetime, Swami Alavandar once on a visit to Kanchipuram, saw Ilaiyazhwar (இளையாழவார் original name of Swami Ramanuja) at the Kariya Manikka Perumal sannidhi ( கரிய மாணிக்க பெருமாள்) along with Ilaiazhwar's at that time Acharya Swami Yadava Prakasa. Swami Alavandar blessed him from a distance. That is why Swami Ramanuja pays his tribute (as mentioned in the beginning of this post) that he bows to Swami Yamunacharya, because of whom he, with all blemishes, became a worthy person. But for Swami Alavandar, Swami Ramanuja would not have been able to write Gita Bhashyam and we would not be knowing Gita as being described in these posts. Swami Alavandar composed Siddhitrayam, Stotra Ratnam and Chatusloki.

SWAMI ALAVANDAR

We will briefly see today's sloka, 35:

brhat-sama tatha samnam
gayatri chandasam aham
masanam marga-sirso 'ham
rtunam kusumakarah

"Of hymns, I am the Brhat-sama sung to the Lord Indra, and of poetry, I am the Gayatri verse, sung daily by Brahmanas. Of months, I am November and December, and of seasons, I am flower-bearing spring."

Again another four groups are mentioned. Of samams, He is brihatsamam. Sama Veda is musical portion of the Vedas. There are Two Samams: Brihat Samam and Rasansara Samam. Brihat Samam represents the mind and Rasansara Samam represents the speech. Then He says that He is Gayatri among chandas (poetic metres). Gayatri chandas is one of the Seven chandas, which, as horses, pull the chariot of the Sun. Gayatri chandas has 24 syllables, in one sloka. It is considered as the Mother of chandas. The Lord says that He is the month Margaseersha (Tamil Margazhi corresponding to December-January) among months.  That is the month when people get up very early and chant Tiruppavai and worship the Lord in temples. This month is the early morning for Devas. Our one Earth year is equal to one day for Devas. Then Lord Sri Krishna says that He is Vasanta Rutu among Six Rutus. That is He is the Spring season in a year. That is the season when flowers blossom. We will now take leave of Kattu Mannar Koil.

SWAMI NATHAMUNI AND GRANDSON SWAMI ALAVANDAR

                                                                                                          (continued)

