Antastaddharmopadesat ~ VedAnta SutrAs 1.1.7 (20)
The being within (the Sun and the eye) is Brahman, because his attributes are taught therein.
(Antah – Being the antarAtmA of Sun and Eye, AdityA and AkshI, Tat Dharma – His attributes, UpadesAt – as taught by Sruti.)
he vichAram here is whether the Being described in the AntarAditya VidyA of the Chandogya Upanishad is Sriman NArAyaNa, or if it is the kshudra devatA like SuryA. The purvapaksham here is that even Surya could possess powers due to good merits and hence can create.
Bhagavad BhAshyakArar proves that it is Sriman NArAyaNa who resides in the Surya Mandalam. Let us look at the relevant Upanishadic mantrams with the vyAkhyAnam of Sri Ranga RAmAnuja Muni before proceeding to Sri BhAshyam:
“Now, this one, this golden PurushA (whose golden color is due to Sri MahaLakshmI on his chest), who is seen in AdityA is having golden moustache, golden hair and is fully golden beginning from the tip of the nails.”
~ (Chandogya Upanishad. 1.6.6).
The Upanishad describes the Purusha as beautiful (ramanIyam). As per the pasuram, `Paramsothi Ni paramAy‘, (Periyazhwar Thirumozhi), this Purusha is effulgent and the light of the Sun is derived from him. Since TattiriyOpanishad describes Bhagavan as NeelatOyada (Blackish-Blue complexion) and here he is described as golden, Sri Ranga Ramanuja Muni states that the golden color of Perumal is caused by Piratti residing in his chest!
Such a PurushA must be seen, ie, meditated by YogIs. Who are these yogIs? The first pasuram of Moondram ThiruvandhAdhi clearly states,
thirukkaNedEn ponmEni kaNdEn- thigazhum
arukkan aNi niRamum kaNdEn- serukkiLarum
ponnAzhi kaNdEn puri sangham kai kaNdEn
ennaazhi vaNNan paal ninRu ~ (MoonRam ThiruvandhAdhi – 1).
The Mudal Azhwars have clarified that Perumal has a naturally blackish complexion, `EnAzhi VaNNan PAl’. But the initial words `Thiru KaNdEn, PonmEni KaNdEn’ signify that he is also golden colored and that this color is due to Periya Piratiiyar only. The Upanishad uses the word `DrishyatE’ to state that such a Purusha must be meditated upon. Azhwar uses the word `kaNdEn’. By stating Piratti sambandham, azhwars have clarified the confusion between Taittiriya and Chandogya Upanishads declaring Brahman to be blackish blue and golden respectively.
The next mantram gives a few attributes for the Purusha:
“The eyes of the Purusha are like the full blown lotus (tasya yathA kapyAsam pundarIkam evam AkshinI). He is called Uth. He has risen above all sins. He who knows thus rises above all sins.”
~ (Chandogya Upanishad 1.6.7).
Eyes like a blossoming lotus – The kapyAsa sruti has a detailed explanation in VedArtha Sangraham. The explanation is based completely on azhwar pasurams such as this one:
Anchudara veyyOn aNinNedundhEr thOnRAthAl, senchudarth thAmaraikkaN selvanum
~ (ThiruvAimozhi – 5.4.8).
This pasuram is a direct reference and anubhavam of Azhwar to AntarAditya VidyA. This and many more pasurams link the lotus eyes of Perumal to the Being within the Sun. Sri PB AnnangarAchAriAr Swami’s article on this kapyAsa sruti is an excellent reference. It is too big to state here.
He is `Uth‘ because he is akhila heya pratyanIkan, he rises above all punya/papa karmas (Udita). The `Uth‘ sabdam denotes one who is devoid of blemishes. PAn Perumal starts his divya prabandham with `Amalan Adi PirAn’. Therefore, the one who is `Amalan’, ie, who is unaffected by karmas, is also `Adi PirAn’, the Supreme Brahman Sri Ranganathan, who stands as UpAyam (`Adi’ denotes UpAyatvam as per Muni VAhana Bhogam).
