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pZtakaeta[fbbinfEt[f pabfkdla[f patmf vZvavAkniA[nfT Avklf-etaZvaArpZtakaeta[fbbinfEt[f pabfkdla[f patmf vZvavAkniA[nfT Avklf-etaZvaAr
k]fFAbwfcivazfvarf.…………. Naanmukan Thiruvandadhi 89.
In Sri Vaishnava tradition, Sri Nam Azhwar himself represents Sri Paduka of Lord Sri Ranganatha for he is considered the foremost among the Azhwars. It was through his grace that Sri Nadamuni was able to obtain all of the Naalaayiram (the four thousand verses of the Azhwars). No wonder Swami Desikan was inspired to compose one thousand verses extolling Lord Sri Ranganatha's paduka ("Paduka sahasram").
Much like Sri Goda who refers to the Lord's unconditional compassion "~li[f ;Alyayf | `REqElaermfpavayf", Thiru Paanaazhwar also gets overwhelmed by His nirf EhTk kfRpa and gets immersed in the beauty of the Lord who at the time of deluge protects all life forms from extinction as a child lying on the banyan leaf.
malf ta[f p<Knft md enwfcmf mbfbTv<mf Epbakkf ekaqfvE[a EpAtkaqf -nIbaF ta[f ka]madfdat tarklEcvFAy ya[fka]vlfElbfkiT.
"Will I consider anything else desirable O'fools than my blessed heart wherein the Lord entered Himself so I can see His broad holy feet covered with flowers which even Rudra with ash covered body can not see".
So states Sri Thirumazhisai Piran in NaanMukan Thiruvandadhi 27.
Thiru Paanaazhwar exemplifies this feeling. For him there was no other goal to be desired and he wished to see nothing else with the eyes that had seen the Lord. '[f `MtA[kf k]fd k]fkqf mbfeba[fbiA[kf ka]aEv.
These verses of the Azhwar inspired three great acharyas to write commentaries on them as indicated by the author. Among them, Sri Swami Desikan must have been especially attracted to the Azhwar's work as suggested by the title of his commentary namley "Muni Vahana Bhogam". It is classified under his "rahasya granthas - secret works". This is particularly striking since he wrote no commentary on other Azhwars' works. In addition he also composed a devotional hymn in Sanskrit "Bhagavat Dhyana Sopaanam" somewhat similar to Azhwar's work. The beautiful step by step description of the Lord's resplendent form from His holy feet to His crown helps one to focus one's attention on the divine.
By Dr.N.Ranganathan
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