GITA 10.34

GITA 10.34

Lakshminatha samarambam natha yamuna madhyamamam|

Asmad acharya paryantham vande guru paramparam||

This sloka was composed by Swami Koorathalwan, a disciple of Swami Ramanuja. From this, we understand our guru parampara or the hierarchy of teachers. Lakshminatha indicates the Husband of Sri Maha Lakshmi, that is Sriman Narayana. In our Acharya hierarchy, the Lord appears First. He is the One Who gave the Vedas to the World. He also provided us Gita. Next, comes Sri Mahalakshmi. The third is Vishvaksena, the Army Commander in Vaikuntam. Fourth is Nammalwar, the leader among Alwars. Swami Nathamuni enjoys the status as the disciple of Nammalwar, as he got the Nalayira Divya Prabhandam directly from the Alwar. Thus Swami Nathamuni ranks first among Acharyas. We may get confused as to whether the Lord is the First Acharya or Swami Nathamuni. The Fist Three, starting from the Lord, are all in Vaikuntam. Next the Ten Alwars appeared on this earth. They were Alwars and from Swami Nathamuni, Acharyas appeared. Alwars composed the original text of Nalayira Divya Prabhandam. Acharyas, on the other hand, wrote commentaries on them and preached and made singing of them a custom in temples. Alwars were deeply engrossed in the glory of the Lord. They never resorted to preaching and expressed their experience in pasurams. But Acharyas mingled with the common people and preached. Alwars never mingled with public and for them Bhagavat anubhavam or experience with the Lord, was the primary purpose. Acahryas travelled all over and preached to individuals. This difference we should remember. In such Acharyas' hierarchy, Swami Nathamuni is the First. He was born some 4000 years after Nammalwar. Now it is 5108 years (in September, 2008) after Nammalwar was on this earth. According to Gregorian calendar, Swami Nathamuni was in the 9th Century. We are in his birth place Kattumannar koil. Tirumangai Alwar in his Tirunadunthandakam, says the Lord was in North in Tirumala, in South in Tirumaliruncholai [Azhagar Koil], in West in Srirangam and in East in Tirukkannapuram. Swami Periyavachan Pillai, however, has determined that what Alwar meant for the East is Kattumannar koil, which gave us Swami Nathamuni to establish Visishtadvaitam. His original name was Ranganatha muni. He was born in the month of Ani [ஆனி] in the star Anusham [அனுஷம்]. He was not aware of Alwars' pasurams. By a design of the Lord, Two persons knowledgeble in just Ten pasurams of Nammalwar came to him. They sang the pasurams starting with aravamude adiyen udalam nin pal..[ஆராவமுதே! அடியேன் உடலம் நின் பால்..]. These pasurams wrere in praise of Sri Sarngapani or Sri Aravamudan of Kumbakonam or Tiru Kudandhai. In the Archana namavali of the Lord, Sri Sarngapani, He is praised as Dravida sruti darsakaya nama: [द्रविड वेद दर्सकाय नम:] meaning Exposer of Dravida Vedas [Nalayira Divya Prabhandam] to the World at large. In the last of the ten pasurams it was mentioned that these pasurams were composed by Kurugur Satakopan, and formed part of the Thousand pasurams. Deeply fascinated by these, Swami Nathamuni wanted to listen to the remaining 990 pasurams. But the guests were not knowing and suggested Swami Nathamuni could try in Kurugur. Swami Nathamuni started his search and in Kurugur, though he could not get the remaining pasurams, he got an important clue that Madurakavi Alwar had sung in praise of Nammalwar and they were 11 pasurams called kanninun siruthambu [கண்ணிநுண் சிறுத்தாம்பு]. He was advised that if he could chant these 11 pasurams with sincereity at the base of Truppulingudi [திருப் புளி ஆழ்வார்] - tamarind tree, in which Nammalwar lived, 12000 times, perhaps, Nammalwar might appear before him and bless to fulfill his request. Swami Nathamuni did accordingly and Nammalwar appeared before him and taught him not only the 1000 songs of Tiruvaimozhi, but all the pasurams of all the Alwars.

TAMARIND TREE AT KURUGOOR

 Pleased with this invaluable aquisition, Swami Nathamuni taught them to his Two nephews Melai agathu Azhvan [மேலை அகத்து ஆழ்வான்] and Keezhai agathu Azhvan [கீழை அகத்து ஆழ்வான்] and made them to sing them to proper tune and metre. He also separated the pasurams as Iyarpa [இயற்ப்பா ] or prose order and Isaipa [ இசைப்பா] or poetical order suited for music. Like Veda Vyasa separated and grouped the Vedas into Four groups of Rig, Yajur, Sama and Atharvana, Swami Natahmuni alos segregated the pasurams of Dravida Vedas in the order we are all singing to this day. Swami Nathamuni was an expert in music. Once the music experts in the Kingdom were asked to play beats and Swami Nathamuni, just by listening to them would gauge the weight of the beat. In his sannidhi here we can see him showing upadesa or teaching mudra in the right hand. Left hand is on his lap and he is seated.

SWAMI NATHAMUNI [moolavar]

Now we will see sloka 34:

mrityuh sarva-haras caham
udbhavas ca bhavisyatam
kirtih srir vak ca narinam
smritir medha dhrtih ksama

"I am all-devouring death, and I am the generating principle of all that is yet to be. Among women, I am fame, fortune, fine speech, memory, intelligence, steadfastness and patience."