Furthermore, Acharya Hrudayam confirms that this Uth Purushan is Sriyah Pathi. Nammazhwar starts ThiruvAimozhi with `Uyarvara…’ and ends with `Uyarnthe…’. Thus, the 1000 pasurams of ThiruvAimozhi is the tatparyam of this `Uth’ sabdam, and a praise of Surya NArAyaNa (who is equated to Periya Perumal by acharyas).
Both ThiruvAimozhi and Chandogyam belong to SAma Vedam. Bhagavan has stated `VedAnAm SamavedOsmI’ for this reason.
Swami EmberumAnAr establishes that this Uth Purushan is Surya NArAyaNan only. Surya and other devatAs are not free of karma and hence, the last line of the Upanishad `pApmabhyah udhithah‘, signifying apahatapapmatvam for the Uth Purusha cannot be applied to anyone but our SenthAmarai Kannan. Swami Pillai LOkAchAryartherefore states this in Prapanna ParitrAnAm,
avargaLum eeSwarAjnaikku anji tAngaL ninaittapaDi sancharikkaperAdE, nAzhigai kooriTTu udippadu………izhitozhilseidu tirivAr silarAgaiyAlum rakShakarAgamATTArgaL.
(~ Prapanna ParitrAnAm -10)
Hence, Sun and Moon cannot protect us since Sriman NArAyaNan governs their activities. They are the vibhUtIs of BhagavAn.
The next mantram further states:
“The Rk and the SAman are of the form of the song of that Aditya PurushA, who is called UdgithA. The singer of that is called UdgithA on that account,. This Aditya Purusha is the ruler of all worlds above Surya Mandalam and ruler of the objects of enjoyment in those worlds. This is the teaching of meditation on the supreme.”
~ (Chandogya Upanishad 1.6.8).
Bhagavan is sarvalOka mahEswaranThirumangai Mannan’s mangalAsAsanams on Sri Parthasarathy Perumal is as follows,
yennai yALudai appanai oppava rillaa mAdhargaL vaazhum, mAdamA mayilaith thiruvallikkENik kaNdEnE
(~ Periya Thirumozhi 2.3.2).
This perumal also has a moustache, just like Surya NArAyaNa!
The Upanishad goes on to talk about the Akshipurusha, the Being in the Eye and states that the Akshipurusha and Aditya Purusha are one. The fruit of such knowledge (UpAsanam) is mentioned as follows,
“This Akshipurusha is sarva lOka mahEswaran and owns all the objects of enjoyment, Therefore, those who play the Veena sing his glory. Sing only his glory. Therefore, they are obtainers of wealth.”
~ (Chandogya Upanishad 1.7.6).
The Upanishad states that all the songs of Devas and Manushyas must be addressed to ParamAtmA only. Nara Stuti must never be done. The fruit of this UpAsanam is unparalleled wealth. The singer attains the worlds above and all desires of the Devas (devakAmah).
Prapannas, particularly the azhwars, can also meditate on this Surya NArAyaNa and sing his praises if they wish. But it is not for a phalan such as Aisvaryam or Moksham. It is swayam prayOjanam. Mumukkshupadi 282 states `bakti prApyaruchiyilE pugum‘.
Two foremost singers of Brahman in our sampradayam are ThiruppAn Azhwar and NampAduvAn, who excelled with the Veena. In addition, Sri AnnamAchAryA is also worthy of mention. Some Mahatmas belonging to other sampradayams such as Sri Purandara Dasar, Thyagarajar have also composed beautiful krithis on Bhagavan.
So, we have seen that, 1) the Being in the Sun and Eye is Sriya Pathi:, 2) He has an auspicious body, Dark Blue with golden tejas due to SrI Sambandham, 3) He has lotus eyes, 4) The Purusha in the Sun and Eye is SarvalOka MahEswaran.
Thanks for Shri Srinivasan Swami for this compilation .
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