The Lord mentions some more groups. Sarva- hara = among all bereavers [compulsorily taking away], mrityu = god of death. There are so many in this world who rob others' possessions. The Lord is Mrithyu or god of death among them. Bhavisyatam = among those to occur in future, udbhavas = active energy. That is the Lord is the action in those which are to develop or to happen. Narinam = among females, the Lord is, kirti = fame, sri = wealth, vak = speech, smriti = memory, medha = intelligence, dhriti = courage and ksama = patience. The Lord represents all these women characters like Kirti Devi, Sri Devi, Vak Devi, Smriti Devi, Medha Devi, Dhriti Devi and Kshama Devi. Why should these qualities attributed to women? Are not males with these qualities? Yes, both have these qualities. The Lord is not telling that He is the quality of fame, etc., in people. But each of these qualities are represented by a Devta or demi- goddess. Here we should note that the Lord mentions Three of His Consorts. Kirti Devi implies Sri Neela Devi. Ksama Devi implies Sri Bhu Devi. Of course, Sri Sri Devi is mentioned as such. In Srimad Ramayanam, Dasaratha had Three queens. While mentioning them the sloka in Ramayana says they were like Sri:, Hri: and Kirti:. This is in the same order as Sri Sri Devi, Sri Bhu Devi and Sri Neela Devi. Therefore, Kirti indicates Neela Devi. Why the order of mentioning has changed in the Gita sloka? Should it not be starting with Sri? In Sri Krishna Avatar, Sri Sri Devi was born as Sri Rukmini; Sri Bhu Devi as Sri Sathyabama; and, Sri Neela Devi as Sri Nappinnai. In Sri Krishna Avatar, Sri Nappinnai is considered important. In Tiruppavai, Her name is mentioned many times. Perhaps, that might be the reason for mentioning Kirti first. Earlier He had mentioned Yama, who judges on what punishment or honour to be conferred on the departed soul, and god of Kala, who decides on the duration of life for a soul to reside in a body. Now, Mrithyu is mentioned and who extracts life from the body.

                                                                                                       (continued) 

GITA 10.33

GITA 10.33

KATTUMANNAR KOIL RAJA GOPURAM

Swami Alavandar has explained the essence of Gita in his Gitartha sangraham. We are at the Kshetram, where Swami Alavandar and his grand father Swami Nathamuni belong to. It is Kattumannar koil [காட்டு மன்னார் கோயில்]. We are at the temple of Sri Veera Narayana Perumal in Kattumannar koil. We have already seen Raja Mannar koil [Mannargudi]. We are entering the main gopuram with Five tiers.

MAIN ENTRANCE

Crossing the Gopuram, we come to the tall dwajasthambam. From there we can straight reach Sri Veeranarayana Perumal sannidhi. We will see why the Lord came to this place and how Sri Mannanar [மன்னனார்] became Sri Veeranarayana. The Lord came to this place because of sage Mathanga [மதங்கர்]. Near Sri Andal sannidhi, there is a sannidhi for sage Mathanga. As a witness to the appearance of the Lord to the sage, the pair of Divine Feet of the Lord is nearby. In a yagna performed by lord Brahma, Mathanga participated but was humiliated and sent out as there was a mistake in chanting mantras. To get rid of that defect in him, he arrived at this place and did severe penance. To eliminate that defect and to grant better status, the Lord appeared here. Therefore, it was sage Mathanga, who first worshipped the Lord here. Initially, only the sannidhi of the Lord was here. Sage Jhrumpana lived nearby. He meditated on the Lord and prayed that Sri Maha Lakshmi should be born as his daughter. Conceding to his request Sri Thayar was born as his Daughter, Sri Marakathavalli. She grew up to the proper age for marriage. The sage desired to conduct a swayamvaram [choosing the bridegroom by the bride in an assembly of prospective grooms] and organised it. The Lord of this place also participated, in the guise of a mannan [king in Tamil -மன்னன்]. His vehicle Garuda became His horse and attended the swayamvaram. Thus He is known as Sri Mannanar. Sri Marakathavalli selected Him and after marriage, they returned to this place. While returning He defeated all other kings who waged a fight against Him. After reaching, the Lord showed His real form of Sri Narayana and considering His bravery, He was called Sri Veera Narayana (Tamil veeram means bravery). Thus from that time the Lord is known as Sri Veera Narayana Perumal and He is gracing along with Sri Marakathavalli Thayar. Moolavar is in standing pose along with the Twin Consorts. The Utsavar Lord appears as Sri Gopala.

SRI GOPALAN or SRI MANNANAR

 He appears with left arm on the shoulder of a friend and holding a whip in the right hand, and along with His Consorts. This Utsavar is quite large and so for processions, a smaller Utsavar is employed.

SRI UTSAVAR

 Kattu Mannar means the King of forests. It can also be interpreted as kattum + mannar [காட்டும் + மன்னார்], that is He has shown to us the Two great Acharyas Swami Nathamuni and Swami Alavandar. Or, for the Sri Vaishnava sampradaya, He showed Nalayira Divya prabhandam [நாலாயிர திவ்ய பிரபந்தம்], through Swami Nathamuni. This Kshetram is also known as Veeranarayanapuram. The lake here is Veeranarayanapuram lake, and in usage has transformed to Veeranam [வீராணம்] lake.

 We will now see sloka 33:

aksharanam a-karo ’smi
dvandvah samasikasya ca
aham evakshayah kalo
dhataham vishvato-mukhah

"Of letters, I am the letter A, and among compound words, I am the dual compound. I am also inexhaustible time, and of creators, I am Brahma."

Another Four groups are mentioned. Aksharanam = among alphabets or syllables, akara = alphabet or syllable 'a' [அ or अ ]. Samasikasya = among compound words, dvandva = dvandham. Aham = I [Sri Krishna] am, akshaya = never ending, kala = time, vishvato-mukha = four faced, dhata = Brahma. In Thirukkural [திருக்குறள்], the first kural is akara mudhala ezhuthellam... [அகர முதல எழுத்தெல்லாம்.. ]. Just like the Lord is the cause for all Universe, letter 'a' is for all letters. From this letter, all sounds are emanating. Vedas say that the Lord resides in the beginning and end of chanting of Vedas, pranavam - AUM [ஓம் or ॐ ]. In Pranava, the first letter is 'a'. All letters and syllables will merge in pranavam and pranavam merges in 'a'. Akarartho vishnu: - the letter 'a' is Sri Vishnu. 'A' in Sanskrit is a root syllable. If someone is denoted with syllable 'a', he is the protector. Since the Lord protects all at all times, 'a' denotes Him. Samasam means the joining of two words. When letters join it is called sandhi; for joining words it is samasam. There are Four types of samasam:

• Advayi bhava samasam - upa-ganga means the shore of river Ganga. Upa indicates near and ganga means the river. In this junction, upa gets the importance as we talk about the shore. The first word gets the prominence.
• Tatpurusha samasam - Raja-purusha means the servant of the King. Here the prominence is for the employee or servant and not the King. The latter word is important here.
• Bahivridi samasam - Here, the joining of the words will be given importance. In pithambaram, which means yellow [pitham] cloth [ambaram], neither of the two words get importance but a third word pithambaram gets importance.
• Dwandha samasam - Both the words get importance as in Rama-Lakshmanau. Both Rama and Lakshmana get importance.

In this Kshetram also both Swami Nathamuni and Swami Alavandar are given importance. Time can never end and it goes on forever. Dhata denotes lord Brahma and he sees everywhere with his four faces.

                                                                                                        (continued)

GITA 10.32

GITA 10.32

SRI PUNDAREEKAVALLI THAYAR

Today's [9th September 2008] lecture is from the sannidhi of Sri Thayar of Tiruchithirakoodam, Sri Pundarikavalli Thayar. Kulasekara Alwar praised the Lord as Sri Rama. Sri Rama went to the forest along with Sri Sita. After killing Ravana and coronating Vibheeshana as the King of Lanka, Sri Rama came to Ayodhya with Sri Sita, by flying in Pushpaka vimanam and became the King of Ayodhya. Kulasekara Alwar says that he worshipped the same Sri Rama in this Kshetram. Therefore, we can say that Sri Sita is Sri Pundarikavalli Thayar here. This is the place of the Mother of all. It happens to be the place of the lecturer's [Sri UVe Velukkdi Krishnan swami] mother's place. Tirumangai Alwar after worshiping Sri Deivanayaka Perumal at Tiruvahindrapuram came to this place. On the way, he noticed lots of Siddhas and other Yogis doing penance or tapas. Alwar asked them as to why they were undergoing such difficulties. They replied that they were seeking Moksham. The Alwar wondered why all these hardships were necessary when by worshiping the Divine image of the Lord in Tiruchithirakoodam, same Moksham could be obtained. Telling this, immediately he came to this place. In the Ten pasurams on this Kshetram, he finds no reason to voluntarily suffer by performing severe tapas to get Moksham; but by worshiping the Lord here, one could achieve the same result. The Lord here is in bhoga sayanam and acted as a judge. Moolavar Sri Thayar is large. Utsavar is showing abhayam by the right hand and the left hand is pointing to Her feet, for us to surrender. Two elephants on the sides are serving and Sri Thayar graces with a smile and with all ornaments on. She is also called Sri GajaLakshmi. Narada's disciple sage Pundarika was on his way from the Himalayas. Wherever he saw lotus flowers, he performed pooja to the Lord with those flowers. Here also, he saw lotus flowers and collected them for pooja. But the Lord was not there. He prayed and then Sri Thayar on a lotus flower and the Lord on Garuda appeared to accept the pooja. Once there was a competition between lord Shiva and Sri Parvati, on who was the better dancer. They searched for a proper referee to decide and requested the Lord, an expert dancer Himself, to be the judge. The competition was severe. At one time, lord Shiva lifted one of his feet up and performed oorthva thandavam [ஊர்த்வ தாண்டவம்]. Being a female, Parvati could not perform that act and so the Lord ruled that lord Shiva as the winner. Now sloka 32:

sarganam adir antas ca
madhyam caivaham arjuna
adhyatma-vidya vidyanam
vadah pravadatam aham

"Of all creations, I am the beginning and the end and also the middle, O Arjuna. Of all sciences, I am the spiritual science of the self, and among logicians, I am the conclusive truth."

Sarganam = during creation, adi = beginning, anta = end, ca = and, madhyam = middle, aham = I [Sri Krishna] am, arjuna =Arjuna. The Lord is the Cause of all the beginning, the sustaining of all created and the destruction of all created. Adhi means the beginning. That is, He is the Leader of all Creators. Similarly, He is the Leader among all those who protect and Leader among all those who destroy [samharam - ஸம்ஹாரம்]. In the sloka, the order appears to be changed. Instead of saying beginning, middle and end, the Lord says beginning, end and then middle. Perhaps to emphasise He was the middle or referee here. Vidyanam = among the knowledge or education to achieve Moksham and all other knowledge, adyatma vidya = the knowledge about atman and Paramatman. We learn so many things, but they are of little use. Only learning Paramatman and reaching Moksham is proper learning. Pravadatam = among arguments, vada = vadam. Arguments are of many types:

• Jalpam = To argue points favourable to us and argue points against the opposite party.
• Vithanda = Only talking of the opponent's shortcomings, loudly.
• Chalam = Elaborating a point not told by the opponent and maintaining that for arguments.
• Vadam = Without resorting to what the two opposing parties told, but to argue the true and just points in any suit. To search for truth with open-mindedness and argue with the proper perspective.

In Mannargudi, while worshiping Sri Rajagopala Swami, it was mentioned that the Lord appears in 32 forms corresponding to 32 vidyas or learning. Dhahara vidya, sandilya vidya, kuhara vidya, vaiswanara vidya, etc are all very noble learning. Of these, the Lord says He is adyatma vidya. Atma denotes sou,l and adyatma refers to the Lord or Paramatma. Learning of atman and Paramatman is considered the best. We will now take leave of this Kshetram.

                                                                                                   (continued)

GITA 10.31

GITA 10.31

sarvopanishado gavo, dogdha gopala-nandanah
partho vatsah su-dhir bhokta, dugdham gitamritam mahat

We understand that Bhagavad Gita of 700 verses, delivered by Sri Krishna, as the chariot driver of Arjuna, is the remedy for our samsaram or worldly life. Sri Parthasarathy, that is Sri Krishna, lived long back and preached Gita. But if we want to worship Him as seated in the Chariot driver's seat, then we have to come to Tiruchithirakoodam.

SRI DEVADI DEVA

 The Lord here is in seated pose and has another name Sri Devadi Deva [ஸ்ரீ தேவாதி தேவன்]. When Sri Krishna preached Gita, He was above Sixty years old. But here, the Lord, as Sri Parthasarathy, is in a smaller form. The Moolavar is larger and has been praised by Tirumangai Alwar as the toddler swallowing butter, and is called Sri Govinda. He is no different from Sri Venkatesa of Tirumala.

 To prove this, just as He is gracing with Four arms and standing at Tirumala, here the Lord appears with Four arms and is reclining. Carrying discus and conch in reclining pose is somewhat a surprise. Just as Seven hills are in Thirumala, here Seven hoods of Adisesha are there. In appearance also, one can see the similarity between the Two. Lord Brahma at the navel and the Twin Consorts at the feet, the Lord is in Bhoga sayanam [enjoying sleep]. He will keep all the devotees also enjoying. Utsavar Sri Parthasarathy is seated and the right arm is in Abhaya mudra and tells 'masucha:' [don't worry]. The left hand is holding the reins of the horses. Our organs are like unreined horses trying to flee in all directions. But if we worship the Lord with all senses devoted to Him, He reins in and controls our organs and leads them in proper directions. Alwar has praised this Lord as Sri Devadi Deva. He is same as Sri Govinda, same as Sri Narayana in Vaikuntam and same as Sri Krishna to be born amongst us. Next, we see the Utsavar Sri Chithirakoodathu Ullan [ஸ்ரீ சித்திரக் கூடத்துள்ளான்], the name given by Tirumangai Alwar.

SRI CHITHIRAKKOODATHU ULLAN

 He is accompanied by Sri Sridevi and Sri Bhudevi. Sri Parthasarathy is accompanied by Sri Rukmini and Sri Satyabama. Sri Andal. Who praised the Lord in Her Thiruppavai, is also there. Kalinga was ruled by a King, who had no child. The King with his wife prayed to the Lord here. The Lord blessed them with a son Kaveran and a daughter Kaveri. Pallava King Nandi Varma had donated lots of ornaments to the Lord here. This has been indicated by Tirumangai Alwar.

 After mentioning Four groups in sloka 30, the Lord mentions another set of four groups:

pavanah pavatam asmi
ramah shastra-bhrtam aham
jhasanam makaras casmi
srotasam asmi jahnavi

"Of purifiers, I am the wind, of the wielders of weapons, I am Rama, of fishes, I am the shark, and of flowing rivers, I am the Ganges."

Pavatam = among the circulating, asmi = I [Sri Krishna] am, pavana = wind. Shastra-bhrtam = among the weapon holding [persons], rama = Sri Rama. Jhasanam = among aquatic animals, makaram = Makara [vehicle of Varuna]. Srotasam = among running water, jahnavi = [river] Ganges. Wind is never stagnant at one place and it always is in circulation. Lord Vayu, god of Wind is strongest. Vayavyam, a yagna performed to please lord Vayu, would get wealth. Hanuman is considered as the son of lord Vayu. Circulation of air is essential for our living. When the Lord is telling He is Sri Rama, among those wielding weapons, we may get a doubt whether Sri Krishna is an avatar of Sri Rama and not of Sriman Narayana. But we have to note that the Lord speaks of the quality of handling weapons. So, the Lord is the weapon handling quality of Sri Rama. This is the same as when He mentioned He is Vishnu among Adityas. Or, like He is Sama Veda among Vedas. In all these contexts He is mentioning the quality. Both Sri Rama and Sri Krishna are avatars of Sriman Narayana and that is how Alwars have praised also. River Ganges has many names like Ganga, Jhanavi, Bhagirathi, Alaknanda, etc. 

                                                                                                       (continued)